#489 RICO - HONDA SANSÓN / DIABLOS (Ref. 702) (Around 1975)

Rico was one of the most important toymakers in Spain at the time, had a history that spanned over decades, and made many different types of toys in Ibi, Alicante. We already talked about them in previous articles.

What you may not know, is that Rico had the license to manufacture and sell Tonka toys in Spain. Their first Tonka product was a line of sturdy tin trucks, that were called “Sansón” (Sansón is the Spanish name of Samson, the biblical character), from which I expected to write some other time.

These had very thick axles and plastic wheels, and very robust metal bodies. Most of them had some gimmick, like a crane, or a shovel, or some practicable part behind the cabin. They looked quite futuristic for its age, since they were made in the 60s, both in Japan and Spain (in Spain surely later, maybe the second half of the decade)

Since that line was very successful (both the normal line and the “Mini-Sansón” line), Rico decided to extend the name to other Tonka products, like this race car, which has very little in common with the trucks mentioned above: they’re also sturdy, made of some kidn of metal (maybe very thick tin), but they represent a different type of car and has a friction motor inside. Note that the package is labelled with “Serie Sansón” and then “ Diablos” (“Devils”).

There were three of these cars made, a Honda (in Orange, Ref 702), a Chaparral (in green, Ref. 706), a Porsche (in blue, Ref. 712) and a Lotus (in red, Ref, 716). These are also depicted in the box.
The car has dark windows, so the mechanism remains hidden, and it is decorated with some chromed parts in the front and in the back of the car. The base in black tin is marked “Rico” and “Made in Spain”.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: HONDA “DIABLOS” (Ref. 702)
• Year: Around 1975
• Company: RICO (Spain)
• Size: Around 11 cm.
• Scale: Unknown

#488 REAL GHOSTBUSTERS – HIGHWAY HAUNTER (1987)

 

This is one of the Real Ghostbusters toys I keep since the early 90s. I received it a long time ago for Christmas together with the Ecto-2. A friend of mine at school already had it, and I thought it was fun, but I didn´t expect to receive it. The vehicle belongs to the second Real Ghostbusters wave, to which also the Fright Features characters and the Haunted Humans belong, so the "Highway Haunter" somehow fits in that "Ghosts in Disguise" line.

 

As you can notice, the vehicle is actually a Volkswagen Beetle in yellow, looks pretty well, except for the trunk being slightly up (the trunk in this car is in the front, so a little bit more weight there would have been great). The interior in black is very well detailed, and has place for two figures. The upper part or the seats is actually a button that activates the transformation when pressed. The car "stands" up in its rear wheels and reveals a green insect-ghost. Meanwhile the figures remain in their places. The Insect, as I just said, stands on all four wheels and can be pushed further.

As every other (or almost) Real Ghostbusters´ vehicles, an additional ghost figure is included, in this case the figure can be placed under the bonnet (rear compartment), and it has two faces, one being the ghost itself and the back (the back of the ghost) simulates a motor.

 

The box is the original one, as you could buy it in Spain. In this entry, I explained how do I think that these figures came to Spain, and why the packages of the toys are written in French and Dutch. Unfortunately, one of the flaps is broken and lost.

 

The cardboard inlay is also original, and there I found two nice things: a poster/catalogue (I had two of them, one from each vehicle, and one of them hang during several months on my bedroom´s wall). The poster depicts the Ecto-1 plus all 4 Ghostbusters hunting Slimer.

The second thing was the quality control sheet, which I reproduce here for completing purposes.

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: HIGHWAY HAUNTER
• Alternate Names: GEISTERKÄFER (German), DÉMON DES ROUTES (French), SNELWEGSPOOK (Dutch), L’Auto Fantasma (Italian)
• Toy Line: The Real Ghostbusters
• Year: 1987
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 30 cm

#487 S.M./ SUMMER – CHEVROLET CORVETTE (S8564F), FORD GT 40 (89-27) and MASERATI MERAK SS (88-05) (Around 1996)

This entry is a continuation for the previous entry: these are three samples of late Summer castings, I got them in a lot, and I decided to keep them, despite being so new, and so badly painted and finished. The casting however are nice, I immediately recognized the Chevrolet Corvette (S8564F), the Ford GT40 (89-27) and the Maserati Merak SS (88-05).

The numbering system was also appealing, since most Chinese manufacturers from the late 90s didn’t bother printing references on their toys.

If you want to see the complete listing of Summer models please go to Breithaups.com where you’ll be able to read more about the company, and their scale cars.

This article talks only about the “reissues” from the mid to late 90s: http://www.breithaupts.com/totc349.htm

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHEVROLET CORVETTE (S8564F), FORD GT 40 (89-27) and MASERATI MERAK SS (88-05)
• Scale: 1:64
• Year: Around 1996
• Company: Summer/ S.M. (Hong Kong)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#486 S.M./ SUMMER – CHEVROLET CAMARO and PORSCHE 928 (No. S8308 and 8309) (around 1983)

I just found something out, that you already might know… S.M. die-cast cars are actually early Summer. Until now, I thought these were different brands, but the S.M. initials actually mean Summer Metal Products Manufacturing, and its logo is some kind of antelope jumping in front of three trees. As a kid I got two 1:64 models of this brand with pull-back motor, one of them was a green BMW, but I cannot remember which was the second one… they were probably the worst scale reproductions I had in my collection, but still can remember the logo that was printed on its base.
Now I have found these two models, and although the S.M. (that should appear below the antelope) are covered by some casting in the base, I recognized it immediately.

I have searched today for S.M., and I arrived to this cool blog: http://diecastdestination.blogspot.com where I found an entry dealing with S.M. or Summer Metal. According to this source, the first 1:64 models made by this company appeared in the mid-70s (1976 to 1978), and carried reference numbers between S671 and S698. Later, the reference numbeing system changed, and models were numbered starting with S8001, and reaching up to S8108.

Some models seem to be copies of Matchbox, other copies of YatMing, but some other casts are unique. Some Summer have practicable parts, although these are probably the very first editions of the cars.

Following the hint, I then arrived to breithaupts.com again, were they have a incomplete listing of all Summer/SM vehicles. Steve Masson, writes there that the S80xx to S85xx series could have gone up to the mid-80s.

Doug Breithaupt also thinks, Summer are actually intended for other markets than the European and North-American, that is for developing countries, where people cannot afford more than a few cents for such a toy.

In the early 90s, the company stopped making original castings or simply disappeared. By the mid to late 90s, Summer casts were reused for making very cheap die-cast. Some of this were sold in big packs for very low prices, they had chromed plastic bases, and were made in China. If it was Summer that kept producing toys or a second company that purchased the casts from them, we will probably never know.

The S83xx series seem to be equipped with a pull-back motor, as in these two samples. The casting is correct, and the motors, powerful. I have had the chance to buy more of these, but I don’t think it is worth… they are a rare scale, something between 1:64 and 1:43, although closer to 1:43, maybe 1:50.
The year of manufacture is again orientative, because the Camaro (3rd Genearation) was available from 1982 to 1992.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHEVROLET CAMARO and PORSCHE 928 (No. S8308 and 8309)
• Scale: Approx. 1:50
• Year: Around 1983
• Company: Summer/ S.M. (Hong Kong)
• Size: approx. 8 cm

#485 TOMICA - NISSAN CABALL (No. 54), ISUZU ELF (No. 35, 36, 37), MITSUBISHI FUSO BUS (No. 41) and GREYHOUND BUS (No. F49, 222) (1975, 1971, 1979 and 1974)

Until now, all entries dealing with Tomica showed cars, but Tomica always had in its catalogues many other types of vehicles. In this entry we will check 2 Buses and 2 trucks. One of each type were bought in the mid 80s, and the other two have been bought in the last 4 or 5 years in different flea markets.

 

 

 

The first truck is a Nissan Caball in orange. It has a telescopic ladder with a small container on the front (known as "cherry picker"). This truck had several versions with different reference numbers. This one is the "Power Company Service", which is identical to the "Telephone Truck" and "Utility Truck", except for the colour. Available between 1975 and 1988. Scale: 1:68.

 

 

The second truck is a Isuzu Elf catering truck for JAL (Japan Air Lines) and has a movable container, that can be lifted. Both this truck and the previous one are based in Japanese models, so for Europeans, they are quite exotic. The Isuzu Elf had several versions, as we can deduct from having three reference numbers. The Catering truck was first released in 1971 and last in 1997, although those last versions seem to represent a newer version of the Isuzu model. Scale: 1:67.

 

 

The first bus is the Greyhound Bus MC-8 in grey (Nr. 222-F49) ad 1:156 scale. It has a very nice design, so were the busses in the 70s! (the model is copyrighted in 1979). As a child, I can remember, this was my least favorite Tomica toy, since I couldn´t tell the front from the back, and I never knew if I was pushing it in the right direction or in "reverse". Scale 1:156.

 

 

The second bus is older than the first one (it is copyrighted 1974), and it is marked Mitsubishi Fuso Bus, and it´s the only Tomica I own with that kind of wheels. It is a Japanese bus decorated in orange and white with the inscription "Airport Bus Service". This same model was reissued in a "Bus set" recently, but with other kind of wheels. I think it might be a rare model, since there are no pictures on google of this model with these wheels, and my Tomica list it is not listed. Scale 1:156.

 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: NISSAN CABALL (No. 54), ISUZU ELF (No. 35, 36, 37), MITSUBISHI FUSO BUS (No. 41) and Greyhound Bus (No. F49, 222)
• Scale: 1:67, 1:68 and 1:156 (Buses)
• Year: 1975, 1971, 1979 and 1974 (respectively)
• Company: Tomica (Japan)
• Size: approx. 6 cm 

#484 M.A.S.K. - VAMPIRE with FLOYD MALLOY/ BUCKSHOT (1986)

Another M.A.S.K. entry and another motorbike. The vampire is a motorbike belonging to the V.E.N.O.M. group and is driven by Floyd Malloy (with his mask Buckshot). The mask pretends to launch ball bearings, whatever that means.

The toy is rather small and has nice colours and shapes. The name is very well chosen, I decided to leave these shadows on the pictures so you can see that it really reminds of a vampire.

The vehicle “hidden” in the motorbike is some kind of small flying jet. The back part of it includes a big motor with two missile launchers. Each of them hosts a black missile. These are usually missing. On the front, there is a small machine gun. In the pictures the missiles are inserted the other way round. They should point to the front. I was deceived by the name they had in the original package that calls them “Retro-Rockets”.

The Vampire was launched as part of the second series, which hasn’t been mentioned in this blog before. I have shown other M.A.S.K. vehicles and figures before, but none of the second wave. That wave was a continuation of the first one, there were no revolutionary changes or new features. The new vehicles were the ones that had been designed for the second season of the TV series and that was all.

Also interesting to mention that the pilot (the black figure) was later repainted in red and sold in Europe only in a two pack either with Vanessa Warfield or a repaint of Bruno Sheppard. We will talk about european two-packs some other time.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: VAMPIRE with FLOYD MALLOY / BUCKSHOT (Ref. 37400)
• Toy Line: M.A.S.K. (Wave 2)
• Year: 1986
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the vehicle: Around 5'' or 13 cm
• Size of the figures: 2½’’ or 6,5 cm