#1098 EXIN - EXIN CASTILLOS 2 (Around 1972)

There is not much I can say about this toy that has not been said before. Exin is the most important Spanish toymaker of all times and this was one of their highlights in the 70s and the 80s. A construction toy that allowed us to build castles and fortresses in the medieval style. Spain is a land with a huge number of castles and this toy would appeal to many children and to their families. As in every construction game, you can follow the instructions provided or try to reproduce the castle of your village or town. You just need enough blocks or bricks to finish your project.

The bricks have an unmistakable color that simulates stone (light brown plastic with white and darker brown seams) and, unlike Lego or Tente, there is not a huge variety of the basic bricks. The most common stone is 2x1, longer bricks (such as 4x1, 6x1...) are rare, so to construct something solid from zero can be a challenge. However, this is how houses and castles are built, so you are closer to the work of a mason than you are with other construction games. 

 

 

What makes the game unique are the pieces to make round walls (to build round towers or to round up corners) and other nice elements that are very realistic, such as different types of windows and doors and hand-painted plastic figures that represent common characters from medieval history or castles altogether. These include: knights on foot or horse, a princess, a ghost, guards and bowmen, among others... The figures were scarcely included in the boxes of Exin Castillos, but could be bought separately in nice "historical" sets, which also included war machines and small accessories. Some of this were made by Elastolin.

 

These sets are today very rare to find.  The toy I have was bought in a flea market in Austria and it seems to be Exin Castillos 2, a middle-sized set, just missing the two bases on which you start building your castle. These bases were made of thin hard plastic, and not many have survived until today. Still, I have the instructions and many figures, plus many other parts I got in another lot bought in a flea market in Spain. I haven't mixed the two together yet. According to the instructions, the castle looks like the one in the pictures. I took some pictures highlighting the figures and some corners and details of the building.

This great game was sold between 1968 and 1991. The models 0, 1, 2 and 3 are from the early 70s, the period in which the line grew, sold best and became really popular. By the mid eighties it was not so popular anymore, maybe because of Exin´s own competition with Tente, which had a bigger variety of pieces, was smaller and cheaper to produce. In any case, there are still many pieces out there and many enthusiasts of the toy that organize expositions and even design new pieces to combine with the old ones and achieve higher quality models.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: EXIN CASTILLOS 2

• Year: 1972

• Company: Exin (Spain)

• Size: Around 40x40 cm 

#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

#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

#1038 PILEN – MASERATI GHIBLI (MOD. 507) (1973)

This model is the original one from 1973 and it looks great, as most models from this manufacturer and that approximate year do. As a matter of fact, the Pilen models from the 70s are comparable in quality to other European brands of the time. This is acknowledged by most collectors, and is reflected on the prices that are paid for models in mint condition.

This model was found in Austria, which also shows that Pilen was also successful beyond the Spanish borders at a time, when other better known players were stronger as they have ever been.

The car is a Maserati Ghibli and it is done out of the Politoys’ cast, as Pilen at some point bought them from the Italian die-cast manufacturer.

This version is painted in burgundy red and as the same detail level as the first Politoys model, although some parts are different (the wheels for example are casted without real radii/radiuses). Looks great with its opening doors!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MASERATI GHIBLI (MOD. 507)  
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: 1973
• Company: Pilen (Spain)
• Size: approx. 9 cm

#1034 VARITEMAS S.L. - ROBIN HOOD (AROUND 1999)

Card manufacturing in Spain has been traditionally dominated by Heraclio Fournier, followed by other brands like Naipes Comas. But there are many other manufacturers, like Mas Reynals from Barcelona, a company founded in 1989 that produced lower quality and cheap decks of cards that looked very similar to other more famous ones.

Their products were sold some "100 pesetas" shops, the equivalent of the modern pound shops or 1 Euro Shops. And that was its price, a very low one. Some of their decks were aimed at the tourist market, although they covered also the children´s/toy market. The company had a second brand called Varitemas S.L. that they used since the foundation of the company. In 2003, Más Reunals changed its name to Varitemas S.L., which is active still today.

Do not try to access this url today, as it is not active anymore.

We have this deck since the very late 1990s, I think we bought it in the classic little town weekly market. These events are disappearing now, as every spot on the map has its supermarket, and an internet connection. There used to be at least a tent with cheap toys, and one of those days, we got this deck of cards. I’m quite sure it costed 100 pesetas (0,60 euro)

It is the classic "Schwarzer Peter" game, with a series of couples of cards, except one that does not fit. The player holding that card at the end of the game loses. The cards that fit together have the same number and one half of an illustration each. Together they tell the story of Robin Hood, although there were other tales  or stories available. The drawings do not look very professional, but they are nice and bizarre altogether. The deck was not played much with, that is why it is still in a very good shape.

There are still many of these available for sale in sites like todocoleccion.net, based on well-known tales and stories, and they are not expensive. Some of them are still sealed. Interestingly, they seem to have been available in blister cards for display.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: ROBIN HOOD
• Year: Around 1999
• Company: Varitemas, S.L. (Spain)

#1030 PAYÁ INTERNATIONAL – FERRARI 312 FORMULA 1 (Ref. 2134) (Around 1972)

This International Payá Formula 1 is unmarked, what makes it difficult to identify. The quality of the cast stands out, and you can easily notice that it is not a cheap toy, but unless you are familiar with the company, you won´t be able to recognise it.

It is the Ferrari 312 F1 (Ref. 2134), a nice cast that I cannot assign to any other manufacturer, it was probably made by Payá themselves. Other unmarked models with similar reference numbers were also the own creations of the Spanish die-cast maker. It is completely red and carries a RN3 sticker. I think it is a great sample, and collectors will appreciate its rarity.

The models with reference numbers 2134 or higher are somewhat more difficult to find, probably because they were released later that the rest, when other die-cast manufacturers were better established and the competition was higher. That is why I dated this car around 1972, while all the other cars I own were dated around 1970. Take a look at my other International Payá treasures!

*By the way... I noticed that I sometimes write International Payá, and others Payá International. I would say both are OK!

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: FERRARI 312 FORMULA 1 (Ref. 2134)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1972
• Company: Payá International (Spain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm

#1020 GUISVAL - CENTURION MK.III TANK + KNOCK-OFF (1977 and Around 1993)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AT TOYS FROM THE PAST

Today I want to show two small toy tanks.

The first one is made by Guisval and is a Centurion MK.III model, which appeared for the first time in the catalogue from 1977. There were several versions of it made those first years: in green (with british or Spanish roundels on one side), in light brown (with Spanish roundels) on and also in light brown with dark brown stripes (with a green flag and a crescent moon, which, to my knowledge, does not represent any real country).

Later reissues would also use new decals, like a British flag, and the last known issue is a completely white version from the United Nations, which I find quite original and I would like to own.

All of them have turning turret and the cannon moves up and down.

The second toy tank shown in the pictures is a low quality knock-off of the Guisval model made by an unknown company much later. The model is unmarked, except for “No. 462”, and it is almost identical to the Guisval model. The cannon is slightly longer, the plastic base and wheels and different). The metal and paintwork used are of lower quality, the paint scheme shows a green/yellow camouflage pattern and the stickers on the side say "U.S. Army".

Does anybody know about it? In any case, it is a very curious one, although the quality is very low.

 FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CENTURION MK.III and KNOCK-OFF
  
• Scale: Approx. 1:100
• Year: 1977 and Around 1993 (respectively)
  
• Company: Guisval and Unknown Toymaker (Spain and China)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#1017 REDONDO – McLAREN SERENISSIMA F.1. (Around 1970)

In entry #194 I already introduced the brand Redondo as a die-cast manufacturer with two formula ones in bad condition, and I updated the entry later with a formula one in a keyring.
 
Today I am presenting three more formula ones, but all new in their boxes. Unfortunately, they are all the same reference and cast: Nr. 12 McLaren Serenissima, but, at least, this will help me showing the variety of each model regarding colours of the body and accessories (in this case the spoiler). They are all completely different from each other. They are based in Penny models, but unlike this Italian brand, whose references were always painted in the same way.

Curiously, the stickers are all the same, and really correspond to the McLaren. In later reissues, some stikers would be applied randomly on the model.

The box is a jewel case with white base and clear cover (with the Redondo logo on the top). The price tag marks 19 pesetas (12 euro cents). The red label with the car name and reference is also a nice detail, so each box had to be peersonalized for each car.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: McLaren Serenissima F.1. (Ref. 12) (three different models)
  
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1970
  
• Company: Redondo (Spain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm