#1098 EXIN - EXIN CASTILLOS 2 (Around 1972)

There is not much I can say about this toy that has not been said before. Exin is the most important Spanish toymaker of all times and this was one of their highlights in the 70s and the 80s. A construction toy that allowed us to build castles and fortresses in the medieval style. Spain is a land with a huge number of castles and this toy would appeal to many children and to their families. As in every construction game, you can follow the instructions provided or try to reproduce the castle of your village or town. You just need enough blocks or bricks to finish your project.

The bricks have an unmistakable color that simulates stone (light brown plastic with white and darker brown seams) and, unlike Lego or Tente, there is not a huge variety of the basic bricks. The most common stone is 2x1, longer bricks (such as 4x1, 6x1...) are rare, so to construct something solid from zero can be a challenge. However, this is how houses and castles are built, so you are closer to the work of a mason than you are with other construction games. 

 

 

What makes the game unique are the pieces to make round walls (to build round towers or to round up corners) and other nice elements that are very realistic, such as different types of windows and doors and hand-painted plastic figures that represent common characters from medieval history or castles altogether. These include: knights on foot or horse, a princess, a ghost, guards and bowmen, among others... The figures were scarcely included in the boxes of Exin Castillos, but could be bought separately in nice "historical" sets, which also included war machines and small accessories. Some of this were made by Elastolin.

 

These sets are today very rare to find.  The toy I have was bought in a flea market in Austria and it seems to be Exin Castillos 2, a middle-sized set, just missing the two bases on which you start building your castle. These bases were made of thin hard plastic, and not many have survived until today. Still, I have the instructions and many figures, plus many other parts I got in another lot bought in a flea market in Spain. I haven't mixed the two together yet. According to the instructions, the castle looks like the one in the pictures. I took some pictures highlighting the figures and some corners and details of the building.

This great game was sold between 1968 and 1991. The models 0, 1, 2 and 3 are from the early 70s, the period in which the line grew, sold best and became really popular. By the mid eighties it was not so popular anymore, maybe because of Exin´s own competition with Tente, which had a bigger variety of pieces, was smaller and cheaper to produce. In any case, there are still many pieces out there and many enthusiasts of the toy that organize expositions and even design new pieces to combine with the old ones and achieve higher quality models.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: EXIN CASTILLOS 2

• Year: 1972

• Company: Exin (Spain)

• Size: Around 40x40 cm 

#1097 GISIMA – GS and BMW TURBO (GALLETAS SIRO PROMOTIONAL) (Around 1986)

There are not so many Gisima models as one may think, but some are quite rare and others are common. These two models are probably the ones that were made in bigger quantities, that is, the two most representative of this die-cast maker. The BMW already appeared in this blog in entry #795.

The GS is new to this blog, but I have to say it was my first Gisima, bought in 1984 or 1985. The original one had the same colour as the BMW, and it broke while playing with it. First the trunk, then everything else. I kept the remainings for a long time. This other model in red was bought much later, approximately in 2021, if I recall properly, together with the other car in the pictures.

The particularity of these two, is that they are promotional items, as they could be originally found in the boxes of Siro cookies (galletas in Spanish). Siro had a long tradition of giving away die-cast cars of different makers, mainly Mira and Gisima, but also Guisval o Guiloy were once part of the promotions. It is an open question if a particular model by Gisima was produced more often with the Siro sticker or without it (for retail sale), as these were rare to find in shops, that usually prefferred more renowned brands such as Guisval or Mira.

I once wrote a very long article dealing with promotional die-cast cars in Spain, that I published in the magazine Figuras En Acción, and the longest chapter in that article was the one dedicated to Siro. It is worth the time downloading this magazine and translating the text using Google Lens or any other online translator if you are interested in this particular brand.

Of course I have to remark that both models are copies of Majorette toys, being the GS the GS Camargue. Some other mdels made by Gisima, especially in the first years are knock-offs of more famous international brands, but in the later years, let´s say around the turn of the decade and from then on, they produced their own casts. These models are much more scarce but also more interesting for collectors, despite having very basic casts and not many details. Maybe you want to take a look at some other Gisimas in this blog!

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: GS and BMW TURBO (GALLETAS SIRO) (PROMOTIONAL)
• Scale: 1:64
• Year: Around 1986
• Company: Gisima (Spain)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#1096 TOP TRUMPS – ECO VEHICLES (PROMOTIONAL) (2007)

Before the electric cars really became a real option for everybody, the interest in this kind of vehicles was already very high.This promotional deck (Marches Energy Agency from the UK) is a proof of that.

Out of the 30 cards that this deck comprises, not all vehicles are electric. Some are just low-consumption petrol or diesel cars, there is also a Hydrogen-powere Honda, a Biodiesel Volkswagen and other vehicles powered by BioMethane. There is even a bicycle, that, of course, has the lowest CO2 emissions and the lowest fuel costs among all of them. Tesla was already a major player in this market and is represented with their Roadster model, but the rest of the brands are either Japanese (Honda, Toyota) or European (VW, Citroen, Vauxhall/Opel, Mercedes, Mini Cooper, Aixan, Reva...). No trace of Chinese makers. Of course, the deck is from 2007, in these 18 years, the panorama changed radically, and it is still changing. The EU Commision recently approved a plan to allow the combustion motor beyond 2035, after having arrived to that compromise to ban them more than 10 years ago. How this will result nobody knows.

Back to the card deck, it is made by Top Trumps, the current leader in this kind of toys. Top Trumps is currently a trademark of Winning Moves from the UK (part of the Hasbro group), and has all relevant licences of the time, which are continuously extended and updated. A complete history of the quartet decks and the Top Trump trademark in the UK can be read here: History of Top Trumps | Top Trumps Game History. 

The deck comprises 30 cards, but they are not sorted in families or in any other way. I present them in the pictures with no particular order.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name:  ECO VEHICLES (PROMOTIONAL)
• Year: 2007
• Company: Top Trumps/Winning Moves (United Kingdom)

#1095 DINO RIDERS - TYRANNOSAURUS REX with KRULOS, BITOR and COBRUS (1988)

I still have many Dino-Riders toys to be published. I am still missing the Pachyrrhinosaurus, the Edmontosaurus and, of course, the Brontosaurus, as well as a few loose figures. But I have all the other toys, and I will be publishing them some time in the next few years. Today, I want to show the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the biggest and most impressive toy in the first series from 1987, and maybe the most iconic reference of the whole toyline. As a matter of fact it was the model used to create the dinosaur character in the Toy Story movies.

It took some time to get it complete. I had some parts from a flea market, then I bought more parts on the Internet, and finally, I bought the dinosaur with almost every part of the armour, and with all these, I made a complete set. The plastic parts have become fragile and they break easily, so if you have the toy, do not try to remove or separate any parts from each other. The cannons pointing to the back are usually broken (the two that move up and down and the other two that move left to right). I repaired the two attached to the pink part in a way that it cannot be noticed.

The dinosaur also shows the pass of time, as the rubber bands in the wheels below its feet are worn and broken. I guess there are ways to repair it, but I have to find them out.

According to the comic, the T-Rex is the first dinosaur that the Rulons capture by using the brainbox. They prepare a trap on the top of a rock, and when the dinosaurs comes close, they drop the brainbox on its head. Since then, Krulos and the others can control the beast at their will. 

Krulos, of course, is the leader of the rulons, the most important character on that faction. The other two are secondary characters of the Antmen (Bitor) and Snakemen (Cobrus). Even though all evil characters in the series shared three heads (the Sharkmen are not represented in this set), these two are the most appealing one, due to their combination of red and black paint with some details in yellow. The colour scheme recalls somehow the eruption of a volcano or lava or something like that.

Krulos as a commander of the Rulons took for himself the upper position in the dinosaur. He stands in some kind of tribune of pulpit with two small cannons. A bit too exposed to the shoots of the Valorians, but we know from the cartoons, that these were not very good shooters. 

The body of the dinosaur is quite protected with big shields covering torso (or whatever it is called in a theropod) and legs. A central harness holds two cannon nests on the sides, very well covered (as opposed to the pulpit on top) with two shields in the shape of a cubic box. 

The front part has another position for a figure which seems to control two mechanic claws whose utility is uncertain: What are they good for? 

The tail is also heavily protected and has many cannons to cover the attacks from behind. A huge platform has space for another figure and a big shields hangs from that point down.

The last part to be commented are the two pieces that attach to the legs to pretect them, which have the nice detail of carryying a circular saw.

Amont the non protective parts, we can observe a very big motor (I guess all those lasers have to be powered somehow) over the pink platform, partially covered by the top plate, that also covers the two gunner´s seats at the sides. This last part (the "roof", so to speak) is the most fragile in the whole set, and the one it took me longer to find in an acceptable shape. The hinges of the parts exactly over the side cannons can be broken, and also the part that fits in the motor may have some wear or can be broken.

The dinosaur is battery operated and moves its legs in a way that the dinosaur walks. It is one of the fastest dinos (or, at least, faster than the other I have seen in action). The dinosaurs stands by using its tail, in the way that dinosaurs were depicted before the 1990s. Since Jurassic Park, theropods are represented standing on two legs and using the tail to keep balance when moving or running.

All in all it is one of the greatests toys from the 80s, a nice addition to any collection, although it takes quite a lot of space.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: TYRANNOSAURUS REX with KRULOS, BITOR and COBRUS
• Toy Line: Dino-Riders (Wave 1)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Tyco (U.S.A.)
• Scale of the dinosaur: 1:24
• Size of the figures: 2½’’ or 6,5 cm

#1094 FIGURAS EN ACCIÓN (F.E.A.) Nr. 34

 

Well, here's the last issue of Figuras En Acción, the magazine I currently direct and that regularly appears every May and every December since the end of 2009. I don't know or recall any other publication, podcast or video series that lived longer that that.

Our commitment is to bring articles and information about toylines which are not so well-known or popular, and to talk about topics which are interesting but about which there is not so much information on the internet.

This time we talk about COPS n' Crooks by Hasbro, Xena: Warrior Princess by Toy Biz and Mattel's Picture Maker.

Another article deals with the year 1978, cultural highlights, you releases, movies and TV... and the promotions made by Bimbo in Spain, as well as by other companies. 

And also, a remarkable interview with Roberto Carlos Ramos Patras, who, apart from being our colleague and collaborating with the magazine since years, has recently released a book about Madelman 2050. The book  is a must for every sci-fi fan, not only to M2050 collectors, as he develops and extends the story behind these characters beyond the mini comics.

As usual, we also comment the news, a "treasure" toy, books, toy museums and other surprises. 

Just two clicks away, free and without adds or registers. Take a look at it HERE. 

#1093 LEHMANN/RIGI – Nr. 900 D·G·M (SEILBAHN / CABLE CAR / TELEFÉRICO / TÉLÉPHÉRIQUE) (Around 1965)

The brand Rigi especialized in cable cars and was active in the 60s and the 70s of the last century. This kind of vehicles are very attractive in Germany and the German speaking countries, and it reminds the kids of holidays in the Alps both in Summer and Winter. Rigi produced a series of cable cars, all of them very similar to each other, some even with an electric motor operated by batteries.

But Rigi was a brand of a bigger and more important toy manufacturer: Lehmann. Or Ernst Paul Lehmann, as it was originally called after one of the two people who founded the company. Ernst Paul Lehmann came from Berlin, and his associate, Jean Eichner came from Nürnberg. The original factory was located in Brandenburg an der Havel, a town located around 50 km West from Berlin. Their products were tin toys of all kinds and great quality, often equipped with surprising mechanisms. Until the turn of the century, the company employed between 600 and 800 people and their massive production was, in part, exported. Mr. Lehmann died in 1934, but the company continued in the hands of the Lehmann family. Unfortunately, in the year 1948, after the fall of the III Reich, and being in the communist part of Germany (East-Germany or GDR), the company was expropriated and renamed VEB Mechanische Speilwaren Brandenburg.

But this was not the end of Lehmann toys... the company was refounded in 1950 in Nürnberg, with the name Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk, where they continued producing even more toys. Of course, at some point they introduced plastic parts in their toys, combining them with tin. In the year 1970, the tin was completely replaced by other materials, but the production of toys continued. Another landmark happened in 2013, where the company became part of the great German (and European) toy cluster Simba-Dickie-Group, and, to my knowledge, it is still their property.

The box depicts a nice scenery, with mountains in the background and the cable car at the front. The sides show some viewpoint, in which some people stare at the distant mountains. Note also that the logo of the company appears in the short sides of the box. The space inside the box is tight, as it has the exact size of the car, plus the structure from which it hangs. The stations go below or above this part of the toy.

Here are more detailed pictures of the different components of the toy, including the two stations. In the case of the reference 900, the car is operated by hand.

The car itself has two practicable doors with a lever to open or close them. Both ends seem to be the same piece, which simplifies the construction of the toy. The doors are also the same. It has a good size to be combined with action figures and small dolls. The colours are plain but the combination is nice, with details such the thin red line and the small logos and texts. All in all a very classic design.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: Nr. 900 D·G·M SEILBAHN
• Alternate Names: Cable Car, Teleférico, Téléphérique
• Year: Around 1965
• Company: Lehmann / Rigi (West-Germany)
• Size: Around 15 cm.
• Scale: Unknown