Lledo
Encyclopedia
Jack Odell
John William "Jack" Odell, OBE was the English inventor of Matchbox toys and the engineer responsible for their unique design. He joined with partners Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith to form Lesney Products....
and Burt Russell. The factory produced diecast vehicles in Enfield, England from 1983 to 1999. Lledo was a reversal of Odell's own surname, a mnemonic devise from war days in the African desert so he would not forget his wireless call sign (About Lledo webpage).
History
Lledo set out to specialise in replicating early Matchbox series styles, particularly the Models of Yesteryear range. Odell and Russell bought machinery from the Universal company, which had purchased the Matchbox plant and shipped it to Hong Kong. The tooling they purchased was re-shipped back to the Enfield, EnglandLondon Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
where in April 1983 the new Days Gone range was launched.
One of the more popular models was a Ford Model T
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...
van, which became the basis for a series of limited edition models for gifts and promotions. These were commonly produced in limited edition runs of 500 or 1000 models.
Lines
The company later launched the "Vanguards" range, which specialised in replica classic British cars.Company Fate
Although shipping high volumes of product, the company could not compete against low cost producers from Hong Kong and China who also entered the special promotions market with high quality products. As a result, Lledo went bankrupt in 1999, and the naming rights and model range was bought by CorgiCorgi Classics Limited
Corgi Classics Limited is a die-cast model manufacturer which has its origins in the Corgi Toys brand introduced by Mettoy in 1956.-The Corgi Toys era: 1956 to 1995:...
. Corgi continued producing Lledo models in China until 2005, when the remaining models were merged into the Corgi Classics range.
Jack Odell died on 8 July 2007 at the age of 87.
See also
- Corgi Classics LimitedCorgi Classics LimitedCorgi Classics Limited is a die-cast model manufacturer which has its origins in the Corgi Toys brand introduced by Mettoy in 1956.-The Corgi Toys era: 1956 to 1995:...
- Diecast Collector MagazineDiecast Collector MagazineDiecast Collector is a British magazine dedicated to the hobby of collecting diecast metal vehicles. Published monthly, it is a thick, glossy magazine featuring a variety of articles on toy and model cars, trucks and buses....
- DinkyDinky ToyDinky Toys are die-cast miniature vehicles which were produced by Meccano Ltd at Binns Road, Liverpool, England - makers of Hornby railway sets, named after founder Frank Hornby.- Pre-war history :...
- Hot WheelsHot WheelsHot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco.-Models:...
- Husky
- Matchbox
- Mettoy-CorgiMettoy-CorgiCorgi Toys is the name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles produced by Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in the United Kingdom. The Mettoy company was founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann in Northampton, England, where he was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz who had previously...