During my last holidays in Spain I visited one little village, and while strolling, I passed by this shop window:
Of course I had to go in and buy a few of these. I explained the shopkeeper, that I hadn´t seen these since maybe 20 years, and so he corresponded by saying that he also used to play with them. He confirmed that they are new, that is, that they are still being manufactured. As we mentioned in a previous entry (see #865), Baratijas Ruiz is using the old casts to keep producing toys. I would say that the plastic in the early 80s was a bit thicker and less shiny, and the wheels were always black. Now it seems that the new models all carry light blue wheels.
Inside the shop, there was a big box full with this kind of vehicles, and I searched all 6 different models available, one of each, trying not to repeat colours.
The cars are very interesting. Any die-cast aficionado will be able to recognise some of these models as Matchbox knock-offs from the 70s, especially those buggys with impossible motors.
Land Rover with cage and giraffe (5 pieces): a similar model was already analized in the entry mentioned above. That time, the Land Rovers were tow-away trucks. And had a very small sign on the roof. This time that sign is missing (I checked the whole box, they are not mounted in the cage model, and they all had giraffes in them).
(sorry, I forgot to picture this model)
Amphibious vehicle (4 pieces): This is maybe the one I like most, for its rarity. I cannot recognise it being made out of another toy.
Jeep (5 pieces): I would say this model is based on a Superfast model from 1971: Nr.2 Jeep Hot Rod.
Buggy 1 (4 pieces): This one is clearly based on Baja Buggy, Nr. 13, also from 1971 in Matchbox's Superfast series.
Buggy 2 (4 pieces): This one is based on a Guisval model from the 70s and the 80s.
Buggy 3 (5 pieces): This one is also based on a Guisval model, this one has rounded forms and two bulges on the bonnet that are supposed to be the headlights. In this case, it comes with a roof. From the two models made by Guisval, this one came a few years earlier than the previous one.
Back to the initial story, the cars were being sold at 0,30 euro each. So, when I was about to leave, the shopkeeper (who was undoubtedly a good seller) offered me another vintage toy that was popular in the same days than the plastic cars: a plastic parachutist figure with a funtional parachute. I was delighted to see these too, so I bought again all three available models.
Note that one of the figures seems to be a general looking through a pair of binoculars. Rare choice for a parachutist! The other two are infantry soldiers, a bit more suitable for the action they perform. These are not produced by Ruiz, since they are available almost everwhere on the internet. There seems to be 6 models of these, and they come in random basic colours.
So, I left the shop with the six cars and these three parachutists. They are all new and they might not match the aim of the blog, but still the whole story has some connection with vintage toys.
FACTS AND FIGURES:
- Name: LAND ROVER SANTANA, BAJA BUGGY, HOT ROD and OTHERS
- Scale: Approx. 1:64
- Year: 2017
- Company: Ruíz (Spain)
- Size: approx. 6 cm
- Name: PARACHUTISTS
- Scale: Approx. 1:32
- Year: 2017
- Company: Unknown Manufacturer (China)
- Size: approx. 6 cm
