1973 - 2000 The Story of Matchbox Kits

Product Information

Catalogues - With the help of Miguel Duque we finally could add the English version of the 1977 Matchbox catalogue. Many thanks to the support by the Classic British Kits SIG, operating on the Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum, and their fabulous PK-2008 project. 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.). In the earliest years of the regular, or 1-75 series – well before the series actually numbered 75 models – Lesney was marketed/distributed by Moko (itself named after its founder, Moses Kohnstam). Boxes in that era mentioned this, with the text "A Moko Lesney" appearing on each. Lesney gained its independence from Moko in 1959 [5] by buying out Moko's share in the joint enterprise, leading to a period of growth, both in sales and in size. Early models did not feature windows or interiors, were made entirely of metal, and were often about 2" (5cm) in length. By 1968, Matchbox was the biggest-selling brand of small die-cast model cars worldwide. By this time, the average model in their collection featured plastic windows, interiors, tyres (often with separate disc wheels), and occasional accessories; spring suspensions; opening parts; and was about 3" (7cm) long. Some even featured steering, including the pressure-based AutoSteer system debuting in 1969. The line was very diverse, including lorries, buses, tractors, motorcycles, and trailers as well as standard passenger cars. from 1991 up to 2001. See our guided tours section for more details. Under Revell-Matchbox you find all kits released in this period.

Though the former model may therefore be found relatively ubiquitously in British or American households, often it was either played with (i.e. the condition is poor) or it has a particular "treasure"-like sentimental value (often the case with, for example, horse-drawn models), so that the model will be kept "forever", even by those who do not collect. Thus it becomes harder to find in good condition on the collectors market, while the less popular model can still be found mint-boxed in large quantities. And as it is likely that the sports car's initial popularity remains Products currently marketed under the Matchbox name include scale model plastic and die-cast vehicles, and toy garages. The three dominant brands in the world at the time, all British-made ( Dinky, Matchbox and Corgi), were very successful. Each had its own market niche and its own strong reputation, while innovations and advances by one were adopted by the others within a matter of a few years. Each also expanded to some extent into the others' territory, though this never seemed to seriously affect the sales of any brand's core series. Here you find some fascinating details about this period. Based on first hand experiences, drawn up by Dirk Ommert. It is dedicated to the memory of the founders, engineers and illustrators who made these wonderful kits come to life.

After the demise of Matchbox, he worked for several leading companies such as British Airways, Marconi, The Bradford Exchange and Rothmans. Unfortunately, early marketing concepts of metallic-painted tanks and bright-coloured ships were not consistent with market demands, and the models, many of which were quite well made for the money, were generally not successful. Second editions of the Battle Kings and Sky Busters series were painted in more realistic colours and were well-received but, by this time, general economic factors were seriously affecting the ability of the company to make a profit on toys manufactured in England. And last but not least Vintage Sprue shares in Guided tour #14 his research into the possible origins of the boxart of: Spray and brush painted with Humbrol enamals with decals from the kit. I have another (obtained recently from KingKit) stached away for a future build. One thing I found with this kit was the need for very great care when removing some parts from the sprue. This Wellesley model still shows the mark on the front of the cowling where I wasn't careful enough.

Armour - We are happy to add an excellent build for each and every armour kit in the Lesney ranges. It makes it almost hard to believe these are in 1 to 76 scale. Other Matchbox ranges also had identifying numbers cast on their bases, many of which were reallocated as older models were retired and new ones introduced. The numbering conventions are listed in the Series Overview section below. However, with the exception of the Yesteryear line, which was held to 16 models for well over a decade [before being expanded greatly], there was no other case of a strict series size limitation by Lesney.) Matchbox Sky Busters is a range of die-cast model aircraft produced under the Matchbox brand, initially by Lesney Products and later by Mattel.Also interesting is what happened to the PK-117 Hawker Hunter when the colour scheme was changed to include a "Blue Diamonds" display team version. Many books now include a price guide, but there is no real consensus on the actual monetary value of a model. The numbers in any of the publications give relative information, but not more. It remains a collectors market, and, accordingly, prices fluctuate greatly. We have added a separate section on Revell's ten year lease period. All kits released with a 40000 number belong to this period.

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 Matchbox kits were well made, with modern tooling and techniques, but critics felt that the kits were too coarsely detailed [9] in comparison with other models on the market, and too "toy-like". Yet they were still just as complex and time consuming to construct as any other kit, which limited their appeal to more casual model builders. The company was unable to fully satisfy either the casual or serious model building market, and was one of the first companies to abandon model kits when the hobby started its decline, [ when?] selling AMT to the Ertl Company and shutting down its own kit division less than twenty years after starting it.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. A little mystery on PK-401 Heinkel HE115 is discussed in Guided Tour nr 13. This brief tour encourages to do some research before taking a version of larger aircraft and ships and vehicles as well. The majority of the aircraft kit ranges were molded in three colors. In 1991 Revell bought the molds for the whole range of kits and got a ten year lease to use the Matchbox brand name