Star Wars: Episode 1 by Galoob

Mike Pigott looks at the diecast range of space vehicles by Galoob based on the first chapter of the Star Wars saga.During the 1990s, the original Star Wars trilogy was re-released in cinemas to a new generation of fans, and the films proved just as popular as they had the first time around. A huge range of merchandise was produced around this time, including a line of diecast vehicles produced by American toy company Galoob in its Star Wars Micro Machines range. When the new chapter in the saga was released in 1999, Galoob again got the franchise and produced a range of eight diecast vehicles that had featured in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

Hot Wheels Revealers

Mike Pigott looks at Hot Wheels’ strangest marketing gimmick…model cars sold in opaque paper bags!  What was that all about?  Read on…

 If you were buying a Hot Wheels car, would you want one that was wrapped in a paper bag inside the blister pack?  Or would you rather see what you were getting?  Well, in 1993, that’s exactly what Hot Wheels did…they brought out a series called ‘Revealers’, which were packaged in bags inside the blister card, so the purchaser had no idea what car he was actually buying.

Harry Potter by Mattel

Mike Pigott looks at Mattel’s diecast models based on the incredible adventures of the boy wizard, Harry Potter.

The popular series of novels featuring the young wizard Harry Potter is one of the most successful book franchises of all time, and led to an even more successful film franchises. As is often the case, blockbuster movies often lead to spin-off toys and models, and there were a lot of these based on Harry Potter. However, many people may be surprised to learn that there was a range of Harry Potter models produced by Mattel in 2000, a year before the first film was released. These models were not based on the films, but appeared to be based on the novels.

Johnny Lightning 30th Anniversary Series

Mike Pigott looks at a small range of Johnny Lightning models released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the brand in 2000.

Johnny Lightning was a range of diecast vehicles produced by Topper Toys of New Jersey from 1969 to 1971. The range was produced in response to Mattel’s successful Hot Wheels line, and was largely influenced by them. Although most of the Topper cars were not particularly good replicas, they were heavier than Mattel’s cars and ran faster on plastic tracks. However, the Johnny Lightning range was quite short-lived, as Topper Toys suffered from financial mismanagement and went into liquidation in 1971.

Tom & Jerry by Corgi

Mike Pigott looks at the many models made by Corgi of the famous cartoon cat and mouse duo and their pals over the years.

The cat and mouse duo Tom & Jerry was created in 1939 by the now-legendary team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. As domestic animals, they were unlikely subjects for a range of diecast vehicles, but they were modelled by Corgi on a number of occasions, spanning three decades.

Siku Super Classic Fire Engines

Mike Pigott examines the 1/50 scale ‘Super Classic’ fire engines made by German company Siku.

The Siku range from Germany has traditionally been made to a uniform scale of 1/55. The miniature cars and large truck models have always been in this scale, although many of the trucks and other vehicles in the Matchbox-sized Super Series were to ‘fit the box’ scale. Siku has consistently made very high-quality diecast products, which are probably closer to being toys than fine-scale models. The oddball scale of 1/55 and the abundance of moving parts meant that Siku not really compatible with fine scale models, and tend to be aimed at the juvenile market.

However, in recent years, Siku has begun manufacturing models in more standardised scales. There have been a range of tractors and agricultural vehicles in 1/32 scale, plus trucks, tractors and construction equipment in 1/50 and 1/87 scales.

Summer Toys Fire Engines

Mike Pigott takes a look at a fairly unoriginal range of diecast miniature fire engines made by budget manufacturer Summer.

During the 1970s, a number of far-Eastern toy companies entered the diecast market to compete with the extremely popular Matchbox and Hot Wheels ranges. Some of the best known of these were Universal Toys, Zylmex, Playart, Yat Ming, Tintoys and Welly. While some of these companies made reasonably competent models, others were of extremely dubious quality and finish. Some were notorious for copying the leading manufacturers, and churned out inferior copies of toys produced by the likes of Matchbox, Corgi, Dinky and Tomica.

One Hong Kong-based company that was notorious for shoddy quality and ripping-off other manufacturers was Summer Toys. Summer was a low-end toy manufacturer that first appeared in the mid-1970s, when ‘Made In Hong Hong’ was still a byword for cheap, poor-quality toys. The Summer name was not marked on the toys or the packaging, although they could be identified by a trademark on the bottom of the blister cards and on the base of the models. The logo appears to be a leaping horse in front of three trees. The bases are also marked with the initials ‘SM’ which stands for Summer Metal Products Manufacturing Ltd.

Johnny Lightning Commemoratives: Series 2

In the second part of our series on the Johnny Lightning Commemorative Series, Mike Pigott looks at the reissued classics produced in 1995.

Johnny Lightning was a brand of diecast cars produced from 1969 to 1971 by Topper Toys of New Jersey. The models were largely knock-offs of Mattel’s Hot Wheels range, but were quite popular until the Topper company was shut down due to financial problems in 1971.

In 1994, the Johnny Lightning brand was reintroduced by Playing Mantis Toys, and eight of the original models were re-cast and sold in facsimile original packaging called the Commemorative Series. These reproductions of almost-forgotten vintage diecasts proved remarkably popular with diecast collectors, and the following year a second collection of Commemoratives was released.

The Golden Compass by Corgi

Mike Pigott looks at this unusual range from Corgi, which was based on the 2007 fantasy film.

While there have been a lot of diecast models based on science fiction movies, ones based on fantasy films are quite rare. The 2007 film The Golden Compass featured some stunning looking fantasy vehicles, and these were soon modelled by Corgi. Despite being of excellent quality, they did not sell well, possibly due to the disappointing performance of the film at the box office.

Johnny Lightning Commemorative Series

Mike Pigott looks at the the first series of revived Johnny Lightning models, produced by Playing Mantis in 1994.

Johnny Lightning was a brand of diecast cars produced between 1969 and 1971, made by American company Topper Toys. While the original run did not last long, the marque was revived in 1994 by a different toy company, Playing Mantis, producing exact replicas of the models first made in the ‘60s.