UPDATED - Volvo 343 DL by Hot Wheels / Mebetoys

I have recently found on a Spanish website a Volvo 343 DL by Hot Wheels in a color I had never seen before. The 1:43 scale model was black with a black interior.
The diecast model of the Volvo 343 DL has not only been offered under the Hot Wheels label. You can find it also as a Mebetoys or Tonka model. All these labels belong to the Mattel group. This Volvo 343 DL has always been offered under item number A-130.
The website Grantoros.com is providing a huge amount of interesting and very detailed info's regarding models by Mebetoys. But there is not much regarding the Volvo 343 model.

Here is a short list of the various versions and liveries I was so far able to find :

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Mebetoys :

• silver metallic
• light blue metallic
• white
• yellow
• white - 'Rally # 2 Esso'
• dark gray met. - 'Rally # 5 Marlboro'

Hot Wheels :

• white
• red
• white - 'Rally # 2 Esso'

Tonka :

• red

Don’t hesitate to send me your comments, photos, catalogs or anything else you may have or know about these Volvo 343 models. Every tiny info can help solving this puzzle. You can contact me here.

Update :
A friendly Dutch collector just send me the photo on your left. It shows the same Volvo 343 DL but distributed under the name littletois. This label was used by the still existing Dutch company Hema.
The model offered by Hema was also made by Hot Wheels. The 1:43 scale model is the same and has the same features as the ones released directly by Hot Wheels. The packaging is less sophisticated and consists just of a carboard base with a blister as top.

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Quote from a Wikipedia article : Mebetoys

Mebetoys was an Italian toy manufacturer that produced die-cast model cars during the 1960s and 1970s. For most of that time the company was owned by Mattel.

History
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.

Model Details
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.

Sinclair's Auto Miniatures, largely responsible for bringing the diecast collector hobby to the United States, discussed that many people were not aware that Mebetoys also made a few promotional issue diecast cars (Sinclair's 1977; Levine 2009). In the 1960s the company issued a couple of 1:24 scale Alfa Romeos, referred to as the "le veterane" set. These two cars were a 1925 P2 World Champion Grand Prix car and a 1951 Alfetta racer. They had exquisite detail with rubber tires and were mounted on a wood base with a decorative identification plate and covered with a clear plastic display box. These were reissued in the late 1970s (Sinclair's 1977).

The original Mebetoys logo was an 'opening eye' that looks very similar to the American CBS TV logo. Packaging was often a wood grain beige style with a plastic window - always including the 'eye' logo. Some boxes were other colors like a bright yellow. Then Mattel took over and the Mattel red pointed circle was added alongside the Mebetoys logo.

Changes by Mattel
In 1969, Mebetoys was bought by Mattel, which carried on Mebetoys models and began to market new 1/43 scale cars (Force 1992, pp. 146–147). At first, these were the same realistic Mebetoys European models and had many opening features, rubber tires, and excellent detail.

Incrementally, however, Mattel changed many aspects of Mebetoys. Hard plastic 'speed' tires replaced rubber and new California custom body designs were introduced in 1:43 scale and marketed as Hot Wheels Gran Toros, though they still said Mebetoys on the base. Thus the marque became less 'European' with more Mattel influence.

In order to attract buyers in the U.S. market, models like the realistic Toyota 2000 GT were augmented with ones such as Tom Daniel's fantasy custom Twin Mill (a model still used in the standard Hot Wheels line). The Hot Wheels flames-off-the-wheel emblem was applied to some Mebetoys packaging. "Hot Wheels" was translated into Italian as "Sputafuoco", or literally, the cars that "spit fire". Thus Mebetoys were marketed as a sort of larger Hot Wheels range. In an interesting twist Mattel's 'Flying Colors' normal sized smaller Hot Wheels were offered in Italy in Italian Mebetoys boxes in the late 1970s. The 1:43 scale line was discontinued entirely around 1983.

A Diecast Legacy
From the Gran Toros website again, it states that Mebetoys was founded by Ugo and Martino Besana in 1959. Mario Besana joined the company in 1967, one year after the company started producing cars. After selling the brand to Mattel, the Besana brothers set up Martoys. This firm made car models in 1/24th scale for only two years, from 1974 to 1976. Then because of confusion with Louis Marx and Company, the name was changed to Bburago, with two 'Bs' (the first B stood for the creator's name, Besana, while the remainder was for the town of Burago di Molgora where the models were made). Bburago became probably the most well-known and popular producer of 1:18 scale models through the 1980s and 1990s. Bburago's assets were sold in 2006 to Maisto.

• References
  
• Force, Dr. Edward. 1992. Classic Miniature Vehicles Made in Italy. West Chester, Pennsylvania: A Schiffer Publication. ISBN 0-88740-433-2.
• The Gran Toros Website
• Levine, R. F. 2009. David Sinclair in the Driver's Seat. Lake Erie LifeStyle, web published December 1.
• Rixon, Peter. 2005. Miller's Collecting Diecast Vehicles. London: Miller's, a division of Mitchell Beasley. ISBN 1-84533-030-7.
• Sinclair's Auto Miniatures. 1977. Typewritten newsletter, flyer focusing on Cursor. August. Erie, Pennsylvania.

• External Websites
• The Gran Toros Website

Source & copyright : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mebetoys