In the mid 80’s Model Trem, a company known for making parts and scenery for model trains, produced their line of bootleg Star Wars figures to answer the need for Star Wars toys for the children of Brazil to play with. U.S. licensed Star Wars product was not available in stores and there was no Brazilian company with the Star Wars license to fill the need for toys at the time. Thirty six figures total were produced in this line. The figures were released in assorted color generic boxes, some with the characters name and number-in fact three different styles have been found so far, and some with just the number on a sticker on the front of the box. The top of the boxes had a sticker that either said Model Trem with company info or Aventura na Galáxia.
They were sold in stores for the equivalent of $1.50 US. While they lack the “high quality” card art of an Uzay Turkish bootleg, the figures are visually one of the more accurate bootleg lines to have been produced. Each figure was detailed as closely to its licensed counterpart as possible and most figures came with the appropriate weapon for each character. There are several mold, paint, limb attachment variations as well as variations in the materials used. Many of the earlier figures were found in all metal, and many of the later figures are found in all resin, There are many variations with a mixture of metal and resin materials parts.
Model Trem stopped producing their line of Star Wars figures after Glasslite had secured the Brazilian license to produce Star Wars product. Brazilian sources claim that Glasslite and Lucasfilm had threatened Model Trem with legal action if they did not cease production. Model Trem’s retort was their second set of lead bootlegs, “Nova Aventuras nas Galaxias” many of which used components from Star Wars characters and figures themselves, but were different enough to avoid any legal problems. In the 2nd line of figures, they also released a few vehicles. I’ll be covering all of these figures and vehicles in the second page of this section
I hope you enjoyed looking at the images and reading some of the history of this hard to complete set. If you’re planning on collecting these bootlegs be prepared to settle for lower grade pieces at times, as they do not turn up very often in prime condition. If you have any questions OR info that was missed about this line, please feel free to email me.
