Now when you peruse shops you will mostly find Hot Wheels, with maybe the odd Matchbox car or perhaps a supermarket brand such as MOTOR CROSS, but largely Matchbox (and Corgi) now seems to be mostly relegated to construction vehicles or obscure bottle carrying trucks, with the odd Americanified “normal” car thrown in. Slowly it got bigger and bigger until finally, Mattel were in the position to purchase Matchbox. Featuring crazy cars from America (Yeee-HAW!), and being American and having a large company behind it – Mattel – it inevitably grew. Hot Wheels did exist in the 80’s, it was the small selection you found tucked away in the corner. The reason behind this is simple It’s HOT WHEELS. Now take a look at some of my son’s collection Modern Day HotwheelsĬan you see the difference there? Most of today’s cars are absolutely bogus and deranged incarnations which have spilt out of the minds of drunk designers at Mattel. Like I said I smashed most of mine up, so this is my brother’s cherished collection which I removed from my parent’s loft, after many hours of negotiation and written legal agreements to ensure their safety and return. Take a look at some of these classic 80’s cars, all faithfully reproduced from real production line models Ferrari GTO Matchbox Car Ford Sierra Cosworth Toy Sometimes little details missing, sometimes it’s a sub-standard build quality and in some cases, it’s just plain size issues. Every time I compare it to one of the childhood cars I cherished (until I smashed them all up in “crash tests”), and he has since lost, there’s a sense of deflation. Hot Wheels Got HotterĮvery time I take a look at one of my boy’s dinky cars, I’m sorely disappointed. In present day, we simply have rugs and the occasional jigsaw road, which offers a limited interpretation of the Metro packs. BUT no matter the size – it was still a town of YOUR imagination. Normally this meant you ended up with one set for Christmas and a few odds and ends picked up here and there throughout the remainder of your childhood. There were what seemed like countless versions of these sets, all which could be combined to create a mega town capable of taking over your parents’ entire house, subject to pocket money funds and parental willingness. Creating my own towns, using the flexible world of Matchbox Metro sets (and their cheaper, but compatible counterparts). But what I remember most fondly is the joy of slotting together little pieces of plastic road and letting my imagination run riot. The Roadsīefore we delve into the cars, we should first examine the landscape these vehicles will be commanding.Ĭar mats have stead the course of time essentially rugs, that have an aerial or sometimes isometric town printed on them, all for your car playing delight, whilst making it comfier to lay on the floor and eat biscuits. Because that’s exactly what I want it to be. Now, I acknowledge that this video could rapidly descend into a whiny “It’s not like it used to be in my day” type of video. I doubt the minds of future generations will recall the excitement of picking through a tub of misshapen, crumpled boxes featuring 4 varieties of car whilst Mum’s off buying cabbages quite as much, as the wonder and awe of a little shop dedicated and packed to the brim with toys. In our current age, both the local toy shops and the racks of cars have largely disappeared instead, you’re likely to find a box of cars shoved in a tub on the bottom shelf of your local supermarket. All presented in “matchbox” like packaging with a clear window of plastic allowing you to see the wonderous vehicle inside. Tony Medland’s was the local toy shop in my home town of Cromer, and it used to have entire racks dedicated to these little scale models.

There were other brands such as Corgi and Majorette who came pretty close and even exceeded the Matchbox mark in some cases, but Matchbox had the largest share of the market, the largest number of accessories and the widest array of cars to choose from. If you were anything like my brother and I as a child, you will have undoubtedly played with toy cars, otherwise known as dinky cars or more commonly in the UK, at least Matchbox cars.

Matchbox playsets 2015