#445 REDONDO – NAVES DEL ESPACIO (Around 1981)

Redondo is mostly known for its die-cast cars that were copied from Penny/Politoys. Most of these were formula ones, as explained a while ago (#194).

In that entry, I mentioned some plastic robots, as well as metal casted planes and more space toys. Well, here are some Spaceships or Starfighters from the early 80s. I think these might have been released shortly after the Star Wars movies, when the interest for this kind of toys was at its highest.

These small starships are plastic toys with some metallic parts, for example the wheels. they’re around 6-7 centimeters (3 inches) and decorated with paper stickers, although after so many years, these have moved.

I am showing two different models, although there were probably more than these two. I don’t know exactly how many, and in how many color variations were they available. Note also that some parts are common to all models, like the missiles that can be actually fired. Each wing has a spring loaded missile launcher.

The planes are packed, as you can see, in a big cardboard with a plastic coat over them. This cardboard was hang in the shop (not necessarily a toy shop, maybe a press kiosk, a grocery or a bakery), and the seller cut the cardboard to sell each plane.
One of my planes has been cut off, the other two still remain together.

A close look at the package reveals that the planes were originally intended to be exported, as the card is written in Spanish, English, French, German and Danish. It also indicates an age recommendation and a warning not to shoot other people in their faces.

If the plane was removed from the card it is almost sure that the missiles are missing, since the mechanism to launch them is quite easy and cheap. Just insert the missile and twist it about 90°, so it stays inside. Pull the missile those 90° back, at it will be fired. Cheap and effective, but not durable.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: NAVES DEL ESPACIO / NAVETTE SPATIAL / STARFIGHTER
• Scale: Unknown
• Year: Around 1981
• Company: Redondo (Spain)