Matchbox® honors its 70th anniversary and the coronation of the English king with a golden state carriage
One of the British royal family's best-known memorabilia is being reissued to mark Matchbox's 70th anniversary and the coronation of King Charles III. Matchbox announces a 1:64 scale model of the golden state carriage, based on the carriage used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
Seventy years ago, London die-casting company Lesney sold over one million of its 11.8-centimeter Coronation Carriage, which was produced to mark Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne. The sales success enabled Lesney to introduce the newly conceived Matchbox brand. Today, the iconic diecast brand has produced more than three billion cars - and counting.
The Royal Carriage will be available April 25 through May 22 at mattelcreations.com for $60. The die-cast set is 23 inches long and perfectly captures the majestic presence of the 261-year-old, four-ton golden state carriage, which has been a recurring feature of British coronations since King George IV's coronation in 1821.
"The year 2023 is not only a pivotal moment in British history, but also an important one for Matchbox. To celebrate 70 years of design tradition, Matchbox is launching an exclusive Coronation carriage that evolves the brand's signature craftsmanship while embracing innovation and cutting-edge technology to write a new and exciting chapter in our history," said Roberto Stanichi, Global Head of Vehicles at Mattel. "Because this carriage is built to order, we expect it to be one of the most exclusive models Matchbox has ever created."
With the goal of creating a model that honors the highly respected royal family, Matchbox designers, produced the most detailed version of the carriage to date, with diecast horses, rolling wheels and metal figures of King Charles III and the royal consort Camilla in the carriage's red interior. Designers studied hundreds of images taken by Julian Payne, Matchbox's senior manager of product design, during a visit to the royal apartments, as well as hours of footage from recent major royal celebrations, to faithfully recreate the gilded carriage, eight "Windsor Grey" horses and four coachmen. The intensive, four-month design process was a combination of ancient design practices and some of the most innovative techniques in use today. The team used advanced 3D scanners to capture the incredibly detailed shapes of the horses and riders from Lesney's original model. The prototype parts were then 3D printed in real time.
The designers also took the opportunity to correct elements of the original 1952 model. The tritons on the front of the carriage are now correctly depicted as blowing horns, while the painted side panels are shown with additional printed decoration for the first time. Collectors looking for more detail will be pleased to know that for the first time Matchbox's designers have incorporated three cherubs representing England, Scotland and Ireland on the roof. This makes the model carriage ideal for display. It can be removed from its custom presentation box and base, the latter of which is modeled after the surface of "The Mall."
"The original state coach is central to the Matchbox heritage and crucial to the brand's destiny," comments Giles Chapman, author of Britain's Toy Car Wars (published by The History Press - www.thehistorypress.co.uk). "Jack Odell, the Lesney® design genius, was already renowned for his attention to detail, but this gleaming horse-drawn vehicle - often used as a cake decoration at parties celebrating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth - opened his eyes to ultra-miniaturization. It was the forerunner of the phenomenally successful Matchbox 1-75 series, which was launched in 1953 and brought toy cars into the hands of all children worldwide. The little coach was the big seller that started it all."
The story of the first Matchbox coronation carriage is now part of the brand's history. For the 1951 Festival of Britain, Lesney planned to produce a scale model of the golden state coach. Due to zinc shortages, very few examples of the 40-centimeter carriage were made, but when King George VI died and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was imminent, the casting was resumed. Only a few hundred were produced when the manufacturers realized that the casting still contained the figures of the now-deceased King and Elizabeth, heir to the throne. In later models, the figure of the late king was cut off at the knees. After about 33,000 pieces had been produced, a new, smaller version measuring 11.8 centimeters was created in 1953. It was silver-plated and could tarnish to look like gold. Over a million copies were sold to fans on the occasion of this coronation and contributed significantly to Matchbox's success.
The Matchbox Coronation Carriage can be ordered between April 27 and May 18, 2023, at a cost of $60 through mattelcreations.com.