#161 YOLANDA – REAL GHOSTBUSTERS' CHEWING GUM'S FIGURES (1993)

I wanted to bring some more figures made by Yolanda, since the article I wrote about them has received many visits and was even linked by MinifiguresXD. Precisely in this blog, we started a discussion about how to identify Yolanda figures, as well as other related facts to this company. I copy almost literally what I wrote there:

"1st is that Yolanda has produced many figures in hard PVC plastic, but also many figures in a softer plastic, meaning the kind of plastic used by, for example, Bully or Schleich. A general rule is that painted figures (like the Supermonstruos I show in my blog) are always made of soft plastic, while the monochromatic figures (your Toxic Avenger) are made of harder plastic.

2nd is that Yolanda figures are always marked with the Yolanda logo with or without the circle. If you want to identify a monochromatic figure from a picture (without having it in your hands), pay attention to the colours: those "electric" green, purple, blue... are characteristic for Yolanda. Darker colours, like green, grey or brown are also available, and have some kind of shiny-pearl effect, also very easy to identify.

3rd Is that the figures were available in many different ways. As I wrote in this entry, painted figures (I guess they were more expensive) were exposed in glass showcases from which the salesman would take one out for you. But they were also available in countertop boxes, as you say. The monochromatic figures however were sold (in a couple of examples I know) in opaque bags. Some monochromatic figures with small size (maybe 1 inch) were often giveaways for chewing gums or candies. There are famous series from Real Ghostbusters, Dinosaurs, TMNT... In that case, the shopkeeper had a small bag with the figures and every time somebody came with a prized tag, received a figure."

 

Two of the "stickers": left a normal one, right the prized one taken from todocoleccion.net

This last example is exactly the case of these small figures: they were a prize you received if your chewing gum came with a prized sticker, instead of a normal sticker (well, they were not adhesive, so I guess “sticker” is not the right word). According to this prized sticker above, there were 8 different figures, so I own the whole collection. Each of the figures was available in all 4 colours: purple, red, blue and green. Some more stickers can be found in todocoleccion.net, but the prices these figures have are simply ridiculous (in my opinion, of course)… 

By the way, these figures are not marked with the Yolanda logo, they're too small for that. It's probably the only exception to the rule above (2nd point).
 

Here’s a picture of the bird-ghost in two different colour versions.

Last, but not less important is that these figures are copies of Kenner’s Real Ghostbusters ghosts… if you’re familiar with this toy line, you’ll be able to recognise the ghosts that came packed with the figures of the first wave. More specifically: 

• Ghosts in the first row were packed (left to right) with: Ray Stantz v1 (1^st, green), Peter Venkman v1 (3^rd, blue) and Egon Spengler v1 (5^th blue).
• In the second row, the ghosts were packed with the Ecto-1 (2^nd, purple), Winston Zeddmore v1 (3^rd, blue or 4^th, red).
• The other ghosts (1^st row: 2^nd and 4^th; 2^nd row: 1^st) are not based on Kenner figures, unless somebody tells me the opposite. 
• The Ghostbusters’ sign and Slimmer are based on previous plastic figures made by Yolanda in colours (painted plastic), while the red ghost remains a mistery… I think I have seen it somewhere else, but where?

As a comparison between Kenner’s original Ecto-1 figure and the “shrunk” version, I took this picture. They are similar, but not the same!

Hope you liked this article!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: REAL GHOSTBUSTERS CHEWING GUM FIGURES
• Toy Line: Real Ghostbusters
• Year: 1993
• Company: Yolanda (Spain)
• Size of the figure: Around 2 cms.

#160 MATCHBOX LESNEY – MILK DELIVERY TRUCK, LYONS MAID ICE-CREAM MOBILE SHOP and TV SERVICE VAN (Nrs. 21c, 47b and 62b) (1961 and 1963)

These three vans or small trucks are three of my best Matchboxs, I bought them last Christmas boxed, and are in a relative good condition, they have a couple of chips, but since they are very old models and hard to find, I guess they’re ok like that. These vans were released in the early 60s: the Milk Delivery Truck was released in 1961, while the other two were released in 1963. They were discontinued in 1968.

Milk Delivery Truck or Commer Bottle Float:

The first model, the Milk Delivery Truck (number 21, or sometimes referred as well as 21c) was available with the old grey metal wheels, and with black plastic wheels. Mine is the later version. There are many different variations of this model, including different colours for the bottles’ load, windshield and the decals (at least two types of decals). The colour of this van has slight variations in a pale shade of green, and the decals on the doors show a cow (like mine) or a bottle of milk.

On the base it is labelled as “Commer Bottle Float”, which is another common name for this vehicle.

Lyons Maid Ice-Cream Mobile Shop or Commer Ice Cream Canteen

The second model, the Lyons Maid Ice-Cream Mobile Shop, or as labelled in the base: “Commer Ice Cream Canteen” is another great model from 1963. It has again a few colour variations: at least two shades of blue and light brown, and again, several different decals (at least this one –Lyons Maid- and Lord Neilson). This one seems to be the most common. It is a very nice van for children, since kids love ice-creams and the seller inside of the cabin is a very nice detail. I guess it was massively sold. Curiously, some other brands like Majorette have also produced die-cast ice-cream vans…

TV Service Van:

The last model presented in this entry is the TV Service Van, available in light brown only but with two different decals: “Rentaset” or “Radio Rentals”. My model is the first of these two, and is complete, something very rare in this model. It came with a few accessories attached to a plastic “tree”. I also have the tree with three televisions, butthe ladder and the antenna have been removed from it. If the model is complete, it is quite expensive to buy it. It was also available with grey wheels.

As you can see in the pictures, the antenna and the ladder are placed at the top of the van, while the televisions can be kept inside of the van. It has a practicable door that opens up andcloses down.

I have to mention, that matchbox models made in these years have a problem with the paint and the lacquer, and if they have been played, or uncorrectly stored, they present great paint loss, as well as rust. It is also important to mention that they can also suffer from sun damage. Some variations in the plastic part or in the body colour can be produced by a long sun exposure in the past, so be careful before you acquire some “ultra-rare variation”. Decals are also rarely complete, always partly missing.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MILK DELIVERY TRUCK, LYONS MAID ICE-CREAM MOBILE SHOP and TV SERVICE VAN (Nrs. 21c, 47b and 62b)
• Alternate Names: COMMER BOTTLE FLOAT, COMMER ICE CREAM CANTEEN.
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: 1961, 1963 and 1963 (all discontinued in 1968)
• Company: Matchbox Lesney (G. Britain)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#159 DINO RIDERS – TOROSAURUS with GUNNUR and MAGNUS (1988)

This is the Only Dino Riders new and boxed that I currently own, the Torosaurus was one of the “big” dinosaurs in the first wave, one of the four with “walking” action, together with the T-Rex and the Triceratops (Rulons) and the Diplodocus (Valorian). Tyco reused some casts for different dinosaurs (for example: two Deinonychus; the Monoclonius, the Styracosaurus and the Chasmosaurus shared its body, and the same happened with the Pteranodon and both Quetzalcoatlus)

The Torosaurus is built with the same body of the Triceratops, but a different head. Curiously enough, the Torosaurus is of current interest because recent studies suggested, that the Torosaurus could actually be an adult Triceratops, although shortly afterwards, it was denied by other studies.

Anyway, the toy is by far the biggest dinosaur that I own, around 50% larger than the Stegosaurus, and also very well done. The (usual) details like the skin, the colours and the eyes are the same as commented in older entries.

Apart of the walking feature, this dinosaur has light effects, which, to my knowledge is something unique in this toy-line. Here’s a commercial of the toy, pay attention to the cannons in (or inside) the armour by the end of the video. (Video not available anymore)

This dinosaur came with two figures: Gunnur and Magnus. The figures have the usual cast for Valorians figures in the first wave.

The new "thing" in this article is that I can show you an unopened DR box. Although the box is identical to those of smaller dinosaurs (with a flap, featured actions, and so on), bigger dinosaurs came in an expanded polystyrene inlay, instead of a cardboard/plastic inlay.

On the upper level, the dinosaur, the figures and some interesting parts of the armour were placed, since items in this tray could be seen through the box window under the flap.

The rest of the armour, including instructions, comic book and figure’s accessories, was placed below that tray and closed with a paperboard. A sticker on the upper part indicates were to find the rest of the accessories. Note that “Accessories” is written in English, while the rest of the message is written in Spanish.

And talking about languages, this box is the Spanish edition, distributed by Comansi, and with all instructions and texts in Spanish.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: TOROSAURUS with GUNNUR and MAGNUS
• Toy Line: Dino Riders
• Year: 1988
• Company: Tyco (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figure: Around 30-35 cms.

As an annex, I’ll put here a list of the dinosaurs released on each wave:

WAVE 1

• Tyrannosaurus-Rex with Krulos, Bitor and Cobrus
• Diplodocus with Questar, Mind-Zei and Aries
• Triceratops with Hammerhead and Sidewinder
• Torosaurus with Magnus and Gunnur
• Deinonychus with Antor
• Deinonychus with Sky
• Pteranodon with Rasp
• Quetzalcoatlus with Yungstar
• Monoclonius with Mako
• Styracosaurus with Turret
• Ankylosaurus with Sting
• Pterodactyl with Llahd

WAVE 2

• Brontosaurus with Ion, Serena and Ayce
• Stegosaurus with Tark and Vega
• Kentrosaurus with Krok
• Pachycephalosaurus with Tagg
• Saurolophus with Lokus
• Dimetrodon with Shado
• Edmontonia with Axis
• Struthiomimus with Nimbus
• Protoceratops with Kanon
• Placerias with Skate

WAVE 3

• Pachyrhinosaurus with Atlas
• Chasmosaurus with Llava
• Quetzalcoatlus with Algar

WAVE 3 (ICE AGE)

• Wooly Mammoth with Grom
• Killer Wart Hog with Zar
• Sabre Tooth Tiger with Kub
• Giant Ground Sloth with Ulk

#158 JUGUETES Y JUGUETERAS: ANTOLOGÍA DE ARTÍCULOS (XAVIER ARUMI)

This is the third book I read by Xavier Arumí, and it won’t be the last. This time, instead of taking one only toymaker, Xavier writes about several  toymakers and toys, what makes the book very amusing to read. 

Each of the 14 articles have an extension of around 7 or 8 pages, and mostly focus on the history of some toy company (both Spanish, like Geyper, Congost or Airgam, and international, like Meccano, Lines Bros. or Lego). Other talk about one particular toy or game, like Monopoly or Cinexin.

The book is a compilation of the best articles appeared in Rosaspage.com, chosen by its author. They are still published there, so if you want to read them (for free) you can just visit that webpage and look for the articles you are interested in. If you do this, you’ll probably find other things that might interest you, because the webpage is constantly updated with new and exciting articles, dealing not only with toys, but with many other things.

Even if the articles are available online for free, I find that it is very nice to have this collection of article as a book (o e-book) for better clearness. 

If you’re interested in this book, you can buy it here. The book is written in Spanish, and has a price of 14 Euros plus shipping costs, or 3,75 Euros in electronic format.

About the autor: Xavier Arumí is the host of www.rosaspage.com, has already written a few books about collecting and about toys, comic books (that he also illustrate), and novels. He is a collector himself, and as you can check on his website, or reading his books, a great expert on toys, apart from a good writer.