Corgi Toys Heritage
Although Corgi have a long history of producing American vehicles, they were initially intended for British schoolboys, mesmerised by the cars and emergency vehicles they saw on TV and at the movies. Corgi Toys such as the Oldsmobile Sheriff Car and the Cadillac Superior Ambulance quickly caught the imagination and were highly popular, selling in the hundreds of thousands. However, it wasn’t until the mid-1960s that Corgi actively turned their attention to the USA, many models being exclusively sold at Woolworth’s 4,000 or so Stateside stores.
The innovative features of Corgi Toys totally took the USA by storm, the UK factory producing a stream of ingenious models that rival die-cast companies had little answer for. There is little doubt that Corgi Toys were the best of the best, cementing their reputation with children, who as adults today look back on this golden era with an ever-increasing glow of nostalgia. And rightly so!
These were heady days for the UK-based company. Corgi won the Queen’s Award for Export in 1966, 1967 and 1967 – and by 1968 just under 10 million models per year were being exported. Such huge sales inevitably influenced Corgi’s choice of models, American-themed vehicles taking an ever-increasing presence in the Corgi catalogue. This not only satisfied US buyers, it also won the widespread approval of children worldwide – American cars being seen as exciting and a world away from the rather more utilitarian vehicles commonly seen on European streets during the era.
And of course, the increasing popularity of TV and movie themed models – heralded by the 1965’s feature-packed James Bond DB5 – helped Corgi Toys gain iconic status around the planet. Your credibility among your friends certainly wasn’t harmed if you owned one of these now-iconic models!
Corgi’s first American car was the Studebaker Golden Hawk, which is rightly celebrated in the heart of the Corgi Model Collection. But it wasn’t only homegrown cars that became popular in the USA, British classics such as the Mini and European cars such as the Volkswagen Beetle were also much sought after. Not that all European marques were everyday family vehicles – what schoolboy, for example, wouldn't want to own a Corgi Porsche, MG, Mercedes or Jaguar?
All of these models, and more, are featured in the Corgi Model Club Collection that marvellously replicates the models from Corgi’s golden heyday of the 1960s. The models faithfully recreate each and every feature of the original Corgi Toys, from the heavy die-cast metal bodies, to the carefully modelled high quality plastic details and interiors. The tyres are of course rubber, exactly as on the originals, with Corgi’s legendary ‘Glidamatic’ suspension and fully glazed windows! Holding one of these beautiful models in your hand instantly transports you back to your childhood – an absolutely priceless feeling.
We’re justly proud of this collection and know that you’re going to absolutely love the Corgi Model Club Collection. Each one comes in its period-correct packaging, ideal for displaying alongside the model aswell as a sequentially numbered Certificate of Authenticity. And as Corgi said back in the day, why not “collect them all”!
We hope our collection brings back some fond childhood memories for you or creates some new memories with loved ones.
Happy collecting from the Corgi Model Club Team!
