#1047 G.I. JOE – S.L.A.M. (1987)

The black catalogue used in Europe for the G.I. Joes corresponding to the year 1987 in the US (which arrived in Spain around one year later), was a trauma for many children like me, as it depicted many references that were not available in Spain (or in Italy or in both). We could see the pictures, we could read a short description of the vehicle, and at the end of this text, we could read "this item is not available in Spain/Italy". Why didn´t they change the catalogue layout, as they did the next year, is something I never understood.

One of the vehicles that was not available for me was the S.L.A.M. a small tank with capacity for two figures. The tank had some legs to fix itself to the ground and convert into an artillery base. Too much firepower for a small tank! The platform rotates 360 degrees and has four cannons on one side and a lot of red missiles that do not fit very well in their places and usually fall down (the slot is too small). One of the figures look ahead, the other back, so all flanks are covered.

The vehicle itself is not a great thing (there are others which I like better in this same size), but I learnt to love it more, since I had seen it hundreds of times in that catalogue sheet. I also have the original box in great condition, with a very fine artwork.

As I usually do with G.I.Joe vehicles, I will display now some diorama pictures of this vehicle.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: S.L.A.M. (Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine)
• Toy Line: G.I. Joe (Wave 6)
• Year: 1987
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size: Around 20 cm long

#1039 BRAVESTARR – MARSHALL BRAVESTARR (1987)

There is not much I can say about Bravestarr which has not been told already one hundred times. We all know more or less what this toyline (and the corresponding cartoons) is/are about, and which the characters that were made into a figure are.

I do not collect this specific figures, but as I usually get many figures in lots, exchanges, flea markets and so on, I have come through them many times. I have a couple of figures and many accessories, and I decided to keep this one, as 1) is complete, 2) is the main character of the story, also the one that gives name to the series, 3) I have very few figures in this size. As it usually happens, once you have a figure, you want more, and I’d really like to complete Tex Malone/Tex Hex or get more characters for my collection.

And maybe the size is its most interesting feature, as these were completely out of fashion at the time. Mattel was about to discontinue Masters of the Universe and needed something new. G.I. Joe was among the most popular lines of the day, and the Ninja Turtles were about to appear. That is why these figures were so amazing when you saw them in 1987, they were different from everything else. Of course, Action Man came before (and also after), or many other action figures had this size (or even bigger) before, but most children were not aware of this. 

Unfortunately, the toyline didn’t make it very well, and there were not many references made. Probably it was the price, and also the concurrence from the actions figures mentioned above. It was a hard time for new figures, especially being not compatible with the other toylines. However, Mattel did a good work and gave this toys great action features, nice packaging, cool accessories, vehicles and playsets, not to forget that paperwork that imitates a newspaper.

The figures, may look a bit bulky and not so well articulated today, but they are still very cool. They are also very sought after collectables, especially since 5-7 years. Before that, it was common to see them boxed for sale on eBay or similar websites.

In this entry, I am presenting the main character Marshall Bravestarr, a Native American with superpowers when he calls upon the power of spirit animals: the strength of a bear, the eyes of the hawk, the speed of a puma and the ears of a wolf. The figure came in a box with a window and included the following accessories: vest, cowboy hut, rifle, gun (called neutra-laser pistol, that can be attached to his right leg) and two pieces of kerium, the mineral that was extracted in the planet New Texas. The kerium is an energy source and it is one source of conflict between the evil characters and those representing or standing with the law. All characters came with one or two pieces of this transparent red material.

The figure has a button on the back that is used to lift its arm, as if it was a gunfight duel in the Wild West, and is articulated with swivel arm, although there is no hips articulation and the legs’ one could be improved. I took some pictures outside, and I think they are great.

And last but not least, a VHS tape with adventures from was the very first tape I rented on a videoclub, maybe around 1991 or 1992.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: MARSHALL BRAVESTARR
• Toy Line: Bravestarr (Wave 1)
• Year: 1987
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 25 cm approx.

#989 BRUDER-MINI – RENNWAGEN (1987)

These toys are among the most recognizable novelty toys of all times, as they have been manufactured more or less continuously since at least 40  years by many companies around the globe and sold per unit or as a premium for chocolate eggs or similar snacks.

These are, however, the original ones, made by Bruder in what, at the time, was Western- Germany. Bruder is one of the most important toy manufacturers in Germany today, and its main product line today is a series of 1:16 scale vehicles and figures called bworld, which has an excellent quality. We have a couple of these at home. They started in 1926 by manually making finger buttons for trumpets, and expanded into plastic toys in the right moment, with the purchase of a plastic injection machine in 1958. 

But today we are going to talk about the Bruder-Mini toyline that debutted in 1981, although the company made other small and unexpensive plastic toys before, such as trumpets, whistles, guns… They were all immensely popular due to its low price and their variety.

The innovative idea was to make vehicles that could share parts among them, reducing the costs for tooling and manufacturing. That is, if you make a series of trucks, all will have the same base, and cabin, but the load will vary from one to the other, or if you have spaceships, you’ll design them in a way that the cabin will fit in several bodies, or the antennas can be attached to several different bodies. This was the main idea of the Bruder-Mini toylines, together with roughness and keeping the prices very low.

The very first series was the truck’s, later extended with other construction machines, but many other followed, such as, old cars, planes, trains boats, space toys, these sport cars, standard cars in H0 scale… and even more. Some are larger than others, the trucks, for example, are maybe the smallest ones, being slightly larger than a Micro Machine, while the sports cars or boats are closer to a 3 inches car than to a Micro Machine.

Among all different Bruder Mini series, this one is the only I can claim to have completed. There are 4 different models in total, although the colour combinations probably make a few dozens. They are not very easy to spot, but sometimes you find them mixed up with other types of toys. Originally, they were sold loose out of big buckets (see pictue below), or in smaller blisterpacks or bags

I am not sure which cars do they represent. I would say the red one in the big picture is a Ferrari, the yellow one in the same picture could be a brabham (looks a lot like the Majorette model) and the third F1 could be really any other (has a large spoiler). The sport prototype is also generic, I could not identify it.

I wrote extensively about Mini Bruder in the 24th issue of Figuras En Acción, maybe you want to take a look at the article you'll find HERE.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: RENNWAGEN
• Scale: 1:100 (approx.)
• Year: 1987
• Company: Bruder Mini (West Germany)
• Size: Around 4 cm long

#961 DARDA - VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO (1411-040) and FERRARI GTO (1625-040 and 1625-045) (Around 1987)

Here are two/three recent additions to my Darda collection:

The first model is a red VW Corrado, which is a car that was not represented at scale by many vintage manufacturers, so it is a good addition to any die-cast collection. This version is the red one with white text, reference number 1411-040.

The second model is a Ferrari GTO, from which I got two in a row. They are basically identical, except for the GTO logo on both sides and the colour of the windows.

The first model is reference number 1625-040, has Ferrari and GTO logos on both sides and its windows are green.

The second model, without logos of any kind on the sides and brown windows is reference number 1625-040.

This model has been made dozens of times by all die-cast manufacturers, and, in my opinion, this one doesn't have very accurate proportions. Pity, but still a very cool car. Interestingly, Darda made this car only in red.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO (1411-040) and FERRARI GTO (1625-040 and 1625-045) (Numbering according to www.dardamania.de)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1987
• Company: Darda (Germany)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm