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.
Radio-controlled cars, or RC cars for short, are miniature model cars, vans, buses, trucks or buggies that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. The term "RC" has been used to mean both "remote controlled" and "radio-controlled". "Remote controlled" includes vehicles that are controlled by radio waves, infrared waves or a physical wire connection. RC cars are powered by one of three energy sources—electricity, nitro fuel or petrol. Electric RC models are powered by small but powerful electric motors and rechargeable nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel metal hydride(NiMH), or lithium polymer (LiPo) cells with the latter two being the most used. Both NiMH and LiPo have advantages and disadvantages in various RC applications where NiMH is mainly used for recreational purposes and LiPo for more demanding purposes. There are also brushed or brushless electric motors—brushless motors are more powerful, long lasting and efficient, but also much more expensive than brushed motors.
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.
Bandai Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California, and Richmond, London. Since 2006, Bandai is the toy production division of Bandai Namco Holdings. Between 1981 and 2001, Bandai was a manufacturer of video game consoles.
Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the UK, the name 'Airfix' has become practically synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer.
Technozoids, also referred to as simply Zoids, is a Japanese science fiction media franchise created by Tomy that feature giant robots called Technozoidaryans, otherwise known as Technozoids, Zoidaryans or Zoids for short. A Zoid is essentially a large mechanical animal, with designs being based on animals; including dinosaurs, insects, arachnids and mythological creatures.
Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe.
Revell GmbH is an American-origin manufacturer of plastic scale models, currently based in Bünde, Germany. The original Revell company merged with Monogram in 1986, becoming "Revell-Monogram". The business operated until 2007, when American Revell was purchased by Hobbico, while the German subsidiary "Revell Plastics GmbH" had separated from the American firm in 2006 until Hobbico purchased it in 2012, bringing the two back together again under the same company umbrella. After the Hobbico demise in 2018, Quantum Capital Partners (QCP) acquired Revell.
Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. was a publishing company based in Singapore that specialized in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distributed all or some of its products in Singapore, India, Malaysia and the Philippines. Distribution to Australia and New Zealand occurred through Madman Entertainment and used Australian English translations.
Model robots are model figures with origins in the Japanese anime genre of mecha. The majority of model robots are produced by Bandai and are based on the Gundam anime metaseries. This has given rise to the hobby's common name in Japan, Gunpla. Though there are exceptions, the model robot genre is dominated by anime tie-ins, with anime series and movies frequently serving as merchandising platform.
Tomy Company, Ltd. is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as Tomiyama Toy Manufacturing Company (富山玩具製作所), became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pirate. In 2006, Tomy merged with another toy manufacturer, Takara, and although the English company name remained the same, it became Takara Tomy in Asia. It has its headquarters in Katsushika, Tokyo.
The Transformers is an American-Japanese animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro and Takara Tomy's Transformers toy line. The first television series in the Transformers franchise, it depicts a war among giant robots that can transform into vehicles and other objects.
G.I. Joe: America's Movable Fighting Man is a line of action figures produced by Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces. The term G.I. stands, in popular usage, for Government Issue and became a generic term for U.S. soldiers, especially ground forces. The term originated in WWI, when much of the government-issued equipment was stamped "G.I.", meaning that it was made from galvanized iron. The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term "action figure".
The Aurora Plastics Corporation was an American toy and hobby manufacturing company. It is known primarily for its production of plastic scale models of cars, airplanes, and TV and movie figures in the 1960s. Its principal competition in modeling were various other plastic modeling firms like Revell and Monogram.
Gundam Plastic models, Gundam Plamo, or Gunpla are model kits depicting the mecha machinery and characters of the fictional Gundam multiverse by Bandai.
M.A.S.K. is a media franchise created by Kenner. The main premise revolved around the fight between the titular protagonist underground task force and the terrorist organization V.E.N.O.M.. After its initial launch in 1985, the franchise spawned a variety of products and presentations, including four series of action figures, an animated television series, video games, and comics; as of 2018, a live-action theatrical film is in development by Hasbro and Paramount.
Marusan (マルサン) is a Japanese model and toy company. It is known as the first Japanese plastic model manufacturer and also famous for selling PVC kaiju (monster) character toys during the 1960s. Its headquarters were located in Taitō, Tokyo.
