"MATCHBOX" copies etc.

[matchboxkiwi]

Ghosthunter this is a wonderful thread that you have started. I'm fascinated by all the different copies and have a number myself.
My question to you and the board members is, when is the model a copy and when is it just another companies version of the same model ?
What actually defines a copy ?
A good example might be those lucky toys from Hong Kong:
The Land Rover Fire Truck which is shown. This is a real vehicle. If I was to make a model of this, and you made a model of this surely they would look the same or similar. We might decide to make them of different scales but did we copy each other ?
I also have some lucky toy models. I have MB 19 Road Dragster, MB 7 Hairy Hustler and MB 4 Grewsome Twosome. Now I could be wrong here but these models aren't real vehicles. A manufacturer ie Lesney have come up with these models, so when another company produces these to me they are direct copies what ever the scale.

I put in a thread before about some 1-75 scale model copies by Cragsten, but couldn't think what they were. You showed the AHI models from Japan and that reminded me the models I have are the AHI models packaged in a Cragsten gift set.

Cheers Steve
Matchboxkiwi

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hello matchboxkiwi,

This point is often mentioned when copies are disscused, the Lucky company are well known for copying commercially available models and yes, if a couple of companies make a model of the same vehicle it probably will look the same, but if one of the copies shares the same design techniches as the original, then that clearly is a copy.

An example of this is "FAB 1", there have been countless toys and models made of this since the mid-60's, the Dinky version is very well known and one direct copy exists from the Japanese 'EDAI GRIP' company, simply because the Dinky was based on the 'puppet' car, the one where the actual puppets would fit in for the filming and the same one seen in the TV episodes. The Dinky is very close to it, the Dinky has also been designed with four doors, this was a mistake and any other models with four doors are also wrong, the 'EDAI GRIP' has four doors, other licenced toys at the time, like the 'JR 21' and the 'LINCOLN' do not even have doors represented and the first good plastic kit has the correct two door design.

Put the Edai grip and Dinky "FAB 1" side by side and you will see that one is copied from the other.

The 'AHI' models were marketed in Japan, naturally by 'AHI', later by 'BANDAI' as Bandai Baby, in America they were marketed by 'ACE IMP Co.' and 'CRAGSTAN' they even came to Europe under the 'ACE' name.

Back to plastic, very few of those friction powered toys from Hong Kong were actually made by the company shown on the box or baseplates, two large toy factories in Hong Kong were responsible for most of them, with a handfull of smaller companies supplying the rest.

Lucky, Tat, Telsalda, Maks, Lincoln and many more are well known brand names with direct copies of Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox models in their ranges.

Quite often they would copy one or two models, but when you find most of the models in a range, like the Lesney 'MOY' models, then they are definate copies.

I am pleased you find the thread interesting, there are more pictures to come, but I would like to see any copied "MATCHBOX" models you have, make sure you post them here and not in the main model specific threads section, many thank's,

GHOSTHUNTER.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Matchboxkiwi, you have a private message.

GHOSTY.

[matchboxkiwi]

Hi Goastbuster,
Yes, having problems posting pictures. Well to be honest I haven't even tried as I have no idea where to start!

Cheers Steve
Matchboxkiwi

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hi Goastbuster,
Yes, having problems posting pictures. Well to be honest I haven't even tried as I have no idea where to start!

Cheers Steve
Matchboxkiwi

Hi Matchboxkiwi, I have put a guide on this for you in the 'Edit Your Pictures' thread, see how you get on, any probs, give me a shout,

Regards,
GHOSTHUNTER.

[ChFalkensteiner]

The 'AHI' models were marketed in Japan, naturally by 'AHI'.

Is this really true?

I have read on several occasions in the past that "AHI" stands for "Azrak Hamway International", a toy distributor in the USA which distributed those models, and that the "AHI" name is used for those Japanese models only because the actual manufacturer's name is unknown and because some examples have an "AHI" logo cast on their baseplates.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hi Chfalkensteiner,

Yes, pretty sure this was the case. I took the item from a slide show I made about Darracq toys and models, but I will check this again in case I have made a mistake, and yes, its pretty common knowledge that 'CRAGSTAN' marketed most, if not all the 'AHI' vehicles as sets of models in America.

Thank's for bringing this forward,

Regrads,
GHOSTHUNTER.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hello Chfalkensteiner,

I looked on the 'net' and found two little snippets of similar notes on the AHI models, nothing there to confirm their existance so early on in Japan, so I went back to my original hand written notes, (for my slide show on Darracq toys and models) and what I have, is... "toys made in Japan and sold as AHI BRAND" and what this was telling me, is that they must have been sold by 'AHI', (that we know are the initials of an american based distributor) in Japan under that name and the fact that some of the models do have AHI BRAND cast onto their base, was telling me the same thing, to cut a long story short..."marketed in Japan, naturally by AHI".

It is looking as if Azrak Hamway commissioned these models from a company in Japan, (allowing the AHI name to be included on the base) and he added them to his inventory as a product line he could sell/market in Japan and the U.S.

Reagrds,
GHOSTHUNTER.

[matchboxkiwi]

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Trying to upload this Milton Yesteryear. Hope it works ok.

Cheers Steve
Matchboxkiwi

[matchboxkiwi]

Here are one or two of my matchbox copies.
Cheers Steve
Matchboxkiwi