Tri-Ang - TopGear
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- Intro
- Castings
Introduction
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Burgundy
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Green
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Orange
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Red
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Yellow
Info -
TopGear - Colors
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What are these cars anyway you ask? In short, they were made by Tri-Ang using bodies from other former product lines (Mini-Dinky & Spot-On) to create a line of cars (under license) from Topper Toys USA to be created with Topper Johnny Lightning compatible chassis. Read more details below.
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Parent company Lines Brothers Ltd was a British toymaker who operated under the Tri-Ang (Ltd) Toys brand name. They eventually purchased Meccano Ltd and Dinky Toys. In 1971 they filed bankruptcy and all parts of the company were sold off.
In 1964 Tri-Ang purchased Meccano Ltd which made Dinky Toys.
In 1964 Topper Toys USA and Triang Toys UK formed a partnership that lasted until both filed for bankruptcy in the early 71.
Between 1965 and 1967 six model cars were produced for Dinky Toys in Hong Kong for the lucrative U.S. market. Originally intended to be produced by Spot-On(Castlereagh site, Belfast, Ireland), but re-branded as Dinky Toys when the Spot-On parent company (Tri-Ang) bought Meccano Ltd, they were built to the usual Spot-On scale of 1:42. These were all American vehicles
In 1968 Mini-Dinkys were introduced.
In 1969,Topper introduced Johnny Lightning cars, a line of diecast vehicles made to compete with Mattel's Hot Wheels in the US. The Johnny Lightnings had a different type of base used to race their cars on hard tracks and that set them apart from the rest of the diecast world at that time.
Tri-Ang's Top Gear castings, which were manufactured in Hong Kong and distributed in the UK, were made with the former Mini-Dinky and Spot-On castings. Top Gear is the only other diecast with the Johnny Lightning style bases. While Bolidos Leddy also have this JL style base, the Bolidos are the original Topper castings which they acquired directly from Topper.
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TopGear - History
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