#347 HOLLY/ RINDEI (POLISTIL) – BRABHAM BT45B (Around 1982)

I haven’t been able to find any reference to this hongkongese die-cast manufacturer. It is listed on a Wikipedia list of die-cast manufacturers and I found some pictures of other vehicles on the internet, but unfortunately without any information about them.

I got this car a few weeks ago in a big lot of cars, that surprisingly, included many “made in Hong Kong” cars with pull back motor from the early 80s. This is one of them. It is based on the Brabham BT45B, which raced in the year 1977.

The car doesn’t give us much information either: “Made in Hong Kong”, “Scale: 1:43”… and a big logo with the word Holly making part of a formula1 seen from the front. The car is quite bulky (because inside it is the pull back motor, otherwise the F1 should have been much flatter, but it is still a decent piece of casting: the main part of the body is made of Zamak, but it has a plastic driver and a chromed plastic simulated motor. The chassis is made of plastic, and has plastic tyres over plastic hubcaps. These wheels have great grip, something very important in pullback motored cars. Axles are thick and resistant… in other words: it is a durable toy. Maybe not the best cast I have ever seen, but still an unique model, and a rarity.

What bothers me at most is the scale, 1:43. Really? The car is slightly larger than the classic 1:64, but it is still much smaller than the classic 1:43 scale. It has around 8 cms. I guess the real car was very small, that would explain it.

Also worth mentioning are the paper stickers, which are different among all the models I have seen.

Other models by Holly include nice sport cars, as well as concept cars from the early 80s, like the Ford Mustang or the BMW M1, but all of them in this big, bulky style.

UPDATE: I just bumped into an ebay auction that is selling this car boxed... Interestingly, it was sold under the Polistil brand, don't know if it had exactly the same base with the "Holly" logo, because there is no picture of the lower part of the car. I leave the picture here in case you want to investigate more about the "Racer" line Rindei by Polistil. It seems Polistil reselled the models from Holly Hong-Kong in Italy and maybe in other European countries.

Pic: eBay / Seller: patb_it

UPDATE2: I found one of the most interesting cars made by this manufacturer under this brand. It is a car I didn't know it existed, and therefore it is the only reproduction of it that I know of. DOME-O. The DOME-O is made by Playwell!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: BRABHAM BT45B and DOME-O
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: Around 1982
• Company: Holly (Hong Kong)
• Size: approx. 8 cm