Main track

The first toy cars were made of sheet metal that was shaped, soldered together and then painted by hand. Wheels and lights were often cast and covered cars had windows made of real glass. The large and fancy cars also had working steering wheels and a clockwork motor that could be wound up. If you put them on the floor, they could then drive themselves in large circles until the power ran out. Or maybe until they ran over a parent's toes? There were also small, simple toy cars early on that were sold cheaply by street vendors. Some of them were made with simple means from recycled sheet metal from tin cans.

In the 1930s, class differences decreased somewhat and this was also noticeable in the world of toys. The very finest toy cars disappeared, just like many of the simpler models, while the mid-range range grew. Now the tin cars also faced competition from die-cast toy cars, which were considerably cheaper to manufacture. For Christmas 1934, both American Tootsietoys and British Dinky Toys are launched in Sweden. When toy production picks up again after the First World War, the cars are made in much the same way as before, although they of course look more modern. But by this time they are no longer manufactured only in Germany, but throughout the Western world.

After the Second World War, die-cast toy cars dominate and the models become better and more realistic. Here you can find Dad's VW, the teacher's Austin and the black Mercedes taxi. The large sheet metal cars are given battery-powered electric motors and are now increasingly produced in Japan. Toy cars are also manufactured in Sweden at an early stage. They are usually made of wood, but there are also small centimeter-long cars cast in tin. In 1927, Skoglund & Olsson in Gävle begins to manufacture large, heavy cars in cast iron and in the 1930s, RS-Toys in Stockholm makes cars comparable to Dinky Toys.