Along with the first trucks came the rest of the models Galgo was to produce and it is crystal clear to anyone that models of racing cars formed the major part of Galgo's prduction. Literally any kind of car that could be seen at any car race was at one point or another produced by Galgo. Each of these models was a carefull reproduction of the original and even bumper stickers and other accessories were custom made for Galgo's die-cast models.

Later on, Galgo also made other die-cast models. These were, as collectors from all over the world refer to them, the 'Hollywood die-casts', which meant that the series featured car models that appeared in movies and TV-series. Nevertheless, Galgo's main production consisted of racing car models and, during its early days, truck models.

When researching the history of Galgo the fact that Italian brands made up a major part of Galgo's production was something that really stood out. When trying to find the reason for this we tried to contact those who had been Galgo's owners during the 1980s. This, however, was impossible, there was no track of them and there were no leads to follow. Until one afternoon, when talking to Buby, a bit of this mystery was unveiled. Buby, as we realized after that interview, knew almost everybody in the die-cast industry back then, and revealed that the Pecareck brothers, the mind and hands behind Galgo, had had a production plant located in northern Italy in the 1980s where almost 80% of their castings was made. Suddenly their fascination for the Italian car manufacturers became very clear.

Despite the sucess Galgo had, Galgo die-cast suddenly disappeared from the market in 1985. Many wondered what happened, why the abrupt stop in such prolific production. The key to understanding this gap within Galgo's production (in recent years the firm was sold to new industrials who want to try and revive those golden years) is Argentina's history. If one takes a look at the most important small and medium sized companies back then (especially in regard to toy production) one realizes that a lot of them have disappeared. Back then, when Argentina was returning to a democratic government system after many years of military dictatorship, the economy was in a very critical situation. Soon after a new president was elected, the Argentinian economy crashed and a deep and complex inflation process took place. Due to the economic crash countless small and medium size industries with low profit margins went bankrupt. We have not been able to establish if Galgo had gone bankrupt or if its owners sold before things got too ugly. But the economic situation at the time sure is a key factor in explaining the sudden stop in Galgo's production.

Bob Frassinetti
The Buenos Aires Toy Museum, Argentina