#1052 MINILAND – ACTION´S MEN (Around 1990)

This is another summary of an article that appeared first on the magazine Figuras en Acción, around 3 years ago. Miniland is a Spanish brand famous for their plastic figures, but which was also involved in other types of toys, such as action figures. Today they are still active and focusing on very high quality pre-school toys and dolls. Some of them very interesting and unique.

What I´d like to present today is their toyline Action´s Men, a rare knock-off of G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero using a cast which is reminiscent the Star Wars figures by Kenner in the 70s and the 80s. I bought this panel several years ago and I like the figures very much. I had some loose ones before buying this, so I didn´t miss the opportunity when I saw this exclusive article in auction.

The collection made by Miniland is actually a bootleg of another toyline from Hong-Kong called Military One by a company called Porto Play, rather unknown even to the specialists in the field of military action figures. From the big asssortment of figures made by Porto Play, only five were made by Miniland: the pilot, the soldier with a Beret, the parachutist, the soldier with sailor bonnet and the infantry soldier (with helmet). The plastic is a bit too soft, and the figures are not great to play with. The movement of arms and legs is difficult to place in the position you want. After some time without use, they stuck and it takes some minutes to make them articulated again.

Still, they are very rare and are slowly becoming better known worldwide. There are rarely available for sale and they reach high prices. I guess some foreign collectors of G.I. Joe and similar toylines have discovered Action´s Men and grabbed everything left on the Spanish auction sites. They were also available in single packs and gift packs with 4 figures plus some accessory. If you like G.I.Joe and the bootlegs made of them, take a look at the original article on the magazine. Search for the download link here: https://figurasenaccion.blogspot.com/2022/05/revista-numero-26-mayo-2022.html

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: Five different casts with different colours (all unnamed)
• Toy Line: Action´s Men
• Year: Around 1990
• Company: Miniland (Spain)
• Size of the figures: Approx. 9 cm tall

#1043 YATMING – WRECK TRUCK and HEAVY DUTY TIPPER TRUCK (Around 1975 and 1990)

Yatming has a series of trucks with different loads attached to it. Some people say, they are based on the Ford F600 Cab, while other people think it resembles more an Isuzu cab from the late 70s. Honestly, I think it is the second one, as the two rectangles on the front of the cab are typical of the Japanese company, but I am not an expert in trucks and even less in Japanese trucks. Maybe the next picture helps with the identification...

These models were released in the mid-80s and carried reference numbers ranging from 1351 to 1359. There were, of course, other truck models but these were the oldest. As it is usual in this die-cast manufacturer, the models were available during a long period of time, many years, in fact, so you can find them Made in Hong Kong or Made in China, with metal or plastic bases and also with different colour variants.

I only have these two:
 
1352 Wreck Truck (Made in Hong-Kong) still has its hook and is in a very good shape. With metallic base. The hook oscillates back and forth, but the black base is firmly attached to the cab. It can carry one car, but not every car, as the hook is too high for most models and, as a results, the truck drags whatever load it is.

1358 Heavy Duty Tipper Truck (Made in China), with plastic base. Interestingly, both share the same wheels, even though there are, at least, 10 years between one and the other. The bed is practicable.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: WRECK TRUCK and HEAVY DUTY TIPPER TRUCK (No. 1352 and 1358)
• Scale: Around 1:100
• Year: Around 1975 and 1990
• Company: YatMing (Hong-Kong/China)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#1026 MATCHBOX 2000 – ROCKET (1990)

I often talk about Matchbox lines which are not the superfast or the ordinary 1-75 series. I would like to review also those series, maybe I will do that more often in the future, as there are still hundreds of cars in my collection waiting for their turn to have their blog entry.
 

Matchbox 2000 was a short lived series of small cars equipped with a magnet on the rear half that could be steered (well, more or less) by placing an additional piece nearby. This key-piece also had a magnet, so when it came close to the car, the magnets would repel each other, as they were built with the same polarity.  Simple and nice. Mostly considering that the models chosen were all futuristic prototypes, dream cars with names such as Streak, Rocket, Gamma or Spark. Unfortunately, they are not based on real models, I would say they are all invented.

Magnetism is nothing new, but it something that attracts people (and especially children), as it has something magic in it. You can steer a toy car without touching it, using no batteries. Cool. And there is no better name than “Matchbox 2000” for a product made in 1990. This was how we expected the year 2000 to be.

I got this blisterpack from Steven (from the Motorcade). It was already partially opened, so I carefully removed the contents and tested it myself. It is fun to play with. The “key” piece can also hold the car and can be clipped to the pocket of your shirt for carrying it, although, I would say, if you do that, there is a 99% chance of losing the car within the next 2 minutes. It does not hold very well.

The line included all these 12 vehicles in the picture plus two playsets with plenty of magnets to fit, hold and move your 2000´s cars. The first one was called R.P.M. (Robotic Positioning Module) and the second one V.S.C. (Vertical Service Center)

There was a second series comprising the same 12 cars in alternate colours, but these were sold in 3-packs without magnetic key.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MATCHBOX 2000 ROCKET
• Scale: Approx 1:72
• Year: 1990
• Company: Matchbox (United Kingdom)
• Size: 7 cms

#969 CAPTAIN PLANET – HOGGISH GREEDLY and DUKE NUKEM (1990)

Captain Planet, I think I already said this, was one of the TV series I recall watching with more interest back in the early 90s. I also like the action figures by Tiger a lot, but they are difficult to get complete, since most characters came with several small pieces that went lost most of the time. The most difficult part to be found in many figures is the human-sized ring that was intended to be worn by the boy or girl playing with the figure. All five planeteer children characters had one (the four elements Earth, Water, Air, Fire, plus a fifth element referred to as Heart) which they used to invoke the Captain Planet. The Captain himself had another ring that he always wore.

Having said that, I present today two complete figures, none of them have difficult accessories, quite the opposite, those huge parts are not easily lost, so these two figures are kind of easier to find complete than the rest of the figures. 

In a previous entry I presented Dr. Blight carded, now I present two more villains from series 1: Hoggish Greedly and Duke Nukem.

Let’s start by Hoggish Greedly, a great figure. It is a human with a face that resembles that of a pig. Not a great metaphor, but you quickly realize this guy is one of the bad ones. It comes with a backpack that could be filled up with water and a gun connected to it by means of a hose. By pressing the backpack, the gun shoots a water beam. To dig in the pig resemblance, the backpack is also decorated with a pig logo. 

   

 

It is maybe worth commenting, that the character is depicted as big and fat, something common to another villain named Sly Sludge, and this could lead to mistakes as they are different characters. I wonder why they are both overweight, and why the planeteers are all fit. I guess today they would have been more careful when doing the character design, as this could be interpreted as insulting. Leaving this aside, this is a great figure, I would have wished nicer accessories or some action feature, but the sculpt, the concept and the colours are very good.

Duke Nukem is maybe even better, as it is some kind of radioactive man with a very particular and attractive look. In the TV series, he has the superpower of firing radioactive blasts from his hands. In this first version, the gesture on his face is quite menacing, but in the second version, with Hawiian shirt, looks nicer, as he becomes a good guy and helps Captain Planet in some of his missions. The second version is much more difficult to find, as it is an European exclusive.

It has a glow-in-the-dark feature, which is something very valued in action figures, but came without accessories.

 FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: HOGGISH GREEDLY and DUKE NUKEM
• Toy Line: CAPTAIN PLANET and THE PLANETEERS (Wave 1)
• Year: 1990
• Company: Tiger Toys/Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 16 cm

#964 ERTL – BATMAN and THE JOKER METALLIC MINI FIGURES (1990)

 

I presented a long time ago an ERTL Batmobile from the original 1989 movie. Recently I got two more figurines of the same series, which, to my surprise, it is quite long. Ertl did not only manfucture these two main characters plus the car, there are also many other figures vehicles, including even characters which do not appear in the first movie, and others in the style of Batman the Animated Series, so I guess the DC comics license was granted for a series of years starting in 1989 to sometime in the mid-90s.

These two were sold together in a blister card with a mini-comic that I do not have, and represent the main characters in the 1989 movie style and outfits.

On the back of the card, we see that Ertl also manufactured other DC characters, such as Superman or Shazam! So I guess there must be an alternative card design for these.

The figures are in excellent shape, they have not been played with, so the paintwork is almost perfect. Like die-cast cars and other toys, they tend to get chips and loose paint, but these are still mint. Note the nose of The Joker... maybe I can restore it soon.

pics: amazon.com y collectors.com

 

The first series from 1990 include:

• Batman –standing (#715) blue and grey suit, pre-movie
• Superman –standing (#716)
• The Penguin (#718)
• Shazam! (#719)
• Batman –Raised Fist (#723) blue and grey suit, pre-movie
• Superman –Raised Fist (#724)
• Robin (#726)
• Green Lantern (#727)
• The Joker (#728)
• Supergirl (#729)

Plus the vehicles:

• Batwing (1:90) (2495EF)
• Batmobile (1:64) (1064FF)
• Joker Van (1:64) (1532F0)
• Batmobile + Joker Van set (2497FF)
• Batmobile (1:43) (2575EF)
• Joker Van (1:48) (2494EF)
• Micro Set (Batwing, Batmobile, Joker Van) (2498FF)
  

pics: theangryspider.com

The second series, from 1992 came together with Batman Returns and include:

• Batman
• Catwoman
• Penguin
• Penguin Commando

And the vehicles:

• Batmobile
• Batmissile
• Batskiboatpics: theangryspider.com
• Penguin’s Duck Vehicle  

 

 pics: bonanza.com

 

And finally, from 1993 the Animated Series series.

• Batman (1)
• Batman (2)
• The Joker
• The Penguin
• Catwoman
• Robin

And the vehicles:

• Batmobile
• Batplane
• Batboat
• Batcycle
• Gotham City Police Helicopter
• Bruce Wayne’s Car

From the pictures they all look great! And the scale is especially appealing to me (the smaller, the better).

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Names: BATMAN and THE JOKER METALLIC MINIFIGURES
• Toy Line: Batman
• Year: 1990
• Company: Ertl (U.S.A.)
• Size: Around 4 cm

#956 TMNT - TRICERATON + WINGNUT & SCREWLOOSE (1990)

These two figures are the only ones that I have completed so far from series 3. Like every other TMNT fan, I adore the figures from the Playmates toyline that represent other characters than the four turtles and the other main characters. They are so well designed: colourful, funny, with great playability (for example, unlike theturtles, most of them are very easy to set them standing) and cool accesories.

I am observing that the line is gaining value in the last months and some figures are really expensive already. Will this trend continue?

Well, the two figures today are:

TRICERATON:

Most mutant characters from the TMNT universe are humanoid animals living today, but in this case, it is a dinosaur. It looks like a crazy Playmates idea, but it is actually already in the very first issues of Eastman and Laird´s. Actually they are living on some other planet in Dimension X and are intelligent beings. There are many of these, although in the comic, they are wearing a different suit and look slightly more aggressive.

The figure comes with a grey belt and two rather big blue guns, that contrast with its orange skin.
It is an enemy of the Turtles

WINGNUT:

Wingnut is a bat, and Screwloose is a mosquito, maybe two of the strangest creatures in the toyline, because, how do you make a bat look human? It has strange proportions, with short legs, big belly, and the strangest of all is its head, and more particularly, its nose.

Besides the small Screwloose, the blister pack included two mechanic wings, in which we could insert a revolver and a grenade, both in light yellow, and a yellow belt.

From this figure I also have the bio-card, cut from the original blisterpack in English. These are very funny to read, as they always include many jokes and puns. Although I have this notes about its background and origins, I am still unsure if the figure actually appears in the comic books at some time, or if, in this case, it is a Playmates invention.

Wingnut is a friend and helper of the Turtles.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: TRICERATON + WINGNUT & SCREWLOOSE
• Toy Line: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) (Waves 3)
• Year: 1990
• Company: Playmates (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 3.75’’ or 9,75 cm

#948 SPEED WHEELS - HINO DUMP TRUCK and NISSAN FAIRLADY Z (TOMICA KO's) (Around 1990)

I got these two cars recently. Normally I am not interested in the die-cast models when I cannot recognise the brand. In this case, I recognised them as Tomica knock-offs and they were in their original blister cards, so I decided to buy them. 1 euro each blister.

Can you recognise which models they are?
The car is a Nissan Fairlady Z, like the one in entry #548.

 The truck is a Hino Dump Truck, although the plastic part is different from the original Tomica one.

This kind of die-cast models are usually unmarked in the base (just "made in China"), so it is difficult to match model with toymaker. With the blister, obviously, I can say it is Speed Wheels. At the cardback there are several models depicted, one of each kind: sport cars, formula racing cars, pick-up trucks, tractor racers and more. I do not know how many of each type were made, but both blisters have the text "SERIES IV" in the front. I don't know either how many series were made, but on Google you can easily find pictures of series V (some Yatming KO's there), series III (look like Matchbox's Super G.T.s), series X (look quite modern and better done than the previous series, some look like Maisto other like Hot Wheels KOs), series XIII, and more.

The upper part of the blister is cutted off because originally it had the price tag on it. It costed 0,69 US$ per unit or 1 US$ if you took two. As I could see on Google, some blisters have this part also cut off.

I have noticed models that were available in two different series, I guess the card was redone everytime they wanted to change the retail price, but most of the times the assortment just remained as it was.

Interestingly, the one who seems to be the earliest blister pack of "Speed Wheels" on Google (does not show any series number) has the Faie brand printed on the card, so does this series relate anyhow to Faie? I think it is more probable that behind Speed Wheels hides a company that bought stock rests or maybe obsolete machinery to get/make very cheap models, so maybe they started buying from Faie, then from Yatming, then from Welly, Maisto... It could even be that the brand is still in use.

Interestingly, the distributor is a company from Illinois, U.S.A.

Other Speed Wheels came in plastic bags, in this case, each model was 0.39 US$ or 1 US$ for three cars. These cheaper models look like Summer's withouh windows.

And for the TFTP record, some unknown models from past entries seem to be Speed Wheels too! The mobile crane in entry #766 has also been seen inside one of these blister packages!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: HINO DUMP TRUCK and NISSAN FAIRLADY Z (TOMICA KO's)
• Scale: Around 1:61 and 1:100
• Year: Around  1990
• Company: Speed Wheels (U.S.A.) / Unknown Manufacturer, maybe Welly? (China)
• Size: approx. 7 cm