Lone Star Toys

Interpreting the base of a Lone Star vehicle can be difficult. Some of Impy Toys read: "Lone Star Road-Master Impy Super Cars".[4]

To keep up with competitors such as Corgi and Dinky, Lone Star began producing Corgi-sized diecast toy vehicles in 1956 with its Road-Master series (later spelled without the hyphen[4][5]). Castings on the earlier vehicles, though handsome, were a bit cruder than the competition. For example, the double-deck bus had its casting line, for its two halves, right down the centre of the roof. Also, most earlier Lone Stars have simpler bumper, grille and body detail than Corgi or Dinky.

Much changed with the introduction of the Impy line in 1966. Bright new packaging was introduced while the older, larger, Road-Master series was discontinued (though the name "Roadmaster" was still used). The new cars were a smaller three and a half inch size, similar to Mini-Dinkys, and were advertised as the "cars with everything".[6] For example, the 1963 Chrysler Imperial was not offered by any other diecast maker and featured opening doors, hood, trunk, working steering and jewelled headlights.[7] The Impy Jaguar Mark X outshone the spartan Matchbox version with four jewelled headlights and opening 'everything'.[8] Having so many features on a smaller diecast car could be unsightly, however, as cut door lines broke the smooth sides of the car on the Imperial, and other vehicles. On the FIAT 2300S Ghia coupe the cast line was rough and uneven from fender through door to fender again.[9]

Volvo 1800 coupe. Sometimes door matches were not the best on Lonestar cars - they were a step below Corgi or Dinky in accuracy.

It is interesting that Lone Star was the first toy producer to respond to Hot Wheels' hit of low-friction wheels[10] In 1968, less than a year after the introduction of Hot Wheels, Impys were refitted with sporty fast wheels which Lone Star now called its "Flyer" series. The first Flyers' wheels were simple shiny silver wheels with black hubs, rather reminiscent of Corgi's first low-friction gold wheels with red hubs. Eventually cars were given a handsome five-spoke wheel[11] By contrast, Topper's Johnny Lightning and Aurora's Cigarbox cars did not change wheel styles until about 1969, nearly two years after Mattel's premier. Similar to Majorette and others, Lone Star also offered gift sets of cars with trailers into the early 1980s, like the Range Rover pulling a zodiac-style inflatable boat.[12]

Earlier Lone Star packaging was coloured similar to Corgi and especially Dinky, with red and yellow box panels. Later packaging was bright - almost luminescent - and Impy boxes were among the first to feature plastic windows, while Matchbox still had closed boxes.[6]

About 1968 or 1969, Lone Star introduced a smaller, approximately two inch long vehicles of varied scales called "Tuf-Tots" that were simply cast vehicles without opening parts similar in concept to the small Tootsietoys. There were four cars, sixteen trucks, and a couple of other vehicles offered. Cars were a Citroen DS convertible, a '68 Dodge Dart, a Corvette Stingray, and a Mercedes-Benz 280 SL. The first series were all convertibles with plastic drivers in different colours.[13] The second series had no driver and a plastic black roof. Some vehicles of the series were re-released in the mid-1980s as brightly coloured "Zippy Zoomers" and others, like the DS convertible were used by Microlink Industries of Wales in a series named "Mokes" which were tied to a comic book storyline.[14]