Hot Wheels might dominate American mindshare when it comes to the all-encompassing hobby of diecast cars, but they are far from the only—or even the first—company to harness the profit potential of shrinking automobiles down to 1:64 scale. In fact, several major toy car companies outside of the United States have been capturing imaginations just as long, or in some cases even longer. Majorette is a perfect example. Founded several years before Hot Wheels hit the scene, this French brand never truly made it big in the United States, despite a major focus on pushing mini metal to markets in the rest of the world. The lack of Gaulois machinery on American highways no doubt contributed to Majorette’s obscurity here, despite being a backbone of the global toy scene for more than 60 years.

Growing up in Canada, I had plenty of fun with Majorette cars and play sets when I was a kid, but I didn’t realize that this toy maker was far more obscure south of the border. I put together the history of the company in this feature for Hagerty.