#553 CON-NEC-TORS – SKATEBOARDER, WRESTLER, SOLDIER and FOOTBALL PLAYER (1990)

Matchbox has rarely produced other toys than die-cast cars and vehicles. This is one of the exceptions. After the success of the Connectables Line (see entries #471, #472 and #473), Matchbox launched another line with a similar approach, only instead of creating vehicles by combining parts, you could form different action figures by combining torso, head and limbs.

Because each figure is composed of 6 parts, there are multiple combinations to generate new figures, even if you only own a couple of figures. A sticker in a 2-pack blister bubble said: “Over 3.5 Million Combinations!”, which should be if you own the whole collection

The characters chosen are popular characters of the 90s and before: there are several monsters and creatures, but also a policeman, a cyborg (in the Terminator style), an american football player, a soldier... all easily identifiable characters.


 

To my knowledge, there were 16 figures made for this collection, which could be purchased individually, in two-packs or in bigger gift sets. In English, the characters had pretty dull names, see list:

• Monster Fly
• Football Player
• Dinosaur
• Rock Star
• Vampire
• Swamp Monster
• Skateboarder
• Pterodactyl
• Sheriff
• Robot
• Mummy
• Cyclops
• Wrestler
• Mutant
• Soldier
• Indian

In Italian, curiously, the names were a Little bit more inventive.

By the way, this toyline was not only a Matchbox line, it was also produced by Giochi Preziosi. Maybe for this reason, the country in which this toyline had the biggest success was in Italy.

UPDATE 1 (Dec/2021): Soldier and Footbal Player added to the collection!

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: SKATEBOARDER and WRESTLER + SOLDIER and FOOTBALL PLAYER
  
• Toy Line: Con-nec-tors / Connectors
• Year: 1990
• Company: Matchbox (Great Britain) / Giochi Preziosi (Italy)
• Size of the figures: Around 10 cm