#801 BLUE BOX – MORRIS MINOR (Ref. 7434) (Around 1960)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

This is a plastic car with a size smaller than three inches, it could actually be confused with an H0 1:87 model, although I guess it is just small because the original Morris Minor was a very small car.

The car is marked “Nº 434 Hong Kong” and it took me a bit to find out which manufacturer is behind this Matchbox knock-off. The answer is Blue Box, a company that has already appeared once in my blog, and whose story is kind of paradigmatic for a Hong-Kong company that started copying toys from England, and later became a great and powerful toy company.

Compared to the Matchbox car, I would say this one is based in its own cast, since there are many big differences to come from a cloned cast. The toy is quite fragile (note the broken window frame on one side, and the missing part in the chassis), so it is quite surprising to have found this item still in such a good shape. Its previous owner was surely a very careful guy. It is a nice substitute for the
Machbox model, since this is one of the hardest to find.

This last picture shows the Bue Box model among others in a very nice blisterpack with the characteristic blue label. The car was also available in single boxes, and other multi-packs including 8 or 6 cars.


Picture from Vectis.co.uk

 

Picture from planetdiecast.com

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MORRIS MINOR (ref. 7434)
• Scale: Around 1:64
• Year: 1960
• Company: Blue Box (Hong-Kong)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#570 POLISTIL MINI - CITROËN 19DS, VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE and AUTOBIANCHI BIANCHINA (Around 1960)

These cars were found in a flea market around one year ago. I immediatly recognised the quality of the cars and decided to buy them: they are marked APS 1/77 Italy, they represent very charismatic models from the 50s and the 60s, and despite the age, they are in very good shape.

Later, at home and to my surprise, I discovered that the cars were manufactured by Polistil, so I guess they were intended to be sold for vey little money, or to be combined with electric trains. I have also read somewhere, that Polistil also had some kind of ferry boat to carry many models from this series.
The cars reproduced are popular Italian and European cars, including many Fiats (500, 600, 600 Multipla, 1100...). The three models I own are:

CITROËN 19DS (French car sold from 1955 to 1975)

VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE (German car sold from 1938 on in several versions)

AUTOBIANCHI BIANCHINA (Italian car sold between 1957-1969)

Note that the Bianchina is not very well finished. One of the windows has not been properly done, and is almost covered by plastic. I am not sure if the chassis has also been mounted in the wrong direction, note that the wheels are not very well centered with the body. The other seem to be ok.
These models belong to a very short, very interesting and very rare series. Maybe because of the plastic, many of the units sold might have been destroyed during play (it would be enough to step on them) or thown in the trash, because their appearance is that of a very cheap toy.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CITROËN 19DS, VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE and AUTOBIANCHI BIANCHINA
• Scale: 1:77
• Year: Around 1960
• Company: Polistil (Italy)
• Size: approx. 3,5 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

#551 EKO - SEAT 600 (Around 1960)

Eko is one of the most famous Spanish toy manufacturers outside Spain. Their miniatures in 1:87 (H0) scale were imported to many European countries and probably also to America.

If you want to read the history of this company, we recommend you to visit Rosaspage [dead link]  and read a great article (in Spanish) about the company covering all important aspects.

If you cannot read Spanish, I will make a very short summary to cover the basic aspects.

In 1956 two cousins named Blasco founded the "Industrias Blasco" in Barcelona. They created toys and complements for children, like H0 dioramas or H0 vehicles. One of the cousins also manufactured and distributed cheap toys, but their followers in the company decided to manufacture a better quality product, and here is where EKO was born. At the beginning the company was a family business, but they made some profit and started growing rapidly. They even moved from Barcelona to Hospitalet de Llobregat, to a more suitable factory. The top number of employees they reached was around 12. Surprising for such a well-known manufacturer.

Their products were still cheap compared with other European brands (Wiking, Roco, Anguplas), and their quality was a bit lower. We would say today that they specialized in the lower-end market. Anguplas would sell their casts to Eko after they disappeared in 1967.

Their products included many cars, trucks, busses, military vehicles and accesories (people, traffic signs, small buildings...) in H0 scale as well as another series in 1:43 scale, all of them in plastic. They also produced other types of toy goods, like plastic children glasses or children watches.

Some brands used Eko miniatures as promotional give-aways, or incorporated in products of other companies, like Congost, Ibertrén or Electrotrén.

By the beginning of the 80s, the company production became lower and almost disappeared. However, today they still produce toys under the brand "Toyeko" www.toyeko.com

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEAT 600
• Scale: 1:87 (H0)
• Year: Around 1960
• Company: Eko (Spain)
• Size: approx. 3.5 cm

#349 ELASTOLIN – MEDIEVAL KNIGHTS (Around 1960)

[this is the second part of an article that starts HERE]

The production of composite figures after World War II was oriented to armies and soldiers, although these were pretty different from those manufactured before WWII. Before, the armies were mostly German soldiers (from the IIIrd Reich) and after, the image of the nazi regime had to be somehow hidden. The new figures represented the neutral Swiss forces or the US Army.

A few years later, also came in production soldiers from Germany and Austria, as these countries were allowed to form military forces again.

 Medieval spearmen

In 1955, Hausser decides to broad their product lines, producing now figures form ancient times, like Romans, Huns, Vikings, Normans, Turk from the 17th century and Landsknechte (german mercenary soldiers from the 16th century). Elastolin also produced some figures from the comic strip “Prince Valiant”. I think there were 4 different figures made, but I don’t know the names of the characters.

 Prince Valiant

Also Medieval Knights, Cowboys and Indians, and more German soldiers from the present times. Hausser also had a license to manufacture the characters from Karl May’s novels, and his most famous characters Winnetou and Old Surehand.

Not to forget are the great scale accessories like horses, catapults, artillery, fences, Indian totems, plants and trees…

 Maceman and 3 different Swordmen

The two most common sizes are 4 and 7 cms. The figures shown in this entry and the previous one are 4 centimeter high, and were presumably manufactured between 1955 and 1969, So I will date them around 1960.

Again, I'll put some pictures from a Lego diorama I prepared some time ago. Hope you like them:

 

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: Various Medieval knights
• Year: Around 1960
• Company: Elastolín (a.k.a. Hausser) (Germany)
• Size of the figures: 4 cm

BONUS:

I found this figures in some kind of "private" flea market, and they were sold inside of a "Nivea Creme" can, I include pictures of this can (which is in perfect shape), as well as pictures of other things I found on it, although they're not toys.

This is a bracelet, seems to be as old as the figures

And finally, this nice signal made of cardboard: "Hier droht Gefahr! Beseitige Sie!" (something like: "Danger menaces here! Go away from here", freely translated).