Bburago 1/43 Diecast Cars

The affordable standard in the 1/43 diecast size

What i find incredible is that Bburago have impeccable quality control. I do not mean to say that their cars are indestructible and play resistant but what I am trying to say is that during the course of about 30 years their toys have practically remained the same quality. The only thing changing are the real cars and hence the model of cars Bburago toys are based upon. Since they base their models upon real cars and have done this very well for a very long time they are an excellent addition to any collection but this article isn’t about diecast collecting, it’s about getting a toy car for a kid.

 

Bburago toy cars in the 1/43 range are ideal for when you want to buy a kid larger die cast toy car other than the 1:64 sized toys. Kids love similarly sized cars and even though Maisto, Welly and others are in the arena in my opinion Bburago is the king of this scale. It is very rarely that you will get a low quality bburago die cast toy car. Sure, sometimes they’ll break but this is due to the intense play that they undergo and the wish and will of kids trying to dismantle them… and at the price they’re set at you can deal with it. I would cry if my kid broke a Siku 1:50 toys he has for example (cause I know how much they cost). This makes the 1/43 bburago toy cars one of the best buy options and don’t get me wrong, I am not saying they’re the best thing ever to be made on this earth but the truth is I still have several bburago toy cars from the 80’s and 90’s and they all still run really well even though i put them through hell and some of these are nearly 30 years old and now my kid plays with them.

Almost 30 years later the cars they’re making are practically the same quality as they were back then. Out of 5 Ferrari cars in the above image, 3 were made over 20 years ago, can you guess which?  Thankfully Bburago have returned to making Ferrari diecast cars and currently there are a few pretty cool Ferrari sets out there to buy. The smaller one and the large one.

What distinguishes Bburago 1/43 from other similar sized die casts

What I like about bburago is that they keep it simple stupid, you get a toy car in the scale range that you want. It is a good copy of a real car, slightly larger than the 1:64 cars (Hot Wheels and Matchbox for example) and that’s it. The difference in size results in them not being as strong as the 1:64 toys. What frustrates me about other manufacturers, like for example the before mentioned Maisto and Welly, is that they sometimes put pull back engines in their cars and they tend to loose strength after only a few days of play and when that happens they can’t be driven around that well so they sorta become like statues: I only see my kid looking at them and not playing with them. It is very hard to push around or drive broken pull back cars. When compared to other 1/43 toy cars the crucial thing that distinguishes bburago are the very well designed wheels and wheel axles. They’re made from high quality plastic so they do not rust and your kid can put a great deal of mileage on them. Sure, sometimes this is an invite for the kid to take the tires of but by the time they have the strength and dexterity to do so they won’t harm themselves and also, kids should tinker… and these cars are probably the cheapest way your kid can learn the value of things and also not to pull apart their toys. Interestingly, when they do break kids usually still play with them. YEP, it seems they make excellent car wrecks 😀

Please comment bellow and share links to your Bburago collections… I never get tired of looking at them 🙂

 

EDIT:

• 1/27/2016 It’s been almost 3 years now that I’ve been getting my kid bburago 1:43 cars and my sentiments have changed a bit. When it comes to the appearance and design of the vehicles they’re amazing… little has changed over the last 20 years. The problem is that the durability has changed drastically it seems. Some of the cars he has are great but a great deal of them just fall apart unfortunately. It saddens me to say this but you’re better of trying other manufacturers if you want a solid toy. Maisto for example have practically indestructible toy cars in this scale range; both with pull back motors and without. I have to say though that there are a few versions of bburago cars around and I can’t seem to figure out which one’s are good and which one’s aren’t but it is obvious right out of the box that some of them are going to fall apart within days and others will last longer. I am not so sure that they’re worth it even though they still are the cheapest on the market. When you compare them to the Maisto 1:43 cars they seem like toys made out of paper.