#966 G. I. JOE – COBRA FANG II (1989)

 

This is the second version of the famous F.A.N.G. helicopter that was released in 1986 and profusely appeared in the TV series. For some reason, the evolution of that first helicopter lost the acronym (Fully Armed Negator Gyrocopter) and it is simply called FANG II. Later issues of the FANG were again renamed F.A.N.G.

 

The helicopter is not especially appealing to me, it looks nice, has cool colours, but that feature of helicopter that can be turned into a propeller plane has been seen many times before, an the cockpit is too open and it is difficult to fit a figure in it (no matter how hard you try, the figure does not sit properly in it.

 

Nevertheless it is a vehicle from 1989 series, which is the one (or one of the two) that hit harder in Spain and from which I keep the best memories. I never had this vehicle until recently, but at least one neighbor had it, and I had it in my hands.

 

I took these pictures last summer and I’d like to share them now with you all, I could have edited them and remove the threads that hold the toy in the air, but I thought it is OK to leave them as they are. I chose S.A.W. Viper as a pilot, although the artwork depicts H.E.A.T. Viper. I guess this choice has to do with the greater colour contrast with the purple/black/red helicopter.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: FANG II
• Toy Line: G.I. Joe (Wave 8)
• Year: 1989
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size: Around 20 cm long

#965 FIGURAS EN ACCIÓN (F.E.A.) Nr. 23 “ESPECIAL SALUD: MEDICINA Y PROFESIONALES SANITARIOS”

  

Here I bring the new issue of Figuras En Acción, this time we decided to make a special issue dedicated to the people who cope daily with the coronavirus: doctors, nurses, pharmacists, ambulance drivers, scientists trying to find the vaccine and many others.

For me, and for many others, they are true heroes, but, unlike in the first phase (from February to June 2020), they are not getting enough recognition these days. That is why we took  this decision, and made almost 120 pages full of toys related to medicine, health, and everything related.

It is completely free and open to everybody. Just click on this LINK to go to the official blog, and there you will find the link to the magazine. Thanks and enjoy!

#964 ERTL – BATMAN and THE JOKER METALLIC MINI FIGURES (1990)

 

I presented a long time ago an ERTL Batmobile from the original 1989 movie. Recently I got two more figurines of the same series, which, to my surprise, it is quite long. Ertl did not only manfucture these two main characters plus the car, there are also many other figures vehicles, including even characters which do not appear in the first movie, and others in the style of Batman the Animated Series, so I guess the DC comics license was granted for a series of years starting in 1989 to sometime in the mid-90s.

These two were sold together in a blister card with a mini-comic that I do not have, and represent the main characters in the 1989 movie style and outfits.

On the back of the card, we see that Ertl also manufactured other DC characters, such as Superman or Shazam! So I guess there must be an alternative card design for these.

The figures are in excellent shape, they have not been played with, so the paintwork is almost perfect. Like die-cast cars and other toys, they tend to get chips and loose paint, but these are still mint. Note the nose of The Joker... maybe I can restore it soon.

pics: amazon.com y collectors.com

 

The first series from 1990 include:

• Batman –standing (#715) blue and grey suit, pre-movie
• Superman –standing (#716)
• The Penguin (#718)
• Shazam! (#719)
• Batman –Raised Fist (#723) blue and grey suit, pre-movie
• Superman –Raised Fist (#724)
• Robin (#726)
• Green Lantern (#727)
• The Joker (#728)
• Supergirl (#729)

Plus the vehicles:

• Batwing (1:90) (2495EF)
• Batmobile (1:64) (1064FF)
• Joker Van (1:64) (1532F0)
• Batmobile + Joker Van set (2497FF)
• Batmobile (1:43) (2575EF)
• Joker Van (1:48) (2494EF)
• Micro Set (Batwing, Batmobile, Joker Van) (2498FF)
  

pics: theangryspider.com

The second series, from 1992 came together with Batman Returns and include:

• Batman
• Catwoman
• Penguin
• Penguin Commando

And the vehicles:

• Batmobile
• Batmissile
• Batskiboatpics: theangryspider.com
• Penguin’s Duck Vehicle  

 

 pics: bonanza.com

 

And finally, from 1993 the Animated Series series.

• Batman (1)
• Batman (2)
• The Joker
• The Penguin
• Catwoman
• Robin

And the vehicles:

• Batmobile
• Batplane
• Batboat
• Batcycle
• Gotham City Police Helicopter
• Bruce Wayne’s Car

From the pictures they all look great! And the scale is especially appealing to me (the smaller, the better).

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Names: BATMAN and THE JOKER METALLIC MINIFIGURES
• Toy Line: Batman
• Year: 1990
• Company: Ertl (U.S.A.)
• Size: Around 4 cm

#963 SIMPLE WISHES – SEVERAL PHAT BOYZ MODELS (2003)

The Phat Boyz are sometimes mixed with Micro Machines or with other 3 inches cars, since they have a size that does not match either of them. We could say they are approximately as long as a Micro Machine, but as wide as a 3 inches model. All are marked PB CHINA in the base, but, in any case, they are nearly unmistakable.

I knew them from sites like puremicros.com, where there is a nice and almost complete gallery of Phat Boyz toys. Everytime I saw them there, I thought they were ugly, (maybe you have the same thoughts right now while reading these lines), but as soon as I got this little lot in my hands, I changed my opinion. They are beautifully casted, you can absolutely recognize which model is being represented, and the selection is also quite remarkable; where can you otherwise find a Ford Focus or a Ford Ka (from around the year 2000)?

I have 5 models, from which 4 of them are Fords, so I guess maybe they came in a set, as I got all of them from the same person. Some of them are European sets that differ in the colour from the American issues.

The models are:

• Ford T-Bird (1957) - purple

       

• Ford Mustang (1990) - yellow

        

• Ford Focus (2003) - gold

  

• Ford Ka (2003) - green

• Toyota Celica (2002) – light blue

 

They were advertised as “Phlat, Phat and Phast!” and sold mostly in two-packs. There were also three-packs, five-packs, carrying cases and playsets available. They were available at Walmart, and I tried to find an old website for these cars, but the only url stated in the blister card is Walmart.com; “Marketed by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Bentonville AR 72716 shop at Walmart.com.

I’ve seen some for sale on eBay, but they are rare and tend to appear in foreign countries, so most of the times it is not worth paying the shipping costs.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEVERAL PHAT BOYZ MODELS
• Scale: unknown
• Year: 2003
• Company: Simple Wishes (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 3 cm long

#962 UNKNOWN AUSTRIAN PROMOTIONAL “MILCH” FIGURES (Around 2006)

These figures are often spotted in Austrian flea markets in great quantities. I guess there were many millions of them made and given for free in supermarkets.

There are at least 11 different mice characters (from which I show here 10), but none is marked other than with the CE seal at the back and with the word “Milch” (Milk) in the chest or other part of the body.

There is no information on the Internet so far about them, but my guess here is that they must be from 2006, maybe from 2007, as in that year there was some crisis in the milk production sector all over Europe, and most countries had an oversupply that lead many producers to even dispose the milk in order to avoid some fines from their respective governments and the European Community. I cannot explain this, since I don’t know exactly what happened at the time, and I only vaguely recall many demonstrations and many discussions around the milk quotas that each country had to stick to.

In this context, prices were very low, especially for the smaller companies and milk producers, so many were forced to dispose many liters of milk. It made sense to support some advertising campaign in order to increase the national consumption of milk and dairy products, so less milk had to be disposed and the fine, if any, would be lower. That is why I think these figures are probably an assignment of the Austrian Ministery of Agriculture or maybe some big association of milk producers. Another guess is that you got these figures when buying a certain amount of liters of milk.

The figures are all representing virtues like intelligence, beauty, longevity, vitality, strength, endurance… as well as different cool characters like a skateboarder, a scientist, a surfer, a guitarist… all positive associations with milk and its consumption, so, in my humble opinion, the figure designers did a good job creating these nice figures.

I know these figures are quite new compared to the other toys I usually show in my blog, but since nobody seems to know where they come from (and there is no information on the Internet), I decided to write here my thoughts about them, just in case somebody is curious about them and wants to know more about. If you have some facts about them, I’d be very pleased to hear them. Feel free to leave a message in the comments section, thank you!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Names: „MILCH“ FIGURES, „MILCHMÄUSE“ FIGUREN
• Toy Line: Unknown
• Year: Around 2006
• Company: Unknown Manufacturer (Unknown Country of Origin, distributed in Austria)
• Size: Around 5 cm

#961 DARDA - VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO (1411-040) and FERRARI GTO (1625-040 and 1625-045) (Around 1987)

Here are two/three recent additions to my Darda collection:

The first model is a red VW Corrado, which is a car that was not represented at scale by many vintage manufacturers, so it is a good addition to any die-cast collection. This version is the red one with white text, reference number 1411-040.

The second model is a Ferrari GTO, from which I got two in a row. They are basically identical, except for the GTO logo on both sides and the colour of the windows.

The first model is reference number 1625-040, has Ferrari and GTO logos on both sides and its windows are green.

The second model, without logos of any kind on the sides and brown windows is reference number 1625-040.

This model has been made dozens of times by all die-cast manufacturers, and, in my opinion, this one doesn't have very accurate proportions. Pity, but still a very cool car. Interestingly, Darda made this car only in red.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO (1411-040) and FERRARI GTO (1625-040 and 1625-045) (Numbering according to www.dardamania.de)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1987
• Company: Darda (Germany)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm