Pilen S.A.

11542 Simca 1308 GT

11543 Opel Ascona

Corgi, Solido and Politoys

The Oldsmobile Toronado, the 1963 Corvette Stingray, the experimental Chevrolet Corvette-like Astro 1 and the Adams Probe all appear to have been recastings of previous British Corgi models. Though Tekno also made a Toronado and Pilen's Toronado had opening doors similar to the Tekno, the general look and opening headlights appear more like the Corgi.

Several Pilen models were dead ringers for French Solidos such as the De Tomaso Mangusta which Dinky also made, but Pilen's version was more refined like the Solido, while the Dinky was rather thick and distorted. Pilen's Opel Manta was likely a Solido replica, as well as the Mercedes-Benz C111 rotary concept. Pilen had a Porsche Carrera 6 race car like Corgi and Solido, but the details of the Pilen model match the Solido.

A couple other models appear to be copies of previous Politoys models of Italy: the Ferrari Modulo Pininfarina and the Lancia Stratos Bertone. The American Ford GT Mark II is very similar to the Mebetoys (also of Italy) version, and the SEAT (FIAT) 850 Spyder is like the earlier Mercury, another Italian model producer. The company's Chevrolet Corvair Monza open cockpit concept is a doppelganger of the Danish Tekno issue. It seems either Pilen had direct access to dies of many toy makers (which does not seem very likely), or it had superior skills in creating new castings closely matching various existing vehicles – perhaps with the help of blueprints.

Other contributions

A few models have mysterious origins. The AMC Javelin doesn't seem to have a counterpart elsewhere and neither does the Intermeccanica Indra or the Monteverdi Hai 450, though models of all of these appeared afterward made by different manufacturers. One possibility is that these were new French Dinky castings that had not appeared elsewhere and were to be introduced when the 'Spanish Dinky' line was to premier. Considering the care and quality seen in many of the Auto Pilen models, it is also possible that a few models were done in-house.

Auto Pilen also made a line of Matchbox-sized 1/64 scale cars, but these are more rare. Besides a SEAT 131 Wagon, a SEAT Ritmo, a Renault 4F (Van), a Peugeot 504, and a Range Rover – among others – were made but little is known about them. The Range Rover casting was shared with Guiloy which brings us to the subject of Pilen's connections to other Spanish diecasters.

Tyres were rubber and wheels authentically matched each model – where a generic one was necessary, a handsome wire wheel was employed similar to those seen on Politoys M Series. Sometimes the chemical reaction in the rubber compound of the wheels could cause melting of the plastic on the base plates of the display cases, but unlike Sablon diecast made in Belgium (which also had Spanish associations) whose plastic wheels all melted with contact with rubber tyres, the problem was avoided on Pilen models by using metal wheels.

These models did not appear rushed into production, though some have experienced cracking of faulty zinc alloy conglomerate 15 to 20 years later. Pilen in the mid-1970s was right up with other 1:43 scale companies packaging their models in clear plastic display cases. The screws used to hold models to the orange and yellow plastic bases, however, held them tightly and the tyres often melt and become fused to the plastic of the bases. This is due to a chemical reaction to a softener in the rubber of the tyres. With a bit of coaxing, usually the tyres pull free from the base with no damage.

Typical Pilen brochures were thin narrow folded strips 1 3/4 inches wide which normally advertised thirty cars. On the opposite side, the collector was reminded that five of these strips could be collected and remitted to receive a key chain from "Escuderia" Pilen – such diecast trinkets had been traditional Pilen products for some years. Auto Pilen models were the main diecast toys seen in Spanish department stores El Corte Ingles and Galerias Preciados in Spain in the late 1970s.