1:43 Scale Diecast

1:43 Diecast

The '49 Ford woodie wagon in the photo was sold with a matching ink pen. The box includes a molded plastic base and background which pictures a sandy beach and palm trees against a clear blue sky.

Virtually all the 1:43 scale diecast in the museum collection are Rio vehicles produced in the early 1980s. To protect against dust, they have been displayed in their original clear plastic cases since new and have been shown in a large, vertical glass and wood display case for the last 25 years. The detail of the Rio vehicles is wonderful, but a lot of plastic is used for very small parts. Having become fragile over time, care must be taken to avoid breaking it. Overall, the Rio models are surprisingly sturdy, and quite lovely.

It appears these earlier models are better quality than the present 1:43 offerings, but I have only website photos for comparison. I definitely would continue to collect Rio but for lack of space. There are far fewer Solido vehicles in the collection than I would like.

Several loose Rio toy autos are shown here and described below: A red 1912 Fiat Torpedo Model 0, a white 1931 Mercedes SSKL, a blue 1938 Bugatti Tipo 57 SC coupe, and a green Bianci Landaulet.

There are two stacks of Rio vehicles in this photo. The left stack, top to bottom: First is a red 1908 Mercedes Touring car with bright yellow luggage stacked on the roof, which is solid over the passenger compartment and folding material over the driver. The car is right hand drive and has wooden wheels.
Next is a blue 1938 Bugatti Tipo 57 SC coupe Atlantic. This beautiful two-passenger machine has a sleek fastback style body seemingly made in two halves and bolted, one to the other, through a ridge along the middle of the roof. The windscreen is swept back, and there are suicide doors. The classic Bugatti radiator shell is present. The wheels are blue wires. Jay Leno has a faux example of this car and a great video.
Below it, an 1984 DeDion Bouton with a front driver's section and an attached passenger section. Steering is by tiller. The vehicle is grey with large red wheels.
Below this, is a right hand drive Isotta Fraschini T8A, circa 1925. It is an open touring car with a half top over the back seat. The car body is cream white with a red stripe, and it has black fenders and running boards. The wheels are black with wide white sidewall tires.
Last in the stack is a blue 1937 Mercedes Benz cabriolet with a fixed top, large streamlined fenders, no running boards, and a trunk back style trunk. There are chrome wire wheels and large white sidewall tires. The car is right-hand drive.
The right hand stack, again top to bottom: A bright red, right hand drive 1912 Fiat Torpedo Model 0 with four doors and black fenders, running boards, and splash aprons, and red wooden wheels. There is a tool box on the passenger's side running board. On the driver's there is a container for gas to operate the lights, and a spare wheel and tire (which blocks the driver's door). The bulb-operated horn and brake control are outside the car by the driver. The full length top is up, revealing an oval rear window. Upholstery is black. The front windscreen is two-part. Leather straps attach to the front corners of the top and to the front fenders, securing the top. There are bullet shaped headlights and cowl lights but no tail light. The horn The crank is present. Suspension was by semi-elliptical leaf springs front and rear. The radiator shell and all other metal trim is brass plated.
Next is a 1926 Fiat Tipo 519 S open touring in caramel over cream with caramel fenders and running boards, chromed wheels, including both sidemount tires, a luggage rack at the rear and two chrome step plates on each side replacing the running boards. The fenders are all quite long and low. The upholstery in a pinkish cream color and not very well done. The dash is black with black gauges, and the floor mounted gearshift and emergency brake are chrome. The windscreen is angled back from a center post, giving a dramatic effect, as does the back of the body, which comes together in the middle to create a seagull effect. The hood is removable, revealing a silver motor with typically fine Rio detail.
Below the Fiat is a maroon, right hand drive 1929 Isotta Fraschini 8A with light grey fenders and running boards and splash aprons. A tool box sits on both of the running boards. The driver's compartment is separate from the passengers, having a window in between. The tuck and roll upholstery is bright tan, almost orange. Doors all open conventionally but there may not be windows for the drivers area. Perhaps side curtains were used. The hood lifts off, revealing a well-detailed silver motor. There are two sidemount spare tires and knockoff hubs. The wheels are maroon artillery style. A large truck sits on a rack at the back. The light tan top is up, highlighted by chromed landau arms. The windows are roll-up, and the rear window is a somewhat small rectangle.
Rio is fond of Bugatti automobiles and has released many variations. Here we have a 1928 Bugatti Royale 41 Weymann Coupe Fiarce, a very long and low sporty automobile painted black and yellow. The back of the car is bright yellow and is black for the front half. The yellow scoops is classic Bugatti style. There are chrome wheels and a single, rear-mounted spare. What looks like a black trunk sits atop the part of the body where a trunk is usually found (storage is available from inside the car behind the two bucket seats). The body seems quite truncated, with an odd, high roof that to me is quite unattractive. Upholstery is white and the dash is orange.
Last comes a massive grey 1937 Mercedes Benz cabriolet with dark grey fenders and red tuck and roll upholstery. There are two conventional front doors and two suicide-style back doors. For more seating, two fold down jump seats are included. The body had a trunk-back bustle for storage of luggage. There is a windscreen divider between the driver seat and the rear seat. There are two fender mounted spare tires protected by metal tire covers. The black disc wheels were mounted with blackwall tires. It is, all in all, an amazing model.

On the left in this photo, we have a bright red 1932 Alfa Romeo P3, the first true single-seat race car. Powered by an eight cylinder engine built around two four-cylinder blocks, each with its own supercharger, the P3 was a great competitor. This model has the long, narrow red body atop a white chassis. The driver seat and steering wheel are black, barely big enough to squeeze in the driver, who was minimally protected by a small, rectangular windshield. The front and rear suspension is red, the large wheels are chromed wires, and a chromed exhaust pipe pierces the hood and runs straight along the body to the back of the car. The muffler is seen directly to the driver's right. White triangular decals with a green four-leaf clover decorates the cowl and chrome fittings dress up the car. Beneath, the oil pan and transmission are visible and the split, dual drive shafts are seen. Finally, at the front the starting crank is in its place. Quite a model.
Next comes a white over blue 1934 Hispano Suiza T12 sedan. A deceptively simple look disguises an OHV V12 that must have been quite powerful even in a big car. Unfortunately, I could not find any more information than this on the T12. This model is cream over pale blue, with the cream stopping at the belt line. The hood's 12 opening and closing louvers must have helped move some of the heat generated by the V12. Not much chrome with the car, just the radiator shell, headlamps, bumpers, wire wheels and of course the classic Hispano-Suiza radiator ornament, a beautiful flying stork, wings downswept and neck outstretched. The interior is white, the steering wheel is on the right, and at the back there is a brown travel trunk. It appears there top over the chauffeur could be removed or folded, and there appears to be a window between the driver's compartment and the passengers. The hood lifts off to reveal a very good rendering of the great engine.
Below this T12 is another, considerably flashier limousine. Entirely cream color, the car has an exposed front seat for the chauffeur and a closed two door back seat for the passenger. There is a slanted windshield to protect the passengers as well as roll-down side windows. The convertible fabric top is black with a small ovoid rear window. The driver is behind a slanted windshield as well and has two windshield wipers for visibility. It does not appear that any sort of protection was provided from rain or snow, however, so one assumes the car did not venture forth in such weather. The front seat was a bench and steering was right-hand. A brown wood dash clearly shows very large gauges and a glove compartment at the far left. A floor shift and emergency brake are at the driver's left. The steering wheel and horn ring are very well executed. There are large chromed wire wheels, including a fender mounted spare on either side of the cowl. The hood lifts off to show the same engine as the other T12, and chrome work is the same, though the bumpers are tubular, and split at the rear. The long hood accentuates the body with its two front suicide doors and fender-matching back doors. The builder of this custom coachwork swept the back of the car straight down from the roof into a beautiful arc. There is no provision for storage anywhere.
Next is a 1929 Lancia Dilambda four-door sedan, black over green, with very little chrome other than a very thin radiator shell, lamps, rear mounted luggage rack, and bumpers. The wire wheels are black with chrome knock-offs, with a fender-mounted spare at each side of the cowl. The interior of the car is light brown with a bench seat for the driver and an ample bench seat for passengers. There is a window between the driver and passengers. The front doors of the model open but the hood, concealing a V8 in the original, does not. With its long nose and short but comfortable body, it is an oddly appealing automobile.
Last on the left, a Super Fiat circa 1929 was a V12 powered luxury sedan. This Rio model has a black top over the passenger compartment and an open top over the chauffeur. The body is deep tan, the fenders are long and black, with so-called eyebrows on the front, and the running boards are chromed. There are two suicide doors for the passengers and two for the driver, though they are much narrower and no doubt made for an uncomfortable climb into the car. A window separates the driver from the passengers. The windshield is three parts, with a large center window and two smaller ones that angle back at each side that appear to have pivoted. Shifting and braking may have been accomplished by floor grips. What may be a speaking device is mounted at the upper left corner of the passenger compartment windshield. The doors don't open but the hood lifts off to reveal the great 12 cylinder engine and an engine mounted horn!
Right side, top to bottom: First out of the chute, a true delight, the 1902 Mercedes Simplex. The car like was a delight to its owners back in 1902, but for me the delight is in the quality of the diecast replica. This is a right-hand drive open car with a green body and hood, the two divided from one another by a wooden firewall. A 35 H.P. motor was under the hood then but the hood does not come off nor the doors open on this model. No matter. The large cycle-style fenders in the front are wide and drop far enough down below the running boards to offer real protection from muddy roads. In the rear the fenders rise up in a narrow arc over the back wheels. The running boards attach to the running board brackets as is usual and to the bottom front of the back fenders. Both fenders and running boards are brown On the right running board are two boxes, one black and one brown. On the right, much shorter running board, is one box. The right running board is shorter because the spare mounts on that side and completely blocks the driver's side entry. Instead, there is a small step plate The interior is black with tufted seats and, in back, a heavy floor mat. The matching brown fabric top covers only the back seat and folds landau-style. It has two substantial chromed landau arms and a small oval rear window. There are no bumpers, just the downward curve of the frame at the front, with a crossbar, and the curled back of the frame at the rear. Suspension is by semi-elliptical springs. The headlamps are very large gas lamps, brass plated like the radiator shell and the horn. As with many Rio models of this era, the detail of the horn is superior, including a corrugated metal horn-tube running from the steering wheel to the frame-mounted horn. The wooden spoke wheels are black. The spare has no wheel. Alas, words fail me as I try to describe just how very well done this Rio Mercedes is.
The next down is a small green 1912 Fiat Model 0 roadster. This is a small car, very compact in all its features, but it was the first Fiat to sell over 2000 cars. This right-hand drive convertible is top down, with black top and interior with a tufted, divided seat. The windshield is framed in brass and is of the two-part sort. Also in brass are the two aerodynamic headlamps and cowl lamps, the running board trim, and the tall, narrow radiator shell. So two are the outside brake and shifting arms and the bulb horn. The eyebrow-style running boards and splash shields are dark blue. At the rear, the fenders appear to be blowing out behind the car. On the left side, there is a toolbox and on the right, blocking any hope of entry by the driver, a spare tire and wheel. There are no exterior door handles so opening must have used the reach and pull technique. The folding hood has six louvers on each side to help cool the 15 HP engine.
Rio sends another Bugatti Royale along next, a model 41 oval window saloon (sedan) that was the second of five bodies this chassis had in its lifetime. The usual superlatives apply - lean and long, yet almost arrogant in the front pillars' staid vertical pose rising out of the upward sweep of the cowl panels. Huge wheels, and a matte finish top over the roomy interior. A large, long oval window on each side of the passenger area gives a view without giving up privacy, and the small, rectangular window at the back seems almost to refuse attention to that which has passed. It is the engine in the Royales that needs to be addressed at last

The topmost car is a 1901 Chalmers Detroit. The body of this single seat, right hand drive car is green, with black fenders and running boards but no splash aprons. There is a large tool box on the driver's side running board, and a smaller box on the passenger side There is a cream yellow top that has a three part rear window, curved at the top, and secured at the front to the two part windshield as well as by leather straps to the front fenders. The body sits atop a platform which extends back beyond the seat to allow for an exposed mother in law seat. The upholstery of the car is purple and the artillery wheels are brown, as is the front bumper. All the trim items such as carriage lamps and headlamps are brass -- even the crank is plated! A very nice touch is the use of clear plastic in the brass lamps by the doors and the headlights. Exterior brakes and horn are very well detailed in brass. It is quite a spiffy little car.
Next comes a green four door 1907 Renault TPO X sedan, with green fenders and running boards and a dark green top, and wood-trimmed windows. A bentwood and wicker luggage rack sits atop the car. There is a two part windshield, four side windows on each side, and three narrow windows at the back. The wheels are brown wood with brass hubcaps. The car is right hand drive and has a black interior. The coach style doors have drawer pull type handles. There are carriage lamps at the top of the windshield post as well as headlamps in the customary location. The wonderful narrow Renault hood slopes forward and widens at the bottom front where it meets the bright red chassis frame. Two wide brass stripes decorate the hood and run from the front to the radiator, mounted directly in front of the passengers' compartment.
The Itala 24/40, seen next, was a race car plain and simple. From the bold declaration of its name on the radiator to the bare bones chassis and frame the 24/40 had little in common with the other automobiles of its day. This model has a bright red hood and a red platform body atop a simple grey frame. There are two seats in black wrapped in a metal backing, a right-hand steering wheel, and a brass box on the wood firewall that is all there is to protect the drivers. Brake and shift handles are at the driver's side. There are two spare tires behind the seats, stacked and secured to the platform. The four wood wheels have heavily treaded tires to get it over, through and around whatever the road brought.
In 1908, this Thomas Flyer won the New York to Paris race. It looks so nice as a model but imagine it as it progressed across Asia and the Near East! The model is pale yellow with beige plastic fenders front and rear. There are two seats for the crew, and another seat at the back behind the gas tank. The Flyer was right hand drive with the brakes and shift mounted outside to the frame. Two spare tires are tied on to the back of the car. The frame, and seats and body platform are all brown. The four wheels are a redish brown. The name Thomas Flyer appears in bold capitals on the hood, and New York to Paris on each end of the gas tank.
Last in this stack is the bright yellow Fiat Autobus 18BL with black top, fenders, running boards and spoke wheels, and blackwall tires. A low barrier extends over two thirds of the length of the roof and has a yellow sign reading Firenze - Poggibonsi - Volterra, the route of the bus. Between the hood and the body is a front wall and firewall combination made from wood. There is a four part windshield On the driver side, a ladder extends from running board to roof. Entrance to the passenger area is only on the driver's side where a front and back door are located. Passengers use the running board for the front door, and a small step for the back door. There is a storage compartment under the driver's tuck and roll bench seat, accessible from both sides of the autobus. Just in front of the driver's door is a small box of unknown purpose. On the opposite side, a large tool box and lamp fuel container are found on the runningboard. The bus is right hand drive and the brake and shift controls are to the right of the steering wheel. The brass horn is attached outside. The driver sits behind a wooden partition which also is the front windshield. The hood is secured with a strap. There are brass headlamps and carriage lamps and a gas lamp at the back. Inside the bus are six forward facing seats, a bench seat at the rear and four rear facing seats behind the driver's compartment. The four and a half large windows along each side allow visibility, but privacy for passengers is provided by green fabric curtains. Truly a wonderful model!
The second stack, top to bottom: First is a true bridge between the carriage trade and the auto trade, as Bianci is represented by a roomy dark blue Landaulet with black upholstery and brass trim. Built and looking very much like a carriage, the car had a convertible passenger seat that also was protected by the permanent top. It was this top with extended forward to cover the front passenger and driver's individual seats. The driver was protected only by half a windscreen. There were doors at the rear but none in the front. The front fenders were rounded, the running boards were metal (and there were no splash shields), and the rear fenders were long and swept upward at the end. The Bianci was right hand drive and had external brake and controls. The exterior horn was activated by a bulb mounted on the steering column. Finished off with wooden wheels and a luggage rack, it is a beautiful early automobile.
Below it is a splendid 1931 Mercedes SSKL, all in white including the wire wheels and the two rear-mounted spares. The two-seater's upholstery is maroon, and the car is left hand drive. The long hood is strapped to the exposed drilled frame. There are no doors. Fuel is in a tank behind the driver. Exhaust from the engine passes through the right hood via three large silver pipes that unite and exit via a single muffler. Though the hood cannot be removed, the number of louvers in the hood and hood panels and the massive oil pan underneath the car. Cooling also is provided by the tall radiator that angles from the sides toward the middle. Protection from the elements comes from cycle fenders front and rear. The model is made complete by the classic Mercedes star radiator ornament.
Two Bugatti classics come next, the first a black 1930 T50 coupe with bright red hood and large red side scallops. The car sits very low, with a steeply sloped windshield. Long, sleek one-piece fenders run the length of the car, sweeping back and down from the front to a point just behind the doors, where they suddenly curve sharply upward, curve over the back wheels, and stretch down and back beyond the dual rear mounted spare tires. There is a trunk which may have been fairly roomy for a car of this sort, but the all-white interior is a tight space with two seats only. Some storage is available just behind the seats. boh suicide-style doors open and the hood lifts off to reveal a wonderfully done engine. The car is right hand drive and the large black tires with their chrome wire wheels and hub caps must have required a firm hand at the steering wheel. This true sports car had an inline 8 with dual overhead cams and a supercharger.
Next down, a 1930 Type 41 Bugatti Royale sedan. Powered by an in-line eight with triple overhead valves, this long, long four-door looks to have been a bit of a handful to navigate winding country lanes between, say, Paris and the chateau. With a tan body, black fenders and a hood to China and back, it has a landau style top (though it may have been a faux landau), large chromed headlamps and driving lamps, large chromed dual horns out front below the radiator, and at the back a trunk and rear-mounted spare. One entered and exited though suicide-style doors. The body work is a wonder of curves and angles. Large black tires (6.75 x 36!) and chromed wheels like on the T50 above kept it grounded. The hood removes, showing a very detailed motor.
Last is a 1925 Isotta Fraschini 8A, also a large four-door sedan. Deep blue with black fenders and wheels and dual fender mounted spares, the car has a roomy white interior and right hand drive. Levers for braking and shifting gears are on the floor at the driver's left There are roll-up windows for the passengers in back, but the chauffeur's compartment may only have had side curtains. The windshield is two-part, and there is a window between the chauffeur and the passengers. There are no door handles for the front occupants but the passengers have handles for the suicide-style doors. Last, the headlamp buckets are black, not chrome, and the horn passes through the windshield!.

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