ICONIC TOY CARS

01 Dinky Toys

The miniature car division of Frank Hornby’s Meccano empire. Introduced in 1934, it survived World War Two despite its factory ceasing toy production, and continued as a household name until1979, when declining popularity saw it swallowed up by rivalbrand Matchbox.

02 Matchbox

Arriving in 1953, Matchbox focused on highly detailed toy cars that could fit inside a matchbox, because one of the creators’ daughters was only allowed to bring small toy vehicles into school. It survives to this day, now owned by American giant Mattel.

03 Hot Wheels

Perhaps the most iconic smallpush-along car of alltime, Hot Wheels has been going strong since 1968 when it stormed the market with brightly coloured hot rod miniatures. its genius was to fit allits modelcars with free-rolling hard plastic tyres and produce a track system to run on.

04

Corgi 007 AstonMartinDB5

In 1965, British toymaker Corgiwon Toy of the Year for its Goldfinger-inspired Aston DB5. The car wasn’t just a recognisable miniature of Bond’s latest car – it had secret gadgets too. Over 2.5 million were sold in the toy’s first year on sale, despite it being the wrong colour.

05

Little Tikes Cozy Cou pe

One of the best-selling cars in America, with over five million homed since 1979. The classic red ’n’ yellow Cozy Coupe took advantage of plastic injection moulding, and the result was a lightweight yet robust little car that toddlers could kick along Fred Flintstone-style.

06 Scalextric

AllhailBritish toy inventor Fred Francis, who, noting the downturn in popularity of his ‘Scalex’ clockwork toy cars in 1957, started experimenting with fitting electric motors and running them on modified railway track. No single toy is responsible for more damage to innocent skirting boards.

07 Micro Machines

In the Nineties, Micro Machines was a phenomenon, thanks to the clever idea of the portable playset. Allof a sudden, you could take a whole city on your travels. Immortalised in Home Alone as a usefulway to dispatch would-be burglars, who trod on the tiny cars.

08 Tamiya Hornet

In 1984 the wizards at Tamiya came up with one of the all-time RC hallof fame classics: the Hornet. With its upgradeable motor and relatively easy construction, the Hornet was adaptable and tough enough to survive the most demanding customers of all– bored teenagers.

09

Lego Bu gatti Chiron

The biggest car kit offered by Lego is the 3,599-piece BugattiChiron. It’s 56cm long, and features working steering and a W16 motor with reciprocating pistons. There’s even a working paddleshift gearbox and bespoke luggage. Wonder if Lego willdo a Super Sport version?