The Minic 1/20 scale cars were among the most accurate plastic models. They were electrically-powered.

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1 The Minic 1/20 scale cars were among the most accurate plastic models. They were electrically-powered. on developing the VIP electric roadway system. The Tri-ang range included many desirable vehicles like the Austin Healey 100, MGA, Triumph Herald Coupé and the Bentley Continental convertible. The standard of the Minic 1/20 series was never surpassed as several factors led British toy companies to develop in other directions. The main one was that Hong Kong companies were able to produce battery-operated toy cars far more cheaply, and as a result, UK toy manufacturers began to take more interest in developing slot car racing systems which were much more fun to play with not only the hugely successful Scalextric range but others like Minic Motorways, Airfix and Champion. The last significant plastic range made by Tri-ang was the Minix series of 1/76 scale cars, launched in Designed to accompany Tri-ang railways, the Minix range included many of the cars familiar on British roads in the late 1960s: Ford Anglia and Corsair, Morris 1100, Vauxhall Viva and Victor, Triumph 2000, Austin A60 and 1800, Sunbeam 12

2 Mettoy Austin Breakdown Four variations on this Austin were announced in Mettoy s 1953 catalogue: open truck, tipper, fire engine and breakdown. Length: 4.25 inches. Price guide: 10 Mettoy Luxury Coach A larger (11 inch) and more elaborate model, with electric lighting, plastic figures and a rotating destination board. The transparent top can be removed to allow the driver and passenger figures to be repositioned as desired. Price guide: 60 Mettoy Ambulance The cab is similar to the breakdown but the ambulance is in a larger scale (7 inches long). The same model also comes as a dark blue police van and the box illustrates both versions. The rear doors open. Price guide: 50 Mettoy Fire Engine Similar in scale to the ambulance, the fire engine has a bell which rings as the toy is pushed along. The cab is loosely based on a Bedford. Length: 7 inches. Price guide: 40 19

3 Citroën DS The real Citroën had a separate roof panel made of plastic just like the Norev version! A common fault on early Norevs is for a chemical reaction to take place where two plastic sections join, causing discolouration as on this example. Price guide: 30 Norev Renault Dauphine Like the 4CV which it eventually replaced, the 1956 Dauphine had a rear-mounted engine. Norev was good at coming up with novel ways of promoting its products and the background to this picture shows a paper bag depicting models from the Norev range which was supplied to toy shops. Norev Lancia Aurelia While most Norev cars were French, some were chosen from further afield, such as this stylish Lancia Aurelia coupé. Norev Panhard Dyna with skis Powered by an air-cooled engine of only 850cc, the 1954 Panhard Dyna was nevertheless a full six-seater. This version of the Norev with roof rack and skis is much rarer than the ordinary issue, as such small accessories are very easily lost. Price guide: 60 32

4 From the late nineteenth century onwards, Nuremberg enjoyed the reputation of being the world s centre of metal toy production. Inevitably, the First and Second World Wars dealt the industry a heavy blow and allowed other countries the opportunity to catch up. In 1945, the Nuremberg toy industry had effectively to start from scratch. One favourable factor, however, was the city s location in the American-occupied zone, once again allowing access to the lucrative American export market. Toys were produced in exchange for the foreign currency that would provide vital basic supplies summed up at the time in the slogan tinplate for tinned food. Thus, the toy industry shared in the German economic miracle of the 1950s. However, in the long term, the writing was on the wall. The market for tin toys was completely taken over by Japan, where labour costs were much lower and where there was no reluctance to copy other companies products. In any case, by the mid-1950s, traditional tin toys had had their day, falling out of fashion because of safety concerns over their sharp edges. Willingly or otherwise, long-established German toy companies such as Distler, Arnold, JNF and Gama started to make use of plastics for their clockwork, friction and battery-powered cars. JNF is a typical example. The letters stand for Josef Neuhierl, in Fürth, who founded his company in JNF started making tin cars again after the Second World War, bringing out the Struxy series of plastic cars in As the name suggests, these had a construction element as the car could easily be taken apart and put together again. Models like the 1/25 scale Mercedes 220S and the larger (12 inch) Volkswagen Karmann Ghia T34 are highly prized by German collectors, though the type of plastic used is prone to warping unfortunately. This series lasted for only a short time, until JNF devoted its attention to an electric slot car system before disappearing from the scene in the 1980s. By then, of course, many other famous German toy names had disappeared, too. A major factor in this decline was that many companies continued production of metal toys for too long, failing to recognise the importance of plastic. One exception to the rule was Gama, founded by Georg Adam Mangold, in Fürth, in After the Second World War, Gama produced many tinplate cars, its masterpiece being a 1950s Cadillac. The appearance of a plastic 1959 Buick Electra inaugurated a new series which can be seen as transitional products, combining plastic bodies with lithographed tinplate interiors. Gama then concentrated its efforts on the Mini-Mod series of diecast cars, which enabled the company to survive and to take over another famous German brand, Schuco, in the 1980s. If some of the older German metal toy companies saw plastic as a threat, there were others who embraced the new material wholeheartedly. Most mechanical tin toys were necessarily large and therefore expensive; plastic, on the other hand, was well adapted to smaller and cheaper lines. Germany s biggest contribution to the development of plastic cars was to lie in small HO scale models, originally envisaged as accessories for model railways. The key figure here was Friedrich Karl Peltzer. Being the son of a naval officer, Peltzer was always interested in ships and his hobby was making waterline models of these. In 1938, he made a scale model vehicle and exhibited at a trade fair in Leipzig, founding Wiking Modellbau the following year. He hardly had time to develop the business when war broke out, and during this period, Peltzer s The Gama factory in Fürth, Germany, as it looked in

5 Telsalda Road Roller The inspiration for this 5 inch model comes from a French Dinky Toy, the Richier road roller which first appeared in Telsalda Ford Thames Minibus This model comes with a removable roof rack, luggage and passengers. Another variation has an extended roof section as fitted to the original Corgi camper van from which it is copied. Length: 7.5 inches. Price guide: 35 Linda Toys Tipper This simple truck is 4.5 inches long. Linda Toys also made copies of some early Corgi Toy cars, such as a Rover, Jaguar and Citroën. Price guide: 8 101