#1097 GISIMA – GS and BMW TURBO (GALLETAS SIRO PROMOTIONAL) (Around 1986)

There are not so many Gisima models as one may think, but some are quite rare and others are common. These two models are probably the ones that were made in bigger quantities, that is, the two most representative of this die-cast maker. The BMW already appeared in this blog in entry #795.

The GS is new to this blog, but I have to say it was my first Gisima, bought in 1984 or 1985. The original one had the same colour as the BMW, and it broke while playing with it. First the trunk, then everything else. I kept the remainings for a long time. This other model in red was bought much later, approximately in 2021, if I recall properly, together with the other car in the pictures.

The particularity of these two, is that they are promotional items, as they could be originally found in the boxes of Siro cookies (galletas in Spanish). Siro had a long tradition of giving away die-cast cars of different makers, mainly Mira and Gisima, but also Guisval o Guiloy were once part of the promotions. It is an open question if a particular model by Gisima was produced more often with the Siro sticker or without it (for retail sale), as these were rare to find in shops, that usually prefferred more renowned brands such as Guisval or Mira.

I once wrote a very long article dealing with promotional die-cast cars in Spain, that I published in the magazine Figuras En Acción, and the longest chapter in that article was the one dedicated to Siro. It is worth the time downloading this magazine and translating the text using Google Lens or any other online translator if you are interested in this particular brand.

Of course I have to remark that both models are copies of Majorette toys, being the GS the GS Camargue. Some other mdels made by Gisima, especially in the first years are knock-offs of more famous international brands, but in the later years, let´s say around the turn of the decade and from then on, they produced their own casts. These models are much more scarce but also more interesting for collectors, despite having very basic casts and not many details. Maybe you want to take a look at some other Gisimas in this blog!

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: GS and BMW TURBO (GALLETAS SIRO) (PROMOTIONAL)
• Scale: 1:64
• Year: Around 1986
• Company: Gisima (Spain)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#1082 - PLAYMAKERS/LARAMIE - PLASTIC WRESTLERS (Around 1986)

I bought this collection of 8 plastic wrestlers in Austria, but I didn’t know anything about them until very recently. They are unmarked and relatively small. At the time, I thougth they might come from those vending machines that sell plastic balls with some novelty toy inside, or, maybr, from a blister card from a Chinese or Indian bazar. The paint and the overall quality is very low, but the variety and body positions are great.

I later found out that they were manufactured in the 80s by companies such as:

• Playmakers, which sold them unpainted in a blister pack of 4 under the brand "Champion Wrestlers" (Made in Hong Kong)
• Ja-Ru, unpainted, under the brand "USA Wrestling Team" (Made in Hong Kong)
• Unknown Toymaker, painted, under the brand "Wrestling Champs/ Champions de Lutte" (Made in Hong Kong), using the same card as some of the "Wrestling Champions" bootlegs (same as the two-figure blister pack shown here, both on the front and on the back sides)
• Laramie painted under the brand "Wrestling Sper Champs" (Made in China, probably already in the 90s, as some colours schemes remind of Hulk Hogan)
• The colours used in my figures seem to be more "modern" than those of Laramie, I guess they could be even newer than these. However, for the "facts and figures" at the end of this article, I will use the apporximate year of 1986, as these is the educated guess for the Playmakers models.

I have eight figures, which are decorated in pairs wiht the same colour scheme, but two of them are not matching, so I supposed I was missing two more figures, but the truth is that I am missing 4 figures, as the original set from Playmakers clearly indicates that there are twelve models available.

Mine are: two blond wrestlers with long hair (note the same colour used in boots and trunks), two black-haired wrestlers with red trunks, and two brown-haired wresltlers with orange trunks. The two left-most figures the wrestler with beard and moustache and the bald wrestler with moustache do not have a second figure. 

They are somewhat similar to the plastic WWF wrestler shown here, but the singularity of these ones lies in that they are not bootlegging any known character.

Really cool, racket toys. 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: WRESTLER MINI FIGURES
• Toy Line: Unknown
• Year: Around 1986
• Company: Unknown Manufacturer (China)
  
• Size of the figures: 5-6 cm

#1073 G.I. JOE – COBRA TROOPER and COBRA VIPER (1982 and 1986)

When I deal with the most popular toylines of the major toy companies, my blog receive almost no visits. Of course, everything I could say here about G.I. Joe has already been said somewhere else, or, if you are looking for some information, you have yojoe.com or many other sites to read for hours.

Still, I love to write about lines such as G.I. Joe and taking my figures out for a photo session, so this time I´d like to talk about the main characters of Cobra´s armies: the Cobra Trooper and the Cobra Viper. They are the infantry soldiers of the terrorist organisation, and where always present in the comics and the TV series. First the Cobra Trooper, who was one of the figures in the very first wave in 1982, then updated in 1986 to look less human and more like a sci-fi character. There is a second version of Viper from 1994, but this one is much rarer and I still don´t have it. In any case, the really remarkable ones are these two.

The Cobra Trooper was released, as I just said, in 1982 with straight arms, but then “updated” the following year with swivel arms, which is the version in the pictures. It came with a black machine gun only. It is not to be mistaken by the Cobra Officer, which is a very similar figure, whose more remarkable difference is a silver emblem in the chest. Since we are going today for the “cannon fodder” only, I'll reserve the Cobra Officer for some other day.

 

The Cobra Viper looks much more menacing with its silver visor or helmet and has a much more detailed body sculpt. It seems to be wearing a special jacket (maybe bullet-proof), protective gloves and googles. This other figure came with a grey rifle and a black backpack. The dark blue is the same, as it is the corporate colour of Cobra and suits well for night actions or city guerrilla.

 

Both figures are highly interesting for collectors, as you cannot have only one, you need a bunch of them! In the community in which I used to participate many years ago, there were many advanced collectors who had 10, 50, 100 of each of these two for armybuilding. Crazy! Fortunately, they are not so scarce that they are impossible to find, with some effort (also economical effort), you can find one complete and in good shape. And if, not, they has been cloned and can be bought new, almost indistinguishable of the original ones.

Here is the Spanish fullcard of Viper (Víboras)

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: COBRA TROOPER and VIPER
• Toy Line: G.I. Joe
• Year: 1983 and 1986
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 10 cm approx.

#1069 BUDDY L – SPIDER´S CAR (SECRET WARS, SPIDERMAN) (1986)

Buddy L was another big American toy company from the 1920´s on. As it is usual in these cases, the company went under many names and owners over the years, and disappared sometime in the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. They were focused on tin and metal vehicles, being their most remembered works a series of metal vans and trains in larger scales. 

The parent company of Buddy L was called Moline Pressed Steel Company (founded by Fred A. Lundahl in 1910). This company produced fenders and body parts for the automobile industry, being their main customer the McCormick-Deering (farm implements) and the International Harvester Company (trucks). 

In 1921, the Moline Pressed Steel Company started selling toys, because Mr. Lundhal wanted to make a toy for his son. He took a piece of steel from the scrap pile and built an steel miniature truck (based on an International Harvester). Nice story.  The truck was so well-done and durable, that shortly afterwards, the company started selling toys made of pressed steel under the brand „Buddy L“, „toys for boys“.  Some were small such as this one presented here, but others were big and sturdy enough to allow the kids to ride on them, or to be pulled around.

The company was very popular during the 1920s until the great depression. Their toys were offered in the Marshall Field´s department stores or in the F.A.O: Schwarz toy stores.

The next owner was Henry Katz and Company, who bought the brand Buddy L from Molene Manufacturing Company in 1941. In 1976 is was sold again to Richard Keats, a toy designer and long time employee of Buddy L. In 1978, the company was based in Clifton, New Jersey. In 1990, Keats sold Buddy L again to SLM international, and from here on, it was a fast decadence the company suffered until it disappeared in the 2000s.

The toys from the 1920s to the 1960s are rare and valuable pieces, but with the increasing industrialization of the manufacturing process, the Buddy L Toys were manufactured in great numbers and sold for cheaper prices (also introduced plastic parts in the 60s). Being so sturdy, many have survived until today in such a great shape. The toy I am presenting today belongs to the late 90s, when their production was being carried out in Japan or Macau in order to compete with the toys from Hong-Kong and China. That is why the car is rather simple and has a lot of plastic parts. 

Still it is a very interesting toy, considering it has a license from Marvel´s Secret Wars. The car originally came in a set of four pieces, including also a van, a helicopter and a motorbike, all with Spidey´s stickers. But there was at least another set in which this car was decorated with Dr. Doom colours and stickers, the Van with Dr. Octopus´, the motorbike with Captain America´s, and the helicopter with Wolverine´s. These two sets are today scarce, and rare collectibles in their original box. Still the individual toys can be purchased for almost no money, let´s say around 10 US$/piece or even less.

This car is in an excellent shape with no cracks on the plastic parts, opening doors and very little or no use. The stickers are also excellent. Very cool!

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: Spider´ Car
• Scale: Around 1:38
• Year: 1986
• Company: Buddy L (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 12 cm

#1015 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – JET SLED (1986)

Time to go back to Masters of the Universe. The series is so popular today, that I am starting to loose interest in it. There are several modern toylines, tv series, publications and merchandising available, but I still remain interested in the vintage line and the He-Man New Adventures one only.
 
This toy is the third battle accessory after the Megalaser and the Stilt Stalkers, both presented many years ago in this blog. The Jet Sled was missing, or more precisely, I was missing the backpack part, which is the fragile part of the pack.

As the Stilt Stalkers, the Jet Sled can be carried in the back of the figure, when it is not is use. When in use, it can be used as an autonomous flying object (some kind of drone), or it can carry one figure/pilot that is fitted to the Jet by its feet. Unfortunately, the hands do not fit very well in the handles and it looks somewhat not great, when you are using a figure with it.

It also has two mini missiles on the wings, that can be removed with some effort. Sometimes they are missing. The wheels are also slightly fragile, but most wings are in good shape, as it was, and is, a sturdy toy.
 
FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: JET SLED (Ref. 2084)
• Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 5)
• Year: 1986
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: approx. 16 cm

#993 STAR TOYS - DAVID EL GNOMO SEVERAL PLASTIC FIGURES (Around 1986)

 
Following the great success of the TV series, Star Toys released a wide variety of characters in PVC, from which I only own 7 of them. I think there are over thirty figures of David, Lisa and other secondary characters, as well as bigger toys, such as the fox Swift, the four trolls and the three Yetis, the swan, the artic fox, an igloo, the gnome house and several sets of furniture for that home.

 

I do not know exactly how many figures are there, as I could not find any collector claiming the ownership of a complete collection. What I can say, is that these few figures shown here are among the most common ones, while several species or families of gnomes, such as Africans, Arabs, Inuits, musicians… are much rarer to spot. Also some specific versions of David and Lisa are very rare to find. Especially nice is a couple of naked figures that came in the bathroom accessory set box. Or one in which Lisa is feeding two baby-gnomes.

The figures were sold in bags with several figures in them, or probably also as single pieces in certain toy shops and bakeries during 1986 (the series started in October 1985), but it was aired several times more in the following years, so it remained popular during a long number of years. And not only in Spain, the series was sold to other countries where it was equally successful, and the PVC figures can also be found in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy… so I guess Star Toys made good business with this license.

I got mine in a flea market in Austria, they did not cost much, so I decided to get them, even though I had none and I was not very interested in them. But now I love them, and I would like to get more if possible. I am checking the internet to see if some more are available at low prices, and I keep discovering nice figures that I would like to have.

For the time being, I am happy with these 7 figures, all of them representing (I think) David or Lisa in different activities. They are all marked BRB at the back. In my case, the figures are all in a great condition, other used toys present paint loss, especially at the tip of the hut, where their small owners used to chew on them.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: DAVID EL GNOMO (Several figures and characters)
  
• Year: Around 1986
• Company: Star Toys (Spain)
• Size of the figures: Around 7 cm