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RIO Models are intricately detailed diecast and plastic 1:43 scale models made in Cernobbio, Italy on Lake Como, by a tool and die company of the same name. ==History== Rio started as a sideline business interest to a diecasting company in Cernobbio operated by the Tattarletti family starting about 1961 (Sinclair 1979, p. 388). The origin of the name is unclear. RIO models first appear to have been imported into the United States by David Sinclair, a model enthusiast who brought many previously unknown European model brands to the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s (Sinclair 1979, p. 386-387). RIO Models, along with R.A.M.I., Safir, Brumm, Dugu Miniautotoys, Lledo, Minialuxe and Cursor Models took off on the beginning made by Matchbox Models of Yesteryear to produce replicas of classic cars mainly appealing to older collectors (Rixon 2005, p. 11). Of these companies, only R.A.M.I. appears earlier than RIO. According to Edward Force, the first four RIO Models were made in 1961 - two 1906 Italas and two 1919 FIATs (Force 1992,263-264). These toys also may have been made under the Stampopolastica name and manufactured for Dugu Miniautotoys. Soon however, the company was producing its own vehicles (not as contract work), and thus RIO became an independent diecast name. A few new models a year were sporadically produced until the company had a line of over 30 cars by 1972 and over 60 by 1978 (Sinclair's 1978). During this time, it seemed model production was more a side interest to the tool and die business, as only relatively few models were introduced through the 1970s. Traditionally, models were supplied in 'top-up' and 'top-down' versions each being painted in just one color. RIO models were always 1:43 scale and models were ultra detailed with between 45 and 75 individual parts (Sinclair's 1974, 2-3). Models seem chosen for a combination of popularity, rarity, and unique design, traits consistently making Rio selections appealing. At first, most models were vehicles chosen from the European Brass era and from the 1920s. This favoritism toward earlier cars is seen in the standard RIO logo of two different automobile horns from the brass era; a fancy snake and more mundane trumpet. Later, models of vehicles all the way up to the 1960s and 1970s were produced, such as the Citroen DS 19 and even a 1970s FIAT 124 Sedan. Still, there is a 'classic' sense to the RIO line - the unique cars of an earlier era. One also gets a sense that RIO was ahead of its time in offering models to collectors, and not children, long before such a practice became more common in the 1980s. In the mid-1970s, RIOs would cost between $15.00 and $20.00 when most other diecast 1:43 scale cars hovered in the $5.00 to $7.00 range. RIO models, however, can be very brittle and many seemed made from a zamac alloy that perhaps was heavier on the lead than the zinc - drop a RIO and it will smash into pieces - they were definitely not made for children (drop a diecast Corgi Toys car and it will just bounce off of the floor). The mid-1970s also saw unstable supplies and many retailers stopped carrying RIOs when models were only delivered a few vehicles at a time (Sinclair 1979, p. 388; Sinclair's 1978). In 1977, David Sinclair, the main RIO importer to the United States, wrote that there were collectors who had been waiting on certain RIO models since 1964 and that he could have used 1,000 examples of each instead of the trickle he received (Sinclair's 1977; Levine 2009). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「RIO Models」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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