#1037 EFSI – MERCEDES LONG TRAILER “SHELL” TANKER and FLATBED (around 1985)

I have presented in the past several Efsi trucks and trailers, but this is my first “long trailer” made by the Dutch company. I found it in a flea market, and I liked it a lot. It represents a long tanker from Shell, in bright yellow and red.

The truck is identical to the ones we already saw, so I am not going to comment on it. The trailer is, surprisingly, not very well done. The metallic base is reduced to a few long stabs to fit the axles and the wheels in a more or less stable way, and the tank itself is made of plastic. It looks great, but it was probably made to be sold for a rather low price. 

It is, however, a lot of fun to play with, as all die-cast long trailers are, and displays nicely along with other trucks and cars from this brand.

UPDATE (DEC.2024): Shortly after publishing this entry, I got a second "long" Efsi Truck, a flatbed, that I will present as an update. The trailer is based in the same die-cast part, only with a diffeerent part of plastic attached to it, sasving money in bigger casts and replacing zamak by plastic.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MERCEDES LONG TRAILER “SHELL” TANKER and FLATBED
• Scale: 1:87
• Year: Around 1985
• Company: EFSI (Netherlands)
• Size: approx. 15 cm

#998 EKO - SEVERAL MOC VEHICLES (Around 1960-1975)

The history of EKo was already written in entry #551, so this time I would only like to show a series of unused (mint on card) vehicles I bought for no money a couple of years ago. I am afraid there are not so many Eko collectors anymore and so the prices are sinking since a few years already. I still recall some Eko displays in the mid-80s, that were bought by railway and train modellers, 1:87 soldier diorama makers, architects and also children, although, due to their rather weak construction, they were quickly displaced by more sturdy vehicle models pretty soon, remaining these for adults collectors

I like very much the 1:87/H0 scale and the cars from the 60s and the 70s that are being reproduced in scale here. One of them comes with a nice trailer carrying a boat, and a small truck is transportating gas bootles, an usual sight back in the day.

Serie Civil

• No. 2004 Opel Kapitan

 

 

Box Flap for Ref. No. 2004

 

• No. 2054 De Soto con Remolque Canoa

• No. 2088 Microbus Mercedes Benz

 

 

 

• No. 2105 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint

• No. 2122 Sava Butano

 

Serie Militar

No. 4035 Barreiros T-90.22 

 

 

 Nice lot!

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEVERAL MOC MODELS
  
• Scale: 1:87 (H0)
• Year: Around 1960
• Company: Eko (Spain)
• Size: approx. 3.5 cm

#904 WIKING - DOUBLE DECKER BUS, ROLLS ROYCE 1951 and MERCEDES "FRISCHDIENST" (1970, 1978 and 1984)

Wiking is a brand that is oriented mostly for adult collectors. They are not very popular among children and as a result, it is difficult to find them in the places where I usually buy these things (flea markets, die-cast lots...), and if they appear, the prices are mostly high. Wiking models are made of plastic, so they are also fragile and in H0 (or 1:87) scale, not very popular scale for toys.

I own exactly three Wiking models that I will present at the end of this entry.

In recent years, there was a book published with the history of the company Wiking-Modellbau GmbH & Co. KG.

Currently, Wiking is owned by the Sieper Group (also owners of Siku) since 1984, so the book was edited in the same style than this one. Glad that Sieper is putting so much care in the documentation and publication of information about their most renowned companies. Unfortunately, I do not own this Wiking book yet, but there are lots of information available in the Wikipedia and other dedicated websites.

Therefore, it doesn´t make much sense to repeat everything here, but still I would like to comment on the evolution of Wiking models in 1:87 scale, although Wiking also produced models in other scales.

The first models were hollow, with flaps were the axles were attached (similar to some Tootsietoys, but with non-rolling axles), but even less detailed: windows were just engraved. These were in around 1:100 scale.
Starting in 1952, models started carrying base plates and rolling axles with fixed wheels, and the size increased slightly up to 1:90 scale, while the casting quality increased and the plastic thickness decreased.

Windows came first in 1957, initially dark, then in 1966 transparent, as the models came with interior. Scale was corrected to 1:87, but they were still being sold as toys, not collector or hobby items, despite the increasing quality and the H0 scale correction, now compatible to train models (except trucks and busses, that would be adapted much later -1985- to the exact 1:87 scale).

In 1970 the trend changed and the new models saw some simplifications in their construction and their finishing (tampographies, simpler interiors...) and in 1978 they got their first serious competitor with Herpa, that made extremely detailed models at 1:87 scale.

In 1990, Wiking bought the already closed company Roskopf, that offered models from the early 20th century. Models from Roskopf were sold in Wiking packages and later the casts were adapted to be marked Wiking. Some of these models have been available ever since. Many other Wiking classic models have been in catalogue for decades, maybe because the railway and train modelling (that requires the vehicles to be from the same years than the trains, scenery and so on).

Far from losing importance, Wiking has since the 90s grown a lot, providing licensed models for many car brands. And classic cars for which they do not need a license. They also have a series of agricultural vehicles, and innovated in 2008 with series like Wiking Control 87, that were remotely controlled cars in 1:87 scale.

Wiking also produced many accesories, like buildings, figures, traffic signs and roads from the early years on.

Wiking models today are sought after collectables, and the name Wiking remains as one of the most notable classic German toy manufacturers.

And now here are my three Wikings, ordered chronologically after their release date.

BERLINER DOPPELDECK BUS (BÜSSING D2U?) (Ref 72d)  - 1970?
There are two versions of this one. I recognise them easily because the rear door is open in this model with a metal pole in the middle, while the other version, that seems to be newer, has closed doors.

 

MERCEDES BENZ L 608 "FRISCHDIENST" - 1984-1985
The truck was done in several versions. It was used as a promotional item by many companies. This one in blue is quite nice, and the casting is beautiful, including the body and the base.

 

ROLLS ROYCE 1951 (SILVER WRAITH) (Ref 14838) - 1978-1982
This one is a very nice model. It is small and cute, beautifully casted.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: DOUBLE DECKER BUS, ROLLS ROYCE 1951 and MERCEDES "FRISCHDIENST"
• Scale: 1:87
• Year: 1970, 1978 and 1984
• Company: Wiking (Germany)
• Size: approx. 6 to 8 cm

#853 GUISVAL - TRANSPORTE NASA and TRANSPORTE REGATAS (07007 and 07009) (Around 1987)

We already know the TIR series. Among the different references made for it, there seems to be two types of trailers, some are smaller, other are slightly bigger. The trucks are the same two models always (both American models, never seen in Europe, or at least in Spain). In the first entry, I showed three models I keep since I was very young, and this time I will present two more acquired in the last couple of years.

Like the rest of TIR models, these were available either in jewel boxes, blistercards or loose in nice displays.

Note that the TIR series was available during several years and has two types of wheels at least. The first one is the one used by the car transporter (see previous link), while the one from this NASA truck is the second, more modern version. I guess there were first released in the early 80s and later extended with four more references in the late 80s, maybe 1987.

In the last years of Guisval, another series of trucks with long trailers was launched, but in this case, the trucks are much more modern and "european" and the wheels are completely different, but some of the loads carried in the trailers are the same used in the past. References bleonging to the new series also started with 07xxx.

As a reminder and for the sake of completeness, I copy a list of all classic TIR references:

• 07001 - Trailer Container
• 07002 - Trailer Dumper
• 07003 - Trailer Bomberos
• 07004 - Tanque Combustible
• 07005 - Transporte Animales
• 07006 - Transporte Coches

According to the catalogue, these references also exist (or not!) - Series extension?

• 07007 - Transporte NASA
• 07008 - Grua Telescópica
• 07009 -
• 07010 - Transporte Bulldozer
• 07011
• 07012 - Trasnporte Regatas

But the fact is that, the same model can have two references, note for example, the box "Transporte Regatas" wih number 07009, shown in this entry (instead of 07012) or other models seen at eBay whose numbers do not match those of the catalogues.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: TRASPORTE NASA and TRANSPORTE REGATAS  (07007 and 07009)
• Scale: 1:87 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1987
• Company: Guisval (Spain)
• Size: approx. 16 cm (with trailer)

#745 ANGUPLAS/ MINI CARS - SEAT 1400 (Nr. 2) (1958)

 

I wanted to write an article about this brand, but when looking for information about them, I have found that the guys from 87thscale have already summarized a short history of the company and a complete list of references, with the help of Juan Mauri Cruz, one of the most important collectors of this brand worldwide. He has also written a comprehensive book (over 400 pages) about the company that is being sold in very few places for around 42 Euros.

 

The most interesting part of the history of Anguplas is its relation with Norev. Angupas made ome models for Norev, assembled others and sold Norev's in Spain. It is interesting to find some "mini-cars" made in France and some Norev madein Spain, although not every model had both versions. There were even sets that combined one truck from one maker and a trailer from the other one.
 

 

From the very few models I own by Anguplas, this one has the lowest reference number (nr.2) and is the oldest of them. It is made in greyish blue and, as you can see, has a few details painted in other colours. Red lights, silver base,  silber bumpers and silver front grill. The model has a very good detail level for its small size and has even windows.

 

Apparently, Anguplas made each car in several colours, so many collectors are just looking for all possible variations. This is quite a difficult task to achieve.
 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEAT 1400 (Nr. 2)
• Scale: Approx. 1:87 (H0)
• Year: 1958
• Company: Anguplas/ Mini-Cars (Spain)
• Size: approx. 4 cm

#614 EFSI – SEVERAL TRUCKS IN 1:87 SCALE (Around 1985)

I do not know many models from EFSI. The cars are really great, but very difficult to find. Trucks, however, are easier to find (at least in my case) and I have bought a few ones over the last few years. Maybe it´s just that trucks are not so sought-after. No matter what, EFSI trucks are nice models in approximately 1:87 scale and sometimes include nice trailers.

The pictures this time are not good, I picked them very quickly without checking them, and most of them are blurry. However, the bases of the trucks are not marked in most cases.

Some models included trailers, and some times, these were even sold apart in an extra blíster pack, like this nice military trailer, which I bought years ago in Portugal:

Nothing especially remarkable about this series, except the nice “TopSleeper”, which I haven’t seen by any other maker.

UPDATE1 (Dec/2018): Yet another truck in alternate colours blue/white). Nice!

UPDATE 2 (Jun/2020) - Beautiful military truck in light blue

UPDATE 3 (Dec/2020): I got a carded truck with tampographies "Kulmbacher Mönchshof-Bräu".

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEVERAL TRUCKS
• Scale: 1:87
• Year: Around 1985
• Company: EFSI (Netherlands)
• Size: approx. 8 cm