[anoop_blr]

My small collection of die cast 1:18 and 1:24 scale models

[petrolhead_neel]

Congrats to BHPian Dippy for providing us with a unique thread. Been collecting them since 3. My pick from my very own garage is the Dodge Charger Daytona '69. Brought it the moment I spotted it.

[Majumdarda]

A long lost thread it seems. But can someone please guide me for cars plying on Indian roads, like those from Ashok Leyland, Tata, Mahindra, Hindustan Motors etc. Centy is an option, but I am not looking into that. Some Tata Merchandise are available at Ebay India, but more are available at Ebay US [importing is not a logical option for me].
Any particular links which deals with India running cars or any particular sellers. Please advise.

[blackwasp]

I have about a 100 hot wheel 1:64 cars. Most of them in the original packaging. But now they are occupying considerable storage space. Can anyone suggest an idea to display them? I was thinking of a wall cabinet, with glass/plastic cover.

anoop_blr - That is a wonderful collection.

[psispace]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I have about a 100 hot wheel 1:64 cars. Most of them in the original packaging. But now they are occupying considerable storage space. Can anyone suggest an idea to display them? I was thinking of a wall cabinet, with glass/plastic cover.

anoop_blr - That is a wonderful collection.

Just bumped into this interesting thread. Gave me a touch of nostalgia.

RPMPKDMFF, KRN6789, anoop_blr - nice collection guys

blackwasp,
Just in case you haven't found a solution, I have a suggestion in the link below. It'll cost as much as 10 of these cars though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hotwheels-di...item566412ab8e

[hangover]

What a lovely post. A few links to personal collections are broken since it's an old post. There is a lot of good information here.

There are one or two finer points from my side to complete the story.

Background:

Collectors may know this but for new folks getting into this Matchbox toys was started by Leslie and Rodney Smith. They purchased wartime surplus die casting equipment and started making toys. The name was Matchbox but it was sold as Lesney collection or a Lesney product.

They had a partnership with a company called Moko. Hence earlier models had "A Moko Lesney product" printed on its box.

The very first model was a Road Roller. This was highly detailed and had a dark green body and red wheels.

Uniquely Lesney:

The models were finely detailed and realistic since they were pressure die casted.

They had a thick nail axel and heavy metal or plastic wheels. Now these were never meant to be raced or do stunts. A child's imagination gave them wings. Late 60's saw matchbox acquire Moko.

Competition:

1969 Mattel came out with Hotwheels. These had thin axels, light wheels and painted in fancy colors. The iconic ad of Hotwheels cars doing loops in an orange track made them hugely popular.

Then Matchbox started their "super fast collection ". They too started using the thin axels and light wheels to give Mattel some tough competition. But it was getting more difficult to sell their toys.

They purchased AMT model kit company which made dolls.

In 1982 Universal Toys bought Matchbox. They started putting these dolls too in matchbooks and selling them.

Late 80's they bought the trademark "Dinky ". And in 1992 Tyco bought Universal. They were known for trains till then.

Unique points:

1.
Till 60's the box had a real match like purple sides.
2. Some very costly items are the unblemished boxes itself. Empty ones with no toy have sold for $500
3.
Rare items are - 6 wheel crane, an orange ford tractor, TV service van, Pickford truck amongst others.
4.
Tyco moved into film collaborations and the Sesame Street and James Bond collection started then.

Finally Mattel bought Matchbox in 1998. And they continue to roll