#578 THE CORPS! – WAVE 3 (IV): BRICKWALL, CRUSHER McCLOSKEY and HAT TRICK LEMONDE (1992)

This is an entry I was willing to write since a long time, because this CORPS topic remains more or less open since entries #278, #279 and #280. There, I talked about all figures from the Corps´ waves 2 and most figures from wave 3, but I still need to comment the last 6 figures from wave 3.

If you want to know more about this series, plese visit now (or later) those entries, there are a lot of data there to read and analyse!

The names of the wave 3 missing characters are (in alphabetical order):

• Brickwall
• Crusher McCloskey
• Hat Trick Lemonde
• Lightning Mobutu
• Sensei Kabuto
• Steve Wyoming

These figures are the most difficult to find in the whole collection, especially complete with accesories, since the casts (both for the figures and the accesories) were almost never reused. All six figures except one (Hat Trick Lemonde) were reissued in the "Blades" series. Some rumours I heard say the casts got destroyed/damaged accidentally, so, these figures could only have a v1, unlike other Corps characters which have 5 or more versions... I should investigate about this, because I own later figures which share the legs with Brickwall and other casts that look pretty much the heads of Brickwall or Steve Wyoming.

Two things surprise me from these last six figures. First are the names, which are quite imaginative... to say it diplomatically. Second is the colourful and strange uniforms they are wearing. Yes, I now the rest of wave 3 is also quite colourful, but in my opinion, the uniforms of Crusher McCloskey, Hat Trick Lemonde or Steve Wyoming are... ahem... ridiculous.

By the way, figures have quite fragile hands... make sure not to break thumbs when playing with them, or pay attention if you plan to buy them online. And one last piece of advice: please note before purchasing that the weapons are included and that they are the right ones. There has been some confusion about which weapons go with which figures because an old webseite (today not active anymore) presented the figures with changed weapons. Pay attention to my pictures because they are correctly ordered in them.

But it´s not the negative aspects of the figures I want to point out. These figures are nice, and great collectable items. Let´s see the details one by one. In this entry I will present three characters, and in the next one, three more.

The first three are:

BRICKWALL - Probably the best figure in the group, Brickwall could be some spaceship pilot, or some astronaut soldier. The figure has a nice colour scheme in white and red, and nice sculpt details (considering this as a general flaw in the whole  "the Corps!" collection). Its helmet reminds a bit of Sci-Fi from G.I.Joe:ARAH.

CRUSHER McCLOSKEY - This figure has a strange torso, being naked except for some kind of pads and cables that also go to his head. I don´t really know what to think. The head sculpt reminds me of Psyche Out from the G.I.Joe line.

HAT TRICK LEMONDE - This figure is my least favorite (together with Steve Wyoming), because it is some futuristic rollerskater with helmet and some kind of armour that makes him look a bit fat. The helmet let see his face, and he has a moustache, so, all in all, an interesting combination. Colours are also a bad combination of green-red-white. His name is often mispelled as "Lemonade" instead of "Lemonde" (some old Corps! Webseite had this information wrong). Maybe that French sounding name inspired his moustache?

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: BRICKWALL, CRUSHER McCLOSKEY and HAT TRICK LEMONDE.
• Toy Line: the Corps! (wave 3)
• Year: 1992
• Company: Lanard (Hong-Kong)
• Size of the figure: 3 ½¨ or 8 cms.

#577 MICRO MACHINES - MICRO LIGHTS COLLECTION #2, #6, #7, #8, #10, #16 and #18 (1990)

The next Micro Machines subseries are the Micro Lights. There is also the Super Micro Lights Series (#166), but although they are similar subseries, they are not the same. The Micro Lights are cars with front are rear lights, that can be activated when the car is pushed down, while the Super Micro Lights are generally bigger vehicles (trucks, vans, camper vans, limos, buses...) and they don´t have rear and front lights, but lights in the interior that reveals the silhouettes of the passagers.

Both lines were launched in 1990. The Micro Lights subseries comprised 18 collections of 2 cars each, however, Micro Lights and Super Micro Lights were merged the next year into the Micro Lights series. Cars were the same (partly in the same colours/decorations), but "remixed".

The two cars presented here are a BMW 635 and a T-Bird Super Coupé (Collection #6), both decorated in rally colours and patterns.

UPDATE (June/2024): Added several collections

Collection #2: Also a BMW 635 and a T-Bird Super Coupé (Collection #2), in flashy colours and patterns.

Collection #7: 

Collection #8:

Collection #10: 

Collection #16:

Collection #18:

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MICRO LIGHTS COLLECTIONS #2, #6, #7, #8, #10, #16, #18
• Scale of the cars: 1:150 aprox.
• Year: 1990
• Company: Galoob (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 2 cm

#576 JURASSIC PARK - DILOPHOSAURUS (JP02) (1993)

 

After a long pause without showing anything from this toyline, I return with one of the two Dilophosaurus released in the first wave of the Jurassic Park toyline. The other one is the "Electronic" Dilophosaurus shown in entry #285.

This one is a much simpler toy. The dinosaur, if you can remember the movie, could spit venom. In the movie attacks and kills Dennis Nedry, and to add some visual effects, the dinosaur had a skin around the neck that could extend when atacking. This skin is an invention for the movie, because the real dinosaur did not have that.

To this extent, the "normal" dilophosaurus is more realistic than the "electronic" dilophosaurus. Morphologically is very accurate and the plastic used is also a softer one.

The dinosaur can spit water by pushing its belly, which is a very nice feature ("with Dino-Strike Venom Spray!"). It was also present in the figure of Dennis Nedry, which had some water-launching weapon.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: DILOPHOSAURUS (JP2)
• Toy Line: Jurassic Park (Wave 1)
• Year: 1993
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 13 cm long

#575 SCHUCO MODELL - FORD CONSUL and ESCORT (Nrs. 301858 and 301881) (1973 and 1975)

 

My second entry dealing with the Schuco series in 1:66 scale show two Ford models from the 70s. They are used but in a very good shape. As usual in the Schuco Modell series, the base of the car is marked with the characteristics of the car. The Ford Consul base is shared with the Ford Granada, and this is also a common thing to many other references.

Ford Consul in light green - 75 PS - 145 Km/h

Ford Escort in red - 54 PS - 137 Km/h

You can see more of this series here (#288).

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FORD CONSUL and ESCORT (Nrs. 301858 and 301881)
• Scale: 1:66
• Year: 1973 and 1975
• Company: Schuco (West Germany)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#574 VAM - RENAULT 5 (Around 1984)

VAM is a toy company that became famous in the 70s for its cheap plastic cars and trucks. They were very popular due to their low prices and their availability: you could find them almost anywhere, from kiosks, or drug-stores to bakeries and coffee shops. When I bought them in the mid-80s, the small models (1:64, 3 inches) were 5 or 10 pesetas, that's 0,03 to 0,06 Euros, so they were really affordable.

VAM takes its name from its founder: Valeriano Aguilar Monforte, who started the business in Zaragoza. First in Belchite street number 1, and later in the Carretera de Castellón without number, a industrial zone.

Each car was made of several plastic parts, for example, the chassis, the wheels and axles, the pilot, maybe some antenna. Other bigger models included body and chassis, and maybe more parts. The pieces were assembled by private people at home, mostly housewives. According to people who saw it (as recalled in www.laisladelreloj.blogspot.com), it was usual to see a small van in some quarters of the city taking big bags with parts to be assembled. The assembled toys were returned to the manufacturer and then distributed to shops around the country.

If I recall well, cars were stored in the shops in big transparent plastic bags. The bag usually hung on the wall, so you could chose any car you liked, and the seller would take it out of the bag for you.

With the improvements in the economy, and the slow introduction of foreign and quality car models, VAM started selling less and less toys, although it took many years to see it closed. When that happened, VAM casts were sold to two different companies from the same city that coincidentally were located even in the same area/region: "Baratijas Ruiz" (that is still active today) and "La Ilusión".
 

The model shown today is a big car, I would say it is a scale between 1:43 and 1:36, maybe closer to the first as to the second, although I should have somewhere a small bag of 1:64 scale cars (race cars, land rovers) and 1:100 scale trucks. They will be shown in other entry in the future... I need to check if they are VAM or Ruiz.

In the link above, there is a nice collection of plastic cars made by this company. Watching them, I recall how many of these I had as a kid. Recommended to click here! http://laisladelreloj.blogspot.com.es/2009/03/cochecitos-de-peseta.html

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: RENAULT 5
• Year: Around 1984
• Company: VAM (Spain)
• Size: Around 10 cm.
• Scale: Around 1:43

#573 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – LADYBIRD BOOKS (1984 and 1985)

I have 5 out of 6 books from this series. They were printed in 1984 (or 1985 if the German translation) in different languages: At least English, Dutch and German. I found mine in flea markets and I hope I can still find the sixth one. Mine are in German, and the one that is missing is "Die stählerner Gigant".

Ordered by publication number, the titles are:
2985-0 Die Schwingen des Unheils
2986-0 Eine Falle für He-Man
2987-0 Skeletors Eisblockade
2988-0 Der stählerne Gigant
2989-0 He-Man und das ungeheuer
2990-0 Castle Grayskull in Gefahr

Later, there were two more titles released. One of them is called "He-Man and the Asteroid of Doom". The other one "He-Man and the Lost Dragon". These are rarer, and to my knowledge are only available in English.

They are written for children by John Grant and are beautifully illustrated by Robin Davies. The stories are simple and involve a few characters each, including monsters and secondary characters from which there was never a figure made. The pictures of these characters (also vehicles and landscapes) are very interesting and add some interesting background for playing or even for customizers.

The books are more or less A5-sized, hardcover and intended for children´s hands. They have 43 pages each, more than 50% of them are illustrations, the rest are filled with text. With a big font, the text is easy to understand. Nevertheless I had to search for a few words in the dictionary each time (German is not my mother language), so not really an easy thing for children, kids younger than 10 will probably learn a few words in each book.

There was a similar book collection published by Golden and also licensed by Mattel.