SMALL, BUT PERFECTLY FORMED

The story of how a small-scale toy maker bridged the class divide and brought model cars to the masses, as Matchbox turns 70

- GILES CHAPMAN

It feels strange sentimental to consider, in the leastterms possible, what Matchbox toy cars actually are, because the ones produced today in Thailand are fundamentally little different from the originals made in a London pub basement 70 years ago.

They come from melted-down zincalloy ingots, whose molten metal is force-fed into moulds inside diecasting machines. These thundering contraptions spit out hundreds, thousands, millions, even, of identical small-scale car bodies. Each has spigots cast-in underneath and, once the axles, wheels and interiors are in place, these get pushed through holes in a baseplate and then flattened, to seal the vehicle together. The only way these babies will come apart is with a hammer, pliers and a level of brute force that is beyond most kids. They can get damaged, certainly, but they usually keep on rolling, and when made in big enough quantities they sell for the price of a bar of chocolate.

The concept had been well tried for many years before 1953, by Meccano in Liverpool, where Dinky Toys were produced. Yet really these were the preserve of the wealthy middle classes. A Dinky Austin-Healey 100 or Dinky Supertoys Foden petrol tanker was expensive, heavyweight and desirable, and attainable for working-class kids as special treats only at birthdays or Christmas. Only affluent children like William Brown in Richmal Crompton's Just William had pocket money that might stretch to more; everyone else just pressed their noses against toy-shop windows. And yearned.