#670 METALBOX - DATSUN 126x (Around 1976)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AND THE KNOCK-OFF AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

This car is quite a mistery. I found it in a flea market and bought it in a lot together with very old cars, most of them were from the 70s.

The car represents the Datsun 126x, which became popular in the 70s and was reproduced by Matchbox (in 1973) or other toy companies, like Payá.

Compared to the Matchbox model, this model is slightly smaller: according to the inscription on the base, it is made in 1:70 scale. Both have a practicable bonnet (rear part).

The complete inscription on the base is:
DATSUN 126x
280 Km/h
MODELL 1:70

But there are no indications of country of origin or manufacturer. I have found pictures of this car on the internet, and I have observed, that there are at least two types of wheels. This one is the most elaborated one, since it has grey hubcaps. The simpler type is completely black.
Also interesting are the stickers used with the car, that resemble a little bit the German flag.

I would say this toy was made in Hong-Kong. At the time, these kind of toys were made and bootlegged there. The fact that on the base says "Modell" and not "model", and the speed is given in Km/h, made me thought that it was intended for the German market (or that maybe it was an order from a German toy manufacturer for the German market). However, I have seen this same car for sale in South America, North America and other European countries, so I guess, it is impossible to know today the exact origin of this model.

If you have any information, please leave a comment. Thanks!

My friend Steve sent me an email telling me this is an hungarian model made by Metalbox. I'll try to update this entry soon with new information.

UPDATE 1 (May/2026): I didn´t find the time to update the entry in all this time, but, in the meantime, I have found this blog in Hungarian with information about the toymaker. Thanks to online translations, I can follow what is written there. I was most curious about the Metalbox entries, but there are many other to read and look at!

I have another model made by Metalbox, in this case it is another Matchbox knock-off, the Torpedo Police Launch (Scale 1:70). It is not in perfect shape, but I don´t think I´ll ever come accross another one.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: DATSUN 126x
• Scale: 1:70
• Year: Around 1976
• Company: Unknown Manufacturer (probably Hong-Kong) Metalbox (Hungary)
  
• Size: approx. 5 cm