Die-cast car
- This article or section should be merged with Die cast toy.
A die-cast car (also diecast or die cast) is a type of model car, usually made of metal and plastic. The metal is normally Zamac, a combination of zinc and aluminium (from Zinc and Aluminium Metal Alloy Casting). Die-cast cars are very popular among children and collectors. They come in various scales, the most popular ones arguably being the 1:28 and 1:64 (which is the same as the railway model S gauge), with many collectors focusing on the 1:43 (the same as the railway model O gauge), and 1:50 scales.
Die-cast car toys began to be produced around the beginning of the 20th century by manufacturers such as Tootsietoys in the United States. The first models on the market were fairly basic, consisting of a small car or van without plastic windows. As decades passed, many new types of models were introduced.
Commercial companies saw die-cast cars as a new way to commercialize: the London double decker buses that Matchbox produced for American Airlines during the late 1960s and early 1970s, for example, are among the most popular die-cast car models of all time. Many other companies, such as Elf, Royal Dutch/Shell, Texaco, Holiday Inn, Auto Zone, have used die-cast cars as a promotional method.
Mattel, realizing that, despite having a hold in the girls' toys industry with their Barbie doll line, it lacked a line of toys for boys, created the Hot Wheels line. This became one of the most popular die-cast car trademarks. Hot Wheel cars are mostly manufactured in Macau.
By the 1960s, the Lesney company of the United Kingdom had popularized its Matchbox trademark. Matchbox cars were then sold inside small boxes, or, in some cases, at glassed wall stands in stores. By the 1980s, these practices were stopped, and Lesney opted to sell their product in the more conventional cardboard and plastic cases that Hot Wheels had been using for some years.
During the 1990s, NASCAR and other sports leagues, such as the NBA and the MLB, became involved in the Die Cast car marketing business. NASCAR in particular found an important niche in the die-cast cars industry, and NASCAR cars and trucks are now fairly prominent at American department stores.
Items such as toy restaurants and filling stations are sometimes sold separately from the cars, as part of one of the series of die-cast cars. Also produced are luggage bags made specifically for children to be able to travel with their cars. Hot Wheels traditionally makes these as a car wheel-shaped bag; Matchbox's sometimes include small cities inside. Airlines and cruise companies accept these as one piece of luggage. Toy raceways are also sold for use with die-cast cars, usually involving loops and, sometimes, complicated curves.
In 1993, Matchbox was bought out by Hot Wheels, but Mattel decided to keep the Matchbox line under its own name.
During the 1990s, die-cast airplanes became popular companions to die-cast cars. The airplanes had been around since the 1960s, but began to rise in popularity during the 1980s, when the Dyna Company of California introduced their Dyna-Flytes series that included commercial jet-liners.
Other die-cast vehicles include trucks, farm equipment such as tractors, and television or movie car models. The movie The Fast and The Furious gave rise to some of the most popular movie-related die-cast models of the 2000s.
Partial list of die-cast car trademarks
- Atalya
- AutoArt
- Biante
- Brooklin
- Bburago
- Classic Carlectables
- Corgi Cars
- Dinky Toy
- Ebbro
- Hot Wheels
- Ixo
- Joal
- Jouef
- Maisto
- Majorette
- Matchbox
- Mettoy
- Minichamps
- Norev
- Racing Champions
- Schabak (Germany)
- Solido
- Tekno
- Tomy/Tomica
- Trofeu
- Vitesse
See also
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