Collecting diecast toy cars has become an increasingly popular hobby over the last 25 years. Many of the classic diecast cars of the 1950s and 1960s are now valuable collectors' items, and surviving examples in mint and boxed condition regularly fetch significant sums at specialist auctions.This book provides a comprehensive survey of the companies that made these toys in the 1950s and 1960s, not only in Britain but in other European countries, the USA, Japan and beyond. Major names such as Dinky Toys, Corgi Toys, Spot-On and Matchbox (Great Britain), Solido (France), Marklin and Gama (Germany ), Tekno (Denmark) and Tootsietoy (USA) are examined, but a unique feature of the book is the wealth of information provided on many smaller and more obscure brands. These include Crescent, Budgie, Chad Valley and Lone Star (UK), CIJ and JRD (France), Dalia (Spain), Buby (Argentina), Gamda (Israel) and many others about which information is hard to come by. A special chapter is devoted to early Japanese diecast models by Cherryca Phenix, Model Pet and Diapet, which are among the rarest and most sought-after of all diecasts. Fascinating insights into company histories are provided, together with 300 photographs of rare examples of the toys themselves, in mint condition with their original boxes. A further unique feature is the inclusion of a large selection of colourful and evocative illustrations from catalogues and period trade advertisements. For the newcomer to the collecting hobby, this book will provide an ideal guide to the history of the manufacturers active in this field, while experienced collectors will make many new discoveries. At the end of the book, readers will find a handy glossary listing the names of many of the companies that manufactured diecast toy cars in the 1950s and 1960s.

When Jack Pressman went into business as a manufacturer of basic playthings like lead soldiers and toy xylophones in 1922, he could little have imagined that his small venture would become one of the iconic American toy companies. The firm scored its first megahit in the 1920s, when it popularised Chinese checkers, and it went on to introduce enduring favourites like Rummikub and Tri-Ominos. Today the Pressman Toy Corporation remains well known for its line of classic board games in eye-catching red boxes, as well as games based on popular TV shows. This centennial history traces the growth of the company under the leadership of three successive Pressmans: Jack, his wife Lynn (one of the first female CEOs in the industry), and their son Jim. It is a story that reflects the development of the toy industry as a whole - encompassing the rise of plastics, the emergence of character licensing and TV advertising, and the surprising endurance of the physical board game in our digital age. Abundantly illustrated with new colour photography as well as rare archival images, this will be an essential volume for anyone with an interest in the history of play.

Farming in Miniature is an essential guide for collectors of British toy models interested in farm tractors, farm horses and associated agricultural equipment. Many of the toys identified and described have never previously been mentioned in collectors' literature. It is being published in two volumes.

In 1961 the first Armoured Fighting Vehicles appeared in the ever-expanding range of Airfix kits. The 1960s and 1970s are considered by many as the golden age of kit building and the enthusiastic schoolboys and young men building these kits became known as the Airfix Generation. The hobby went into decline in the 1990s as plastic kits gave way to video games, but the hobby has recently undergone a revival as the original members of the Airfix Generation, now at the end of careers and family commitments, take a nostalgic look back at their childhoods. Some, like the author, will become once again absorbed by the hobby, but many will be content to buy a few old kits - others are coming to the hobby from an entirely new perspective. All will be delighted to find a new book that tells the early days of the hobby from a model tank perspective. Here, Tom Cole concentrates on the kits from Britain's Airfix and Matchbox and looks at the early imports from Japan, in the form of Fujimi and Nitto, and the European Esci.

The leaping deer from the range of wooden toys from the Seiffen region is an international symbol in the gleaming eyes of children and collectors alike. It was designed by Max Schanz (1895-1953), who as a teacher and director of the Spielwarenfachschule [Technical College for Toys] informed the production of toys in the Erz Mountains. His designs were implemented through the division of labour in family-oriented cottage industries, achieving the standards set by the Werkbund [German Work Federation] for attractive aesthetic and professional production: from small carol singers to six-meter-high Christmas pyramids, all basic components were turned on the lathe and thus display the design idiom typical of Seiffen. Spielzeug Gestalten im Erzgebirge portrays a significant chapter in German design history, from the late Empire, through the Weimar Republic and National Socialist rule, to the early GDR.