As I said on FB, when discussing carded figures it's pretty rare that the country they were produced in is mentioned. Instead we refer to the country they were intended for, the country they were produced for and distributed in. Carded (not loose) Taiwain, China and Hong Kong produced Kenner figures are classed as American Kenners are they not? Same for pretty much any other country that had figures made in the Far East (which was the majority)
The only time that isn't true with Kenner figures is when collectors notice they have one that was Made in Mexico and that's only because Lili Ledy is popular which means can sell them for more money
45 backs with the Dutch printed white offer..what do you call them? Clippers right? You don't call them Palitoy..even though they were produced in the UK..
Come on Matthieu, you are going against classification systems and terms that have been used for so long they are ingrained in the hobby. We use them because they work and make sense, no other reason.
Don't get me wrong, I very much agree that the similarities are there and yes, in some cases it does look like they were assembled in the same place but even if tomorrow an ex factory worker for Meccano turns around and says "Yes our orders were to make 10,000 figures for France and 10,000 for England simultaneously using the same components" it doesn't change the fact that figures like the Nikto above, Luke Jedi, Yoda or even the Logray we discussed on FB were produced for Palitoy and distributed by Palitoy within the UK.
Trilogo mini rigs made in Spain? We just call them Trilogo mini rigs..we do not call them PBP mini rigs or Spanish mini rigs. With Trilogo toys you can add the made in location after the company that distributed them if you really want, nobody is saying you can't but a) it's a bit long winded and slightly nit-picky and b) nobody really knows that for sure in this case.
IMO the one thing that confirms a figure as a true Meccano Trilogo is it's exclusiveness to France. Once it's proven that a figure that shares the same characteristics as a Meccano Trilogo was actually readily available in the UK (sans a translated COO sticker) such as these, then you can only call that figure a Meccano if it has the COO sticker (meaning it was distributed in France) or a French price sticker..without either of those (and this we agree on) both figures are identical.
This is why it's important not to label every small bubble a Meccano, especially in public on FB where people are easily led and often confused. Sure, not all Meccano Trilogos have COO stickers or price stickers but that's why we work them out based on a process of elimination (looking at the country the figure was sourced from, any other examples showing up in countries apart from France etc).
You and I both know the difference in price between a Palitoy and a Meccano Trilogo which is why people need to be sure that what they are buying is 100% French. Meccano Trilogos ARE worth it, don't get me wrong - but for that kind of money my advice would be to go for one with a COO sticker and/or a French price sticker to avoid ending up with something that isn't quite what you thought you were buying.
