Corgi Toys (Shire Library)

Reader Reviews
This is a very small, thin book that easily fits under the crack between the carpet and bottom of a door. It is 21cm high, just under 15cm wide and less than half a centimetre in thickness. This doesn't mean it doesn't provide a comprehensive account of the history of the Corgi Toys line of toys as well as when it was an independent company. Philipp Ullman the guy who invented the toys and was a cofounder of The Mettoy Company (the first of one of the names Corgi traded under)'s history is also gone to in detail. The effects of both wars on Corgi and its competitors manufacture wise including availability of materials is quite interesting. The various competitors who came along over the years including early rival Dinky Toys is outlined, although I must say the writing style of switching back and forth between writing from the viewpoint of Dinky and Corgi including how the opposition reacted which was either Dinky or Corgi becomes a bit confusing at times. The effect of the cheaper non realistic looking but fast wheels with the pin sized axles that Hot Wheels introduced to the market had on Corgi sales and decisions that angered those not buying them for their children's play role is also interesting reading. I liked how David Cooke included a section on the importance of film and television related toys, as lets face it that's what a lot of kids were buying back then and what a lot of adult collectors collect these days. Most other authors of Corgi and the other brands books seem to ignore this popular segment of cars. There is a table ranking the top selling Corgi vehicles of all kinds (Batmobile model number 267 is the top seller with 4.9 million of them produced) as well as a separate one that just has the film and TV vehicles. The second table is not in ranking order nor does it show the amount produced, which is a bit of a shame. Some of the information in the book contradicts the first table as well with the Simon and Snorkel play engine being mentioned as the best selling toy yet the table ranks it 16th at only 1.2 million, 3. 7 million less than the Batmobile. There's also lots of nice photographs of loose cars as well as ones still in their original packaging that will give collectors some idea of what is out there. The book is by no means a comprehensive list of photos or listings of what is out there, even with the film and TV vehicles but is a good introduction to the line of Corgi for those who aren't too familiar with what the company made and is also appealing for those that know the cars but want to know a bit about the company history.


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