King Size Matchbox Cars

Back in the heyday of Matchbox when it was still under production of its original company Moko Lesney, there were some great expansions that took place in the car lines. Lesney didn’t want to stop with the simple vehicles offered in the original 1-75 line. Instead, they wanted to expand their territory and offer their loyal customers more options than just cars that came in matchbox sized boxes. Eventually, the King Size Matchbox car series came to be.

It all started with the creation of the Models of Yesteryear vehicles, throwbacks to vehicles from the steam age and early automotive days. By the time these were coming into existence, Matchbox cars in general had grown slightly. At the onset of the brand in 1953, the cars were typically about 2 inches in length. By the time the Models of Yesteryear came into existence, the average Matchbox car was 3” in length and incredibly detailed. Bigger yet, though, this new line ranged from about 3 ½ to 4 inches. Lesney continued their expansion by offering gas pumps, garages, and other accessories you’d find on the roads often traveled. One of the final expansion projects that Lesney underwent was the creation of the Major Packs, later renamed to the more familiar King Size Matchbox Car series.

The Major Packs were even bigger yet. This series featured bigger vehicles in general and were usually scaled down versions of construction vehicles and equipment. Realizing there was a market for larger vehicles and taking cues off of their major competitors Corgi and Dinky, the Major Packs soon was rolled into what became known today as the King Size Matchbox Car series. Lesney expanded this series to not only include the construction vehicles and bigger equipment that they had had success with in their Major Packs line, but now included larger scale passenger cars. Interestingly enough, though, even by crossing into the other company’s terrain, not much market share was lost between any one company to another.

This move came at the brink of their newest and most formidable competition, Hot Wheels. Just a few years after its debut, everything in the Matchbox line had to be revamped to compete with the new contender and the King Size Matchbox Car series was no exception. The line was updated to be called Super Kings which consisted of mostly trucks but now featuring mag wheels and Speed Kings, where their bigger cars now fell. It was the last major move for Matchbox under their former owner Lesney Products.

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