Like in other European countries, tin toys were produced in Italy in the 1920s and 1930s. The best-known manufacturer was INGAP from Padua. After the introduction of diecast model cars, the domestic market in this new field was dominated by one single company soon after World War II: Mercury. Numerous competitors such as Politoys and Mebetoys only emerged in the 1960s. Due to the product ranges of these manufacturers, 1/43rd scale was predominating in Italy until the 1970s. The production of classic car models (Dugu, Rio) already started in the early 1960s, a long time before the international nostalgia boom. Bburago, Polistil and Mebetoys were pioneers on the field of big scale diecast model cars (from 1/16th to 1/25th scale) in the 1970s. There are also a lot of small manufacturers having specialized in handbuilt resin or white metal models in 1/43rd scale, copying original cars by Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Lamborghini and Maserati. Among these manufacturers there are ABC-Brianza, BBR, MR Collection, Tron, Tecnomodel, Gamma Models, Tameo, FDS, and many others. Several mass-producers have introduced mid-price models at a similar level of quality: Best/Art Model and Bang (originating from the company Box Model), Brumm, Progetto K, Idea3, Top Model Collection, Jolly Model.
Italy