#347 HOLLY/ RINDEI (POLISTIL) – BRABHAM BT45B (Around 1982)

I haven’t been able to find any reference to this hongkongese die-cast manufacturer. It is listed on a Wikipedia list of die-cast manufacturers and I found some pictures of other vehicles on the internet, but unfortunately without any information about them.

I got this car a few weeks ago in a big lot of cars, that surprisingly, included many “made in Hong Kong” cars with pull back motor from the early 80s. This is one of them. It is based on the Brabham BT45B, which raced in the year 1977.

The car doesn’t give us much information either: “Made in Hong Kong”, “Scale: 1:43”… and a big logo with the word Holly making part of a formula1 seen from the front. The car is quite bulky (because inside it is the pull back motor, otherwise the F1 should have been much flatter, but it is still a decent piece of casting: the main part of the body is made of Zamak, but it has a plastic driver and a chromed plastic simulated motor. The chassis is made of plastic, and has plastic tyres over plastic hubcaps. These wheels have great grip, something very important in pullback motored cars. Axles are thick and resistant… in other words: it is a durable toy. Maybe not the best cast I have ever seen, but still an unique model, and a rarity.

What bothers me at most is the scale, 1:43. Really? The car is slightly larger than the classic 1:64, but it is still much smaller than the classic 1:43 scale. It has around 8 cms. I guess the real car was very small, that would explain it.

Also worth mentioning are the paper stickers, which are different among all the models I have seen.

Other models by Holly include nice sport cars, as well as concept cars from the early 80s, like the Ford Mustang or the BMW M1, but all of them in this big, bulky style.

UPDATE: I just bumped into an ebay auction that is selling this car boxed... Interestingly, it was sold under the Polistil brand, don't know if it had exactly the same base with the "Holly" logo, because there is no picture of the lower part of the car. I leave the picture here in case you want to investigate more about the "Racer" line Rindei by Polistil. It seems Polistil reselled the models from Holly Hong-Kong in Italy and maybe in other European countries.

Pic: eBay / Seller: patb_it

UPDATE2: I found one of the most interesting cars made by this manufacturer under this brand. It is a car I didn't know it existed, and therefore it is the only reproduction of it that I know of. DOME-O. The DOME-O is made by Playwell!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: BRABHAM BT45B and DOME-O
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: Around 1982
• Company: Holly (Hong Kong)
• Size: approx. 8 cm

#346 BBURAGO – FERRARI 308 GTB RALLY and OTHER 1:43 SCALE MODELS (40xx and 41xx SERIES) (From 1984 on)

Preliminary note: this article does not consider the early 1:43 scale models (mostly trucks) that were manufactured during the 70s, they belong to another category.

The series made in 1:43 scale by Bburago are some kind of exception in the history of the company. Bburago had many other series in bigger scales that were intended for adult collectors and car lovers. Due to their size and their detail level, those other miniatures were not cheap.

That all changed in the 1:43 series. Bburago wanted to make a series of cars that were closer to toys than any other miniature made by Bburago in those years. The scale was not so strange for the Besana family, since Mebetoys had produced 20 years before beautiful models with great detail level. The new 1:43 models, however, are completely different: fewer details, fewer parts, it had to be cheap to sell as many units as possible, and they also needed to be attractive. These small cars had very nice colours and stickers that made the cars look really nice. Something that clearly indicates this, is that all models can be hand assembled, there is no rivets to fix the chassis to the body, and there are also no axles, the wheels are directly attached to the chassis (and though no suspension of any kind).

Chassis without rivets and axles

After their launch, this was one of the most profitable lines of the company. The cars were available at every toy store and even newsagents. It has also been one of the most durable lines in the history of Bburago, since these models were available since the very end of the company in 2005 and beyond, since May Cheong still sell 1:43 cars under the Bburago brand. At some point around the year 2000, the line was renamed “Street Fire” (references 41xxx), but it can be considered as a continuation of the original 1/43 line. “Street Fire” was actually identical (many models were the same old ones with new decorations or even with identical decorations).

The land rover in this picture has a very distinctive hubcap model, that tell us that it belongs to the Street Fire collection, although it is identical to the models sold in the late 80s, just with minor diferences in the stickers and the colours.

Additionally to the 40xx, 41xx and 41xxx references, which were available boxed, this type of cars were also available in two packs (42xx), five packs (43xx) and later also in three packs (47xx), single blister packs (48xx) and kits (49xx).

If you zoom on this picture, you'll be able to read some of the first references available 41xx

The most amazing thing about this scale is the huge number of different references and models made. I include as a “bonus” the pages of an old catalogue I own since 1990 showing the cars in this scale from that year.

If you’re interested in this particular brand or this scale, please take a look at this book and visit also this website, where almost every single Bburago reference in 1:43 scale is pictured:

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FERRARI 308 GTB RALLY (4148), FIAT PANDA 45 (4025) and LAND ROVER AZIZA
• Scale: 1:43 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1988
• Company: Bburago (Italy)
• Size: approx. 9 cm

BONUS: 1990 Bburago catalogue

#345 M.A.S.K. – PIRAHNA with SLY RAX/ STILETTO (1985)

M.A.S.K.’s FIRST WAVE:

M.A.S.K.’s first wave was launched in 1985, and consisted of several vehicles and a base/headquarters. Unlike other similar collections that came later (for example, Dino Riders or Starcom), this series didn’t originally include blister packs with figures. This means, to get your favourite characters you were forced to buy the vehicle that included that particular figure, and this way, it may take a while until you have enough characters to create your own M.A.S.K. stories.

This marketing “flaw” was of course corrected in the second wave one year later.

 
All characters available in wave 1 were main characters, those who virtually appear in every TV episode and comic book. Matt Trakker, the most important character in the series, was available with two vehicles: the Thunderhawk and the Rhino.

 It is very interesting, that the accessory masks for most figures were modified after the line was on sale. This means: there are two versions of each mask for "completist" collectors to find. The first version’s masks (1985) are smaller masks that fitted in the head of the figure, while later models (1986) have a portion that fits over the chest, the back or both. The reason for that change is unknown.

Copyright notice: CPG Products Corp. 1985 Kenner Products Cincinnati Ohio 45202.

The list of the first wave is somehow classic, with the forces of evil “V.E.N.O.M.” being clearly outnumbered by the good guys from “M.A.S.K.”

M.A.S.K. vs. V.E.N.O.M.

• 7 vs 3 characters (I am not counting Scott Trakker and T-Bob)
• 5 vs 3 vehicles
• 1 vs 0 playsets

As other action figure toy series, M.A.S.K. started with one big playset, plus 2 big vehicles (a truck rig and a big plane), several medium sized ones (vans, big cars), and then some other small vehicles (motorbikes) to cover the whole price range.

M.A.S.K.

• BOULDER HILL with ALEX SECTOR and BUDDY HAWKS
• CONDOR with BRAD TURNER
• FIRECRACKER with HONDO MACLEAN
• GATOR with DUSTY HAYES
• RHINO with MATT TRAKKER and BRUCE SATO
• THUNDERHAWK with MATT TRAKKER
• T-BOB with SCOTT TRAKKER

V.E.N.O.M.

• JACKHAMMER with CLIFF DAGGER
• PIRAHNA with SLY RAX
• SWITCHBLADE with MILES MAYHEM

 
Vehicles came with a small poster/catalogue, showing all vehicles with their transformations and pilots/drivers in one side, and on the other side, an illustration of a battle between both factions. Check albertpenello.com to see this posters.

The box shown in this entry is the European model, which is different from the American version. The second one has in the back of the box a picture of the toy showing all its features, as well as a picture of the driver with its mask. In the European version, both front and back are the same, but the texts are written in different languages: One side: English, French and Dutch, the other side: German and Italian. We explained this in a previous entry #270.

To finish this article, I'll publish more pictures of the "beach diorama" you already know from entry #311

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: PIRAHNA with SLY RAX/ STILETTO  (Ref. 37350)
• Toy Line: M.A.S.K. (Wave 1)
• Year: 1985
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the vehicle: 5’’ or 13 cm
• Size of the figures: 2½’’ or 6,5 cm

#344 HE-MAN – NOCTURNA and HOOVE (Refs. 3526 and 3530) (1990)

This entry presents two more characters from the He-Man toyline, second wave, 1990. Both characters perform a kick as a “special move”.

Let’s start with Hoove, one of the evil mutants. The backcard describes the character:

“Stubborn, mule-minded mutant from the evil planet Denebria. Has a mean temper and an even meaner battle kick”

Standing on his left leg, kicks with his right leg both forward and backwards if the upper body is (gently) pushed backwards or forward respectively.

This figure has an astounding cast, with many details. It seems to be some kind of bionic creature, or at least the whole body, except the head, looks mechanical. Although you will always see this figure with straight legs, it has an articulation on the knee. This is probably because the action movement does not work when the knees are bent. The head is green and has frightening teeth, is quite scary.

The figure came with two accessories: a helmet and a gun, or more precisely a hyper-byte blaster, whatever it means.

This figure and its movement is difficult to find in good shape, legs loose themselves until it is difficult to make the figure stand.

 

On the other side, Nocturna belong to the heroic masters. His “Master Action” is also a kick, with the only difference, it is a side kick. Standing on one leg, and tilting the upper body in the same direction, the other leg performs a side kick.

The character is described in the blister pack as: “Martial Arts Warrior from Mida on planet Primus.  Has the ability to deliver a stunning side kick as he moves swiftly and silently to aid He-Man in his fight against evil” 

This figure came with a helmet, a (laser-)bow and a two-piece bandolier. There is a second version of the figure, which came with black helmet and bow. The figure in these pictures came with grey accessories.

My impression is that this figure is one of the rarest in wave 2, although I could be wrong here. If you’re looking for this one, pay attention to the decolouring (maybe sun damage) that most figures show in the torso. It presents very often a much darker blue than the limbs, even if carded.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: NOCTURNA and HOOVE  (Refs. 3526 and 3530)
• Toy Line: He-Man (also New Adventures of He-Man) (Wave 2)
• Year: 1990
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 14 cm

#343 CORGI TOYS (DAVID COOKE)

 

This is a must-have book for every die-cast collector not only for Corgi Toys collectors. Although it is quite short (64 Pages), it has a lot of information in it, and great pictures too. The history of the company, as well as the most important lines made by Corgi, are described very well, there is no superfluous data, or listings you can easily find online.

The author, David Cooke, is a toy collector. He founded two model clubs in England in the 70s, and now is a toy curator and trustee at Bressingham Steam Museum in Norfolk. He is obviously a toy expert, and surely has good connections to Corgi managers and employees.

The book is divided in 6 chapters in chronological order:

• Mettoys – Perfect Scale Models (1934-55)
• “The Ones with Windows” (1956-69)
• The Final Years of Mass Production (1970-85)
• Film and Television Related Toys (1965-82)
• Corgi Classics (From 1985)
• The Twenty First Century

Not to forget is the extensive “Further Reading” section with a lot of useful references.
The same author has a book dealing only with Film and TV Related Toys, called “TV Toys” and another one dealing with Corgi’s competitor Dinky Toys, called “Dinky Toys”. Since I liked this one very much, I’ll try to get the other two as soon as possible.

More about the Author:
http://www.placesandfaces.co.uk/articles/1160/its-a-small-world.html