#982 POLFI-TOYS - RENAULT 17 (Around 1977)

Today, I bring some exotic model from Greece. It is the first time, I think, that a greek toy appears in the blog, so I am happy for that.

It is my first Polfi Toy, I think I bought it in the first months on 2020 from another collector in Austria. It is not in its best shape, but I payed only 3 euro for it. Most of the Polfi models I have seen have paint chips, so I guess they do not have the best paint work.

Greece, as Spain or Portugal had a relatively close toy market with their own national brands until the early 80s, and Polfi is maybe the best-known greek brand of toys, maybe not the most important, but probably one of the most successful, having sold many hundred thousands of die-cast models like this one but also in bigger scales, motorbikes and even planes.

Some of these 1:55-1:64 cars seem to be copies of Matchbox models (except for a few Formula ones, which look like Polistils), while some 1:43 models knock-off the cheap series of Polistil, although it is fair to say that they also had their own models.

The Renault 17, as I said, looks very much like the Matchbox model from 1974, but it is not a knock-off. Some details mark clear differences with the British model. The base is completely different, and also the wheels have a nice casting that looks like an off-road tyre.

I am sorry the pictures are not good, and even the colour is kind of different, I think the flash is distorting the colours, that look a bit brighter than they actually are. The model is dark orange, almost red, which, by the way was also the colour that Matchbox chose for the Renault 17. I will try to replace them as soon as possible. 

I would say Polfi is a brand that is worth collecting, so look out for these small die-cast, they are great. I would like to add some historical notes about the brand, but I couldn’t find anything. Maybe somebody from Greece can give us some hints? I would love to hear more about this toy manufacturer. 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: RENAULT 17
• Scale: 1:55
• Year: Around 1977
• Company: Polfi Toys (Greece)
• Size: Around 7 cm

#981 CHRYSLER QUARTETT – AMERICAN DREAM CARS (PROMOTIONAL) (2001)

This excellent deck of cards was probably made in Austria around the year 2000, and shows 32 Chrysler cards with their usual technical details (number of cylinders, power, capacity/displacement and max. speed) plus an American flag with or without the Austrian flag near to it.

Some Chrysler models were actually manufactured in Austria, and most accurately in the Eurostar factory in Graz between 1990 and 2002. I suspect this deck of cards might have been a gift for Chrysler customers in Austria or maybe even for Eurostar employees in the year 2001, as they started producing the PT Cruiser and Voyager (the 4th generation, shown in card B1) models that same year and this set was purchased in a flea market in this city. Note also that there are no marking or indications of manufacturer, barcode, year or anything else, and the pictures used all belong to the official Chrysler photographic archive. The text is written in German.

Just one year later, after the manufacturing of 50,000 units of the first model mentioned above, the plant was closed. The process was, for each car unit, around 2,000 dollar more expensive that it would have been in Mexico, so the plant was sold to Magna Steyr, and no more Chryslers were assembled in Austria ever since.

The deck is beautifully designed in clean white with minimalistic style on both sides of each card and in addition to the 2001 models, there are a family with classic Chryslers (Family H), racing cars (Family G) and a few other models, which, to my knowledge, were never available in the European markets.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHRYSLER AMERICAN DREAM CARS
• Year: 2001
• Company: Unknown Manufacturer (probably Austria)

#980 GAMA – OPEL REKORD, ASCONA and CORSA (893, 1140, 1159, 1176) (1978, 1981, 1983, 1984)

This is my second entry showing Gama die-cast cars. In the previous occasion, I showed a 60s Porsche Carrera in 1:43 scale, and this time I am showing four Opel/Vauxhall models from the late 70s and the 80s.

Not to repeat everything four times, I would like to summarize the common characteristics of these models. They are all 1:43 scale die-cast, have practicable parts, detailed interiors and the base include not only the name of the car, brand, etc., but also some technical specs for a particular model such as speed, power and 0-100 km acceleration time.

I would say they are all excellent, you cannot really confuse the models with any other Opels and the combination of metal and plastic parts, some of them painted in two colours shows probably the most accurate representation of the models available at the time. All these and most Gama I have seen on the Internet are in very good condition, so probably they were not really intended for children, but adult collectors, or they had an astounding paint quality, or, most probably, both at the same time.

They were marketed under the GAMAmini brand and sold in cardboard boxes with windows, but I also suspect they were sold at Opel athorised dealers to owners of the real cars or car enthusiasts in general.

So, chronologically…

Opel Rekord Limousine 4-Türig (893) / Vauxhall Carlton

The real model was for sale between 1977 and 1982, and this toy was probably made in 1978. It is the oldest model in the lot and was manufactured in Hong-Kong, while all the others were manufactured in Western-Germany. Curious that the production was moved from Hong-Kong to Germany and not the other way round, how did that happen? Hong-Kong marked models seem to be somewhat rarer than the German ones, and also more exensive, although any of these can be easily found on eBay or similar sites.

Opel Ascona Stufenheck-Limousine 4-Türig (1140) / Vauxhall Cavalier

This thrid version of the ascona premiered in 1981 and wasn’t modified until 1984. It represesented the mid-upper-range car by Opel between Rekord and Kadett. After a facelift, it was still sold untl 1988, and then it was replaced by the Opel Astra. This model was far more common than the Rekord on the streets when I was a child, but still a good expensive car.

Opel Corsa SR (1159) / Vauxhall Nova

At the time, he smallest Opel available, this car was expremely popular at the time. It was launched in 1982 and wasn’t modified until 1985, although not much. I recall this car as a kid, and I even travelled in it a couple of times, maybe because of this, it is my favorite model. Note that it has a practicable trunk door, but the bonnet cannot be opened, as it was the case of the Ascona. The other two models have both practicable trunk and bonnet parts.

 
Opel Rekord Limousine 4-Türig (1176) / Vauxhall Carlton

This car is the 1983-facelift Rekord that we have just seen before. It would remain for sale until 1986, when it was replaced by the Opel Omega. It is interesting to compare this model with the pre-facelift one, and see, for example, that the base is exactly the same, and the bodies also very similar to each other, I would say the main structure is exactly the same, and only the practicable parts and the front and back plastic pieces are different.

I bought altogether in the last half of 2019 for 5 euro/piece.

 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: OPEL REKORD, ASCONA and CORSA (893, 1140, 1159, 1176)
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: 1978, 1981, 1983, 1984
• Company: Gama (Germany/Hong-Kong)
• Size: Around 9 cm

#979 HOT WHEELS! - ATTACK TRACK BIG BONES (Ref. 1853) (1992)

This is one of the biggest models of the Attack Track series, but not necessarily the people’s favorite. It can still be found for very little money in auction sites.

The car reveals a monster with three mouths, one on the cab and two more on the front wheels, and this makes it roll with difficulty. I think Mattel should have solved this in a better way. This is its greatest flaw. The rear hook/crane and the bed with the bones cage are excellent, and you can really trap one of the smaller, ordinary cars, this gives it more playability than any other feature.

The name “Big Bones” refers probably to this cage, and I think it is well chosen. I guess it sold very well due to the artwork on the box, as the concept is much better than the realization of the toy. There were other bigger trucks in this collection, but they were surprisingly, very different to each other.

The toy is made of plastic, so it is also light and rather simple. It is decorated with some stickers, but these are not really very good. I would like to see more stickers and more colours in truck form. The chromed motor and front, as well as the exhaust pipes are good, but not great.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: ATTACK PACK BIG BONES (Ref. 1853)
• Scale: Unknown
• Year: 1992
• Company: Hot Wheels!/Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 20 cm

#978 HERACLIO-FOURNIER – BARAJA OLÍMPICA (1988)

The Olympic Games from 2020 in Tokyo have finally started. The opening ceremony was celebrated today, so I will comment this deck of cards made by Heraclio Fournier in Spain in 1988, when the games were celebrated in Seoul.

It is one of my favorite H-F models, as it has really well done illustrations of many olympic sports. There are 32 cards, although some cards represent several similar events. For example, the card for cycling counts for indoor and route cycling.

Some cards has short descriptions of the event(s) or categories, other have a listing of world records, both for men and women. Unfortunately, all drawings show men, it would have been great if half of the cards would show female athletes. Interestingly the box depicts a female gymnast, which does not appear in any of the cards. Probably they noticed the error and tried to correct it by choosing that cover.

The set includes a 3rd cover card with the instructions on the back. Heraclio-Fournier had another, much older, sports deck, but the drawings were made in a completely different style.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: BARAJA OLÍMPICA
• Year: 1988
• Company: Heraclio-Fournier (Spain)