Corgi Toys

Corgi Toys is the brand name of a line of die-cast vehicles produced in the United Kingdom. The brand is currently owned by Hornby Railways.
The direct ancestor of Corgi Toys was a line of vehicles known as Castoys produced by the now-defunct British toy manufacturer Mettoy. The Corgi Toys name would be used starting 1956, with Mettoy founder Phillip Ullman naming the brand after the Welsh Corgi in honor of the location of the company's factory in Swansea, South Wales; this name was also chosen as it would be simple to remember, aligning the brand with its main competitor Dinky Toys and their line of vehicles.
The first vehicles manufactured by Corgi were a series of eight vehicles introduced in 1956, depicting contemporary British sedans and sports cars. By the next year, vehicles from other European countries began to be manufactured and further expansion occurred throughout the 1960s. In 1964, a second line of vehicles from Corgi known as Husky Toys was introduced; depicting smaller-scale vehicles, Husky Toys were intended to directly compete with Lesney's Matchbox line. Additional lines based on a specific theme of vehicle such as Corgi Classics would soon follow. Husky Toys was renamed to Corgi Juniors in 1970. 
Sales remained strong throughout the 1970s, with Mettoy later attempting to diversify to keep its products in demand; this move proved ill-fated, significantly draining company resources and causing Mettoy to go into receivership in October 1983, three years after Dinky and a year after Lesney, its main competitors. Corgi was reformed as Corgi Toys Ltd. in 1984 after a management buy-out, still producing vehicles but in smaller numbers than before in addition to other products.
Corgi was bought out by Mattel in 1989;Mattel acquires Mettoy/Corgi Toys Ltd. - Los Angeles Times around 1991 products were released under the Corgi Auto-City, Corgi Superhaulers, Corgi Collection, and Corgi Turbos Collection lines with new colorways and liveries. It wasn’t until 1994 when all were merged with the Hot Wheels lineup. After the end of the Hot Wheels Auto-City line in 1995, a number of Corgi models were included in the mainline or retailer-exclusive boxed sets. Corgi returned to independence in 1996 following another management buyout; many ex-Corgi Juniors models would last be seen in the Hot Wheels basic range in 1997, with some toolings being used as late as 2003 when the last Corgi casting in use, the Porsche 911 Carrera, was officially retired. 
Corgi was bought out by Zindart International Limited in 1999 and remained under Zindart ownership until 2008, when Hornby purchased the brand. Both of Corgi's initial competitor companies, Dinky and Lesney, would also ultimately come under Mattel ownership in the following years.
==Ex-Corgi designs==
Year	Casting Name 	Debut Series 	First Edition #	Toy #	Photo
1994	Air Ambulance 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1994	BMW 850i 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1994	BMW M3 	Auto-City 	- 	93200	
1994	City Police 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Digger 	Auto-City 	- 	93417	100px
1994	F.1 Race Car 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Ferrari 308 GTS 	Auto-City 	- 	93151	
1994	Ferrari 348 tb 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1994	Fire-Eater II 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Flame Stopper II 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Ford Cargo Truck 	Auto-City 	- 	93171	
1994	Ford Transit Van 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1994	Ford Transit Wrecker 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Ford XR4Ti 	Auto-City 	- 	90160	
1994	Highway Builder 	Auto-City 	- 	93417	100px
1994	Hot Rod Custom Van 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Inflatable Dinghy with Trailer	Auto-City 	- 	93417	100px
1994	Iveco Truck 	Auto-City 	- 	93177	100px
1994	Jaguar XJ40 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Jaguar XJR9 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1994	Kenworth Truck 	Auto-City 	- 	93177	100px
1994	Land Rover MkII 	Auto-City 	- 	93177	
1994	London Bus 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	London Taxi 	Auto-City 	- 	93177	
1994	MAN Truck 	Auto-City 	- 	93171	100px
1994	Mercedes 2.6 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1994	Mercedes 300TD 	Auto-City 	- 	93414	100px
1994	Mercedes-Benz 220 D Ambulance 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Mercedes-Benz 500 SL 	Auto-City 	- 	93200	
1994	Mercedes-Benz Bus 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1994	Mobile Cement Mixer 	Auto-City 	- 	93425	100px
1994	Off Road Racer 	Auto-City 	- 	93417	100px
1994	Porsche 911 Targa 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Porsche 935 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	
1994	Renault Trafic Van 	Auto-City 	- 	93414	
1994	Road Roller 	Auto-City 	- 	93417	
1994	Sandstinger 	Auto-City 	- 	93425	100px
1994	Tipping Lorry 	Auto-City 	- 	93182	100px
1996	Corvette Coupe 	Mainline 	499 	16306	
1996	Ferrari Testarossa 	Mainline 	497 	16304	
1996	Mustang Cobra 	FAO Schwarz Gold Series III	- 	16020	
1996	Porsche 911 Carrera 	FAO Schwarz Gold Series III	- 	16020	
1997	BMW 325i 	Mainline 	603 	95509	
==See Also==
*Auto-City
*Corgi Collection
*Turbos Collection
==Gallery==
CityPoliceConceptArt.jpeg|City Police concept art/illustration
FSIIproto.png|Flame Stopper II wooden prototype
850iproto.jpeg|BMW 850i (Corgi) resin prototype
850iproto2.jpeg|BMW 850i (Corgi) resin prototype base
P959proto.jpeg|Porsche 935 (Corgi) resin prototype
==References==
Category:Glossary