#1051 YONEZAWA / DIAPET - HATO BUS (NO.D-159) (1967)

Sometimes you find something exceptional in a flea market. Here is a Japanese made die-cast Hato Bus from 1967. I'd like to know  what is the story behind this bus and how did it arrive in Austria. It probably belonged to somebody born in the late 50s or early 60s until it ended in a box full of die-cast cars and vehicles. It has been already several years in my collection.

I have tried to find some information about it on the Internet, but it is difficult. There are a few for sale, but the text does not reflect any importantt facts or data. It was also available in white and blue. Due to the red logo shown on each side, I thought, this might be a JAL Japan Airlines Bus, but it is not. The text on the sides says HATO BUSU. I don't know what does this mean or which company or city represents.

My bus toy is slightly damaged on the rear part, as if someone had stepped on it and sank its roof. As a result, the windows do not fit very well anymore. I could easily repair it, but I am afraid I could do more harm than good. So I didn´t try yet.  The body of the bus is attached to the base by means of a screw, so it would also be easy to open it, and mount it again. I guess it is not very valuable in this condition, but it is something rare, exotic and curious to have.

Yonezawa STS was one of the most important toy manufacturers of the tin era, and produced many robots and space-themed toys. Their offer also included vehicles in larger scales  (1:18 to 1:24) and die-cast miniatures, although these were mostly marketed under the Diapet brand. The die-cast models represented often the same models, only in a smaller scale, 1:40 or similar). 

The company was founded in the 50s and was involved since its early days in the production of mechanical and battery operated tin toys. During the late 60s or early 70s, they also produced vynil toys (a kaiju helmet) and, in the 80s, they also were involved in radio-controlled toys. In 1991, the company was absorved by Sega to become Sega-Yonezawa, although this brand was dropped in April 1998. 

The logo of the company is a letter “Y” inside a cherry blossom (five-petal flower, known as sakura), which is a motif used by many comtemporary toy manufacturers. 

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: HATO BUS (D-159)
• Alternate Names: はとバス ヨネザワ ダイヤペット
• Scale: 1:90
• Year: 1967
• Company: Yonezawa / Diapet (Japan)
• Size: approx. 15 cm

#1005 BLUE BOX – PENNY RACERS and TRAFALGAR – COIN CHARGERS (Around 1989 and 1982, respectively)

The Penny Racers (or, in Japanese, Choro-Q) are best known under the Takara brand, which is also the company that introduced them in 1978. They were based on a previous toyline called Mame Dash which was discontinued in 1980.

They are miniature pull-back cars with superdeformed dimensions (Choro is an abbreviation to the Japanese word for “cute”), in whose rear part there is a slot in which you can insert, if you wish, a small coin (f.e. a penny) and the car will drive on two wheels, making nice acrobacies on its way. There were a lot of tracks to go with and the variety was enourmous, as they encountered great success both in Japan and outside Japan. The license has even make it up to a dozen videogames and some Transformers sub-lines are also Penny Racers, not to forget the licenses awarded to Blue Box, Funrise, Tonka and others. Even it may seem strange, the original Japanese line was aimed to adult collectors, whereas Tonka version (called the Turbo Tricksters) is intended for children. There were all kinds of vehicles made, and they are still being sold in many countries, so it is a line that is still alive and producing many different models per year. 

 

The blue and yellow buggy is my only Penny Racer, I bought is for one euro in a fle market around 4 years ago. It is a nice model with a decoration and colour combination that was usual in the 90s. You can read more about Blue Box Toys here.

Another model which fits into this category of toys, but it is actually a knock-off is this Coin Chargers by the Hong-Kongese company Trafalgar. This one is clearly older (probably from the early 80s) and represents a fire truck. It was a gift from Steven and it is still carded, which is always nice to see. The instructions are in simple English and include some errors. The backcard shows other 5 models, but you can observe that the Coin Chargers were probably sold for very little money, as the quality of the package is rather low, although at the time, most products of its kind had (more or less) this quality.

UPDATE (May/2023): I got this model from my friend Steven, and it is matching exactly the first model shown in this entry. It is also made by Blue Box.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: BUGGY and FIRE TRUCK 
• Scale: Approx. 1:90
• Year: Around 1989 and around 1982, respectively
• Company: Blue Box (Hong-Kong) and Trafalgar Toys (Hong-Kong) based on a license or copied from Takara's Choro-Q
  
• Size: approx. 4 cm

#199 MATCHBOX – CHEVROLET IMPALA TAXI, 8-WHEEL CRANE, LINCOLN CONTINENTAL, CADILLAC S&S AMBULANCE, FIAT 1500 and MERCEDES COACH (Nr. 20, 30, 31, 54, 56, 68) (1964 and 1965)

MATCHBOX 1964 to 1966: EXPANSION YEARS

For this entry, I will present a nice bundle of Matchbox cars made in the year 1965, plus the Lincoln Continental that was released at the end of 1964.

This years are important in the Matchbox history, because at this point, Matchbox was selling more than half of their production outside the United Kingdom: mostly in the United States, and also in Europe. This fact was observed by Matchbox, and then, they decided to manufacture the first American cars in the 1-75 series ever. The new approach would bring slightly bigger toys, plastic interiors and plastic windows. By 1968, the whole 75 references had been replaced.

The politics of reproducing foreign cars was a great success, and by 1965, the company was producing over 2 million cars per week, and employing more than 3000 people. It is very interesting to note, that this year, Matchbox started working with more than one cast for each model. Each cast has a lifespan of around 5 million units, and that wasn’t enough, so it is not rare to find some cast variants in several 1-75 models.

In 1966, nothing changed much, each time more and more foreign vehicles, replaced the older references… up to 20 references this year. A nice model from this year was the Greyhound Bus, the first American bus model in the British die-cast company. Although most of these new 20 were American models, there were also new British (MG 1100) and German models (Opel Diplomat, Mercedes-Benz 230SL)

Nr. 20: Chevrolet Impala taxi was one of the very few models including the driver in the plastic interiors of the car.

Nr. 30: 8-Wheel Crane is an undetermined truck model, which replaced in 1965 a similar Magirus-Deutz crane. It was discontinued in 1970, so there are versions with superfast wheels too.

Nr. 31: The Lincoln Continental was probably one of the most beautiful models from that year (1964). The real model, however became famous for the assassination of the U.S. President J. F. Kennedy. Early Matchbox models were released in dark metallic blue, since they were planned before that tragedy. Later models were released in a turquoise (see pictures above), that were much different to the presidential car. This model survived a few years, and in 1970 it was released with superfast wheels in metallic gold color.

 

Nr. 54: The Cadillac S&S Ambulance was the first American Ambulance released by Matchbox. In the 1-75 catalogue, coexisted with a Bedford ambulance, that sold better in Europe.

Nr. 56: The Fiat 1500 is a extremely nice model, a sample of the first foreign (not-american) cars ever made: this model plus a Ferrari Berlinetta, both Italian.

Nr. 68: The Mercedes Coach appeared relatively late. The real bus (O 319) was in production between 1955 to 1965 approximately. The bus however looks great (and looked modern in 1965) with all those windows. The lower body is die-cast metal, while the upper body is made of plastic. 

Most information for this article has been taken from the chapter 5 of the book “Matchbox Cars: the first 50 years” by Mac Ragan. Although the book is out of print now, this chapter can be read for free in Google Books.

To finish, I’d like to recommend the following website, which is the only one that clearly indicates the years of release and discontinuation of the Matchbox 1-75 series, as well as many interesting catalogues (British, American and German editions) for free: http://www.hgm-matchbox.de/default.htm

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHEVROLET IMPALA TAXI, 8-WHEEL CRANE, LINCOLN CONTINENTAL, CADILLAC S&S AMBULANCE, FIAT 1500 and MERCEDES COACH (Ref. 20C, 30C, 31C, 54B, 56B, 68B)
• Scale: 1:64, 1:100 the Bus and the 8-wheeled truck (approx.)
• Year: 1964 (Lincoln) and 1965 (rest)
• Company: Matchbox-Lesney (United Kingdom)
• Size: 6 to 7 cm (approx.)

#189 GUISVAL – KENWORTH W900 & K100 TRUCKS (Around 1981)

COLECCIÓN TIR by GUISVAL

Guisval is mostly known for its miniatures in 1:64 scale. As it often happens with this scale, the cars are around 3 inches, and in the same size, some trucks are also released. The trucks are often labelled with a 1:100 or 1:87 scale, depending on the real model (all toys are around 3 inches).

In the “normal” (Campeón) series, some trucks were released over the years, most notably a Magirus-Deutz and a Volvo in dozens of different versions. Now I am only referring to the series with trailer: The old “200” series (truck + trailer) was around 1981 replaced by this new “TIR collection”, with new, more attractive models.

Guisval, of course, also released trucks in a bigger scale (see for example #37). 

Note that among the three trucks in the pictures, two of them are actually the same model with different colours, while the third one is a different cast. This series was conformed by an undetermined number of trucks with a long trailer: the truck could be either one or the other, while the range of trailers was much broader.

The TIR collection was sold in single blister packs, jewel cases and also in a big porexpan or cardboard showcases with place for many trucks.

The same Kenworth trucks were part of other series. Precisely in the “Campeón Servicio Público” or the “Campeón transportes” series were both models available without any trailer or with a shorter (not articulated) trailer.

Within the TIR collection we may tell between the transport trucks and carrier trucks. The second group’s trailer was a platform in which some vehicle was placed, like a tractor, aeroplane, yacht…Reference numbers go from 7001 to 7010 depending on the load. The colour of the truck may vary for the same reference. For example, the truck with the yacht might be yellow (with red and white boat) or orange (with (blue and white boat).

Guisval 1987 wholesale catalogue

Guisval 1987 wholesale catalogue

Blisterpack pic courtesy of Carlos Fuentes ( juguetesjugados.blogspot.com )

The chassis is made of plastic, as well as the exhaust pipes and other details (chromed). Note that the front bumpers of the red truck are broken and also is one of the rear bumpers in the yellow model. The exhaust pipes are usually broken, also in my red and yellow models. The white truck is complete.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: KENWORTH W900 & K100 TRUCKS
• Scale: 1:87 (approx.)
• Year: (Around 1981)
• Company: Guisval (Spain)
• Size: approx. 16 cm (with trailer)