Matchbox & Lesney

Matchbox toys originated when the co-owner of Lesley Products (a now defunct toy company), Jack Odell created a toy for his daughter to bring to school, the idea came about when her school only permit children to carry toys that can fit inside a matchbox, therefore Jack Odell crafted a scaled-down version of the Lesley green and red roller. This model toy ultimately became the starting point of the 1:75 miniature range, the other vehicles of the range include a dump truck and a cement mixer.

 

This concept eventually became so popular that "Matchbox" name becomes the term that represents all model toys that is with the approximate size of 6.5cm in length, even when they are not even manufactured by Matchbox!

 

Though eventually Matchbox switched to the standard conventional plastic and cardboard "blister pack" packaging that are used by other makers such as Hot Wheels, the box style packaging was re-introduced into the collector market in recent years, with the "35th Anniversary of Superfast" series in 2004 being the most successful launch.