G.M. U.K. LTD coo

[Jimi Woolley]

Evening chaps.

I picked up a Trilogo boxed Rancor at the start of the year and someone on here asked if it had a UK coo, it didn't and it came in a Made in Mexico box. Always liked the idea of a UK made item so I've kept my eyes peeled & have just picked up a loose UK coo Rancor.

I know you can also get B-Wings with the same coo but are there anymore vehicles etc that have the same coo?
I've googled it but all previous threads are from a couple of years ago & not been added to recently.

Also, anyone know the reasoning behind Palitoy's decision to start producing their own items so late in the Star Wars line rather than just assembling & packaging items?

Cheers
Jimi

 

[olisuds]

Rancor and B-Wing were the only ones I'd heard of with the UK COO copyright

 

[poncho]

any pics boys?

 

[olisuds]

There was an interesting thread on RS about it.

http://forum.rebelscum.com/t1095214/

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

Great thread and interesting one of RS.

It does seem odd to create moulds for these so late in the run as already stated. And the RS thread mentions a Slave I with "Made in the UK" printed box and a "Made in France" sticker over the top. The suggestion was that the Slave I had been manufactured in the UK and shipped to France for assembly and sale. Not convinced by that. For a start, if it was for sale in France would it not say "Fabrique en France"? Or were Mecanno figures similarly marked? So, is it possible that both the UK and France manufactured some vehicles like the Slave I with Palitoy printing the boxes intended for their own products but buying in Slave Is from France when required? If so, it sounds like the Slave Is were also being imported to the UK for sale over here, from France, and hence the requirement for the English language "Made in France" stickers. And I don't mind having a wager no Slave I had ever been found over here with a France COO! That supports the belief that moulds were obtained from Kenner an used as is, complete with Kenner markings.

So, why were moulds not brought in for the Rancor and B-Wing? Or were they and new COOs added? I don't have any Rancors or B-Wings to look at, sadly Creating new moulds for these so late in the run must have been pricey. Can't have just been for the UK market? Are all Trilogo and Bi-logo boxed Rancors and B-Wings marked with the U.K. COO? I'd be surprised if they were. And why was the Y-Wing brought in from Mexico? Maybe the same reason as Made in Mexico figures were sent to Kenner for packaging late in the franchise? So many questions! If the Palitoy papers no longer exist in this respect then maybe some GM archives still exist and contain clues in respect of the decisions.

 

[Jimi Woolley]

It's definitely a weird one!
I've got a Trilogo boxed Rancor that has a Kenner coo & made in Mexico on the box.
I'll try and find time to have a good comparison of my 2 Rancors to see if I can spot any differences apart from the coo.
Surely they'd just alter the coo on an existing mould rather than create a new mould?

 

[Pomse2001]

I have 2 tri-logo boxes and one is with kenner coo and the other with palitoy coo. Maybe the last owners have replaced the rancor and not been looking at the coo :?