Lone Star Toys

Lone Star Toys was the toy brand of Die Cast Machine Tools Ltd, commonly abbreviated as DCMT, a British manufacturer based in Welham Green, Hertfordshire. The company began making die-cast toys by at least 1939 and developed a broad portfolio spanning toy firearms, military figures, road vehicles, trains, railway accessories, and small play vehicles. Although the name became particularly associated with collectible die-cast cars, Lone Star was not limited to one product category and competed across several segments of the post-war British toy market. The Lone Star name was reportedly selected during a period when Western films were highly popular in British cinemas and toy guns and rifles were in strong demand. Early products consequently included Western-themed toy weapons, followed later by licensed toy guns connected with the James Bond films and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. television series. The brand also expanded into toy soldiers. From 1955 to 1976, it sold a range of plastic figures based on designs and the trade name acquired from Harvey Toy Company. Harvey was associated with Harry Eagles, a son of Henry George Eagles, a co-founder of Crescent Toys. This acquisition gave Lone Star a significant presence in the toy-soldier category. Lone Star entered the market for Corgi-sized die-cast road vehicles in 1956 with the Road-Master series. The line was intended to compete with established British makers such as Corgi and Dinky. Early castings were often less refined than those of its larger competitors, but the vehicles offered a distinctive range and increasingly ambitious play features. In 1966, the company introduced the smaller Impy series and discontinued the older, larger Road-Master range as a principal line. Impy models were approximately three and a half inches long and were marketed with extensive operating features, including opening doors, hoods, and trunks, working steering, and jewel-like headlights. Some unusual or highly specified subjects, such as the Chrysler Imperial and Jaguar Mark X, helped the series stand out among small die-cast toys. Lone Star responded quickly to the commercial impact of Mattel's Hot Wheels. In 1968, Impy models were redesigned with lower-friction wheels and marketed as the Flyer series. This made Lone Star one of the earliest competitors to adopt the new fast-wheel concept. The company also produced gift sets, including combinations of vehicles and trailers, into the early 1980s. Its packaging evolved from traditional red-and-yellow designs resembling those used by other British die-cast manufacturers to brighter packaging, including early use of transparent plastic windows. Other notable products included the approximately two-inch Tuf-Tots vehicles, launched around 1968 or 1969. These were simpler, smaller cast vehicles with fewer moving parts and included cars, trucks, and other subjects. Some were later reissued as Zippy Zoomers or adapted by another manufacturer for the Mokes range. Lone Star also developed a compact model railway system. Beginning in 1957, it made push-along British and American outline trains in 2-millimetre-to-the-foot scale, using narrow metal track and die-cast buildings. The electrically powered Treble-0-Lectric system followed in 1960, with locomotives, rolling stock, track, scenery, and accessories. The original DCMT business and its Lone Star toy operations are no longer active as an independent brand business. Ownership of the Lone Star name is attributed to the Heinrich Bauer group, whose Sohni-Wicke Armforces und Spielwarenfabrik division continues to sell toy guns under the name. Lone Star's historical importance is strongest among collectors of British die-cast vehicles and miniature railway products, where its Impy, Flyer, Road-Master, Tuf-Tots, and Treble-0-Lectric products remain identifiable parts of twentieth-century toy history.

Lone Star Toys was the consumer-facing toy brand used by Die Cast Machine Tools Ltd, a British company located in Welham Green, Hertfordshire, north of London. DCMT was manufacturing die-cast toys by at least 1939. The company chose the Lone Star name in a market shaped by the popularity of Western films, using it for toy guns and rifles that reflected the entertainment themes popular with British children. Its toy-weapon business later included licensed products associated with James Bond films and the television series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The company broadened its range after the Second World War. When Crescent Toys moved its operations to South Wales in 1949, Harry Eagles, also known as Harvey and one of Henry George Eagles's sons, remained in London and established the Harvey Toy Company. Harvey produced hollowcast metal figures. Lone Star subsequently acquired the Harvey trade name and designs, selling a range of plastic toy soldiers from 1955 through 1976. This gave Lone Star a substantial military-figure and playset offering alongside its vehicle products. In 1956, Lone Star began producing Corgi-sized die-cast vehicles under the Road-Master name, later generally written as Roadmaster. The range was developed in competition with Corgi and Dinky. Its early models were recognizable for relatively simple casting and body detail, but they provided Lone Star with an important position in the expanding British market for small die-cast vehicles. The company continued to use the Roadmaster name after changing its principal small-car format. A major product transition occurred in 1966 with the launch of the Impy series. The older, larger Road-Master vehicles were discontinued as a main line, while Impy introduced smaller models of approximately three and a half inches. New packaging and numerous play features were central to the range. Certain models included opening doors, hoods, and trunks, functional steering, and jewelled headlights. The approach made the vehicles more mechanically elaborate than many similarly sized competitors, even though the additional cut lines and mechanisms could compromise the smoothness of some castings. Lone Star was also an early response to the low-friction-wheel trend established by Hot Wheels. In 1968, Impy cars were equipped with faster-running wheels and sold as the Flyer series. This change helped the brand remain relevant in a rapidly shifting die-cast market. The company offered vehicle gift sets with trailers into the early 1980s, while its packaging moved from conservative red-and-yellow designs to bright, high-impact boxes that included plastic display windows. Around 1968 or 1969, Lone Star introduced Tuf-Tots, a smaller range of roughly two-inch cast vehicles. The line included cars, trucks, and other subjects and generally sacrificed opening features in favor of compact, straightforward play value. Some models were later reissued as brightly colored Zippy Zoomers, while at least one design was used in another manufacturer's Mokes range connected to a comic-book storyline. Lone Star's railway business developed in parallel with its road-vehicle operations. In 1957, it introduced push-along British and American outline trains in a very small scale, using 8.25-millimetre-gauge metal track and die-cast station buildings. Designed by long-serving employee Stuart Goss, the system was expanded in 1960 into Treble-0-Lectric electrically powered working models. The range included British diesel locomotives, an American steam locomotive, an F7 diesel-electric locomotive in American and Canadian liveries, rolling stock, track, buildings, and scenic accessories. Gulliver County rubber-moulded buildings and vacuum-formed layout bases helped customers create compact model railway scenes. The original Lone Star toy operation is no longer active as an independent business. The Lone Star name is attributed to the Heinrich Bauer group, and toy guns continue to be associated with Bauer's Sohni-Wicke Armforces und Spielwarenfabrik division. The historical brand remains important to collectors because it combined British die-cast vehicle production, licensed toy weapons, plastic soldiers, and an unusually compact miniature railway system.

• 1980

  Vehicle gift sets continue into the early 1980s

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Lone Star continued offering combinations such as vehicles with trailers, including recreational vehicle-themed sets, into the early 1980s.

• 1976

  Harvey soldier range ends

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  The plastic soldier range derived from Harvey designs was sold by Lone Star through this year.

• 1968

  Flyer low-friction wheels adopted

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Impy vehicles were refitted with sporty fast-running wheels and marketed as the Flyer series, making Lone Star an early response to Hot Wheels.

• 1968

  Tuf-Tots introduced

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Lone Star added a smaller range of approximately two-inch vehicles with simpler construction and fewer operating parts.

• 1966

  Impy series launched

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  The smaller Impy range replaced the older Road-Master format as Lone Star's principal die-cast vehicle line and emphasized extensive opening and operating features.

• 1960

  Treble-0-Lectric introduced

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  The electrically powered Treble-0-Lectric railway system expanded the company's miniature railway offering with locomotives, rolling stock, track, and scenery.

• 1957

  Small-scale push-along railway launched

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Lone Star began producing compact British and American outline push-along trains, metal track, and die-cast railway buildings.

• 1956

  Road-Master vehicles introduced

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  The company entered the Corgi-sized die-cast vehicle market with its Road-Master series, competing with Corgi and Dinky.

• 1955

  Plastic soldier range begins

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Lone Star began selling plastic soldiers based on the Harvey name and designs, continuing the range until 1976.

• 1949

  Harvey Toy Company remains in London

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  After Crescent Toys moved to South Wales, Harry Eagles remained in London and operated the Harvey Toy Company, whose trade name and designs were later acquired by Lone Star.

• 1939

  Early die-cast toy production

  [1]Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Die Cast Machine Tools Ltd was manufacturing die-cast toys by at least this year, establishing the industrial foundation for the later Lone Star toy brand.

A British mass-market toy maker offering feature-rich die-cast vehicles and accessible miniature railway products, with particular emphasis on play functions, licensed entertainment themes, and rapid adaptation to changing toy-car technology.

• Die-cast vehicles · 1956

  Road-Master

  Introduced in 1956, Road-Master was Lone Star's Corgi-sized die-cast vehicle range. It included cars, buses, and other road subjects designed to compete with Corgi and Dinky. Early models generally had simpler casting and body detail than their leading British rivals, but established Lone Star in the collectible and play-oriented die-cast market. The name was later written as Roadmaster and continued to appear after the original larger format was phased out.

• Die-cast vehicles · 1966

  Impy Super Cars

  The Impy series arrived in 1966 as a smaller vehicle line of approximately three and a half inches. Its selling point was an unusually high number of play features for its size, including opening doors, hoods, and trunks, working steering, and jewelled headlights on selected models. Subjects such as the Chrysler Imperial and Jaguar Mark X gave the line a distinctive assortment. Impy packaging was bright and among the early die-cast packaging formats to use plastic windows.

• Low-friction die-cast vehicles · 1968

  Impy Flyer

  Flyer was the name applied to Impy vehicles refitted with lower-friction, faster-running wheels. Introduced in 1968, the range was Lone Star's rapid answer to the performance-oriented wheel technology popularized by Hot Wheels. Early wheels used shiny silver finishes and black hubs, while later versions included five-spoke designs. The change helped extend the life of the Impy format in a more competitive small-car market.

• Small cast vehicles · 1968

  Tuf-Tots

  Tuf-Tots were compact vehicles approximately two inches long, introduced around 1968 or 1969. Unlike the feature-heavy Impy models, they were principally simple cast vehicles without opening parts. The assortment included four cars, sixteen trucks, and several other vehicles. Early cars featured plastic drivers, while later versions used plastic roofs and omitted the drivers. Some designs were subsequently reissued as Zippy Zoomers or reused in another company's Mokes range.

• Toy soldiers · 1955

  Harvey plastic soldiers

  After acquiring the Harvey Toy Company trade name and designs, Lone Star sold a broad range of plastic toy soldiers from 1955 to 1976. The products extended the company's presence beyond vehicles and toy weapons into military figures and related imaginative play. Their lineage connected Lone Star with Harry Eagles and the earlier hollowcast figure tradition associated with Crescent Toys.

• Model railway · 1960

  Treble-0-Lectric

  Treble-0-Lectric was Lone Star's electrically powered miniature railway system, introduced in 1960 after the company's push-along train products. It used a very small scale and included British diesel locomotives, an American steam locomotive, an F7 diesel-electric locomotive in American and Canadian liveries, track, rolling stock, buildings, scenery, and accessories. The system was designed to provide a compact working railway layout rather than a full-size model railway experience.

• Model railway scenery

  Gulliver County

  Gulliver County was a range of rubber-moulded buildings and related scenic components made for Lone Star's very small-scale railway systems. Customers could combine the buildings with track, locomotives, rolling stock, and vacuum-formed layout bases to create compact ready-made or customized scenes.

• Toy weapons

  Licensed film and television toy guns

  Lone Star's toy-weapon business included Western-themed guns and rifles, reflecting the popularity of cinematic Westerns in Britain. The company later produced licensed toy guns linked to James Bond films and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. television series. These products connected the brand to major entertainment properties while retaining its original play-gun positioning.

• 1968

  Introduction of Flyer fast wheelsProduct launch

  Background

  Hot Wheels had made low-friction wheels a major selling feature in small die-cast cars, increasing competitive pressure on established toy vehicle makers.

  Action taken

  Lone Star refitted Impy vehicles with sporty fast-running wheels and marketed them under the Flyer name.

  Aftermath

  The brand became one of the earliest die-cast competitors to adopt the low-friction-wheel concept after Hot Wheels.

  Source

• 1966

  Shift from Road-Master to ImpyGeneration change

  Background

  Lone Star faced established competitors in the British die-cast market and needed a more contemporary small-car format with stronger shelf appeal and more play features.

  Action taken

  The company introduced the smaller Impy series, discontinued the older larger Road-Master format as its principal line, and adopted brighter packaging with prominent product presentation.

  Aftermath

  Impy became one of the brand's best-known die-cast ranges and provided the platform for the later Flyer low-friction-wheel vehicles.

  • Corgi — No documented specific reaction found.
  • Dinky — No documented specific reaction found.

  Source

1. 1Lone Star Toysen.wikipedia.org