Spot-On models was a range of diecast vehicles from Tri-ang, a division of Lines Brothers, which had been established as a toy maker in 1935.

[2] The Lines Brothers made just about everything toy related, from push-along and rocking horses in the first decades of the 1900s to their main staple of trains.

Not wishing to miss out on a commercial opportunity, Lines Brothers started its own range in 1959 – made in its factory in Northern Ireland.

[4] At various times, the Northern Ireland factory produced several ranges of toys for various names within the Lines Brothers' group, including Pedigree Soft Toys Ltd., Rovex Industries Ltd. and Lines Brothers (Ireland) Ltd.[5][6] About 1960, a smaller factory was opened on the grounds of the Belfast site – specifically for the Spot-On range.

Spot-On tried first to establish itself in the British market, concentrating on a choice of model cars that were familiar in the United Kingdom (the first was a UK Ford Zodiac).

In the United States, where Dinky and Corgi sold a large number of toys, Spot-On Models were practically nonexistent, the name was not well understood, and the non-US British line-up was unfamiliar.

[12] The company then proceeded to adopt this same scale for buses and commercial vehicles which made these models larger than most Dinky and Corgi counterparts.

For example, the "Tonibell" ice cream van had a moving worker inside the serving area and some models were banks with coin slots in the roof.

Rolls-Royces were represented initially by the Silver Wraith and, later, by the even larger Phantom V which featured working lights and members of the royal family as passengers.

Smaller vehicles included the Isetta bubble car, the rare Meadows Frisky, the Fiat 500 and the Goggomobil.

Also added were exotic sports cars such as the Aston Martin DB Mark III, Jensen 541, Daimler Dart SP250, and Bristol 406, along with more mundane models such as the Hillman Minx and Austin A40.

An Austin Prime-Mover flatbed, AEC Major and Mammoth, an ERF dropside lorry, a Bedford articulated tanker, Commer delivery van and Tonibell ice-cream truck were just a few.

Even the UK-made Massey Ferguson type 65 tractor appeared, though for only one year making it worth several hundred dollars today in mint condition.

Similar to a few other earlier diecast makers, joints between bonnets and doors and other body panels were represented on Spot-On Models as raised ridges instead of indentations.

From this point on, Dinkys were usually made in 1:42 scale, though unlike Spot-On they were not consistent and continued to make both larger and smaller models to fit in with different market niches.

While American children may have been enamored of certain MGs, Jaguars and Rolls-Royces, they probably had never heard of Jensens, Bristols, Armstrong Siddeleys, or Meadows.

Perhaps it is fortunate Spot-On ceased production just as Mattel Hot Wheels were introduced as the innovation of the thin low friction axle put many more successful toy manufacturers out of business.

The Morris Minor 1000, Jensen 541, Bristol 406, and Meadows Frisky are particular favourites of collectors because they were not produced in either Corgi or Dinky ranges.

In 2008, the French company Norev reintroduced the Spot-On brand once made by Tri-Ang, apparently using the original tooling.