Like other South American countries, Chile had its own toy industry from the 1940s to the 1970s, although it was comparatively small. Various companies released tinplate (Neumann) or plastic (Shyf, Agostino Chiappe, Reicolite) toy cars, and some Chilean toys were not marked with a brand name. However, there were also manufacturers of diecast models in about 1/43rd scale: Maestranza Metalúrgica Quilpué was in business from 1955 to 1974 and originally made several truck and tractor models, from 1965 onwards also car models, which were inspired by contemporary Corgi and Tekno products, yet no exact copies: Volvo PV 544 and P1800, VW Beetle, T1 Transporter and 1500, Land Rover. The models featured the MMQ inscription on the bottom and were also known under the name of "Alfa Autos". Furthermore, Dinky Toys models from England were finished by the Gastón Grubner company in the tax free harbour of Arica in the late 1960s, in order to avoid import taxes, and packed in special boxes for the Chilean market. The same company also assembled models by Mercury from Italy, by Best Box from the Netherlands, and by Schuco from Germany. A model car of a Chilean prototype is the Citroën 2 CV Citroneta with open boot, released in 2005 by Norev in 1/43rd scale for a partwork of the French publisher Hachette. The Diecast Club offered another 1/43rd scale model of the Citroneta in a series of Citroën-2-CV-based vehicles from all over the world from 2016. In late 2013, Luppa Solutions introduced a 1/72nd scale Pullman trolley bus, which had been operated in Valparaiso for decades, for the partwork "Autobuses del Mundo" sold in various South American countries.
Chile