Carex is a misterious manufacturer from the early 80s to the early 90s with very few models available. I found this in a flea market and bought it inmediatly, it was the first I had seen by this brand. Now in Google, I have found some others. The company was based in Warsaw and its complete name was: Carex Przedsiebiorstwo Zagraniczne w Polsce ul
Another source of information for this brand and this model is diecast.blog3.fc2.com from Japan. Using machine translation I have read that the suspension used in this model is rare for an european model of that age, and they leave open the answer to the question if this model was really manufactured in Hong-Kong to be packaged and sold in Poland, or if it is really a Polish made model. Difficult question, since there is almost nothing about this brand on the internet.
Currently there are 7 known models, all of them made between 1981 and 1993 (according to the dutch wikipedia).
- Jaguar XJ6
- Jaguar XJ6 Racing
- Porsche 911
- Porsche Carrera
- Ferrari 365 GTB / 4
- Volvo
760244 GL (see comment below) - Lancia Gama
Note that the years between 1981 and 1993 are the last years of the communist People´s Republic of Poland and the first years of the modern Republic of Poland, so theoreticaly, this brand would still be active after the old regime had fallen (in 1989).
The model itself is not very well detailed/casted but has windshields and interiors. It is decorated with stickers and was available in other colours, for what I have seen on the internet. You can see the package and a Volvo model HERE. The Volvo is also badly casted, but still has practicable doors.
FACTS AND FIGURES:
- Name: PORSCHE CARRERA (Nr 100)
- Scale: 1:64
- Year: 1983
- Company: Carex (Poland)
- Size: approx. 6 cm
There were also two models by CAREX: Cadillac Eldorado and BMW 520. Volvo in the beginning had no opening doors and was in navy metallic color, better fitting to paint on real Volvo cars. According to Volvo, it's rather 244 GL, only with fatal proportions. I had some Carex car as a kid and I remember that my Volvo was bought at the end of 1983 or at the beginning of 1984, and '700 series was produced by Volvo since 1984. It's rather impossible that small company behind the Iron Curtain knew about new flagship of Swedish concern.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi! Many thanks for your comment, it is really valuable.
DeleteI just corrected the entry and took a look at the car, and yes, could perfectly be the 244 as well.
Are you from Poland? The blisterpack shown in the external link I posted shows the safety instructions in several languages: English, German, Swedish, Italian... It would be interesting to know if they really exported these vehicles and in which numbers (I assume in very little numbers, since they seem to be very rare).
Hello there :) It's a very interesting topic. I'm a toy collector, I was born in Poland in the 80s. And I never heard about the Carex car toys :) I have as a kid lot of plastic and metalic car toys but I think, that most of it was "bootlegs" :) You could buy that kind of car in every toy shop, boutique, kiosk etc. Loose without any blister etc. One the blisterpack you have shown in the extermal link is text: "Samochód firmy Carex w Twojej kolekcji" - "Car company Carex in Your collection". And there is also polish text in safety instructions: "Dla dzieci od 3 lat" - "For kids above 3 years". It seems that the firm "Carex" is still in the business. I can't find nothing more like the info: "Manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment for motor vehicles". Well like I said, it's very interesting. I need to find some polish car toys collector, and I'll try to contact with someone from the Carex? If I recieve some answers I let you know :) BTW: I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Ewelina, many thanks for your comment, and for bringing new information about Carex!
DeleteIt would be great if you could get more information about the company. As you can read above, all informations are incomplete, and based on hypothesis, ideas and guesses.
They were very small I guess, do you think that "new" Carex could be the same than the "old" one? If it helps, in the blisterpack at the back there is a postal address from Warsaw, I think.
Best Regards,
Juan