Saturday, September 9, 2017

#851 LION CAR HOLLAND - DAF DAFFODIL VARIOMATIC (Around 1967)


I enjoy discovering new die-cast makers from the past. A few months ago, I found this car and I bought it for 5 Euro. Maybe a bit expensive considering its condition, but consider I had never seen any of its brand before, I decided to buy it.
Lion Toys is a die-cast manufacturer from Holland. The company started as early as 1946 with tin trains, but soon started producing scale cars too. The "Lion" in the name comes maybe from its founder Arie van Leeuwen, but the Lion is also one of the symbols of the Netherlands, so it could be both.


The company seems to have been very focused on the national market, producing cars that were popular in the country. At some point they stopped producing cars to produce exclusively trucks and busses, again with a great focus on models which were popular in the Netherlands.
 
The firs car produced was a Volkswagen Type 1, but it was followed by many DAFs, a Renault Dauphine, an Opel Rekord or a DKW 3 = 6.

Among the trucks, there are again many DAF models, but also Mercedes, Volvo, Iveco, MAN or Scania, and the busses are Hainje or Berkhof, among others.

Since May 2010, the brand is property of Tekno.


FACTS AND FIGURES:
  • Name:  DAF DAFFODIL VARIOMATIC
  • Scale: 1:43 (approx.)
  • Year: Around 1967
  • Company: Lion Toys / Lion Car (Netherlands)
  • Size: approx. 8 cm

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