Hi-Speed Fire Engine - 703
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703 Hi-Speed Fire Engine |
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Hi-Speed Fire Engine - 703 |
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1975 Corgi made an attempt to produce a range of simpler to produce,
cheaper, high volume toys which were not modelled on real vehicles. The
model numbers began with a 7. The '700'
series of made-up toys, the Minibus, the Ambulance, the Tow Truck, the
Security Van and this Fire Engine get plenty of much deserved spleen on
these pages, however what is striking about them, against all logic, is
that they photograph really well. It could be that the ones I have are
all in very good condition, and that could be because their original
owners didn't really want to play with them. This is a nursery toy, accurate models of cars and truck appeal to older boys. Was the decline of the brand hastened by unintentionally narrowing the market to a younger age group? That is possibly unfair as Corgi were trying a range of strategies at this time which, while they disappoint the enthusiast 30/40 years later, were actually a reaction to the changing world back then. When I was little in the late fifties & sixties Corgi toys were about as exciting and glamorous as toys got. In the seventies & eighties there was masses more to choose from. In the die-cast arena the arrival of Hot Wheels changed everything, but the real killer for traditional toy makers was the electronic toys and computers which were beginning to appear, electronic games were the real competition and the reason that Corgi could never continue as they were. This range did not save the brand, nor did the next attempt to enter the low-cost high-volume market two years later in 1977, the short-lived Corgi Cubs. |
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page last updated:
23 August 2011
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