#590 MERCURY – FIAT 125 and 850 (Around 1968)

At this moment, there are 7 entries dealing with Mercury toys. 6 old ones and the present one. It may seem a lot, but there is a trick... The first three dealt with motorbikes in 1:24 scale (although two of them were made by Guiloy, not by Mercury), and the 4th and 5th entries show the same car, a Ferrari 512S. The sixth entry commented the "Speedy Velox" series (1:64 scale).

But until now I had not the chance to show any pictures of more common models in 1:43 scale. The Ferrari 512S is ok, but I cannot really compare how accurate the model is, since I never saw this car in a museum or wherever.

These two models are much more common cars. There used too be a lot of them in the early 80s in Spain, the Fiat 850 was Seat 850 and the Fiat 125 was never available in Spain, but a close "relative", the Seat 124D, similar in appearance except for the head and rearlights.

 

 

Because I have seen many 850s and 124s, I can appretiate how well casted and how accurate the dimensions are. Had Mercury the original blueprints from Fiat? I think it would be possible, or maybe some worker of the company drove these cars and they took the dimensions directly from a real car... which, I think, was not the case in the Ferrari mentioned above.

The Fiat 850 was available from 1964 to 1971 and the Fiat 124 between 1967 and 1972, so I guess these models might have been manufactured by the late 60s: maybe 1968. The 850 comes with rally stickers, and is probably a later version of a car that was also avaible years before in other colours. The 124 was also produced by Mebetoys.

The models 850 and 124 were also available by some Spanish manufacturers like Joal and Guiloy. I wish I had these to be able to compare the casts. Mercury and Guiloy sold the same motorbikes in the early 70s, so it is not crazy to think that they also shared some casts that might be interesting for the Spanish market. Fiat models are on average a few years older than their Seat versions...

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FIAT 125 and FIAT 850
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: Around 1968
• Company: MERCURY (Italy)
• Size: approx. 9 cm
   
   

#589 YOLANDA - DRAGON BALL (MATUTANO PROMOTIONAL) (1992)

This four figures were give-aways from Matutano in the early 90s. They were available during the summer of 1992, although I got mine later. To get them you had to eat Matutano snacks, and collect 4 stickers that were included in each pack, and then exchange them for one figure.

The collection comprised 14 figures, despite the package stated that there were 10 different ones. Matutano´s figures are made of rubber, and some people used it as a pencil eraser. I am not sure if it was intended as such, because they didn´t work very well.

The figures were manufactured by Yolanda, which is a company we have talked about a few times in this blog. Each figure is marked with "Yolanda" and has the copyright of (c) Toei Studios 1986.

The same figures were also available in the classic Yolanda hard plastic; either monochromatic or hand-painted (like the Supermonstruos). Monochromatic figures had the typical Yolanda colours, like green, gold, purple or grey... I cannot say right now if the figures were sold after or before the Matutano promotion, and I do not have any figures other than these for comparison purposes.

I have never been a great fan of Dragon Ball, even though most people in my age watched the cartoons and read the comics at the time. I remember there was a lot of merchandise to this series, and it was easy to fall for them. Today the cartoons might be considered a bit violent for children. On the other hand, I always loved Matutano chips, in any of their versions, and I still do.

And now, all the four figures again, but this time, the pictures are taken without flash. I think you can see the sculpts better now.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: SON GOKU, KRILIN and SON GOHAN
• Year: 1992
• Company: Yolanda (Spain)
• Size of the figures: Around 7 cm

#588 SIKU - MC LAREN M8F and PORSCHE 917/10 TURBO LADER (1045/1328 and 1046/1329) (1976)

I really like these two models. The grey Porsche was one of my first (if not my very first) Siku model. I found it in the Rastro, which is Madrid's most famous flea market. I was fascinated by the bulky, hard-built Sport Prototye and with the data written on the chassis: power, máximum speed, number of cilinders... I had no cars like this one.

Much later, I found the other two, and now, writting this article, I find that both were first released in 1976 (with two consecutive reference numbers 1045 and 1046) but in different decorations: the Porsche in red and the McLaren in blue, both with wáter tampographies. Mine are later reeditions (references 1328 and 1329) with simpler tampographies, and the McLaren is missing all 6 exhaust pipes (they should be a bit longer each).

The production years for each model were:

• Porsche 917/10 Turbo Lader 1976-1992 - #1045
• McLaren M8F  1976-1986 - #1046

So, a nice pair of models. I think they were also available in a bigger set with van and tráiler, but this information is hard to find without the appropriate catalogues. I leave here two more pictures for you, although the vehicles do not belong together. I just thought they look nice because of the base red with white decoration.

 

 

 

Check more SIKU entries here: http://toysfromthepast.blogspot.com/search/label/Siku

UPDATE 1 (May/2017) Blue Porsche 917/10 Turbo Lader

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MC LAREN M8F and PORSCHE 917/10 TURBO LADER (1045/1328 and 1046/1329)
• Scale: 1:66
• Year: 1976
• Company: Siku (Germany)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#587 MAJORETTE - FERRARI 312 T2 F1 (N° 232) and F1 SHADOW DN5 (N° 243) (1977)

Formula 1 reproductions are rare in the early years of Majorette. Only two casts were made in 1:64 scale during the late 70s and the early 80s, since a long time (see #10). After these 2-3 models, there wouldn´t be any more new F1s until 1986.

The first semester of 1977 brought two models: a Ferrari 312 T2 and a Shadow DN5. They are nice reproductions, but still far away from the Polistil models.

From 1977 to 1982, the Shadow was available in black, but in 1983 and 1984 it was released in white. The Ferrari kept its classic red colour from 1977 to 1983.

The white "Shadow" was renamed simply F1, and it is a rare model, or at least much rarer than the first version. I recently got a second unit, which is in a much better shape. I'll change the pictures soon.

Another interesting difference/variant is the colour of the driver. The Ferrari normally came with a blue driver, and the black shadow with yellow driver, which is a nice pick, because the constrast of those colours (black/yellow and red/blue) is very nice.

However, there are Shadows with blue drivers, and probably also Ferraris with yellow drivers. If I have not dreamt it, I own a black Shadow DN5 with a blue driver, I will show the picture as soon as I can. These variants are real rarities, probably factory errors.

There is a third color for the Shadow, and it is blue. This model has the same decals as the black version. I have no information regarding this model, so any information is welcome. Unless I missed it in the catalogues, it does not appear in them!

As seen in the first picture of this entry, the Shadow was also available in the 300 series together with a Jeep.

UPDATE: "Family Portrait"

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FERRARI 312 T2 F1 and F1 SHADOW DN5 (Nr. 232 and 243)
• Scale: 1:55 and 1:50
• Year: 1977
• Company: Majorette (France)
• Size: approx. 6 cm