Channel: Diecast Movies

Category: Autos & Vehicles

Tags: corgi diecastdiecast collectiondie-cast modelold toy carscorgi toy storytoy carvintage toyscorgi toysdinky toystoy

Description: Vintage Die-cast CORGI TOY Collection Part 1 Corgi Toys (trademark) is the name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles produced by Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in the United Kingdom. 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. After dabbling for some years in the model car market, they decided to produce a range of diecast toy vehicles as competition to Meccano's Dinky Toys model vehicles, which had dominated the British market for many years. Corgi Toys were introduced in the UK in July 1956 and were manufactured in Swansea, Wales, for 27 years before the company went into liquidation. A management buy-out re-formed the company as Corgi Toys Limited in March 1984. In 1989, the management sold the Corgi brand to Mattel and the factory was retained under the name of Microlink Industries Ltd. In 1995, Corgi regained its independence as a new company, Corgi Classics Limited, and moved to new premises in Leicester. The range was exported worldwide and sold in large numbers. Some of the best known and most popular models were of cars made famous in film and television such as the Batmobile, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 – which remains the largest selling toy car ever produced. Although the largest single vehicle type featured in the Corgi Toys range were models of cars from manufacturers around the world, this article sub-divides vehicles into genres, wherever possible, to allow a more detailed look at the variety of models produced by the company. Mettoy became established in Northampton and within six years of the company's founding, the Northampton factory had 600 employees.[1] A production plant was built at Fforestfach in Swansea, South Wales, to manufacture the new range of Corgi Toys. This provided many new jobs in an area of high unemployment following the scaling down of local coal mining operations.[2] Prior to the introduction of Corgi Toys, Mettoy mainly produced tin plate toys. However, in the early 1950s, they began producing a few products in cast metal. The first was a large scale wind-up racer made with a cast aluminium body and tin plate wheels. The body material was soon changed to die cast zinc and it was refitted with cast wheels and moulded rubber tyres. Other models followed and the product line was given the name "Castoys." These were the direct ancestors of Corgi Toys. 305 Triumph TR3 The name 'Corgi Toys' was chosen by Philip Ullmann in honour of the company's new home, taken from the Welsh breed of dog, the Corgi, and the iconic Corgi dog logo branded the new range. The name was short and easy to remember, further aligning the range with their rival Dinky Toys. Corgi Toys also included plastic glazing,[3] which lent the models a greater authenticity, and they carried the advertising slogan "the ones with windows". The 1956 releases were all familiar British vehicles. Six family saloon cars; Ford Consul (200/200M), Austin A50 Cambridge (201/201M), Morris Cowley (202/202M), Vauxhall Velox (203/203M), Rover 90 (204/204M), Riley Pathfinder (205/205M) and Hillman Husky (206/206M),[3] and two sports cars; Austin-Healey 100 (300) and Triumph TR2 (301). Initially, models were issued both in free-rolling form, and (except the larger commercial vehicles and sports cars with low-slung bodies) with friction drive motors. The Mechanical versions, as they were known, were indicated by an 'M' suffix to the model number and were produced in different colour schemes. They were issued with tougher die-cast bases to support the extra weight of the motor. Mechanical versions did not sell as well as the free-rolling versions, partly due to a significantly higher purchase price, and were phased out in 1960 with Ford Thunderbird (214M) the last of the line. One particular problem that was not anticipated was that it was possible to lubricate the "motor" using oil through a hole in the base, but the oil tended to splatter around inside and cloud up the windows. The rigid die-case bases which were are originally limited to the "M" versions were retained and became the standard for Corgi toys. see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corgi_Toys