Matchbox was born in 1953 under the name Lesney and produced die-cast vechiles of various types.
In 1972 they bought out AMT, the well known American Model Makers. They relocated this part of
the business to the UK and started to produce 1:72nd & 1:76th scale military kits.
They were produced to directly compete with the Airfix brand. Some of you might of noticed how the Matchbox kits never
have parts break away from sprues. This is a direct influence of Matchboxs ideaolgy; They looked at
Airfixs range of kits and how they could improve them. One of the noticable points was the breakaway
issue.
Unlike the Airfix range the kits were produced in a variety of colours, normally 2 or 3 so that the
younger modellers could get away without painting. A couple of years later a wide range of subject matters
was released including Aircraft, Boats and some examples of AMTs car range.
This is an example of a slightly later Matchbox Changeller.
Sadly in the late 1980s the hobby was on the decline and with the increase of competition from computer
games and much more "professional" kits the Matchbox model business was sold to Revell. Many of the
old moulds are still issued by Revell today!
If you would like to purchase a Matchbox kit why not check our store by CLICKING HERE
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