Cheap Chinese Siku Copies

At a flea market I recently came across a box with 3-inch models. After a quick scan I didn't see anything for me, but of course I did spot the Siku models in the box. At least, I thought they were Siku models, but one thing caught my eye and that was that the flashing lights were not right. That caught my attention and I picked up one of the models for a closer inspection and what did I know, it was not a Siku! It was about half the weight and the rims were just awful to look at! And on the bottom plate it didn't say my beloved brand, but Realtoy, Made in China.

Realtoy is known for its cheap models and will probably have taken over a mold from other manufacturers more often, because a little research on the internet and you will soon see that more blogs write about this and show examples. A good example of another brand that did this was the Dutch Edocar. Unfortunately, the latter has been bankrupt for years, but always had a nice range of models. Once I got home, it wouldn't let me go and I took the Siku Mercedes 280GE ADAC (art. no. 1313) from the collection and put it next to its Chinese colleague. Everything was right! Except for a few small details, but you can say with certainty that it was made with the same molds, or at least that it is an exact copy. Even the roof is identical in many places, only the 'creases' in it are somewhat amateurishly copied. But the ADAC even has the recess on the roof where the fire brigade has a loudspeaker/siren.

The bottom plate has been modified, but the broad lines are also identical there. And actually the floor pan of the Chinese has been made a lot more exciting and fun! So on that point (and only there!) it wins over the German. Although the suspension is stiff again and the rims are not brilliant. But at that time the rims of Siku were also uniform.