Editing Matchbox (brand) (section)

=== Scale model kits ===
Matchbox set up its own plastic kit division in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] around 1972/73. Concentrating on 1:72 scale military aircraft and 1:76 military vehicles, it competed with the then-dominant [[Airfix]] company. The Matchbox kits had a distinctive appearance, the parts in each kit were produced in two or three colours compared to the single colour plastic of Airfix. The boxes were also more colourful and included clear windows so the contents could be seen. In addition, unlike Airfix's military vehicle kits, the Matchbox military vehicle kits all came with a small diorama base.

At the end of the decade Matchbox bought the [[Aluminum Model Toys|AMT Corporation]], an American plastic model kit manufacturer.  AMT's line of 1:25 scale cars and trucks was continued.

The Matchbox kits were well made, with modern tooling and techniques, but critics felt that the kits were too coarsely detailed<ref>Clive Hall, Scale Models (Hobby Magazine) December 1973</ref> in comparison with other models on the market, and too "toy-like". Yet they were still just as complex and time consuming to construct as any other kit, which limited their appeal to more casual model builders. The company was unable to fully satisfy either the casual or serious model building market, and was one of the first companies to abandon model kits when the hobby started its decline,{{when|date=January 2014}} selling AMT to the [[Ertl Company]] and shutting down its own kit division less than twenty years after starting it.

Original Matchbox model kits are highly collectable.

[[File:Heinkel he-70 (2998231809).jpg|thumb|Heinkel He 70 in 1:72]]