Mercury (toy manufacturer) Marklin, the company was started in 1932, by Attilio Clemente and Antonio Cravero, but its first toy was a gun produced about 1939 (Batazzi et al 1974; Force 1992, 5; History of Mercury 2013; Ralston 2009, 62). The company first began making toy cars just after World War II, so is one of the earliest diecast model makers preceding Corgi and many others and it was the earliest producer in Italy (Richardson 1999, 134). In Italy there was little competition for Mercury through most of the 1950s (Force 1992, 5). Early cars were more Tootsietoy-like with simple cast bodies, wheels
Clover (toy company) but Clovers toys were still not a hit. Instead it was Bandai who capitalized on the show by selling model-kits that became extremely popular. Gundam had started the Real Robot trend which changed the focus to "realistic" robots instead of the "super robots" which Clover were used to making. They tried to adapt to the new market by sponsoring shows such as "Xabungle", "Dunbine", and "Srungle" (the first 2 being directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino) but folded in 1983. Clover (toy company) Clover was a Japanese toy company founded in 1973. It closed in 1983. Today it is mainly