#636 HEIMO/ UNKNOWN TOYMAKER - HEIDI PVC FIGURES (1974)

Heimo is a German producer of plastik figures, very famous for their Disney plasic figures from the 60s an the 70s. There is very few information availble about the company itself, but apparently, Heimo is a brand of Marx Toys from the U.S.A., one of the „classic“ american toy manufacturers.

The figures made by Heimo were very popular, and despite being really old (40 or 50 years old), they are very unexpensive today. According to my German catalogue, these Heidi figures are 2 Eur worth each. As catalogues always pump up prices, I would say 1 Euro each is already enough.

The Heidi series comprises 5 figures: Heidi, Peter, The Grandfather, Josef (the dog) and a small lamb which is more difficult to find (catalogue price: 10 Eur) and seems to be also very fragile because of its thin legs.

The official Heimo figures have a logo at the back which is a cross inside a circle, as well as a copyright symbol.

In addition to the Heimo figures, I want to present a bootleg of the Heidi figure (the other two are Heimo original). At first sight, they seem identical, but a closer look reveals that they are different. The size is slightly higher, the colours applied differ and the mark at the back says „Zuiyo“, which are the Japanese studios that created the cartoons.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: HEIDI OF THE ALPS PVC FIGURES
• Year: 1974
• Company: Heimo/ Unknown Toymker (Germany / Unknown Country of Origin)
• Size of the figures: 5 cm

#635 TINTOYS/ TIN'S TOYS - GULF MIRAGE (W.T. 505), LOLA L & M 260 CAN AM (W.T. 701) and PORSCHE AUDI (T. 313) (Around 1979 and 1983)

This time I am presenting three cars that fit together well because they were made by the same manufacturer under two different brands. First Tintoys then Tin's toys (as explained in entry #594)

Tintoys models are W.T. 505 and W.T. 701, while T.313 is Tin's Toys.

(Left to Right:)
W.T. 505 GULF MIRAGE
W.T. 701 LOLA L & M 260 CAN AM
T. 313 PORSCHE AUDI

The interesting thing is that the name of the car casted on the base fits perfectly with the stickers the carry: Gulf Mirage actually has "Gulf" stickers, and the Lola L&M 260 Can Am has "L&M" stickers. Chance? I don't think so.

Another very interesting fact is that the Lola also has a sticker "Club Norev". Which is the relation between this brand and Norev?

UPDATE: I got three more Tin's Toys models that would fit perfectly in this entry. They seem to be more modern models and came without the plastic driver.

The grey one is a Matra Simca MS670 (T316)
The blue one is a March 707 Can-Am (T315)
The orange one is anotherPorsche Audi (T313)

UPDATE 1 (May/2017) Added second MATRA with original type of wheels and original sticker at the front.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: GULF MIRAGE (W.T. 505), LOLA L&M 260 CAN AM (W.T. 701), PORSCHE AUDI (T. 313), MARCH 707 CAN-AM (T. 315) and MATRA SIMCA MS670 (T. 316)
• Scale: Approx. 1:64
• Year: Around 1979 and 1983
• Company: Tintoys/ Tin's Toys (Hong-Kong)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#634 MAISTO – TRABANT 601 “TRABI” (Around 1996)

This is a rare die-cast model of a very iconic German car made in the DDR. The cast was first made by MC Toy and later reused by Maisto. Unfortunately, I only have the Maisto version, If I find the MC Toy version I will exchange them.

 

Since MC Toy/Maisto is a company from Hong-Kong it is a strange choice for a cast. Maybe they manufactured the car as a request from a German retailer, to be sold as a souvenir in Germany (it is available almost everywhere there, from tourist shops to airports).

 

 

Although the real car was made from 1964 to 1990, this scale reproduction is relatively recent. There are older toys of the Trabant dating from the communist era of the DDR. These are quite sought-after nowadays by German toy collectors. Maisto model is very common, and thus worthless as a collectable. The interest lies in the car model, which is an iconic car of the 60s, comparable to the Austin Mini/ Mini Morris in England, the Fiat 500 in Italy, the VW Beetle in Germany (FDR), the Seat 600 in Spain or the Citroen 2CV in France.

 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: TRABANT 601
• Scale: 1:64
• Year: 1996
• Company: Maisto (Hong-Kong/ U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#633 MICRO MACHINES - 4x4 CRUSHERS (1991)

These cars/trucks do not resemble any other Micro Machine, they are slightly bigger, that's why Galoob chose only trucks, big american vans and military vehicles for this series. This way they could hide the scale difference between this series and the others in the "Ultrafast" series.

There were only a few models in this series made, each had a common base, and changed only the body and/or the colours/decoration. To be exact, there were 6 models, with 2 decorations each, 12 references. They were launched in 1991 and sold also in 1992. They were discontinued in 1993.

The base has "bigfoot" wheels, and place inside for a very small battery. The battery is completely hidden by the body. I dont know if this type of battery is still available in shops. I guess yes, but it is a very rare model, I am not sure if it is a AA or some other. They can be turned on/off with a small switch.

It is quite fun to play with, I guess, it should be quite fast, and have a strong traction. Note the spike behind that prevents the car to slide and turn upside down.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: 4x4 CRUSHERS KENWORTH
• Scale of the cars: 1:150 aprox.
• Year: 1991
• Company: Galoob (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 4 cm

#632 MADELMAN - CAÑÓN MADELMAN (Around 1972)

Madelman is a toy line I like, but it was over years before I got interested in toys. I never had any toys from this line, never played with them, and I have no special affection for them. In addition to this, they are really expensive. Being the first and one of the very few Spanish action figures gives it a cult-status that raises the prices from expensive to impossible.

 

A while ago, I got some Madelman toys from a friend of my father, who had kept them at home for 30 or 35 years. There are mainly accesories and vehicles, an I will be showing them during the next months. It is difficult to find out which sets are included, since the same accesories were often available in more than one set/reference.

 

 

Here's the Artillery Cannon from Madelman. It looks really great and realistic. It came with six bullets and two ammo boxes, I only have the boxes, maybe I can find the bullets (even if they are repro) to complete the set.

 

 

Very interesting is the original box with amazing illustrations. probably made by Luís/Lluis Bargalló, who worked at the time for Exin and made the artwork for Madelman and Scalextric, among others.ç

 

 

Not much information on this entry, but I promise to return to Madelman soon. Last Madelman entry was number #15.

 

 

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: CAÑÓN MADELMAN
• Toy Line: Madelman
• Year: Around 1972
• Company: Madel (Spain)
• Size: Around 30 cm
• Scale: 1:10 (estimation)

#631 YATMING vs. ZYLMEX - LAMBORGHINI MARZAL (1004 and D48) (Around 1970 and 1977)

In one of the latest flea markets I visited, I found these two great minatures of the same car: the Lamborghini Marzal. They are made by two Hong-Kongese companies that at the time were not very appreciated, but that today are very sought-after. This is our chance to make a quick comparison.

We should of course consider that the cast by Yatming is much older, and that Zylmex's model is actually a knock-off of a Matchbox's miniature, so in terms of cast, I preffer the Yatming model, that is, at least, based on an own design.

Interestingly, the Yatming model has a glass roof, as it had the original car model. I don't know why Matchbox decided to let the roof covered and instead leaving the rear window open. In the original car, the rear window was covered by a series of panels with that same structure that is imitated in Matchbox's and Zylmex's rear window design.

The doors of the real car were like the ones reproduced in the Zylmex model,

Curiously both cars are yellow, although the Zylmex model seem to be also available in green. The Yatming model is in bad shape, but still complete and Rolling properly.

More Zylmex models HERE.

More YatMing models HERE.

UPDATE (JULY 2018): I found a new Yatming Marzal in very good shape.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: LAMBORGHINI MARZAL (1004 and D48)
• Scale: Approx. 1:64 
• Year: Around 1970 and 1977
• Company: Yatming and Zylmex (Hong-Kong) 
• Size: approx. 6 cm

#630 FIGURAS EN ACCIÓN (F.E.A.) Nr. 13

The latest issue of Figuras En Acción is since a few days out. If you are readeing this blog, I am quite sure you would enjoy the magazine. It is Spanish, as always, and this time it has 6 articles plus news, museums and books.

The news in this issue are a new colleague, that many action figures (especially G.I.Joe and Star Wars) collectors might know: Rodrigo Pellegrini. He will strengthen the team as an editor and will surely provide high quality articles.

The new issue starts with his contribution on Mobile Action Command and Action Jack, but we can also find articles about Monta-Plex (and Monta-Man, which is a copy of Action Jack), figures from "the Planet of the Apes", the GMC Vandura model by Guisval, the promotional Matugomas (from Matutano) and some promotional Clever & Smart figures from Danone.

In this number I have written no article, but I have cooperated in the news and also in the museum sections.

Please download the pdf here: https://goo.gl/fP72V5
And don't forget to share it with your friends!

#629 UNKNOWN MANUFACTURER - DINOSAUCERS PVC FIGURES (Around 1990)

 

This PVC dinosaur is a bootleg figure from the Dinosaucers series. The cartoon was never very popular, and there were never an official (licensed) line of action figures. The only vintage toy products I know were a series of PVC figures (licensed by Telecon  Inc 1988) and another PVC figures by Yolanda (monochromatic). This plastic figure is almost completely unmarked (China is the only word marked on the figure) and came in a blister pack which was quite simple. Each package included one body and several heads (5, I think). I remember I bought one as a birthday present for my neighbour, so I recall well the figure.

The toy could be purchased in the early nineties in the famous cheap stores in which everything costed 100 pesetas (0,60 Eur) today, these shops still exist but most products cost 1 Euro. These shops were a small revolution back then, and they had some quality toys at the beginning, like MC Toy scale cars or several figure bootlegs of MOTU, G.I.Joe and other popular lines. Later, the quality would decrease.

I guess the figure is older than that, since the figures always came later to Spain than to the rest of the world. The TV show dates from 1987 (65 episodes for 4 months) but also came later to Spain, by the early nineties again. The figures were probably available earlier in other parts of the world, although I have only seen then on Ebay Spain or Spanish auction sites. Some Dinosaucers collectors worldwide also wrote that they got their figures in Spain, so it is difficult to guess on this point.

There were two body casts available, each of them painted in many different patterns, including some exotic colours. Most dinosaurs have a base colour skin in yellow/orange and the colour of the uniform would vary, but these exotic figures have for example purple skin.



Second cast available. Tail did not fit very well and it is very often missing, as in the picture.

The heads available are not very well casted, so it is difficult to name the dinosaurs and the name of the characters that each represents. One of them is clearly "Allo", the leader of the Dinosaucers, which can be clearly identified because he is wearing a helmet.

Other are Styraco, Tricero, Ankylo (missing) and an unidentified one, which could be Stego, Bonehead, Bronto Thunder, Dimetro, Quackpot or Plesio. All these dinosaurs had similar heads.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: DINOSAUCERS PVC FIGURE
• Alternate Names: ASTRO-DINOS (German)
• Year: Around 1990
• Company: Unknown Manufacturer (China)
• Size of the figures: Around 10 cm