#1016 LLEDO – FOUR 3M PROMOTIONAL MODELS (Around 1994)

I missed Lledo for the first 1015 entries on this blog for a reason. Although I have seen many of these models over the years, I never bought them, as I was not very interested. I had some Models of Yesteryear, but I sold these many years ago, and kept only the three or four of them, which I liked most.
 
The company was co-founded in 1982 by Jack Odell, who was also the co-founder of Matchbox many years before (the brand name is his surname spelled backwards). The other founding member was Burt Russell. The 80s was a golden age of these classic cars miniatures, and I guess Lledo just wanted to ride this wave and make some business with classic miniatures. However it was bad times for the die-cast industry, and Matchbox had been purchased by Universal, that moved the production factories to Macau, as it was very expensive to produce toys in the United Kingdom.
 
Lledo actually bought some tooling from the old Matchbox plants that were being dismantled and started producing in their own facilities in Enfield. This would last a few years, until 1999, when the company went bankruptcy, but the brand passed to Corgi Classics, that exploited the brand until 2005, all these later cars are “made in China”.
 
How to compete against east-Asian produced toys? Well, they specialize in classic vintage cars and commercial vehicles, as I said before, which was rather uncommon at the time. On top of that, they offered many chances to customize their references for big brands, as they could place their logo in any of the available models (vans, trucks, some cars…) and make nice promotional items. Placing your logo in a car from the 1920s gives your company a certain aura of quality, tradition and market leadership, so it was a good idea. Obviously, Asians would finally imitate and overtake Lledo with much cheaper products, but these 15 years were good ones, with high production volumes.
 
The first and best known series is called Days Gone (which sounds a bit like Yesteryear) and came out in 1983. The first models were all horse-drawn and stagecoaches, but soon appeared the Ford Model T van. These are marked on the base “Days Gone”.
 
The “promotional” series that I already introduced was the most profitable. During the first six years of production, Lledo had around thirty casts/models, but, out of them, there were hundreds of variations catalogued. The Ford T was the most common, and was produced in over 170 different decorations. The Double Decker bus also had a big success. Each of these “promotional” model was made, with some exceptions, in very limited runs of 500 to 1000 units. Promotional models are marked on the base “Lledo Promotional Model”.
 
Maybe the most interesting models ever made by Lledo are the four land speed record cars, a series made for Kellogg´s. All four were based on new casts and never reused, and they do not fit with all the other references available in their catalogue.
 
Finally, the Vanguards series included more modern cars, from the 50s and the 60s, British and Europeans. The line was excellent in detail and quality.
 
Some models were sold to second parties and relabeled accordingly, for example, under the Hartoys or Edocar brands.
 
The models presented in this entry are 4 promotional models made for 3M. They are all different, and comes in their independent blank boxes. There were dozens of models made for 3M, some of them were sold in ordinary boxes with windows, so I suppose these were not intended for retailers.

Packard Town Van (1933)

 Chevrolet Panel Van (1939)

Packard Van (1936)

Model T Ford Van (1920)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: Ford Model T, Packard Van, Packard Town Van, Chevrolet Panel Van
• Scale: 1:43 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1994
• Company: Lledo (United Kingdom)
• Size: approx 9 cm

#1015 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – JET SLED (1986)

Time to go back to Masters of the Universe. The series is so popular today, that I am starting to loose interest in it. There are several modern toylines, tv series, publications and merchandising available, but I still remain interested in the vintage line and the He-Man New Adventures one only.
 
This toy is the third battle accessory after the Megalaser and the Stilt Stalkers, both presented many years ago in this blog. The Jet Sled was missing, or more precisely, I was missing the backpack part, which is the fragile part of the pack.

As the Stilt Stalkers, the Jet Sled can be carried in the back of the figure, when it is not is use. When in use, it can be used as an autonomous flying object (some kind of drone), or it can carry one figure/pilot that is fitted to the Jet by its feet. Unfortunately, the hands do not fit very well in the handles and it looks somewhat not great, when you are using a figure with it.

It also has two mini missiles on the wings, that can be removed with some effort. Sometimes they are missing. The wheels are also slightly fragile, but most wings are in good shape, as it was, and is, a sturdy toy.
 
FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: JET SLED (Ref. 2084)
• Toy Line: Masters of the Universe (Wave 5)
• Year: 1986
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: approx. 16 cm

#1014 VEREM – PEUGEOT 504 COUPÉ V6 (Nr. 1055) (1980)

I had never heard of Verem until I found this car in a flea market several years ago, together with other models in the same scale (Schuco, Gama, Solido and others). I bought it, because if the brand was unknown to me, it had to be a rare model, and I always enjoy adding one more brand to my collection. I also like the car represented very much.

There is very few information on the web about them. On hobbydb, I could read that it was founded under another name as a division of Solido. As a matter of fact, the company was based in Rouves, just a few kilometers aways from the Solido factory. The name Verem was first used in 1984, four years after Majorette purchased Solido. The name comes from Majorette founder EMile VERon.

Other sources are not sure if Verem was a subsidiary or an independent licensee, although the geographical closeness to Solido and the ownership of Majorette, seems to point out in the subsidiary direction.

What we know for sure is that Verem offered re-editions of Solido references from the 70s and 80s, including military vehicles, and also resin models in 1994.

The toy car is a Peugeot 504 Coupé V6 based on a Solido cast, and done with high quality. It has lots of practicable parts and also the paintwork is great. I like very much the model! The car was also great back in the 70s and the 80s, but very rare to spot, as it was the top of the 504 series, and a very expensive car at the time.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: PEUGEOT 504 COUPÉ V6 (Nr. 1055)
• Scale: 1:43 (approx.)
• Year: 1980
• Company: Verem (France)
• Size: approx 9 cm

#1013 FIGURAS EN ACCIÓN (F.E.A.) Nr.27

Today it is the 6th of January, the day in which children receive presents in Spain from the Three Wise Men. 

Please take a look at the new issue of Figuras En Acción, the 27^th in more than 13 years. It is also a present for you, since you do not have to pay for it (or register or fill any form), it is directly available from our Google Drive.

This issue has set the record for the highest number of participants, 9 people, and it comes with a series of articles each of them very different to the others. Besides the classic G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe and E.T., there are other articles about Police Academy (the TV series), concept cars reproduced by the Spanish die-cast manufacturer Guisval, the subline Micro by Tente. This time we also have an interview with Lázaro Totem, who has made a collection of stickers with its album about monsters and other terrorific creatures. It is a delight to  watch his work. The sticker album can be only ordered from and to Spain. At least until further notice.

There are many news commented, we visit one museum related to toys and games, we comment some recent publications, and do many other sections worth reading.

Please visit the official blog of the magazine to find this issue. And all the previous 26 too.

www.toysfromthepast.blogspot.com

#1012 SCALEXTRIC – SEAT 850 (Ref. C-42 or 4042) (1969)

I have the impression that Scalextric cars are losing value in the last few years, which is a good thing if you are still collecting them, or you want to play with them as it is my case. I have plenty of cars that I have bought in the last 30 years and I would like to start playing now with my son. It is bad news if you are trying to sell your collection.

Among the most difficult cars I have, I have two versions of the Seat 850, one in burgundy red and the other one in dark green, and they are both 100% original and in a very good shape. One of them is even boxed. These models have reached very high prices in the last 5 years, over 200 euros each, but I got mine for much less money. 

The real Seat 850 Sport Coupé was the sports car by Seat in the 60s, and, thus, a very rare car to spot, even at the time. It was usual to see other models, such as the 600, 1500, 850… but the 850 coupé was only sold in very low numbers, it was probably too expensive and not suitable for families. Exin chose this model to be made in the year 1969, right after the Seat 600, and was the second car ever made entirely by the Spanish branch, and the second Seat, for obvious reasons.

The slot car was also available in light blue and white, but all of them carried the same stickers (with different, random race numbers). There are newer reissues of the car, being the most important the “Vintage” limited edition from 1995, in white with race number 95, from which only 8.000 units were made. Even after that, already in the Tecnitoys era, there were many other models representing real racing cars.

It is a very cool car and it is also fun to drive. Note that both models shown here are the Race-Tuned versions.

   

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: SEAT 850 (Ref. C-42)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1969
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 12 cm

#1011 STAR TOYS – MIGUEL INDURÁIN (1995)

   

This is a promotional figure made by Star Toys that represents the Spanish cyclist Miguel Induráin. He is the 5 times winner of the Tour de France, and the first person to win five times in consecutive years, between 1991 and 1995. There are other 3 people who also won that race five times. Lance Armstrong won the race 7 times, but was later disqualified for life.

Miguel Induráin also won the Giro d’Italia twice, as well as other prestigious races, and was also a gold medallist in the Olympic Games of Atlanta’96.

Right after the fifth Tour de France victory in the summer of 1995, El Mundo Deportivo, a sports journal from Spain offered this small PVC figure as a giveaway, presented in a plastic bag with a small card inside. It is an unique figure, does not belong to any series.

The figure is manufactured by Star Toys and it is relatively easy to spot in Spain, as it was probably made up to hundreds of thousands. It carries the corporate colours of the Banesto Team, named after a bank that is now part of the Santander group.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: MIGUEL INDURÁIN
• Year: 1995
• Company: Star Toys (Spain)
• Size of the figures: Around 8 cm

#1010 EDOCAR – VW 1300 MUSICAR “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” (1989)

 

What I found about Edocar was already explained in a previous entry, that you can review here. This time I am presenting a single model which has the special feature of singing Happy Birthday using the same mechanism than Majorette’s Sonic Flashers.

The model, of course, it is produced by MC Toy in a color which is specific for Edocar, and the decoration is somewhat colourful although not especially remarkable. Most MC Toy models have better tampographies. The windows are black to hide the electrical circuit that produces the music. It was sold in a blister pack.

Back to the musical feature, Happy Birthday was not the only melody available, there were other models which reproduced the tune of “Tulips from Amsterdam”, the theme of “Alfred J. Kwack” or the jingle of Coca-Cola. Edocar and Coca-Cola have a special relation about which I will write in another occasion.

What I dislike about this toys is that, once the battery is empty, there is no easy way to replace them. Also the batteries corrode, and at some point, they will spoil the toy, not to mention that many of these toys ended in the waste bin contaminating earth and water. Remember to remove batteries from the toys if you are going to store them for a long time!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: VW 1300 Musicar „Happy Birthday“
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: 1989
• Company: Edocar (Netherlands, China)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm