The History of Matchbox (and a little Dinky & Hot Wheels & Johnny Lightning)
To buy the shirt Dan is wearing and get 30% OFF your total order use code “TOYGALAXY” at checkout: https://www.80stees.com/collections/voltron
MATCHBOX is a toy brand first founded in the UK under a different name and a novel concept. Hardships during wars, near bankruptcy and competition from the likes of Dinky, Johnny Lightning and, eventually, HOT WHEELS.
MATCHBOX would eventually be acquired by a US company to become the global brand it is today.
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox_(brand)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesney_Products
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Wheels
https://chezbois.com/non_corgi/matchbox_lesney_1-75.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Lightning
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluxe_Reading
https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_Hot_Wheels
https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/cars-trucks/auto-history/the-extraordinary-history-of-hot-wheels/
https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/automotive-history/the-rise-and-fall-of-matchboxs-toy-car-empire/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_1980s_recession
https://www.newspapers.com/image/875346447/?match=1&terms=tyco%20matchbox
https://www.newspapers.com/image/971729110/?match=1&terms=tyco%20mattel
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1149301197/?match=1&terms=%22topper%20corp%22%20losses
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1110137903/?match=1&terms=topper%20toys%20clarke
https://www.fcarnahan.com/el/framepg.html
Just 99 cents a month gets access to our monthly exclusive video:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjoe3Qo_DymYyBR6X9VxFjQ/join
Get behind the scenes updates and early, ad free access to all of our new episodes! : https://www.patreon.com/toygalaxy
The SECRET GALAXY Shop: https://secretgalaxy.shop/
âșâșâșSocial Media and Merchandise linksâââ
https://linktr.ee/secretgalaxy
Follow Dan on Instagram:
http://instagram.com/toygalaxy
Toy Galaxy
P.O. box 3976
Manchester, NH 03105-3976
Business Inquiries:
toygalaxytv@gmail.com
@subraxas
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
đ đ đ 𧥠â€
@redfive5856
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
8:00 Eric Gurry. He was in the 1983 movie âBad Boysâ. He played Sean Pennâs cell mate. He blew up Clancy Brownâs face in the same movie.
11:34 Mason Reese!
@briancross7835
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
11:33
That is the oldest & weirdest looking little kid I've ever seen.
@NorthernStar1982
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Growing up in the UK as an 80s child I remember matchbox cars being everywhere. And not just the cars, I loved the aircraft. It helped foster my love of planes. Our local newspaper shop always has some in the window and I often got one as a treat if I had been good, or to stop me from being a little shit.
@kultur-vultur
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Vroom Vroom.
@drgribb
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
This history gives a lot of context that makes things make a whole lot more sense. I was a child of the 90s and had a lot of "Hot Wheels" — As far back as I can remember, the two brands were synonymous and I don't recall having much idea they were ever separate brands. But my father always referred to them as my "Matchbox Cars" — and now with the context from this video, I'm gonna guess that he called them that because that was the brand he was exposed to when he himself was a kid.
I actually still have them all — it's one of the few childhood toys my parents kept for some unknown reason haha. I'll bet there's like 200 of them, all in little Matchbox/Hot Wheels branded, like, car organizer briefcases. I had two favorites: a 1960s Mustang from an old James Bond movie, and this sweet electric yellow and neon pink convertible sports car from the early 90s that just looked like it was supposed to go "fast" and had a little bit of extra weight to it, making it feel special. My little nephew now has a zamboni one, which is pretty rad!
@toddwesterback9052
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
BoxWheels đ
@NowomaticStudios
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
â€
@Alucard-A-La-Carte
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
I think me and my college roommates tried out some Hotbox with our car.
It went pretty well.
@theindyjt
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Toy Galaxy Oddities: The Return!!
@matthewwynne939
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
As a kid I feel like I was into Hot Wheels more just because of the name alone, wondering what matchboxes had anything to do with cars or toys.
@DeadHeadDriver
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
If The Matchbox movie doesn't use Matchbox 20 music ,what are we even doingđ?
@johannesbergman
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
I owned Tonka cars
@goranisacson2502
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
I came here to listen to delightful stories of tiny toy-cars, and hearing they were designed to fit in match-boxes in a way to skirt stiff school rules was absolutely what I wanted… but then came all that stuff on how big business and outsourcing will devour anything with local flavor and whimsy, and the magic was gone and dust.
Still, I learned something about why Mattel are called Mattel and British toy-companies, so that's something at least!
@TheBigOrangeCat
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Creo que ha habido mucha crĂtica por la sobreexpectativa de lo anunciado hace unos años sobre la campaña de reediciones. Pero este lanzamiento creo que es mejor de lo que esperaba, con canciones inĂ©ditas. Mejorable es el arte fĂsico del disco, no me gustan esos cartones endebles que terminan doblados y desteñidos por mĂĄs que los cuides. QuizĂĄs tambiĂ©n faltaron canciones, como la version inĂ©dita de Id rather be your lover (pero no conocemos toda la historia de los derechos), e incluir remezclas de Bedtime Story y sobre todo una mezcla soul de Take a Bow.
@ThundercatDarklion
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Mattel Toys went with Matttelwheels when they merged the Hotwheels , Matchbox, and Tyco RC vehicles together.
@JuanPerez-cs1gx
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Remember when the only thing a kid needed to have a fun time was a miniature cement mixer?
@RACOONBACON
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Hot Box is a brand of candy cigarette.
j/k
@dwarftoad
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Didn't realize there was a hotly contested rivalry among connoisseurs. I just had a box full of chipped and damaged little cars of all kinds. I do remember, however, sometimes picking out a new one at a small craft store my Mom frequented, they were all beautifully arrayed in perfectly sized cubbies on a small shelf.
@marty1765
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
Its crazy to think these cars are still just 1 dollar. Its somehow completely inflation resistant unlike any other product. Either way, giving my kid a new hotwheel from time to time is the best money to happiness ratio i could ask for!
@TheOmniaNerd
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 pm
@11:37 a young Buddy Hackett with a He-Man hair do?? đ
Comments are closed.