Officially licensed diecast

When a model maker licenses a car, it receives the manufacturer's design data and the right to use the badges, names and, in the case of Formula 1, the team sponsors. The data is the important part. An unlicensed replica is built from photographs and measurements, which is fine for a familiar shape but gets subtle things wrong: a roofline a millimetre too high, a wheel arch a fraction too round. A licensed model built from CAD is correct in a way you notice without being able to say why.

The licence also brings approval. The carmaker or team signs off on the pre-production sample, so colours match factory paint codes and liveries are placed exactly. On the box you will see the manufacturer's trademark line and, on the Formula 1 cars, the team's official product hologram.

We sell both and label both, because they serve different buyers. A licensed 1:43 Bburago F1 car at ₹1,999 is the right thing for a fan who wants the real livery. An unlicensed 1:24 Defender at ₹1,499 is the right thing for someone who wants a Defender on the desk with opening doors and working lights, features the licensed equivalent would price at four times that.

Where we do draw a line is honesty. An unlicensed model is described as a replica, never as an official product, and we do not photograph it in a way that hides the difference. If a listing anywhere shows a licensed brand's box with a model that costs a third of the licensed price, be suspicious.

Bburago's Formula 1 Race series covers the 2024 grid in 1:43 and is licensed by each team individually. Rastar holds licences from Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG, McLaren and Red Bull for its 1:18 remote control Formula 1 cars, and from Jaguar Land Rover for its Range Rover and Defender remote control models. As we add licensed static 1:18 and 1:24 ranges they will appear here first.