Matchbox

Matchbox is a die cast cars and airplanes trademark started in 1952 by Leslie Smith (March 6, 1918-May 26, 2005) and Rodney Smith as the now-defunct British Lesney Toys company. (The two men were not related; they had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II.) The Matchbox name was once widely used by the public as a generic name for all die cast toy cars measuring approximately 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) in length, regardless of brand.

Matchbox is so named because of the small boxes in which the products were packed, like those for matches. In the 1980s, Matchbox switched to the more conventional, plastic and cardboard wrapping style ("Blister packs") used for other die cast cars.

The Matchbox/Lesney factory was a major employer around Rochford, Essex, although in 1990 to company relocated to Rugby in the north of England.

Matchbox cars are made in two sizes. The smaller versions are approximately 1:64 scale and measure about 2.5 inches, or 6.5 centimeters, in length, and are the form most often seen in toy stores. However, Matchbox has also manufactured cars in 1:43 scale, which measure about 3.5 inches, or 9 centimeters, in length. Matchbox's designers favored this larger size because it permitted more detail. The 1:43 cars are still made, but are primarily marketed as collectibles, rather than as toys.

Although Matchbox is best known for its die-cast cars, during the 1970s it bought the AMT corporation, the dominant American plastic model kit manufacturer, and set up its own plastic kit division in the UK. Concentrating on 1/72 scale military aircraft, it competed with the then-dominant Airfix company. Matchbox also continued AMT's extensive line of 1/25 scale cars. Within a decade, the hobby was declining and Lesney sold AMT to Ertl Company and shut down its own kit division. The Matchbox kits were well-made, with modern tooling and techniques, but critics felt that the kits were too coarsely detailed 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. Unable to fully satisfy either market, Matchbox was one of the first companies to abandon model kits once the hobby started its decline.

While the Matchbox-branded kits were not a success, the same was not true of the AMT line. By the 1970s AMT had 20 years' experience tooling car kits, and the only difference European ownership made was a somewhat broader selection of subject matter than had been seen from them before or since.

During this time, Matchbox also tried its hand in the die cast airplanes area, under the name Matchbox Sky Busters. Sky Busters produced plane models for such airlines as Aeroméxico, Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Lufthansa and Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Lesney Toys went bankrupt on June 11, 1982, and went into receivership. The Matchbox brand name was then sold to Universal Toys, although some of the Matchbox tooling became property of Lesney co-founder Jack Odell, who continued to market Matchbox-like products under the Lledo brand name. Allthough no longer British-owned, matchboxes still felt British, with limited production in England continuing until the mid-1980's, and the re-using of many old Lesney castings. Matchbox expanded beyond die cast cars into other markets, with mixed success, and by 1992, Universal was also seeking a buyer. In May 1992, Universal sold the brand to Tyco Toys, whose toy division in turn was bought out by Mattel in 1996, uniting Matchbox with its longtime rival Hot Wheels under the same corporate banner. In 2002, Matchbox Sky Busters made a comeback, but with Continental Airlines as the only major airline to sponsor the product. Matchbox also came out in '02 with a line of cars to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

External link

• Matchbox Showcase (http://www.matchbox.com/)