![Dinky Toys - Fire engine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Dinky_Toys_-_Fire_engine.jpg)
A die-cast toy is a
toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...
or a collectible model produced by using the
die-casting
Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly ...
method of putting molten
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
,
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
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 molding, but the two methods are distinct because of the properties of the materials.
Process
![Model plane by a lake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Model_plane_by_a_lake.JPG)
The metal used in die-casting is either a lead alloy (used early on), or more commonly,
Zamak
ZAMAK (or Zamac, formerly trademarked as MAZAK) is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminium, magnesium, and copper.
Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminium alloy family; they are distinguished from the ...
(called ''Mazak'' in the UK), an alloy of
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
with small quantities of
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
and
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
.
Lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
or
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
are impurities that must be carefully avoided in Zamac, as they give rise to a deterioration of the metal most commonly called
zinc pest
Zinc pest (from German ''Zinkpest''), also known as zinc rot and zamak rot, is a destructive, intercrystalline corrosion process of zinc alloys containing lead impurities. Prepared under the direction of the ASM International Handbook Committee. ...
. The terms
white metal
The white metals are a series of often decorative bright metal alloys used as a base for plated silverware, ornaments or novelties, as well as any of several lead-based or tin-based alloys used for things like bearings, jewellery, miniature f ...
or
pot metal
Pot metal (or monkey metal) is an alloy of low-melting point metals that manufacturers use to make fast, inexpensive castings. The term "pot metal" came about due to the practice at automobile factories in the early 20th century of gathering up no ...
are also used when applied to alloys based more on lead or iron. The most common die-cast vehicles are
scale models of
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarde ...
s,
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
, military vehicles,
construction equipment
Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...
, and
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
s, although almost anything can be produced by this method, like
Monopoly game pieces, furniture handles, or metal garden sprinklers.
Industry leaders
![DieCastModelsWIKI1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/DieCastModelsWIKI1.jpg)
Die-cast (or diecast, or die cast) toys were first produced early in the 20th century by manufacturers such as
Meccano
Meccano is a brand of model construction system created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nut ...
(
Dinky Toy
Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast toy, die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model model car, vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpo ...
s) in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Dowst Brothers (TootsieToys) in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and Fonderie de précision de Nanterre (
Solido
Solido is a French manufacturing company based in Oulins, west of Paris, which produces die-cast scale model cars, military vehicles, and commercial vehicles. Vehicles are usually made of zamac alloy in varying scales. Typically, Solido's main ...
) in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The first models on the market were basic, consisting of a small vehicle body with no interior. In the early days, as mentioned, it was common for impurities in the alloy to result in
zinc pest
Zinc pest (from German ''Zinkpest''), also known as zinc rot and zamak rot, is a destructive, intercrystalline corrosion process of zinc alloys containing lead impurities. Prepared under the direction of the ASM International Handbook Committee. ...
, and the casting would distort, crack, or crumble. As a result, die-cast toys made before World War II are difficult to find in good condition. The later high-purity
Zamak
ZAMAK (or Zamac, formerly trademarked as MAZAK) is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminium, magnesium, and copper.
Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminium alloy family; they are distinguished from the ...
alloy avoided this problem.
Lesney
Lesney Products & Co. Ltd. was a British manufacturing company responsible for the conception, manufacture, and distribution of die-cast toys under the "Matchbox" name. The company existed from 1947 until 1982.
History
Lesney was founded on 19 J ...
began making die-cast toys in 1947. Their popular
Matchbox
Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc.
Matchbox
A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...
1-75 series was so named because there were always 75 different vehicles in the line, each packaged in a small box designed to look like those used for matches. These toys became so popular that the "Matchbox" became widely used as a generic term for any die-cast toy car, regardless of manufacturer.
The popularity of die-cast toys developed through the 1950s as their detail and quality increased. More companies entered the field, including successful brands like
Corgi
The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is derived from the Welsh words and (which is mutated to ), mean ...
brand, produced by Mettoy, Italian
Mercury, Danish
Tekno, or German
Schuco
Schuco is a German manufacturing company 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 making toy reproductions of cars and trucks in ti ...
and
Gama 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 To ...
. Corgi Toys appeared in 1956 and pioneered the use of interiors and windows in their models.
In 1968,
Hot Wheels were introduced in the United States by
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
to address the complaint that they had no line of toys for boys to balance their line of
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
dolls for girls. Because they looked fast and were fast (they were equipped with a low-friction wheels/axles), Hot Wheels quickly became the most popular die-cast cars in the toy market, becoming one of the world's top sellers, challenging the popularity of Matchbox.
Since 2009, the
Diecast Hall of Fame
The Model Car Hall of Fame is an annual awards ceremony for the die-cast toy, scale model and slot car industries.
History
Founded in 2009, initially as the Diecast Hall of Fame, the Model Car Hall of Fame is an annual award event held in Las V ...
inducts designers, industry executives and others that have made major contributions to the industry.
Promotionals
Although advertising had been used by
Meccano
Meccano is a brand of model construction system created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nut ...
(
Dinky Toy
Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast toy, die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model model car, vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpo ...
s) since 1934, during the 1960s new companies began to use die-cast vehicles exclusively as promotional items. The idea that children play a large role in a family's purchasing decisions was key. There is also the fact that children grown up to buy products that they were exposed to when young. Matchbox vehicles mildly advertised a variety of mainly British products like Singer sewing machines, Tetley tea, Pickford's movers, or Coca-Cola. As time passed, companies such as
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
,
Sears Roebuck
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
,
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
and
Texaco
Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company unt ...
commissioned toymakers to produce promotional models featuring their names and logos or licensed their use. One early example was an
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
London bus
Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London b ...
produced by Matchbox, an idea some other airlines quickly copied.
Beginning in the mid 1970s, trucks and other commercial vehicles grew greatly in popularity. Matchbox started the trend when they re-launched their Models of Yesteryear range. They made a score of different versions of their Y-12 Ford Model T van, along with other trucks in colorful liveries such as
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
,
Colman's
Colman's is an English manufacturer of mustard and other sauces, formerly based and produced for 160 years at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Owned by Unilever since 1995, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited ra ...
Mustard, and
Cerebos
Cerebos is a brand of salt and, more recently, of other flavourings and nutritional supplements. Ownership of Cerebos brand is divided between Kraft Heinz in Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Premier Foods in UK, K+S in Western Europe, a ...
Salt. They also made promotional versions for
Smith's Crisps (potato chips) and
Harrods department store. Some models were made exclusively for certain markets and immediately became quite expensive elsewhere:
Arnott's Biscuits (Australia) and
Sunlight Seife (soap, Germany) are examples.
Corgi copied this idea when they expanded the Corgi Classics line in the mid-1980s, producing more than 50 versions of a 1920s era Thornycroft van. Corgi also produced hundreds of versions of their 1/64 scale Routemaster bus in the 1980s and 1990s. Multitudes of versions were made to be sold exclusively in the stores advertised on the bus flanks. Harrods, Selfridges,
Gamley's, Hamley's, Army & Navy, Underwood's, and Beatties were among the British stores employing this idea. A South African chain called Dion was one of the few overseas firms to follow suit. Many collectors took pleasure in the variety, but some disparaged the development as "collecting paint" as the castings were identical; only the decorations were different. In any event, it was a great cost saving measure as companies put less money into expensive casting tooling. So, by the 1980s a new trend had solidified as many die-cast vehicles were now being purchased by adults as collectibles, and not just as toys for children. Aluminium die-cast is playing a big role in automobile sectors.
Industry changes
Despite their popularity, many die-cast manufacturers went out of business in the 1980s. Meccano (Dinky), Matchbox, and Corgi all went bankrupt within a three-year span which essentially reflected the economic climate in the UK at that time. It had become virtually impossible to manufacture in England and compete on the world market. Mattel had long since shifted most of their production from the US to the Far East. Matchbox was purchased by a Hong Kong conglomerate named Universal Holdings which moved production from England to Macau. Mattel bought Matchbox in 1997, essentially making 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 portions of the Matchbox line were sold to an Australian company named Tyco (no relation to the Tyco line of HO scale trains, originally made by Mantua Metalworking in New Jersey, USA).
Effectively from the ashes of Matchbox's bankruptcy arose Lledo, a company created by former Matchbox partner Jack Odell. Odell believed that British collectibles for British collectors could still be profitably produced in England. Lledo took over part of the Matchbox factory in
Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
and introduced their "Models of Days Gone" line of die-cast vehicles in 1983. The first series of Days Gone models included re-makes of some of the most popular and respected first and second-generation Matchbox ''Models of Yesteryear''. Lledo models were very popular collectibles in the 1980s, leading to a period of diversification (incl. the Vanguards line of classic post-war British vehicles), but by the 1990s they were eclipsed by other brands and in 2002 Lledo went out of business. Parts of their line were purchased by Corgi which moved production to China.
Oxford Diecast developed a range of promotional stylised vehicles and maintained its manufacturing base in Swansea until 2000 when it relocated its production to a plant it owned in China. As such it was the last large scale producer of die-cast models to manufacture in the UK, although it choose to own and build its own Chinese factory rather than outsource production entirely.
A variety of different themes
In the 1970s, Japanese toymaker
Popy
Popy (ポピー) was a Japanese toy manufacturer of the 1970s and early 1980s. The company was owned by Bandai. It was founded in 1971 and merged back into the parent company in 1983. The company is best known for its groundbreaking Chogokin robot ...
(owned by the larger
Bandai
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 ...
) created a line of die-cast toys based on the popular
Super Robot
Mecha anime and manga, known in Japan as and , are anime and manga that feature robots (mecha) in battle. The genre is broken down into two subcategories; "super robot", featuring super-sized, implausible robots, and "real robot", where robots are ...
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series of the period. The line was named
Chogokin
{{nihongo, Chogokin, 超合金, Chōgōkin, Chō: ''Super'', gōkin: ''alloy'', Sometimes spelled either Chougokin or Cho-gokin is a fictitious material which first appeared in Go Nagai's ''Mazinger Z'' manga and anime and is later adopted by Popy ...
, meaning "Super Alloy", that futuristic metal robot
Mazinger Z
is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later was reissued in Kodansha ''TV Magazin ...
was said to be made of. The weighty toys were meant to give kids a sense of heftiness of robots in the cartoons. In a similar manner, Popy's other line was
Jumbo Machinder Jumbo Machinder is the name of a series of large-scale plastic robots sold by Bandai's character toy subsidiary, Popy in the 1970s. Although a trademarked brand name, in common usage Jumbo Machinder is often applied to any large-size robot toy roto ...
(known in the West as
Shogun Warriors) whose metal make-up gave children the idea that their toys were made of the same stuff as the "real" robots. The line proved popular, with some figures imported to the west. In the late nineties, Bandai created the
Soul of Chogokin line of adult collector figures featuring metal parts, as a callback to the original Chogokin toys, and then the smaller but similar
Super Robot Chogokin
, is Bandai's robot toy line-up diverse from the popular Soul of Chogokin franchise, first introduced in August 2010. Despite being under the Soul of Chogokin family, the major difference is the size - only scaling around 14cm. Aside from the si ...
line.
One-seventy-sixth scale buses became very popular in Britain in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with competing lines from Corgi (the Original Omnibus Company) and Gilbow Holdings (
Exclusive First Editions
The Exclusive First Editions (EFE) is a UK-based die-cast model manufacturer. It began trading in 1989, when the company released its first models of an AEC bus and truck. Models are mostly produced in 1/76th scale, which matches the standard s ...
, or EFE) fighting for the market. The 1/76 scale fits in with British 'OO' scale model trains.
By the 1990s, 1:18 scale die-cast cars became very popular in the United States, but the popularity of that scale waned approaching the millennium. By 1990 also,
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
stock car racing enjoyed increasing popularity in the US, and a large number of racing-related NASCAR die-cast cars and trucks, painted in the colors of the racing teams, appeared from various manufacturers.
Racing Champions
Round 2 is an American manufacturing company which produces scale models including die-cast, plastic, slot cars, and other hobby products. The company is based in South Bend, Indiana. The company was founded in 2005 by Thomas E. Lowe who previous ...
was a leading brand, but there were many others.
Die-cast aircraft and military models also became popular. While Dinky had made aircraft decades earlier, new companies entered the field in the 1980s and 1990s. One producer was
Dyna-Flytes
Dyna-Flites was a brand of die-cast toy model airplanes sold in the 1970s, '80s and '90s by Zee Toys of California. The line was part of a series of ''Dyna'' die-cast products that included toy cars, construction vehicles, bikes and tanks. The Dyn ...
, which went bankrupt in the 1990s, but their market share was quickly taken up by their competitors, including Schabak,
GeminiJets
thumbnail, GeminiJets 1:400 Virgin Atlantic A340-600 ">A340-600.html" ;"title="Virgin Atlantic A340-600">Virgin Atlantic A340-600
GeminiJets is a brand of model airplane specializing in 1:400 and 1:200 scale, 1:200 scales. The brand was create ...
, Herpa, and Dragon Wings.
In 2005 Oxford Diecast entered the scale accurate market with range of vehicles in popular British railway scales of 1:76 and 1:148. This and a radically enhanced product in its 1:43 scale range meant the company rapidly grew sales and UK market share, becoming the dominant player within five years. Licensing agreements with BBC TV for the ''Top Gear'' programme and UK Haulier Eddie Stobart followed as they expanded into licensed product.
Model scales
![Lincoln_Town_Car_Strech_Limousine_model_car](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Lincoln_Town_Car_Strech_Limousine_model_car.jpg)
Die-cast toys and models come in various scales, the most popular ones being:
*
1:12 scale: Very large, highly detailed models; usually about long; mainly targeted at adult collectors. These models are generally much more expensive than the 1:18 models. Many die-cast motorcycles are also produced in this scale.
*
1:18 scale: Large, detailed models, usually about long; mostly targeted at adults. America is the main market for these, although European, Asian and Australian companies also produce at this scale. 14+ age limit is typically written on the boxes. This scale is generally for collectors.
*
1:24 scale: This size became a standard among international die-cast model makers like
Mebetoys and Bburago of Italy during the 1980s. Companies like Maisto and Jada Toys today also focus on this scale.
Franklin Mint
The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township.
The brand name was previously owned by Sequential Brands Group headquartered in New York City, New York. It is ...
,
Trax, and many others also use this scale. An 8+ age limit is often written on the boxes, although there are some exceptions, like Welly, which have 14+ age limit on some models.
* 1:25 scale: Numerically, there is little difference between 1:24 and 1:25 scale, but historically, they represent very different approaches to modelling. Plastic promotional models and kits made in the United States as early as the post-war 1940s were traditionally in 1:25 scale.
*
1:32 scale: Intermediate size, most common for model tractors and other agricultural vehicles;
Britains
Britains, earlier known by the founder's name W. Britain, is a British toy brand and former manufacturing company known for its die-cast scale models of agricultural machinery, and figurines. The company was established in 1893 as a toy soldiers ...
has used this scale for decades, and it is also used by
Ertl and
Siku. Vintage car brands like Signature Models are common in 1:32 scale.
*
1:36 scale: Popularized by
Corgi
The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is derived from the Welsh words and (which is mutated to ), mean ...
in the 1970s, a common scale for toy vehicles seen as more properly sized for youngsters – such as models from
Maisto
Maisto is a brand of scale model vehicles introduced and owned by May Cheong Group, a Chinese company founded in 1967 in Hong Kong by brothers P.Y. Ngan and Y.C Ngan. The company has also subsidiaries in the United States (based in Fontana, Cali ...
,
Kinsmart and Welly.
*
1:34 scale: Used almost exclusively by
First Gear Models of the US for their large scale die-cast trucks.
*
1:43 scale: The most popular scale for model cars worldwide and dating from as early as the 1930s. This scale was made popular by
Dinky
Dinky may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dinky Toys, a brand of die-cast toy vehicles
* Dinky (film), a 1935 film starring Jackie Cooper
* Dinky Bossetti, protagonist of the 1990 film '' Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael'', played by Winona Ryde ...
as compatible with O gauge model railways. This scale is the most commonly used in Britain, Europe, Japan and Australia, but less so in the US. In the 1950s and 1960s 1:43 scale models were sold more as toys while later In the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and even South Africa, 1:43 became favored for handbuilt models in resin and white metal. It was common also for trucks, but these are often found in the more manageable 1:50 scale.
*
1:48 scale: Several companies produce die-cast model aircraft in 1:48 scale, which is a popular scale for plastic construction kits. Some die-cast military vehicles and model train accessories are also made in this scale.
*
1:50 scale: The most widely used scale for construction vehicles and for other trucks and buses.
*
1:55 scale: used mostly by
Siku of Germany for its toy range of cars and trucks. The
Disney-Pixar Cars Die-Cast Line by
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
are nominally in this scale.
*
1:60 scale: the scale of the immensely popular pre- and post-war military vehicles series by Dinky Toys (including military Dinky Supertoys), and still used by many military modelers.
*
1:64 scale: popular for farm models and American model trucks. Matchbox,
Hot Wheels,
Johnny Lightning
Johnny Lightning is a brand of diecast model cars launched in 1969 by Topper Corporation (owner of the "Topper Toys" brand), similar to the hugely successful Mattel's Hot Wheels cars. Their claim to fame at that time was that they were extremel ...
,
Greenlight
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
and model NASCAR racers are nominally this size. However, in recent years, Japanese companies like
Kyosho
is a Japanese company based in Tokyo, which operates internationally under the name KYOSHO. The company's main office is located in Chiyoda, and the production headquarters are located in Atsugi, Kanagawa.
Established in October 1963, Kyosho cr ...
,
Aoshima
Aoshima is a Japanese name meaning "blue island". It is most commonly written as 青島, but may also be written 青嶋, 蒼島, and 青嶌.
Aoshima may refer to:
Companies
*Aoshima Bunka Kyozai, a well-known Japanese model car, model aircraft a ...
and
CM's Corp have been producing ranges of highly detailed 1:64 models, including racing cars and road cars, with CM's Corp mainly producing 1:64 rally model cars. Australian models are available in this size from
Biante and some other brands. This scale is compatible with
S scale
S scale (or S gauge) is a model railroad scale modeled at 1:64 scale, S scale track gauge (space between the rails) is 22,48 (22,5) mm, 0.885 in. S gauge trains are manufactured in both DC and AC powered varieties. S gauge is not to be confused w ...
model trains.
* 1:66 scale: Roughly a 'Matchbox' size, used most commonly by Schuco. It should be remembered though that most producers of smaller die-cast did not stick regularly to one scale – they stuck to one size – approximately 2.5 to 3 inches long, meaning trucks and sports cars were made the same size to fit in similar packaging and small hands – and not to a strict scale.
*
1:72 scale: usually used for military die-cast
armored fighting vehicles due to compatibility with 1:72 plastic construction kits. Detailed cars produced by
Real-X,
Hongwell,
Yat Ming Yat Ming (formerly called Yatming) is a die-cast car model maker, much like Matchbox. The company is based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ...
,
Kyosho
is a Japanese company based in Tokyo, which operates internationally under the name KYOSHO. The company's main office is located in Chiyoda, and the production headquarters are located in Atsugi, Kanagawa.
Established in October 1963, Kyosho cr ...
,
Epoch Co. and others. Details include glazed lights, rubber tires real paint schemes.
*
1:76 scale: scale popular mainly in Britain, Australia and Hong Kong for highly detailed buses and lorries such as those by
EFE
Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...
and
Corgi OOC, and
Trax Models
Trax Models is a range of diecast model cars and buses in the scales of 1:24, 1:43 and 1:76 produced by Trax Corporation Pty Ltd. The line consists of vehicles made in China for the Australian market. The company is controlled by the Australian f ...
in Australia. A major growth in this scale was caused when Oxford Diecast entered the market with a range of over 90 different cars and commercial vehicles. These models were originally intended as
OO scale
OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular standard-gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards (4 mm to 1 foot, ...
model railway accessories, but became collectibles in their own right.
*
1:87 scale: These are compatible with
H0 scale model trains, and tend to be more popular in the United States and continental Europe. They are more commonly made of plastic, and German companies such as
Herpa
Herpa Miniaturmodelle GMBH (or simply Herpa, an acronym for "Hergenröther und Patente”, the original name of the firm), is a German manufacturing company that produces die-cast scale model aircraft (under the " Herpa Wings" trademark) and plas ...
and
Wiking produce wide ranges of highly detailed models in this scale.
*
1:148 scale: compatible with British
N scale
N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer (or country), the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the ''gauge'' (the distance between the rails) is . The term N ''gauge'' refers to the track dimensions, ...
model trains, this scale has recently gained popularity in the UK due to its compact size and low-priced models from
Oxford Diecast
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
.
* 1:400 scale: A common scale for aircraft.
* 1:1200 scale: A common scale for ship models and accessories.
Lines Bros. Ltd. produced an extensive range of ship models in this scale from 1959 - 1965 under the name Tri-ang Minic Ships.
*
Meccano
Meccano is a brand of model construction system created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nut ...
(
Dinky Toy
Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast toy, die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model model car, vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpo ...
s) aircraft were made at scales ranging from 1/122 to 1/265 and their ships from 1/1200 to 1/1985.
Accessories
Items such as toy
restaurants and
filling station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Ga ...
s are sometimes sold separately from the cars, to be used as playsets. Toy
raceways are also sold for use with die-cast cars, which have become more complicated in recent years, usually involving loops and complicated curves. Also produced are carry cases made specifically for
children to be able to travel with their cars.
See also
*
Chogokin
{{nihongo, Chogokin, 超合金, Chōgōkin, Chō: ''Super'', gōkin: ''alloy'', Sometimes spelled either Chougokin or Cho-gokin is a fictitious material which first appeared in Go Nagai's ''Mazinger Z'' manga and anime and is later adopted by Popy ...
, a style of
action figure
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 mark ...
made from die-cast metal that was invented in
Japan
* ''
Diecast Collector Magazine
''Diecast Collector'' is a British magazine dedicated to the hobby of collecting diecast metal vehicles. Published monthly, it is a thick, glossy magazine featuring a variety of articles on toy and model cars, trucks, and buses, and aircraft. ...
''
*
Diecast Hall of Fame
The Model Car Hall of Fame is an annual awards ceremony for the die-cast toy, scale model and slot car industries.
History
Founded in 2009, initially as the Diecast Hall of Fame, the Model Car Hall of Fame is an annual award event held in Las V ...
*
Model car
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 aime ...
*
Scale model
References
*
*
External links
{{Scale model
Scale modeling
Toy cars and trucks
Toy collecting