#384 FAR MEN – FAR BOYS TORERO (Around 1980)

This figure is a “Far Boys” made by the Spanish company “Far-Men S.A.”. The only information available about this company is available in several patent applications made by several inventors, as well as some products for sale in different auction sites.
The Patent for the “Far Boys” action figures is dated the 28th of August, 1979, and it was submitted by its inventors Francisco Bulls Plana and Andrés Cadenas Iparraguirre. The company, was settled in Beniparrell, the town in which Play-Me was also settled. It can be consulted here: http://www.famobil.ekiwi.es/web%20far%20boys.htm

Back to the articulated figure, the patent explains that the figure can be easily assembled, and that they expected children to assembly the figures first and then to play with them, something that was not possible with Playmobil or Airgamboys. However there is no evidence that Far-Men finally sold disassembled figures, maybe because of the risk that small parts could be swallowed by little children.

The figure has practicable head, arms, legs and feet. Legs can be moved independently. They are made of plastic, and they wear paper clothes. Sometimes they included accessories, like in this case, a "montera" (bullfighter's hat) and a "estoque" (bullfighter's sword).

There were dozens of Far-Boys made. The most interesting ones are monsters (Frankenstein, Werewolf, Dracula, the Devil, a Skeleton…) and superheroes (Spiderman, Hulk, Batman, Captain America, Flash Gordon…), although there were also several soldiers, cowboys, romans and more. Two very common figures are “Zig y Zag”, which are a knock-off of the famous comic “Zipi y Zape”.

Unfortunately, these figures were not very successful, despite their low prices. They were often sold in press kiosks rather than in big toystores.

Apart from these figures, Far-Men also produced and sold a knock-off of Masters of the Universe named “Guerreros del Espacio”.

Another interesting toy produced by Far-Men are die-cast guns and pistols, in many different forms and sizes. The package artwork is very nice, as it depicts pirates, conquistadores, cowboys or even superheroes (a fake Superman and a fake Aquaman!). Other packages included one gun and one Far Boys.

They also produced plastic cars and trucks. The patent for the truck (1987) is also available online.

Special thanks to Akela who helped me identifying this figure and Raffotek, who has a wonderful website with information about this type of figures.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: TORERO
• Toy Line: FAR BOYS
• Year: Around 1980
• Company: FAR-MEN S.A. (Spain)
• Size of the figures: 7 cm