Bburago is a large manufacturing company of toys and die-cast scale model cars formerly based in Italy. The company was based in Burago di Molgora, where all products were made from 1974 to 2005. At the height of its popularity, Bburago’s main competitors were Politoys and Maisto, the latter of which was to become dominant in the 1:18 market segment in the late 90’s
In 2006, Hong Kong–based May Cheong Group (owner of the Maisto and later Polistil brands) acquired rights to the “Bburago” brand, taking over the manufacturing operations, which were then shifted to China
According to the 1975 catalog, there were only nine basic models in the Martoys line-up, though most of these were offered in at least a couple of versions.These models were: Renault Alpine (and Alpine rally), Porsche 911 (S, Carrera RS, and “Polizei”), Fiat 127 (plain, “vigili urbani”, and rally), Lancia Stratos (Marlboro or Alitalia), Range Rover (plain and airport fire), Renault 5, BMW 3.0 CS, Lancia Beta, and Audi 80GT.While Mebetoys produced models in 1:43 scale, Martoys however, focused on larger toys in 1:24 and 1:18 scales.
In that catalog, the Audi, BMW, Lancia Beta, Renault 5 and Range Rover were portrayed with photographs of real vehicles, not the models, so there is some doubt about whether all of the proposed line was produced under the Martoys brand, or if some were as yet under development – to be later introduced after the name change to Bburago. A Fiat 131 (plain and Carabinieri) was also apparently produced, but it was not shown in the 1975 catalog. A newsletter/flyer from David Sinclair, perhaps the earliest importer of Martoys to the United States, reported all of the above were available except the Lancia Beta (listed as available later) and the Fiat 131 (not listed at all).The 131 appears to have been the last model to reach production under the Martoys label.
