Galgo of Argentina

During the 1970s Galgo was one of the most important diecast producers in Argentina. Between 1971 and 1975 Galgo grew at a superb rate, not only in terms of business but also in terms of experience and production's quality.

Among its earliest designs we find small trucks - not very appealing, though a strong stepping stone for the business. These were mainly utility trucks and delivery of prime materials such as wood or gas.

Among the many trucks Galgo develop there's one in particular that's caught the eye of several diecast collectors around the world. That is the Scania model; produced during the first years of the 80s the truck featured a somewhat unusual scale within the market. That is, this model was made at 1:87. This is an interesting tip to take in consideration, for Galgo was the only firm to produce diecasts in 1:87. Buby, who was the other main producer at that moment -in terms of international appreciation even bigger that

Galgo- developed only one set at a similar scale. The Series 200 from the Buby Collection were made in a 1:90 scale.

Along with the first trucks came the rest of the models Galgo was to produce; it's crystal clear to anyone recalling upon this production the key importance racing cars had for Galgo's collections.

Any kind of automobiles that could be seen at a GP, F1 or any other car race was at one point or another produced by Galgo. Each of these reproductions was carefully conceived in resemblance to reality, even bumper stickers and other kind of accessories were custom design for Galgo's diecast.

Regardless the collection or theme series they belonged to- all Galgo models had diecast bodies and plastic bases and in most cases the base wraps around into the body.

Latter on, we would also find out about other Galgo diecast models. These, as collectors from all over the world refer to, were Hollywood diecasts, meaning it featured car models related to movies and TV series. That was the case for example of the Dukes of Hazard or Knight rider.

Nonetheless, Galgo's main feature production were racing cars and, during its early days, trucks.

It had caught our attention when researching about the history of Galgo the fact that it's patent, considering the variety of models and brands portrayed by this company, the prevalence of Italian brands and trade marks.

Trying to understand the reason for this we tried to contact those who had been Galgo's owners during the 80s. It was impossible, there was no track on them or leads to follow.

We were working blind in this field; util one afternoon when talking to Buby unveiled a bit this mystery. He, as we began to know after that interview, was friend or knew almost every one in the industry back then; they all shared time together in the Chamber of Commerce and Toy related industry.

During the 80s, the Pecareck brothers -the mind and hands behind Galgo- had a production plant located in northern Italy, were they made almost 80% of their castings. Their fascination for the Italian car manufactures was very clear.

However, by 1985, this Galgo diecast would no longer be produced.

Many wondered what happened, why the sudden and abrupt stop in such prolific production. The key to understanding this gap within Galgo's production -for in recent years the firm was sold to new industrials who are trying to relive those golden years- is Argentina's history. If one takes a careful look at the most important medium and size companies back then (specially regarding to toys production ) it's overwhelming to realize that a very important number of these were to disappear in future years. Back then, Argentina was returning to a democratic government system after many years of military dictatorship, and the economy and finances were in a very critical situation. Soon after the new president was elected, the national economy crashed. A deep and complex inflation process took place. Countless small and medium size industries with not very large profit margins went bankruptcy. We are not sure whether Galgo had gone bankrupts or its owners sold before things got too ugly. But for sure this is one key factor that will enlighten a bit the reason for the sudden stop in Galgo's production.

Bob Frassinetti, The Buenos Aires Toy Museum, soon to be in going 3D on the web as well as in real Life! Yes, we are at the start of our Art and Toy Museum Gallery Project, and soon we will be building,...........

Tags: Vehicles