"very poor and it is believed that Meccano Ltd. asked S. Kumar & Co. not to use the Dinky name. Kumar then applied stickers with the name NICKY on the boxes to hide the name DINKY. Later when the stock of original boxes ran out, NICKY TOYS boxes of poor quality were printed in India (The Dinky Toys Encyclopaedia). These were selected Dinky dies, and not the whole British range – with only 32 different cars and trucks produced. Several aeroplanes were also made. Between 1965 and 1967 six model cars were produced for Dinky Toys in Hong Kong for"
"530 and in the UK at the Binns Road plant in Liverpool as number 187. By the 1960s there was virtually no crossover of product between the two countries resulting in a fascinating range that complemented the models. The vast majority of the French Dinky range was only available in the home market, Belgium, Switzerland, U.S.A. and other non British Commonwealth countries although a few models did make it across the English Channel both before and after the war. Similarly, some examples of the British range of Dinky Toys were exported to France at the same time. The factory at"
"toy related, from push-along and rocking horses in the first decades of the 1900s to their main staple of trains (King 1986, pp. 118,121). After World War II, Lines Brothers claimed to be the largest toy maker in the world. In the 1950s, Dinky Toys from Liverpool, had developed a successful range of vehicles to be purchased apart from railroad sets and then in 1956 Corgi Toys, made by Mettoy, followed suit. Not wishing to miss out on a commercial opportunity, Lines Brothers started its own range in 1959 – made in its factory in Northern Ireland. Murray Lines himself"
"now some of the most sought after of all Dinky Toys. A few, such as the Mk2 Ford Granada, and Steed's Jaguar from the New Avengers TV series exist as pre-production examples only. Changing fashions in the toy industry, international competition and the switch to cheap labour in lower wage countries meant that the days of British-made toy vehicles like Dinky Toys were numbered. After attempts at simplifying the products as a means of saving costs, the famous Binns Road factory in Liverpool finally closed its doors in November 1979. By comparison, Corgi Toys managed to struggle on until 1983."
"Maisto were produced in Hong Kong or China by either American or Asian companies. 1:87 scale plastic vehicles, related to railroad modeling or not, also continue to be popular in Europe. Despite continued European companies, today, China is now the center of diecast production. Post-war European diecast models were produced in fairly simple form, such as Dinky Toys (often in the train related 1:64 or 1:43). Dinky production began in 1934, while Matchbox cars (often approx. 1:64) were introduced in the mid-1950s. These early die-cast toys featured no opening parts whatsoever. Affected by market forces and by improvements in production"
"reducing their factory's output during periods in which they received fewer or smaller industrial orders, they started making die cast model toys the following year. Seeing no future for the company, Rodney Smith left in 1951. The first model toy they produced in 1948 – a die-cast road roller based clearly on a Dinky model (the industry leader in die-cast toy cars at that time) – in hindsight proves to be the first of perhaps three major milestones on the path to their eventual destiny. It established transportation as a viable and interesting theme; other similar models followed, including a"
"It was more than just a toy: it was educational, teaching basic mechanical principles like levers and gearing. The parts for Hornby's new construction kit were initially supplied by outside manufacturers, but as demand began to exceed supply, Hornby set up his own factory in Duke Street, Liverpool. As the construction kits gained in popularity they soon became known as Meccano and went on sale across the world. In September 1907, Hornby registered the Meccano trade mark, and in May 1908, he formed Meccano Ltd. To keep pace with demand, a new Meccano factory was built in Binns Road, Liverpool"
"0 gauge model railways, and this production line continued into the 1960s. In 1922, Meccano Ltd opened a factory in Elizabeth, New Jersey where it produced its building sets for the North American market. In 1927 it started producing clockwork lithographed tinplate 0 gauge trains there as well. However, in 1929, it sold its New Jersey factory to the A. C. Gilbert Company, whose similar Erector Set toy was popular in the United States, and Meccano's trains and construction sets disappeared from the U.S. market by 1930. In early 1934 Meccano Ltd introduced Dinky Toys, a new line of die-cast"
"Hot Wheels and the Matchbox 1-75 line sister brands. The two brands continue to sell under their own separate names. Meanwhile, Corgi had been acquired by Mattel which moved the office from Swansea, Wales to Leicester, England and moved manufacturing to China. A new company called Oxford Diecast acquired the former Corgi factory in Swansea and commenced manufacture for themselves and Corgi. Matchbox also bought the Dinky Toys name, long after the Liverpool factory was closed. Manufacturing resumed in China. In a series of subsequent shifts, a group of Corgi executives bought back the Corgi Classics line from Mattel and"
"Mettoy Mettoy Playcraft Ltd was the name of a range of toys manufactured in Northampton and Fforestfach Swansea, between the 1930s and 1980s. The Mettoy (Metal Toy) company was founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann and was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz who had previously worked for Ulmann at his toy company Tipp and Co of Nuremberg. The firm made a variety of lithographed metal wind-up toys. Both Jewish, they moved to Britain following Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. The firm is most famous for its line of die-cast toy motor vehicles of their"
"(a subject also modelled by Corgi Toys at the same time), a range of Thornycroft Mighty Antar heavy haulage transporters complete with loads and a Horse Box in British Railways and later in Newmarket liveries. Having been well known before the war, Dinky Toys were popular in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s. The smaller cars were in a scale of 1:45, while the larger cars and many Supertoys, as stated above, were in a scale of 1:48, which blended in with O scale railway sets, but many buses and lorries were scaled down further (Schellekens 2010). The scale"
"South Africa between 1962 and 1963 and it is believed that only one batch of each model was produced, making South African Dinky Toys very rare. South Africa also imported Dinky Toys parts from the French factory in 1966 and six models were assembled and painted locally (Binns Road website). Some of the distinguishing features of South African Dinky Toys are : South African Dinky Toys from Liverpool. South African Dinky Toys from Bobigny. Circa 1967–1973, for reasons related to import substitution, some Dinky Toys were made in Arica, a tax free port at the very north of Chile. Only"
"2013, and festivities were held by the National Museums Liverpool and the Frank Hornby Charitable Trust, Maghull, and by the Brighton Toy and Model Museum. Google also celebrated the 150th Anniversary with a Google Doodle on their UK homepage on 15 May 2013. Frank Hornby Frank Hornby (15 May 1863 – 21 September 1936) was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, and although he had no formal engineering training, he was responsible for the invention and production of three of the most popular lines of toys based on engineering principles in"
"Among the first items released by Dinky were a blue (rather than green) ""Thunderbird 2"" and a FAB 1, of which more than two million were manufactured. By 1966, British commentators had dubbed the end-of-year shopping season """"Thunderbirds"" Christmas"" in the light of the series' popularity. Themed birthday cards for children, for ages 6 to 10, were available in Australia in the mid-1960s. Japanese model kits of the vehicles continued to be marketed into the 1980s. In the early 1990s, Matchbox launched a new range of toys to coincide with the BBC's ""Thunderbirds"" revival. Despite poor sales in the weeks"
"the company was no longer British-owned, limited production continued in England until the mid-1980s, re-using many of the old Lesney castings, but most production and tooling was moved to Macau. It was during this period that Matchbox acquired the rights to the venerated Dinky brand, perhaps the ""mother of all toy car collectibles"", and united two of the most important names in die-cast under one roof. New models were created (sometimes dies were also bought from competing companies), and the ""Dinky Collection"" was born. ""Dinky"" models tended to be of more recent classics (particularly the 1950s), while ""Yesteryears"" tended to"
"'view' windows appearing about the same time as these larger firms. Metosul MetOsul was Portugal's oldest diecast toy manufacturer. The original company was founded in the Atlantic coastal town of Espinho a few miles south of Oporto, in 1931. At its high point it was known for making quality second hand castings of Dinky Toys. Originally called Luso-Celluloide, the company made toy jewelry, and other trinkets, focusing on celluloid (plastic) objects. Later, the name Osul was created for the production of plastics - this was an anagram of the Luso name. Zamac toys appeared in the 1960s, thus the name"
"1959 (The Dinky Toys Encyclopaedia). The Dinky Toys ranges became more sophisticated throughout the 1950s. Some cars in the sporty pre-war line were carried on after the war like the Alvis sports tourer, the Sunbeam Talbot, or the Frazer-Nash BMW. These offerings then led to a magnificent line-up in the post war Dinky range, which included a Lagonda, an Armstrong-Siddeley, MG, Sunbeam Alpine, Austin Atlantic, Austin Healey 100, Aston Martin DB3S racer, Morris Oxford sedan and Triumph TR2 (Gardiner and O'Neill 1996, pp. 50–51). Additionally, several models introduced were American cars, and even now still seem unique choices, such as"
"Corgi Toys Corgi Toys (trademark) is the name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles produced by Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in the United Kingdom. The body of this article is derived from information available in ""The Great Book of Corgi"" by Marcel Van Cleemput , . The Mettoy (Metal Toy) company was founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann in Northampton, England, where he was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz, who had previously worked for Ullmann at his toy company Tipp and Co of Nuremberg. They decided to market a range of toy vehicles as competition"
"which began in Luddenham Sydney in 1997 collect information and photographs which bring happy memories of childhood in Australia. Cyclops (toy company) Cyclops is an Australian manufacturer of toys, primarily known for children's pedal cars. The business was founded by John Heine Sheet Metal at Leichhardt, New South Wales in 1913. The name Cyclops was registered in 1915 and the company continued to grow during the 1920s and the Depression. In 1946 the company name was officially changed to Cyclops Pty Ltd but it was taken over by a British company after World War II. In 1963 Cyclops Pty Ltd"
"Budgie Toys Morestone, which later changed its name to the more well-known Budgie Toys, was an English diecast toy distributor and then manufacturer based in London. The company first specialised in horse-drawn carriages and coaches. It later made a wide variety of miniature cars and trucks. Vehicles were about Matchbox size, though a bit smaller and a bit cruder. Some models marketed as Morestone were made by a separate company called Modern Products. Morestone got its name as a contraction of ""Morris"" and ""Stone"" who started distributing the toys in the 1940s. Vehicles were somewhat similar to Dinky Toys in"
"shop on Carnaby Street, London. In addition to toys, the company's memorable items in recent events have included Royal Wedding knitting patterns. In 1961 the company approached Ken Garland and Associates (KGA) to act as design associates. Garland was tasked with building an image for the company from scratch. He also inadvertently changed the name of the company to Galt Toys. He also began designing toys for Galt, creating everything from wooden toys to board games. In a twenty-year association with KGA, Galt Toys managed to produce some of the most iconic toys of the era, including Connect and Anymals."
"by the Great Depression. Meccano, Erector Sets, Tinkertoy, and Lincoln Logs all appeared in the early 20th century, and were promoted as developing fine motor skills, encouraging free play and creativity, and introducing children to engineering and construction ideas. Frank Hornby of Lancashire, England designed the construction toy Meccano in 1899 to encourage his children's interest in mechanical engineering. Patented as ""Mechanics Made Easy"" in 1901, it became known as ""Meccano"" in 1907. Educators were aware of societal changes caused by industrialism, and hoped to interest youngsters in possible new careers. In 1913, A. C. Gilbert introduced the Erector Set"
", as part of an evaluation of electric vehicles by British Railways. They also tested vehicles built by Northern Coachbuilders (later Smith Electric Vehicles) and Brush, at Coventry, Bath, and Glasgow. It is not clear how successful the design was, but the agreement with Jensen, which is now held at the University of Warwick Modern Records Centre, was terminated in 1952. None of the trucks are known to have survived beyond the 1950s, although Dinky Toys produced a diecast model of the Jen-Helecs between 1953 and 1959, resulting in an otherwise obscure vehicle being better known than it might have"
"By 1931 the firm employed 450 at its London factory. The catalogue had expanded to 435 sets and twenty million models a year were being produced. (Wallis 1981). In the early 1950s Britains was associated with W. Horton Toys and Games which made the diecast Lilliput ranges of small-scale rather generic cars and trucks and other vehicles. Later, Britains acquired Herald Miniatures, plastic figures designed by Roy Selwyn-Smith. The company was also known for its American Revolutionary War soldiers. In the 1950s, besides soldiers, a variety of vehicles began to appear, mostly in the military field. One such detailed diecast"
"produced on Titan from 1929 to 1932, incorporating Leyland components. In following years Fishwick were persuaded to take a more modern outline as built for Ribble. Among the more radical coaches of the time was a 25-seater on a normal-control Leyland Cub chassis for Marshall of Blackpool, which had a streamlined near-full width bonnet with concealed radiator, similar in shape to the Chrysler Airflow car. Duple had used a similar idea on a special airmail van for the Royal Mail (famous as a Dinky Toy) a year or so before the Marshall's coach but were never to apply the style"
"Raleigh Winkie The Winkie was a rear chain drive children's tricycle manufactured in England by Raleigh Bicycles between 1950 and 1970. The tricycle was notable both for its solid design and easy riding qualities, even for adults, and also its popularity due to use by famous people such as Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles. Raleigh marketed the tricycle to children by having them automatically join an owners club called The Circle of Silver Knights which taught traffic safety while also acting as a way to sell tricycles. The construction is welded steel tube with steel wheels"
"Metosul MetOsul was Portugal's oldest diecast toy manufacturer. The original company was founded in the Atlantic coastal town of Espinho a few miles south of Oporto, in 1931. At its high point it was known for making quality second hand castings of Dinky Toys. Originally called Luso-Celluloide, the company made toy jewelry, and other trinkets, focusing on celluloid (plastic) objects. Later, the name Osul was created for the production of plastics - this was an anagram of the Luso name. Zamac toys appeared in the 1960s, thus the name Metal Osul or MetOsul (with a capital 'O') was coined. Metosul"
"1:130 depending on the model. Each model was sold in stackable red plastic garages, with clear removable top and sides. The model would slide out of a double hinged opening door to one end. This was in place of the usual cardboard box. Some Mini-Dinkys were also blister packaged in a dark grey pack (some with garage and some not) with bright yellow lettering (Mini Dinky 2011). Although Dinky Toys were not known as widely for producing television related models as Corgi Toys, they still made a number of vehicles widely known from the small screen. Many of these models"
"began issuing model cars of the 1950s and 1960s through the ""Dinky Collection"" – these models were marketed toward adult collectors. The models, like a Wolseley Hornet or a 1953 Buick Skylark convertible, were attractive and honoured the tradition of the Dinky name in realism. In fact these were often even more detailed than original Dinkys, instead resembling something more like Lledo's Vanguard range. Still, production stopped after only a few years. The ""Dinky Collection"" eventually was absorbed into a themed series offered by Matchbox Collectibles Inc, owned by the US giant Mattel – which portrayed little interest in any"
"in a smaller rival, G & R Wrenn. Wrenn were then ""sold"" all the redundant, 3 rail, Hornby Dublo tooling. When, in 1971, the Lines Bros. empire was broken up, Rovex - Tri-ang was purchased by Dunbee, Combex, Marx (DCM) but without the Tri-ang brand. Because of this DCM were forced to re-brand the model railway as Hornby Railways. Railway systems: The British range of Tri-ang large scale pressed steel vehicles were produced from the early 1930s through until the mid-1970s. To the casual onlooker or collector in the world of old toys, these toys (not models!) are of no"
"The train set was only produced in 1967, and is now extremely rare. It is notable as the last O Gauge train to be made at Meccano's famous Binns Road factory in Liverpool, where the Hornby tinplate trains were made. Photographs of the set and the adverts may be found here and a close-up of Percy may be found here. Ertl was the first company to manufacture Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends characters and sets from 1985 in the UK and from 1989 in the US. Production ceased for the US market in 2001, and for the UK market"
"a period of rundown and some industrial relations problems. Strebor Strebor Diecasting (the name comes from Roberts spelled backwards) was a die-casting company in Radcliffe, Lancashire which was founded in 1926 as the Roberts Company. In 1933 the name was changed to the Strebor Diecasting company. During WW2 it made war material, after the war it made metal toys, and eventually achieved widespread notice as makers of cylinder locks and locking devices for the motor trade during the 1960s and 1970s under the STREBOR and STRONIS trade names. Their locks were to be found on British cars such as the"
"toys. Mettoy started the Dragon Data branch of its firm to manufacture computers for children. Mettoy Mettoy Playcraft Ltd was the name of a range of toys manufactured in Northampton and Fforestfach Swansea, between the 1930s and 1980s. The Mettoy (Metal Toy) company was founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann and was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz who had previously worked for Ulmann at his toy company Tipp and Co of Nuremberg. The firm made a variety of lithographed metal wind-up toys. Both Jewish, they moved to Britain following Hitler’s rise to power in 1933."