Morestone and Budgie

The Morestone brand was started by Morris and Stone, a wholesaler in North London, to market items made by Modern Products. Morestone started its own die-casting operation in 1954 with Rodney Smith, co-founder of Lesney. The Morestone and, from 1959, Budgie ranges were produced until 1966 when Budgie Models Ltd went into liquidation. Modern Products stepped in and continued the Budgie miniatures range until 1969, after which the business turned to making a limited range of toys specifically for the London tourist trade - principally the Routemaster bus, FX4 taxi and Rolls Royce Silver Cloud.