#237 FUNDIPLASTIC/ EL GUERRER S.L. – RENAULT 5 (Around 1984)

This will be a short article about a cheap toy I found around one year ago. It is a plastic Renault 5 with a friction motor, more or less in 1:20 scale, that’s around 13 cms long. I found it in a flea market and the seller still had the original package. In each box there were 6 Renault 5s in 6 different colours. Some had already been sold.

Original Package with all six models. Pic taken from todocoleccion.net.

All six models were decorated with nice stickers. The white model, for example, is a driving school car; the blue one is a road service car, the green one is tv repair service and the orange a rally car. The red one has ICONA stickers. ICONA was the old name of the Spanish administrative entity that took care of the natural environment. The yellow model is especially curious because it has a Superman sticker on the bonnet.

As a nice detail, the cars are casted with plates “MO-586-A”. This number is fictitious, because there is no province in Spain with MO, but MO are the initials of the town name: Mogente.

This cars were produced by a toy company that is completely unknown. The name of the company is “El Guerrer” (Valencian for “the warrior”), and seems to be a subsidiary of Fundiplastic, a plastic manufacturer in Mogente/Moixent (Spanish/Valencian). In this little town was found a bronze warrior from the 5th or 4th century B.C. that soon became the symbol of the town. This warrior gave name to this small toy company.  

    

Although I don’t know any other products from “El Guerrer”, Fundiplastic produced many plastic toys in the 70s and the 80s. A famous series were different plastic cars in this same scale (14 cm) and also with friction motor, for example a Seat Ritmo, a Ford Fiesta, and also the Renault 5 (only in different colours).

There were also cars in a bigger scale (28 cms) made, with practicable doors. From these, there were at least a Chrysler 150, a Renault 18, and a Talbot Horizon made. And in an even bigger scale than that, there were several models of trucks. In one catalogue there's even a cable controlled truck.

The following pictures show some products by Fundiplastic. Note that the figure of the warrior appears in the catalogue images below. These are also taken from todocoleccion.net. The catalogue is for sale here.

 

Fundiplastic's cars in 1:20 scale: Seat Ritmo and Renault 5

Fundiplastic's Talbot Horizon

Trucks by Fundiplastic. Note that the truck in the upper picture is carrying three bricks.
It had to be huge!

The difference between both companies are unknown to me. Anyhow, Fundiplastic quality standards are higher than they were at El Guerrer. The motor of my Renault 5 is not correctly fixed to the chassis, so it’s not suitable for “rough” play. 

If you have information on Fundiplastic/El Guerrer, and you’d like to share it with us, please write me.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: RENAULT 5
• Year: 1984
• Company: FUNDIPLAST / EL GUERRER (Spain)
• Size: Around 13 cm.
• Scale: Around 1:20

#236 MAJORETTE – VW GOLF, MERCEDES 350 SL, POLICE, MATRA BAGHEERA and OTHER (1979)

Majorette 1979’s Catalogue

In this entry I will show many Majorette cars manufactured in the year 1979. We will see that some models were “new” from that year, while others are simply new decorations of already existing models. This is how Majorette worked: each year all cars were re-released, re-decorated (other colour, other decals) or retired. And for those that were retired, new casts were introduced. 

It is common to find two symbols in Majorette catalogues from the 80s: “N” for new (cast) releases and “ND” for new decorations, but during the 70s, only the new releases are marked, and it is more complicated to find the exact year in which a model was released. You can only find the release year of one miniature by checking every catalogue looking for its first appearance.

Let’s start with the catalogue this time, and then we will review a few of the cars on it. Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, but I cannot offer anything better. It is also incomplete, because only series 200 and 300 are shown. Series 3000 are missing.

Majorette 1979's Catalogue cover

Majorette 1979's catalogue - Page 1 - Series 200

Majorette 1979's catalogue - Page 2 - Series 200

Majorette 1979's catalogue - Page 3 - Series 300

Majorette 1979's catalogue - Page 4 - Series 300

Within the many decorations of each model, some might be more difficult to find than others, but it is difficult to say which ones are most difficult or rare to find.

VW GOLF (210) and FORD CAPRI (251)

The VW Gold is, in my opinion, one of the best casts in the whole Majorette history. The car was also made by Matchbox with two surfing boards on the roof, but majorette model is superior, including "glass" headlights, opening trunk and a nice interior cast (in the boot you can see two tennis rackets).

Ford Capri is one of the cars that saw more releases through the years with many different colours. Apart from these two, I already own a blue one with white top and a red one with black top. There are also green models and each of them with different variants in the decals and the colour of the top. The white model "Radio Monte Carlo" was originally released as a 300 series carrying a caravan (see entry here).Curiously, this model was also reproduced by Matchbox, although they seem to be different versions, apart from being hardtop, the Matchbox model seems to be a slightly older version.

Ford Capri came with no practicable parts, but the VW Golf has a practicable trunk. Both models came with a towing hook.

And finally a view of the bases, all made of metal, including the reference number and the scale. Models before 1990 are all "made in France".

First releases:

• VW Golf - 1978
• Ford Capri - 1978

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MERCEDES 350 SL (213), MERCEDES 450 SE (249) and BMW 733 (256)

The next three models are great german cars. Two of them are Mercedes: the "350 SL" version is the cabrio model, while the hardtop is the "450". Both are made in metallic grey. The 350 SL is a rather old model and this is one of their latest decorations. It was also available in the 300 series carrying some kind of water scooter or however you call it.

The second Mercedes model, 450 SE was first released in 1979, so this should be the first version. In the 1978 catalogue it also appears as a new model, but the picture is actually a drawing and not a picture. In later years it would be released at least in brown/gold and green. The car includes Mercedes emblem on the front of the car, but, as it is made of plastic (the same piece than the "silver" radiator), it is broken in 99% of all played cars. In this model it is missing.

And finally the BMW 733, a relatively rare model in this scale, I just remember the BMW 745 made by Mira, which has the same "body". This car was also one of the new, 1979, releases. Later models would be available at least in burgundy red, silver and white.

All three models have practicable parts and towing hook, as you can see in the pictures. Note that the Mercedes 350 SL has a different type of towing hook (without the plastic part) because it is a reused cast from a very old model, and so were the towing hooks at the time.

First releases:

• Mercedes 350 SL - 1975
• Mercedes 450 SE - 1979
• BMW 733 - 1979

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POLICE (216), DATSUN (229) and ALPINE A 310 (264)

I grouped these three cars because they are police cars and emergency doctor/physician, but the models are quite different. The car named simply "Police" is the yellow one. It is really a Plymouth Fury, the classic police patrol we see in many american movies from the 70s and the 80s. It is also one of the oldest models by Majorette. The first versions had plastic base. This is probably the last version ever made. The details on the roof are very fragile, because they're made of plastic, and break easily. It is therefore a very difficult to find model. In this case we do not have much variety of colours, all are blue or yellow, although there are up to three different shades of blue, and also a few different decals, all of them with the word Police on the bonnet or the doors.

The Datsun is the white model. This Datsun was also made by Matchbox, Yatming, Zylmex... Majorette made it in many many different colours and variations. One of the models with the greatest number of variations.

And finally, the Alpine A 310 is the blue model. The inspiration for this model came from a real car that the French Gendarmerie had. The model was, however, more suitable for rally. As a sport car was really impressive. Another decoration for this model was white with SOS doctor decals, but these decals are different from those we see in the Datsun.

The Datsun came with a towing hook, and had practicable doors.

First releases:

• Police - 1974
• Datsun - 1976
• Alpine A 310 - 1979

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MATRA SIMCA BAGHEERA (219), VOLVO 245D (220) and MERCEDES BÉTAILLÈRE (254)

The last three cars in this entry are three new decorations for older models. The truck is referenced as Mercedes Bétaillère (French for "cattle transport"), and included two small plastic cows. Both the Matra and the Volvo are cars that were released in many different versions and colours, although the Matra is an older model, maybe due to it's sportive look it didn't age that fast.

Matra is a great great model, my favorite from these 12, and this is probably its better decoration ("Rallye"), since most of the other are plain coloured or just with some stripes at the sides. Other available colours: blue, orange, gold, light green and yellow.

The Volvo was also released in many versions, I have it also in green and red, although it was available in yellow, gold and white. This decoration from 1979 has "Touring Club de France" decals.

The truck was only released in two versions: this one plus green/red. The second one is much rarer. There were however some trucks packed with these animals (head down, no horns), and other with bulls (head high, horns). There are also some trucks with the "3-pointed star" type of wheels.

All these three models have practicable parts, the car have opening trunks, and the truck have a side gate. The truck is very difficutl to find, as every other model containing removable plastic parts. The Matra is also difficult since the plastic trunk breaks easily.

First releases:

• Matra Simca Bagheera 1974
• Volvo 245D - 1976
• Mercedes Bétaillère - 1978

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If you liked this entry, you can check more cars from 1979 in this entry, including the white Ford Capri mint in sealed box.

UPDATE1: A few picture of colour variations from the models above.

MERCEDES 350 SL (213)

MATRA BAGHEERA (219)

BMW 733 (256)

UPDATE2 (Feb/2018):

ALPINE A 310 (264) - White version with Police Stickers

UPDATE3 (Dec/2018): Police in dark blue with yellow sirens

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: VW GOLF (210), MERCEDES 350 SL (213), POLICE (216), MATRA BAGHEERA (219), VOLVO 245 (220), DATSUN (229), MERCEDES 450 (249), FORD CAPRI (251), MERCEDES BETAILLERE (254), BMW 733 (256), ALPINE A 310 (264)
• Company: Majorette (France)
• Year: 1979
• Scale: Approx. 1:64
• Size: Around 8 cms

#235 NAIPES COMAS – CUARTETOS Nº1 to Nº4 (Around 1979)

 NAIPES COMAS

Naipes Comas is one of the most important card manufacturers in Spain. It might not be as important as Heraclio Fournier, but it is still very well known, and their products have a very high quality.

It is also a very old company, the oldest cardmaking company in Spain. The founder was D. Pedro Comas, who produced the first card decks in 1797. Between that year and 1810, the company was settled in Mataró, afterwards it moved to Barcelona.

The company was controlled by several (4) generations of the Comas family until it was turned into a joint stock company in 1954, whose name is NEGSA (Naipes y Especialidades Gráficas S.A.). 5 years later, they moved the factory to Hospitalet de Llobregat because they needed more space.

The whole story of the company can be read in English in their homepage: www.naipescomas.com

In 2010, the company was purchased by their competitors Cartamundi (Belgium). Cartamundi was present in the Spanish market since 2002, and it had been gaining importance ever since, due to the licenses of famous toy-lines and movies. The acquisition seems to be an attempt to gain more market share by leaving out Comas, because they’re currently not using the factories and installations in Barcelona, although they have kept the trademark.

Naipes Comas is not especially popular for their children’s decks, most of the quartets and card games for children are manufactured by the concurrence, although they had a series of popular fairy tales that I remember from the 80s and 90s. They were a cheaper alternative to Heraclio’s quartets. Before that, in the early 80s (also in the last 70s) there were a different series of quartet games, from which I present four of them.

PIPPI LANGSTRUMPF (Nr. 1):

The first of this card games (Cuarteto Nr. 1) has scenes taken from Pippi’s TV series. That series was aired in Spain in 1979, 4 years after its creation, so we can date the card deck around 1980. It is also interesting to mention, that the card deck uses the German name of the Astrid Lindgren's character and not the name for which it was known in Spain that was Pipi Calzaslargas. This is because the quartett is based on a quartett made by FX Schmid years before, in 1971. I have also commented that deck in entry #521.

BANDERAS DE EUROPA/ FLAGS OF EUROPE (Nr. 2):

The second game includes 28 flags from Europe, including, of course, flags of countries that do not exist today, like Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union.

Some other peculiar cards in this deck are Greece, which shows the flag that was used between 1975 and 1978. Similarly, Albanian, Romanian and Bulgarian flags correspond to the Communist Republics before the early 1980s. Because of these facts, the card deck was designed probably in 1978 and released in 1979.

One peculiarity of the flag deck is that it is actually a “2 in 1”. There is an extra card (Pirate Flag) to play the “Schwarzer Peter” game.

COCHES DE CARRERAS/ RACING CARS (Nr. 3)

Based on FX-Schmid “Rennwagen”. Some of the most famous pilots of these cars were Fittipaldi, Hurt, Scheckter or Lauda. Families are: Formula 1 (2 families), Formula 2 (2), Sport Protoypes (2), German Touring Series (1) and Nascar (1).

AVIONES DE PASAJEROS/ PASSENGER AIRPLANES (Nr. 4)

Base don FX-Schmid “Verkehrsflugzeuge”. There's a mixture of famous and not-so-famous airplanes from the late 70s, including many American models (Boeing, McDonell-Douglas, Lockheed), Russian models (Tupolev, Antonov, Jakovlev), and some European (Airbus from Germany, Concorde from France...)

Again, the names of the planes are written in German. This can be seen mostly in the Russian models, were the "w" appears instead of the "v", for example "Tupolew" instead of "Tupolev".

They are numbers 1 to 4, by this is just chance. There were more of them made, in one card of the “Pippi Quartet” there’s a card with a list of published decks. In it, we can see that “Flags of Europe” was one of the first released, that’s why I am assigning number 2 to it.

Promotional Card showing other card decks for children.

Quartets number 1, 3 and 4 are actually FX-Schmid decks. I guess Comas bought the designs, and the pictures from the German company, because the decks are almost identical. The back of the cards and even the title card are identical in quartets number 3 and 4, sharing the design with the original German decks. The Comas’ logo has been modified to fit the “FX-Schmid” logo on the lower right corner.

Here's a sample of one (of the many decks) FX-Schmid's "Verkehrsflugzeuge-Quartett":

Pic: Ebay

Additional information from Chris (quartettblog.wordpress.com): Flags of Europe (N°2) deck is based on an ASS quartett from 1969. Didn´t know that, so thanks for the hint!

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name:CUARTETO PIPPI LANGSTRUMPF, CUARTETO BANDERAS DE EUROPA, CUARTETO COCHES DE CARRERAS, CUARTETO AVIONES DE PASAJEROS
• Year: 1979
• Company: Naipes Comas (Spain)