#1028 HEIMO - PLASTIC PVC BARBAPAPA (1979)

I don´t recall the series, never saw it on TV or had any merchandising as a kid, I knew them later, as an adult, so let's go directly to the toys.

The original release by Heimo comprised 9 pieces. 5 "male" and 4 "female" Barbapapas. The ladies can be recognised as they carry a kind of bun (hairstyle) at the top of their heads.

• Barbapapa (Pink) (waving hello?)
  
• Barbahelle (Blue) (scratching head?)
• Barbabravo (Red) (with bowling ball?)
  
• Barbazoo (Yellow) (with red bird)
  
• Barbabo (Black) (with palette)
  
• Barbalala (Green) (open arms)
  
• Barbabella (Violet) (sneezing?)
• Barbasophie (Orange) (with book)
  
• Barbamama (Black) (with flowers)
  

The figures are unmarked, what makes me wonder if they are original Heimo or not. The German brand is one of the most bootleged ever, and other original Heimo figures I own are marked with a round stamp on the back of the figures, but the stamp cannot be read, maybe it is a Walt Disney certification (all stamps are in Disney characters). It could also be that some are original Heimo and other aren't. See, for example, the following two Barbasophie. They are quite different from each other. The one on the left is better painted, I would say. Are both Heimo? both bootlegs? one Heimo and the other a bootleg?

I present here 5 figures, plus another one that I found later. There is still three missing that I expect to get sometime in the future.

 

Plastoy also launched a series of Barbapapa PVC figures in 2003.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: BARBAPAPA
• Year: 1979
• Company: Heimo (Germany)
• Size of the figures: Around 3 cm

#1027 HASBRO'S WWF – MARTY JANNETTY, GIANT GONZALEZ, FATU, SAMU, BUTCH, LUKE, RAZON RAMON and SHAWN MICHAELS (1994)

I was missing the entry (or entries) for the 10th wave of Hasbro´s Official WWF. There are 11 waves in total (as we have numbered them), and I have covered 1-9 and 11 already. Let´s close this now (although we would come back to talk about the mail-aways and other rare stuff).

There were 8 or 10 figures included in this group, all sold in individual blisters although there were two tag teams. 8 or 10 because 2 figures (Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels) were released in two different versions, either the re-release of the figures in wave 7 or two new alternate versions of them, which are currently very rare. Since I already showed the standard versions, in this entry I will only show the two new ones.

The blister color was blue and most models were available until recently to be bought online, but that batch has already been sold and the prices are again very high.

As usual, I will put the pictures of the figures now. One picture “in action”, plus pictures of the figure itself.

 Marty Jannetty:

I find this figure a bit boring, the action move was used many times before and it has almost no distinctive features. Nice coloured trunks, but nothing else.

      

Giant Gonzalez:

This is my favorite figure here, it has a cool action move and also represents a very peculiar fighter. The figure looks great, even better than the actual wrestler.

Samu & Fatu of the Headshrinkers:

 

This interesting Tag Team have the most similar figures ever, because they perform the same action move and they are almost identical. Only some details or colours are mirrored from one figure to the other.

       

      

Butch and Luke of the Bushwackers:

       

Interestingly The second version of the famous tag team of wave 2 have exchanged bodies and came with two plastic caps, which are very difficult to find.

       

Razor Ramon (only new re-decoration):

In this case, instead of red, a dark purple is use, what makes the figure a bit more menacing.

   

Shawn Michaels (only new re-decoration):

This version changes white to black and silver. At the time Shawn Michaels was not a “good” character anymore, but had changed its profile to a darker character.

   

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: MARTY JANNETTY, GIANT GONZALEZ, FATU, SAMU, BUTCH, LUKE, RAZON RAMON and SHAWN MICHAELS
• Toy Line: Official WWF (Wave 10)
• Year: 1994
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 12 cm

#1026 MATCHBOX 2000 – ROCKET (1990)

I often talk about Matchbox lines which are not the superfast or the ordinary 1-75 series. I would like to review also those series, maybe I will do that more often in the future, as there are still hundreds of cars in my collection waiting for their turn to have their blog entry.
 

Matchbox 2000 was a short lived series of small cars equipped with a magnet on the rear half that could be steered (well, more or less) by placing an additional piece nearby. This key-piece also had a magnet, so when it came close to the car, the magnets would repel each other, as they were built with the same polarity.  Simple and nice. Mostly considering that the models chosen were all futuristic prototypes, dream cars with names such as Streak, Rocket, Gamma or Spark. Unfortunately, they are not based on real models, I would say they are all invented.

Magnetism is nothing new, but it something that attracts people (and especially children), as it has something magic in it. You can steer a toy car without touching it, using no batteries. Cool. And there is no better name than “Matchbox 2000” for a product made in 1990. This was how we expected the year 2000 to be.

I got this blisterpack from Steven (from the Motorcade). It was already partially opened, so I carefully removed the contents and tested it myself. It is fun to play with. The “key” piece can also hold the car and can be clipped to the pocket of your shirt for carrying it, although, I would say, if you do that, there is a 99% chance of losing the car within the next 2 minutes. It does not hold very well.

The line included all these 12 vehicles in the picture plus two playsets with plenty of magnets to fit, hold and move your 2000´s cars. The first one was called R.P.M. (Robotic Positioning Module) and the second one V.S.C. (Vertical Service Center)

There was a second series comprising the same 12 cars in alternate colours, but these were sold in 3-packs without magnetic key.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MATCHBOX 2000 ROCKET
• Scale: Approx 1:72
• Year: 1990
• Company: Matchbox (United Kingdom)
• Size: 7 cms

#1025 M.A.S.K. – THUNDERHAWK with MATT TRAKKER/ SPECTRUM (1985)

The most popular reference from this toyline has to be the Thunderhawk, the red Camaro from Matt Trakker that can fly in its alternate mode. It was the vehicle that featured most of the comic stories and cartoon chapters, and included the main character of the M.A.S.K. organization, so it was 100% the favorite toy of children, when they had to choose one of the boxes in a toystore.

 

The car in which is based is one of the most iconic American cars of the 80s, and the toy is an accurate reproduction: the Chevrolet Camaro Z28. The transformation, however, is not so great, it just opens the doors, as if they were wings, and the spoiler takes a different position to reveal two afterburners. The wheels do not move to the inside to be hidden, as in other models of the toyline but the interior is well done with two seats, security belts and a nice steering wheel. The security belts are common in this toyline, which I find nice, and, in this case, they are necessary, as the figures may fall down, when the car is flying with opened doors.

Another action feature of the model is that it can drop two bombs. The bombs are fitted in two small compartments in the chassis, and they are activated from behind.

The figure included in the pack is the most iconic representation of Matt Trakker, the main character in the whole toyline. The hero that saves the day in every single chapter of the TV series and the leader of the M.A.S.K. He is also the father of Scott Trakker, the child that usually gets into trouble and has to be rescued. The mask is Spectrum, and it pretends to create radio interference. There are two versions of it. The one in the pictures and another smaller one that fits over the head of the figure but not over the shoulders, chest or back.

Another interesting fact to comment is that the toy is over 35 years old (soon it will be 40) and the rubber tyres are usually in bad shape. If played with it again, sometimes they break into pieces (literally). I hope somebody can create repros for those who would like to play with this toy again. Other fragile parts are the exhaust pipes below the doors and the bomb, which is really small and can be easily lost.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name:  THUNDERHAWK with MATT TRAKKER/ SPECTRUM (Ref. 37370)
• Toy Line: M.A.S.K. (Wave 1)
• Year: 1985
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size of the vehicle: Around 8’’ or 20 cm
• Size of the figures: 2½’’ or 6,5 cm