Like so many successful ideas, Lesney's Matchbox Series quickly had imitators, both in the UK and around the world. Many manufacturers copied the idea of a series of miniature models with a novelty box - the Morestone ''Esso'' series and Benbros ''TV Series'' are two well-known examples.  Some manufacturers went further and copied Matchbox designs, both in metal and plastic.  There are so many that collecting Matchbox copies can be a theme in its own right.  The most shameless imitators used the Matchbox name on their own toys.  This sort of copying was less common because it would be relatively easy to prove infringement of the Matchbox trade mark in the courts.

Examples of all three types of copying occurred in a series of die-cast miniatures which started in Australia, then moved to New Zealand, and later to Hong Kong.


The series originated as the Tucker Box Series, which was made in Australia, and according to Pier van Netten (writing in Modellers' World) consisted of five models.  They were packed in red and yellow boxes with TUCKER BOX SERIES MINIATURE MODELS above a picture, which (our Australian correspondent tells us) is of the famous statue of a dog on a tuckerbox at Gundagai, NSW (between Melbourne and Sydney).  The distributor was Alex Tolmer and Associates Pty. Ltd. of Melbourne, and their name appeared on the sides of the boxes.  Alex Tolmer was also the distributor of the Micro Models range of Dinky size models.  In his book on Micro Models, David Daw reproduces several trade advertisements by Alex Tolmer, and the style of lettering used for the company name on the Tucker Box boxes appears in 1958 adverts but had not been introduced in 1956. This would seem to date the Tucker Box Series to around 1957.

The end flaps of the boxes had the name of the model printed, together with a line drawing.  The models were one-piece castings with metal wheels and crimped axles.  According to Pier van Netten they also came with black plastic wheels.  No name or identification was cast on any of them.



Austin Petrol Tanker
Length 56mm.  A normal control tanker with a divided windscreen and four tank compartments behind.

Fire Engine
Length 51mm.  This open fire engine had a separate detachable ladder.


Sand Truck
Length 56mm.  This was actually a pick-up truck (or ''utility'') with an unusually wide rear load area.





Land Rover
Length 43mm.  This was similar to the first Matchbox Land Rover (no.12).




Massey Harris Tractor
Length 41mm.  Again very similar to Lesney's Matchbox model (no.4 - second version).  The driver was cast in with the model.


The dies for the Tucker Box range seem to have been acquired by Lincoln Industries Ltd. of Auckland, New Zealand.  Lincoln were already producing the Micro Models series in New Zealand, using dies loaned from Australia.  New Zealand's import restrictions on toys meant that it was essential for toy production to be carried out locally.

Lincoln expanded the miniature series to twelve models, and they were packed in Matchbox-style boxes with MATCHBOX SERIES in a red scroll on the face.  Under this in black was a line drawing of the model with the model number on either side and the model name.  Under the illustration was MINIATURE  METAL VEHICLES and at the bottom LINCOLN INDUSTRIES LTD. and MADE IN NEW ZEALAND.  Clearly Lincoln were not shy about their abuse of the Matchbox trade mark!  Other  models in the series were shown on the inside end flaps.

The model numbers were in the 4500 range and those that I have been able to confirm are listed in the table at the end of the article.  Only the Dump Truck number is still unconfirmed, presumably 4511, so if you have a box for this item, please e-mail me a photo.

Plastic wheels do not seem to occur on the New Zealand models, but otherwise I know no way of distinguishing a Lincoln Matchbox model from an earlier Tucker Box model.  The Lincoln Matchbox Series appeared around 1958.

The new castings in addition to the five ex-Tucker Box items were as follows.

Dump Truck
Length 51mm.  Very similar to the first Lesney Matchbox no.6.

''Land Liner'' Coach
Length 57mm.  Similar in shape to Lesney Matchbox no.21, but with a simpler grille of vertical bars and no baseplate.


Breakdown Truck
Length 54mm.  A normal control truck with a divided screen and simple hook cast on to the rear flat bed.




Jaguar XK120 Roadster
Length 54mm. This had a separately cast driver fitted to a hole in the seat.

Racing Car
Length 50mm.  I am not sure what vehicle this was meant to represent.  Again there was a hole in the seat for a driver.

Ambulance
Length 49mm. This was actually a light van with a red cross printed on the roof.





Pantechnicon
Length 52mm.  Another original design, reminiscent of a Morris J type but with a high roof body.  The outline of double doors was cast at the rear.




The Lincoln Matchbox Series did not last long, possibly because of legal action or the threat of action by Lesney.  Lincoln had to stop using the Matchbox name, but the similarity of some of the models to Lesney's own production did not seem to stop them being reissued under a different brand name.  Lincoln's new brand was the Motorway Mini Series.  The twelve models were bubble packed, and the backing card showed a motorway scene with the Jaguar, petrol tanker, Land Rover and coach.
The packaging was much more up-to-date and 1960s in style compared with the old Matchbox boxes.  The model name was printed in the bottom left hand corner of the card, and the full range was listed on the reverse, numbered from 4300 to 4311.  Curiously, these numbers had been used previously for some of the Lincoln Micro Models, which were discontinued around 1960.  This tends to suggest that the Motorway Mini Series dates from the early 1960s.  Steve Brown kindly supplied this photo of a "Mini Model Fleet" shrink-wrapped gift set of Motorway Mini models.



Compared with the Matchbox Series, there were some minor changes.  The Jaguar XK120 lost its driver, and on my example the hole in the seat is filled with flash.  The Land Rover and Racing Car can be found with or without a driver (see the Land Rover photo under Lincoln Matchbox above).  The Ambulance lost its red cross and simply became a van (called ''Pick-Up-Van'' on the packaging).  Steve Brown has pointed out that the wheels and axles were changed, so that the wheels were a push-fit, eliminating the earlier crimped axle ends, and some models (such as the coach pictured here) had smooth wheels without treads.


The Motorway Mini packaging also included the name Lincoln International, reflecting the expansion of Lincoln Industries into Hong Kong.  The dies for the miniature series accordingly were sent to Lincoln's Hong Kong operation, and all the models had MADE IN HONG KONG added to the casting.  The Hong Kong series appeared around 1966.





I am not sure how the Hong Kong models were packaged - probably they were bagged or sold from counter packs, because the packaging does not seem to survive.  Hong Kong models are quite often found with mask sprayed two-tone colours; the tanker in dark blue and cream and the dump truck in dark green, yellow and red illustrated here are two attractive examples.  Drivers were reinstated for Hong Kong production, which together with the two-tone colours shows a clear effort to make the most of the range rather than cut costs.  Also there was a return to crimped axle ends rather than push-fit wheels.  The light van was again produced as an Ambulance.

The Hong Kong series was exported to the UK, and these are the models most likely to be found at UK swapmeets.  Models made in Australia and New Zealand were not sold here and are much harder to find for UK collectors.  The models do not command any great value, but they make a charming little series which could never hope to live up to the Lesney Matchbox toys that they copied.

	Tucker Box Series	Matchbox Series	Motorway Mini Series	Hong Kong Series
made by:	Alex Tolmer & Associates	Lincoln Industries Ltd.	Lincoln International	Lincoln International
made in:	Australia	New Zealand	New Zealand	Hong Kong
Austin Petrol Tanker Fire Engine & Ladder Pick-up Truck (Utility) Land Rover Massey Harris Tractor Dump Truck ''Land Liner'' Coach Breakdown Truck Jaguar XK120 Roadster Racing Car Light Van Pantechnicon	yes yes yes yes yes	4503 4504 4502 4501 4500 4511? 4506 4507 4510 4505 4509 4508	4300 4301 4302 4303 4304 4305 4306 4307 4308 4309 4310 4311	yes yes yes ? yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

Notes:

If any reader can confirm the existence of those models with a question mark against them, please e-mail me.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Ron Ford, Steve Brown, ARG Hawke and Pier Van Netten, who provided several photographs and other information.

References
Pier van Netten - 'Australia - The Lesser Known Toys' in Modellers' World, vol.10 no.2, January 1981.
David Daw - 'Micro Models A Collectors' Guide' published by the author, 1994.
Steve Brown - 'Matchbox Series Miniature Metal Vehicles Made in New Zealand' in M.I.C.A.(Matchbox International Collectors' Association) magazine, June/July 2004.