Toys from the Past: 05/01/2023

Sunday, May 21, 2023

#1022 NOREV – RENAULT VAN (Around 1995)

This time I want to show only one die-cast van marked Norev, which is, to my knowledge, very rare. I haven´t seen any Norev like this before. The quality is not very good, the base is plastic and the paintwork is also not the best possible. It is also a "Made in China" model. The wheel design is, to my knowledge, unknown to this brand.

Other Norev from these years are much better casted, have metallic base, practicable parts, detailed interiors and other nice features. This van could be part of a bigger set/playset and maybe they required a cheaper model. It is known to me, that it is based on a Corgi Juniors cast, but for some reason, it was labelled Norev afterwards.

That is why I think it has some interest to be shown here. Do you have any of these Norevs in your collection? Do you know where does it come from? Any information is welcome.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

Name: RENAULT VAN
Scale: Approx 1:64
Year: 1995
Company: Norev (France)
Size: 7 cms

Thursday, May 11, 2023

#1021 BIKER MICE FROM MARS – LAWRENCE LIMBURGER and DR. KARBUNKLE (1993)

The Biker Mice from Mars was maybe one of the last great action figure collections of the 90s. Galoob made very good action figures, accesories and vehicles. The toys had a supporting TV series that was also well done, and, in general, had everything they needed to succeed. Unfortunately, it was already 1993 and children were not so interested anymore in action figures. The market was saturated with all kind of action figures, and the videogames were the most desired toys of the day.

Also they started during a time of crisis, that explains why in Spain sold very badly, but in other richer countries they made slightly better, like in France or Germany. Shame! I look at them today and the style looks to me a bit childish, maybe the target children were the same that already had the Ninja Turtles, Bucky O’Hare or Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys.

I was not so young anymore and I do not recall watching the cartoons. I recall vaguely the toys in the lanes of some big commercial center, but they didn’t catch my interest, because I was more interested in other lines and toys.

Today they have a base of fans and the prices are rising fast. Also many figures came with lots of accessories, and they are difficult to find, increasing even more the prices. I have very few of these, that I got mostly in big lots together with other toys, and today I am presenting one of the villains in the series. I like the non-mouse characters best, as the heroes are very similar to each other and come in over a dozen versions each.

In this case, I present Lawrence Limburger, the boss of the evil creatures. Coming also from Mars, it is a fish-like monster that disguises itself as a businessman, mafioso or tycoon (or all three at once) and wears a mask to hide its true identity. It came with that mask and also with a trap full of spikes to catch maybe the mice or other characters from the heroes side.

The second character is Dr. Karbunkle with his minion Fred, a rendition of the classic mad scientist, with its white overall and a strange cable that connects a bottle in the belt to his brain. Due to the long overall, it is not very poseable, but it looks great althogether.

Fred is some kind of mutant creature with two different feet (one reptilian, one hairy) and one tentacle instead of the second arm. It also has three eyes, and an action feature, that opens the face and the brains pops up.

Both figures are relatively easy to find and cheap to buy.

Next time, hopefully soon, I will present one of the mice maybe even with a motorbike. I have to re-organize my collection of Biker Mice from Mars. Meanwhile, here is this picture of Dr. Karbunkle and Fred and the original German/Italian/Dutch cardback for Lawrence Limburger.