Solido
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.
Contents |
[edit] History
Solido was established in 1930 by Ferdinand de Vazeilles in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre, France. Vazeilles' first product was a metal Gergovia spark plug on wheels (Force 1993). In 1953, de Vazeilles bequeathed the company, then called Solijouets SA, to his son Jean René (Militaires Solido website). By 1960, Vazeilles' three children, Charlotte, Jean and Colette, were running it.
After World War II, the company was relocated farther west to a former hydroelectric factory building 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 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).
[edit] First Vehicles
The first Solido lines (Major, Junior and Baby) were introduced in 1932, 1933, and 1935, respectively. The Major series was 1:35 scale and was already phased out by 1937 according to Edward Force (Force 1993). 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.
[edit] An Industry Leader
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.
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-'60s were still being made when Solido renumbered their ranges in 1980. As the '60s 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 '60s 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 line.
By 1970, the company was fairly diversified, making a superior line of classic cars (L'Âge 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.
[edit] Solido's Niche
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 1960 Thunderbird) and paint application was often thin and rather grainy. By comparison, Bburago or Eligor Models had rich paint jobs with smooth and glossy finishes.
While 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, Solido 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.
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.
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. The purpose of Verem is not entirely clear. Many Verem Models were done very tastefully, so, 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.
Other sizes, besides 1:43 were also introduced, such as the 1:18 scale 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.
[edit] Solido Today
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 Idéal 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 2011 still included Majorette and Solido.
Over the last decade, Solido 1:43 scale cars have moved into a slightly more premium and detailed model - more for the collector and less for children - though Solido still offers the same similar lines of "Yesterday", "Today", "l'age d'or", "1960s", and a variety of competition models. Prices also seem to still be relatively competitive, with most 1:43 scale vehicles going for a reasonable $20.00 while larger 1:18 scales sell for $40.00 to $70.00, which is also very typical for large scale. Price is kept reasonable, mainly because most models are now made in China.
[edit] Catalog Content Analysis
Though the focus has always been French vehicles, that emphasis has magnified somewhat over time. An inspection of 115 vehicles in the 1975 catalog shows 48 percent of Solido offerings to be French made vehicles (Berliet, Saviem, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, Simca, Matra, etc.) with nine countries represented. German offerings came to 26 percent. Italian - 18%, and Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden, Spain, Russia and the United States were all represented. The U.S. had 10 percent of the models.
A count of all French vehicles of the 175 portrayed on the Solido website in 2010 came to 52%. While German vehicles made up 10% fewer offerings, Japanese vehicles were 12% (no Japanese vehicles appeared in 1975), beating Italian (11%) and British (6%) offerings. American vehicles were only 2% of vehicles - mainly military vehicles of the past, which is very different from Solido of the 1980s when Cadillacs, Thunderbirds and Studebakers, among others, were offered. American, German, Italian, and British models were less prevalent after 35 years, and three fewer countries were represented.
So over the decades, offerings have become nationalistically more concentrated on French vehicles with somewhat less diversity of international offerings. Traditional Solido lines have been maintained, but the company seems to be in heavier competition, not only with Norev, but with the likes of French Eligor and Portuguese Vitesse in the selection, fit and finish of models.
[edit] References Cited
The Famous Miniatures Solido. 1975. Annual catalog. Printed in France.
Force, Dr. Edward. 1993. Solido Toys. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Militaires Solido Verem. 40 Years of History. Collector's website.[1]
[edit] External links
Solido website. [2]
