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Being in my mid-30's, who saw the plant in Malaysia, has been to many shop in Europe, still, with many loopholes, Indian Hot Wheels do churn some memories of grandfather gifting the same, cousin showing his collection etc.

Due to the \*\*Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA)\*\* act, Mattel couldn't launch Hot Wheels in India on their own. Thus, Mattel Had collaborated with Blow Past (currently, VIP industries, one of the top luggage makers in India).  At the time, Blow Plast used to produce toy and games under the  "Leo Toys".

This collaboration was called \*\*Leo Mattel\*\* (a.k.a "Leo Toys", seldom on the packaging). The share structure was this way,\*\*40% for Mattel\*\* and \*\*60% for Blow Plast\*\*. This gave the joint venture the same legal standing as any Indian company, while still letting Mattel license its designs, brand, and tooling.

Nonetheless, Leo Mattel was unable to freely import raw materials or parts from Mattel's factories in Hong Kong, China, or Japan. India's import restrictions (Quantitative Restrictions, or QRs) were still standing. Hence, Leo-Mattel had to actually \*\*manufacture\*\* locally in Maharashtra, India. Setting up a factory in \*\*Mumbai\*\*, with a second production facility in \*\*Nagpur\*\*, Leo Mattel produced Hot Wheels for almost 15 years. The Hot Wheels were made India. However, QC was less and many constraints occurred.

\*\*Later, Mattel established a new Indian counterpart, Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd., with Mattel itself holding the majority stake.\*\*

Post photographs or write about your collection of the earliest India-based manufactured Leo-Mattel's 'blackwall-era' models