"Matchbox Superfast" box art.

Promotional art of Matchbox vehicles.

A Matchbox fire truck.

Matchbox is a die cast cars and airplanes trademark started in 1952 by Leslie Smith (March 6, 1918-May 26, 2005) and Rodney Smith as the now-defunct British Lesney Toys company. (The two men were not related; they had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II.) The Matchbox name was once widely used by the public as a generic name for all die cast toy cars measuring approximately 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) in length, regardless of brand. Matchbox window ad. ... Matchbox window ad. ... Download high resolution version (428x624, 37 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Matchbox ... Download high resolution version (428x624, 37 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Matchbox ... A Matchbox fire truck. ... A Matchbox fire truck. ... Engine 4 - City of Chico, CA A Fire Engine is one of many specialized fire suppression apparatuses. ... Casting is a process by which a material is introduced into a mold while it is liquid, allowed to solidify in the shape inside the mold, and then removed producing a fabricated object, part, or casing. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Matchbox is so named because of the small boxes in which the products were packed, like those for matches. In the 1980s, Matchbox switched to the more conventional, plastic and cardboard wrapping style ("Blister packs") used for other die cast cars. Household safety matches burning match A match is a simple and convenient means of producing fire under controlled circumstances and on demand. ... Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

The Matchbox/Lesney factory was a major employer around Rochford, Essex, although in 1990 to company relocated to Rugby in the north of England. Rochford in the county of Essex, United Kingdom is a small town to the north of Southend on Sea. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rugby might refer to the sport called rugby: Rugby football Rugby league Rugby union Touch Rugby Tag Rugby Wheelchair Rugby Rugby is also the name of several places: Rugby, Warwickshire (England) within the Borough of Rugby Rugby, North Dakota Rugby, Tennessee Rugby, Brooklyn Rugby may also refer to: Rugby School...

Matchbox cars are made in two sizes. The smaller versions are approximately 1:64 scale and measure about 2.5 inches, or 6.5 centimeters, in length, and are the form most often seen in toy stores. However, Matchbox has also manufactured cars in 1:43 scale, which measure about 3.5 inches, or 9 centimeters, in length. Matchbox's designers favored this larger size because it permitted more detail. The 1:43 cars are still made, but are primarily marketed as collectibles, rather than as toys.

Although Matchbox is best known for its die-cast cars, during the 1970s it bought the AMT corporation, the dominant American plastic model kit manufacturer, and set up its own plastic kit division in the UK. Concentrating on 1/72 scale military aircraft, it competed with the then-dominant Airfix company. Matchbox also continued AMT's extensive line of 1/25 scale cars. Within a decade, the hobby was declining and Lesney sold AMT to Ertl Company and shut down its own kit division. The Matchbox kits were well-made, with modern tooling and techniques, but critics felt that the kits were too coarsely detailed in comparison with other models on the market, and too "toy-like". Yet they were still just as complex and time consuming to construct as any other kit, which limited their appeal to more casual model builders. Unable to fully satisfy either market, Matchbox was one of the first companies to abandon model kits once the hobby started its decline. Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... AMT or amt may refer to: Alternative Minimum Tax, an income tax system in the United States Alphamethyltryptamine, an antidepressant and hallucinogenic drug Amt (subnational entity), an administrative unit in Germany and Denmark Arcadia Machine and Tool, an American firearms company which produced the AMT Automag amongst others. ... Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic model aircraft and other kits. ... Aircraft modeling or aeromodelling is a hobby that has been popular since the 1930s. ... The Ertl Company is an American toy company best known for its die-cast steel collectible replicas of farm equipment and vehicles. ...

While the Matchbox-branded kits were not a success, the same was not true of the AMT line. By the 1970s AMT had 20 years' experience tooling car kits, and the only difference European ownership made was a somewhat broader selection of subject matter than had been seen from them before or since. Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... This article is about the continent. ...

During this time, Matchbox also tried its hand in the die cast airplanes area, under the name Matchbox Sky Busters. Sky Busters produced plane models for such airlines as Aeroméxico, Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Lufthansa and Saudi Arabian Airlines. Aeromexico Boeing 737 Aeroméxico (IATA: AM, ICAO: AMX, and Callsign: Aeromexico), is one of Mexicos two major airline companies. ... Air France Boeing 747 Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM. Before the take-over of KLM, it was essentially the national airline of France, employing over 64,000 people. ... British Airways is the largest airline of the United Kingdom. ... Iberia Airlines of Spain (IATA: IB, ICAO: IBE, and Callsign: Iberia), often shortened to Iberia, is the name of the national airline of Spain. ... Lufthansa Boeing 737-300 Lufthansa Airbus A300-B4 Lufthansa Avro RJ85 Lufthansa (Deutsche Lufthansa AG) is the largest German airline company, headquartered in Cologne. ... Saudi Arabian Airlines (also known as Saudia) is Saudi Arabias domestic and international airline, and one of the largest airlines of the Middle East. ...

Lesney Toys went bankrupt on June 11, 1982, and went into receivership. The Matchbox brand name was then sold to Universal Toys, although some of the Matchbox tooling became property of Lesney co-founder Jack Odell, who continued to market Matchbox-like products under the Lledo brand name. Allthough no longer British-owned, matchboxes still felt British, with limited production in England continuing until the mid-1980's, and the re-using of many old Lesney castings. Matchbox expanded beyond die cast cars into other markets, with mixed success, and by 1992, Universal was also seeking a buyer. In May 1992, Universal sold the brand to Tyco Toys, whose toy division in turn was bought out by Mattel in 1996, uniting Matchbox with its longtime rival Hot Wheels under the same corporate banner. In 2002, Matchbox Sky Busters made a comeback, but with Continental Airlines as the only major airline to sponsor the product. Matchbox also came out in '02 with a line of cars to celebrate its 50th anniversary. June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 1982 is a number and represents a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar Events January January 6 - William Bonin is convicted of being the freeway killer. January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 - Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tyco Toys is a division of the Mattel toy company. ... Mattel Inc. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Hot Wheels is a popular brand of toy automobile, introduced by U.S. toymaker Mattel in 1968. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) is an American airline. ...

External link

• Matchbox Showcase (http://www.matchbox.com/)