page_title: Model car
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Model car / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A toy Jaguar sports car in the permanent collection of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Русский: Игрушечный спорт-кар Ягуар в постоянной коллекции Детского музея Индианаполиса
context_page_description: A model vehicle or toy vehicle is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aimed at children as playthings, there is no precise difference between a model car and a toy car, yet the word 'model' implies either assembly required or the accurate rendering of an actual vehicle at smaller scale. The kit building hobby became popular through the 1950s, while the collecting of miniatures by adults started to pick up momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
context_section_description: Miniature models of automobiles first appeared in Europe around the time real automobiles did. Then, shortly after, they appeared in the United States (Harvey 1974, p. 1995–1996). These were toys and replicas often made of lead and brass (Harvey 1974, p. 1995). Later models made in the early twentieth century were slush cast plaster or iron. Tin and pressed steel cars, trucks, and military vehicles, like those made by Bing of Germany, were introduced in the 1920s through the 1940s, but period models rarely copied actual vehicles, likely because of the crudeness of early casting and metal shaping techniques  (Harvey 1974, p. 1995, 1997). Casting vehicles in various alloys, usually zinc (called zamac or mazac), became popular in the late 1930s and remained prominent after World War II (Earle 2009).
  Post-war, pressed tin and diecast zinc were the most popular materials used in Europe and Japan. Mass-produced diecast metal toys appeared in America as well, but unlike those in Europe, they were often cruder and less detailed. Meanwhile, the use of plastics surged and became popular by the mid-1950s. During the 1950s and 1960s, tin and pressed steel were seen broadly Japan, which dominantly used diecast into the 1970s. By 2000, China and other countries of Southeast Asia became the main producers of diecast metal companies headquartered in Europe, the United States and Japan. Generally, as of 2015, only specialty models for collectors are still made in Europe or the United States.  Model Cars and related brands and people have been inducted in the Model Car Hall of Fame since 2009.
caption: A diecast 1:10 scale Doepke Toys Jaguar XK120 from 1955. One of two car models the company made, this model is 17.5 in (440 mm) long. (in The Children's Museum of Indianapolis)
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