Matchbox, Corgi and Hot Wheels cars. (1 Viewer)

[The General]

Every Friday in the late 60's when I was a kid my mum (that's mom for you Yanks ) used to buy me a Corgi car. At the time I lived in Ireland and it cost around 10p (the Poms know how much that is ).

It was such a thrill.

In 1970 at the age of 4 we moved to Australia. In the 70's when I was on school holidays I used to go to work with my dad when he had an early morning bread delivery run. We used to finish about midday and dad used to take me to Woolworths (a department store) in the city of Sydney.

He would say you can have 3 cars for helping me today. I would always choose 3 Corgi Junior military vehicles. For example I would pick out 3 Daimler scout cars.

Dad would say in his strong Irish accent "Sure Jaysus, what de want tree of de same cars for?"

He just didn't understand how you build an army!

Do you guys have any recollection of Corgi, Matchbox or Hot Wheels toy cars when you were kids?

 

[1879fanatic]

Of course! I remember the orange tracks and getting all the 5-O (That's police for you wanderers) cars lined up to chase badguys (the black muscle cars) And jumping the cars over tables to see where they'd land...My boy has no interest in them other than to shoot at them with homemade weapons
Mike

 

[thebritfarmer]

I always remember having the Dukes of Hazzard cars when I was a kid. I used to race em around in the dirt and act out scenes from the show.

Just the good ole boys, never meaning no harm.............

 

[rossim1]

Yes i had the orange tracks, remember having the captain scarlet vehicles. & angel 5 planes. Happy days. Had loads of action man, one of my brothers came to the park one day to battle germans, got blown up with lighter fuel Then i had to give him one of mine, as mum was not happy!

 

[Gideon]

No matter what kind of trouble I got into when I was a child but whenever I'd go to my grandparents place in Manhattan there'd be a little bundle wrapped up with a bow and it was always a matchbox car.

My grandma had friends on the upper east side so she walk from 19th street to e 87th a few times a week and she'd stop off at FAO to get a car for me. it was part of her routine.

My mom, who is who she is, would complain to my grandma about how I was being spoiled, etc, etc, etc. My grandma just smiled and would hand me my new car anyway. If my mom threw the new one out, grandma had the exact model and another new one waiting for me next time I visited.

She was great. I miss her.

I had a few Corgis and Dinkys as hand me downs if I was lucky.

 

[Russell]

Good thread General.

My cars were from the 1950s. Dinky was the first in my world and Corgi came later. I liked the Dinkys and felt the Corgis were usurpers. I had quite a few of the military vehicles but also many civilian cars and trucks too. I liked the fact that you could remove the tires, and later when plastic windows and spring effects were included, I was impressed.

I just googled Dinky and Corgi and found out that Corgi started in 1956 and Dinky in 1934.

 

[Davout71]

I never had any corgi or dinky but I was crazy as a kid in the 70s about matchbox. I was pretty particular about what I liked. My favourites were upper end cars like Rolls or Mercedes. I particularly disliked hotrods. If I liked the model I really looked after it. No scratches kept the box etc. If I didn't, I didn't hesitate about sending it down the driveway. I still have a box of cars and the above is reflected in the condition of each. I have a near mint Cheftian Tank among many other great specimens. I don't collect them now but have never really wanted to part with them.
When kids come and vist now I let them play with the cars I dislike hehe.
I must say the quality of new Matchbox cars these days seems absolutely poor.

 

[nshighlander]

Hi
I remember my Dad was working for Lever Brothers(SunLight laundry Soap) and they were putting the HotWheels in the boxs of soap.He would bring 5 or 6 a week for me.I forgot all about that,that was 36 years ago I guess.Boy I had alot of cars back then.
Cheers
Dave

 

[Louis Badolato]

When I was a kid I loved Corgi and Dinky, they were my favorite toys. In the mid-1990's, I started buying up all the old Corgi and Dinky I could find on e-bay, especially the 1:35 scale Dinky military stuff. I have it all sitting in boxes waiting for my son to turn 6, when he will start getting them at about the same rate I did (I a month). I know they are worth a lot of money as collectibles, but I don't care, I bought them so I could play with them with my son, Alec, and know that he and I played with the same toys. I also bought him the same Bandai 1:48 scale military models I built as a kid, so we can build them together, and make dioramas together.

 

[Captain]

I started collecting Matchbox cars in the early 60's. Most of them were british at the time and I rememer when they starting coming out with the american models. I remember Hotwheels when they first came out and collected them as well. They are the only two Toy collections that I kept while growing up and still have them to this day. They are not in very good condition as they were played with alot. It was a special treat for my sons when they were small to bring them out and let them play with them.

 

[Russell]

Hi Louis, You wrote

but I don't care, I bought them so I could play with them with my son

Truly, good for you. But maybe you should post some photos of those Dinkys before you let your boy get his hands on them.

I'm sure we'd all like to see them.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Hi Louis, You wrote Truly, good for you. But maybe you should post some photos of those Dinkys before you let your boy get his hands on them.

I'm sure we'd all like to see them.

I'll pull them out one of these days, and take some shots.

 

[Scott]

I have Matchbox cars in the 50s. I still have the Wheat Combine from getting all "A's" in 5th Grade. Dinky's and Corgies were owned by the rich kids and they were always broken!

 

[The General]

Good thread General.

Thanks.

Dinky was the first in my world and Corgi came later.

Did Dinky make cars the same size as Matchbox?

 

[Njja]

Dinky did release a OO series which are about the same size as matchbox.

I grew up collection Dinky Toys they were really great. My Dad didn't believe

in this kind of stuff, so it was on a very limited scale that I obtained any.

Mostly I had the free catalogs with all the ones I wanted carefully selected.

In the early 1970'S when I began collecting Lionel Trains I began picking up

Dinky again, this time carefully selecting mint boxed examples when possible,

otherwise mint unboxed would do.

Now as Louis pointed out they are quite expensive, there are several good

books out about their history, and if you are lucky you can still pick up some

really nice original catalogs and vehicles if you look closely.

1. Here is a nice stash of Boxed Dinky
2. This is a shelf of Dinky Military Vehicles
3. I keep the Catalogs in Picture Frames
4. My latest piece a rare #885 Pipe Truck, it took a couple of years to find this piece and yes I have the box.

 

[Leadmen]

Nice collection John. I especially like your Dinky military vehicles. John

 

[Russell]

John, Thanks for the photos. I believe I saw some of these on another thread about a year ago. It's great to see them again. It's hard for me to say which I preferred as a kid, Dinkys or toy soldiers ... they were both great.

 

[Njja]

Nice collection John. I especially like your Dinky military vehicles. John

Thanks John, Dinky really produced some great military vehicles. The early pre-war versions are fairly delicate and prone to bad castings. However the post-war vehicles are excellent and can look as nice as the day they were made.

 

[Gideon]

Thanks for the inspiration Njja!

Pound for pound, it doesn't get much better than the Dinky Ford Transit Van series. I have more than what I photographed, these were just all in one box. These are heavy and have a wonderful feel to them. I had the fire appliance when I was a child and have loved them ever since.

 

[Gideon]

Lovely Dinky turntable fire truck