Three well-known Western European model manufacturers let produce model cars in Bulgaria for some time: Matchbox, Gama and Schuco. In order to gain a foothold in Eastern Europe, Matchbox made a contract with the Bulgarian company DSO Mladost/MIR in 1983 which then started manufacturing models from the "1-75" and "Super Kings" series, sometimes in particular colour schemes, but otherwise identical to the Matchbox models made in England. These models were originally only determined for the Bulgarian market, but after 1991 they were also exported to other countries, which lead to the break between Matchbox and the Bulgarian manufacturer. However, production of several Matchbox models in Bulgaria went on. From 1985 to 2008 1/43rd scale models by the German company Gama were also made in the same factory, as well as re-editions of Buddy L and Tonka tin toys from the USA. From the 1990s the models were marketed under the Mikro or Mikro’67 name. A self-developped model by Mikro was a Lada Niva, made of diecast in 1/43rd scale. After Schuco had taken over the production of Gama models in the 1990s, several models from the contemporary Schuco range were manufactured in Bulgaria for some time before the whole production was transferred to China. As a consequence, the "Made in Bulgaria" label can be found on some detailed BMW and Opel promotional models from the 1990s. A Bulgarian manufacturer of handbuilt models is Griffin Models; this company introduced its first 1/43rd scale white metal models of Saab cars in 2011, soon followed by resin models in the same scale.
Bulgaria