#489 RICO - HONDA SANSÓN / DIABLOS (Ref. 702) (Around 1975)

Rico was one of the most important toymakers in Spain at the time, had a history that spanned over decades, and made many different types of toys in Ibi, Alicante. We already talked about them in previous articles.

What you may not know, is that Rico had the license to manufacture and sell Tonka toys in Spain. Their first Tonka product was a line of sturdy tin trucks, that were called “Sansón” (Sansón is the Spanish name of Samson, the biblical character), from which I expected to write some other time.

These had very thick axles and plastic wheels, and very robust metal bodies. Most of them had some gimmick, like a crane, or a shovel, or some practicable part behind the cabin. They looked quite futuristic for its age, since they were made in the 60s, both in Japan and Spain (in Spain surely later, maybe the second half of the decade)

Since that line was very successful (both the normal line and the “Mini-Sansón” line), Rico decided to extend the name to other Tonka products, like this race car, which has very little in common with the trucks mentioned above: they’re also sturdy, made of some kidn of metal (maybe very thick tin), but they represent a different type of car and has a friction motor inside. Note that the package is labelled with “Serie Sansón” and then “ Diablos” (“Devils”).

There were three of these cars made, a Honda (in Orange, Ref 702), a Chaparral (in green, Ref. 706), a Porsche (in blue, Ref. 712) and a Lotus (in red, Ref, 716). These are also depicted in the box.
The car has dark windows, so the mechanism remains hidden, and it is decorated with some chromed parts in the front and in the back of the car. The base in black tin is marked “Rico” and “Made in Spain”.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: HONDA “DIABLOS” (Ref. 702)
• Year: Around 1975
• Company: RICO (Spain)
• Size: Around 11 cm.
• Scale: Unknown