#721 TMNT - MICHELANGELO vs. FOOT SOLDIER (1988)

Because we need to catch up, I am presenting two more TMNT figures today, again one turtle and one villain: Michelangelo vs. Foot Soldier.

As I mentioned in the previous entry, Michelangelo was the children's favorites. In the cartoons, he used to make a lot of jokes and was the funniest of all 4 brothers. In addition to that, he used the nunchuks, which, at the early 90s (times of many ninja-exploitation movies) was like the pinnacle of coolness. I remember that in the arcade machine, it was placed in the center-right position, and was also a turtle that many people would choose to play with (the arcade was revolutionary, because it allowed four players simultaneously). The favorite in the arcade, however, was Donatello (center-left position).

I also think Michelangelo was probably the figure that sold best during those first years, or at least, the favorite figure to start a collection with.

Every turtle in the first wave came with the same set of weapons: wooden frame, 2 shurikens (ninja stars), 1 strange straight and curved double sword (what's that?), a triangular knife and a small pick. Additionally, each turtle came with two specific accesories: Raphael came with two sais, and Michelangelo with two nunchuks. These specific accesories could be attached to their straps either on the back side or in the front. Most people simply ignored the strange set of weapons, and played only with the "official" ones. As a matter of fact, the wooden frame, with is a defense weapon was disposed thinking it was the plastic tree to which the rest of weapons attached. It was quite difficult to find the only one I currently own, and until new notice, I will consider all my turtles complete even if they do not have that frame.

The second figure today is the Foot Soldier, the standard trooper of the foot clan. There are literally hundreds of them, and they are supposed to be skilled ninjas, but they never knew much success in the battle, being mostly anihilated by the turtles and their allies. It comes with the foot clan colours, which are dark and not very common in children toys, but personally I love the combination of black, grey, blue and purple. The position of the legs and head is also remarkable, kind of crouching, and it has very long arms, almost like an ape. This figure came with a series of amazing weapons, including that strange stab with a jaw at the end, a machete and a mace. This figure also included the wooden frame, only in grey. This last accesory is missing.

Something more, now we are talking about accesories, is that the same figures from 1988 were reissued several times since then including the same package (with vey subtle differences) and the same accesories. The figures are marked on the back with the year of each reissue, and the accesories suld be the same, but, I have noticed differences in the colour and also other differences in the cast, like in the following picture were the Foot Soldier staff is slightly shorter than the original (I assume the upper one is the original, maybeI am wrong).

 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MICHELANGELO and FOOT SOLDIER
• Toy Line: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) (Wave 1)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Playmates (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 3.75’’ or 9,75 cm

#720 TMNT- RAPHAEL vs. BEBOP (1988)

If you follow my blog, you were probably wondering where I hid the ninja turtles. I have been postponing this entry because I like presenting toys which are complete (with all original accesories), and for TMNT, it is quite difficult to find 100% complete figures, especially if you do not collect them seriously. Let me explain this... I have maybe 40 figures or so, but all of them bought at flea-markets for very little money. I also have some accesories (most of them traded for other figures and accesories) but they belong to many different figures. Consider that, in this series, each figure had unique accesories that no other figure shared, and if you really want to complete figures, you have to spend a lot of money either in 100% complete figures or loose accesories.

So here’s my first entry about this great toyline from the 90s, one of the most famous of all times and also one of the vintage toylines that has a better health today, still being rebooted every back an then and being made into movies.

I should write something about the TMNT here, but I am feeling kind of lazy, because I already wrote everything I could for an article in the magazine F.E.A. nr. 9 together with my friend Pablo (you cand a link for this magazine in entry #361).

There we wrote around twenty pages running around the creation of the TMNT by Eastman and Laird, about the comics in which they are based, of course, about the toys, but also about Playmates as a company and many other toys rather than figures and merchandise made over the years. The article is in Spanish, but if you cannot read it, I assume there are thousands of web that can tell the history of these turtles better than I could ever do.

I will focus now on the first two toys I am presenting today: Raphael and Bebop. Raphael was the first turtle that was created, and many people's favorite. At least in the early days (I do not follow the TMNT since a few years), Raphael was the rebel of the group, and usually lose his temper during the fight, becoming more violent than the others. Interestingly, I would say, that among children in the late 80s, Raphael was the least favorite of all 4. People were especially fond of Leonardo, for being the leader, and Michelangelo and Donatello for their cool weapons, but Raph somehow was seen as the less interesting hero. For people who read the comic, Raphael is often ranked as the favorite turtle, probably because of his attitude towards life, being a rebel, sarcastic and several problems he had during the first issues of the Mirage comics.

Bebop, on the other side, is a character that didn´t exist in the original Eastman and Laird´s universe, but was created for the toyline and cartoons. Maybe there were not enough characters to start a proper toyline, and Playmates invented Bebop and Rocksteady. In the first comics, only Shredder and Foot Soldiers appear, together with other characters that would be available in further waves, like, for example, Krang. Curiously, Bebop was my favorite character when the line came out, for many reasons: because it is a pig, for its colour combination, for that strange drill-weapon, for the nice details casted in its clothes and body... I still appretiate the nice toy it is, but I would now preffer the Foot Soldier or Shredder.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: RAPHAEL vs. BEBOP
• Toy Line: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) (Wave 1)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Playmates (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 3.75’’ or 9,75 cm

#719 ASS – HEIDI QUARTETT (3172/7) and SCHNIPP-SCHNAPP HEIDI (1986 and 1979)

 

Heidi is one of the most successful cartoon series ever in Europe, I don't know if it was also popular in the US, Japan and other countries, but in Spain, Germany and Austria it was very very popular. There were thousands of related toys and articles for children, like the walking doll I showed a long time ago, the PVC figures from Germany or the two decks today.

One of the decks is based on the original cartoon, but it has a different style, note that the drawing are not exactly like the ones in the TV series.

This deck is not the original release, but a promotional re-release from the 80s of an Austrian Bank (P.S.K.). At some point in the 80s, the P.S.K. gave away some promotional mini-quartetts with popular topics of those years. This is the only one I own, but I have seen more.

The second deck is based on the live action, TV series Heidi from 1978. This was a West German and Swiss co-production, but unfortunately I haven't seen it. The card deck, however, is newer. It seems to have been released in 1986. 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: HEIDI QUARTETT (3172/7) and SCHNIPP-SCHNAPP HEIDI
• Year: 1986 and (around) 1979 respectively
• Company: Vereinigte Altenburger und Stralsunder Spielkarten Fabriken A.G. (Also ASS) (East-Germany)

#718 MIRA – LAND ROVER (Ref. 165) and SEAT RITMO (Ref. 169) (Around 1979)

Two more models made by Mira, the great die-cast maker from Ibi in Spain. I have mentioned in many previous articles how great these cars are, so here are just two more examples: a Land-Rover and a Seat Ritmo, both very popular cars by the mid 80s.

The Land Rover was, in fact, manufactured in Spain under license of the British company Land Rover. In Spain it was called Land Rover-Santana, and was pretty much the only 4x4 that could be found in the market. As a result in rural areas was very common to see this impressive vehicles around. The toy was available in several colours and decorations. In the pictures also a rare "ambulance" model.

The Seat Ritmo was released in 1979 and replaced the 124 model. It was common to see it during the 80s, although it was for sale only until 1982. Don’t know the reason why the discontinued the model so quickly, being replaced by the Seat Ronda. In comparison, the Fiat Ritmo was sold from 1978 to 1988.

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: LAND ROVER (Ref. 165) and SEAT RITMO (Ref. 169)
• Scale: Approx. 1:64
• Year: Around 1979
• Company: Mira (Spain)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#717 SCHLEICH – DIE DROLLINGE FROM THE TV-PROGRAM “1, 2 ODER 3” (1984)

I recently had the chance to buy this series for little money, and even though I knew nothing about them, I finally took them home.

They are three ducks with different colour outfits and each one carries a number 1, 2 and 3. They are the mascots of a German TV program called “1, 2 oder 3”, “Eins, Zwei oder Drei” for children in primary school. The TV program is being aired currently in Austria too, so I guess it is the classic “long-runner”, which has been aired for decades. According to the Wikipedia, the program could be seen in ZDF, KiKA, okidoki and ORFeins, and included participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The program is some kind of quiz show, where children have to answer questions by choosing between 3 possibilities. The question is made and they have to run to one place or the other if they think the answer is one or the other.

Some videos can be found on the internet of the show from the 80s. The drollinge ducks can be seen at the beginning of this one:

Today the program has “cult” status among people who are now around 35 years old, and it is considered one of the first real children TV-shows, with quiz show, action and humor.

The “Drollinge” as a word is actually a variation of “Drillinge”, that means “triplets”. Schleich manufactured them in 1984 and we can see the copyright “ZDF” and “J. Althöfer”, who was probably the designer of the characters. The names of the characters are Knuddel (Nr.1), Knax (Nr.2) and Knibbel (Nr.3). Despite the program is really popular, the Drollinge don’t seem to be so, maybe they were used only during a short period of time, and then replaced for another mascot.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: DIE DROLLINGE KNUDDEL, KNAX and KNIBBEL
• Year: 1984
• Company: Schleich (Germany)
• Size of the figures: 5 cm

#716 MAJORETTE - F1 BRABHAM, F1 RACING, F1 FERRARI, F1 MAC LAREN and other F1s from the 80s and the 90s (1986, 1987, 1995 and 1997)

There was a first entry dealing with the first F1 models made by Majorette, and since I am a great F1 fan, I was willing to continue talking abouth the other F1 made by this same French manufacturer. You can review the first enry here: #587.

So, those previous models (that were issued in 1977) were already quite old by the beginning of the 80s, they simply looked outdated. Majorette kept them in the 200 series until 1982, and in 1983 and 1984 the Shadow was available in white instead of black. Then it was also removed from the series.
But in 1986, there was a complete new set of 4 F1 race cars. These looked much more modern, and represented interesting teams that were racing that year:

• 232 F1 Brabham
• 238 F1 Racing (Benetton)
• 282 F1 Ferrari
• 289 F1 Mac Laren

 (sorry for the quality of these 4 pics...)

There was also a 300 series reference that included a Jeep, a towing hook and a 238 “F1 Racing” model. This reference (the same number) was also available with other models during the late 70s (see #587).

• 318 Jeep + Course (291 Blazer + 238 F1 Racing + plastic hook)

In 1989, the reference number 238 changes its decoration from Benetton green to yellow "Tictel RN12" that, to my knowledge, was a fictitious decoration (not based on any official team from the F1 championships). In the 318 reference, the model was also changed, that’s the one I got as a kid.

The towing hook is a very rare and hard to find piece.

That same year, the F1 Racing (238) is also released in the 2250 series “Colour Pack”, with the new “Tictel” decoration.

In 1990, the 238 turns blue and the Brabham is discontinued.

238 F1 Racing in yellow (from 1989) and blue (from 1990) plus the Colour Pack version (from 1989)

One year later, the 238 gets a new yellow decoration “Racing”.
In 1992, the 238 is changed again to light blue, while the McLaren is discontinued from the standard “200” series, but is still available in bigger car packs with an slightly different “A. Senna – Honda” decoration.
In 1993, the 238 turns green and has “Bolids” decoration.
All the changes in 238 also apply to 318.

Finally, and after 9 years, a new F1 cast is prepared to replace the old references yet available. The new model would carry number 213 and was first available in blue and yellow. Still in 1995, the 238 was available in a new yellow decoration.

In 1996, the 238 reference is finally discontinued, but the Ferrari is still available after so many years! After all, the red decoration never changed much in the Ferrari F1 Team. The old Brabham casts is sent to Novacar and they would release two decorations, the first one in black and another one in yellow, as you can see in entry #325.

238 F1 Racing from 1992, 282 Formule Indy from 1997, 213 F1 Racer from 1995

 (sorry again for the quality of these 3 pics...)

The reference 213 would be released during a long time with different decorations (purple, yellow, orange), and the Ferrari would still keep going a few years more. In 1997, considering that the cast was completely obsolete, and F1 were not that bulk anymore, the reference 282 was renamed "Formule Indy" and recoloured several times. This way, it was "modern" again, and keep selling and selling in many different decorations.

UPDATE1 (JAN/2017): I just found a decoration I never saw before. It is the F1 Racing model in white and blue with "Elf" tampographies. This one is probably from the 1990s.

UPDATE2 (Dec/2018): I found two more formulas: an alternate version of the Ferrari and a F1 Racing in yellow, but with alternate decals. Both seem to be newer (90s) since they both come without the "Made in France" text in the base.

UPDATE 3 (Nov/2019): This model resembles the early 2000's Jaguar Racing F1, RN18 belonged to Eddie Irvine in the 2001 season, so this is probably the year in which this miniature was made. Note the horse instead of the Jaguar and the BCR publicity (HSBC in the real model). The cast is shared with the Ferrari (No. 282).

UPDATE 4 (Dec/2021): Three more for my collection, the yellow one could be a Jordan from the 90s and the blue one is maybe the one referred in the comments as a Prost, but it is difficult to say. Shame that the tampographies in the yellow model are not in a very good condition. The green one is probably even newer and does not represent any known F1.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: F1 Brabham (232), F1 Racing (Benetton) (238), F1 Ferrari (282), F1 Mac Laren (289), F1 Racing (238) and F1 Racer (213) and Formule Indy (282).
• Scale: Approx. 1:55
• Year: 1986, 1987, 1997
• Company: Majorette (France)
• Size: approx. 7 cm