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This post is about the FAQ of fast and cheap radio controlled cars powered by electric motors or gas nitro engines.

What are the Best Brands of Radio Control Cars?
One thing to consider is the brand of the car you are purchasing,but sometimes it’s difficult to find the brand you’re looking for. The best radio controlled cars are made by companies such as Team Associated, HPI Racing, Kyosho, Team Losi, Mugen, OFNA, Tamiya, Traxxas, Schumacher, Serpent, and Yokomo. These are brands where parts will be readily available in all hobby shops and toy stores. There are of course many more brands available, but these are potentially of lesser quality than the main ones mentioned.

Are some RC cars and trucks better for beginners than others?
Yes. The simplest 2 channel rc car or truck you can buy will be an RTR electric one. RTR means ‘Ready To Run’ and they are exactly that; all you need to do is buy the batteries for the radio gear, charge the motor battery pack and go.

All the radio control gear etc. is installed and set up in an RTR model, and these are by far the best kind to go for if you want an easy introduction to the hobby.

As you gain experience you can move up to more complex models such as 4 wheel drive, upgraded or race-tuned models.

How Fast Can a Radio Control Car Go?
The fastest engine choice that you can find is a nitro engine. Nitromethane is an alternative to regular gasoline, and runs much better, when building a fast RC car. It is usually heavier, and therefore more cumbersome on the handling of the car. However, if you are going to be on a fairly straightforward and tame race course, it is a great choice and will provide a huge speed.

What are the Cheapest Radio Control Cars Money Can Buy?
Radio control cars are relatively cheap.Maybe the best way to enjoy the simplest in radio control is to go for an all inclusive cheap radio control cars package. However, for the best value for your money, someone experts recommend 1/10th scale touring electric powered radio control cars that are run on asphalt tracks or parking lots.

Where Can I Buy Radio Control Cars?
You can buy radio control cars for sale from your local hobby shop or buy conveniently online. If you want the cheapest, online shop is the best place. There are also online discount coupons that offer 5% discounts or more when you buy online.

There are six basic types of RC car models to choose from. Models suitable for first-time hobbyists are available in every one!

Off-road car/truck
Off-road rc cars and trucks are designed to run on rough surfaces, such as backyards and dirt tracks. The cars are typically classified either as buggies, trucks, and monster trucks. Buggies use big rubber rear tires and thin front tires. Trucks use big rubber tires on all four wheels. And monster trucks use very large rubber tires and are the biggest of all radio controlled models.

On-road car/truck
On-road rc cars are designed to run on smooth concrete or asphalt surfaces. Traditional on-road cars used a pan chassis, direct drive transmission, and foam tires. The latest on-road craze has introduced new designs. Touring cars make use of full suspension chassis, gearbox transmission, 4-wheel drive, and rubber tires.

Monster Trucks
A monster truck is an automobile, typically styled after pickup trucks, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension. They are used for competition and popular Sports Entertainment and in some cases they are featured alongside Motocross races, mud bogging, tractor pulls and car-eating robots.The undisputed kings of R/C vehicles, Monster Trucks offer the earthshaking excitement of large tires, big power plants, and chassis engineered more for unstoppable torque than all-out speed. Using sheer, brute power, they rumble their way up hills, down slopes — and over unsuspecting cars.

Truggys
Are they buggies on steroids? Monster trucks made lean and mean? The definition of “truggy” is still evolving, but this much is clear: if you want a machine that combines speed with the toughness to tackle wild stunts and wicked tracks, and R/C truggy is a good way to go.

Stadium Trucks
Run for backyard fun or head-to-head racing, R/C stadium trucks are the fast masters of “bump and jump” excitement. With their heavy-duty suspensions, oversized shocks and large tires, they’re built to take punishment and can survive soaring jumps and crushing touchdowns that would disable most vehicles.

Minis
Measuring well under a foot in length, “Mini” R/C vehicles like the Vendetta ST shown still have a lot in common with their larger radio-control counterparts. In fact, the chassis components can be just as sophisticated and deliver the same durability, high speeds and smooth handling — just in a smaller size that makes them right for racing almost anywhere, including indoors!

These days I’m attracted by my brother’s RC car models. And I collected some information about this. If you are also interested in this and still a new about this, wish this post will help.

First, to know well and understand RC car models, you should know the four main parts to RC vehicles.

• Transmitter: This is the control you hold in your hand, usually powered by AA batteries. Using radio frequencies, the transmitter relays the steering and control commands you give it to the receiver. 

• Receiver: There are two parts to the receiver- an antenna and a circuit board inside the car. The radio frequencies sent by the transmitter are picked up by the receiver and relayed to the various appropriate parts of the vehicle.

• Motor(s): RC cars and trucks feature a variety of different types of engines, all with varying degrees of difficulty and output. The motor is often said to be the heart of the RC car and is the most intricate part of building your own RC.

• Power Source: Of course power is needed for acceleration, steering and overall engine output. Aside from the AA batteries in the transmitter, the power source depends on the type of car: electric cars run on a rechargeable, replaceable battery pack while nitro cars use a fuel mixture similar to the type in top fuel dragsters.

There are two kind powered RC vehicles. They are nitro and  electric powered. The differences between them are electric rc cars are usually cleaner, they’re quieter, and they’re more affordable, and they require less maintenance. Just add or recharge the batteries and go; Nitro vehicles cost more but they’re usually faster and they can go for longer periods without stopping. Just add more gas and go. Most people consider them to be more realistic than electric rc cars. However, they also require a higher level of maintenance.

Many radio control modelers get their start in the hobby with an R/C car or truck. That’s a good idea. Getting the hang of a model that stays on the ground — most of the time! — is a little easier than controlling one that also challenges you to beat the law of gravity.

While R/C cars are easier to control than their flying counterparts, some are still high-performance machines that are loaded with powerful, sophisticated engineering. That brings up one of the most exciting things to do with R/C cars — race them!

An R/C car race can be as informal as two kids tearing around a ball diamond…or as organized as the IFMAR Worlds Championship, which attracts top R/C drivers from all over the globe to compete in such exotic locales as Italy, Switzerland, and Australia.

Many people have RC cars batteries problem. Electric cars and trucks need rechargeable rc car batteries to run, these batteries can be nickel-cadmium (NiCD) or nickel-hydride (NiMH). NiCD batteries are an older type while NiMH batteries are a new type. Several manufactures provide batteries, good brands are Sanyo, Tamiya, Orion, Fukuyama, Panasonic and Trinity.

Many people will think If they double the battery pack on my RC Car, it will make the car faster or they will just get longer battery life. It is not true. Doubling the battery will add the cars total weight. The added weight will not help the speed and handling. Also if you wire them in series (i.e. 7.2 + 7.2 = 14.4 volts) you will increase the voltage but not the capacity. You will burn out a normal 540 motor. But for monster trucks, some are designed to run with 14.4 volts (e.g. E-Maxx if I’m not mistaken). Others are designed to run 2 packs in parallel (total of 7.2 volts) which will double the capacity (i.e. longer run times).

RC cars and trucks that runs electronically need to be the rechargeable ones to compensate for the running hours of your practice and competition duration. Since there are so many types of batteries out in the market, you need to make sure that you have the correct information regarding the needed battery device for your RC car. So, first of all, know that rechargeable batteries are the NiCD and NiMH ones. NiCD stands for nickel-cadmium while NiMH is for nickel-hydride. Other than the two, it is not rechargeable so be very careful with this detail.

Tamiya Ni-MH 7.2V 3600mAh is one of the best RC battery packs on the market, this quick charging high performance battery pack consists of six cells packed in a transparent unit. Each battery in this pack has 3600mAh capacity. Some other good batteries available in the market are including: Nosram 1800mAh, 7.2V NiCd, Powerpack NiMH, two 7.2V 4200mAh NiMH SC Battery Pack.

Battery Storage is also am important question you need to consider. Be sure to remove all the batteries that are used in your setup. This also includes the batteries used in your radio and the receiver. This will be the one time that charging will not be an issue. No sense charging these before storage as they will soon discharge anyway. It is better to discharge your batteries and store them “dead”. Even a fully discharged pack will retain about a 1v charge throughout the storage.

Whether you’re buying a toy for a special child or are a super-fan building your own collection，buying and owing a hobby vehicle should be an exciting, fun thing to do. Today, the model car comes in a variety of models, makes and can be made from any number of materials (a drastic change from the old balsa wood models that originally emerged). As I have mentioned in my last post, there are more than 50 popular brands including Tomica, Altaya, Minichamps,Bandai, Brooklin, CMC, Dragon Wings, Exoto, Guisval, Ixo, Jada, Johnny Ligntning, Kyosho, Lledo, Matchbox, Norev, Plasticos Argentinos, Racing Champions, RCCA, Revell, Tekno, UT Models, Vitesse, and the popular Hot Wheels introduced by Mattel, among others.

When buying a model car, carefully consider what year, model and body style you really want to own. Once you have determined that your model is intact, pieces can be separated off into different sections. If you need assistance identifying them, a good tip is to write the corresponding part numbers on a piece of paper and then set the pieces by the proper numbers. This will allow the builder to dispose of the tray, paint, sand, and not have to worry about forgetting what goes where.

Many radio control modelers get their start in the hobby with an R/C car or truck. That’s a good idea. Getting the hang of a model that stays on the ground — most of the time! — is a little easier than controlling one that also challenges you to beat the law of gravity.

If you prefer playing or racing indoors or have limited space to play, there are small but fast micro and mini rc cars. Popular models are the 1/28 Kyosho Mini-Z and the 1/18 HPI Micro RS4. One of the hottest segment of the hobby, and companies are scrambling to produce their own mini remote control cars and trucks.

Protecting your collection is an important part of the hobby. Keep your collection out of direct sunlight, which can damage the finish. Also avoid storing your collection somewhere with high temperature changes. These can warp or damage the finish, or the car itself. Highly humid locations should be avoided for the same reason.

There are lots of different kinds of toy cars to collect. With more than 50 popular brands including Tomica, Altaya, Minichamps,Bandai, Brooklin, CMC, Dragon Wings, Exoto, Guisval, Ixo, Jada, Johnny Ligntning, Kyosho, Lledo, Matchbox, Norev, Plasticos Argentinos, Racing Champions, RCCA, Revell, Tekno, UT Models, Vitesse, and the popular Hot Wheels introduced by Mattel, among others. Car models come in various scales, the most popular ranging from 1:28 to 1:64 scale, although many collectors prefer focusing their collections on the 1:43 and 1:50 scales.

Diecast vehicles and toys are an example of a collection that is never-ending. When you start collecting these vehicles it is like traveling back in time until the early decades of the 20th century when manufacturers such as Tootsie Toys in the United States, or Dinky Toys in the United Kingdom first produced the first diecast toys. Before you start building your fleet, decide whether you will concentrate on just one particular type of toy car (like Hotwheels or Matchbox Cars) or if you will welcome all kinds into your collection.

Many people may consider eBay when it comes to finding great deals on toy cars or locating that one special car you’ve just got to have. Of course,it’s hard to beat eBay.But there are still other online shops offer good gadgets at a cheap prices, such as Toyeast. It’s the largest HongKong’s model store. With varies of car models for sale every minute, chances are excellent that you will find just what you need here.

In fact, many individuals start collecting cars as a hobby to become dealers at a later date, either turning this hobby into a profession, or as a means to get extremely rare vehicles for their own collections, while they help other collectors in their pursuit of showcase-model cars. In the United Kingdom, there are teams specialized in visiting small and larger toy fairs to acquire incredible cars, in good conditions from Dinky Toys and Corgi, the main British collectibles companies.

Different toys fulfill different developmental and educational purposes, and understanding this variety and the needs of your child will help you in selecting the most appropriate toys for your child. Educational toys take your child to a new way of learning. For toys，many parents would choose radio control plane or car models. This is a good choice. Toys today will teach your child socialization skills, using motor skills and cognitive thinking skills. Your child is able to journey down the road of life while developing new skills that teaches him or her how to become a successful adult.

For those with a need for speed and simplicity an electric RC toy would be the best option. There are two options to choose from: toy cars or hobby cars.  A toy car is what usually comes to a person’s mind when shopping for children. They want something with a cool look, user-friendly interface and enough power to amuse a child for awhile. These cars don’t have to be incredibly fast or have any special features, although many of the best-selling models do have a unique twist to make them stand out from the rest.

Hobby cars  and planes are meant for adults or older children with an affinity for collecting and/or model-making and can cost significantly more than a basic consumer car. They are custom built to the specifications the user chooses and often, these are what serious RC lovers will want. Note the differences between a “ready-to-run car” or RTR and a kit car.

If you child has an interest in a hobby, avoid buying a cheap imitation of the real thing it is still a toy. Whenever possible save up money to buy the real thing. For example, will your child get more use out of a real sewing machine instead of the play one they want? Would money be better spent on your budding artist by purchasing real beginning artist’s brushes rather than a cheap watercolor set with hard to control blunt brushes. Often a bad purchase can discourage newly found talents when a child gets frustrated with the end result the product created.

Learning toys will motivate your child to make use of all senses and these toys will multiply the chances of awareness of your kid to sound, touch, color, etc. Some of the learning educational kid toys include RC cars, RC vehicles, musical toys, and many more. Give your children good basement for the future by making them learn using educational kid toys. You can make a difference in the education of your children by providing a little assistance.

According to the Wikipedia, radio control (often abbreviated to R/C or simply RC) is the use of radio signals to remotely control a device. The term is used frequently to refer to the control of model vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter. Industrial, military, and scientific research organizations make use of radio-controlled vehicles as well.

History

In 1898 at an exhibition at Madison Square Garden Nikola Tesla demonstrated a small boat which could apparently obey commands from the audience but was in fact controlled by Tesla interpreting the verbal requests and sending appropriate frequencies to tuned circuits in the boat. He was granted a US patent on this invention on November 8, 1898. In 1904, Bat, a Windermere steam launch, was controlled using experimental radio control by its inventor, Jack Kitchen. In 1909 the French inventor Gabet demonstrated what he called his “Torpille Radio-Automatique”, a radio controlled torpedo. In 1917, Archibald Low as head of the RFC Experimental Works, was the first person to use radio control successfully on an aircraft. In the 1920s, various radio-controlled ships were used for naval artillery target practice. The Soviet Red Army used remotely controlled teletanks during 1930s in the Winter War against Finland and fielded at least two teletank battalions at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. A teletank is controlled by radio from a control tank at a distance of 500–1,500 meters, the two constituting a telemechanical group. There were also remotely controlled cutters Iand experimental remotely controlled planes in the Red Army. In the 1930s Britain developed the radio controlled Queen Bee, a remotely controlled unmanned Tiger Moth aircraft for a fleet’s gunnery firing practice. The Queen Bee was superseded by the similarly named Queen Wasp, a later, purpose built, target aircraft of higher performance.

Military applications in the Second World War

Radio control was further developed during World War II, primarily by the Germans who used it in a number of missile projects. Their main effort was the development of radio-controlled missiles and glide bombs for use against shipping, a target that is otherwise both difficult and dangerous to attack. However by the end of the war the Luftwaffe was having similar problems attacking Allied bombers, and developed a number of radio-controlled anti-aircraft missiles, none of which saw service.

The effectiveness of the Luftwaffe systems was greatly reduced by British efforts to jam their radio signals. After initial successes, the British launched a number of commando raids to collect the missile radio sets. Jammers were then installed on British ships, and the weapons basically “stopped working”. The German development teams then turned to wire guidance once they realized what was going on, but these systems were not ready for deployment until the war had already moved to France.

The German Kriegsmarine operated FL-Boote (ferngelenkte Sprengboote) which were radio controlled motor boats filled with explosives to attack enemy shipping from 1944.

Both the British and US also developed radio control systems for similar tasks, in order to avoid the huge anti-aircraft batteries set up around German targets. However, none of these systems proved usable in practice, and the one major US effort, Project Aphrodite, proved to be far more dangerous to its users than to the target.

Radio control systems of this era were generally electromechanical in nature, using small metal “fingers” or “reeds” with different resonant frequencies each of which would operate one of a number of different relays when a particular frequency was received. The relays would in turn then activate various actuators acting on the control surfaces of the missile. The controller’s radio transmitter would transmit the different frequencies in response to the movements of a control stick; these were typically on/off signals.

These systems were widely used until the 1960s, when the increasing use of solid state systems greatly simplified radio control. The electromechanical systems using reed relays were replaced by similar electronic ones, and the continued miniaturization of electronics allowed more signals, referred to as control channels, to be packed into the same package. While early control systems might have two or three channels using amplitude modulation, modern systems include 20 or more using frequency modulation.

Radio-controlled models

The first general use of radio control systems in models started in the early 1950s with single-channel self-built equipment; commercial equipment came later. The advent of transistors greatly reduced the battery requirements, since the current requirements at low voltage were greatly reduced and the high voltage battery was eliminated. In both tube and early transistor sets the model’s control surfaces were usually operated by an electromagnetic escapement controlling the stored energy in a rubber-band loop, allowing simple rudder control (right, left, and neutral) and sometimes other functions such as motor speed.[1]

Crystal-controlled superheterodyne receivers with better selectivity and stability made control equipment more capable and at lower cost. Multi-channel developments were of particular use to aircraft, which really needed a minimum of three control dimensions, (yaw, pitch and motor speed) as opposed to boats, which can get away with two or one.

As the electronics revolution took off, single-signal channel circuit design became redundant, and instead radios provided coded signal streams which a servomechanism could interpret.

More recently, high-end hobby systems using Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM) features have come on the market that provide a computerized digital bit-stream signal to the receiving device, instead of analog type pulse modulation.

In the early 21st century, 2.4 gigahertz tramsissions have become increasingly utilised in high-end control of model vehicles and aircraft.

Modern military and aerospace applications

Remote control military applications are typically not radio control in the direct sense, directly operating flight control surfaces and propulsion power settings, but instead take the form of instructions sent to a completely autonomous, computerized automatic pilot. Instead of a “turn left” signal that is applied until the aircraft is flying in the right direction, the system sends a single instruction that says “fly to this point”.

Some of the most outstanding examples of remote radio control of a vehicle are the Mars Exploration Rovers such as Sojourner.

Industrial control

Today radio control is used in industry for such devices as overhead cranes and switchyard locomotives. Radio-controlled teleoperators are used for such purposes as inspections, and special vehicles for disarming of bombs. Some remotely-controlled devices are loosely called robots, but are more properly categorized as teleoperators since they do not operate autonomously, but only under control of a human operator.

According to Wikipedia, the term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal and plastic, the metal used commonly is ZAMAK (or Mazak), an alloy of zinc and aluminium. Zamak is also referred to as white metal or pot metal. The most common die-cast toys are scale models of automobiles, aircraft, construction equipment and trains, although almost anything can be produced by this method.

History

A Die Cast Boeing 747 model in 1:400 scale.

Diecast (or die cast, or die-cast) toys were first produced early in the 20th century by manufacturers such as Meccano (Dinky Toys) in the United Kingdom and Dowst Brothers (Tootsietoys) in the United States. The first models on the market were basic, consisting of a small car or van body with no interior. In the early days it was common for impurities in the Zamak alloy to result in metal fatigue; the casting would crack or decompose for no apparent reason. As a result, diecast toys made before World War II are difficult to find in good condition.

Lesney began making diecast toys in 1947. Their popular Matchbox 1-75 series was so named because there were always 75 different vehicles in the line, each packaged in a small box designed to look like those used for matches. These toys became so popular that “Matchbox” was widely used as a generic term for any diecast toy car, regardless of who the actual manufacturer was.

The popularity of diecast toys as collectibles developed in the 1950s, as their detail and quality increased. Consequently, more companies entered the field, including the Corgi brand, produced by Mettoy, which appeared in 1956 and pioneered the use of interiors and clear plastic windows in their models.

In 1968, Hot Wheels were introduced in the United States by Mattel, to address the complaint that they had no line of toys for boys to balance their line of Barbie dolls for girls. Because they looked fast and were fast (they were equipped with a low-friction wheel/axle assembly), Hot Wheels quickly gained an important niche in the diecast toy market, becoming one of the world’s top sellers and challenging the Matchbox 1-75 series in popularity.

During the 1960s various companies began to use diecast vehicles as promotional items for advertising. The idea that children can play a large part in a family’s decision as to what products to buy came into wide circulation. In addition, by the 1980s it was apparent that many diecast vehicles were being purchased by adults as collectibles, not as toys for children. Companies such as McDonald’s, Sears Roebuck, Kodak, and Texaco commissioned toymakers to produce promotional models featuring their names and logos, or licensed their use. One early example was an American Airlines London bus produced by Matchbox, an idea other some airlines quickly copied.

Beginning in the mid ’70s trucks and other commercial vehicles took a lion’s share of the diecast market. Matchbox started the trend when they re-launched their Models of Yesteryear range. They made a score of different versions of their Y-12 Ford Model T van, along with other trucks in colorful liveries such as Coca-Cola, Colman’s Mustard, and Cerebos Salt. They also made promotional versions for Smith’s Crisps (potato chips) and Harrod’s department store. Some models were made exclusively for certain markets and immediately became quite expensive elsewhere: Arnott’s Biscuits (Australia) and Sunlight Seife (soap, Germany) are examples.

1:24 Diecast Model of the Honda Valkyrie

Corgi copied this idea when they expanded the Corgi Classics line in the mid-’80s, producing more than 50 versions of a 1920s era Thornycroft van. Some collectors disparaged this development as “collecting paint,” as the castings were identical; only the decorations were different. Other collectors created what they called the “10-Foot Rule” when the collecting of minor variations of the same vehicle got out of hand. The idea was that, if you couldn’t differentiate between two versions of a model from 10 feet away, it wasn’t worthwhile to collect both of them.

Despite their popularity, many diecast manufacturers went belly-up in the 1980s. Meccano (Dinky), Matchbox, and Corgi all went bankrupt within a three-year span, which essentially reflected the economic climate in the UK at that time. It had become virtually impossible to manufacture in England and compete on the world market. (Mattel had also long since shifted most of their production from the USA to the far east.) Matchbox was purchased by a Hong Kong conglomerate named Universal Holdings, which moved production from England to Macau. Later (1997), Mattel bought Matchbox, essentially making Hot Wheels and the Matchbox 1-75 line sister brands. The two brands continue to sell under their own separate names.

Meanwhile, Corgi had been acquired by Mattel, which moved the office from Swansea, Wales to Leicester, England, and moved manufacturing to China. Matchbox also bought the Dinky Toys name, long after the Liverpool factory was closed. Manufacturing resumed in China. In a series of subsequent shifts, a group of Corgi executives bought back the Corgi Classics line from Mattel, and portions of the Matchbox line were sold to an Australian company named Tyco (no relation to the Tyco line of HO scale trains, originally made by Mantua Metalworking in New Jersey, USA).

Effectively from the ashes of Matchbox’s bankruptcy arose Lledo, a company created by former Matchbox partner Jack Odell. Odell believed that British collectibles for British collectors could still be profitably produced in England. Lledo took over part of the Matchbox factory in Enfield, and introduced their “Models of Days Gone” line of diecast vehicles in 1983. The first series of Days Gone models included re-makes of some of the most popular and respected first and second-generation Matchbox Models of Yesteryear. Lledo models were very popular collectibles in the ’80s, leading to a period of diversification (incl. the Vanguards line of classic post-war British vehicles), but by the ’90s they were eclipsed by other brands, and by 2002 Lledo went broke. Parts of their line were purchased by Corgi, which moved production to China.

In addition to trucks, Corgi produced hundreds of versions of their 1/64 scale Routemaster bus in the ’80s and ’90s. Like other collecting and promotional model trends, it started as a trickle and soon became a flood. Many versions were made to be sold exclusively in the stores whose advertising appeared on the buses. Harrods, Selfridges, Gamley’s, Hamley’s, Army & Navy, Underwood’s, and Beatties were among the British stores employing this idea. A South African chain called Dion was one of the few overseas firms to follow suit.

A die cast Yamaha motorcycle model in 1:18 scale.

Then 1/76 scale buses became very popular in Britain in the late ’80s and early ’90s, with competing lines from Corgi (the Original Omnibus Company) and Gilbow Holdings (Exclusive First Editions, or EFE) fighting for the market. The 1/76 scale fits in with British ‘OO’ scale model trains.

By the 1990s NASCAR enjoyed increasing popularity and a large number of racing-related Nascar diecast cars and trucks, painted in the colors of the different racing teams, appeared from various manufacturers. Racing Champions was a leading brand of such models, but there were many others.

In addition to cars, trucks, buses, agricultual implements, and construction equipment, diecast aircraft and military models were popular. While Dinky had made such models decades earlier, new companies entered the field in the ’80s and ’90s. One producer was Dyna Flites, which went bankrupt in the 1990s, but their market share was quickly taken up by their competitors, including Schabak, Gemini Jets, Herpa, and Dragon Wings.

List of die cast toy brands
• Abrex: Czech firm, Škoda models
• Action
• American Highway Legends (AHL) - see Hartoy and Tonkin
• Altaya : publisher of European partworks which include models vehicles
• AUTOart : High quality range of model cars in 1:18, 1:43 and 1:64
• BBR
• Bburago
• Bandai
• Bang : Italian-made range of 1:43 European sports cars
• Brooklin Models - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models (with sub-brands Lansdowne, RobEddie, U.S. Model Mint, International Police, Buick Collection ‘34-’39)
• Brookfield Collectors Guild
• Buby
• BuddyL
• Checkered Flag Sports
• Cigar Box
• Classic Carlectables
• CMC
• Code 3 : American range of emergency vehicles in 1:64 scale
• Conquest - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models
• Conrad: Germany maker of construction, truck and bus models in 1:50 scale
• Corgi
• Crescent Toys
• Crown Premiums: Manufacturer of diecast promotional cars and trucks
• DA Graphics
• Danbury Mint- primarily 1/24 scale models
• DG Productions
• Diapet: Japanese cars, mostly in 1/40 scale.
• Die Cast Promotions (F.F. Ertl III)
• Dinky Toys : Classic toy cars made in England and France
• Dragon Armor
• Dragon Wings
• Durham Classics - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models
• Dyna Flites
• Ebbro : Quality range of modern and classic Japanese cars
• Efsi
• Eligor
• Ertl
• Exclusive First Editions
• Exoto
• First Gear
• Fairfield Mint
• Franklin Mint - High-priced collector models, primarily in 1/24 scale
• Forces of Valor
• Gear Box
• Gemini Jets
• Golden Wheel
• GreenLight Collectibles
• Great American Dream Machines - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models of mid-20th century Detroit showcars
• Guisval
• Hartoy : Range of 1:64 American trucks
• Herpa : German-produced range of plastic vehicles in 1:87 scale
• Hobby Master
• Hot Wheels
• Husky/Corgi Juniors/Corgi Rockets
• Ixo : Varied range of quality models in 1:43 scale
• Jada Toys
• JLE Scale Models (Joseph L. Ertl)
• Joal : Spanish range of mostly construction vehicles
• Johnny Ligntning
• Jouef
• Kaden - Czech firm, Škoda models
• K-Line
• Kyosho
• Liberty Classics
• Lion Car
• Lledo: Models of Days Gone, Vanguards
• Lego
• Madison - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models (from Conquest)
• Maisto
• Majorette
• Matchbox
• Mercury: Italian Manufacturer
• Minichamps
• Minimarque 43 - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models
• Motor City USA - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models (with sub-brands Design Studio, American Models, USA Models)
• Motorworks
• Motorsports Authentics
• MTH RailKing
• Norev
• NZG: German maker of construction models, trucks, buses in 1:50 scale
• Ozlegends Manufacturer Of Australian Die cast models.
• Penjoy
• Plasticos Argentinos
• Playart
• Precision Engineered Models (PEM) - see Hartoy and Tonkin
• Precision Miniatures: Manufacturers of Quality 1:18 Scale Diecast Model Cars
• Quartzo
• Racing Champions
• RCCA
• Revell
• Red Line
• Rextoys
• Road Champs
• Schabak
• Schuco
• Siku
• Solido
• Spa Croft Models
• Spark Model
• SpecCast
• Spot-On : 1960’s British range in constant 1:42 scale
• Team Caliber
• Tekno
• Tomica: Japanese diecast, about Matchbox size.
• Tonkin : high grade models of American trucks in the unusual 1:53 scale
• Tootsietoys
• Trax : Australian model cars in 1:43 and 1:24
• Trofeu: Made in Portugal, 1/43 scale range specialising in rally cars
• TWH Collectibles: Museum class replicas. 1/50 Scale
• UT Models
• Western - handbuilt 1/43 white metal models (with sub-brand Small Wheels)
• Winner’s Circle
• Winross
• Vitesse: Wide range of 1/43 scale European and Japanese cars.
• Yatming
• Von Dutch

Tiger I is possibly the most widely known tank in the world. It is original the common name of a German heavy tank of World War II. The initial official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H (abbreviated PzKpfw VI Ausf. H, Ausführung is German for “version”) but the tank was redesignated as Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. E in March 1943. The tank also had the ordnance inventory designation SdKfz 181.

The Tiger I was in use from late 1942 until the German surrender in 1945. At a meeting with Hitler on 26th May, 1941, the planning for the development of a new heavy tank begun. During that meeting, Hitler ordered for the creation of heavy Panzers which were to have an increased effectiveness to penetrate enemy tanks; possess heavier armor than was previously achieved; and attain a maximum speed of at least 40km/h. These key decisions led to the development of a new heavy tank, the Tiger 1 tank and ultimately the King Tiger.It was given its “Tiger” nickname by Ferdinand Porsche (the Roman numeral was added after the Tiger II was produced). The design served as the basis for other armoured vehicles, the Sturmtiger heavy self-propelled gun and the Bergetiger amoured recovery vehicle. It had armor between 25 mm and 100 mm in thickness.

The Tiger differed from earlier German tanks principally in its design philosophy. Its predecessors balanced mobility, protection, and firepower. They were sometimes outgunned by their opponents.

The Tiger I represented a new approach that emphasised firepower and armour at the expense of mobility. Design studies for a new heavy tank had been started in the late 1930s, without any production planning. The real impetus for the Tiger was provided by the quality of the Soviet T-34. Although the general design and layout were broadly similar to the previous medium tank the Panzer IV, the Tiger weighed more than twice as much. This was due to its substantially thicker armour, the larger main gun, and the consequently greater volume of fuel and ammunition storage, larger engine, and more solidly-built transmission and suspension.

Not surprisingly the Tiger 1 has secured a place in military history not only as the most feared tank of its time but also as a revolutionary design. Many of its best design features can still be seen in modern tanks. With its many variants the Tiger makes a very interesting model in 1/6th scale and the perfect scene in which to set-up your Dragon tank commanders!