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Corgi Toys (trademark) is the name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles produced by Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in the United Kingdom. The Mettoy (Metal Toy) company was founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann in Northampton, England, where he was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz, who had previously worked for Ulmann at his toy company Tipp and Co of Nuremberg. They decided to market a range of toy vehicles as competition to Meccano's Dinky Toys model vehicles, which had dominated the British market for many years. Corgi Toys were introduced in the UK in July 1956 and were manufactured in Swansea, Wales, for twenty seven years before the company went into liquidation. The range was exported worldwide and sold in large numbers. Some of the best known and most popular models were of cars made famous in film and television such as the Batmobile, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 – which remains the largest selling toy car ever produced. Although the largest single vehicle type featured in the Corgi Toys range were models of cars from manufacturers around the world, this article sub-divides vehicles into genres, wherever possible, to allow a more detailed look at the variety of models produced by the company. == Early history == Mettoy became established in Northampton and within six years of the company's founding, the Northampton factory had 600 employees. A production plant was built at Fforestfach in Swansea, South Wales, to manufacture the new range of Corgi Toys. This provided many new jobs in an area of high unemployment following the scaling down of local coal mining operations.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】Mettoy - V&A Museum of Childhood )〕 Prior to the introduction of Corgi Toys, Mettoy mainly produced tin plate toys. However, in the early 1950s, they began producing a few products in cast metal. The first was a large scale wind-up racer made with a cast aluminum body and tin plate wheels. The body material was soon changed to die cast zinc and it was refitted with cast wheels and molded rubber tires. Other models followed and the product line was given the name "Castoys." These were the direct ancestors of Corgi Toys. Two models from this range are notable to Corgi Toys collectors. The first was a promotional Karrier Bantam bottle truck produced for CWS Soft Drinks, but not otherwise released. The second was a die cast service ramp used in a tin plate service station set. Both of these models would later reappear in slightly revised forms as Corgi Toys 455 and 1401.〔''The Unauthorized Encyclopedia of Corgi Toys'' Bill Manzke, Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 1997 (Reference added by book author.)〕 The name 'Corgi Toys' was chosen by Philip Ullmann in honour of the company's new home, taken from the Welsh breed of dog, the Corgi, and the iconic Corgi dog logo branded the new range. The name was short and easy to remember, further aligning the range with their rival Dinky Toys. Corgi Toys also included plastic glazing,〔 which lent the models a greater authenticity, and they carried the advertising slogan "the ones with windows". The 1956 releases were all familiar British vehicles. Six family saloon cars; Ford Consul (200/200M), Austin A50 Cambridge (201/201M), Morris Cowley (202/202M), Vauxhall Velox (203/203M), Rover 90 (204/204M), Riley Pathfinder (205/205M) and Hillman Husky (206/206M), and two sports cars; Austin-Healey 100 (300) and Triumph TR2 (301). Initially, all models were issued in free-rolling form, or with friction drive motors, with the exception of the heavy commercials which would have been too bulky and the sports cars whose low slung bodies would not be able to accommodate the motors. The Mechanical versions, as they were known, were indicated by an 'M' suffix to the model number and were available in different colour schemes. They were issued with tougher die-cast bases to support the extra weight of the motor, and in far fewer numbers. Mechanical versions did not sell particularly well, partly due to a significantly higher purchase price, and were phased out in 1960 with Ford Thunderbird (214M) the last of the line. The die-cast baseplates were expanded across the range to replace the original tin plate at the same time. Today they are considered more collectable because of their relative rarity. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Corgi Toys」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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