Corgi Toys

Corgi Toys created their space in the hearts of children of all ages worldwide most vividly with tens of millions of James Bond Aston Martin cars that shoot a baddie out through a sprung hatch in the roof as well, as well as more than ten million replicas of the legendary original TV Batmobile, made from 1966 until 1981. By being highly innovative and First Again with so many new gimmicks that children loved and the industry copied, Corgi Toys was the first hugely successful competitor in the zinc diecast toy car market to take on established 1930s originator Dinky Toys and pocket money segment leader Lesney Matchbox 1-75 series. This book provides an informative introduction to Corgi Toys made in Swansea, Wales between 1956 and 1983. This history is illustrated with beautiful previously unpublished photographs illustrating the most desirable variations worth collecting when spotted in an antique store or at a car-boot sale. The pitfalls of Ebay, fakes, and customs are also covered.

Mick Bruce was given his first toy car, a Corgi 474 musical Ford ice cream van, by his parents for his third birthday. Disliking the new fast but plasticy toys swamping shops from 1973, he began searching local shops for 1960s stock street cars with rubber tires to collect. He restarted adding to his childhood collection in 1997 and has been an active participant in online diecast chat forums since 2004.