Category:Lledo

1986: Lledo pack lineart, models 1-19 [image info]

Lledo pack lineart, models 1-30 [image info]

1991: LLedo stock clearout [image info]

LLedo was founded by Jack Odell, arguably one of the three original founders of Matchbox Toys. The company name was Odell's surname spelled backwards. The brand is now a sub-brand of Corgi.

Days Gone

After Matchbox got into financial trouble, Odell came out or retirement, bought some of the older mouldings, and started his own company, LLedo, selling a range of nostalgic-looking pre-war styled toy vehicles reminiscent of the Matchbox "Models of Yesteryear" Series, but called "Days Gone".

Since these were mostly commercial vans, Lledo's initial business model was to maximise flexibility and return on investment by producing only a very limited number of basic designs, but to then expand this into a huge range by using different liveries and logos.

Lledo became experts in producing limited-run promotional diecast vehicles – if a company wanted a batch of toy vehicles produced in their company's colours showing the company logo, Lledo could offer a range of basic vehicle types, and then finish them to the customer's specifications.

At this point Lledo probably seemed like a niche "promotional" diecast toy company, but they kept expanding the range year after year until it contained 75 models, just like Odell's previous "Matchbox 1-75" range.

Collectability (or not)

While many classic diecast toys aimed at children became highly collectable, the Days Gone range, aimed at adult collectors, paradoxically didn't. With children's toy's most of the examples produced were played with, lost, damaged, or badly stored, and had their boxes discarded almost immediately, meaning that rare examples in pristine condition with new-looking boxes occasionally command exorbitant prices.

With the LLedo "Days Gone" range, almost none of them were properly played with, and almost all of them were hoarded by collectors in their original boxes. The vast number of variations on just a few basic models also means that trying to assemble a complete collection is fairly futile and rather repetitive. As a result, these toys can be found almost anywhere that old toys are sold, new and boxed, for a few pounds.

"Days Gone" base models:

1983:

• 1 – Horse-Drawn Tram
• 2 – Horse Drawn Milk Float
• 3 – Horse Drawn Delivery Van
• 4 – Horse Drawn Omnibus
• 5 – Shand-Mason Horse Drawn Fire Engine
• 6 – Model T Ford Van

1984:

• 7 – 1934 Model A Ford Woody Wagon
• 8 – Model T Ford Tanker
• 9 – Model A Ford Car
• 10 – Albion Single Decker Coach
• 11 – Horse Drawn Removal Van
• 12 – Dennis 1934 Fire Engine
• 13 – Model A Ford 1934 Van

1985:

• 14 – Model A Ford 1934 Tourer, top up
• 15 – AEC Double Decker Bus
• 16 – Dennis 1934 Parcels Van
• 17 – Half Cab Single Decker Bus
• 18 – Packard Van
• 19 – Rolls-Royce 1931 Phantom II

1986:

• 20 – Ford Stake Truck
• 21 – Chevrolet 1934 Van
• 22 – Packard 1933 Town Van

1987:

• 23 – Scenicruiser 1954
• 24 – Rolls-Royce 1934 Playboy
• 25 – Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1925
• 26 – Chevrolet 1934 Bottle Truck
• 27 – Mack 1934 Breakdown Truck

1988:

• 28 – Mack 1934 Canvas Back Truck
• 29 – Dodge 4x4 1942
• 31 – Horse Drawn Brewer's Dray
• 32 – Rolls-Royce 1907 Silver Ghost

1989:

• 30 – Chevrolet 1939 Panel Van
• 33 – Model T Ford 1920
• 34 – Dennis 1932 Delivery Van
• 35 – Dennis 1932 Limousine
• 36 – Chevrolet 1938 Pick-Up Truck
• 38 – Rolls-Royce 1925 Silver Ghost Saloon
• 39 – Mack 1934 Open Truck

1990:

• 37 – Model A Ford 1930 Panel Van
• 40 – Mack 1934 Crane Truck
• 41 – Karrier 1928 E6 Trolley Bus
• 42 – Mack Tank Truck
• 43 – Morris 1931 Van
• 44 – Scammell 1937 Six-Wheeler
• 46 – Bentley 1930 4.5 litre "Blower"

1991:

• 45 – Rolls-Royce 1908 Silver Ghost Coupe
• 47 – Austin 1933 Taxi
• 48 – Chevrolet 1939 car
• 49 – AEC Renown 1931 Double Deck Bus

1992:

• 50 – Morris 1926 Bull Nose Van
• 51 – Chevrolet 1928 Box Van
• 52 – Morris 1935 Parcels Van
• 53 – Rolls-Royce 1926 Landaulet

1993:

• 54 – Rolls-Royce 1929 D-Back
• 55 – Horse-Drawn Tanker
• 56 – Model A Ford 1930 Raised-Roof Van
• 57 – Ford 1939 Tank Truck
• 58 – Morris 1950 Z Van
• 59 – Bedford 1950 30 cwt Truck
• 60 – Dennis F8 1955 Fire Engine
• 61 – Pontiac 1953 Delivery Van

1994:

• 62 – Ford 1935 Articulated Tanker
• 63 – Bedford 1950 30 cwt Delivery Van
• 64 – Bedford 1950 Ambulance
• 65 – Morris 1960 Traveller
• 66 – Dennis 1926 Delivery Van
• 67 – Ford 3-Ton Articulated Truck
• 68 – Open-Top Bus

1995:

• 69 – Morris Minor 1960 Van
• 70 – Ford 1939 Canvas Back Truck
• 71 – Morris 1959 LD 150 Van
• 72 – Volkswagen 1952 Beetle
• 73 – Volkswagen 1955 Kombi Van
• 74 – Austin 7 1959 Mini
• 75 – Bristol 1957 Lodekka Bus

Vanguards

Lotus Cortina MkII Police Car, "Vanguards" series [image info]

In around ~1996 Lledo launched another range of classically distinctive British cars, Vanguards but this time based on post-war models, and without the previous emphasis on models that could also be used for promotional tieins.

1999: Corgi

The LLedo brand and tooling were acquired in 1999 by Corgi, which was itself acquired by Hornby Hobbies in 2008. The "Days Gone" range is now part of the Corgi Classics range.

"Days Gone" model 43, 1931 Morris Van in Bassett-Lowke livery, Corgi DG043048 – by this time, Corgi had also acquired the Bassett-Lowke brandname

Addresses

• Lledo (London) Ltd. Enfield EN3 4LE
• Lledo Colectibles, Park House, Meridian East, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE3 2WZ (~2004)
• Corgi Classics Ltd., Leicester, LE19 1RL

In the museum (shop)

Lledo's date-range lies outside our normal focus, and due to the circumstances in which it was made and sold, there still seem to be vast quantities of Lledo toy vehicles still out there, new and boxed. So although we don't have a Lledo section in the museum, we almost always have stocks of LLedo vehicles available for sale in the Collector's Market in Arch One, with prices starting at a few pounds.

See also:

• Matchbox

External links

• Jack Odell, obituary (hemmings.com)
• The History of Lledo (corgi.co.uk)

• Lledo Days Gone (plasticsoldierreview.com)