| The History of Die-Cast Trucks | | | | of Hotwheels. Both Matchbox and Hotwheels |
| | | | vehicles were designed on a 1:64 scale. |
| Die-cast truck models have existed nearly as | | | | |
| long as the trucks they were modeled after. | | | | Marketing and Die-Cast Trucks |
| Improvements in industrial die-casting and | | | | |
| metallurgy have benefited the die-cast toy | | | | In the 1960s, marketers began to develop |
| vehicle industry since its beginnings in the | | | | branded vehicles as advertising. These |
| early 20th century. The purpose and | | | | vehicles would bear a company name or logo, |
| marketing of the toys themselves has changed | | | | and the goal was to influence the buying |
| as well. However, the collection of these | | | | power of the parents. In the 1980s, large |
| die-cast vehicle replicas remains a | | | | numbers of adults had begun collecting |
| widespread hobby with ever growing appeal. | | | | die-cast trucks as a hobby, and the |
| | | | manufacturers responded by generating more |
| Early Die-Cast Trucks | | | | precise replica models of many vehicles, |
| | | | since the adult hobbyist was willing to pay |
| The earliest die-cast toys were marketed in | | | | more money than the parent of a child. |
| the early 20th century. The first model | | | | Larger scale sizes, such as 1:18 or 1:12 were |
| designs were simple and crude, consisting of | | | | introduced as collectables and marketed |
| metal car or truck bodies with no interior | | | | towards adults. |
| structures or windshields. Vehicle models | | | | |
| were cast from a zinc-aluminum alloy called | | | | While trucks had always been a part of the |
| Zamak. The Zamak alloy often contained | | | | die-cast vehicle market, they gained a large |
| impurities, and was prone to cracking or | | | | foothold in the 1970s. Manufacturers such as |
| degradation over time and with handling. | | | | Matchbox and Corgi released multiple versions |
| Because of this fact, it is difficult to find | | | | of the same vehicles, branded in many |
| die-cast trucks or other vehicle types from | | | | different ways. Trucks were perfect items |
| this era in good condition. The first | | | | for customization, and many bore the branding |
| manufacturers of die-cast vehicles included | | | | of large companies. |
| Meccano's Dinky Toys line in England and | | | | |
| Dowst Brothers' Tootsie Toys line in the | | | | The economic downturn of the 1980s saw the |
| United States. | | | | disappearance of many of the popular die-cast |
| | | | truck brands. Some of the brand names were |
| The production of die-cast toys all but | | | | reborn within new companies. For example, |
| ceased during World War II as raw materials | | | | when Lensey went bankrupt, the Matchbox name |
| were being diverted towards the war effort. | | | | changed hands a few times, and is now owned |
| However the innovations in metallurgy and | | | | by Mattel, who markets Matchbox vehicles in |
| production tooling developed during the war | | | | parallel with its Hotwheels line. |
| provided practical benefits to the toy | | | | |
| industry in the post-war era. In 1947, | | | | Today, die-cast vehicles fall primarily into |
| Lensey began manufacturing the Matchbox | | | | two markets: toys geared towards children and |
| series of vehicles, which would become the | | | | precise models geared towards adults. Both |
| most widely recognized die cast vehicle brand | | | | markets continue to be strong and new |
| in the world. Mattel's Hotwheels brand | | | | versions of both toys and models continue to |
| arrived in 1968 and challenged the dominance | | | | be released regularly. |