Collecting Diecast Toys--A Hobby for All Ages

By: John Mowatt Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Diecast toy vehicles were first produced in England and the USA in the early 1900s. This was the beginning of what was to become one of the most popular toys ever. Diecast toys are now collected by tens of thousands of people,both children and adults,all over the world.

The early diecast models were very simple,featuring just a painted metal body with no interior fittings whatsoever.They were unfortunately made from low grade cast metal alloys which in most cases did not stand the test of time.These low quality alloys become brittle as they age and gradually deteriorate and crumble. As a result of this early die cast toys from the first quarter of the twentieth century are quite scarce today.

Before very long however these early diecast toy makers realised that there was a really good market for toy vehicles. Cars,trucks,airplanes miniature farm equipment,and many other models,were widely produced by a number of manufacturers. As demand grew the quality of materials used to make the toys was improved. Increased attention to detail also became the rule as manufacturers vied for more sales.

In the early 1930s Modelled Miniatures were introduced. These 1/43 scale miniature vehicles were designed for use with model train set layouts. Soon they became popular as a collectible,in their own right,and were known as Dinky Toys.

The height of popularity for Dinky Toy diecast model vehicles came in the 1950s and 60s. They were a fairly basic low detail model but were extremely popular.The flashy big American cars seen on TV shows,which began in the 1950s,became very desirable Dinky Toys and outsold the more staid small English cars of the time.

Dinky toys were made into the 1970s when they died out mainly due to the competition from Mattel Hot Wheels. Vintage Dinky Toys today are a much in demand collectible and some of the scarcer models fetch extremely high prices.

The well known Lesney Matchbox cars started production in England in 1947 and thus began a new trend in diecast models. In 1953 Lesney made a miniature diecast model of Queen Elizabeth's coronation coach complete with horses. This model was a huge success and more than a million were sold.

The Lesney Matchbox cars were produced in huge numbers with 75 different vehicles in each line. This gave collectors an immense variety of models to collect.

The Corgi line of diecast vehicles was introduced by Mettoy in the 1950s. These were also very successful. One of the big reasons for their success was that these cars had exceptional attention to interior fittings. They had detailed interior decor. They were even fitted with clear plastic windows. These very detailed miniatures vehicles were a big hit with collectors.

In 1968 Mattel introduced Hot Wheels cars with an initial line of 16 vehicles. These early Hotwheels vehicles all had a red line around the side of the tires. This led to their becoming known to collectors as Red Line Hot Wheels models. The initial sixteen models with which the line began are now known to collectors as the "Sweet Sixteen" and are much in demand.

Hot wheels vehicles are collected around the world by rabid collectors and were a huge success story for Mattel. They continue in production at the present time.

There are now hundreds of different companies offering diecast toys to collectors. They are manufactured in Taiwan,Korea,China, and other countries around the world. High quality and attention to detail are a must if a diecast toy is to be a success as a collectible. Diecast toys made around the world are now mostly of very good quality.

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