#1091 UNKNOWN MANUFACTURER - THREE F1 CORGI BOOTLEGS (Around 1974)

To continue an old tradition, I use the month of April to show toys that are knock-off or bottlegs of other toys. This time I want to present three big scale formula ones that copy Corgi casts. They are made in Hong-Kong around 1974 and use a four digit code system as a reference number. 

Most accurately, These three are:

No 7501 - SURTEES T.S.9 F.1. (Based on Corgi Nr. 150)

No. 7502 - FERRARI 312 B2  (based on Corgi 152 from 1972)

No. 7503 - LOTUS F.1.  (based on Corgi 154 from 1973)

I first thought these would be Yatming, but the codes does not seem to fit with the numbering system used by that company.

I have seen several for sale on the internet, so they are not extremely rare. Compared to the original Corgis, they are also very good. Only the colour slightly differs. The wheels are clearly cheaper and less detailed compared to the original ones, which is the main flaw I see in these four cars. Also the overall quality of the paintwork and the stickers is worse. These seem to have been heavily played, but I still consider them worth enough for my collection.

If you have some information on the manufacturer of these toys, please let me know by writing a comment to this entry. I have been looking for boxed models for sale, but I couldn´t find any. Over the years I have also posted many toys which are yet to be identified. If you want to have a look at them and try to guess which company made them, click on this link Unknown Manufacturer Toys.

 FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SURTEES T.S.9 F.1., FERRARI 312 B2 and LOTUS F1 (No. 7501, 7502 and 7503)
• Scale: 1:36
• Year: Around 1974
• Company: Unknown Toymaker (Hong Kong)
• Size: Around 10 cm long