1973 - 2000 The Story of Matchbox Kits

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The catalogue range has been expanded extensively, ranging to the AMT/Matchbox merger up to the last catalogue produced under licence by Revell in 1998. Matchbox set up its own plastic kit division in the UK around 1972/73. Concentrating on 1:72 scale military aircraft and 1:76 military vehicles, it competed with the then-dominant Airfix company. The Matchbox kits had a distinctive appearance, the parts in each kit were produced in two or three colours compared to the single colour plastic of Airfix. The boxes were also more colourful and included clear windows so the contents could be seen. In addition, unlike Airfix's military vehicle kits, the Matchbox military vehicle kits all came with a small diorama base. Like many high value collectable items Matchbox models are now prone to faking. Rare variations can be quite easily made up using genuine parts, and then sold as a "rare" variation. Colour changes – now commonplace, a planned marketing tool – were rarer earlier, with most models being produced over the span of their inclusion in the series in just one or two major colour schemes. However, not only the colour of the model's body must be regarded, but rather the entire model— including baseplate, interior, windows – and thus changes in different components can lead to a factorial increase in variation possibilities.

Figures (Yellow range) - Matchbox figure kits were identified by a P- number instead of PK-. We correct this slip of the keyboard in this update.In 1976, the Skybusters line returned, at a time when the die cast airplanes market was largely dominated by Dyna-Flytes. The brand kept coming on and off the market until the 2000s, when Mattel decided to release the models each year. Currently no airlines are under contract with Matchbox to produce Skybusters models. The most recent ones are American Airlines, UPS, British Airways, Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa and DHL. ( Delta Air Lines and United Airlines did not have a contract with Matchbox since the takeover of Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines, respectively), but jetliners are released under fictional airline names, such as Matchbox Airlines (also called MBX Airways). Products currently marketed under the Matchbox name include scale model plastic and die-cast vehicles, and toy garages. In Hong Kong a holding company was formed for them, called Matchbox International Ltd. Later Universal Matchbox Group. On September 24th, 1982 the Matchbox kit range was taken over by Universal Toys, a Hong Kong based firm owned by David Yeh.

Since the advent of organized Matchbox collectors' clubs (see below, "Matchbox collectors"), models and their variations have been coded and catalogued, and values have been roughly established. The major collectors' organizations (NAMC, AIM, Matchbox USA, MICA, MBXForum etc.) as well as individual authors have published numerous works describing the various Matchbox ranges including the models and their variations. Whereas the best of these were formerly available mainly through the clubs themselves, it is now possible to buy books on Matchbox from various publishing houses. These are available not only in English, but in several other languages (particularly German) as well. The first appearance of Matchbox kits was in 1973 when they appeared in the Matchbox Collectors Catalogue. The smaller models ("regular size"; 1-75 and related series) are often classified as 1:64 scale (though they range from smaller than 1:100 to much larger than 1:64) and measure about 2.5-3inches, or 6.5-7.5 centimetres, in length.In our guided tours section a topic has been added to show an overview of the PK-2008 display as it was seen at Scale Model World, November 15 and 16 2008 at Telford UK. A whole new category has been added for the purple aircraft range that we somehow completely missed out before...

In the 1970's I probably built most of the basic range of 1.72 aircraft. We had a newsagent about a mile from home that sold only Matchbox kits and die-cast '75' cars. Each week I'd alternate and get a kit, then a die-cast car. I still have the cars and most of them boxed too! (I was a very carefull driver)From a pure modeling perspective these kits may even be preferable to the serious modeler as having the whole kit

Almost from the beginning of the Matchbox series, commerce recognized the possibilities offered by providing a model of a "relevant" vehicle to their customers as a method of advertising. In the mid-1950s, for example, it was not rare for dairy companies to provide the Matchbox #7 Horse-Drawn Milk Float to customers as a token of appreciation for their business. So now you will see the correct identifications under the yellow ranges. Meanwhile Dirk Ommert provided boxart pictures for P-5001, P-5002, P-5003 and P-5005. Also in the late 1970s, Matchbox produced a small range of 1:32 and 1:76 Second World War toy soldiers in direct competition to Airfix. These sets included British, German and American infantry, the British 8th Army and the German Afrika Korps and British Commandos. Though Matchbox's sets featured fewer figures than comparable Airfix sets (15 vs. 29 in 1:32), they included weapons that Airfix did not model (flame-throwers, heavy machine guns), and Montgomery and Rommel figures in the Desert War sets. The figures were popular for their high-quality molding and their different extra weapons and poses as compared to the more common Airfix sets. As mentioned above, Matchbox also tried its hand in the die cast aeroplanes area, under the name Sky Busters. The models were not only produced for children; Sky Busters produced plane models for such airlines as Aeroméxico, Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Lufthansa and Saudi Arabian Airlines. However, they were and are designed more for the inexpensive toy market. Promotional models sold by the airlines themselves more often tend to be models of higher quality, exactness, and price. Here you find some fascinating details about this period. Based on first hand experiences, drawn up by Dirk Ommert.

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Unfortunately, early marketing concepts of metallic-painted tanks and bright-coloured ships were not consistent with market demands, and the models, many of which were quite well made for the money, were generally not successful. Second editions of the Battle Kings and Sky Busters series were painted in more realistic colours and were well-received but, by this time, general economic factors were seriously affecting the ability of the company to make a profit on toys manufactured in England. A little mystery on PK-401 Heinkel HE115 is discussed in Guided Tour nr 13. This brief tour encourages to do some research before taking a version Some models from the 1:125 series, fltr: Ferrari Berlinetta, Skoda 130 LR, Snow-Trac, SRN6 Hovercraft, Weasel and Scammell Snow Plough