#628 MC TOY – SEVERAL VOLKSWAGEN MODELS (1987 and 1990)

Volkswagen models are always valuable collectables, I have met people who collected only VW Beetle miniatures, and another guy who collected only VW Golf miniatures. To some extent, the Golf will be the Beetle for newer generations. Since the Golf has been available since 1974, it is already among the best selling cars of all times.

Volkswagen 1302 (Ref. 8731) - The classic "Bug" in dark blue. It is one of the most sought-after model by MC Toys, but not very interesting in my opinion, since almost every die-cast manufacturer had this model in their catalogues.

Volkswagen Baja Beetle (VW) (Reference Unknown) - One of the best models by MC Toys in my opinion. Those wheels were rarely used by the brand, and it has a very nice suspension, it is a lot of fun to play with it over rugged surfaces. The car has a simulated and chromed motor behind with a very long exhaust pipe, which is sometimes broken, since it is made of plastic. The car was origianlly released in yellow with tampographies in red and black, but the car was also availabe in other colours (not sure here if other versions were released as MC Toy or Maisto).

VW Caravelle or VW NR1060 (Ref. 9007) - One of the most used casts by MC Toy and later by Maisto. This van was redecorated and released in many colours, and this makes the model one of the less interesting ones in the whole range. In this case it´s painted red and decorated with Fire Brigade tampographies.

The only Volkswagen missing in this entry is the Golf GTI from 1984 (Ref. 8446), but I don´t have it here right now. The most common decoration is black with white or golden tampographies. The cast was reused by Sohbi, and you can make yourself an idea, how would this model in black look like: see entry #536.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: VOLKSWAGEN 1302 (Ref. 8731), VOLKSWAGEN BAJA BUG (Ref. Unknown) and VW CARAVELLE (VW NR1060) (Ref. 9007)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: The two first digits in the reference number indicates the year of design and manufacture, so: 1987, Unknown and 1990.
• Company: MC Toy (U.S.A./ Macau)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm

#627 DANONE – 4 COCHES FUERA DE SERIE (DIE-CAST PROMOTIONAL VEHICLES) (1996)

This is a extremely rare set. I got it in 1996 by collecting yogurt lids, cannot exactly remember how many, but it was not easy. The vehicles were depicted in Yogurt 8-packs and they looked really great. I had to get them at any cost.

So, when I received the packet I was completely disappointed. The box came in this white cardboard box, and inside, there was another cardboard box with windows and the four models inside. The quality of the models is low, or rather low... very badly finished, no interiors, rough edges... and even fragile. The motorbike model breaks easily. At the back of the box, you can read that this is a collectable, but not a toy.

The box is also very fragile: the cardboard is very thin and windows break easily, because they are also really thin. That´s why I guess there are not many sets like mine out there. I always kept it in the protective white cardboard box, and took it out of it maybe 2 times in 20 years: the day I received it and the day I took these pictures.

All in all, extremely rare collectibles, surely appeals many die-cast collectors. The four cars are reproductions of Danone´s delivery cars, trucks or motorbikes from different years/decades.

Ford A 1930

Derbi 1953

 Sava 1962

Trimak 1966

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: 4 COCHES FUERA DE SERIE
• Scale: Several scales: 1:24 1:64, 1:100
• Year: 1996
• Company: Danone (France), Iberpromo Group (Spain)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#626 TOMICA - SHIDEN 77 BMW, ALPINE RENAULT A442 and PORSCHE 936 TURBO (1978)

These are three more old Tomicas, two of them belong to the foreign (F) series, while the third one belongs to the normal series.

NºF48 – Renault Alpine A442 – Scale 1:57 – 1978 – Original car from 1975
This car was available in yellow only, but counted with two decorations. It is made in Japan, but belong to the Foreign series “F” (read more about this series here #423)

Nº71 – Shiden 77 BMW – Scale 1:62 – 1978 – Original car from 1977Also known as Mooncraft Shiden 77 Coupé, it was a Japanese sport prototype, so I guess this one became really popular in the late 70s, and it was a best-seller among all Tomicas. Although it was bought in Europe, it does not marked as a model form the European series, the reference number is 71, without an F. This car was also available in orange and in white

No T22 - Porsche 936 Turbo – Scale 1:59 – 1978 – Original car from 1977
This car was already presented in entry #334, but it is repeated here, because it fits very well with the other two models. It is one of the "Made in China" reeditions from the early 1990s, also known as the “British Line”.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SHIDEN 77 BMW, ALPINE RENAULT A442 and PORSCHE 936 TURBO (Nrs. 71, F48 and T22)
• Scale: 1:62, 1:57, 1:59 (respectively)
• Year: 1978
• Company: Tomica (Japan)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#625 PILEN "CAR IN CHIC" - SEAT 131 FAMILIAR (Ref.800), SEAT 131 SAFARI (Ref.816), RENAULT 4F (Ref.807), FORD FIESTA (Ref.811) and PORSCHE 917 (Ref.803b) (1978)

Until now, I never talked about Pilen models in 1:64 (3 inches) scale. Pilen is better known for 1:43 scale models, but also had a short line of 1:64 vehicles. These were available in jewel boxes and cardboard displays to hang and were mostly labelled as "Car-in-Chic". There were also a 3 inches series of vans and trucks (scale around 1:55 and 1:100) called "Car-in-Chic Transportes".

These few models are classic Pilen casts of popular cars from the the 80s. Some include very nice decorations, and these are much rarer than the standard versions in plain colours, and much more attractive. Some models have two-coloured decorations, and great decals: some are more common, like the classic police car, but other are quite exotic, like the "Safari" version of the Seat 131 or a Peugeot 504 decorated as a Taxi from Barcelona. Each model has either metallic or plastic bases, where the models with metallic bases are older than the ones with plastic bases. Some models have painted head or rear lights.

The complete list (see below)  includes 10 different models in many different decorations. The reference numbering system is quite complicated, since many references appear several times for different models. The "b", "c" and even "d" models are not ordered by appearance, I gave those letters randomly. Some models seem to me like "copies" of other die-cast brands. For example, the Porsche 917, Range Rover and Ford Torino look very similar to Corgi Juniors' models, the Seat Ritmo and the Peugeot 504 are very similar to Norev´s.

If you take a look at the list models, you´ll see that the Porsche 917 does not really match with the rest of the models. Curious decision to include such a race car among all the others.

• M-800 Seat 131 Familiar
• M-801 Seat 131 Ambulancia (White)
• M-802 Seat 131 G.C.Tráfico (Green with white doors)
• M-803 Seat 131 Policia 091 (White)
• M-803b Porsche 917
• M-803c Porsche 917 Martini (White)
• M-803d Seat Ritmo Policia 091 (White)
• M-804 Chrysler 150
• M-805 Chrysler 150 Policia (Black/White)
• M-805b Peugeot 504 Taxi
• M-806 Chrysler 150 Rallye
• M-806b Ford Fiesta
• M-807 Renault 4F
• M-807b Reanult 4F Bomberos
• M-807c Ford Fiesta Rallye
• M-808 Renault 4F Teléfonos (Dark blue)
• M-808b Seat 131 Safari
• M-809 Seat 131 G.C.Tráfico (same as 802)
• M-809b Peugeot 504
• M-810 Chrysler 150 Taxi (Black/Yellow)
• M-810b Porsche 917 (White)
• M-810c Seat Ritmo
• M-811 Ford Fiesta
• M-811b Chrysler 150 Rallye
• M-812 Ford Fiesta Iberia (Grey)
• M-813 Ford Fiesta Policia Municipal (Blue/White)
• M-814 Seat 131 Bomberos (Red)
• M-814 Range Rover
• M-815 Ford Fiesta Rallye
• M-815b Range Rover Bomberos (Red)
• M-816 Range Rover Safari (Brown)
• M-816 Seat 131 Safari (Brown)
• M-817 Ford Torino
• M-817b Fiat 132
• M-818 Ford Torino Policia (Black/White)
• M-818b Fiat 132 Rallye
• M-819 Starsky & Hutch (Red with white stripe)

 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEAT 131 FAMILIAR (Ref.800), SEAT 131 SAFARI (Ref.816), RENAULT 4F (Ref.807), FORD FIESTA (Ref.811) and PORSCHE 917 (Ref.803b)
• Scale: 1:64
• Year: 1978
• Company: Pilen (Spain)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#624 G.I. JOE - BATTLE COPTER with INTERROGATOR (1991)

My latest G.I.Joe acquisition since a long time is this vehicle from 1991. Not one of the most sought-after, but it includes one of the most celebrated figures ever: Interrogator.

This Cobra character is usually among collector´s favorites. The figure has a great design and dark colours, with an outfit that slightly reminds of a nazi officer or something similar. The head sculpt is also great, as well as the concept of a high ranked Cobra guy who is an expert in getting information out of captured Joes. The figure came with a very particular pistol with several "tentacles" on the tip.

The figure is still in its original package, and includes the 3 filecards (English, Spanish, Italian).

The vehicle was manufactured in Spain and packaged in the often referred as "Euro" package, written in 3 languages (English, Spanish and Italian). I cannot remember if I already talked about G.I.Joe Vehicles´ boxes, but note that the front has a great illustration of the vehicle with Interrogator, while on the back there is a picture of the actual toy. I always liked the way this picture is labelled, with the explanation of several parts/features.

The vehicle itself is quite fun (I have a second one) but still too few "plastic" to be sold by itself. I think that is why they had to include figures with the Battle Copters. This toy has a "twin" vehicle released with a G.I.Joe figure (Major Altitude) in slightly different colours. The next year (1992, Series 11), there would still two new variants including Heli-Viper and Ace. These are much rarer than the first two. Considering this, we can say, that this vehicle had the most "versions", since it was released 4 times with exactly the same cast.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: BATTLE COPTER with INTERROGATOR
• Toy Line: G.I. Joe (Wave 10)
• Year: 1991
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 9,5 cm (3 3/4'')

#623 MATCHBOX – LOTUS EUROPA and BMC 1800 PININFARINA (1969)

Two cars released in 1969. Amazing design for that year! Both came with Superfast wheels. Their most common colours are listed below, but of course, they can be found in other rare combinations, prototypes and international versions.

N°5d Lotus Europa (available 1969-1974)
1969-1970: Blue
1971-1974: Pink

N°56c BMC 1800 Pininfarina (available 1969-1974)
1969-1970: Golden
1971-1973: Orange

UPDATE (JAN/2017): I recently found two Lotus Europa in better condition than the two above, so I insert more pictures here.

Different tow-slots

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: LOTUS EUROPA (Nr.5d) and BMC 1800 PININFARINA (Nr.56c)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: 1969
• Company: Matchbox (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm