#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

#1024 TOMICA – TV TRUCK (Nr. 75 or Nr. 29-75) (1974)

I haven´t shown any die-cast made by this brand since a long time. (Almost) All cars I had in my collection have been shown already in this blog, but this one was my last acquisition. I bought it in my city and collected it directly from the seller. It was not very expensive, and since it is my first and only carded or boxed vintage Tomica, I decided to buy it.

I love it, it is a nice TV van, based on an Isuzu van. The cast shows several doors and compartments on both sides of the vehicle and a practicable rear door, but there are no other details (such as antennas) that would help identify the car more properly, except for the stickers on the sides of the vehicle, which, by the way, can be red “NHK COLOR TV” or blue “TV TRUCK”. (NHK is the Japanese national broadcasting company)

My toy was released in the Pocket Cars series, which, as you know, it was intended for foreign markets (these are all marked “TV TRUCK”. They are not so sought-for as the Japanese releases (“NHK COLOR TV”) in the standard black box, and there is a earlier variant with another type of wheels. In particular, this one is partially written in German, and includes a backcatalogue with several Tomica references of the same series.

There are several  alternative decorations in the same colours, but with alternative tampographies on the sides: “Minicar Shop Open” in green, “East Land” in red, or even both at the same time (I have spotted one model carrying both tampographies).

In 1979 the same cast was also used in reference nr. 8, Isuzu Blood Bank Car, in white and green. Many years later, it was reissued in white and blue, but with a darker shade of blue.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: TV TRUCK (Nr. 75)
• Scale: 1:122
• Year: 1974
• Company: Tomica (Japan)
• Size: 6 cms

#1002 FALLER HIT-CAR – VW PORSCHE 914/6 and MERCEDES 350 SLC (1970 and 1974)

Faller is better known for their electric trains and scale kits for train modellism, but in the 70s they were also active in other toy markets, such as slot cars and speed tracks, similar to those made by Hot Wheels. The difference, is that the Hit-Cars by Faller have plastic bodies and die-cast base

For this reason, they were very light and could make great jumps, but, on the other side, they were very fragile. Some models in very good condition reach today very interesting prices when sold online, probably due to the scarcity of mint models.

My two Faller Hit-Car models are a good example of what I say. I own a VW Porsche 914/6 in white, which is in mint condition plus a blue Mercedes 350SLC that has been stepped on and almost destroyed. So are a great percentage of used models. The first one could clearly sell for more than 30 euros, the second one is probably worth nothing.

The VW Porche was available between 1970 and 1980 and has some information on the base (110 PS and 200 Km/h). The Mercedes Model was available between 1974/75 and 1980 and the base indicates 200 PS and 210 Km/h.

Faller tracks were sold in packages that remind of the Matchbox colours. The tracks came in boxes, and the cars could be purchased in nice blisters. This line was active between 1969 and 1979, but the death of one of the Faller brothers stopped the development of this particular line. 

The company is much older than that, as it was founded in 1946 by the brothers Edwin and Hermann Faller in Baden-Württenberg, Germany. Originally they produced construction sets made of wood, and other articles such as clothespins. Soon they started with the model kits for electric trains in H0 scales, which is the niche in which they succeeded and are best known at.

The main part of their production was aimed at adult collectors and hobbyist, but in the early 70, they also produced the Hittrain, which was a toy for children. Other toys were the AMS Auto Motor Sport line of slot cars and the Hit-Car which I am showing in this entry.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: VW PORSCHE 914/6 (nr. 3441) and MERCEDES 350 SLC (nr. 3455)
• Scale: Approx. 1:64
• Year: 1970-1980 and 1974/75-1980, respectively
  
• Company: Faller (West Germany)
• Size: Around 6 cm long

#903 TOOTSIETOY - SEVERAL MODELS IN 3 INCHES AND OTHER SIZES (1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1976)

Despite having collected thousands of die-cast models in over 30 years, I keep discovering new toys made by brands from which I have never heard of before, or by brands I know, but I never had in my hands before.

One of the brands in this second case is Tootsietoy. It is a great American toymaker I of course was aware of, but I never had any toys made by them until very recently. They were to my knowledge never sold in the countries I lived in, so I guess the ones I found were transported from Germany.

It is nice to have a couple of them, but I am not sure if I will buy more of them, given I can find more at reasonable prices.

The company has a very long history behind them, since it can be tracked back to the 1890s. The history starts in Chicago, where two companies merged in 1926. The first of them was a trade paper called the National Laundry, founded by the Dowst Brothers. They also had a linotype machine to make metal buttons, cuff links and other items related to their main bussiness. The second company was Cosmo company, owned by the Shure Brothers. They produced small cars also as cuff links, pins and so.

The Shure Borthers purchased the Dowst Brothers bussiness, but the name of the merged companies remained Dowst Manufacturing Co. The first die-cast cars were produced sometime between 1909 and 1911. The name Tootsietoy was registered in 1924 by the Dowst Brothers, supposedly after the name of a granddaughter of one of them, whose name was Toots. In the first years, the produced several promotional die-cast stuff or even figures for the Monopoly game and dollhouse furniture.

The 20s decade, the company produced many car toys, vehicles, hand guns and so on. Some of the first model were promotional, like a series of vehicles for the Graham Company in 1932 and for General Motors in 1935. During WW2, the production was reset for war effort, reducing the toy production to almost zero.

After WW2, the production continued offering mostly American models for the American market.

In 1961 Tootsietoy purchased Strombecker, who would became famous for their slot cars, and since then, some toys were marked Tootsietoy-Strombecker.

By the end of the decade, part of the production was reallocated to Hong-Kong, but henceforth the production plants in the U.S.A. (Chicago or Rockford, both Illionis) and Hong-Kong would close and new ones would open in China. The headquarters is still based in Chicago, but now the brand Tootsietoy is owned by J. Lloyd International, Inc.

Focusing on the toys now, the vehicles made by Tootsietoys were always quite simple in construction. The body of the car holds the axles from the inside and they rarely come with interiors, which were added already for the first time in the late 70s. A good example of this can be noticed in the next pictures of a buggy from the tough series.

1971 - 1249 - TOUGHS (Buggy, Trailer with Boat):

1974 - 2405 - MIDGET SPORT SETS (Jeep, Sport Proto, trailer with boat, missing car)

The selection of Tootsie references in this entry ranges from 1971 to 1976, and mixes cars in 3 inches (or slightly smaller, maybe 2.5 inches) and bigger models, and different types of vehicles. The nice part is that all of them are still in their original package, alhough not all cards are in great shape (some even cut or partially opened).

197? - 14127 - NO NAME (Car Transporter, Race Car)

This transporter, that has a considerable size, is built in metal with plastic base to give it a tougher construction. Unfortunately, the trailer is made of plastic, so I guess many ended up stepped-on and broken. It includes a nice unidentified race car.

1975 - 1250 - TINY TOUGHS (Pick-Up Truck)

What I like most from this reference is the Honda Civic from the 70s drawn in the card! Very cool hatchback!

1972 - 2400 - HOP'D RODS (Hot Rod)

The seller had several models from this series, but I bought only one, the one that had the card in best condition. I love that illustration of a custom dragster car. Unfortunately, the toy model is not very well detailed.

1974 - 2435 - FARM TRACTOR

I don't like this model especially, but again, the illustration is wonderful. They should have placed that sticker in the bubble or somwhere else! Interestingly, the toy is made in U.S.A., but the wheels were assemble in Hong-Kong.

1975 - 2552 - RESCUE (Helicopter)

Amazing packaging! I wonder who painted all that stuff.

1976 - ? - TOUGHS HITCH-UPS (Pick-Up Van and Buggy)

This is my only Tootsie in some kind of "jewel-case" with cardboard base and bubble on top. The buggy seems to be based in a Matchbox Super King model, or not?

 

1976 - 2200 - VANTASTIC California Sports Van

Another cool packaging. The seller had it in this colour and also in pink, a clear exploitation of Charlie's Angel's Van. I picked this one don't know why. Maybe it had a better card, because in pink it is also extremely cool. That mid-west country landscape (Monument Valley?) is not bad either. The Van comes without back door, because, after all, it was some kind of budget model.

All cards and boxes include some text referring to the safety regulations at the time of the release, and some also came with a nice promotional offer in which you could buy a Tootsietoys t-shirt. The offer has expired long ago, but I would love to have one of those t-shirts now. How cool would that be?

UPDATE1 (Nov/2019): Roadster in green, perfect to complete the blisterpack shown above that is missing one piece! Also interesting to have a piece out of the blister, so I am able to show the bottom part of the cast. No base, but still some markings. Note also the axles and the wheels that remind of Matchbox´s Regular Wheels.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEVERAL MODELS IN 3 INCHES AND OTHER SIZES
• Scale: Approx. 1:64 and 1:43
• Year: 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1976
• Company: Tootsietoy (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 6 cm to 10 cm