#666 NINJA MAESTRO DEL COMBATE (Around 1993)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AND THE KNOCK-OFF AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!
 

Maybe you know or remember the Ninja Warriors, that great and short line by Child´s Play and Hasbro from the mid to late 80s. In Spain these were renamed "Guerreros Yakse" and had a relatively big popularity among children. As a result, this toyline had several bootlegs, some of which were already mentioned in the first entry dedicated to Ninja Warriors (#335).

 

In this case the Ninja that you can see in the pictures is a PVC figure with a hole on the bottom that fits in a pencil or pen. Nothing more, nothing less. The figure has a relatively bad quality, it is not done or painted very well, you can see its many defects. It is interesting mostly for its cardback, which is obviously an attempt to popularize a series of figures in the wake of a more popular toy.

The figure comes from Hong-Kong, although in Spain it was imported by González Sanz fom Madrid.

The figure has no name, and the packaging was common to the several figures that were available. Unfortunately, I don’t know how many these were.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: Has no name
• Toy Line: Ninja Maestro del Combate
• Year: Around 1993
• Company: Unknown (Hong Kong)
• Size of the figures: Around 7 cm

#665 GLOBO ITALY (VR) – SEVERAL CARS IN THE MICRO MACHINES SCALE (Around 1997)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AND THE KNOCK-OFF AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

 

 

This series of cars in the Micro Machines scale (or slightly bigger) were really common at fleamarkets the beginning of the 2000s. I guess they were made by the mid 90s and could be found in cheap stores, otherwise I cannot explain why are they so common.

 

There are several different models, mostly race and 4x4 cars, each of them in two colours, although there are also minor variations. I had much more of these, but I only kept one of each type including variants. I left the rest in different geocaches around Europe.

 

Note that some are marked: "TURBO", "DESERT DEMON", "TYPHOON" and some also carry race numbers.

 

If you have any information about these models, I´d love to hear it! Please leave a comment to this entry.

UPDATE: I found a blister pack with sme of these cars marked "GLOBO ITALY (VR)" (VR is for the region Verona, since they are located in Illasi). I think this company still exists and it is now called GLOBO (see www.globo.it). Probably they started importing knock-off toys (according to the web in 1982), like Transformers Micro Masters (called Micro Metamorphs) and they grew from that point on to be one of the most important Italian toy importers today.

Even though these cars are probably older than 1997, I will leave the 1997 estimation. It is suspicious that they were still so easy to find around 2010.

 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SEVERAL CARS IN THE MICRO MACHINES SCALE
• Scale of the cars: 1:150 aprox.
• Year: Around 1997
• Company: Globo Italy (VR) (Italy/ China)
• Size: approx. 2,5 cm

#664 CF HONG-KONG - FIAT X1-9 (TOMICA KNOCK-OFF) (Around 1995)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AND THE KNOCK-OFF AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

Here is a die-cast car copied from a Tomica cast. Although the detail level is not that high, the manufacturer, CF, decided to put a pull-back motor inside, so the toy is more interesting for children. The wheels are bigger and come with chromed hubcaps. This makes the car a bit higher and less realistic, but it has to be like that because of the pull-back motor.

Nothing is know about CF, I could only found a few notes and a few pictures in the internet. All models available (which are 6) are Tomica copies:

• Audi 5000 in dark blue (#301)
• Nissan Bluebird in dark red (#302)
• Porsche 930 in bright red (#303)
• Jaguar XJS in green (#304)
• Fiat X1-9 in light blue (#305)
• Toyota Corolla Levins in bright yellow (#306)

Some of this notes (found in gogotomica.blogspot.com or gasolinealleyantiques.com) argue that these cars are probably made by Faie, maybe because Faie made other Tomica copies before.

CF cars were available in cheap blistercards. I don´t know when were these released, but I would say the style of the blister card is around 1995 o 1996, not so old, but a very interesting a rare sample.

This two pictures are taken from eBay - Seller: tresorduweb

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FIAT X1-9 (#305)
• Scale: 1:64
• Year: Around 1995
• Company: CF (Hong Kong) / Maybe Faie (Hong Kong)
• Size: 8 cm

#663 GALAXY FIGHTERS – MACE APE and MAGOON (1983)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AND THE KNOCK-OFF AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

 

The Galaxy Warriors is probably the top-knockoff line of Masters of the Universe in terms of sales, characters (and vehicles/creatures) and also because it was the first MOTU bootleg that reached a certain peak of popularity. They were produced starting in 1983 by Sungold in Hong-Kong.

 

Galaxy Warriors have the “honor” to be a knock-off that has been knocked-off itself, and that’s what I wanted to tell you today. Galaxy Fighters is actually a bootleg of Galaxy Warriors. But that wouldn’t be all. In later years, there were very low quality bootlegs made of them, in figures that were poorly articulated and painted.

 

 

Galaxy Fighters were copyrighted in 1984 by Sewco, and sold during many years, as many as the Mattel franchise lived, and maybe even more. Sewco produced their figures in Hong-Kong as well.

 

The connections between Sungold and Sewco are unknown, but Sewco produced up to 3 identical figures to those made by Sungold, copied the design of the logo, the style of the blíster, and evensome of the names, with small spelling differences. Why? We will never know. In any case, the cast used for these warriors is identical except for the left hand, which is slightly closed, while the GW have it more open. Heads are made of soft plastic, which is cheaper than hard plastic.

 

In the US these figures were distributed by Madison and East West, but outside of the US, there were other distributors, which led to different kinds of artwork and packaging art.

 

 

The figures came with two accesories each: a bladed weapon and a shield. The available weapons were two types of sword (one straight, one curved), an axe and a halberd. The shields were two different ones. The weapons were added to each figure randomly, at least outside the US. The shields had a sticker on the front, either a small round one or a big one, and the only thing that was not random was the sticker on the shield. The good guys had an eagle on their shields, while the bad ones had a skull.

 

 

The two characters in the pictures are Magoon and Mace Ape. Mace Ape is, of course, the one that resembles more like an ape. Magoon is the human one. Great figures! I totally understand that they were so successful back then, and that people still look for and collect them.

 

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: MACE APE and MAGOON
• Toy Line: Galaxy Fighters
• Year: 1984
• Company: Sewco (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: 8 to 9 cm long

#662 SUPER CASER - SUPER ATLAS BOT (LH-747) (Around 1989)

MONTH OF THE BOOTLEG AND THE KNOCK-OFF AT TOYS FROM THE PAST!

 

 

I found this box a few years ago at a flea market. It is a transformers-like combiner (or "gestalt") robot made in Taiwan. The set comprises 2 cars (both look quite futuristic) and 1 jet, plus some chromed accesories. The names are Ex-Caeser, Atlas-Carbot and Atlas-Jetbot. They combine into Super Atlas Bot.

 

 

I have made pictures of each part, although I ddin´t try to transform or combine them, since this toys are often quite fragile, and not very well done. I think this set was made in the late 80s, maybe first for the American and European markets, and it probably came to Spain later, in 1991 or 1992. When I found it, it was with many other cheap toys from the early 90s, I guess it was the classic street vendor of toys and candies that goes from one fair to the next. During the 80s, most toys were made in Hong-Kong, but starting in 1992 or 1993, Chinese toys were more and more common, and quality decreased.

 

 

To my knowledge, these three robots are not copies of any Transformers robot, they are not bootlegs, but knock-offs. However, I think some of these accesories are actual copies of other made by Hasbro or Takara.

 

The toys are made basically in white plastic, with parts in bright orange, blue and other appealing colours. Stickers are similar to Hasbro´s: colourful but without silver background, and the general appearance is, I would say, like a G2 Transformer. It could be easily mistaken by a G2.

 

 

 

 

Something I find great about knock-offs are their imaginative packaging. The box is also colourful and makes a great impression. Just like the "expensive" transformers, the box has some windows that reveal the actual contents of the box. It also has a flap to be hung in some kind of display case. The labels used and the names are very exotic, with an abuse of superlatives, like "Double Joint Power Up", ". The back of the box has the instructions, how to transform each part and how to combine them into Super Atlas Bot, but they contain several spelling errors, which is also typical in many Asian knock-off toys from the 90s.

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: SUPER ATLAS BOT (LH-747)
• Toy Line: Super Caser
• Year: Around 1989
• Company: Unknown Manufacturer (Taiwan)
• Size of the figures: Around 8 cm long

#661 JOAL – CHAPARRAL PROTOTIPO 2F (Ref. 113) and ADAMS BROS PROBE 16 (Ref. 118) (Around 1973)

These are three Joal models in 1:43 scale that my father bought a couple of years ago in a flea market. They are in great shape, although the Adams Bros is not 100% complete. It is missing the plastic roof, a very hard to find bit.

Joal chose a mixture of prototypes, ordinary and sport cars, and these are an example of sport and race cars, check also my entries dealing with the Renault 10, the Ferrari 512S or the Monza G.T. and the Alfa 1600.

 

 

We have mentioned several times that Joal usually "borrowed" designs from other companies like Tekno of Denmark, Polistil from Italy or Corgi from the United Kingdom, but we are not sure if the models are actual copies, licenses or if Joal bought casts from other companies. In the case of the Chaparral, it might be similar to a model made by Mercury, and the Adams Bros. Probe similar to Corgi´s. I cannot compare them, because I do not have these, only the two Joals, so this is only a guess.

 

As usual in Joal models, these were available in several colours each: the Chaparral is at least available in red, green, yellow, gold and blue, while the Adam Bros. Probe is available in red, green, blue, yellow and orange.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: CHAPARRAL PROTOTIPO 2F (Ref. 113) and ADAMS BROS PROBE 16 (Ref. 118)
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: Around 1973
• Company: Joal (Spain)
• Size: Around 10 cm

#660 MAJORETTE vs. MATCHBOX – RENAULT 11 (1984 and 1985)

The Reanult 11 was one of the most popular cars in its range during the 80s. It was Car of the Year in 1982 and was available during many years. As a matter of fact, the 11 and the Renault 9 are often seen as the same model. For the 11 there were several “facelifts” and this particular Matchbox and Majorette models are the 1st one, the 1st phase from 1984.

Considering both the 9 and the 11 are the same car, it was available in Europe from 1981 to 1989, and during a few years also in the USA as Renault Alliance, where it was chosen as one of the 10 best cars in 1983. After that, and during the 90s it was also built for the South American market, as well as in Turkey and Taiwan.

Both Majorette and Matchbox models are really accurate, and very similar to each other. The most significant differences are in the front headlights, metallic in case of the the Majorette model an plastic for Matchbox. Another interesting difference is that Majorette made the lower half of the body in plastic, as the real car had, and also added a practicable sunroof, which is really nice.

Majorette made this model in 1984 for the first time in (dark) red, one year later in bright red. In 1987 it got a new decoration in white with black and yellow rally stripes, that was also available in 1988, and in 1989 it was not available anymore.

Matchbox premiered this model in their 1986’s catalogue in black, an it was available until 1989. In 1990 the model was replaced by the Mercury Sable Wagon, so there are no other versions than this one. When a model is so many years in catalogue without new decorations, it probably means that the model didn’t sell very well. There are of course some international variants, and a very interesting blue version with a taxi light on the roof from James Bond’s film “A View to Kill”.

Majorette  RENAULT 11 TXE (Nr. 275)

Matchbox RENAULT 11 (Nr. 33)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: RENAULT 11 TXE (Nr. 275) and Matchbox RENAULT 11 (Nr. 33)
• Scale: Around 1:64
• Year: 1984 and 1985
• Company: Majorette(France) and Matchbox (Great Britain)
• Size: Around 8 cm 

#659 BURGER KING - KID'S CLUB - BOOMER, JAWS and I.Q. (1991)

 

These figures were a giveaway of Burger King in their children menu box, named, back them, "kid's meal". This promotion was launched in 1991 (although the figures are copyrighted 1990), and is the only one I remember. My parents never took me to this kind of fast food restaurants, so I just had a chance to actually go inside the restaurant once for a birthday party. I saw these figures and I remember thinking how cool would it be to have those figures. The way they were presented, their colours and their quality were astonishing, at least for a 10 year old boy. I cannot remember any commercial on TV, or any advertising in magazines, it was just once that I saw these figures.

 

Later I got some in a flea market. I saw them, and I bought them very cheap. It was only recently that I sold them. I liked them, but I was not very interested in collecting them. After all, you cannot collect everything. I took pictures of them for my shop, and that's what I show in this entry. Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures.

 

I have found some information about this promo in the U.S., but I am not sure if it was the same in Europe, or particularly, in Spain. Apparently there was a first batch of four figures, consisting of:

 

• Kid Vid: the leader of the gang, and the "cool" guy. Personally, I think it is the worst figure, since it does look very strange. There are no kids like this one, or, at least, I never met any.
• I.Q.: The smart guy in the gang wears some kind of long jacket with a bow tie, has messy hair and wears glasses. Three cliches in one. The figure is nice, It is probably the one I like most.
• Boomer: The girl in the BK Club is very fond of sports. She wears skates and has a pony tail. The figure is also nice, but the skates make it loose some stability. 
• Jaws: The last member of the BK Club is a more generic figure, with no distinctive feature. Aparently he was always willing to eat a hamburger.

 

Later, the series was expanded with more toys and some more characters, exactly 4 children and a dog. I do not have any references of them, but these were:

• Wheels: A boy in a wheel chair.
• Lingo: Seems to be a smart guy.
• Snaps: A blonde girl used to take many pictures.
• J.D.: A dog with a helmet.
• Jazz: A girl whose passion was music. This was introduced much later, by the 2000s.

There was also a second batch of figures released, in which each character included some accesory, and then much more series where the kids played sports, or rode on insects, vehicles... the Kid's Club promotions expanded until the mid 2000s, with promotions every now and then.

 

Most figures from the first series are today unexpensive and easy to find. I guess there not so many fast food toy collectors out there compared to how many of these figures were actually sold (or given away) at the time.

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: BOOMER, JAWS and I.Q.
• Toy Line: Kid's Club
• Year: 1991
• Company: Burger King (U.S.A.)
• Size of the figures: Around 7 cm tall