#1098 EXIN - EXIN CASTILLOS 2 (Around 1972)

There is not much I can say about this toy that has not been said before. Exin is the most important Spanish toymaker of all times and this was one of their highlights in the 70s and the 80s. A construction toy that allowed us to build castles and fortresses in the medieval style. Spain is a land with a huge number of castles and this toy would appeal to many children and to their families. As in every construction game, you can follow the instructions provided or try to reproduce the castle of your village or town. You just need enough blocks or bricks to finish your project.

The bricks have an unmistakable color that simulates stone (light brown plastic with white and darker brown seams) and, unlike Lego or Tente, there is not a huge variety of the basic bricks. The most common stone is 2x1, longer bricks (such as 4x1, 6x1...) are rare, so to construct something solid from zero can be a challenge. However, this is how houses and castles are built, so you are closer to the work of a mason than you are with other construction games. 

 

 

What makes the game unique are the pieces to make round walls (to build round towers or to round up corners) and other nice elements that are very realistic, such as different types of windows and doors and hand-painted plastic figures that represent common characters from medieval history or castles altogether. These include: knights on foot or horse, a princess, a ghost, guards and bowmen, among others... The figures were scarcely included in the boxes of Exin Castillos, but could be bought separately in nice "historical" sets, which also included war machines and small accessories. Some of this were made by Elastolin.

 

These sets are today very rare to find.  The toy I have was bought in a flea market in Austria and it seems to be Exin Castillos 2, a middle-sized set, just missing the two bases on which you start building your castle. These bases were made of thin hard plastic, and not many have survived until today. Still, I have the instructions and many figures, plus many other parts I got in another lot bought in a flea market in Spain. I haven't mixed the two together yet. According to the instructions, the castle looks like the one in the pictures. I took some pictures highlighting the figures and some corners and details of the building.

This great game was sold between 1968 and 1991. The models 0, 1, 2 and 3 are from the early 70s, the period in which the line grew, sold best and became really popular. By the mid eighties it was not so popular anymore, maybe because of Exin´s own competition with Tente, which had a bigger variety of pieces, was smaller and cheaper to produce. In any case, there are still many pieces out there and many enthusiasts of the toy that organize expositions and even design new pieces to combine with the old ones and achieve higher quality models.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: EXIN CASTILLOS 2

• Year: 1972

• Company: Exin (Spain)

• Size: Around 40x40 cm