ESTRELA was founded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1937, by German immigrant Siegfried Adler. He acquired the remains of a bankrupt toy factory which produced rag dolls and wooden toys cars. This production initially was continued, but later, in the early 1950’s they started producing plastic and tinplate toys as well. A Sao Paulo based company named MIRIM, later renamed into ATMA Paulista, produced the plastic toy cars for ESTRELA.
Its logo is a four-pointed star, a sort of compass, referring to the Company name "ESTRELA" which means "star" in Portuguese. The Company still exists as producer, importer and distributor of major toy brands and is a major player in South America.
Under license from SIKU (Germany), they used the molds from the plastic Siku "V" Series models produced in Germany in the late 1950s and early 1960s. All models (VW Kombi Bus as well as Pick Up Bus) appear to be in two-tone colors.
A three piece plastic VW Kombi Bus with cutout windows. Estreal also produced a Pick Up Bus in this same series. Details of the front VW emblem side air louvers. The casting has slight and subtle differences from the original SIKU V16 Kombi VW Bus. Silver painted front VW emblem, headlights and front bumper (no rear bumper). White rubber tires with metal axles attach to the chassis. Chassis has some detailing and is marked "ESTRELA" and "IND BRASIL".
