B is for Bonux (and other premiums)

During the 1960's and 70's Bonux washing powder nearly always contained a premium/gift of some kind, and with military subjects being to the fore, it was only a matter of time before this French company came to the blog.

The most known Bonux premiums among toy soldier collectors are these three sets of four contemporary French troops in the garb of regular infantry, para's and Foreign Legion. The 'NATO' helmeted lot and para's have reasonable poses and equipment, the FFL are a bunch of shouty-fist-wavy guys with no hope in a fire-fight! Although the guy on the right is missing his stick-grenade...yeah, exactly!...Stick Grenades?

However, I'm being too judgmental, they were toys after all. Coming in various shades of Olive and Olive Drab, they are clearly marked Bonux on the higher side-edge of their sloping bases. The manufacturer is unknown but the bases have a lot in common with the bases of the Styrene figures issued in the larger scales by Mokarex

Bonux also issued sets of AFV's, Aircraft and Civilian Vehicles, both assembled and in kit-form, vintage and contemporary, along with various other figures.

The Yellow Para's are a latter issue of the Bonux figures by a company called Johnson, while the two Bonux members of Louis XV's army are missing their waxed hair-pieces! JC Piffret reports them as being made by a company called Jou-Plat. Likewise the blue figure is Prince Charming to La Roche aux Fees' (a dairy products company) Sleeping Beauty. The magician in black is also by La Roche...

The AFV range are better illustrated in the French Premium site listed in my favorite links column, however I do have an unmarked (all Bonux stuff is well marked) petrol tanker in the same colour of plastic as the half-track, which is not listed on that site, and may be connected via supplier only? If anyone cares to; I have Blue-Box and Tudor*Rose to swap for more examples of these.

Unmarked versions of all the original figures are as commonly available, and I suspect were sold in bags or carded as pocket-money rack-toys by whoever supplied them to Bonux.

Bonux also gave away the National Costumes/Dolls of the World I looked at some time ago, but with an antiqued wash and faux Chinese ebony-wood base. They issued the Kellogg's animals in silver and gold and the Disney Robin Hood characters issued by all sorts of companies all over the place!