Evolution and sizes of Corgi boxes, 1981–84

From left to right:
Mettoy, © 1981 (copyright on base), size C, rectangular window, slots for header card
Mettoy, © 1983, size A, tapering window with rounded corners, slots for header card
Corgi Toys, © 1983, size B, tapering window with rounded corners, no slots for header card
Corgi Toys Ltd, © 1984, size B, tapering window with sharp corners, no slots for header card
Corgi Toys Ltd, © 1984, size BZ, same except slimmer

1984 - without header card removable slot

The 1984 box is not “more little than 1983”. In fact it is longer (as 1983 was the small size A).

The 1984 box (size “Ref BZ”) is the same length and height as size B but less deep.

Leftover plinths of discontinued models were overprinted with current issue numbers during the time of receivership from October 1983 and also after Corgi Toys Ltd was formed on March 29, 1984.

The plinth for the James Bond Aston Martin came from the 370 Ford Cobra Mustang (you can see the “g” from Mustang below the black line on one of the plinths). It was not done to black-out a James Bond reference as is always written when one comes up on eBay!


Barcode and side numbers are overprinted, too. 271 numbers are printed on lighter yellow cards and inserted on both sides. Includes instructions on a white paper slip that reuse the illustration from the 1983 Mettoy issue (but with a different font used for the numbers).

Both have medium brown unpainted figures, except the baddie in the 1984 box is blue. Dont't know if this is original to the issue but the blue is darker and a bit more turquoise than the usual blue baddies.

The blacking out is not for erase any James Bond reference! These were produced using up already printed plinths from other cars after the Mettoy failure. As there were no size B Aston Martins produced before they didn't have to overprint any James Bond reference. In reality these plinths can also be found for other cars, and the ones used for the DB5 say “370 Ford Cobra Mustang” when examined closely.

Bond and baddie figures in medium brown. An unusual warning not to fire the “missiles” towards the face is located beneath the car. The operating instructions use the same illustration as on the 1983 Mettoy issue (the separate instruction sheet included with generic plinths has a different font for the numbers).

The two brown figures in this box are exactly as those in mine, so I believe this is perfectly factory correct.

During 1984, before the introduction of the newly designed blue box, Corgi Toys used up much of the old boxes by using empty plinths, some with inserted cards showing the item number, but many left the factory without any model identification. Note that even the empty plinth has its own item number. This car is unusual as the ejector seat trigger is black (painted or anodized?) metal.