#1056 MATCHBOX - OFFICIAL MATCHBOX SERIES COLLECTOR'S CASE (1968)

Another entry devoted to Matchbox die-cast, and another entry dealing with something unusual, as it is this carrying case from the mid to late 60s. I have seen many of these in Austria, but strangely, never saw any in Spain. I always wanted to have at least one to classify some die-cast models, although, in the meanwhile, I have discovered more efficient ways to store them in less space.

The box is made of plastic and comes with a (now useless) metal closing tab. It is decorated with the front of a matchbox box "regular wheels" showing the Ford GT model. I cannot see it very well as its previous owner put a sticker on top of it, that I didn´t want to remove (it is also representative of the time, as it is an appeal to bring more security to the conscripts doing the military service in Austria). There are several models of this case, each of them with different pictures in the front.

The interior has space for four stackable trays of plastic, each of them with capacity for 12 cars, although, depending on the models, you can squeeze two in the space of one. There were other types of cases (less common ones) with capacity for 12, 24, 72 or 96 models. The plastic body can be flattened for reasons which are unknown to me: it is too small to act as a playing mat and it is not decorated in the inside.

Other shapes and materials are not covered in this listing. Consider there were some made of paper or plastic, with the shape of a trailer truck, or a steering wheel. Some had removable trays, other had them fixed. Matchbox has been active during many years, and there was a lot of experimentation and fun invested also in these side-products.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: OFFICIAL MATCHBOX SERIES COLLECTOR'S CASE
• Scale: For 1:64/3 inches cars
• Year: 1968
• Company: Matchbox (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 32x27x9 cm

#1055 GO-BOTS - HANS-CUFF (MR-13) and SLICKS (MR-32) (1983 and 1984)

The first model today is a police car called Hans-Cuff or Police-Robo (MR-13). It belongs to the first series from 1983. It represents a Toyota Crown S110, which I tend to guess that it was used as a police car in Japan in the 80s. The car looks great, and the robot transformation is simple and nice. It has the same construction as many transforming robots that turn into cars.

As a general rule, I think that Go-Bots took special care on the alternate-forms of the robots, which are much nice than the alternate forms of Takara/Hasbro´s Transformers (personal opinion here).

The Formula 1 represents a Renault F1 from the early 80s and its called Slicks, although it is also known as F1-Robo or Renault Man (MR-32). It was part of the second series from 1984. As you probably know, the term slicks refer to the tires used in the speed racing championships, especially those used for good weather conditions which had no thread pattern at all (they are completely flat for a better grip). 

 

The Go-Bot behind it is rather complex, and difficult to transform. Due to its many parts, it is difficult to let it stand in a particular position, as, with the use, some connections or articulations are a bit loose. Still, as shown in the pictures, it looks truly great also in robot form.

Both robots were designed and commercialized by Tonka in 1983 in US, Canada and Japan and one year later by Bandai in other parts of the world, maybe with some colour changes or variations. The original Slicks was partly black, while this European Machine Robo version is completely yellow.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: HANS-CUFF (MR-13) and SLICKS (MR-32)
• Toy Line: Go-Bots
• Year: 1983 and 1984
• Company: Bandai (Japan)
• Size of the figures: Approx. 7-9 cm length

#1054 - LONE STAR - RANGE ROVER, CADILLAC ELDORADO & JAGUAR (Nr. 71, 72 & 79) (1976 and 1979)

As time goes by, we have seen websites dealing with die-cast models disappear. Great and free sources of information are lost and there is no way to get them back. However, one website that is still operative, since more than 20 years is: www.robertnewson.co.uk/articles/LoneStarImpy/index.html

There you can read the history and a chronological scroll of events, improvements, production, subseries and all related to Lone Star. The article goes back to 2003, when this brand was featured in the Diecast Collector magazine, and a sudden interest woke up. Taking this website as a reference, I mad a list of the models released and I summarised the history of the company, for me to keep track of the models I have and to which series do they belong.

Lone Star has been always rare to spot as they were not so popular as Corgi, Matchbox or Dinky in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. What I didn´t know if that Lone Star was more focused in toy guns and other toys, while diecast vehicles were only offered intermittently, even updating or revamping casts as they were not so actual anymore.

The company was founded in 1939 by Bob Mills and Sidney Ambridge in Palmers Green, London. Originally, they manufacted diecasting machines, and so the complete name of the company from 1940 onwards was Die Casting Machine Tools Ltd. (short: DCMT). There is evidence that many diecast firms after the war, including Matchbox, Modern Products and Kemlows used DCMT machinery and that both Matchbox founders Jack Odell and Rodney Smith worked for the company before starting their own business. One of the most popular models of DCMT was the M55 diecasting machine.

As they saw the commercial success of companies using their machines, they also started producing their first toys in 1946, so shortly after the three cited above. Initially, DCMT were only manufacturers, and the company The Crescent Toys Ltd. was acting as a distributor. These very first models included the Crescent Jaguar Saloon, hugely popular at the time. They also copied some casts from Tootsietoys. This situation remained until January of 1950, where they decided to stop the contract with Crescent and distribute their own products directly to wholesalers. They changed the name to Slikka Toy during approximately one year, and, in 1951, they changed it again to Lone Star. They had already many toy guns, and this second and final name was chosen because it was already registered and in use for several cowboy outfit sets. Business was going great and they opened new factories in other placed in England, such as Hertfordshire.

Theis most famous vehicle lines were the Roadmasters (1956-1969), Impy (1966-1968), Flyers and Commercials (1970-1972, although some were revamped later) and Impy Super Models (1976-1980).

The Roadmasters debuted in 1956 with a series of sport cars and classic cars in 1:35 scale. They were fragile, because the base and wheels were made of plastic. With the years, there were more models and other scales (such as thirteen models in 1:50, large scale trucks and planes in 1:250 scale). They didn´t have much success.

The Impys were a new trial to compete against the established manufacturers, and have nothing in common with the Roadmasters. They started in 1966 and despite the small scale, Lone Star wanted to include a lot of features, that is, windows, interior, suspension, jewelled headlights, steering wheels and practicable parts (more parts than Corgi or Matchbox, often doors, bonnet and trunk). The price was slightly higher than the similar models, but the toy itself was also a bit bigger in size (3 inches long). With the time, the features were cut, while the concurrence were adding more and more features while keeping the price tag stable. Lone Star was broadly advertised in children´s press and collectors magazines.

Unfortunately, the models are not very well casted and proportions do not match with the real models.

Other names used for the line were Lone Star Roadmaster Impy Super Cars.

Each model was typically available in more than one colour.

1966 Models (priced 2s11d)

• Nr.10 Jaguar Mk.X (1:64)
• Nr.11 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (named Gran Turismo Coupe, probably due to a missing license) (1:58)
• Nr.12 1963 Chrysler Imperial (1:73)
• Nr.13 Ford Thunderbird (unreleased) 
• Nr.14 Ford Zodiac Mk.III Estate (1:59)
• Nr.15 Volkswagen Microbus (1:59)
• Nr.16 Motorway Police Patrol Car (nr. 14 or nr. 12 with siren and POLICE decoration) / Variants: Mercedes 220E (nr.17 in dark green “POLIZEI” for Germany, “POLIS” Mercedes for Sweden and “POLITIE” Chrysler for the Netherlands).
• Nr.17 Mercedes 220E (1:63) 
• Nr.18 Ford Corsair (1:58)

1967 Models (priced 3s) and Accessories

• Nr.19 Volvo 1800S
• Nr.20 VW Microbus ambulance (based on nr.15 with slight changes in the interior and siren) / variant with POLITIE for the Dutch market.
• Nr.21 Fiat 2300S Coupe (scale 1:59)
• Nr.22 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud Convertible
• Nr.23 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Spider
• Nr.24 Foden 8-wheel tipper
• Nr.25 International tractor
• Nr.26 Foden Petrol Tanker (announced as Foden Bulk Sugar Transporter) (Same as 24 with Tanker “Mobile”, rare variant “SHELL”)
• Nr.27 Ford Taunus 12M
• Nr.28 Peugeot 404
• Nr.29 Cement Mixer Lorry (announced 1967, but was unavailable until 1969)
• Nr.30 Merryweather Fire Engine
• Nr.31 Ford Transit Breakdown Lorry “ESSO”

• Nr.401 Car Lifting Ramp, price 3s 11d
• Nr.402 Lock-Up Garage, price 1s 6d 
• Nr.403 Service Station (unreleased)

1968 Models (priced 3s6d) and Accessories

• Nr.32 Fire Chief version of the Ford Corsair (with siren and FIRE CHIEF decoration) / variant: FEUERWEHR for Germany
• Nr.33 BLH Austin-Western Model 220 Mobile Crane
• Nr.34 Euclid 82-80 Twin Power Crawler Tractor 
• Nr.35 Articulated Flat Truck (unreleased) 
• Nr.36 Lotus Europa (announced but unavailable until 1969)

• Nr.404 'Mobil' Petrol Pump Island with canopy and a 'Mobil' forecourt sign (prized 4s9d)
• Nr.405, a new two-tier Service Station (unreleased)

The Flyers was a series conceived in 1968, that is why the Impy models from that year are all repaints, but released in 1969. In 1968, the Hot Wheels range was introduced in most markets, so every other company had to react to it. The new Flyers started with the old Impys in new wheels (although these were rebranded as Lone Star Commercials. They mounted new ultra-thin axles with a plastic piece on top to implement the suspension. The wheels were designed new and the base was screwed instead of rivetted. The steering feature was completely removed. Some tracks were also available. All these actions made Lone Star the fastest competitor in Britain to adapt to the new hot wheels trend (around 6 months ahead of Matchbox´s Superfast and 9 months ahead of Corgi Rockets). The price continued to be a disadvantage.

Flyers lost the jeweled headlights, but got more attractive painting and decorations. They were promoted as a cereal giveaway. On every package was one of six models available and a leaflet catalogue. 

1969 Flyers models (priced 3s6d) 

The 18 Flyers models comprised the 16 cars from the Impy series and two new additions.

• Nr. 36 Lotus Europa (appeared late in 1969) 
• Nr. 9 Maserati Mistral GT Coupe (spelled 'Mistrale') (1970)
• Nr. 29 Foden eight-wheel “Lucas Battteries” (not Flyer, but Commercial)

One new Commercial appeared in 1969 as no.29, using the Foden eight-wheel cab/chassis with a new plastic body representing a canvas side type of box van.  This had 'Lucas Batteries' transfers, changed in 1970 to 'Express Freight' labels.  Later there was a special issue of this model for Japan with labels in Japanese characters which translate (I am told) as 'National Railway Container'.

• Nr. 403 Fire Station (same as lock-up Garage) with small variations. Probably unreleased.
• Nr. 414 Same with a fire engine and fire chief's car. Probably unreleased.

1970 Flyers models (price: 3s9d)

• Nr. 37 Ford GT40 (never released) 
• Nr. 38 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (new cast), a more up to date car than the old Corvette, which was still no.11. The model was spoiled by ill-fitting doors.  
• Nr. 39 Ford Mustang.
• Nr. 40 Cadillac did not appear till 1976, by which time it had lost its planned opening doors, bonnet and boot.  
• Nr.8 Ford Capri (never issued, listed in the catalogue without illustration)
• Nr.13 Toyota 2000GT (never issued, listed in the catalogue without illustration) coloured plated finish similar to Corgi Rockets or standard paint.

1971 Flyers models (new wheel model with five spokes) (price: 4s6d)

New wheels and the Firenza

• Nr. 13 Toyota 2000GT
• Nr. 38 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
• Nr. 39 Ford Mustang
• Nr. 8 Ford Capri
• Nr. 7 Vauxhall Firenza (launched together with the real model, several colours and “Budget Rent a Car” version) (priced 5s or 25p). There is also a variant with the steering wheel to the left, in which Vauxhall has been casted off the base and the rear part of the body for the Canadian market.

1972 New Commercials

The commercials got new wheels on 1972, except the tractor and the crane.

• Nr. 41 Builders Supply Lorry (with plastic girders)
• Nr. 42 Foden S50 Half Cab “Tilcon” (variant of Nr. 24)
• Nr. 43 Routemaster Bus (shown in the catalogue but not sold as Commercial, but with Nr. 1259)
• Nr. 44 Marine Transport Lorry (with plastic speedboat)
• Nr. 8 Ford Capri (for the third year in a row, it went unproduced)

After 1972, the company could not continue with the production as until that time. The founder Bob Mills died in June 1973. What followed was no match for what they had done in the past. There were no changes in the products offered until 1975.

That year, some Commercial models were simplified to keep the prices as low as possible. Many plastic parts replaced metallic ones, some parts were redesigned to fit several models, and 8-wheelers turned 6-wheelers. The same happened to the flyers, where practicable parts disappeared, windows became black and plastic was used on the bases and accessories. Nr. 40 Cadillac Eldorado was finally added to the collection.

1975 was the last year for the Commercials, as they were replaced in 1976 by the Impy Trucks These are the trucks I have shown in this blog before: generic, sharing common parts, not very interesting for collectors. 

The same happened to the Flyers in 1976. From 1978 on, the Impy car range was simplified to a greater extent: no opening parts, black windows, no interior, plastic base…

• Nr. 71 Range Rover
• Nr. 72 Cadillac Eldorado (previously Nr. 40)
• Nr. 73 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (previously Nr. 38)
• Nr. 74 Toyota 2000GT (previously Nr. 13)
• Nr. 75 Police Range Rover (also Ambulance in set with Police version)
• Nr. 76 GT Rally (Chevrolet Corvette previously Nr. 11)

In 1979, the line was extended: 

• Nr. 77 Jaguar XJ6 (previously Nr. 10)
• Nr. 78  Maserati (previously Nr. 9)
• Nr. 79 Ford Mustang (previously Nr. 39)
• Nr. 80 Lotus (previously Nr. 36)
• Nr. 81 Volvo 262 Coupé (new)
• Nr. 82 Mercedes (new)

The production and the business continued decreasing over the years. In 1983, the company went into receivership and the toy division sold. The production moved to Asia in 1988.

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: RANGE ROVER, CADILLAC ELDORADO & JAGUAR (Nr. 71, 72  & 79) 
• Scale: Approximately 1:55-1:64
• Year: 1976 (Nr. 71 & 72) and 1979 (Nr. 79)
• Company: Lone Star (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 8 cm

#1053 LEGOLAND – EXCAVATOR 604-2 (1971)

I got this box in a lot of good old toys, all with their packages and, although used, in good conditions. I was not looking for this model especifically, but I think it is cool, now that I am becoming an AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego) because of my children.

I like the way this box is designed. The model is complete and includes very basic bricks, the ones used by the toyline in the early 70s. The only part which is a bit different is the front shovel of the excavator. and a 2x2 basic brick in blue with a LEGO sticker on it. They are all original, except maybe the towing hook counterpart, which does not belong to the set. The previous owner probably just put it in the box to play with whatever load was available on the next game.

Unfortunately, the instructions sheet is missing. I had to look for it online.

Te retail price of this set was of around 3 euro (in whatever currency you were using at the time), which is amazingly expensive for such a small set of pieces... Lego was always a very expensive toy.

Note that the tractor cannot carry any figure, as the minifigures were introduced later in time (in 1978, although other type of minifigures  was available from 1975 onwards). Those years, there were cars, vehicles and houses, but they were only playable “from the outside”, so to speak, except for some garages or other buildings were you could place a vehicle inside. There was a homemaker series, where the sets depicted interiors, a bit in a dollhouse style: kitchen, school, bureau... Scale was variable from one set to the next.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: EXCAVATOR (Ref. 604-2)
• Year: 1971
• Company: Lego (Denmark)
• Size: Around 10 cm long

#1052 MINILAND – ACTION´S MEN (Around 1990)

This is another summary of an article that appeared first on the magazine Figuras en Acción, around 3 years ago. Miniland is a Spanish brand famous for their plastic figures, but which was also involved in other types of toys, such as action figures. Today they are still active and focusing on very high quality pre-school toys and dolls. Some of them very interesting and unique.

What I´d like to present today is their toyline Action´s Men, a rare knock-off of G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero using a cast which is reminiscent the Star Wars figures by Kenner in the 70s and the 80s. I bought this panel several years ago and I like the figures very much. I had some loose ones before buying this, so I didn´t miss the opportunity when I saw this exclusive article in auction.

The collection made by Miniland is actually a bootleg of another toyline from Hong-Kong called Military One by a company called Porto Play, rather unknown even to the specialists in the field of military action figures. From the big asssortment of figures made by Porto Play, only five were made by Miniland: the pilot, the soldier with a Beret, the parachutist, the soldier with sailor bonnet and the infantry soldier (with helmet). The plastic is a bit too soft, and the figures are not great to play with. The movement of arms and legs is difficult to place in the position you want. After some time without use, they stuck and it takes some minutes to make them articulated again.

Still, they are very rare and are slowly becoming better known worldwide. There are rarely available for sale and they reach high prices. I guess some foreign collectors of G.I. Joe and similar toylines have discovered Action´s Men and grabbed everything left on the Spanish auction sites. They were also available in single packs and gift packs with 4 figures plus some accessory. If you like G.I.Joe and the bootlegs made of them, take a look at the original article on the magazine. Search for the download link here: https://figurasenaccion.blogspot.com/2022/05/revista-numero-26-mayo-2022.html

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: Five different casts with different colours (all unnamed)
• Toy Line: Action´s Men
• Year: Around 1990
• Company: Miniland (Spain)
• Size of the figures: Approx. 9 cm tall

#1051 YONEZAWA / DIAPET - HATO BUS (NO.D-159) (1967)

Sometimes you find something exceptional in a flea market. Here is a Japanese made die-cast Hato Bus from 1967. I'd like to know  what is the story behind this bus and how did it arrive in Austria. It probably belonged to somebody born in the late 50s or early 60s until it ended in a box full of die-cast cars and vehicles. It has been already several years in my collection.

I have tried to find some information about it on the Internet, but it is difficult. There are a few for sale, but the text does not reflect any importantt facts or data. It was also available in white and blue. Due to the red logo shown on each side, I thought, this might be a JAL Japan Airlines Bus, but it is not. The text on the sides says HATO BUSU. I don't know what does this mean or which company or city represents.

My bus toy is slightly damaged on the rear part, as if someone had stepped on it and sank its roof. As a result, the windows do not fit very well anymore. I could easily repair it, but I am afraid I could do more harm than good. So I didn´t try yet.  The body of the bus is attached to the base by means of a screw, so it would also be easy to open it, and mount it again. I guess it is not very valuable in this condition, but it is something rare, exotic and curious to have.

Yonezawa STS was one of the most important toy manufacturers of the tin era, and produced many robots and space-themed toys. Their offer also included vehicles in larger scales  (1:18 to 1:24) and die-cast miniatures, although these were mostly marketed under the Diapet brand. The die-cast models represented often the same models, only in a smaller scale, 1:40 or similar). 

The company was founded in the 50s and was involved since its early days in the production of mechanical and battery operated tin toys. During the late 60s or early 70s, they also produced vynil toys (a kaiju helmet) and, in the 80s, they also were involved in radio-controlled toys. In 1991, the company was absorved by Sega to become Sega-Yonezawa, although this brand was dropped in April 1998. 

The logo of the company is a letter “Y” inside a cherry blossom (five-petal flower, known as sakura), which is a motif used by many comtemporary toy manufacturers. 

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: HATO BUS (D-159)
• Alternate Names: はとバス ヨネザワ ダイヤペット
• Scale: 1:90
• Year: 1967
• Company: Yonezawa / Diapet (Japan)
• Size: approx. 15 cm

#1050 PRAISE UNLIMITED - NINJA (1985)

 

Praise Unlimited is an American toy manufacturer that is best known for producing biblical action figures of David, Goliath and Judah. They also produced other kinds of toys, mostly dolls in two different sizes and maybe other action figures, such as these Ninjas that are very similar to Hasbro’s (or Child’s Play’s) Ninja Warriors.

I analyzed this topic in depth in the issue #29 of Figuras En Acción. Take a look at it if you want to see and read much more about this brand/brands.

Very little is known about the company or the toy figure line, except that production was carried out in Hong Kong by Solidco and imported to Europe by companies like Hans Postler from Germany. We know that the company owners were Sue Fust y Chas Fust, who were fundamentalist Christians from Atlanta. They claimed that the Smurfs were witchcraft based. 

Other products made from this company were the Scented Praise Dolls, a little bit on the wake of Strawberry Shortcake and other perfumed dolls from these years. They seem to date from 1984, and were four in total: Faith (green, African-American and rose-scented), Hope (dark hair, blue dress and orange-scented), Joy (blond hair, purple dress and orchid-scented) and Love (red-haired, red dress and strawberry scented). The Christian element in them was that, on each of their dresses, a biblical verse was written. Not the whole of it, but just the chapter and the number. The verses themselves were written on one side of the box, but could be easily found on any Bible.

Praise Unlimited is also famous for their soft dolls. Their first models were probably Hope (girl, dark hair), Faith (African-American) and Christian (boy, dark hair) from 1982. These figures came in a big box with window and included a voice box that could reproduce a short story for children with the song Jesus Loves the Little Children. At the time, Praise Unlimited also used the brand Friendship Toys, also in their biblical heroes for boys mentioned above. 

Similar to these, and from 1983, was Grace (blond hair), which is sometimes referred as the Anti-abortion doll, just because the dress she is wearing shows the following biblical verses (Galatians 1: 15-16): "But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me " This doll came accompanied of a voice box that reproduced a recording of Pat Boone reproducing pro-life statements.

A few years later, probably by 1988, the company also produced the dolls Joy (blond hair) and Hope (dark hair). These figures could kneel and place their hands in praying position, and were distributed by a company called Rainfall, Inc. Their construction was somewhat different, as their hands are also soft and they do not include the voice box.

And now, lets go to the Ninja figures that are the subject of this blog entry. First of all, Are they really made by Praise Unlimited? My guess is that they are not a product of this company, because it is not fitting at all with the product range they were offering when they were active. As the action figures of Judah, David and Goliath were made by Solidco in Hong-Kong, the casts most probably were abandoned by the American company and maybe reused without modification by a new owner or customer. If Praise did not exist anymore as a company, this was probably not an issue. For clarity purposes, I will still name them as Praise Unlimited Ninjas in the title of this article, so people interested in this figure line find this text more easily.

The Ninjas from Praise Unlimited came with a big bunch of accessories, some of which were very similar to those of Ninja Warriors, while others were much simpler.

There were only four figures made in this collection. I am missing a dark blue one. Although the toy line is called Ninja, some of the characters I know from this toy line seem to be based on Japanese samurais. All of them came with a piece of cloth (woven partly with shiny or metallic threads) and a belt made of an elastic band. These two elements are the ones which are more often missing. The first of these is especially fragile. The cast of all figures in this row, except the heads is shared with David, the Shepperd Boy, that is why the legs are kind of strange.

The figures are extremely rare to find (mostly considering that they are marked on the back), and even rarer with all their accessories. I bought mine several years ago from eBay and was a bit disappointed because it was slightly sticky when I bought it. This defect is due to the degradation of some plastic components of low quality. Other more famous toy lines, such as Masters of the Universe, also show this problem. I remember cleaning the figure with soap and improving the situation a bit, but it is still slightly sticky. I think this cannot be solved.

In the previous two pictures, you can see two of these figures side by side with Hasbro's or Child Play's Ninja Warriors. Very similar, yet inferior due to its limited articualtion points and overall quality.

And this a summary of what I could find about this toyline. There are a few more facts and many other comments on the toylines made by Praise and Rainfall in the magazine Figuras En Acción Nr.29, just in case you want to check it. Any other information not covered there is welcome!

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: NINJA
• Alternate Names: NINJA KÄMPFER (German)
• Toy Line: Ninja Warriors
• Year: 1985
• Company: Praise Unlimited/Unknown (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 15 cm approx.