Austin 1800

The makers said they were ‘ The Greatest Little Cars in The World’ yet they only cost one shilling [5p] each and, even in 1964, that wasn’t a lot of money. No wonder Lines Brothers churned out millions of them.

The Minix range of plastic vehicles was designed to be used with Tri-ang’s OO Gauge model railways; for example, in the ‘Car-a-belle’ set, which contained transporter wagons of the type used to take cars from factories to delivery yards or docks for export. For that reason, the subjects chosen were not at all exotic but were typical of the family cars running about British roads at the time – Ford Anglia and Corsair, Austin A60 and 1800 (pictured above), Triumph 2000, Morris 1100, Vauxhall HA Viva and more. Only two models, a Simca 1300 and Rambler Classic, were ‘foreign’. A range of Ford ‘D’ trucks was planned but never appeared, leaving an AEC single-deck bus and a Ford Thames van as the sole commercial vehicles.

Although almost all the subjects were British, Minix vehicles were sold in many other countries, especially the USA. Their vibrant palette of colours made these little cars stand out and, even though they were very simple, the basic shapes were accurate and they were not superseded until the first 1:76-scale Oxford diecasts appeared in 2007. Minix cars had chromed grilles, bumpers and wheels to begin with, but later issues lacked the chrome plating and from 1970 they were only available as part of railway wagon loads.

Each vehicle came in a thin cardboard box covered in easily ripped cellophane, while twin-packs of two cars, or a car and trailer, were packed in sturdier boxes. Both types are sought after so expect to pay £15-20 for a boxed car and at least double for a twin-pack.