Tinplate models were mainly produced before we had the ability to manufacture plastic injection-moulded models. Tinplate is made by coating a thin sheet of steel with a layer of tin. Models made from this material are often referred to as lithographed tinplate which simply means the paintwork was printed onto the sheet before it was cut out.
Many tinplate models were constructed using a tab-and-slot design with details such as windows printed onto the model rather than being cut out. Later examples, however, were fitted with clear glazing installed to satisfy an appetite for more realistic models.
There are still many original tinplate models around today, but, many earlier pre-war models had diecast parts attached which suffered greatly from metal fatigue due to impurities in the diecast resulting in these models being a lot rarer.