#832 AIRGAM COMICS – BIRD MAN vs. PYTHON (Ref. 302 and 312) (1985)

 

I’ll continue the last entry with two more Airgam Comics characters, Bird Man and Python, again one member of the Superfantastics and another of the Superdiabolics. In this entry, I love both figures equally, I think the cloak both figures carry (they are different at the front) together twith the piece behind their heads are great great additions.

I’ll start with Python this time, a figure with the classic combination green with yellow and black details and an extremely cool head design, with a snake on the forehead. The boots are also interesting, since they reuse the Airgam Boys gladiator “shoes”. This figure very probably came with the pistol in the picture, although as commented in the previous entry, this information is difficult to confirm.

Bird Man, although similar in colour to Starsman, is in my opinion much better, only the cloak is already a great add-on, also the colour combination, with more blue and less red is better, and the muscles marked on the chest are small details that make this figure better than Starsman. The figure came also with a pistol, and very probably the one depicted in the pictures.

It is important to note, that, in this collection, figures have (or may have) several variants each. In the case of Bird Man, you can find this figure either with red or yellow logo on the chest. In the case of the yellow logo, the pants are mostly blue, although I have already seen a mixture of both versions (that would be a third version) with yellow logo and red pants. There are many examples thoughout the toyline, and I’ll be commenting them when I have the chance.

Bird Man with yellow logoand red pants. Recent addition to my collection.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: BIRD MAN (Ref. 302) and PYTHON (Ref. 312)
• Toy Line: Airgam Comics (Wave 1)
• Year: 1985
• Company: Airgam (Spain)
• Size of the figures: Around 8.5 cm (3.25'')

#831 AIRGAM – STARSMAN vs. DR. DIABOLIC (Ref. 301 and 311) (1985)

I have presented several figures from this toyline, probably my favorite toyline of all times, but very few of these were first wave figures. All figures from wave 2 (all I presented except Piranha) have extra swivel arm articulation as well as knee articulation.

Today I wil present two figures from the first wave, and not just two random figures, but the leaders of each faction: Superfantastics and Superdiabolics.

Starsman is obviously based on Captain America, it is a blue figure with red pants and a blue shield. The references to the American flag are not hidden, just in case you had not noticed it. It is not one of my favorite figures, because I think the figure could have been better, it is rather simple and the colours are plain and seen many times before.

I don’t know anymore which weapons came together with the figure in the blister. The shield is clear, but some carded figures seem to come with the big(ger) cannon, while others don’t.

The second figure is, on the contrary, one of my favorites. Note the colour combination purple and black, the nice pattern in chest, arms and legs and the two-part cloak, including the cool part behind the head with some long “holes”. It is truly a great design. Also the face is greatly designed with the skull on the forehead and some part of it hidden behind a purple mask. I always imagined this character may have had some damage, and that is why he hid himself behind a mask. The figure could be based in Marvel character Dr. Doom (and thus the name Dr. Diabolic). This figure came with one gun: from the three available models, the one which is depicted in his hand.

Sometimes it is quite confusing to match figure and accessories in this toyline. Unfortunately, I keep all in a box, and with the years I forgot which gun or rifle went with which figure. I tried to redo a list, but even with the pictures that can be found on the internet, it is a difficult job. I think the accessories added were most of the times the same ones, but they may vary in some occasions, since the quality control was probably not very exhaustive.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: STARSMAN (Ref. 301) and DR. DIABOLIC (Ref. 311)
• Toy Line: Airgam Comics (Wave 1)
• Year: 1985
• Company: Airgam (Spain)
• Size of the figures: Around 8.5 cm (3.25'')

#830 CORGI JUNIORS - STARSKY & HUTCH’S FORD TORINO and BUICK REGAL (1977)

Pic from yesterdaystoys.co.uk

Who does not know Starky and Hutch? It was one of the greatest TV hits of the mid to late 70s in many countries. The series tells the story of two policemen from sunny California.

Corgi released one version of the red Ford Torino in 1:43 scale (which was then “bootlegged” by Guisval), but also this nice small car set “Corgi Juniors Twins” or “Twin Packs” in 1:64 scale. The Ford Torino was also available in single packs. Mine is missing the white sticker that crosses both sides and the roof.

Both the Torino and the Buick Regal were also available before without the roof siren, but this set, as well as Kojak’s, Superman’s Metropolis Police Car or the Fire Chief Torino.

Both models are very nice in my opinion, the cars are beautiful and famous: they appeared in many movies of the late 70s.

The Buick was also used in different decorations, many of them in Police colours (e.g. Magnum P.I.).

To complete this entry, I will  also show a second police Buick with slightly different colours and a different siren. This one is much newer, probably from the late 90s.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FORD TORINO and BUICK REGAL (45-B and 28-C1?)
• Scale: Around 1:64
• Year: 1977
• Company: Corgi Toys (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#829 TOMICA – CITROEM SM, LOTUS ELITE and BMW 320i (F34, F47 and F28) (1977, 1978 and 1993)

Three more Tomica models. In this case, I put them together because there are all three European, a French Citroën, a British Lotus and a German BMW.

The first two are very old, I got them in the 80s as a kid, while the third one was bought in the late 90s and belongs to the late series known as “British line”. The first two are made in Japan, the third is Made in China.

As it is usual for Tomicas, models come in different scales, all of them very close to 1:64.

Citroën SM in green – F34 – 1:66 – 1977
Lotus Elite in white/cream – F47 – 1:63 – 1978
BMW 320i in dark blue – F28 – 1:62 – Around 1993 (original release “Made in Japan” ~1977)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CITROEM SM, LOTUS ELITE and BMW 320i (F34, F47 and F28) ()
• Scale: 1:66, 1:63 and 1:62
• Year: 1977, 1978 and 1993
• Company: Tomica (Japan)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#828 UNKNOWN TOYMAKER - SUMSI PVC FIGURE (Around 1985)

This bee is the mascot of the Austrian-based bank Raiffeisen-Bank. Even today, the brave and hard-working bee is still being used by the same bank in several publications for children, or in especial give-away products, like bicycle helmets or backpacks.

This figure is probably from the mid 80s, although I cannot say it accurately, as I cannot identify the maker of the figure. It is completely unmarked.

Interestingly, the figure has a ring on its back, so I assume at the time it was a keyring. I found two of these, and none had the keyring anymore, so this must also be taken as a hypothesis.

The paint work is not the best, even considering that it was made more than 30 years ago, but still a rare and nice promotional plastic/PVC figure.

UPDATE1 (Dec/2018): A different, yet very similar, model.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: SUMSI (PROMO PVC FIGURE FROM RAIFFEISEN BANK)
• Year: Around 1985
• Company: Unknown Toymaker (Austria? / Germany?)
• Size of the figures: Around 4 cm

#827 TMNT – ANNUAL BOOK 1990 (1990)

I found this book a few months ago in a second hand shop. It was very cheap, so I took it home. The book includes several activities for children (pastimes mostly) and also a short story/adventure with the ninja turtles and a few pages comic book, plus drawings of the main characters.

I am not familiar at all with this type of annuals (or yearbooks), I never had one as a kid, so I don’t know if they are supposed to be some kind of best-of, or just a book to gather every bit here and there that was not used before (kind of waste bin). Reading the stories, I would rather chose the second option, because they are terrible, but the pastimes are really nice, and I am sure I would have loved to have those pictures to copy, or those draw-by-points stuff.

The book was edited by Xenos in Germany and probably Austria and Switzerland, and by Copyright Promotions Ltd. In England. As the TMNT were very popular in the days, probably this book was made very quickly and that would explain the low quality of the contents.

#826 M.A.S.K. – ARTIC ASSAULT with CALHOUN BURNS (1986)

Here’s another figure set by Kenner for the M.A.S.K. toyline and sold only in Europe. I already wrote about this in entry #314, so this will be a short entry.

The figure is one of the usual characters in the M.A.S.K. storyline, Calhoun Burns. The figure is a repaint of another Calhoun Burns version that was available also in 1986 together with the Chevrolet Corvette C4 known as “Raven”. Even the mask, is the same, only in another colour. The name of the mask is Gulliver, ad its feature is that “pretends to shrink or to enlarge people or objetcs”.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: ARTIC ASSAULT with CALHOUN BURNS
• Toy Line: M.A.S.K. (Wave 2)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 6 cm approx.

#825 BERLINER – TOLLE AUTOS (Around 1983)

I haven´t seen many Berliner decks. Where I live they are rather rare, I guess in Berlin and in Germany in general they may be more common. The thing is that when I saw this deck, I bought it. Normally I wouldn´t have bought it, since it has no box, and one of the cards is painted on the back, but considering the cars topic, the year in which it was made, it´s small size and that it is rare to see, I bought it. It was cheap, no worry.

There are many quartett decks in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with the name “Tolle Autos”, which translates somewhat like “Cool Cars”. It does not say much about the kind of cars that you will find in the cards, because “toll” as “cool” is a very subjective thing.

The 24 cards show a mixture of sports and other we may consider as luxury limos or more common berlinas. Interestingly, the Rolls Royce Camargue on the cover card is not present on any of the cards of the game.

The back of the card is the same for all 24 cards, and shows a series of circles to play Go-Bang, which is a game in which two players have to mark the circles and get 5 in a row. It is curious that Berliner used this design, since if it was ever used, this may spoil the card game, as it actually happened with mine. Maybe this may rise the current value of one of these sets, considering many were spoiled and less remained in good conditions until today.

I haven’t seen this quartett anywhere else, so I could not find any information about the deck. I guess it has to be made around 1983, but just because of the cars that appear in the pictures, I didn’t actually check the release years of every car depicted, but it was probably around that year.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: TOLLE AUTOS
• Year: Around 1983
• Company: Berliner (West Germany)

#824 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – GRIZZLOR and LEECH (1985)

These two figures are two of the most recognizable and unique figures in the whole toyline. They are simply different to the rest of the figures. Grizzlor was the only furry figure made and Leech was probably the biggest and bulkier one (besides the Giants Tytus and Megator). I had the first one, and I can remember wanting to have the second, but I never got it.

I now have both, and I took them out for a dio-photo session. This could be Leech´s hideout.

Grizzlor is some furry beast, probably inspired by a bear, although with some distinctive features like fangs and red eyes. The figure came with a yellow harness displaying Hordak´s bat in red and a green crossbow, as many other Horde members had.

The figure in the pictures is the one I keep since my childhood. The hair is not so nice anymore, I got other Grizzlors in much better shape, but I traded or sold them, keeping only the one I have since the 80s.

There is rare version out there where the face of the beast is much darker, so this variant is called black-face Grizzlor. I do not have this yet, but if I ever have the chance to get it, I definitely will!
This normal version is relatively easy and cheap to find, as the rest of the figures form 1985, that were sold massively worldwide. The accessories are not difficutl to find either, so all in all, it is an affordable figure.

Unfortunately, Grizzlor had no action feature besides its furry skin. Maybe somebody had expected something more on top of that.

Leech´s feature is one of the greatest ever, although during the play it was difficult to use. Thanks to that round plastic mouth, you could attach it to some flat surface (like a window) and fix it by pushing a button in its back. The figure has an air pump inside that makes vacuum in the mouth. The air pump is probably the reason for the big size of the figure.

I like the especially designed limbs for this figure, all end with sucking pumps instead of hands and feet. The figure also had at least one variant in wich the black armband is red, and also another variant in which the figure was packaged with a brighter red crossbow (see pictures). I am still looking for the alternative armband figure, I will buy it when I have the chance.

Having so many plastic parts, Leech is a figure that won´t stand many more years. In some figures I have seen over the years, the plastic in its mouth and probably the air pump inside may harden and then break.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: GRIZZLOR and LEECH
• Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 4)
• Year: 1985
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 14 cm