#745 ANGUPLAS/ MINI CARS - SEAT 1400 (Nr. 2) (1958)

 

I wanted to write an article about this brand, but when looking for information about them, I have found that the guys from 87thscale have already summarized a short history of the company and a complete list of references, with the help of Juan Mauri Cruz, one of the most important collectors of this brand worldwide. He has also written a comprehensive book (over 400 pages) about the company that is being sold in very few places for around 42 Euros.

 

The most interesting part of the history of Anguplas is its relation with Norev. Angupas made ome models for Norev, assembled others and sold Norev's in Spain. It is interesting to find some "mini-cars" made in France and some Norev madein Spain, although not every model had both versions. There were even sets that combined one truck from one maker and a trailer from the other one.
 

 

From the very few models I own by Anguplas, this one has the lowest reference number (nr.2) and is the oldest of them. It is made in greyish blue and, as you can see, has a few details painted in other colours. Red lights, silver base,  silber bumpers and silver front grill. The model has a very good detail level for its small size and has even windows.

 

Apparently, Anguplas made each car in several colours, so many collectors are just looking for all possible variations. This is quite a difficult task to achieve.
 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEAT 1400 (Nr. 2)
• Scale: Approx. 1:87 (H0)
• Year: 1958
• Company: Anguplas/ Mini-Cars (Spain)
• Size: approx. 4 cm

#566 LESNEY TOYS - VARIOUS MODELS II (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1962)

The first models made by Lesney were mostly English models, but as the line grew, other European and American models were included in the series. Despite the size, models were pretty accurate and included a great detail level.

The size of the toys was a factor for success, since it allowed to sell them much cheaper than their concurrents from Dinky or others. Matchbox as a brand was a registered to protected it worldwide.
The first models did not have windows or interiors and were made completely of metal. By 1968, Matchbox was the biggest selling brand, and their models already featured plastic windows, interior, tyres, spring suspension, opening parts, maybe some accesories... models had grown from the original 2 inches to 3 inches and there were many different types available (trucks, vans, motorcycles...)
During the Lesney era it was also defined that the standard series would always comprise 75 references, and after they reached that number, any new reference would replace an older one, so the display stands would always have the same size. This 1-75 reference system has been used almost until today, except from 1999 to 2001 and from 2008 on, with 100 references available.

Other model series have their own numbering system, but none of them is limited as the 1-75 series.

Nr. 10c - Fonden 15 Ton Sugar Container (1960-1966)
Nr. 27c - Cadillac Sixty Special (1960-1966)

Nr. 31b - American Ford Station Wagon (1960-1964)
Nr. 38a - Karrier Refuse Collector (1957-1963)

Nr. 32b - "E" Type Jaguar (other type of wheel) (1962-1968)

Nr. 44a - Rolls Royce Silver Cloud (1958-1964) - Repainted in grey
Nr. 73a - 10 Ton Pressure Refueller (1959-1962)

Nr. 75a - Ford Thunderbird (1960-1965)

Nr. 73b - Ferrari (other type of wheel) (1962-1968)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: Fonden 15 Ton Sugar Container (Nr. 10c), Cadillac Sixty Special (Nr. 27c), American Ford Station Wagon (Nr. 31b), Karrier Refuse Collector (Nr. 38a), Rolls Royce Silver Cloud (Nr. 44a), 10 Ton Pressure Refueller (Nr. 73a), Ford Thunderbird (Nr. 75a), "E" Type Jaguar (Nr. 32b), Ferrari (Nr. 73b)
• Scale: approx. 1:64
• Year: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1962
• Company: Lesney (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#565 LESNEY TOYS - VARIOUS MODELS I (1955, 1957 and 1958)

I have collected my oldest Matchbox/Lesney to finally write the story of the origins of Matchbox.

Lesney was founded in 1947 by Leslie and Rodney Smith. Despite their names, these men were not family. LESlie and rodNEY gave name to the company. Shortly after their foundation the engineer John "Jack" Odell joined the company. He was a friend of Rodney, both had worked previously at DCMT (Die Cast Machine Tools Ltd.), the die-cast company famous for "Lone Star" die-cast models.
Initially, Lesney facilites were an old pub called The Riflemen. They changed location several times until they finally moved to a factory in Hackney. In 1947 they recevied a request for toy gun parts, and they started considering toys as a new alternative to the other items they produced. In 1948 they started producing toys themselves. That first toy was a die-cast road roller similar to another one made by Dinky, followed by similar toys including a cowboy wagon and a soap box racer (from 1949, probably the most sought-after model ever in the history of Lesney/Matchbox).

Rodney left the company in 1951 because he thought there was no future in producing toys.
Only two years later, in 1953, Lesney produced the Royal Stage Coach used in the coronation of Elizabeth II in two different scales. This was an amazing success and provided capital for future expansions. This success plus a bit of luck would definitely determine the brilliant future of the company. Jack Odell built a miniature road-roller in 2 to 3 inches size for his daughter, who was only allowed to take with her to school toys in the size of a matchbox or smaller. This scale was somehow revolutionary, and we all know how successful this "scale" has been. Opposed to the classic 1:43, 1:87... scales, this new scale is sometimes referred as 1:box, because all models are around 2-3 inches long, independently of the size of the real vehicle.
That road roller would later become Nr.1 of the Matchbox 1-75 series.

Until the late 50s, Lesney toys were distributed by Moko. Moko was founded by MOses KOhnstam, and from there its name. Toys distributed by Moko were marked Lesney/Moko in the boxes. At one point, Lesney bought Moko, and started distributing their own toys.

From there on, a great expansion would follow until the first bankruptcy and receivership in 1982. Then, the company was reformed as Matchbox International Ltd. (a division of Universal Holdings/ universal Toys) and started producing in Macau. Jack Odell founded then Lledo (the surname spelled backwards).

Nr. 1c - Aveling Barford Road Roller (1958-1962)
Nr. 2b - Muir Hill Site Dumper (1957-1961) - Probably Reedition
Nr. 18a - Caterpillar Bulldozer (1955-1958) - Reedition

More Information:
www.hgm-matchbox.de/default.htm

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: Aveling Barford Road Roller (Nr. 1c), Muir Hill Site Dumper (Nr. 2b), Caterpillar Bulldozer (Nr. 18c)
• Scale: Unknown
• Year: 1958, 1957, 1955
• Company: Lesney (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#518 SIKU PLASTIK – FIAT 600 (V49) (Around 1958)

This is my oldest Siku model, and the only one I own made of plastic. It represents a Fiat 600, which is the model that could interest me the most from the whole range, since the Fiat 600 is identical to the Seat 600, and this one is by far the most popular Spanish car.

I found it at a flea market and bought it very cheap, otherwise I guess I would have never bid for it as it usually ends with very high prices.

My model is light blue/grey, but there are also one version in white. It can be that the car was originally light blue, but with the use (mine is not perfect) it turned to grey.

No matter what, I’m really happy with the model, and I will keep it together with other Seat 600 I collected.

Siku Plastik line started in 1954, and was from the beginning a 1:60 scale line of vehicles and accesories. Siku dealt since it's foundation with plastics and produced a great variety of toys and objects for daily life in different plastic componds, so they already mastered the fabrication of small objects in this material when the Plastik line came to life.

The scale choice was something intermediate to the European 1:43 and the 1:90 that at the time was using Wiking (in Germany).

The following year, Sikualready had 55 car models, more than 70 accesories and more than 120 traffic signs. Cars were all common vehicles of the time, most of them German. Year after year the number of models increased. Up to 20 new models each time!

By 1958, Siku Plastik counted more than 100 models, way more than Wiking.

The line was complemented with some Street plans, were you could place all Siku accesories (buildings like shops, garages, schools, stations; small figures, street lamps, traffic signs, traffic lights, trees... Some of these sets were even offered to driving schools, as they include ítems to simulate/explain every possible traffic situation.

For more information, I advice you to buy this book.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FIAT 600 (V49)
• Scale: 1:60
• Year: Around 1958
• Company: Siku (Germany)
• Size: approx. 2’’ or 4,5 cm

#32 PIATNIK/ CEFA – DER MAGISCHE ROBOTER/ EL MAGO ELECTRÓNICO (Around 1958)

The people who usually visit this blog may have noticed that in the description, I talk about traditional and board games... until now there is not a single review that fits this category, but it is only because where I live I do not have any of these items and I cannot take pictures. This is the first vintage boardgame that I’m reviewing, but much more are coming.

The Magic Robot was developed by the british company J & L Randall Ltd. (also Merit) In the year 1950. This company marketed the toy during many years, and licensed it to other companies outside the United Kingdom.

In Austria “Der Magische Roboter” was licensed to Piatnik, the well-known card and boardgame manufacturer; in Spain it was licensed to Cefa, that changed the name to “El Mago Electrónico” (the electric magician); Jumbo released it in Holland, Belgium and France as “Robot”. This game was specially successful in East Germany, were it was released by Schmidt (that also made the release for West Germany) and Gordon. Many different versions of the game were available, as we can see here.

Spanish Cefa releases

The game was sold during many consecutive year (more than 20), and the boxes and papers were updated in most countries each time according to the taste of the time. As an example, you can compare two Spanish releases by Cefa toys. The left one seems to be older (around 1959, while the right one is more recent (maybe 1965?). The robot remained however unchanged, except in the alternate versions, like the sport quiz.

How does it work? In this game there are two rings. In the first one are the questions and the second one are the answers. With the small robot you can choose a question by turning the robot until it points to the desired question. Then you place the robot in the answer’s ring (the surface in which you place the robot is a mirror), and it automatically turns and points to the right question. It is obviously a trick. By turning the robot in the first ring, you are moving and positioning magnets behind the mirror that later position the robot to point the right answer. The effect is absolutely great, and still amazes children and even grown ups.

There are several pages (8 double-sided in the Piatnik version) with question and answers in several school subjects, like history, geography, science, literature…

As it was massively sold during decades, they’re not very difficult to find in one or another version.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: DER MAGISCHE ROBOTER / EL MAGO ELECTRÓNICO (original: MAGIC ROBOT)
• Year: around 1958 (original: 1950)
• Company: Piatnik (Austria) / Cefa (Spain) / original: Merit (Great Britain)