My adverts section for Corgi Toys shows some cool superhero, film and TV-themed die cast vehicles, and I always knew that Corgi was spot on when it came to representing pop culture in its die cast range. Even so, I wasn’t quite prepared for the images that greeted me as I took hold of a copy of the Paris-based Fair Play Distribution Catalogue from 1980.
This A4 toy brochure aimed at shops and stores features more pop culture goodness than you can shake a Penguin umbrella at, including many fabulous point-of-sale store displays. If these toy units don’t take you back to happy childhood times spent at the toy shop buying cars then I don’t know what will. Simply amazing to see.
The catalogue also features Corgi’s regular die cast vehicle range, which will have to come in a separate post as there are just too many photos to show in one outing, and as Wooof correctly points out, TVTA readers may be in severe danger of a vintage-joy circuit overload. Enjoy the scans!
1980 Fair Play Distribution Catalogue, France
Corgi Juniors
Point-of-Sale Displays
As always, thanks for looking 🙂
The Vintage Toy Advertiser 
Wow! A lot of product. Do kids still play with these… or is it all tablet fun?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I reckon both. Corgi is also known a collector brand – so many people will buy the toys to display only, some even keeping them inside their unopened packaging.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantastic – I had (and still own) a large section of their film & TV vehicles! Those were the days… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Mark, agree, fab days indeed!
LikeLike
I can’t believe how many more vehicles from these ranges I had but had forgotten about! The Spidey “Four Slice Toast” er, van and the Spidey Bike. But what I noticed was the Buck Rogers Starfighter. It seems to be missing the missile launchers that the version I had featured. There are two dark rectangles either side of the cockpit canopy and on mine there were two openings to insert a small red projectile which clicked in place, then to fire them you depressed firing buttons situated on the rear upper panels.
Oh and the Blake’s 7 Liberator was dangerous! My elder brother used it as a three pointed weapon to stab me with (though I’d like to see him try that now I have my sabers!) Thanks again for another overload!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wonder if they used the same image for the Buck Rogers Fighter as the Corgi Juniors one? Or, as it was a new release toy maybe they only had access to a late-stage prototype version for the photos, or, the photographer forgot to put the missiles in?? I know in Star Wars toy catalogues and ads there are many examples of oddities where improvisation came into play.
LikeLike
Hi TVTA, you may be right that they used a prototype or maybe I owned a later model. The firing buttons were very visible as two silver buttons on the rear panels next to the engine exhausts. But I realised this image shows some coloured markings as well which mine didn’t have, instead adhesive decals were used. I’ll chalk it up to prototype and promotional models vs production models.
And Star Wars oddities? Kenner toys had early versions of Luke Skywalker’s figure with a Yellow extending lightsaber! Even their role-playing toy replica sabers had yellow blades but a yellow blade never appeared in Star Wars until the animated cartoons were released (they were owned by the Jedi Temple Guards).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Corgi’s were awesome… this shows they were peerless, I guess!!
I had a couple of things here – Muppets, Supermobile, Bond Lotus… but I’d have loved the Buck Rogers Thunder Fighter!
Also, the Spider Van, Super Van and Charlie’s Angels van all kinda look like 4 slice toasters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool you had some of those. I want that Animal Percussionmobile, that’s so cool! Haha, I never thought about it but you’re right those vans do look like 4-slice toasters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What fab adverts! Love all the superhero stuff especially. I loved the corgi toys, had a few of the Batman and Superman vehicles. Also had that Captain Marvel car, that was cool, it looked like a race car! Fun to see the Liberator space ship as well, that was always one of my favourites 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s such a nice catalogue with superb top quality photos. Wait till you see the regular Corgi vehicles they have in there too.
Cool you had the Captain Marvel car as well as the others we’ve mentioned before, it’s a great design with those decals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These catalogues all have such wonderful pictures of the cars and other vehicles. Yeah, that Captain Marvel car was really smart, sure I still have it somewhere 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the Batman stuff – that Batbike!! Takes me back indeed, I had more than my fair share of Corgi toys back in the day, mostly bulldozers and cranes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Batman ones are among my favourites too as I had some of those. I saw one or two cranes and construction vehicles in the remainder of the catalogue, so they’ll also get a feature here soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those are some awesome die cast toys. I kind of wonder why Superman would need a van though.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, Corgi had a thing for vans for some reason -Spider-Man, Charlie’s Angels, Superman. I even have some Corgi X-Men vans from the 90s.
LikeLiked by 1 person