 | This article possibly contains original research .(December 2017) |
Franklin Mint Precision Models were made by the Franklin Mint, originally a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The company is now owned by a private equity firm headquartered in Midtown Manhattan New York City and Exton, Pennsylvania. Besides diecast automobiles, the Franklin Mint manufactured and marketed coins, jewelry, dolls, sculpture and other collectibles.
In 1983, after Warner Communications had purchased the Franklin Mint, the company entered the die-cast vehicle market introducing a 1935 Mercedes Benz 500K Roadster. In the following years, Franklin Mint produced more than 600 different issues of motorcycles, trucks and tractors besides automobiles. [1] [2] Marketing of all vehicles was almost exclusively through mail order catalogs.
Vehicles - often called 'Franklin Mint Precision Models' - usually cost between $75 and $150 and were meant as adult collectibles. [1] Over time, models were often made available in several different paint schemes. [3] Models were made in China, usually in batches of between 1,000 and 5,000 pieces. [4] The normal scale produced was 1:24, but models were also issued in 1:43, 1:18 and even a very large 1:8 for the 1885 Daimler (Single Track) Reitwagen and the 1885/1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen. [1] [5]
Collectible authors such as Randall Olson [6] and Dana Johnson [7] [ page needed ] recognized Franklin Mint as one of the first commercial companies to sell diecast vehicles aimed at collectors. Models ranged from post-war selections such as the 1948 Tucker or the 1961 Ford Country Squire wagon with realistic rendering of vinyl wood siding, [8] to newer model choices such as a complete and detailed 1975 Corvette. [9]
Franklin's execution, however, was not always the best. In the 1980s and 1990s, car and trucks were well proportioned and had interesting features, but models were a bit too heavy on details that could have been rendered more delicately or accurately. Chrome spears along the sides of 1950s cars, for example, were sometimes too thick and unrealistically embedded in grooves in the die-cast body. At times, door panels did not line up well or seemed slightly bloated as seen in the Checker taxi. [10] The body shape is not bad, but appears slightly 'inflated'.
One website reviews Franklin Mint vehicles and points out that though the lines of the 1:24 scale 1948 Tucker were "clean and precise" the model suffered from unrealistically thick hinges, window plastic 'glass' correctly detailed in some places but not in others, and a misplaced steering wheel and other problems with interior rendering. [2] Hemmings Motor News reported that the Franklin rendition of the Mercedes 300SL had accurate interior upholstery and nicely fitting gulling doors, but color details that were wrong, parts badly placed, and a misshapen windshield. [11]
At the time Franklin Mint manufactured and sold their die-cast vehicle models (primarily the 1980s and 1990s), other companies including Anson, Bburago, Mira and Maisto offered detailed models at lower prices. [1] One published collector even wrote that he would recommend Minichamps or Schuco before Franklin Mint. [12]
One good Franklin Mint example was the Nash Metropolitan. In particular, the model's proportions were precise and the engine was painted an authentic green and nicely detailed like the real Metropolitan English Austin engine which was made in England. Still, one Nash enthusiast noted that though satisfied with the overall presentation, the model wasn't the proper color, lacked proper grille detail, and other paint details were inaccurate. [13] To Franklin Mint's credit, however, buyers were later offered a corrected model. [13] Johnson reports on other followers who kept Franklin Mint informed on inaccuracies throughout their offerings - and it was honorable that the mint would try to make corrections. [14]
Other examples of interest were the detailed Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail motorcycle in 1:10 scale which included accurate looking texture on the saddlebags, moving gearshift and brake pedals (which were diecast metal), and realistic labeling on the bike's crankcase. One odd offering was Richard Petty's 1977 number 43 NASCAR Oldsmobile Cutlass stock car, which featured half the body in clear plastic so as to view inner details. Hopefully, the clear plastic will hold up over time and not become discolored. A vehicle of a different stripe was the 1868 Wells Fargo stagecoach with authentic removable roof trunks and other equipment, that was available in commemorative John Wayne decor.
Around 2000, Franklin Mint curtailed much of its diecast line with most models going out of production. [15] Very few new vehicles were developed through 2009. Currently, Franklin Mint sells models assembled by several firms notable for their quality and precision, like CMC, GMP or Exoto.
A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aimed at children as playthings, there is no precise difference between a model car and a toy car, yet the word 'model' implies either assembly required or the accurate rendering of an actual vehicle at smaller scale. The kit building hobby became popular through the 1950s, while the collecting of miniatures by adults started to gain momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township.
Maisto is a brand of scale model vehicles introduced in 1990 and owned by May Cheong Group, a Chinese company founded in 1967 in Hong Kong by brothers P.Y. Ngan and Y.C Ngan. Head-quartered in Hong Kong, the brand has its offices in the United States, France and China. MCG also owns other model car brands such as former Italian brand Bburago and Polistil.
Schuco is a German manufacturing company founded in 1912 by Heinrich Müller and the businessman Heinrich Schreyer in Nuremberg, popularly known as Germany's toy capital. The company's specialty was making toy reproductions of cars and trucks in tin, plastic and die-cast. The company went bankrupt in 1976 but was reorganized in 1993 and then totally independent again by 1996.
AUTOart is a Hong Kong-based scale model car line manufactured by Gateway Autoart Ltd. and sold by AA Collection Ltd.
Bburago is a manufacturing company of toys and die-cast scale model cars formerly based in Italy. The company was based in Burago di Molgora, where all products were made from 1974 to 2005. At the height of its popularity, Bburago's main competitors were Politoys and Maisto, the latter of which was to become dominant in the 1:18 market segment around 2000.
Tekno is a Danish manufacturing company of scale model trucks and other vehicles, currently headquartered in De Lier, Netherlands. Originally established and based in Copenhagen, Tekno began manufacturing construction toys in 1928 and model vehicles immediately after World War II, selling 1 million a year during its peak.
Jo-Han was a manufacturer of plastic scale promotional model cars and kits originally based in Detroit. The company was founded in 1947 by tool and die maker John Hanley a year before West Gallogly's competing company AMT was formed and about the same time as PMC. After changing ownership a few times, Jo-Han models were sporadically manufactured by Okey Spaulding in Covington, Kentucky, but apparently none have been offered for several years.
Aluminum Model Toys (AMT) is a toy manufacturing brand founded in Troy, Michigan, in 1948 by West Gallogly Sr. AMT became known for manufacturing 1/25 scale plastic automobile dealer promotional model cars and friction motor models, and pioneered the annual 3-in-1 model kit buildable in stock, custom, or hot-rod versions. The company made a two-way deal in 1966 with Desilu Productions to produce a line of Star Trek models and to produce a 3/4 scale exterior and interior filming set of the Galileo shuttlecraft. It was also known for producing model trucks and movie and TV vehicles.
Conrad GmbH is a German manufacturer of diecast scale model trucks, primarily in 1:50 scale for use both as toys and promotional models by heavy equipment manufacturers. Conrad is one of the few European diecast companies which have not outsourced production to China or elsewhere in Asia. Conrad Modelle is headquartered in Kalchreuth, just northeast of Nuremberg.
Nürnberger Zinkdruckguß-Modelle GmbH is a German manufacturer of diecast scale models primarily in 1:50 scale for use both as toys and promotional models mainly by heavy transport and construction equipment manufacturers.
Polistil S.p.A. is an Italian toy brand and former manufacturing company headquartered in Milan, with production center in Chiari, near Brescia. Polistil specialized in die-cast and plastic scale model vehicles of all sizes.
Model Products Corporation, usually known by its acronym, MPC, is an American brand and former manufacturing company of plastic scale model kits and pre-assembled promotional models of cars that were popular in the 1960s and 1970s. MPC's main competition was model kits made by AMT, Jo-Han, Revell, and Monogram.
Gama is a German maker of toys, usually cars and trucks, dating from before World War I. The company is headquartered in Fürth, Bavaria, near Nürnberg, a traditional German toymaking center. Other German companies that competed with Gama Toys were Schuco Modell and Conrad Models.
Cursor Modell was a German company making models of antique and modern German vehicles. It is best known for its plastic replicas of vehicles mainly of the era 1880 to about 1920, produced for, and sold in, the Daimler-Benz museum in Stuttgart.
Holand Oto is a Dutch manufacturing company based in Weert that produces diecast scale model cars and trucks. The company was established in 1959 in Heerlen as "Bestbox", then changing its name to "Efsi" in early 1970s.
Dugu Miniautotoys was a brand of diecast metal models, mostly in 1:43 scale, made in Varallo Sesia, Vercelli Province, Piedmont, Italy, north of Turin and west of Lake Orto. The company made models for the Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia Automobile Museum in Turin. They were made from approximately 1961–1975, and perhaps a few years longer.
Sablon was a Belgian company near Brussels that made diecast zamac toy cars in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Models were mostly in 1:43 scale and were similar in concept to Dinky Toys or Solido.
Rétrospectives Automobiles Miniatures was a French manufacturing company that made diecast scale model collector vehicles mostly of classic French automobiles in 1:43 scale. The acronym was seen on packaging without the periods between the letters of the acronym, but on some of the vehicle bases with the punctuation. "J.M.K." was a further acronym that stood for the three founding members of the company: M. Jarry, Henri Malartre and M. Koch. Though the models were often known simply as RAMI, the full name of the company was RAMI by J.M.K.
Ziss-Modell, originally also called R. W. Modell or Wittek Modell were 'brand' names of the German Mini-Auto firm which made diecast metal classic and contemporary vehicles from the 1960s through the late 1970s. Later, use of the Mini-Auto name largely disappeared and the models were mainly known as Ziss or R. W. Modell. The company was based in Lintorf.
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