#934 PAYÁ INTERNATIONAL - VARIOUS MODELS (Around 1970)

I have reviewed some cars made by this brand in the past. In that review I showed models that were Matchbox (Lesney) knock-offs of the 1-75 series from the 60s and 70s, but I already mentioned that some models are not copies from Matchbox, and today I am going to show some of these (together with more Matchbox knock-offs).

Although quite pricey, I got this lot a a fair price around two years ago. The cars are in perfect shape, so I am very lucky to have found them. The paint applied to these models is rather fragile and all played items usually show more or less paint wear.

The models shown in this entry are:

• 2104 - Chevrolet Impala in black and yellow (coloured as a Taxi from Barcelona)

This car is not in its original colour (which is orange), but was repainted by its previous owner as a taxi. Too bad! It seems to be in a not so bad shape, I may try to clean it sometime.

• 2106 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Policia) in white and 2107 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Bomberos) in red

All parts are shared. Note that the sirens have different colours, as well as the windshields.

• 2110 - Ferrari Berlineta in green

This model was also released with a plastic body (see last pic in this series) used for certain Payá speed tracks I will present some other day.

 

• 2111 - M.G. 1.100 in blue

 Note the steering wheel is placed on the left side

• 2115 - Camioneta auxiliar in red (based on Lesney´s Jeep Gladiator)

• 2117 - Seat 124 in red

• 2118 - Mercedes 280 SL in beige

• 2121 - Seat 600 D in red

This model was also released with a plastic body (see last pic in this series) used for certain Payá speed tracks I will present some other day. The suspension integrated in the chassis is extremely fragile!

The complete list of references can be found in the previous entry (see #363)

From all 9 units, all but the two Seats are clear Lesney copies. Some models had slight differences, like the steering wheel in the left side, contrary to the original English model with steering wheel on the right side. See for example the M.G. 1.100.

The Seat 600D and the 124 are two great models, very sought-after because the cars they represent were very popular in the 50s, 60s and the 70s in Spain. In addition to this, the Seat 600D is the only vintage die-cast model in 3 inches made of this car. The Seat 124 was also made by Guisval, but this one is rarer (not necessarily more expensive). For most Spanish die-cast collectors these two are "must-haves", not so the other models of foreign cars.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHEVROLET IMPALA, FORD GALAXIE (JEFE POLICIA), FORD GALAXIE (JEFE BOMBEROS), FERRARI BERLINETA, M.G. 1.100, CAMIONETA AUXILIAR, SEAT 124, MERCEDES 280 SL and SEAT 600 D (Refs. 2104, 2106, 2107, 2110, 2111, 2115, 2117, 2118 and 2121)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1970
• Company: Payá International (Spain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm

#363 INTERNATIONAL PAYÁ vs. MATCHBOX - VARIOUS MODELS (Around 1968)

“International Payá” was the die-cast line in 1:64 scale made by Payá, the famous Spanish toymaker from Ibi (Alicante). There were more than 50 references made in the last 60s or the early 70s, and most of them are copies from Lesney’s Matchbox.

B.R.M. F1 and LOTUS F1 (2 models)

One of the most important collectors of this particular brand is Miguel Pascual Laborda, who in www.autoescala.net published a list of all known Payá International models, taking as a reference his own collection, cardbacks, catalogues and everything he could find. The list is the following:

2102 - Lotus Formula 1
2103 - B.R.M. Formula 1
2104 - Chevrolet Impala
2105 - Cadillac Ambulancia
2106 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Policia)
2107 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Bomberos)
2108 - Camión Volquete
2109 - Fiat 1500
2110 - Ferrari Berlineta
2111 - M.G. 1.100
2113 - Microbús Mercedes
2115 - Camioneta auxiliar
2116 - Ford GT40
2117 - Seat 124
2118 - Mercedes 280 SL
2119 - Ferrari P5
2121 - Seat 600 D
2124 - Seat 850 Coupé
2130 - Simca 1.000
2131 - Renault R-8
2132 - Citroën Dyane 6
2133 - Road Master
2134 - Ferrari 312 Formula 1 (NM)
2139 - Barreiros Volquete (NM)
2140 - Barreiros S-42 Volquete (NM)
2141 - Pegaso Volquete (NM)
2143 - Jeep
2144 - Barreiros Caja (NM)
2145 - Barreiros Industrias Lácteas (NM)
2146 - Barreiros Maderas (NM)
2147 - Barreiros Correos (NM)
2148 - Barreiros Congelados (NM)
2149 - Pegaso Caja (NM)
2150 - Pegaso Toldo (NM)
2151 - Pegaso Ganado (NM)
2152 - Pegaso Frigorífico (NM)
2153 - Pegaso Mudanzas (NM)
2154 - Barreiros S-42 Caja (NM)
2155 - Barreiros S-42 Abonos Químicos (NM)
2156 - Barreiros S-42 Construcciones (NM)

(NM) indicates that the model is Not Marked on the base as International Payá. These model are all trucks (Pegaso oder Barreiros) plus the Ferrari 312 Formula 1.

All these models were die-cast made. A few models were also made in plastic, those were intended for special racetracks, and were equipped with some kind of wind-up mechanism (I’ll show this racetrack in a future entry).

LOTUS F1 (Matchbox / International Payá)

Vehicles were available in two models of blister cards, being one larger than the other. There are some very rare promotional sets as well: the most complete and famous of these sets were promotional giveaways from a washing powder brand “Skip”. There were 4 sets of 3 cars and a few traffic signs each.

Some of these models were copied from casts made by Matchbox. Other models are not 1:1 copies, but have some differences. In my case, I only have models which are copies from Matchbox, as you can see in the pictures.

CADILLAC AMBULANCE (Matchbox / International Payá )

The condition of the cars varies from one to the other, but they’re all quite worn. Note that the chassis is made in all models except the formula 1s in plastic, so the durability is more limited, than if it was full die-cast made. Paintwork is also not that good; all cars have many chips, probably because of a mixture of bad storage and playtime. Even carded models present sometimes different kinds of problems like paint damage, plastic chassis about to crease and break… definitely, they were not made with the high quality standards that the company applied in its other toys. No matter what, they’re super-rare models, so difficult to find. And even if they’re not mint, they’re very sought-for collectibles.

FORD GALAXY (Matchbox / International Payá)

The models with the lower reference numbers seem to be easier to find than the later ones. Probably, these were available during a longer period of time, and sold more units than the higher reference numbers. It is unknown to me, in which year was each reference available. Maybe in the future, we will be able to find this out.

CAMIÓN VOLQUETE Ref. 2108 (International Payá)

DUMPER TRUCK (Matchbox) / CAMIÓN VOLQUETE (International Payá)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: PAYÁ INTERNATIONAL: LOTUS F1 (Ref. 2102), B.R.M. F1 (Ref 2103), CADILLAC AMBULANCIA (Ref. 2105), FORD GALAXIE JEFE BOMBEROS (Ref. 2107) and CAMIÓN VOLQUETE (Ref. 2108)
• Name: MATCHBOX: LOTUS RACING CAR (Nr. 19D), S&S CADILLAC AMBULANCE (Nr. 54B), FORD GALAXIE (Nr. 59C), DUMPER TRUCK (Nr. 48C)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Payá International: Around 1970
• Year: Matchbox: 19D and 54B (1965-1970), 59C and 48C (1966-1970)
• Company: Payá International (Spain) Matchbox (G. Britain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm