A fake i wanted

[ford_a_30]

I think these signs, like the "big rig American container trucks" using Matchbox's name in the 1980's are a different type of "fake". They are more like a pirate model in that a company is making the entire product and then trying to pass it off as Matchbox. Much like a knock off style hand bag. I would not put them in the same category as a "fake" done to resemble a rare single model. For this reason, I would love to have a set of these pirate road signs.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

The road signs in question and shown earlier in this thread are nice and I also would have no problem buying and displaying them in a Matchbox collection. I believe many items like those signs were made with good intent, not realising the infringement problems, much like during the Sixties and Seventies when retail shops like Halfords in the UK, had many accessories made to compliment your new car, you would not question the manufacture of said items, just buy it and fit or use it with your car. Wing mirrors were not fitted to all cars as a standard fitment, but you could have ordered them as optional extras, or go to Halfords and buy a cheaper pair and of a more sporty design if you wanted.

Mail order catalogues and wholesale stores had loads of toys and complimentary accessories to enhance Children's enjoyment of playing with toy cars, whoever made them and they were often much cheaper than those items that were made by the likes of Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox, the fact that those road signs have been made with the 'MATCHBOX' text on the backing card should be seen as a compliment and a hint towards them being suitable for use with Matchbox cars.

GHOSTHUNTER.

[johnboy]

The road signs in question and shown earlier in this thread are nice and I also would have no problem buying and displaying them in a Matchbox collection. I believe many items like those signs were made with good intent, not realising the infringement problems, much like during the Sixties and Seventies when retail shops like Halfords in the UK, had many accessories made to compliment your new car, you would not question the manufacture of said items, just buy it and fit or use it with your car. Wing mirrors were not fitted to all cars as a standard fitment, but you could have ordered them as optional extras, or go to Halfords and buy a cheaper pair and of a more sporty design if you wanted.

Mail order catalogues and wholesale stores had loads of toys and complimentary accessories to enhance Children's enjoyment of playing with toy cars, whoever made them and they were often much cheaper than those items that were made by the likes of Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox, the fact that those road signs have been made with the 'MATCHBOX' text on the backing card should be seen as a compliment and a hint towards them being suitable for use with Matchbox cars.

GHOSTHUNTER.

It would be interesting to know what Matchbox's stance was and what action, if any, was taken against copycats/piracy and so on. I would have thought that the protection of their name and products was very dear to them, especially as the company grew and became more sophisticated.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

I don't think they would have been too worried of the small companies making similar items to theirs, especially if they were involved in helping those companies get started in the first place!

But the bigger companies with large production capacities were another matter and Lawyers working for Lesney must have been kept quite busy.

Pre-1998 Rolls-Royce Motor cars Ltd, set up an in-house department just to cope with all the infringement issues and employed a full-time Lawyer, who wrote nice polite letters to companies copying their names, logos and other intellectual rights items, such as the shapes of their cars and the 'Silver Lady' mascot viewed from all angles.

If we knew which company Lesney went to for the services of a Lawyer, we might be able to get in contact with them and ask nicely if they have any details of the action taken and against who.

GHOSTHUNTER.

[Alan H]

I'm not terribly interested in fakes per se. It's sort of "cheating", and they can be sold as real either accidentally by unknowing heirs, or deliberately by unscrupulous sellers. There is/was one fellow who restored models but he put screws in place of the original rivets so there would never be any doubt that they were restorations. I can't remember his name.

One type of reproduction I would like to see is the old cardboard Lesney displays. Originals are very hard to find, tend to be very delicate, and beyond my price range! A reproduction plainly marked as one would be really nice, especially for the Major and King ranges. A great way to display a collection!

[GHOSTHUNTER]

I'm not terribly interested in fakes per se. It's sort of "cheating", and they can be sold as real either accidentally by unknowing heirs, or deliberately by unscrupulous sellers. There is/was one fellow who restored models but he put screws in place of the original rivets so there would never be any doubt that they were restorations. I can't remember his name.

One type of reproduction I would like to see is the old cardboard Lesney displays. Originals are very hard to find, tend to be very delicate, and beyond my price range! A reproduction plainly marked as one would be really nice, especially for the Major and King ranges. A great way to display a collection!

I agree, modern reproductions correctly marked with a date of when they were made and printed would be nice, someone somewhere will have duplicates of those, so one could be scanned, printed, mounted on card and packaged for collectors to buy.

GHOSTHUNTER.

[johnboy]

Wasn't there someone selling repro displays some time back, possibly befora days?

[Idris]

Wasn't there someone selling repro displays some time back, possibly befora days?

Wasn't that Garry (who resigned under a cloud)?

[johnboy]

Wasn't there someone selling repro displays some time back, possibly befora days?

Wasn't that Garry (who resigned under a cloud)?

That rings a large bell now. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it

[kwakers]

A couple of Forum members were happy with displays Garry had reproduced for them, but one Buyer on E Bay put him out of selling them on-line with terrible Feedback. If anyone can get to BeFora, he made a reproduction of a very detailed early Yesteryear display, and that was pictured along with the Forum member's Thanks for it in a post 3+ years ago. Gary's prices were way too cheap in my opinion for the work he put into them, but I never got to buy one to check on their quality in hand. His pictures of them looked colorful and accurate, and I even gave him accurate measurements for the Bronner 1-75 cardboard display he was working on that long ago. kwakers