#934 PAYÁ INTERNATIONAL - VARIOUS MODELS (Around 1970)

I have reviewed some cars made by this brand in the past. In that review I showed models that were Matchbox (Lesney) knock-offs of the 1-75 series from the 60s and 70s, but I already mentioned that some models are not copies from Matchbox, and today I am going to show some of these (together with more Matchbox knock-offs).

Although quite pricey, I got this lot a a fair price around two years ago. The cars are in perfect shape, so I am very lucky to have found them. The paint applied to these models is rather fragile and all played items usually show more or less paint wear.

The models shown in this entry are:

• 2104 - Chevrolet Impala in black and yellow (coloured as a Taxi from Barcelona)

This car is not in its original colour (which is orange), but was repainted by its previous owner as a taxi. Too bad! It seems to be in a not so bad shape, I may try to clean it sometime.

• 2106 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Policia) in white and 2107 - Ford Galaxie (Jefe Bomberos) in red

All parts are shared. Note that the sirens have different colours, as well as the windshields.

• 2110 - Ferrari Berlineta in green

This model was also released with a plastic body (see last pic in this series) used for certain Payá speed tracks I will present some other day.

 

• 2111 - M.G. 1.100 in blue

 Note the steering wheel is placed on the left side

• 2115 - Camioneta auxiliar in red (based on Lesney´s Jeep Gladiator)

• 2117 - Seat 124 in red

• 2118 - Mercedes 280 SL in beige

• 2121 - Seat 600 D in red

This model was also released with a plastic body (see last pic in this series) used for certain Payá speed tracks I will present some other day. The suspension integrated in the chassis is extremely fragile!

The complete list of references can be found in the previous entry (see #363)

From all 9 units, all but the two Seats are clear Lesney copies. Some models had slight differences, like the steering wheel in the left side, contrary to the original English model with steering wheel on the right side. See for example the M.G. 1.100.

The Seat 600D and the 124 are two great models, very sought-after because the cars they represent were very popular in the 50s, 60s and the 70s in Spain. In addition to this, the Seat 600D is the only vintage die-cast model in 3 inches made of this car. The Seat 124 was also made by Guisval, but this one is rarer (not necessarily more expensive). For most Spanish die-cast collectors these two are "must-haves", not so the other models of foreign cars.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHEVROLET IMPALA, FORD GALAXIE (JEFE POLICIA), FORD GALAXIE (JEFE BOMBEROS), FERRARI BERLINETA, M.G. 1.100, CAMIONETA AUXILIAR, SEAT 124, MERCEDES 280 SL and SEAT 600 D (Refs. 2104, 2106, 2107, 2110, 2111, 2115, 2117, 2118 and 2121)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1970
• Company: Payá International (Spain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm

#933 FX SCHMID - SIGFRIED DIE NIBELUNGEN (60720) (1966)

There was a time in which big movie events were rare, really big movies that children were waiting for months to come, premiered only a couple of times per year. Among these superproductions, some even had merchandise produced to be sold in kiosks or toy stores. Nowadays, this is something very common.

Each country had their own favorite themes, many of them related to their historical epic events or literary works. In this case, Germany was looking back at "the Nibelungs", the German epic poem written around the year 1200. In 1966 and 1967 it was taken to the screen in two parts in a production of Constantin Films. The first part was Siegfried von Xanten and the second one Kriemhilds Rache.

This deck was done for the first movie from 1966, and is the classic card deck with 9 families, that when read in order explains the plot of the movie with one rather big picture and a short line of text in each card. I haven´t seen the movie, but the pictures are great, I guess it was a big success in Germany and Scandinavia.

There is a second deck for the second part of the movie, but I do not have it yet.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name:  SIGFRIED DIE NIBELUNGEN (60720)
• Year: 1966
• Company: FX Schmid (Germany)

#932 ZISS-MODELL/ EURO-MODELL - OPEL STADTCOUPE 1908 (Around 1983)

I found this car by chance at a flea market. I saw it is was old, complete, in a relatively good condition, and I bought it. The model has no brand on the base (we will come to this later), so it was also some kind of challenge to me.

Ziss-Modell was a subbrand of Mini-Auto, also proprietary of R. W. Modell and Wittek Modell. Mini-Auto was active during the 60s and the 70s, but at some point during the late 70s, that name was swiftly replaced, probably due to the similarity with other die-cast brands, first by R.W. and then, again gradually by Ziss, although these two were active simultaneously under Mini-Auto or Wittek appelation, as some brochures showed both logos. Interestingly, no R.W. model was sold as Ziss (with Ziss marking in the base).

The company was founded in the 60s in Lintorf (West-Germany). According to David Sinclair was a relatively small family operation. Wittek was the family name of the founder, and Ziss also seems to be a family name.

Although Ziss had contemporary models, they are best known for their classic vehicles, like the one shown in this entry. Classic models also included vans and trucks and consisted basically of German carmakers. There are also some promotional models.

Matchbox had the famous Models of Yesteryear series, but there were many other manufacturers following that trend especially in the 70s and the early 80s.

Ziss stopped producing toys in 1978, but the same models were then sold under the Euro-Modell brand, with Ziss removed in the base, like this model. Euro-Modell should not be confused with Euro Modell.

The models are in general well casted, with several excellent models. The wheels in this model are made of plastic, which are not especially good looking or durable. They are not very expensive at this point in time.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: OPEL STADTCOUPÉ 1908
• Scale: Approx. 1:43
• Year: 1983
• Company: Ziss-Modell / Euro-Modell (West-Germany)
• Size: approx. 8 cm

#931 MAJORETTE – CITROËN VISA CHRONO (Nº 201) (1984)

This model has had several decorations while it was available, as every other Majorette model, but, for some reason, all decorations except the one shown in these pictures are quite rare and difficult to find.

The model was introduced in 1984 with number 201 (the first reference in the 200 series) and carried this “Chrono” tampographies.

In 1986 it was updated by replacing the tampographies by some rally decoration, although the base colour remained white. This version was available until 1988

And finally, during the mid to late 90s, the car was brought back to life in yellow with the previous rally tampographies and the iconic wheel type from these years.

By searching the Internet, it is also possible to find several promotional Citroën Visa “MajoPub” with the most different tampographies, but all of them in white. Wouldn't it have been nice to hace other colours as well?

Some nice details I can highlight: It came with practicable trunk, the headlights are clear (part of the windshield piece), suspension is great (the usual one) and although the scale is smaller than for other models (the scale in this Series 200 is 1:box, so being the Visa a rather small car, the toy model is bigger than some of its partners...) it looks great even when placed near other models.

Currently, this is the only model in my collection among all mentioned above.


I would say the model is very interesting for collectors because the real Citroën was very popular at the time in France, Spain and other countries as well.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CITROËN VISA CHRONO (Nº 201)
• Year: 1984
• Company: Majorette (France)
• Size: Around 7 cm.
• Scale: 1:52