These days I snap up Matchbox kits as and when I can. I always try to go for the originals if possible, trying to steer clear of the "Revbox" of the 1990s. I'm trying to get two of each at the moment, one to build for the sheer fun of modelling (something which tends to get forgotten these days) and the other to preserve for posterity. Besides browsing the pictured information of each of the kits you may also find it useful to look through the original catalogues which This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. By 1992, Universal was also seeking a buyer. In May 1992, it sold the brand to Tyco Toys, the toy division of which was bought out in turn by Mattel in 1997, uniting Matchbox with its longtime rival Hot Wheels under the same corporate banner. [2] Under Mattel, the name "Matchbox International Ltd." was terminated. On multiple request.. we finally got the instruction sheet details in for all the 1:32 scale aircraft kits in the Green range:

The catalogue range has been expanded extensively, ranging to the AMT/Matchbox merger up to the last catalogue produced under licence by Revell in 1998. Home » 1/72 Scale Plastic Model Kits » Vehicles » Matchbox – 40175 (PK-175) – Monty’s Caravan and Daimler MKII Scout car Although 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 concentrate on older vintages. It was also during the Universal era that the "Matchbox Collectibles" concept was developed (see below, "Matchbox Collectibles"). Numerous additional product lines have been produced and/or sold by Matchbox over the years, particularly in the Lesney era. Collectors catalogues were published in various languages by the company each year starting in 1957, continuing well into the 1980s. Collectors cases were designed for children to carry/store their 1-75 vehicles. From 1957 until the 1970s, a range of garages/service stations was offered in either Esso or BP logos (under the series no. MG-1).We reconfigured some of our material around reissues in the Aircraft Orange area. Just compare the following: Use the categories on the left to browse through the various ranges of kits. The search box is handy to find information about specific kits or models. The smaller models ("regular size"; 1-75 and related series) are often classified as 1:64 scale (though they range from smaller than 1:100 to much larger than 1:64) and measure about 2.5-3inches, or 6.5-7.5 centimetres, in length. As mentioned above, Matchbox also tried its hand in the die cast aeroplanes area, under the name Sky Busters. The models were not only produced for children; Sky Busters produced plane models for such airlines as Aeroméxico, Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Lufthansa and Saudi Arabian Airlines. However, they were and are designed more for the inexpensive toy market. Promotional models sold by the airlines themselves more often tend to be models of higher quality, exactness, and price.

Those days, it was almost unthinkable for a Hong Kong based manufacturer in a British colony to take over a star enterprise in the UK. Donnelly, Matt (28 January 2022). "Barbie and Beyond: How Mattel Studios Executive Robbie Brenner Brings Beloved Toys to Screen". Variety . Retrieved 24 May 2022. Does anybody else have good memories of Matchbox kits...or any other demised kit manufacturers for that matter? (Airfix excluded as I refuse to believe that they have demised!!!) Not unlike other "classical" collectible items such as stamps, coins, or real cars, the value and collectibility of model cars such as Matchbox is driven primarily by three factors:Since the advent of organized Matchbox collectors' clubs (see below, "Matchbox collectors"), models and their variations have been coded and catalogued, and values have been roughly established. The major collectors' organizations (NAMC, AIM, Matchbox USA, MICA, MBXForum etc.) as well as individual authors have published numerous works describing the various Matchbox ranges including the models and their variations. Whereas the best of these were formerly available mainly through the clubs themselves, it is now possible to buy books on Matchbox from various publishing houses. These are available not only in English, but in several other languages (particularly German) as well. If you have both the Matchbox kit and the kit as issued by its initial manufacturer we sure would like to see pictures comparing both sprues. Dinky collecting is centred around the UK and France, Corgi collecting in the UK, and Hot Wheels collecting in North America. Only Matchbox collecting is popular in the UK, Commonwealth countries and in North America. Moulds or dies are changed at times. This is commonly due to weaknesses in the final die-cast product, or to difficulties in production caused by the die. Often, the changes are very minor, even minute, and may occur in places that are not clearly visible at first glance. Especially in cases where e.g. a weakness was detected early in the production run, the numbers of early versions reaching the market are often quite low.

In our guided tours section a topic has been added to show an overview of the PK-2008 display as it was seen at Scale Model World, November 15 and 16 2008 at Telford UK. The Guild’s aim is to promote aviation art in all its forms and to encourage interest in the genre by artists and non-artists alike. Matchbox Model Kit Memories Catalogues - the English versions of 1974 and 1982/83 catalogues; the first Matchbox International Catalogue of 1983; dealer versions of the 1982 and 1983 catalogues. to the owners Odell and Smith. Lesney management would decide under his advice and give him the budget to realize the kits.

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Each model was molded in a set of colors that was chosen to give an appearance as realistic as possible in this way. For some of the exotic kits added during the Revell-Matchbox period we have been able to trace the origins: see kits 40143, 40147, 40148, 40200 and 40201.

The ex-Otaki 1 TO 48 scale range - We have added pictures and instruction sheets for all four kits in this range from PK-460 to PK-463. Like many high value collectable items Matchbox models are now prone to faking. Rare variations can be quite easily made up using genuine parts, and then sold as a "rare" variation. As mentioned above (cf. "History", expansion in the Superfast era), the popularity of both regional issues and promotionals were recognized by the company and played a role in the development of models designed not specifically as toys, but with the collector in mind. The realisation of the market potential of catering to collectors led to a major shift in the entire die-cast industry, as other brands followed while Matchbox continued to refine the idea into what later became Matchbox Collectables (q.v.). From a pure modeling perspective these kits may even be preferable to the serious modeler as having the whole kit Colour changes – now commonplace, a planned marketing tool – were rarer earlier, with most models being produced over the span of their inclusion in the series in just one or two major colour schemes. However, not only the colour of the model's body must be regarded, but rather the entire model— including baseplate, interior, windows – and thus changes in different components can lead to a factorial increase in variation possibilities.from 1991 up to 2001. See our guided tours section for more details. Under Revell-Matchbox you find all kits released in this period. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Matchbox also published several video games that tied into the Matchbox line of model vehicles. These games featured construction and emergency services (fire, police, ambulance, rescue), [12] with game play involving vehicle-appropriate action sequences (for example, intercepting a robbery with a squad car in Motor City Patrol). [13] These games were developed by other companies for a variety of platforms, including Game Boy handheld gamers, the NES video gaming system, and PC. [12] Splendidly built, precision gluework and polished bare plastic feature the models built by Robert Kaps: For a short period in the 1970s/1980s, Lesney also produced or licensed Matchbox production in other countries. Having started by developing several model variants in England specifically for the Japanese market, they later produced four Superfast models in Japan, based on Japanese prototypes. Dies and tooling were later also licensed to groups in Hungary and Bulgaria ( Mikro'67), in an attempt to gain a foothold in the Communist bloc countries. Although only standard models were produced there, there were numerous colour variations, some of which are very rare today.