IT WAS A common-enough practice in the 1960s for toymakers in Hong Kong to make plastic copies of British diecast cars but, for obvious reasons, this did not happen quite so o en among European toymakers.
There can, however, be little doubt where the inspiration for the rather obscure Italian range of plastic cars known as Sam Toys came from. They were made in a factory in Milan, founded by one Aldo Sacchi in 1911. Around 1957, the firm brought out a range of plastic cars that, according to an illustrated 1961 leaflet, fell into four categories: military vehicles, lorries, racing cars and a series of Alfa Romeos.
Anyone familiar with 1950s Dinky Toy army vehicles will immediately recognise the subjects in the Sam Toys military range. Sam Toys did apply a…
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Octane (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 1, 2015