#1048 ZYLMEX - FIAT X1/9, DATSUN 260Z and '84 CORVETTE (D63, D75 and D76) (Around 1984)

These are three more models I have got in the last years. New Matchbox or Hot Wheels models are very well done, with great tampographies and can be bought for around 1.5 euros/piece. I think this may be the reason why many cars made in the 80s are increasingly rare to find. I guess many are being thrown away together with older toy cars or mistaken with slightly more modern and cheap Chinese models from the 90s. Why use these old toys, when the new ones are much better and so affordable?

D63 - Fiat X1/9 in Red
A very popular car from the mid 80s, here the cast is very similar to the Corgi Juniors model, although this one is smaller, both in length and in width. It was available in red and had practicable bonnet.
The hardtop is simulated with a black sticker, while other models, such as the mentioned Corgi, had a black plastic piece instead.

D75 Datsun 260Z in Blue
This model has already appeared in the blog (see #332), but this one is in a much better shape. The car seems to be have benn made later in time, as it is already a Made in China product and the base is somewhat different (it does not show the "Z" logo, for example).

D76 '84 Corvette - Silver
I love this model, I think it is inspired in its color and decoration by the Matchbox model, although it is based in a completely different cast. Needless to say that the windshield is ultrafragile, it has miraculously survived until today.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FIAT X1/9, DATSUN 260Z and '84 CORVETTE (D63, D75 and D76)
• Scale: Around 1:64
• Year: Around 1984
• Company: Zylmex (Hong-Kong/China)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#866 ZYLMEX - MAC LAREN F.1, MATRA F.1, REPCO and LOTUS (D30, D31, D32, D33) (1975)

Tthese are amazing cars in their original cardbacks. I love the 70s style in those "Racing Car" and the colour combination used on it.

The D30 McLaren F1 has a different cardback than the other three, don't know why... probably the card with less references is a couple of months older, and it got updated when the new models were ready, without changing the front at all.

Note that the three cars with the shorter list on the backcard carry the same racing number than their reference number, except the Mac Laren, which is reference D30, but RN 58.

D30 MAC LAREN F.1

D31 MATRA F.1

D32 REPCO

D33 LOTUS

In a previous entry I showed some Zylmex F1s that were knocked-off from Penny/Polistil, but these four I show today are clearly inspired in Majorette's models from 1968 and 1969.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MAC LAREN F.1, MATRA F.1, REPCO and LOTUS (D30, D31, D32, D33)
• Scale: Approx. 1:64
• Year: 1975
• Company: Zylmex (Hong-Kong)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#768 ZYLMEX – FLIP CARS (Around 1993)

MONTH OF THE UNKNOWN

I have a few interesting toys that I have been collecting over the years from which I know nothing at all. They cannot be identified since they have no manufacture marking. Despite searching the internet, I couldn´t find anything about them, so I changed my mind, and thought it may be better if I publish them now, and people reading this could help me identifying them.

There will be 11 toys (all 11 entries from January 2017), but I warn you: it is not an easy task to identify them. Are you ready for this challenge?

If I get hints and information, I´ll be updating the posts to add information about them. Thanks!

 

If you like the challenge, there are other toys in this blog waiting to be identified, click here to see all unidentified toys.

 

Thanks to a reader of this blog (see below), who has provided the information I was looking for. The toy is made by Zylmex, and was sold under the name "Flip Cars".
 

I recently talked about Flippers, a subseries of Hot Wheels cars that were available in Europe but not in the U.S.

They were advertised on TV, and I guess they sold well during a short period of time. What I didn´t know is that there were bootlegs of them made.

I recently bought this car which is based on the same concept: one car, two sides, bright shiny colours. The wheels are even bigger than in the original Hot Wheels / Lionel Trains Inc. models, and the casting is not so accurate. You can clearly see, it is a more rough design.

Additional information: Bought in a flea market in Austria.

UPDATE (OCT/2022): I got a second model, looks similar on one side to the previous one, but the second side is painted in completely different colours.

Here is a sample picture of the boxed toy:

Taken from eBay

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FLIP CARS
• Scale: Around 1:64
• Year: Around  1993
• Company: Zylmex (Hong Kong)
  
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#695 ZEE TOYS/ ZYLMEX – SEVERAL DYNA-FLITES MODELS (Around 1981)

I have three plane models made by Zee Toys/ Zylmex. Unlike the major manufacturers (for example Matchbox), Zee Toys took very seriously this plane series, and made one of the most comprehensive catalogues of scale die-cast planes, from the 70s to the 90s.

The Dyna-Flites series, as I was called, included 162 references, some of which were used twice. In Europe these are hard to find, I could only find these three over the years, and one of them is not 100% complete. The Bronco is missing 3 wheels and the Space Shuttle in wheel.

These are:
A109 P-38 Lightning

A111 OV-10 Bronco

A148 Space Shuttle

In Spain there were also several toymakers that made die-cast planes, I wrote several entries some years ago. Click HERE.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: P-38 LIGHTNING (A109), OV-10 BRONCO (A111) and SPACE SHUTTLE (A148)
• Scale: Unknown Scale
• Year: Around 1981
• Company: Zee Toys (U.S.A.) / Zylmex (Hong Kong)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#631 YATMING vs. ZYLMEX - LAMBORGHINI MARZAL (1004 and D48) (Around 1970 and 1977)

In one of the latest flea markets I visited, I found these two great minatures of the same car: the Lamborghini Marzal. They are made by two Hong-Kongese companies that at the time were not very appreciated, but that today are very sought-after. This is our chance to make a quick comparison.

We should of course consider that the cast by Yatming is much older, and that Zylmex's model is actually a knock-off of a Matchbox's miniature, so in terms of cast, I preffer the Yatming model, that is, at least, based on an own design.

Interestingly, the Yatming model has a glass roof, as it had the original car model. I don't know why Matchbox decided to let the roof covered and instead leaving the rear window open. In the original car, the rear window was covered by a series of panels with that same structure that is imitated in Matchbox's and Zylmex's rear window design.

The doors of the real car were like the ones reproduced in the Zylmex model,

Curiously both cars are yellow, although the Zylmex model seem to be also available in green. The Yatming model is in bad shape, but still complete and Rolling properly.

More Zylmex models HERE.

More YatMing models HERE.

UPDATE (JULY 2018): I found a new Yatming Marzal in very good shape.

UPDATE 2 (Dec/2021): And another Marzal, this time the Zylmex one in very good shape, courtesy of Steven

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: LAMBORGHINI MARZAL (1004 and D48)
• Scale: Approx. 1:64 
• Year: Around 1970 and 1977
• Company: Yatming and Zylmex (Hong-Kong) 
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#525 ZYLMEX – MINIBIKES: BRIDGESTONE 10 SPEED (H381) (Around 1981)

This is a rather particular toy, I had seen some of its kind years ago, but this is the only toy/scale bike I own. I bought it recently for very little money.

The bicycle is made by Zylmex, probably by the early 80s, although I must admit, this is not a very educated guess,

The toy itself is a die-cast bicycle, it is made of many different parts, and the assembly must have been laborious, note that the seat, pedals, handlebars, tyres… are separate parts. Some are made of plastic, but they are only a few and do not affect the sturdiness of the bike.

The most impressive detail are of course the operating pedals that move the rear wheel, that means, the bike chain (which is made of rubber) transmits the movement of the pedals to the wheels, and from the wheels to the pedals. The handles of the handlebars are painted black. Also nice are the few stickers (four pieces) that the bike has.

The box looks great, with a nice desing from the late 70s depicting two cyclists. Each box was “customized” with one sticker according to the model inside the box. The bicycle is firmly fixed in the box by means of a plastic inlay.

There were at least one redesign of the box, that could be even older, since some carry the Zee logo.
The available models in the Minibikes Series by Zylmex were:

• H381 Bridgestone 10 Speed
• H382 Huffy Tradewind
• H383 Royce Union
• H384 Motocross

This series seems to be like a “spin-off” of the Motorbikes Series also by Zylmex, which used the same package design, and that also featured famous motorbikes in 1:24 scale, like Guiloy (see #31 and #103) or Mercury (see #2).

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: BRIDGESTONE 10 SPEED (H381)
• Scale: 1:20
• Year: Around 1981
• Company: Zylmex (Hong-Kong)
• Size: approx. 10 cm

#491 PLAYART MINI SUPER SPEEDSTERS and UNKNOWN MODELS (Around 1978)

These are two very small cars made by Playart. Although there is no scale indication, I guess they are probably 1:87 (H0) scale, and they might be intended to use with Playart H0 train models, although they were sold apart. In ebay there is (or was) a collection of 12 models in a box, although in other sites like worthpoint, there are also smaller 4-packs. I don’t know if they were ever sold individually, or have any further details about Playart’s smallest scale models.

The two cars I own are a Jaguar E-Type 2+2 in yellow, plus another car which I cannot identify right now in gold (seems pretty much like an American model, maybe Pontiac). Note that both models have different wheels, the golden model has some kind of simulated hubcaps, so I guess it is slightly older than the second one, whose hubcaps are less elaborated. The Jaguar is marked in the interior "Playart", "Made in Hongkong", "7331" and "2", while the second car is marked only "Made in Hongkong" and "15". Maybe there is a list somewhere with the reference numbers and the models, I haven't found any.

UPDATE (JULY 2018): A got two more Mini Super Speedster. One is a Volkswagen Bug, the second one is a van, looks American, but I cannot recognise the model. Both are very nice. The Volkswagen seems to be number 1 (is casted mirrowed), while the truck/van is clearly number 7. Very nice models.

UPDATE 2 (Nov/2020): Tanker Truck

UPDATE 3 (Sept/2023): A set of 10 new models, courtesy of Steven from the Motorcade, thank you for the cars! In the meanwhile, and thanks to other collectors I got to compile a complete list of Playart Mini Super Speedsters. 

• 7320 Lamborghini Miura
• 7321 Chevrolet Astro Concept
• 7322 Porsche 914
• 7323 Alfa Romeo Scarabeo
• 7324 Opel GT
• 7325 Jeep
• 7326 Twin Mill
• 7327 VW Beetle
• 7328 Dune Buggy
• 7329 Abarth 2000
• 7330 Mercedes C-111
• 7331 Jaguar E-Type
• 7332 Tanker
• 7333 Fire Engine

Among the unknown models there might be even two types. One of the types is marked with a number, and I have the following models:

• 2 - Jaguar E-Type
• 4 - Formula 1
• 7 - Pick-Up Van
• 15 - American Car

The second type could be made by Zylmex, as I have seen pictures of boxed "Mini Wild Cars", only mine are painted in plain colours, while those are more elaborated. The Pickup in black and the orange ATV in the first picture below seems to belong to that row... Since I have no way to find out who made which toys, I will put them altogether in thsi entry, and I will keep an eye to update it in the future. I will probably make new pictures where the models are grouped by maker.

 

UPDATE 4 (June/2026): This yellow Hot Rod is also unmarked, so it might be one of these mysterious, simplified Zylmex shown in the previous update.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MINI SUPER SPEEDSTERS: JAGUAR E-TYPE, VOLKSWAGEN 1300, VAN and UNKNOWN MODEL
• Scale: 1:87
• Year: Around 1978
• Company: Playart (Hong Kong), Zylmex (Hong Kong)
  
• Size: approx. 4 cm