Metosul

Metosul was apparently Portugal's oldest diecast toy manufacturer. The original company was founded in the Atlantic coastal town of Espinho a few miles south of Oporto, in 1931.

Originally called Luso-Celluloide, the company made toy jewelry and other trinkets, focusing on celluloid (plastic) objects. Later, the name Osul was created for the production of the plastics and was an anagram of Luso. Zamac toys appeared in the 1960s, many apparently being tooling borrowed or purchased from British or French Dinky. Most of the cars were produced in 1/43 scale, while buses and trucks were smaller. Thus the name Metal Osul or MetOsul was coined. Among the best known are:

• Renault Floride
• Alfa Romeo Giulietta
• Caravana Notin
• Citroën DS 19
• Leyland Atlantean Bus
• Mercedes-Benz 1113
• Mercedes-Benz 190
• Mercedes-Benz 200
• Mini Morris Cooper
• Peugeot 204
• Peugeot 304
• Renault R16
• Rolls Royce 1907
• Volkswagen Beetle
• Volkswagen Combi
• Volvo P1800

Packaging in the 1960s was commonly yellow cardboard with an early use of thin plastic behind oval windows cut from the sides of the boxes. Overall, the packaging was reminiscent of Dinky or Corgi, but even these main stream companies did not dominantly feature plastic 'view' windows in their packaging until a few years later.

References

Henriques e Irmão. 1950 (Porto: Lit. Império). Fábrica luso celulóide / Firma Henriques & Irmão. BNL S.C. 14019//1 V.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitesse_Models

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1:43_scale

External articles on Metosul

http://www.feira-miniaturas.com/index.php?area=200&lang=PT&edi=2007&id=65

http://brinquedoportugues.blogspot.pt/2012/07/o-renault-floride-da-metosul.html

http://miniatura143.blogspot.pt/2011/07/metosul-portugal.html

http://www.87thscale.info/osul.htm

http://nabocadoloboblog.blogspot.pt/