The most famous vehicle from the Philippines is the Jeepney. The first of these colourful buses were U.S. Army jeeps, numbering into the hundreds all over the country after World War II, which were repainted and upon which various decorations were attached. But soon several local companies started to build their own vehicles - copies of army jeeps - with longer wheelbase and Diesel engines. Two of the best known Jeepney builders are Sarao Motors and Francisco Motors. Several Jeepney modelcars are also made in the Philippines, but on most of them there is no clear indication of a manufacturer's name. A company named Tatak Pilipino Koleksyon distributed diecast Jeepney models in about 1/25th and 1/50th scale; the bigger model was manufactured by Promite (Promotional Items Supplies Inc.) in Manila. There are also some models made by other manufacturers, including a 1/64th scale diecast model by Richwell released in 1998 to commemorate the centennial of Philippine independence. A Jeepney in 1/43rd scale was made in China by Ixo for the Spanish and French publisher Altaya as a model of the partwork "Taxis du monde/Taxis del mundo" in 2002. Later, this model was released in different colours in the regular Ixo range. Some manufacturers of plastic toys were also based in the Philippines: among others, Folleys released a soft plastic model of a VW 1303 in about 1/43rd scale in the 1970s, and Cherith produced a slightly bigger plastic model of the same car. In 1994, the Japanese manufacturer Tamiya established a factory in Cebu to produce plastic kits. Finished models from the "Masterwork Collection" and "Military Miniature Collection" series are also made at this location.
Philippines