The Matchbox Car Story

Matchbox is a popular British toy brand which was introduced by Lesney Products in 1953, and is now owned by Mattel, Inc. The brand was given its name because the original die-cast Matchbox toys were sold in boxes similar to those in which matches were sold. The brand grew to encompass a broad range of toys, including larger scale die-cast models, plastic model kits, and action figures.
During the 1980s, Matchbox began to switch to the more conventional plastic and cardboard "blister packs" that were used by other die-cast toy brands such as Hot Wheels. The box style packaging was re-introduced for the collectors' market in recent years, particularly with the release of the "35th Anniversary of Superfast" series in 2004.
The script for this video comes from Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.o...
If you find issues with the content, I encourage you to update the Wikipedia article, so everyone can benefit from your knowledge.
If you like these video and want to support me from just $1 or 80p a month at / bigcar
More information about Matchbox models: www.hobbydb.co...
#matchboxcars

[@TamaMaehe]

By the time I was 12 in the 90’s I had 200 matchbox toys. I ended up giving them to my eldest nephew in about 2000 & when he was finished with them. He gave them to his younger brother. All of the toys have been well used & most have very little paint on them. Lots of fun had.

[@mrc7966]

When I was a kid in the late 80s/90s I had hundreds of matchbox cars. None of them were kept packaged, all of them were played with until the paint had worn off, they'd get repainted and passed down to my brothers, then onto cousins and then cousins kids. They're all still around somewhere in the family being played with. The idea of "driving your collectible cars" has stuck with me into my adulthood. I've owned over 30 cars, mostly collectible stuff. None of them were garage queens. Yesterday I drove a 1 of 500 car through a rainy Peak District, I once drove an E-Type Jag' to the supermarket in the snow. All are looked after meticulously but played with until the paint comes off, at which point they get repainted and eventually passed down for somebody else to enjoy after I'm too old to play with them. For me matchbox is where a love of cars began, the toys, the bills, and the love just kept getting bigger as I did!

[@althejazzman]

I'm absolutely with you there. I have a few classic cars, one of which only 60 are left on the road. It doesn't look tidy but runs very well.

[@raymondmartucci2049]

I played with them too. If I knew how some are valued I wouldn't have kept them in good shape.

[@jparky1972]

@@althejazzman If you got the information about your car being only 1 of 60 left from that website. Don't take it as gospel. I've got a "SuperRare" mk2 1.1 Fiesta Festival that I KNOW and have SEEN more of than are registered on that site.

[@althejazzman]

@@jparky1972 It's accurate for what's road legal surely? I realise there could be twice as many sitting in garages and barns. Mine was one of those 3 years ago.

[@stephenwright8824]

Likewise, but in the Seventies and the Eighties.

[@troygillis3499]

My mum worked for lesney in the 70’s she brought me home a new toy everyday! No joke.

[@raymondmartucci2049]

That had to be exciting having your mom to bring home a new car.

[@billmarsh1971]

Maybe your mum and my grandmother worked together. I'd get a new car or three every time I went to visit. Is your mum still alive? If she is could you ask her if she knew of Phyllis Wotton? It would be amazing if she did.

[@troygillis3499]

paul chambers Yea she’s still alive my mum worked in the packaging department in the rexdale Ontario Canada office I remember walking in the front reception and there was a huge round table with all there products displayed, funny how I remembered it so well.

[@billmarsh1971]

@@troygillis3499 ahh, a big organisation and it seems they were an ocean apart. My dear old nan worked at the Abbey Wood site in South East London. Be well, Troy. m.facebook.com/AbbeyWoodHistory/photos/a.239477732734705/2068149279867532/?type=3

[@troygillis3499]

paul chambers thanks Paul

[@vichungerford8960]

I used to be a driver at Lesney Products from 1963 to 1965. I used to take truckloads of the toys down to the London Docks to be exported; they were packed into cartons and there were many hundreds of cartons in a truckload, loaded by hand onto the truck and held on by sheets and ropes, no containerisation then. Lesley’s had a fleet of double decker buses and in the evenings we truck drivers used to drive the buses to take the workers home. They were happy days; Jack Odell had a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Les Smith had a Rover 3-litre, both of which I drove on the odd occasion.

[@stephenwarhurst6615]

I remember back in the 1970's being a kid walking into the toy shop with pocket money and the Matchbox cars where stack in rows on a shelf behind the counter and the Toy shop owner would take the cars out of the boxes and let me test drive them on the counter top till I made my mind up and he would say after sale see you next week.

[@TheHorsebox2]

You've just described the memories of a million childhoods. Spot on.

[@JJMCB26]

Stephen Warhurst Best comment on here, sounds a lot like my '90s childhood. When me and my family go out on a weekly shop to the local supermarket, my dad gives me a pound and I spend it on a Matchbox car. Ah, fond memories :)

[@prp3231]

Your lucky, my old man wouldn't give me any pocket money so I had to browse and dream like a one cat peeping thru seafood store.

[@obelic71]

yes 2 racks in those shops Matchbox and Majorette. how often i couldn't decide as a kid wich car when i could choose only 1 car!

[@mro-aviation]

@@JJMCB26 a pound of what?

[@MADMAX839]

Perhaps my most treasured of childhood toys.

[@rogerw3818]

When I was a youngster, my Grandmother asked what she should get me for Christmas. She was puzzled when my Mother told her to get me Matchboxs. Imagine my surprise when I opened the wrapping to see actual matches. She must have thought I was a pyromaniac. It was always a wonderful family story.

[@PhilAVega]

Very cool 😎 I'm smiling rt now. Thanks for sharing your memories.

[@mr99boxer30]

Every little kid worth his salt would know what a Matchbox was. And take them out on the playground to show off a new model.

[@elizabethalexandra5270]

That is hilarious, matchbox = pyromaniac. 🏎🔥. Well this actually does happen in Formula One racing. Even before all the safety. Lol. Little did your grandma know. Probably why there aren’t anymore blue tip stick matches being sold. We used to play with them. I have all brothers and loved all of these cars and tracks. I wasn’t around to see the matchboxes they came in but I still love them to this day. Great funny story. 👍🏼💥

[@harrybriscoe7948]

Around 1968 My brother went to the store and asked me if I wanted some thing. I asked him to get me a pack or 2 of cards . He came home with playing cards mot baseball cards

[@ramblingrob4693]

Thats Brilliant. Love it

[@Retired88M]

I still have about 40 of the original Matchbox cars in their boxes from the mid 60’s

[@snich63]

Ooh, I had that one! And that one! And that one! etc Half my childhood flashed before my eyes in this video.

[@muskokamike127]

yeah, the ford gt, the honda motorcycle on the trailer (in good condition with a box I bet that's worth a fortune) and many others. Even had the original steam roller in green.

[@davidkrueger3584]

Me too.

[@AndyMangele]

Welcome to the club!

[@trueknowledgeispower]

...lol

[@christopherpappas7474]

I loved my Matchbox cars:) As a child my mum would take me to J.L. Hudson's in Detroit and if I was 'good' she would let me pick one from the display in the toy department. I wish I had them still but hope that some collector has my loved Matchbox toys in their collection and they are continued to bring joy :)

[@kenlim13]

I had collected about 100 matchbox cars in the 70's but gave all away. Now, I am regretted to give them away. It could be priceless now.

[@Dsdcain]

All I can say about this is when I was a kid in the seventies I always like Matchbox over Hot Wheels for the accurate details on the Matchbox cars. I really did appreciate the details even back then. Man after seeing some of the stuff about Matchbox collectors I wish I had held onto all the toy cars I had.

[@raymondhambleton9452]

A great history video. I used to be one of the tool room draughtsmen for Lesney. Back in 1979 we were doing cost saving economy version of the diecast cars. By 1980 some of the Lesney plants were shutting down. I used to work at the Chingford Hall lane factory. One of our draughtsmen came back from a holiday in Hong Kong and came in the drawing office with a briefcase full of brand new Matchbox cars, we were shocked to find they were made in Macau. We had no idea Jack Odell and Les Smith has opened a factory out there. Within a week, the whole company knew about this new Macau factory. Two weeks later we were being offered redundancies. They kept some of the staff and the factories stayed working for another year, but in the end they all closed. Entire families worked for Lesney, so entire families were jobless overnight, it was a horrible time athe factories.

[@LittleCar]

Thanks for sharing and making the story so much more personal.

[@sleipnir694]

I used to work at the Rochford factory, friends thst i worked with, had moved from Nth London to Essex , due to the factory move. Had some good times , and very cheap models from the shop 😊

[@jamesfrench7299]

I remember seeing made in Macau on the base and being disappointed as a child.

[@DrLoverLover]

Capitalism is working great, isnt it?

[@markweston3242]

I worked at Rochford from 1978 until jan 2 1988, it was the best company anyone could have worked for until management from Lee Con Road started being transferred to Rochford , they thought the were gods but only came to Rochford to stay on a year longer.

[@guangzhouguide]

I made at least 30+ Matchbox's PK series plastic models, includes planes, tanks and vehicles. She is not only a toy brand to me but also my childhood memories. Thank you Matchbox!

[@bostonblackie9503]

Every Friday my Dad would bring my brother a matchbox car. It amazes me how he could remembered what cars he had bought before. No duplicates! It was a great event for all of us we couldn't wait to see what car my Dad had bought each Friday. They were great toys!

[@8176morgan]

I loved their motorcyles with side cars that they had in the mid 1960's. There were three in total and I still remember them well. #4 was the blue Triumph. #36 was the light green Lambretta scooter. And then the best of them all was #66 a bronze Harely-Davidson. All three worth a lot more than 49¢ each nowadays! 🙂

[@fernandomarques5166]

I always loved matchbox because they did stuff you would see out there on the streets, on construction yards, on airports, etc. best thing was actually seeing the real counterpart, the prototype, of your model.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

I grew up in the 80's and I loved Matchbox cars. Hot Wheels were okay, but I liked the realistic cars from Matchbox. I remember begging my mom for a new car every time we went shopping. Much simpler times

[@Cortinaman63]

I used to live near the Matchbox Factory (09;50) and was sad when it closed, as a kid it was where all my MUCH LOVED toy cars I bought with pocket money came from, my car collection ended up at 1,500 made up of Matchbox, Corgi, Dinky, and the odd Spot On, Budgie, and Hot Wheels brands which I sold a few years ago for £14.000 to help fund the restoration of my real full sized Mk3 Ford Cortina, which my Dad used to drive past the Lesney Factory back in 1976, with me in it, so Thanks to Lesney my passion for their models as a child has helped my passion for the Cortina being restored on my channel, i liked this video a lot as you showed many of the models I once owned, and there is even a shot of the Mk.3 Ford Cortina outside the Lesney Factory in the B/W photo

[@aharonbabel4328]

Thanks for your Matchbox story. As a kid in early 70-s my first model was Matchbox Superfast Nr. 20A Lamborghini Marzal. First Love and the starting point for future collection. And it all happened in Soviet Union where those items were very difficult to get at any cost ...

[@TheHelado36]

As a kid I remember hating those fantasy cars, that is why I ended always choosing Matchbox !

[@Brookhavenpolicedept]

i hate hot wheels

[@Brookhavenpolicedept]

for some reason

[@iNIMATEstudio]

​@@Brookhavenpolicedept i love hotwheels premium but yeah the regular suck

[@mwroysan]

I had Matchbox cars from the 1960s. This made me love my 3 favourites...E-type Jag, the Mini, and the Ford Mustang 💘 😻 💜

[@mwroysan]

I remember when the Superfast range was introduced. I got so excited 🇿🇦

[@prp3231]

I remember how vibrant the colours were on these cars and vehicles back in the early 70s. Metallic burgundy was my favourite, Jensen Interceptor, Aston Martins, Mustangs, Mercury, London buses... great memories.

[@paulspeakman551]

I collected Matchbox in the late '60's and very early '70's as a kid in the U.S. I played with them but always took very good care of them. I remember when Hot Wheels were introduced and thinking they were junk. I'm kicking myself today for giving my Matchbox collection to my stepson in the '80's - he absolutely trashed them. No good deed goes unpunished.

[@mattashman4040]

My father in law was head tool designer for matchbox thru the 70’s working with Jack Odell. He celebrated his 40 th birthday whist at the company, he was presented with a special edition Rolls Royce silver shadow matchbox car. However with a number plate reading GNF 40T - standing for his initials Gerald Norman Fanthorpe, 40 for 40th birthday and the letter T for the year of registration (in the United Kingdom the last letter denoted the year of manufacture of a real car). As a postscript every Rolls Royce Silver shadow has that registration plate to this day. Unique.

[@LittleCar]

Awesome story! Thanks.

[@Gasinduced]

My friend and I used bring a Matchbox car each to the bus stop and let them roll down a footpath racing to see which would go the furthest while waiting for the school bus. By the end of the school term there were 8 of us which was chaos to the grown ups walking to the train station at the end of this path. We'd do it at school too and there must have been 10-15 of us all vying for the distance record. Hot Wheels had funny tension loading with barely any up and down travel on the axles which would send them flying left or right over the bumps, Majorette's had amazing travel but the cars themselves were too light so they would bounce around like they were on a trampoline ultimately flipping over. Matchbox cars were nice and heavy with the right amount of up and down travel allowing them get over the bumps the other makes could not. My Ford RS200 was my legend car which won many a morning and lunchtime battle. Thanks for the memories Matchbox :)

[@BrianSmith-vl7xu]

I used to love Matchbox toys when I was a kid in the 70's

[@oh8wingman]

I was born in 1952 and started receiving Matchbox and DInky toys at the age of three. For some reason or other I used to take the matchbox out of their boxes, look at them and then put them back in their boxes. The Dinky toys on the other hand were played with and played with hard. By the time I was 12 the Dinky toys were phased out and I was on to Meccano erector sets but the Matchbox toys were still stored away and kept intact. When I moved out at the age of 18 I left my toys, about 250 examples at the time, at my Mothers home. When I was 25 my first son was born and I went to get the Matchbox toys with the idea that he would eventually get them but they were no where to be found. It wasn't until many years later that it accidentally came out that my step sisters husband had stole them and sold them to a collector for a couple hundred dollars. Around that time I went through a collectors catalogue and picked out all of the models I had had along with their prices. What he had sold for $200 was now worth close to $6,500. I haven't seen or spoken to my step sister or her husband in over 40 years. I don't like thieves even if they are relatives.......

[@montyzumazoom1337]

Oh yes, me as a kid in the 1960’s - I loved Matchbox toys. Every week I would pester my Mum to get me another one..... Apparently I used to run them along the outside of shop window frames whilst Mum was either chatting or getting something in the shop. When it was time to go, I took Mums hand and inadvertently left the toy behind 😢 I did manage to build up quite a collection, but the boxes meant nothing to me then, it was what was inside that counted.

[@muskokamike127]

I remember the first time I was allowed to "buy lunch" in grade 7. There was a lunch counter at the plaza by the school. Of course I took the money and bought a matchbox lol. I still remember it: was the esso 6 wheeled artic explorer vehicle with the yellow plastic roof...my mom was pissed lol.

[@joshbacon8241]

Monty Zumazoom I bet you must have had a brilliant childhood...

[@montyzumazoom1337]

Josh Bacon Actually I had a very lonely childhood. When I was born, I screamed like a baby, and until the age of 11 the only people I met were scientists.......😢

[@joshbacon8241]

Monty Zumazoom Oh... 😢

[@montyzumazoom1337]

Les Dawson jokes are the best😂😂😂

[@bobmmann3917]

Thanks for the wonderful trip down memory lane. I loved my matchbox cars. Had many of these shown here back in the day.

[@modelcars9493]

Meine Kindheit seit den Ende der 60ziger Jahren❤️❤️❤️🤗

[@larryaldrich4351]

I had a great Matchbox collection in the '60s. Years after I moved out my mother let my nephew play with them and the little monster lost and broke every one of them.

[@lancerevell5979]

Growing up in 1960s America, I had Hotwheels cars. Later as a young adult, I finally discovered Matchbox cars, as well as other brands. I mostly collect Johnny Lightning and Hotwheels nowadays, but do look for Matchbox cars too. Also have a couple Matchbox plastic scale aircraft model kits. This history video is excellent!

[@MrWoWgaming]

i got a sick johnny lightning car wich ive never heard of the brand before i bought it here in europe, a nice pink dodge charger although the package is not that pristine the car luckily is. Great quality on johnny lightning i must say.

[@crazybrit-nasafan]

I too have some Matchbox model kits. quite a few actually. Mostly Aircraft but some tanks and even the huge 1/72 scale Corvette warship they did. There are some built up on the "Unofficial Airfix Modellers forum" Google it to find it. (they don't just do Airfix, they cover all model kits new and old) The members there are a great bunch and very helpful if you are into or getting into model making.

[@lancerevell5979]

@@crazybrit-nasafan Thanks, mate. I just registered on the Unofficial Airfix Modelers Forum. Looks like an interesting site.

[@Chris.Davies]

I have very fond memories of my spring-driven Matchbox Motorway!

[@-abacchus]

Wow. This video brought back so many memories. Plenty of the cars shown used to be bashed about by a younger me... Happy times :)

[@57Jimmy]

- ̗̀A Bacchus ̖́- Ahem... a MUCH younger ‘me’? Lol! Me too!👴🏻

[@adrianbernardo202]

I love Matchbox!! In fact I have 3 of them, all Super Kings series: a Peterbilt Truck with trailer, a futuristic car Trailer, & Simon Snorker.

[@mercoid]

So much joy. That’s absolutely right!

[@TravelFilming]

Remember that back in the seventies Matchbox cars were of an overall better build quality than Majorette (Made in France), but Majorette had "suspension" and doors that could open.

[@mxrclxst]

Finally! Some love for Matchbox. This is what I grew up with. Hotwheels is cool too, but... Matchbox for the win.

[@elbecko7969]

The Matchbox models I had were absolutely solid, really well made and realistic. They even had the make, model and year stamped on the underside. However, Woolworths used to sell a big tea tray sized box of really cheap flimsy dayglo model cars the same size as Matchbox models. There must've been about 40 to a box. The car bodies were made of a really cheap metal that you could bend with your fingers and the underside was plastic held together with a clip and a rivet. The glass was always one piece and tinted. The whole box was incredibly cheap which made the models ideal for setting on fire using turps

[@justinobrien9164]

I remember going into the newspaper shop on ridge hill estate in stalybridge I was 8 and buying a matchbox car twice a week they were displayed in a glass cabinet with the car on top of its box and cost 39p in 1980 I have still got a few left still boxed to this day, happy days.

[@cbrboy76]

Growing up in the early 80's my dad would always get me a new matchbox on payday. Every friday i could'nt wait to get home to see what he had got me. Still got them all 4 huge boxes of them & the catalogues. He used to enjoy getting me the big trucks, scammels, kenworths, ford transconti's etc, think they were for the big kid inside him.

[@Марк.Фетнов]

Saw a few in there that I owned as a kid in the 70s / 80s. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, and all your other interesting videos.

[@Krrrimmi]

The cheapest toys my mom ever bought to me back in d '80s. & I still have my MATCHBOX toys until now. Indeed. My whole '80s childhood revolves in MATCHBOX. :))

[@bentullett6068]

My brother collects the Matchbox, Corgi and any other diecast car that was made in Britain. Although I recently noticed that they are starting to bring back features such as opening doors on the newer matchbox cars and the detail is so much better than some of the hot wheels cars.

[@Truckerboy1234]

Yeah. They really do have some decent details on some of them, but its mostly the same built quality as hot wheels nowadays with only decals on the side and whatnot. I know Greenlight is good if you want the extra detail and decent scale.

[@bentullett6068]

@@Truckerboy1234 in the UK Greenlight aren't readily available, but we do have Corgi and another company called Oxford diecast who produce cars, trucks, tractors, construction machinery and military vehicles in 1:43 scale and 1:76 scale. The 1:76 scale vehicles are very useful if you have a UK 1:76 scale 00 gauge model railway. They have recently done a 1:87 scale range of cars from the USA as well. We can also get the diecast cars from European manufacturer Siku and they are pretty decent diecast cars and vehicles.

[@Truckerboy1234]

@@bentullett6068 Ah, apologies. I'm down here in Canada. I can confirm Siku is sold here, I have a little collection of those cars myself and I really enjoy them. I'm not sure if we have Oxford around here, and I do have a few Corgis from the 70's or 60's. Thanks for the info buddy! 😊

[@paxhumana2015]

@@bentullett6068 , does Oxford Diecast sell internationally as well?

[@bentullett6068]

@@paxhumana2015 I think they do as they have done special edition replicas of the open top London routemaster buses used in certain cities in the world including New York and Sydney. Best enquire on their website to see if they can ship overseas.

[@Bigreid92]

I still kept all of mine. I have some Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Dinky and Corgi’s. 70’s and 80’s was a great time to be a kid. It was cheap and hours of fun.

[@johnharris7751]

Through out the years I've managed to replace most of what I had in the 60 s and 70 s I'm embarrassed to tell that I've paid as much as $40.00 for models I paid $.59 for when I was a kid.

[@jeffreyrainey1015]

I still collect diecast cars as an adult. To hell with the boxes.

[@Truckerboy1234]

As a middle schooler can confirm ALWAYS take them out of the package, even as a collector. TO HELL WITH THE PACKAGE!

[@joelaugustestudios]

Jeffrey Rainey same. I mostly buy my diecast models now on eBay than in stores. I do diecast reviews on my channel as well.

[@GrilloTheFlightless]

If you want an heirloom that might be worth some money later on, keep the package. If you want to actually enjoy them, which is what they were made for, rip the box open, take the toy out and chuck the package away.

[@scottouellette9411]

Jeff I think the artwork of the boxes are more fluid than the actual toy.

[@EjOnBloxYT]

But Mattel who own hot wheels own it its quite not original

[@scotiajinker8392]

Like others have said my pocket money went on matchbox cars. I was born in 64 , a lot of these cars you showed brought back memories, the wee trailer with the motorcycle, the green estate car & the daf car transporter where all in my collection.

[@claudiobizama5603]

The older I get, the more I'm getting really into Matchbox over HotWheels. I love the regular cars they have. I will be waiting for a Majorette vid

[@jammygamer8961]

The old hotwheels are cool but very expensive compared to matchbox

[@Truckerboy1234]

I genuinely agree, I would rather have a matchbox over a hot wheels 99% of the time, the vehicles are mostly officially branded but most of the more fantasy cars still feel like something you would really see out on the road.

[@paxhumana2015]

I like them both equally and I also find it sad that Tonka/Maisto cars get no love.

[@Truckerboy1234]

@@paxhumana2015 Oh, I love both of those brands as well. I prefer Maistos licensed cars, but some of their "Fantasy" cars are good too.

[@josephdeffendoll3056]

Thank you Matchbox, Hot wheels, for my memories. And my childhood fun. From 1967 to the present year of 2020 and I am still collecting and enjoying my cars trucks etc... I have 3,000 or more. Each one a different memory or time in my life. Thank you

[@alecboyyes]

Regretfully, my mates and I used to smash ours with bricks to see who could create the coolest wrecks. Nowadays you'd just load up GTA and create virtual smashups.

[@martycrush6412]

alecboyyes me too, then we would use mums hairspray and a lighter to finish them off. Wish I’d kept mine as all the ones I had left were customised in my own style. Would love to see my imagination from 35 years ago.

[@alecboyyes]

@@martycrush6412 Haha, so true!

[@bilbobaggins4710]

Hahahaha same ....I was fascinated by salvage yards so I made a miniature one

[@southpineshooligan]

@Tyler Bossard it does, until it doesnt lmao

[@PhilAVega]

Very cool😎 We also smashed a few. Thanks for sharing your memories.

[@57Jimmy]

As a kid in the early 60’s, we would visit our grandparents in Powell River BC every summer. To this day I could retrace every step from their home to the two stores that stocked the Matchbox, Corgi and Dinky toys in town, go through the doors and go straight to the display stands where for under a buck, the greatest toys EVER made would make our eyes sparkle! What a fantastic time it was growing up as a kid. These as well as Tiddlywinks, Pick-up-Sticks, Jacks and Parcheesi made childhood last forever! And we never got hurt, poisoned or offended either😂

[@mr99boxer30]

What a beautiful Canadian BC Grandparents childhood memory. You knew quality even back then ! Cheers !

[@JohnSTF72]

This was a major trip down to memory lane. Back in late 70s and 80s in Europe Matchbox, Majorette, Corgi and Siku were the main selling brands. it's good to see Mattel nowadays respect the Matchbox's legacy and focusing on realistic models and appearance for its cars. Thanks for this excellent video.

[@paxhumana2015]

Whatever happened to Siku? What did they make, out of curiosity?

[@crazybrit-nasafan]

Well worth watching. I still have some of my old Matchbox toys in the loft. (I'm 54 yrs old now) including that DAF car transporter and a few Capris amongst others. How about an episode about Matchbox model kits? I have quite a few of those unbuilt up in the loft too.

[@gazza2933]

Matchbox...Great Survivors. Thanks for posting this.

[@christopping5876]

Excellent! Takes me back to my childhood in the early 70's. Thank you.

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

Matchbox (which I could afford) and Corgi (which I had to look forward to as gifts) were my favorite cars growing up in the '70s. I still have a collection of those vintage cars to this day.

[@timberwolfpowler8747]

When I was a kid in the 60's I dedicated 50% of my allowance to these. Now I have a hairy horde of Match Box and Hot Wheels.

[@RykerFreegeld]

Excellent documentary! Thanks! 👏🏻

[@Brera011]

I also grew up with these cars. They were afordable for a kid with a little pocketmoney. Hope there will be a new little car episode soon, let's say about Bburago. Keep up the good work!

[@mckav2358]

Great story on the history of Matchbox. I had many of the models during the 60's. I wish id kept them

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

Played with my friend's ginormous Matchbox collection a couple times and I was SOLD!! It was the 70s and I loved the realistic models as compared with Hot Wheels.

[@phweakwilled]

The Macau built Matchboxes of Normal Road cars was my era. I gave my huge collection away to a girl I fancied. They were strewn in the road later that month! What was I thinking!!

[@davidparry1982]

I loved my matchbox cars as a kid in the 70’s and 80’s and still have many of them in my matchbox carry case 👍😍 Just this week my 4 yr old daughter has discovered the joys of racing toy cars so we’ve had our own 80’s Superfast vs brand new Hot Wheels face off. Needless to say my No.1 racer Porsche 911 circa 1983 still has what it takes 😂

[@Truckerboy1234]

lol I have a couple of old matchbox 48 car carry cases, but they've turned into mostly modern cars. Still have a full case of classics laying around in all those bins full of cars somewhere.

[@AL_THOMAS]

I still have hundreds of these cars that I collected as a kid. There was a shop in Nottingham that sold secondhand models which were really cheap and my uncle gave me all his old Lesney models. I wish I'd kept the original packaging!

[@robsterbob580]

Fantastic stuff! Love the old ad for the Matchbox Powertrack Race and Chase set thay I once had as a kid. All the factory footage was great too! Lots of those toys I had too. Used to sometimes swap them with my mates in the school playground at break time!

[@michaelburgess9671]

Loved this... we had a Matchbox Motorway in the early 70s moving springs in the track would make a racer out of any matchbox car you attached a special peg to the underside of. Probably one of my favourite toys ever.

[@S-Ltd1000]

Still have a load of models of yesteryear somewhere. Often used to pass by the factory on hackney marshes which is now long gone. A friend's parents used to work there in its heyday.

[@Truckerboy1234]

Must have been nice, eh?

[@paxhumana2015]

Did you ever get any of the cars from your parents, out of curiosity?

[@lorettacaputo6997]

I was buying Matchbox military vehicles in the late 50's. I had the tank on the carrier, the half track, and the red cross medical truck. I may have had others but I can't remember what it was. They were great toys. When I saw a set on ebay recently, I was back in my early childhood. Matchbox, Matel, Lionel all were a staple in my life. Thanks for the Matchbox story.

[@nunofernandes4501]

Oh man, my childhood! I still have my favourite, the De Tomaso Pantera from the 70's.

[@LittleCar]

I wish I had mine...

[@simonheap4294]

@@LittleCar still got mine, white with orange bits IIRC, need to check what's in the big box of cars...

[@JJMCB26]

Nuno Fernandes I like how the car shares it's name with my favourite '90s metal band (RIP Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul).

[@nunofernandes4501]

@@JJMCB26 Pantera was awesome!

[@NavarroOne]

Nuno Fernandes loves that one too as well as the Ferrari Dino

[@jeffking4176]

As far as I can remember I had Matchbox cars. I was born in 1961. Then came Hot-Wheels. At one point I had at least 200 Matchbox, and Hot wheels, And about 60 Corgis. Cool video. 🚗🙂

[@IamRobotMonkey]

I'm a little too young to remember the hay day (being born a year before their bankruptcy) but I certainly remember getting a few of these as a kid. Dad certainly had a load as a lad too, being born in the mid fifties. I also collected a load of Walkers Crisps et al vintage vans back when that was a craze (guessing late 80s early 90s). Many thanks for another excellent video.

[@paxhumana2015]

Walker's is like Lay's over in the USA, right?

[@IamRobotMonkey]

@@paxhumana2015 Yes indeed. Owned by PepsiCo. They of Doritos (and a billion or so other brands) fame.

[@TheBlueCorolla]

As a kid I mostly had Matchbox cars, but I got cars I liked regardless of brand, I had a collection of over 300 cars ranging from Matchbox, corgi, hot wheels and Majorette and a few non branded cars too, some were passed to me from my dad and older brothers. The cars now lay in a couple of boxes waiting for my kids to start playing with them

[@mitchellmals]

Brought back some great memories there, my mum used to work in acounts at Lesleys, so lots of freebies for us.. 👍

[@Blog4Justice]

Lucky bugger!

[@S-Ltd1000]

An old friend of mines parents worked there and did the same.

[@atamuyt5344]

Why old matchbox is cooler than now 🤩

[@acm_1985]

06:52 I just remembered to have owned such an Hover-Raider! This is long time ago… but I always loved to play with Matchbox Cars. Most of them got lost in the sand sadly ;)

[@Bucketroo]

I grew up in France in the '70s and I had so many Matchboxes! The Super-Fasts, the Sky Busters, the Speed Kings, the Battle Kings, the Super Kings, and even the 2000 Adventure or whatever. I had no idea the 2000 vehicles were based on the Judge Dredd comics in 2000 AD. Hot Wheels were not sold in France back then. I was in Italy in '78 and saw some Hot Wheels for sale. I bought a Ford Torino Stocker, and the wheels fell off after 3 days. I was not impressed. When we moved to the US in the early '80s, I couldn't bring all my toys with me, so I chose my LEGO stuff. I wished I could have grabbed a few Matchboxes.

[@martinevans7090]

9:32 - WOW!! Race & Chase! I had one of those when I was a nipper! (Probably still in my loft, lol!)

[@justinmccowan2543]

Would be cool if Matchbox started a separate product line where they returned to their early manufacturing, and rereleased the car models from the 50's and 60's, only as new stock. Build new cars just like they did with the separate tires, and bring back that green station wagon with the steering!

[@louisvidalinc2678]

Even as a Hot Wheels fan, I loved this video! Any possibility of seeing a video on Majorette?

[@LittleCar]

Maybe. I wasn't aware of Majorette before now.

[@louisvidalinc2678]

@@LittleCar I guess it's (or was) more of a continental Europe brand. But is was huge back in the day and many French and German kids grew up with them !

[@nunofernandes4501]

When I was a kid I was always disappointed when someone offered me a Majorette. Matchbox were the golden standard.

[@louisvidalinc2678]

@@nunofernandes4501 when did you grow up? In the 90s majorettes were fantastic. They had suspension and pretty good models. They went severely downhill in the mid-late 2000s.

[@nunofernandes4501]

@@louisvidalinc2678 I was born in '73 and the Majorettes had bad suspension and poor casting compared to Matchbox. Never knew they got better in the 90's but by then I was in the university and playing with other things rather than miniature cars ;)

[@1olddirtroad]

I have Matchbox trucks and cars from 1960s and 70s that i played with, my kids played with, and my grandkids play with now. So many good memories !

[@raleighburner1589]

Corgi was my favourite brand I still have two fire engines from the 70s to this day

[@GeorgesMiniatureCars]

I was born when Corgi started in 1956. I started collecting toy cars in '88 and was always happy to find a play worn, but in decent condition car. I don't buy on line, cost too much. So finding a Corgi toy that someone once had and played with makes me proud to be the new owner. I have a nice collection that one day hopefully someone else will enjoy. 😊

[@napoleonlempereur3021]

Matchbox war in meiner Kindheit in den 1970gern das absolut beste Spielzeug für einen Jungen👍👍👍

[@kellyashfordtrains2642]

I was more into Micro Machine toy cars, when I was younger. Of the Matchbox range, I recovered something dating from 1978. Not cars, not trucks or even a bus. No, what I now have in my possession from Matchbox is the hard-to-find toy tank engines with a carriage each. I'm a steam engine fanatic and that's why I found them (on a few separate occasions) in a charity shop in Llangollen. OK, I don't play with them much, but I'm too attached to them to give them away. This leads me to a certain song. Now that you can do it, let's make a chain now; Chugga-chugga-motion like railway train now. Do it nice and easy now, don't lose control, A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul. So come on, do the locomotion with me.

[@craigmarr7986]

Bought many matchbox cars as a 10 yr old in 1967 they were 50cents each at the time. This video brought back many memories. My favorite was the james bond 007 car and the jaguar xke.

[@gspkmr]

This is the coolest thing I have ever seen and it’s first time hearing the brand.👍 The concept of putting it in a match box and making itself a brand name is the coolest branding idea!

[@thomassnapp1341]

My Mom and I would go to the drugstore when I was about 8 years old in 1969 (in the USA). They had a display of Matchbox cars on a rotating stand. Mom said I could have just one. I would turn that stand over and over, trying to find the one special car that I could get. Every time we went to the drugstore, she would tell me the same thing. So, after several months, I had a pretty good collection of Matchbox cars. They were inexpensive and Mom had no problem with buying one for me. After that, it had to be Hot Wheels. The paint on Hot Wheels was awesome. Just like the muscle cars of the 70's. But they were a bit more expensive than Matchbox. I sure wish I still had all of those cars.

[@enriquelopez9124]

I remember back in the day, having a huge collection of matchbox cars , instead of buying candy, I would add to the c0llection, they would also have catalogs.

[@livingweapon]

I had tons of matchbox cars as a kid love em

[@Michaelbos]

I wish I saved all my cars from the 60’s and 70’s. The price for perfect condition is amazing.

[@Chrispy01a]

As a younger child of the 70's in the UK and a lover of diecast vehicles there was always an inner conflict over which brand I loved the most. Corgi I seem to remember were the most expensive, with some of their most desirable models (such as the 007 Aston Martin DB5 and the Original Batmobile) and as such were out of reach for a young lad from a working class family with four other siblings. Dinky had the fabled Gerry Anderson collection of replicas that represented the ultimate for me (Thunderbird 2 was the dream machine and to this day I have an original Dinky "UFO" Shadow Mobile proudly displayed on the windowsill of my spare room). However it was Matchbox cars that really held my fascination especially the 75 series in my formative years - very special watching this documentary on the history of Matchbox - thanks.

[@LucasOliveira-tt2ll]

Matchbox history is quite similar to the british automotive history, had it's heyday until crisis struck in late 70's early 90's and then went bankrupt and the most successful brand went to a bigger company while production was outsorced in China. Sad but true

[@kelvinpeterson6169]

Globalization

[@kelvinpeterson6169]

@Vez Akino The rich benefit and the poor get shafted and sold cheaper goods that aren't up to standard

[@jimtaylor294]

Ironically not "globalization", so much as overarching economic woes, misguided mergers, import and export costs to the wider world as a result of being in the EEC, and the industrial disease of militant strikitus. A combination of those four killed the UK mainstream car industry, and almost killed Italy's too. Lesney-Matchbox only fell foul of the first of those issues. China was a main beneficary of both in the end though, coincidentally.

[@edwardblake3277]

Hiya I worked in the matchbox factory ,making the cars ,every Xmas we could buy a box filled with great cars ,in the 1980s they were very popular

[@oldscoolcooldiecast1879]

Big matchbox and hotwheels fan among other diecast vehicles. New subscriber. Happy holidays

[@av8tor261]

Well Done. Canada loves Matchbox.

[@ianwatmough9386]

It’s crazy because i have early 1960s matchbox models as of right now, the fire truck at 2:22 and the truck afterwards I still have passed on by my dad, it’s still incredible I have a few 50 year old matchboxes

[@debeerpaul]

I lost my bag of 60 cars in the garden during heavy rains over 30 years ago. I bought a metal detector the other day and Im hoping to find my long lost treasure.

[@bugler75]

Good luck! It would be great if you found them. Check out Marty’s Matchbox Makeovers on KZbin if you need help in restoring them 😊

[@johannahjohari2915]

Did you finds the cars ?

[@rods6405]

I found mine under the kitchen sink in my mums house

[@FamiliarGecko]

Don't leave us hanging! Did you find your cars?

[@nameruse1817]

Did you find them?

[@kennymcgowan2880]

Being a fan of both Matchbox and Hotwheels my collection has grown quite a bit but match box cars was my first purchase and still them to this very day and very proud of it....

[@mannbrand]

The quality of Matchbox was unsurpassed, even today I continue to collect and recover models that I lost as a child. Hot Wheels was for the poor!

[@VittonLou]

Nothing beats the original! One of my treasured toys growing up as a kid.

[@stevesloan7132]

I remember being disappointed in Hot Wheels because even as a child I could see that many of them were not models of real cars. Accept no substitutes. Go for the real thing. Match Box all the way! The one! The only! And still the best . . . Match Box!

[@jammygamer8961]

All of the original 1968 cars where either real life cars like the Dodge deora or based of real life cars such as the Custom Mustang which was meant to be a customised mustang but still completely real. It was at 1969 when they started to produce truly fantasy cars

[@user-s1o3nr532]

Yes, I remember the introduction of fantasy models and all-plastic all-in-one wheels and tyres in Dinky Toys as well as Matchbox models as a kid - I pretty much became interested in older models and lost interest in new ones at that point.

[@TheLexiconDevils]

Hot Wheels are superior

[@jammygamer8961]

@@user-s1o3nr532 Yea the rubber tyres on matchboxs are cool i even have a few in my collection. One thing i liked about the 1968 to 1969 produced hotwheels is the plastic bearings the wheels have (They have a certain name but i don't remember)

[@user-s1o3nr532]

@@jammygamer8961 Yeah nothing wrong with Hot Wheels - I just found there was suddenly not much in the way of realistic cars you saw every day once Dinky, Corgi, and Matchbox all decided they would try to be Hot Wheels too. Having said that though, the very first narrow wheeled Matchbox Whizzwheels were great - better than what went before, which had mainly plastic one piece wheels anyway. The biggest disappointment was Dinky, which having embraced awful clunky speed wheels", seemed to then lose its way completely.