Pickup Truck Replica History

Tonka Trucks Metal

The earliest known pickup truck replicas were created by Tonka in the mid-1950s. However, these trucks were not technically die-cast. Tonka trucks were created from any pressed or stamped metal parts that were riveted together to form a faultless assembly. While Tonka was most well known for their market and building tool replicas, they also had a line of pickup trucks. The early Tonka pickup truck models were based on the Ford F150 line of pickup trucks, and although the designs diverted from the exact Ford fabricate in the 1960s, the fabricate did still look as if the existing Ford pickup truck designs. In the late 1960s, the fabricate changed to more closely look as if Dodge pickup trucks of the era. While many of the early Tonka replicas were not labeled with a scale, the majority of the replicas were 1/18.

Today's Die Cast Pickup Truck Replicas

Today a far wider range of die-cast pickup truck replicas are available, representing most if not all of the lines of full-size pickup trucks. One favorite area for collectors is replicas of racing trucks. As collectors flock to replicas of Nascar stock cars, similar interest has been generated in the Nascar Craftsman truck series of racing, and collectors purchase replicas of the trucks of their favorite drivers.

Full-sized pickup trucks have also come to be animated to drivers who like to trick out or customize their vehicles. Customization is no longer small to street cars! This interest has also extensive to the die-cast pickup truck industry. Collectors enjoy modifying stock pickup truck replicas with new paint schemes, chrome parts, and even built in lighting to unmistakably grab attention.

But collectors are not small to the 1/18 scale of vehicles. Matchbox and Hotwheels have been producing 1/64 scale pickup trucks for decades. While these smaller vehicles may not have the accumulator value as their larger cousins, these vehicles are easier to find and less high-priced to purchase, allowing the accumulator to add a wider range of vehicle models to his collection.

Finally, collectors also have the choice to purchase pickup truck replicas that have been branded with their favorite sports team, products, or companies. For collectors who focus on vehicles that sport a exact goods brand, such as Coca-Cola, this choice allows for a wide variety of die-cast vehicles with common branding.

Die-cast pickup truck replicas represent just one of the many niches of the die-cast vehicle spectrum.