Mebetoys

Mebetoys was an Italian toy manufacturer that produced die-cast model cars during the 1960s and 1970s. The company was purchased by Mattel in 1969. Mebetoy's main competition in Italy was the earlier trailblazer Mercury, Polistil and the rarer Ediltoys.

The Gran Toros website says that Mebetoys was started by the Besana family in 1959 as a toy die casting company, in Oleggio Castello, Novara, Italy (80 km north of Milan). The name comes from MEccanica BEsana TOYS. A diecast car line was started in 1967 (Rixon 2005, p. 36), rather late compared to the entry of many other companies in the early-to-mid-1950s. In detail and proportion, Mebetoys joined superior model producers of French Solido and fellow Italian Polistil, in many ways these became the triumvirate of diecast models on the European continent, though Danish Tekno and Italian Rio Models also were important. Models were exact to scale with many moving parts, and generally more sophisticated than venerable British producers Corgi and Dinky Toys.

Mebetoys models were known for well-done castings (Rixon 2005, p. 80). Some were very clever model selections such as the Autobianchi A66 Elaf petroleum with a roof luggage rack carrying two large plastic oil barrels, or the Porsche 912 Rally (a 911 in rally form) with rock guards in thin yellow plastic strips covering the front windshield and hood and also featuring red and chrome body and bumper supports which extended from front to rear bumper. This car, in 1:43 scale, was topped off, literally, with three spare tires on the roof. Mebetoys Innocenti Mini (Italian-made mini) appeared in several different guises - including with skis and sled on its roof rack. Other models were unique because they were not offered elsewhere, like the ISO Fidia S4 grand touring sedan. Politoys had the Rivolta and Corgi and Matchbox made the Grifo ubiquitous, but nobody else made the Fidia S4. Models such as the Lamborghini Urraco, Maserati Bora, Toyota 2000 GT, and Ferrari 365 GTC-4 were also special and not often seen in 1:43 scale. Corgi Toys made the Bora, but the Mebetoys version was much better proportioned, detailed and painted (Gardiner and O'Neill 1996, p. 74).

...
Wikipedia