#656 HUSKY - SEVERAL TRUCKS (From 1964 to 1966)

 

Husky is a brand from the Mettoy Company, the makers of Corgi model cars. We have talked about both Corgi and Husky before. Husky models were all in 3 inches size ("1:box" scale) and originally made exclusively for Woolworth´s in Great Britain, Canada and the United States. They were available in that supermarket chain between 1964 and 1969. However, some models were available in other countries from 1966 on. In 1969, after the Woolworth contract expired, the line was renamed "Corgi Juniors". Many models are available in two different versions that differ only in the logo on the base. Corgi was very popular in 1:43 scale, selling better than Dinky and other contemporary brands.

 

The bases of the different vehicles are mostly made of chromed plastic, although some were made in more robust metal, and originally with plastic grey/greenish wheels. These wheels were later modified for more durable metallic wheels with plastic tyres (see Guy Warrior Milk Tanker, Nr. 17-B2). Most models include windows and interiors, which is fine. The casting is quite good, but the durability is not the best. Another weak point is the suspension based on a plastic flap (in the plastic based models).

 

In 1969, shortly after Mattel´s Hot Wheels and the rename from Husky to Corgi Juniors, the "Whizzwheels" were introduced only in some models, which were more expensive than the "ordinary" series. The "fast" models were included in a series called "Corgi Rockets" that also included some tracksets, but from 1970 on, Corgi decided to mount Whizzwheels in all models, and shortly afterwards, the Corgi Rockets series was discontinued and the models released in the Corgi Juniors series.

 

The competition by Corgi to Hotwheels was successful and they got their own piece of cake. Hot Wheels lost a lot of market share and also started downgrading some features to be able to sell cheaper and cheaper.

 

10-A1 Guy Warrior Coal Truck

25-A1 S & D Refuse Truck

 

 

 

 

17-A1 Guy Warrior Milk Tanker (Oval)

17-B1 Guy Warrior Milk Tanker (Squarish) (only model with 2-component wheels)

 

 

11-A2 Land Rover Forward control

29-A1 ERF Truck (Cement Mixer)

 

 

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: 10-A1 Guy Warrior Coal Truck, 11-A2 Land Rover Forward control, 17-A1 Guy Warrior Milk Tanker (Oval), 17-B1 Guy Warrior Milk Tanker (Squarish), 25-A1 S & D Refuse Truck and 29-A1 ERF Truck (Cement Mixer)
• Year: 1964, 1965, 1966
• Company: Husky (Great Britain)
• Size: Around 7 cm
• Scale: Around 1:100 (trucks)

#469 CEFA - NUEVO COLT 45 AUTOMÁTICO (Around 1965)

There is no indication at all of which company manufactured this plastic pistol. The toy is not marked, and neither is the box. There are two sellers in todocoleccion, who have this same toy boxed, and they argue, the pistol was made by Cefa (CElulosa FAbril from Zaragoza). They might be right, although I want to register my doubts towards this atribution. It was made in Spain in any case, and it has enough quality to be a product of Cefa, although it is somehow strange that Cefa didn´t marked the pistol.

No matter which company made it, the pistol is very nice, has many details in its cast that make it look almost real, and the handle is even made in a different colour. I think there are some toy firearm collectors out there who might be interested in such a model. The pistol actually "works" and can shoot plastic bullets. In the package there were many included, but none has survived until today.

The pistol was presumably made in the mid-60s, as I can deduce from the age of its owner and also the style of the box: simple, colorful, in Spanish only. The box should have a cardboard inlay, so the pistol is fixed inside the box, and do not move. The lower part of the box is plain white.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: NUEVO COLT 45 AUTOMÁTICO
• Year: Around 1965
• Company: Cefa (Spain)
• Size: Approx. 17 cm

#363 INTERNATIONAL PAYÁ vs. MATCHBOX - VARIOUS MODELS (Around 1968)

“International Payá” was the die-cast line in 1:64 scale made by Payá, the famous Spanish toymaker from Ibi (Alicante). There were more than 50 references made in the last 60s or the early 70s, and most of them are copies from Lesney’s Matchbox.

B.R.M. F1 and LOTUS F1 (2 models)

One of the most important collectors of this particular brand is Miguel Pascual Laborda, who in www.autoescala.net published a list of all known Payá International models, taking as a reference his own collection, cardbacks, catalogues and everything he could find. The list is the following:

2102 - Lotus Formula 1
2103 - B.R.M. Formula 1
2104 - Chevrolet Impala
2105 - Cadillac Ambulancia
2106 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Policia)
2107 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Bomberos)
2108 - Camión Volquete
2109 - Fiat 1500
2110 - Ferrari Berlineta
2111 - M.G. 1.100
2113 - Microbús Mercedes
2115 - Camioneta auxiliar
2116 - Ford GT40
2117 - Seat 124
2118 - Mercedes 280 SL
2119 - Ferrari P5
2121 - Seat 600 D
2124 - Seat 850 Coupé
2130 - Simca 1.000
2131 - Renault R-8
2132 - Citroën Dyane 6
2133 - Road Master
2134 - Ferrari 312 Formula 1 (NM)
2139 - Barreiros Volquete (NM)
2140 - Barreiros S-42 Volquete (NM)
2141 - Pegaso Volquete (NM)
2143 - Jeep
2144 - Barreiros Caja (NM)
2145 - Barreiros Industrias Lácteas (NM)
2146 - Barreiros Maderas (NM)
2147 - Barreiros Correos (NM)
2148 - Barreiros Congelados (NM)
2149 - Pegaso Caja (NM)
2150 - Pegaso Toldo (NM)
2151 - Pegaso Ganado (NM)
2152 - Pegaso Frigorífico (NM)
2153 - Pegaso Mudanzas (NM)
2154 - Barreiros S-42 Caja (NM)
2155 - Barreiros S-42 Abonos Químicos (NM)
2156 - Barreiros S-42 Construcciones (NM)

(NM) indicates that the model is Not Marked on the base as International Payá. These model are all trucks (Pegaso oder Barreiros) plus the Ferrari 312 Formula 1.

All these models were die-cast made. A few models were also made in plastic, those were intended for special racetracks, and were equipped with some kind of wind-up mechanism (I’ll show this racetrack in a future entry).

LOTUS F1 (Matchbox / International Payá)

Vehicles were available in two models of blister cards, being one larger than the other. There are some very rare promotional sets as well: the most complete and famous of these sets were promotional giveaways from a washing powder brand “Skip”. There were 4 sets of 3 cars and a few traffic signs each.

Some of these models were copied from casts made by Matchbox. Other models are not 1:1 copies, but have some differences. In my case, I only have models which are copies from Matchbox, as you can see in the pictures.

CADILLAC AMBULANCE (Matchbox / International Payá )

The condition of the cars varies from one to the other, but they’re all quite worn. Note that the chassis is made in all models except the formula 1s in plastic, so the durability is more limited, than if it was full die-cast made. Paintwork is also not that good; all cars have many chips, probably because of a mixture of bad storage and playtime. Even carded models present sometimes different kinds of problems like paint damage, plastic chassis about to crease and break… definitely, they were not made with the high quality standards that the company applied in its other toys. No matter what, they’re super-rare models, so difficult to find. And even if they’re not mint, they’re very sought-for collectibles.

FORD GALAXY (Matchbox / International Payá)

The models with the lower reference numbers seem to be easier to find than the later ones. Probably, these were available during a longer period of time, and sold more units than the higher reference numbers. It is unknown to me, in which year was each reference available. Maybe in the future, we will be able to find this out.

CAMIÓN VOLQUETE Ref. 2108 (International Payá)

DUMPER TRUCK (Matchbox) / CAMIÓN VOLQUETE (International Payá)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: PAYÁ INTERNATIONAL: LOTUS F1 (Ref. 2102), B.R.M. F1 (Ref 2103), CADILLAC AMBULANCIA (Ref. 2105), FORD GALAXIE JEFE BOMBEROS (Ref. 2107) and CAMIÓN VOLQUETE (Ref. 2108)
• Name: MATCHBOX: LOTUS RACING CAR (Nr. 19D), S&S CADILLAC AMBULANCE (Nr. 54B), FORD GALAXIE (Nr. 59C), DUMPER TRUCK (Nr. 48C)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Payá International: Around 1970
• Year: Matchbox: 19D and 54B (1965-1970), 59C and 48C (1966-1970)
• Company: Payá International (Spain) Matchbox (G. Britain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm

#199 MATCHBOX – CHEVROLET IMPALA TAXI, 8-WHEEL CRANE, LINCOLN CONTINENTAL, CADILLAC S&S AMBULANCE, FIAT 1500 and MERCEDES COACH (Nr. 20, 30, 31, 54, 56, 68) (1964 and 1965)

MATCHBOX 1964 to 1966: EXPANSION YEARS

For this entry, I will present a nice bundle of Matchbox cars made in the year 1965, plus the Lincoln Continental that was released at the end of 1964.

This years are important in the Matchbox history, because at this point, Matchbox was selling more than half of their production outside the United Kingdom: mostly in the United States, and also in Europe. This fact was observed by Matchbox, and then, they decided to manufacture the first American cars in the 1-75 series ever. The new approach would bring slightly bigger toys, plastic interiors and plastic windows. By 1968, the whole 75 references had been replaced.

The politics of reproducing foreign cars was a great success, and by 1965, the company was producing over 2 million cars per week, and employing more than 3000 people. It is very interesting to note, that this year, Matchbox started working with more than one cast for each model. Each cast has a lifespan of around 5 million units, and that wasn’t enough, so it is not rare to find some cast variants in several 1-75 models.

In 1966, nothing changed much, each time more and more foreign vehicles, replaced the older references… up to 20 references this year. A nice model from this year was the Greyhound Bus, the first American bus model in the British die-cast company. Although most of these new 20 were American models, there were also new British (MG 1100) and German models (Opel Diplomat, Mercedes-Benz 230SL)

Nr. 20: Chevrolet Impala taxi was one of the very few models including the driver in the plastic interiors of the car.

Nr. 30: 8-Wheel Crane is an undetermined truck model, which replaced in 1965 a similar Magirus-Deutz crane. It was discontinued in 1970, so there are versions with superfast wheels too.

Nr. 31: The Lincoln Continental was probably one of the most beautiful models from that year (1964). The real model, however became famous for the assassination of the U.S. President J. F. Kennedy. Early Matchbox models were released in dark metallic blue, since they were planned before that tragedy. Later models were released in a turquoise (see pictures above), that were much different to the presidential car. This model survived a few years, and in 1970 it was released with superfast wheels in metallic gold color.

 

Nr. 54: The Cadillac S&S Ambulance was the first American Ambulance released by Matchbox. In the 1-75 catalogue, coexisted with a Bedford ambulance, that sold better in Europe.

Nr. 56: The Fiat 1500 is a extremely nice model, a sample of the first foreign (not-american) cars ever made: this model plus a Ferrari Berlinetta, both Italian.

Nr. 68: The Mercedes Coach appeared relatively late. The real bus (O 319) was in production between 1955 to 1965 approximately. The bus however looks great (and looked modern in 1965) with all those windows. The lower body is die-cast metal, while the upper body is made of plastic. 

Most information for this article has been taken from the chapter 5 of the book “Matchbox Cars: the first 50 years” by Mac Ragan. Although the book is out of print now, this chapter can be read for free in Google Books.

To finish, I’d like to recommend the following website, which is the only one that clearly indicates the years of release and discontinuation of the Matchbox 1-75 series, as well as many interesting catalogues (British, American and German editions) for free: http://www.hgm-matchbox.de/default.htm

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHEVROLET IMPALA TAXI, 8-WHEEL CRANE, LINCOLN CONTINENTAL, CADILLAC S&S AMBULANCE, FIAT 1500 and MERCEDES COACH (Ref. 20C, 30C, 31C, 54B, 56B, 68B)
• Scale: 1:64, 1:100 the Bus and the 8-wheeled truck (approx.)
• Year: 1964 (Lincoln) and 1965 (rest)
• Company: Matchbox-Lesney (United Kingdom)
• Size: 6 to 7 cm (approx.)