Kaiyu diecast cars

Recently I discovered a new three inch diecast model being sold in my local petrol station. Some research indicated that it was manufactured by a company called Kaiyu, for a Mexican brand called Gashaball. Read that post here. 

Kaiyu appear to be a brand of diecast cars in several scales, manufactured by the Shantou City Kaiyu Industrial Co in Guangdong, China.  They also manufacture plastic bricks similar to Lego and remote control toy helicopters. My main interest is only their diecast cars.  

Kaiyu may have a relationship with Golden Wheel, either as a producer of cars sold as Golden Wheel, or linked in a corporate way (I do not know). The castings with KY on the base started to appear in US 'Dollar' stores two years ago being sold as Golden Wheels.

The sub branding for the Kaiyu diecast cars appears to be Rongda. The scales that they manufacture in range from 1:12 to 1:87, and include construction equipment and trucks. 

Rongda logo - a Kaiyu sub-brand

Supercar brand very similar castings to MotorMax

4D brand, very similar to Tomica packaging

Construction Machines - I cant determine if this carries a sub-brand

Classic Cars - a range of three vintage trucks

At this stage the only cars I have actually seen are three of the Supercars range being sold in Australia under the Gashaball Supercarz range. The quality of these cars is very good. The casting is crisp, the interior is well moulded, it carries clear glass and a multi-strike tampo printing at the front and rear. The tiny badge is distinct. Only the wheels detract from this being more than a kids toy. This is a casting good enough to be in the Matchbox line. 

If anyone has more info on the Kaiyu range of diecast, please leave a comment. 

Gashaball Supercarz by Kaiyu

I am always on the lookout for what I like to term 'Low end diecast' and found this new to me brand of approximately 1:64 or three inch cars, at the local service station when paying for LP gas. One of the best things about these sorts of finds are the interesting discoveries that you sometimes make while trying to find out who exactly makes the car.

Let me present for your enjoyment Gashaball Supercarz... by Kaiyu

 Gashaball Supercarz BMW X5

 Gashaball Supercarz BW Z4

 Gashaball Supercarz Porsche Cayman

Looking cosely at the rear of the blister reveals that they are Gashaball 'Supercarz'. I can deduce by Googling that they are a Chinese manufactured range of cars for the Mexican market. They are distributed in Australia by a company called 'Teddy and Friends' and retail for $1.99. Oddly, although Gashaball appear to be a Mexican brand, the packaging on these three cars is in English. 

 Rear of Gashaball Supercarz blister

base of Gashaball Supercarz BMW X5

For a closer look, I freed the BMW from its blister. The base has no manufacturers name, it says 2009 BMW X5 and Made in China and KY 80601-1. Despite not carrying the distinctive Motormax MM on the base, it looks very similar to a Motormax car. 

The wheels look identical those used in the 3inch Motormax range, and the car matches the BMW X5 in the Motormax catalogue (although in the catalogue it says it is #6025). The clear plastic windscreen with a cast in wiper is identical on both the Gashaball and the Motormax. 

I even checked a very good reference Dana Johnsons Toynutz page, and this packaging and brand isn't listed. I'm convinced this is a Motormax in another brands packaging. 

The baseplate details are niggling away at me though, so I googled the KY 80601-1 and discover a company called Kaiyu Industrial with this car on its website, and the product number. So it isn't a Motormax! Its a copy of a Motormax - and a very good one. 

See this post for more on Kaiyu diecasts.