New Info on Basa MLPs from Peru

[Shane Turgeon]

I recently returned from a trip to Peru where i had the good fortune to sit down with the former owners of the Basa company! I was incredibly thankful for their time and insights and came away with some good information. I'm primarily a vintage Star Wars and GI Joe collector but i do have an appreciation for the MLP line and some of the info i got applies here as well.

One of my biggest wonders was whether or not Basa made any GI Joe items as i've never seen any indication of it, which was weird given that i knew they made MLPs - same era and same parent licensee - so why no Joes?

I was at a toy store buying some stuff and i managed to pick up a hard plastic GI Joe case used by kids to carry their school books - it was a generic case they used over and over and just put different stickers on the front. It had '85 series art but was dated '93, which was right at the end of Basa's days before going bankrupt. Finally i had some kind of news about something Joe in Peru!

At another store i found a Venezuelan Joe piece and the owner there said Basa never made any GI Joe toys and all the Joe toys sold in Peru were imported from other S. American companies. Now i was confused given the case i found...

Thankfully i wasn't to be confused much longer as i had my interview with the former owners later that night.

So what does all of this have to do with MLP? Well, as it turns out, Basa had such an important relationship with Mattel that Mattel told them that if they did business with Hasbro, they'd pull their licenses with them. So Basa never actually made any Hasbro product, including the MLPs. I showed them some of the Basa MLPs that i found down there and asked why their markings were on the hooves if they never made them and the story is that another smaller Peruvian toy company called Maxy actually had the Hasbro license to sell them in Peru but they didn't have the facilities to make them so they contracted Basa into making them for them.

Hopefully this is news to everyone here and i apologize if it wasn't but it was really cool to be able to put together some pieces of the Peruvian toy puzzle!

I did manage to get my hands on some very nice Basa MLPs down there if anyone is interested. $40 each...

http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247995/title/p1060406/cat/500
http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247996/title/p1060407/cat/500

http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247994/title/p1060404/cat/500
http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247994/title/p1060405/cat/500

http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247994/title/p1060402/cat/500
http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247994/title/p1060403/cat/500

http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247989/title/p1060400/cat/500
http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247990/title/p1060401/cat/500

http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247987/title/p1060398/cat/500
http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247987/title/p1060399/cat/500

I also found this very cool set of Peruvian MLP learning flash cards. $35

http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247982/title/p10603921/cat/500
http://forum.rebelscum.com/photogallery/showphoto.php/photo/247983/title/p10603931/cat/500

[kitkatvintage]

Hi there! Thank you for sharing your information with us My Little Pony collectors.  

I have a MOC Peru pony & a MOC Peru pony outfit, both with the Maxy logo, but the name "Maxy" does not appear on the ponies themselves. Your information actually answers that question.

[relcelestia]

lolol!!
soooo basa was contracted by maxy who had the licence from hasbro??
sneaky sneaky basa!! hahah!!
way to get around that mattel threat ^_^

[Tiggums6]

Wow I am very envious of you, travelling in your Joe Quest! The pony story is interesting, so many dodgy deals in lil ole Ponyland. I don't honestly think you'll get $40 apiece for the ponies, I've paid less for mintier ones, but if you want a better idea of the value you are in the right place I looove the figurines you found, great stuff, real eye candy . Thanks so much for popping in and sharing this information Shane

[LadyGuinevere]

That's fantastic information - thank you for sharing it with us! Like kitkatvintage, I too had wondered about the Basa on the hooves and the Maxy on the packaging, but that explains it all! Did they do the same with the Joe items as well? I wonder if there was something similar in some of the other countries now as well, lol.

Ah, so that's what those cards are! I have a set myself (was very particular about wanting the Peru ones, or at least the same language, as there is a set with a different language on it out there as well I think), but I never really though on what they actually were for, lol.

[Shane Turgeon]

Glad to bring new info to the table for everyone!

As for the values, i'm certainly open to offers on any of them that are more in line with market value! I just needed a starting point with them but am definitely negotiable. They need new homes!

[Gypsy]

Thank you very much Shane, I had done alot of research for my upcoming guide and had concluded they were made by Basa and sold by Maxy, but knowing the story and events makes it so much interesting and verifies speculations. I would like to include your story in my Peru section if that is okay? Or if you perfer not to be named that is cool too? Debra

[Caro:3]

Great history! I actually have 5 peruvian Basa ponies, and i want some more, because they are nice quality. I will buy my next from a peruvian friend of mine who lives in Lima hehe. I will tell him the history of basa and maxi companies, which is very interesting. Thanks!!! 

[Foxtale]

Learn something new everyday. THanks for sharing the information.