#986 INDIANA JONES - CRYSTAL SKELETON WITH THRONE (45027) (2008)

I already recalled in a previous entry, how did I get my Indiana Jones figures around 2010, when they were being sold out. I liked them very much, so I tried to collect a few more of them, not spending much money in them. Only 12 years after their release they are gaining value and the figures I am missing would cost me a lot of money if I wanted to buy them right now. I will be patient and wait until they are available at a low price.

In every figure I opened, there was a small flyer announcing the mail-away promotion with which you could get the crystal skeleton in its throne, as it appears in the final section of the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I kept looking at those leaflefts and I thought it was very cool, so I bought this set from a collector in Spain for a fair price.

The box got slightly damaged on one corner, but otherwise it is in a very good condition, and the contents are, of course, never played with. The surprise was to find that the Skeleton is much taller than the figures, so they got the proportions more or less right. It is made of a half-transparent plastic that looks simply great, and the throne is a big piece of plastic, but looks also fine.

It is a good addition to the collection. I thought this may be the hardest to find figure in the whole toyline, but there are many other exclusive figures (such as Disney World Exclusive) which are also very rare and valuable… with some patience I may get all these other figures I am still missing, who knows?

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CRYSTAL SKELETON WITH THRONE (45027)
• Toy Line: Indiana Jones
• Year: 2008
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figure: Around 10 cm tall

#985 SZE TOY – BMW Turbo Group 5 (E21) (Around 1979)

Sze Toy or Szetoy is another Hong-Kong die-cast manufacturer from the early 80s, although when did it start and when did they disappear is unclear. It is sometimes confused with other brands such as Corgi or Yatming as they seems to use some common casts. Sze Toy sold their products under very different names, as they offered their products to retailers that packaged them under their own brands.

They have cars in different scales, other series of tanks and other sub-series of pullback-powered motors. My car is one of this latest group, and represents a toonified BMW M3 E30.

It belongs to the Mini Sprint Racers line, which were sold in bister cards and decorated with nice stickers (mostly a race number and some racing line or pattern on the roof). This seems to be one of the most modern models, as the others include a Honda Civic Ford Pinto Wagon from 1978, a Chevrolet from 1957 or a Volkswagen T1 Type.


Here are some blister examples of this series, they are all different.

pic: wallapop.com

pic: wallapop.com

pics: picclick.com

UPDATE (JUNE/2022): I got two more models of the same style and wheels, although the pull-back motor seems older and they are not marked. One of them is precisely the red car shown in that last picture above, so the logo would be in the cardback, not on the toy directly.

The white car represents a BMW M3 and has reference number No. 901. The orange one, I am not sure about (maybe a Japanese model?), but it is No. 903. They are both marked Made in Hong Kong.

 FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: BMW Turbo Group 5 E21 (Mini Sprinter Car series)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: 1985 Around 1979
  
• Company: Sze Toys (Hong-Kong)
• Size: Around 5 cm