. for the single s lido see talento de barrio soundtrack . for the electronic design automation company see solido design automation . solido model car and portion of original gift set package 1938 solido is a french manufacturer of die cast model cars and trucks based in oulins anet france about 40 miles west of paris . vehicles are usually made of zamac alloy in varying scales but mostly 1 43 . traditionally solido s main competition in france was norev but internationally polistil corgi toys dinky toys mercury and tekno produced similar toys . contents 1 history 1.1 first vehicles 2 an industry leader 2.1 solido s niche 2.2 packaging and marketing 2.3 verem subsidiary 3 solido today 4 catalog content analysis 5 references cited 6 external links history edit solido was the brand name established in 1930 by ferdinand de vazeilles of the fonderie de pr cision de nanterre in the western paris suburb of nanterre france . the company was one of the first european firms to champion the virtues of unbreakable diecast metal rixon 2005 9 . vazeilles first product was a metal gergovia brand spark plug on wheels force 1993 . 5 . in 1932 some of the first vehicle kits were made in zamac labeled with the theme toys with transformations referring to their spring loaded motors that would propel them across the floor . the feeling was somewhat like what schuco was offering in germany . in 1953 de vazeilles bequeathed the company then called solijouets sa to his son jean ren militaires solido website . by 1960 vazeilles three children charlotte jean and colette were running it . after world war ii the company factory was relocated farther west to an old stone former hydroelectric power building in the town of ivry la bataille in normandy militaires solido website . in 1974 the company opened a new factory in oulins about three miles to the southeast . later information on the solido boxes labeled the company home as in nearby anet a postal designation . at the end of the 1970s during a financial crisis solido entered the jouet francais group which included jouef delacoste & heller . the new company was called heller solido sa and the vazeilles family no longer had control . at the end of 1980 this company went into liquidation and was purchased by majorette militaires solido website . the majorette takeover brought many cost saving measures and though the oulins factory remained in operation some contract construction of toys took place at other facilities including prisons militaires solido website . first vehicles edit the first solido lines major junior and baby were introduced in 1932 1933 and 1935 respectively rixon 2005 34 . the major series was 1 35 scale and was already phased out by 1937 according to edward force force 1993 5 6 . at this time several different cars were made a few of different truck models and also military guns and cannons . these were simpler toys fragile and subject to metal fatigue . in 1952 a smaller rather crude 1 60 scale mosquito series was introduced featuring 12 models . the first 1 43 scale 100 series was started in 1957 and this set the stage for solido s ascendance though models were not numbered until 1962 according to force 1993 . the first military vehicles for which solido has become particularly well known appeared in 1961 . an industry leader edit through the 1960s models continually improved in detail and realism and were often based on blueprints from actual car manufacturers . the 100 series was a combination of realistic production cars as well as competition models mostly from european manufacturers . french citroen peugeot renault and matra were often the focus but vehicles from italy and germany were also common . british selections were not as prevalent . various buses and trucks also began production rixon 2005 100 . starting in 1964 solido incorporated vintage vehicles their l age d or or golden age line into their range starting with the 1928 mercedes ss . these were slightly larger and more complex than the leaders in the field at the time the matchbox models of yesteryear and better finished but not as detailed as rio models . making vintage cars had the advantage that they never grew out of date indeed some models introduced in the mid 1960s were still being made when solido renumbered their ranges in 1980 . the l age d or range along with matchbox and rio were among the first diecast lines marketed to adults as much as children rixon 2005 11 . as the 1960s progressed the models became lighter by using plastic bases and the range concentrated increasingly on sports and racing cars . in comparison their great rivals french dinky stayed with their tactics of modelling mostly the sedans on the french roads at the time . the late 1960s were a tough time for die cast vehicle manufacturers in general but solido survived whereas french dinky closed shop in 1971 . in the mid 1970s there were about 50 models in the standard solido line . by 1970 the company was fairly diversified making a superior line of classic cars l ge d or about 12 models les militaires about 40 models commercial vehicles toner gam about 15 models and poids lourds a series of larger heavier diecast trucks about 10 different models . several gift sets were available . during the early 1970s solido became the benchmark of the collectible 1 43 scale diecast vehicle . solido s niche edit solido was known for realistic details that generally rejected the blatant commercialism of other toy companies . for example corgi and dinky used flashy but inauthentic jewels for head and tail lights while solido distinguished itself by prudently using clear plastics for enhanced realism . if solido had a weakness it may have been in paint . at times colors seemed odd like the bright green for the 1961 thunderbird and paint application was often thin and rather grainy rixon referred to it as slightly hammered ; rixon 2005 83 . by comparison bburago or eligor models had rich paint jobs with smooth and glossy finishes . some 1 43 scale diecasts like the italian polistil in the late 1960s with their politoys m series used a very handsome metal wire wheel and solido did as well in the early 1960s but then beat that in their 100 and gam 2 series in the 1970s by impressively copying the wheel styles from the actual vehicles . thus solidos usually had a unique wheel style for every model . to keep down production costs the competition usually used one often simple or unattractive style common to most vehicles in their lines . eventually even for solido this became impractical and the company stopped using unique wheel designs around 1980 . another sign of uniqueness in detail were the web of gray plastic chains seen on some trucks like 1974 simca unic snow plough rixon 2005 114 . renault delivery with votez coluche when french comedian michel coluche briefly ran for president of france for the 1981 elections . the trade off in superior wheel detail was in not having all parts open or move as seen with politoys m series mebetoys or the german gama toys . solidos would have an opening engine lid or doors but not all parts moved . by the late 1970s solido s gam 2 series more commonly had no moving parts . nevertheless solido detail remained impeccable and their cars remained the industry standard for the price through the early 1990s and with some touching up held their own against collector models costing in the hundreds of dollars olson 2008 p. 26 . packaging and marketing edit packaging varied from dull to brighter as time passed . though some 1950s boxes were brighter red white and yellow . in the early 1960s boxes of a light green and white lettering with vehicles shown in a rust colored outline were common . lighter colored blue or lavendar boxes also appeared but by the mid 1960s this rather effeminate packaging gave way to more striking solid red boxes with lettering and car illustrated in white rixon 2005 pp. 35 79 . the first of these red box cars were called the bolide meteor or fireball series and gave the solido models new excitement and new masculinity gardiner and o neill 1996 pp. 36 37 . most boxes in the 1970s and 1980s were some variation on red yellow or orange and then plastic display cases were implemented with light cardboard coverings in various glossy colors . some 1960s solidos were licensed to the spanish company dalia and made in spain . on the boxes however the solido name was given equal billing with dalia . another interesting marketing angle was that some solido models like the chaparral 2g were marketed through the marx toy company in the u.s. in the later 1960s and perhaps the early 1970s . the boxes for these however were very solido like and the marx name was lower key . compared to the competition of matchbox hot wheels and even corgi and dinky in the states however these fine models did not appear to sell well . solido like many diecast manufacturers also participated in various promotions where it suited them . for example when french sports car maker matra placed 1 and 2 at the 24 hour race of lemans in 1972 it made full marketing use of solido which made a patriotic red white and blue colors of the french flag set of the two cars long and short tail versions ; gardiner and o neill 1996 pp. 18 19 . verem subsidiary edit in 1984 older solido dies were made in a slightly simpler form at least in packaging and sold as the verem brand a subsidiary started by the veron concern of majorette after taking over solido . many models were done very tastefully but the purpose of verem is not entirely clear . it appears verem was a cheaper line using older solido dies . boxes from the time say that verem was based in rouvres a couple of miles south of solido shops in oulins . verem maserati indy in 1 43 scale . note the downscale packaging graphics . also this version did not have working suspension rixon 2005 128 . solido gradually introduced other sizes besides 1 43 such as the 1 18 prestige line that was popular in the 1990s . the mini cooper in this larger size was made in 1 16 scale . as with most model makers solido also offered models in different promotional editions like the renault van decorated with vote for coluche markings . it was made when irreverent french comedian michel coluche briefly ran for president of the country then pulled out when polls showed he actually might win . solido today edit majorette influence in the 1980s brought some simplification of models but without harm to overall quality . in the mid 1990s majorette toys purchased the portuguese novacars factory and formed a conglomerate called ideal loisirs . solido production was halted for a time until january 1996 when triumph adler ag of nurnberg germany took over id al loisirs majorette solido militaires solido website . solido miniature production was commenced again . about 2000 much production was shifted to china and dies from some other companies like the spanish mira were used . solido became part of toy producer smoby when it bought majorette in 2003 . smoby became part of the simba dickey group which also owns german model producer schuco . reportedly majorette was to be divorced from smoby again in 2008 and sold to mi29 a french investment fund which owns bigben interactive but the simba dickie website in early