A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aimed at children as playthings, there is no precise difference between a model car and a toy car, yet the word 'model' implies either assembly required or the accurate rendering of an actual vehicle at smaller scale. The kit building hobby became popular through the 1950s, while the collecting of miniatures by adults started to gain momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
A diecast 1:10 scale Doepke Toys Jaguar XK120 from 1955. One of two car models the company made, this model is 17.5 in (440 mm) long. In The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
A model of a 1962 BMW 700 LS Luxus.
Austin toy pedal cars being manufactured at the Longbridge plant.
Citroen Ami 6 pressed tin toy.
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin modulus, a measure.
Model of a molecule, with coloured balls representing different atoms
Part of the one-ninth scale model of Bourton-on-the-Water at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England
Water-powered model of the UK economy – MONIAC in the Science Museum, London
Female model demonstrating brassiere for similarly-built potential buyers