#1020 GUISVAL - CENTURION MK.III TANK + KNOCK-OFF (1977 and Around 1993)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AT TOYS FROM THE PAST

Today I want to show two small toy tanks.

The first one is made by Guisval and is a Centurion MK.III model, which appeared for the first time in the catalogue from 1977. There were several versions of it made those first years: in green (with british or Spanish roundels on one side), in light brown (with Spanish roundels) on and also in light brown with dark brown stripes (with a green flag and a crescent moon, which, to my knowledge, does not represent any real country).

Later reissues would also use new decals, like a British flag, and the last known issue is a completely white version from the United Nations, which I find quite original and I would like to own.

All of them have turning turret and the cannon moves up and down.

The second toy tank shown in the pictures is a low quality knock-off of the Guisval model made by an unknown company much later. The model is unmarked, except for “No. 462”, and it is almost identical to the Guisval model. The cannon is slightly longer, the plastic base and wheels and different). The metal and paintwork used are of lower quality, the paint scheme shows a green/yellow camouflage pattern and the stickers on the side say "U.S. Army".

Does anybody know about it? In any case, it is a very curious one, although the quality is very low.

 FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CENTURION MK.III and KNOCK-OFF
  
• Scale: Approx. 1:100
• Year: 1977 and Around 1993 (respectively)
  
• Company: Guisval and Unknown Toymaker (Spain and China)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#1019 EARTH FORCE - LAZAR (1985)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

Pace Toys is known only for this excellent series of sci-fi action figures. There is nothing to be found on the internet, but according to the information shown on the blister is another American-Hong-Kongese company of quality (but cheap) toys in the style of other popular lines.

Earth Force figures are copyrighted in 1985, so they would fit somewhere between Masters of the Universe and Star Wars. By construction and size, they are similar to the figures by Mattel and by theme, with the Kenner ones, but it shares some aspects with other toylines such as Starcom or Galaxy Rangers.

The storyline printed on the backcard tells us of an interplanetary society that has gathered some Peacekeeping Troops from different corners of the Federation to be sent to "trouble zones", that is, the futuristic version of the UNO Blue Helmets.

From the start, Pace Toys produced six figures which are divided in three groups (of two members each): the Cyborg Team (Cherokee and Lazar), the Flight Team (Major "Blaster" Barton and Commander "Comet" Kelly) and the Ground Team (Professor "Hacksaw" Hackett and Colonel "Hammer" Jackson). These groups are basically: Weaponry experts and developers, Infantry and medical units on the ground and Airforce pilots. Where are the bad guys? There are none.

All the figures are made in basic bright colours (blue, red, white, yellow....) and come with a big set of accessories, most notably, an oversized helmet, boots and a chest shield (what alltogether makes some kind of astronaut outfit) and some other accesories that the figures carry in its hands (rifles or guns, knives and shields). All these pieces are mostly missing, and they are not easy to find.

The line was one year later (1986) expanded with four more figures. These were divided in two groups. The first group was the Explorer Team (this one carry green and white outfits), formed by Doctor "Red" Roger Wolf, Professor "Atom" Orden Atom and Doctor "Bronco" Hank Tago. The second group, called the Star Rangers also has three members: Colonel "Neut" Ned E. Utron, Captain Don Oppler and Major Bart Nigel. The Star Rangers were mostly light brown and dark green, so they look more "militar" that the rest of the first wave.

For this wave, new accessories were introduced (such as nice looking backpacks that pretend to be jetpacks or double guns to be held with both hands), but the figures were based on the same casts.

Despite being relatively rare, the figures are not (yet?) very expensive. Carded are obviously more scarce than loose, and they tend to concentrate on particular places, for example in Spain, where they were imported by Hisinsa. Of course, they are also available in other places. I got mine around 15 years ago from another collector who had found it as part of an old toyshop stock. I have been tempted to buy more of these figures, but they were always incomplete, so this blister card is the only item in my Earth Force collection.

By the way, these series fits perfectly with the X-Changers branch called MX Robots by Acamas Toys. As a matter of fact, some figures are almost identical, and you can use some of these as enemies!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: LAZAR
• Toy Line: Earth Force
• Year: 1985
• Company: Pace Toys (U.S.A./ Hong-Kong)
• Size of the figure: Around 12 cm tall