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could fit inside a matchbox, but Nick Jones debunks this story in his book, Matchbox Toys. According to the book, Annie "kept bringing home spiders and creepy-crawlies inside a matchbox", so Odell promised to make her a toy that fit in the matchbox if she didn't bring any more spiders home. Odell then made her a scaled-down Road Roller, which became popular at her school. The idea was then born to sell the model in a replica
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was able to buy Moko, marketing its products under its own name from that point on. A period of great expansion, tremendous profit, and recognition followed: In 1966, Lesney received their first (of several) Queen's Awards for
Industry. By the mid-'60s, Matchbox was the largest brand of die-cast model vehicles in the world, and had diversified the line into multiple series.
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286:) also suffered the same fate. The Matchbox brand as well as Lesney's tooling were bought by and became a division of Universal Holdings/Universal Toys, where the company re-formed as "Matchbox International Ltd." Tooling and production were moved to Macau. Jack Odell went on to form a new company,
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In the early years of the series, Lesney used a partner company, "Moko" (itself also named after its founder, Moses
Kohnstam), to market/distribute its toys. This distribution was documented on the boxes themselves, on which the text "A Moko Lesney product" appeared. By the end of the decade, Lesney
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The final and decisive stepping stone in the pre-Matchbox era was a toy which Mr. Odell designed for his daughter Annie: a scaled-down version of the Lesney green and red road roller. The toy's origin is debatable; it's been said that the daughter's school only allowed children to bring toys that
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model (the industry leader in die-cast toy cars at that time); in hindsight proves to be the first of perhaps three major milestones on the path to their eventual destiny. It established transportation as a viable and interesting theme; other similar models followed, including a cowboy-influenced
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The first release under the
Matchbox name included three models, two of which (nos. 1 and 3) were based on larger Lesney toys as described above. The third model, the no. 2 Dump Truck, was actually a scaled-down version of a competitor's model, the original having been manufactured by Condon
236:. Two versions were created, the first in a larger scale, followed by a smaller-scale model. It was this second model that sold over a million units, a massive success at the time. The profits from the sales provided valuable capital for further investments.
162:(6 March 1918 - 26 May 2005) and Rodney Smith (26 August 1917 - 20 July 2013). The name "Lesney" was a portmanteau from both partners' (who were not related by blood) names. They had been school friends and served together in the
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Although the name Lesney became synonymous with
Matchbox, the company produced several toys previous to and into the Matchbox era which were not sold under that famous moniker. Today, these are highly
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covered wagon and a soap-box racer. The company continued to produce non-toy items; of those marketed directly by Lesney, one of the more popular ones was a fishing bait press, well liked by
British
178:(another die-casting company). Mr. Odell initially rented a space in the Lesney building to make his own die-casting products, but he joined the company as a partner in that same year.
197:. As that proved to be a viable alternative to reducing their factory's output during periods in which they received fewer or smaller industrial orders, they started making
244:– thus also yielding the name of the series which would propel Lesney to worldwide, mass-market success. The road roller ultimately became the first of the Matchbox
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On 11 July 1982, after years of difficulties due to the economic climate in
Britain at the time, Lesney went bankrupt and into receivership. Competing companies
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Milk Float (1949), later scaled down to become
Matchbox no. 7; this was the 1st toy made in Lesney's second factory at Barratts Grove
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Photos of non-Matchbox Lesney toys as well as of
Matchbox and competitors' models, and of the Lesney factory in Hackney
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189:(The Rifleman), but later, as finances allowed, changed location several times before finally moving to a factory in
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472:- a site with comprehensive listings of Lesney products, including detailed product information and photographs
466:- Nick Jones Moko Lesney Matchbox Toy Collecting 1953–1983, detailed reference resource with photos (Dead link)
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Massey-Harris
Tractor (1954), perhaps the finest Lesney toy, later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 4
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was a
British manufacturing company responsible for the conception, manufacture, and distribution of
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Some of the tools and dies created in the Lesney era were still used in the Matchbox line of 2007.
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which became synonymous with the company. In late 1947 they received a request for parts for a
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512:- an International Club of Matchbox Collectors exchanging Information mainly via the Internet
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small Royal State Coach (1953), first big seller, provided capital for further ventures
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large Royal State Coach (1951 & 1952); the 1st version included figures of king
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the following year. Seeing no future for the company, Rodney Smith left in 1951.
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Lesney was founded on 19 January 1947 as an industrial die-casting company by
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MOYBOYZ - forum chat board for collectors of the 'Models of Yesteryear' range
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Muffin the Mule (1951), a puppet animal based on a TV show (marketed by Moko)
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Prime Mover & Trailer (1950), used in different scales later as Matchbox
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Caterpillar Bulldozer (1948), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 18
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Caterpillar Crawler (1948), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 8
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The next crucial milestone was the production of a replica of the
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Matchboxmemories - Great site on the 'Models of Yesteryear' range
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Cement Mixer (1948), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 3
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Road Roller (1947), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 1
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421:(1 ed.). Great Britain: Shire Publications. p. 15.
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Jumbo the Elephant (1950), a clockwork toy (marketed by Moko)
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The first model toy they produced in 1948; a die-cast
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Former "Lesney Matchbox Toys" factory pictured in 2009
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brand remained after being acquired by Universal Toys
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MatchboxPeru.Com - Foro de autos a escala en español
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294:. Since 1996 the Matchbox brand has been owned by
150:" name. The company existed from 1947 until 1982.
491:- Extensive matchbox collection of the 70's epoch
363:queen; the horses were cast by competing company
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460:- For all Matchbox related discussion
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481:History of Lesney and of Matchbox
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1484:Toy companies established in 1947
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375:Conestoga Covered Wagon (1954)
140:Lesney Products & Co. Ltd.
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458:Vintage British Diecast Forum
69:; 42 years ago
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339:Rag & Bone Cart (1949)
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208:Conestoga Wagon by Lesney
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550:manufacturers and brands
464:Viintage British Diecast
309:Non-Matchbox Lesney toys
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336:Soap-Box Racer (1949)
317:items. They include:
261:Volkswagen Camper Van
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123:, commercial vehicles
489:www.70's-matchbox.de
483:Models of Yesteryear
454:at Wikimedia Commons
417:Jones, Nick (2016).
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199:die cast model toys
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172:John "Jack" Odell
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160:Leslie Smith
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94:Headquarters
59:Rodney Smith
56:Leslie Smith
1190:Meccano Ltd
1062:Herpa Wings
753:Meccano Ltd
547:Scale model
315:collectible
259:A Matchbox
214:road roller
146:under the "
105:Area served
1468:Categories
1032:Corgi Toys
853:Scalextric
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688:Hot Wheels
668:Greenlight
638:Corgi Toys
596:Auto Pilen
404:References
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300:Hot Wheels
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164:Royal Navy
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52:Founder
44:Founded
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1208:Airfix
1165:Hornby
1150:Bandai
1145:Airfix
1127:Zvezda
1112:Tamiya
1097:Schuco
1092:Revell
1057:Heller
1022:Aurora
1017:Airfix
991:Zvezda
986:Tamiya
981:Solido
971:Revell
951:Heller
931:Airfix
888:Tomica
873:Tamiya
868:Solido
858:Schuco
838:Revell
813:Pocher
763:Mettoy
733:Maisto
723:Lesney
718:Kyosho
713:Kenner
678:Heller
628:Conrad
623:Code 3
601:Aurora
586:Airfix
571:trucks
559:brands
425:
350:models
296:Mattel
278:) and
272:Mettoy
187:London
128:Brands
1372:Bayko
1334:Mezco
1218:Dinky
1200:Ships
1170:Jouef
1117:Tekno
1037:Dinky
936:Dinky
893:Tonka
878:Tekno
848:Safir
803:Norev
728:Lledo
693:Husky
683:Herpa
643:Dinky
380:Notes
288:Lledo
284:Dinky
276:Corgi
218:Dinky
1349:SOTA
1339:NECA
1319:Jada
1309:Hawk
1281:Siku
1276:Ertl
1248:Pyro
1228:Hawk
1223:Frog
1185:Lima
1175:Kato
1102:Siku
1087:Pyro
1052:Hawk
1047:Frog
1042:ESCI
1007:List
966:Pyro
941:ESCI
913:Ziss
863:Siku
833:RAMI
828:Pyro
793:Muky
703:Jada
663:Frog
658:ESCI
653:Ertl
648:Efsi
618:Buby
576:List
567:Cars
423:ISBN
346:and
344:1-75
246:1-75
121:cars
82:Fate
74:1982
67:1982
47:1947
1082:MPC
798:NZG
778:MPC
606:AFX
591:AMT
569:and
361:and
183:pub
38:Toy
1470::
388:^
302:.
1010:)
1004:(
579:)
573:(
539:e
532:t
525:v
431:.
282:(
274:(
76:)
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