Britain’s Toy Car Wars: The War of Wheels Between Dinky, Corgi and Matchbox
£11.60£12.30 (-6%)
For fifty years, Britain made the best toy cars in the world, expertly shrinking every kind of reallife vehicle and producing them in their countless, die-cast millions. Dinky Toys were the 1930s pioneers, then in the 1950s came the pocket-money Matchbox series, followed by Corgi Toys bristling with ingenious features and movie stardust.
But who were the driving forces behind this phenomenon? And how did they keep putting the latest, most exciting cars into the palm of your hand year after year?
In this illustrated and expanded edition of Britain’s Toy Car Wars, Giles Chapman reveals the extraordinary battle to dominate Britain’s toy car industry, and the dramas and disasters that finally saw the tiny wheels come off …
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Additional information
| Publisher | 2nd edition (1 Oct. 2021), The History Press |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 240 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0750997133 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0750997133 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 2.29 x 19.81 cm |
by Mrs SP Timcke
Husband likes it
by Gezza
Brilliant trip down my childhood love of beautiful metal cars but…I wanted far more pictures of the toys I was reading about….very disappointed…..
by D. Trebble
This has to be one for the dedicated enthusiast. It complements any number of already published books on te subject, but is the first that I have seen that draws the threads of manufacturing history together and looks at the major players in the immediate post WW2 period in relation to one and other. Well written and illustrated, it included personal reminiscences from the author that many of his readers will be able to empathise with. If I had one complaint it would be about the choice of font for the text – which looks as if it has been printed in greyscale at high speed. The book deserves better than this.
by jeanjeannie
Given as a Christmas gift but I got good feedback from the person
by Fred Morris
This reminded me of my childhood. I saved my pocket money each week to buy a toy car. Unlike Giles I lacked the wisdom to see the financial value and each toy was played with to destruction.
Happy times and a great book.
by Les Fearns
Looks at the story of the three companies and their rivalries, successes and failures in depth. Tells their stories well and is good value. Firmly bound hardback. Has images, if limited. My main issue is with the typeface – it is a thin sans font that makes reading less pleasant. Goodness knows why this was chosen. Hence one star less (A ‘Lone Star’ – perhaps scope for a book here too….)
by Nimbus
I take a keen interest in model cars and whilst I own many books on the subject this volume from Giles Chapman offers both new pictures and detail. Whilst the title of the book makes reference to “Dinky vs Corgi vs Matchbox” it also includes pictures and references to other relevant marques including Spot-On and Hot Wheels and the part they played in the “Toy Car Wars”.
The book which runs to over 120 pages is well produced with plenty of pictures mostly in colour and informative text. I do agree with another reviewer that the greyish print colour doesn’t help if you struggle with a lack of contrast but at least the font isn’t too small. The book really does take you on a journey from the earliest models through to the present day and the pictures and reproductions of adverts will bring the memories floof0ing back. To me this book contains a lot of genuinely new material not found in my other books and charts the rise and fall of the UK based model car industry – I’m very pleased with this purchase.
by Brendan Bolton
A great history of the model car business in Britain from the 1940s onwards. At the time I was just a very young collector, so I was unaware of what was really happening behind the scenes with the makers of these toys / models. This book tells what was really going on, and gives a great insight to the business, Strongly recommended.