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A model vehicle or toy vehicle 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 pick up momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer in business from 1919 to 1980. Its products were often imprinted with the slogan, "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"
A die-cast toy is a toy or a collectible model produced by using the die casting method of putting molten lead, zinc alloy or plastic in a mold to produce a particular shape. Such toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber, glass, or other machined metal parts. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two methods are distinct because of the properties of the materials.
SIKU is the range of toy vehicles and related products produced by the German company Sieper Lüdenscheid GmbH & Co. KG in Lüdenscheid, Germany. The company manufactures many vehicles, but the Super Series 1:55 scale die-cast line is the core product, thus Siku historically could be seen as the "German Matchbox". The company also owns the well known HO scale producer Wiking-Modellbau.
Schuco is a German toy maker founded in 1912 by Heinrich Müller and the businessman Heinrich Schreyer in Nuremberg Germany's toy capital since early days. The company's specialty was usually cars and trucks in tin, plastic and diecast. The company went bankrupt in 1976 but was reorganized in 1993 and then totally independent again by 1996.
Majorette is a French toy manufacturer which mostly produces small die-cast cars and other construction and military vehicles, particularly in 1:64 scale. This is a normal 2.5 to 3 inch size, thus Majorette has sometimes been called the Matchbox Toys of France. Traditionally, production was centered in the urban area of Lyon, but models are now made in Thailand.
1:50 scale is a popular size for diecast models from European manufacturers such as Conrad, Tekno, NZG, WSI and LionToys. Typically they produce scale models of construction vehicles, tower cranes, trucks and buses. These are often the official models distributed by the manufacturers of the real vehicles as a promotional items for prospective customers. These models are also very popular in Europe despite their small size compared to stamped metal construction toys which are usually found in the US.
1:43 scale is a popular size of die-cast model cars in Europe, Asia and the US. It has its origins in the British / European O scale for model trains and the rise of certain accessories made for that scale which since have become popular in their own right.
Tekno - Dansk Legetojs Industri, was a toy maker from Copenhagen, Denmark, that began manufacturing construction toys in 1928 and model autos immediately after World War II, selling 1 million a year during its peak. While begun as a toy company, the focus later shifted to promotional truck models as adult collectibles and the company's headquarters was moved to The Netherlands.
1:18 scale diecast replicas are 1/18th the size of the real vehicle. Most popular in this category are 1:18 scale automobile replicas – usually made out of Zamak zinc diecasting alloy with plastic parts. "1:18 scale" is the colloquial reference to this class of toy or replica.
Schabak is a die-cast toy producer based in Nuremberg, Germany. The company is well known for its line of German cars and commercial airline models. The company's on and off relation with German Schuco Modell is particularly notable.
Conrad GmbH is a German manufacturer of diecast scale models 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.
NZG for 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.
Britains, earlier known by the founder's name W. Britain, is a British toy company known for its diecast lead toy soldiers. The company, however, with its factory in London, also diversified into other associated toys such as diecast zamac military trucks, agriculture and commercial vehicles, and toy cars.
Mikro'67 is the Bulgarian manufacturer of Matchbox, Gama, Schuco, NZG and other diecast models. The factory today is in Razgrad.
Solido is a French manufacturer of die-cast model cars and trucks based in Oulins, Anet, France, 40 miles (64 km) west of Paris. Vehicles are usually made of zamac alloy in varying scales, but mostly 1:43 and 1:50. Typically, Solido's main competition in France was Norev, but internationally, Polistil, Corgi Toys, Dinky Toys, Mercury, and Tekno produced similar style toys.
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.
Kaden Nachod is the somewhat anglicized name for the Kovodružstvo Náchod toy factory in the town of Nový Hrádek in the Czech Republic. The factory, however, started making toys about 1950 when the country was still communist united Czechoslovakia.
References
- ↑ Force 1990, p. 89.
Works cited
- Edward Force. 1990. Classic Miniature Vehicles Made in Germany. Schiffer Publications.