#938 CORGI JUNIORS - SPACE SHUTTLE (1980)

I got this model just a few days ago. It came in a lot with other stuff and It is in great shape, so I was lucky to find it.

I had never seen it before, so, to my surprise, I first opened the lids and admired the wheels feature with great astonishment. It is probably the best Corgi Juniors model I have ever seen.

The inside part shows a gold chromed plastic part that represents the equipment of the shuttle (whatever it is, I am not familiar with it). 

Another action feature of this little spaceship is that the landing gear can be locked up (for flight) or down (for take offs and landings), which is a very cool thing considering its size. This action can be triggered from a small hinge in the base.

This version has U.S.A. stickers, although there are other versions. Most notably, a shuttle with yellow stickers from the James Bond film Moonraker. I will try to get that one too, so I have both. 

I also presented a Columbia Shuttle model by Yatming some time ago, but this one is far better (being the Yatming model not bad at all).

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SPACE SHUTTLE (5-C)
• Scale: Unknown
• Year: 1980
• Company: Corgi Toys (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#937 BANDAI - TURTLES CHARACTER MINI-MACHINES - PARTY VAN (1990)

With the Ninja Turtles craze came many related articles, some of them from Bandai directly, other from other brands that acquired the rights to put the characters in their products.

I recall seeing these in a shop back in the early 90s in Spain, also coincident with the micro cars trend started by Galoob´s Micro Machines. Note that the car is advertised as a "Mini Machine"!

This van is slightly bigger than a Micro Machine, but considering it is a van, it would still display nicely together. The van comes with a motorised pull-back motor. Such a toy is, of course, very cheap to produce, by the stickers that simulate the Turtle-wagon add a lot of money to the final retail price. Considering the price tag, this is an expensive toy, I guess they did not sell many of it.

The van came is a small blister card, with some interesting indications on the back. The toy seems to have been imported to Europe by Bandai UK, and then to Spain by Bandai Spain and has the rights from Mirage Studios directly to reproduce this van (copyright from 1989). The blister card comes in English and German, but there are several errors in the German text.

Apparently a complete series of Mini Machines with famous characters was planned, but I only found this one and another one with Postman Pat. The toys are made in China. Remember that Bandai actually distributed the turltes figures in some European countries, so they maybe made a move to offer other related products as well in addittion to the ones made by Playmates.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: TURTLES CHARACTER MINI-MACHINES - PARTY VAN
• Scale: 1:150 (approx.)
• Year: 1990
• Company: Bandai (Japan)
• Size: approx. 2’’ or 5 cm