#1083 PLAYLAND/WELLY – SEVERAL PULLBACK CARS IN 1:36 SCALE (Around 1993)

These kind of cars at a scale around 1:36 were relatively common in the early 90s. Somehow the 1:43s of the previous decade “grew” and became available in many places, including pound-shops, one dollar stores and their equivalents in each country. Some of the first “big” models I recall were some MC Toy cars with pull-back motor, such as the Porsche 959 or the 911 Cabrio. 

They also had the “standard” 1:64 series, but MC Toy came with this bigger series of sport cars that looked so nice and were so cheap. I guess many other brands followed, since MC Toy was the company that was doing best during these first years of the 90s decade.

PORSCHE 959 / OPEL OMEGA '88 “FEUERWEHR” / CHEVROLET CORVETTE '83 in dark blue

I have collected many over the last years. But today I will present only those which were marketed under the Playland – Mini Flitzer series in Germany. The identification is difficult since all the models are unmarked, and it is required to look for boxed models in order to be sure. Playland seems to be the brand used by the importer, which was AHG Wachsmuth & Krogmann from Hamburg. The logo depicts a cartoonish crocodile with a baseball cap. There were two designs for the box: a classic one in blue, and another more modern in purple, pink and green, very representative of the early 90s.

 

 

 

Several Boxed Items. The "Mini-Flitzer" with the Playland Logo, the other "Super Racer" with or without the Welly logo. All from ebay

 

These two pictures show the different styles of Playland boxes.

I found the firs four cars in on of those boxes on the Internet (mainly in German sites like ebay.de), but not the Ferrari, which I include here anyway, because it is so similar. This may belong to another, similar series.

CHEVROLET CORVETTE '83 in yellow

FERRARI TESTAROSSA

I suspect that the maker behind these cars might be Welly, although I am not 100% sure. Welly had their own lines like Super Racer or Old Timer in the same scale and also with a pullback motor feature. The models look in fact very similar, and so do the boxes, but one can never be sure. I include some picture of Welly Boxes for comparison. The same Chevrolet has been spoted in a Welly box, although that model was a cabrio and not a hardtop.

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: SEVERAL PULLBACK CARS IN 1:36 SCALE
• Scale: 1:36
• Year: Around 1993
• Company: Welly / Playland (China/Germany)
• Size: approx. 12 cm