T is for Toro, Toro, Torres!

We first looked at these 15 years ago, here at Small Scale World, and while I've reused the main image in this post (brightened and cropped slightly for a better user experience!), it's still worth a link for the oddments, in the lower image of that older post, before we get into the subsequent developments.

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2009/03/t-is-for-torres.html

 

And by developments, I mean that in addition to the ones we looked at earlier today, in the show-plunder post (below this post), which although similar in execution, probably have no real, direct connection with the Torres ones at all; I have also obtained the second series, a colour variation, and a few other bits which deserve a second look!

 

So, first to compare with the ones we saw in the post below, they are similar, but only for being the same sized models of the same thing; a male, fighting bull. Just as the British art world is known for its renditions and sculptures of horses, I would imagine Spanish artists know their 'bullflesh'.

 

I don't think it's the same sculptor, nor the same manufacturing source, and with comparisons to the older Torres (lower image), and newer one (upper image), both as close, pose-wise as I could get it, the touristy ones are rougher sculpting.

 

They are moulded in black or white plastic with horns in the same white for both animal types, the white ones painted with black splodge-patches, black examples overpainted with white, and the horns differ from the Torres set in being two identical-parts glued into small holes in the sides of the head, rather than Torres' one-part unit, slipped through a tube in the skull, and you can see from the size of the sample in the background, I'm pretty sure there's only the three poses, two with sash-collars, painted red or red.black.

The older shot, cleaned-up, there are four poses here, and I may have had a few more come in, but not to be seen here right now, and it's become clear that they weren't always on all the wines from Torres, nor where they always on any given brand or vintage, but have been used as promotional freebies/collectables, just like ice-cream, bubble-gum or cereal premiums, from time to time.

This has also been found, and would likely have been something given away by salesmen, or included in a whole box/crate/order, or something like that, rather than an item you could buy seperately, It's interesting for a second reason as it's 'TORRES' moniker has been picked-out/highlighted in white paint, maybe a whole tranche of them was on some bottles too? If so, I would imagine an earlier iteration?

But, even as I was posting them last time I'd found a newer set of sculpts, only one or two, on evilBay, so I've been quietly waiting for this post to build for a while! These are smoother, and have a slightly Art Deco look about them, with some quite stylised sculpting, particularly on some of the legs/hooves.

 

Note also, the first one on the far left, is a comedic sculpt, with his arms folded behind his head, and one leg crossed over the other, as if he's sunbathing or waiting for the bullfighter to get a grip of himself!

 

If you look at the upper middle pair you will immediately notice that while one has the TORRES mark, most of these are actually marked ST which is for Sangre De Toro, or Bulls Blood, which I understand is a 'first pressing' or new season wine, like France's Beaujolais?

All eight known sculpts of the newer ones, removed from all packaging and tags/tabs, the horns are the same as the older ones, a single piece which is slipped-through the hole running across the skull, and you can swivel them slightly to further vary a heard of these, although I'm not sure if you can keep fighting bulls together? Their 'wedding tackle' isn't obvious though, so maybe you could use them as a herd of long-horn chonkers, on a model railroad!

A few lose ends, I'm pretty sure I saw a blue version of the 'art deco' ones when I was looking 15-years ago, but might have imagined it, and I haven't found a gold one on the newer sculpts yet, but this red or burgundy one has turned-up, probably a Bulls Blood promotion, although not with the ST mark?

 

The tabs on the ST versions have what we used to call bogie-tape on the back, the same stuff they attach free-samples to magazines with, and, while there is no sign of the ribbons found with older versions, the tab for them is still at the base of the 'plant label'!

Who would have guessed you could get so much info' on one small set of freebies, but the Casa (House) Miguel Torres Carbó (established 1870) have been issuing these on-and-off for many years, certainly since before the 1960's, and with periods of hiatus between issues, changes were bound to creep in, leaving them as an interesting side-pursuit!

A nominal listing is;

 

1960's? [string]

- Celluloid (provisional)

 

Approximately1970-90's [ribbon]

- 1st version polyethylene (painted 'Torres', round tab, also/only key rings?)

- 1st version polyethylene (unpainted, round tab)

- 1st version polyethylene (gold, round tab)

- 1st version polyethylene (angular tab)

 

 2000's to recent time [plant label]

- 2nd version polyethylene 'Torres'

- 2nd version polyethylene 'Torres' (burgundy)

- 2nd version polyethylene 'ST'

- 2nd version polyethylene '?' (blue, provisional) 

Obviously all those above without tab, tags or tings have had them removed to imporve the lines of the animals as stand-along figurines.