#601 HE-MAN - THUNDER PUNCH HE-MAN and BATTLE BLADE SKELETOR (Nr. 5586 and 5705) (1992)

The last versions of He-Man and Skeletor in the He-Man (Masters of the Universe New Adventures) toyline were "Thunder Punch" and "Battle Blade"... these would be the last versions of these characters for quite a long time until the re-activation of the line in 2000 (and on) with the MotU 200X.

They belong to the 4th wave from 1992, which was the last of this toyline. We have several times commented that last waves are usually more difficult to find because at the time sold in much lower numbers than the previous figures. In this case, the wave 4 comprised the following figures:

• Thunder Punch He-Man (Nr. 5586)
• Spin Fist Hydron (Nr. 5788)
• Missile Armor Flipshot (Nr. 7769)
• Battle Blade Skeletor (Nr. 5705)
• Hook Em Flogg (Nr. 9309)
• Too-Tall Hoove (Nr. 7013)

From all 6, the versions of He-Man and Skeletor are the easiest to find, the other 4 are really difficult, specially if complete with all accesories and in good shape.

The He-Man figure is not very interesting, it doesn´t have any special feature but the good-old waist-twist that also had the very first He-Man figure from the original toyline. The accesories are pretty much in the fashion of those early 90s with lots of neon yellow. I´d like to point out that the sword is very fragile and the handle is sometimes broken. The shield is also fragile because the handle is made of hard plastic and is also sometimes broken. The name of the figure comes from the carved accesory on the wrist of the right arm, which was also available as a role-play toy.

The Battle Blade Skeletor figure is much greater. It has an amazing design with a skull body and a great head sculpt including hair. The figure has an strange gesture with arms in different orientations and this results in a strange action feature. The figure came with a brown/occre shield that can be fit to the wrist by means of a peg (sometimes broken) and another unidentified accesory, probably some kind of axe of other weapon with a "blade" (otherwise... the name wouldn´t make any sense). A last and great feature is that the skull carved in the torso of the figure is fluorescent, glow-in-the-dark, painted.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: THUNDER PUNCH HE-MAN (Nr. 5586) and BATTLE BLADE SKELETOR (Nr. 5705)
• Toy Line: He-Man (also New Adventures of He-Man) (Wave 4)
• Year: 1992
• Company: Mattel (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 14 cm

#600 SCALEXTRIC – PORSCHE 959 (1988)

One of the most impressive cars of the latest 80s was the Porsche 959, the other one was the Ferrari F40, and Scalextric Spain reproduced both. This time, I am going to talk about the Porsche 959, which is one of the latest cars that I bought for my collection. I first found the white version and then the black one, which are the two I currently own. There were other versions made, as I mention at the end of the article.

The cars were made by Exin from 1988 to 1992, year in which the company disappears and Scalextric is sold to Tyco. The car is a good sample of what Exin was doing in those last years, decent casting, very light cars, with stickers applied and cars with head and rear lights.

All Porsche 959 versions came with driver and co-pilot inside, which were the classic figures with integral helmet (newer model).

The car was have also all-wheel drive.

There were a total of 5 versions made, the first two that I own, then a silver coloured version with RN 577, a green version with yellow spoiler and “BP” stickers, and the final version, which is also the most difficult to find, “Club Scalextric 1995”. This last car was orange with green spoiler and was only given to club members back in 1995. For some reason, the run was short, there were not many subscribers that year or whatever, that car is quite difficult to find, as well as the previous model from 1994 (a red Ferrari F40) and the cars from 1997 (either the Bugatti in blue –rare- or the Audi in green –ultr rare-).

You can read a bit more about Club cars from the Tyco era HERE.

 

The rest 959 versions are:

• Ref. 4083 “180” (white)
• Ref. 4083 “Hertz” (black)
• Ref. 8330 “Silver” (silver)
• Ref. 8393 “BP” (green)
• Ref. 8366C “Club 95” (orange)

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: PORSCHE 959 "180" and "HERTZ" (Ref. 4083)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1988
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 15 cm

#599 TRANSFORMERS TRIGGERBOTS/TRIGGERCONS - DOGFIGHT and CRANKCASE (1988)

The triggerbots and the triggercons are another short series by Hasbro/Takara, consisting of only a few robots (three of each faction in the G1). These are rather small, around 9-10 centimeters high, and came with no weapons, so both figures shown today are complete. Their action feature is that they transform (partly-)automatically by pushing one button/trigger.

This button activates a small wind-up motor that moves some parts of the vehicle/alternate form of the robot to their final position. Then, you need to stretch the robot legs, take the head out, or any other simple step. The feature is not something revolutionary, since a great part of the fun while playing with these figures is to transform them...

 

This makes the triggerbots/triggercons have two robot modes and two alternate modes: "normal" and "attack" mode. This subgroup of robots includes however nice robots with rather good alternate modes, the 4WD vehicle looks great, and Dogfight with its reverse wings looks also great. More complex robots would have been better, but Hasbro probably wanted a low budget series.

 

DOGFIGHT

• Faction: Autobot
• Subgroup: Triggerbots
• Function: Aerial Combat
• Motto: “Don't fire 'til you see the lights of their eyes”
• Bio: A wild, wicked street fighter of the skyways. Never met a Decepticon he didn't want to destroy immediately. Likes to go nosecone-to-nosecone with his opponents in a "dance of doom" as he puts it. Equipped with rear-mounted fusion-powered blowtorch blasters in jet and robot Modes. Also armed with serrated wingtips that cut through solid steel.
• Tech Specs for Dogfight:
• Strength: 7
• Intelligence: 5
• Speed: 7
• Endurance: 7
• Rank: 5
• Courage: 10
• Firepower: 7
• Skill: 9

CRANKCASE

• Faction: Decepticon
• Subgroup: Triggercons
• Function: Data Collector
• Motto: “Things are never as good as they seem”
• Bio: A wheezing, whining ingrate. As welcome as a rash of rust-rot. The worse things get, the happier he is. Enjoys complaining about everything. Equipped with vast memory storage capacity and shell-resistant armor. Also equipped with infrared probes that penetrate and analyze enemy circuitry. Armed with two high-impact laser blasters and a distortion modulator that scrambles enemy cerebral impulses.
• Tech Specs for Crankcase:
• Strength: 8
• Intelligence: 6
• Speed: 3
• Endurance: 9
• Rank: 7
• Courage: 7
• Firepower: 8
• Skill: 8

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: DOGFIGHT and CRANKCASE
• Toy Line: Transformers (Triggerbots/Triggercons)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.) / Takara (Japan)
• Size in Robot mode: Around 10 cm

#598 GUISVAL - SEAT 127 (VARIOUS VERSIONS) (1973)

Guisval had a very clever selection of models, they usually reproduced very popular models, the cars you could see in your street, or maybe your own car. Before 1975, in Spain, Seat was the best-selling car year after year. The Seat 127 was actually the best selling car during a few years in the early 70s (the first generation of the car), and once again in 1977 (second generation).

As you can imagine after this data, this model is one of the most sought-after from all Guisval models, probably because many people knew this car many years ago, or maybe had it, drove it or rode it.

Guisval made a first cast that was first produced in 1973 in blue or orange for the normal series and orange to be sold with a gas station playset. This second colour is considered now to be very rare.
In the catalogues of 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978 it also appeared in blue, but in 1976 some catalogue models showed the blue version, and others showed a green version.

From year 1980 to 1983 the catalogue model was green, and shortly afterwards it was discontinued…
Despite not appearing in the catalogues, there seem to be a light blue and a white version of the Seat 127 which are also rare. The white version could be made exclusively for the Club series, which was the low budget line of Guisval belongs to the normal "Campeon" series, and was available in 1977.

Around 1981, the cast is modified. This cast modification is something very rare, because it was done in very rare occasions by Guisval. Note that the frontal of the light blue model is different compared to all the others, and the rear lights are also different (3 small squares instead of a long rectangle).

Years later, around 1985, the car was for sale again. The modified model from 1981 was available in light blue or red (rare).

A car that was manufactured for over 10 years usually comes with several shades of each colour. So finding cars in lighter or darker green or blue is quite common. Some blue models were also sold with the first wheel model, other with the most common type (like the ones in the pictures), or with shiny or bold metallic plates. Later models in light blue have plastic bases and the 90s-style wheels (4 straight radius). Every model manufactured had practicable doors.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEAT 127 (Nr. 7)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: 1973
• Company: Guisval (Spain)
• Size: approx. 5 cm

#597 PILEN - ZERO "MARINA", LEAR JET 36, BOEING 747 "IBERIA", CESSNA 404 and CESSNA 210 (Refs. 703, 704, 706, 708 and 710) (Around 1981)

Pilen manufactured a few planes in approximately 7 or 8 centimeters (length) size. These were similar to other existing foreign toys, for example Matchbox or Zylmex.

In Spain, the main competitors to this type of toy were Mira (#377) and PlayMe (#378), although in my opinion, none is better than the other. PlayMe probably had the broadest collection, and the most interesting package, but Mira and Pilen also had good models with nice decorations.

In the case of Pilen there were the following models made:

• 700 / 701 - Messerschmitt BF 109 / Messerschmitt BF 109 Afrika Corps
• 702 / 703 - Zero / Zero Marina
• 704 / 705 - Lear Jet 36 Aero Taxi / Lear Jet 36
• 706 / 707 - Boeing 747 Iberia / Boeing 747 Lufthansa
• 708 / 709 - Cessna 402 / Cessna 402 Foto-Cine
• 710 / 711 - Cessna 210 / Cessna 210 Icona

Later, the series was expanded with 4 more models, again in two decorations each:

• Mirage 4000 (grey or white)
• Fokker VFW F-27 (red or dessert camo)
• C-101 Aviojet / C-101 Aviojet Marines
• C-212 Aviocar / C-212 Aviocar Icona

Each model was available in different colour variations, or different stickers, for example, the Learjet 36 with either blue tail or orange tail, or Cessna with red wings or yellow wings. The decals usually varied from one version to the other.

As you can see, my five planes are still in their original packages, which consist of a cardboard with shrinkable plastic on top. I just checked Google and could find any pictures of this type of package, so mine are the first. They seem to be quite rare. Note that the plane depicted in the card is the Mirage, so this was actually the later design for the "Aviones" made by Pilen. Earlier designs showed a Boeing 747 "Jumbo" Jet from Iberia.

The most interesting thing from the package, however, is on the backcard. The cardboard has three holes to fix the planes all in the same position and a lot of information about the plane, all models available in the collection and other types of toys made by Pilen. Earlier blister packs had a much simpler backcard, with a listing of the first 10 available models.

You can learn more about these planes in this book: #376.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: ZERO "MARINA", LEAR JET 36, BOEING 747 "IBERIA", CESSNA 404 and CESSNA 210 (Refs. 703, 704, 706, 708 and 710)
• Scale: Unknown
• Year: Around 1981
• Company: Pilen (Spain)
• Size: approx. 9-10 cm

#596 STAR WARS - QUEEN AMIDALA, PADME NABERRIE and CHEWBACCA (1997)

I bought these figures a long time ago in a flea market. I thought (as many many other collectors) that these might become high valuable collectables some time. Both blisters were partly opened, and the comm-chips had been removed, but they were cheap, so I didn´t care.

These figures were a bit different to what there was available at the time. The figures are very similar to the actors playing the characters in the film, so the figures have very nice, realistic sculpt. The technique used for the sculpt was probably something new. Until then, all action figures that had to resemble real people were somehow not very accurate, and that was the main attraction of this toyline for me.

 The first two figures belong to the Episode I movie and were sold in "Episode I" red blisterpacks. Chewbacca is casted as it appears in the Episodes IV, V and VI, and was therefore in a "Power of the Force" green blisterpack. They were just more merchandising from the Star Wars´ franchise, but unlike the figures made by Kenner from 1977 on, these didn´t caught the attention of young collectors, probably because of the overwhelming number of other merchandising items (for example video-games).

The figures were not very successful among children, but some adult collectors bought them massively or remained in the store shelves and were cleared out at very low prices (and bought by people who thought about reselling them). Even today, almost 20 years after, they are very easy to find MOC. And at the same prices (+/-) than 20 years ago!

Note: I forgot to include in the pictures the rifle that came with Chewbacca. i'll try to correct the pictures soon. This last photo with the blue background was taken from forum.rebelscum.com/t1105419-30/, the best source of  information for Star Wars figures.

Note2: Padme Naberrie's toy pictures will be added later.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: QUEEN AMIDALA, PADME NABERRIE and CHEWBACCA
• Toy Line: STAR WARS EPISODE I and STAR WARS POWER OF THE FORCE
• Year: 1997
• Company: Hasbro (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 8 cm