toynutz.com
Zee Toys Dynawheels
History and Check List

last updated 26 August 2010

toynutz home

Photos and Text By Mr. Dana Johnson

Zylmex and Zee Toys were interchangeable brand names of Zyll Enterprise Ltd. Like most, these lightweight diecast and plastic toys were manufactured in China.  Their quality varies and collector value remains comparatively low. However, some unusual models have been produced over the years Zyll was in production.  Besides a large array of models of different sizes and scales, two product lines stand out, both roughly 1:64 scale, dubbed "Pacesetters" and "Dynawheels."  Pacesetters are the better quality of the two, usually sporting metal chassis, opening doors and other parts, while Dynawheels are generally lighter, with plastic chassis and no opening parts.

Many other series exist, most notably Ridge Riders series of approximately 1:24 scale motorcycles, and Dyna-Flites military airplane toys.  Other manufacturers that have carried the Zee Toys brand name include Edocar, a Dutch licensee, and Intex Recreation. Sets of Zee Toys Pacesetters were also issued through Sears as Roadmates.

Zyll Enterprise Ltd. went out of business in March 1996, and all the dies and trademarks were sold to the Hong Kong firm of Red Box International in 1997. There was also a connection between Zee Toys and Intex Corporation.  Up until 1993, Intex was the sole importer of Zee Toys to the US.  Since then, Zyll products have been sold under the Redbox, and more recently, Motormax brands.

Before Redbox International purchased Zyll Enterprise (around 1998), and before the Motormax line was introduced by Redbox, many of the Motormax castings still available today were originally produced and marketed by Zyll Enterprise under the Zylmex and Zee Toys brands.  Two Motormax 3" series have been documented - the 6000-Series and the J-Series.

Zylmex models are the oldest and most valued die-cast toys produced by the company.  Even the earliest Zylmex models were designated with a "D" preceding the model number on the base, and many were later reissued as Zee Toys Dynawheels.  Thanks to contributions by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson, one model, an armored half-track (below) remains an anomaly.  Additional contributions by Julian Soundy provides a previously unknown version of D82.  Value on Dynawheels remains around $2-3 each.

 

Zylmex T431  Armored Half-Track

 

Zylmex T514 Type T-61 Tank, plastic body in camouflage paint
[not pictured]

- - -

Zee Toys arrived later, being divided into two lines:

Dynawheels - less expensive, less detailed toy vehicles with plastic bases and no working parts

Pacesetters - more detailed toy cars usually produced with opening doors and die-cast metal bases.

 

The Toy Car Collectors Association  presents this special collector’s check list of known Zee Toys Dynawheels by model number.  The links below will direct you to lists for the other Zee Toys and Motormax series:

Zee Toys Pacesetters

Motormax 6000-Series

Motormax J-Series

 

Many of the old Zee Toys Pacesetters and Dynawheels castings are still available as Motormax models, in many cases with original model number still imprinted on the base, although only Pacesetters bear any description of the vehicle they represent.  Regardless, some are more recognizable than others and have been named accordingly.  Others are referenced only by model number.  Value remains around $1-2 for most models, although some are selling on eBay for $3 or more.  Motormax reissues and color variations abound.

On May 18th, 2005, I received an e-mail from Peter DeVore in Colorado.  He helped provide corrections and updates to this list.  Then, on January 19, 2006, I visited Zed's Zee Toys website at www.geocities.com/MotorCity/4882/ and found the missing models to complete this list.

 

Recently, Bob Goldie contacted me regarding D21 and D24 on July 19, 2007.  His additional information has been incorporated.  More recently, I obtained some more information on variations (listed below) from Julian Soundy and Brian Mackey.

ZEE TOYS DYNAWHEELS

D1 BRM F1

 

D2 Ferrari

 

D3 Cooper Maserati

 

D4 Eagle

 

D5 Brabham Repco F1

 

D6 Lotus Climax F1

 

D7 McLaren Ford BV F1

 

D8 BRM H16 F1

 

D9 Porsche 914

    v.1 metallic red

 

D10 Fortuna Custom

 

D11 Sand Dragger

 

D12 Rebel Custom

 

D13 Hurricane Dragster

 

D14 Tornado Custom

 

D15 1911 Renault

 

D16 Red Baron Hot Rod

    v.1 metallic blue

 

D17 Baja Bug Hot Rod (not a VW Bug)

 

D18 Ford Pickup Custom Rod

 

D19 Monza GT

 

D20 Volkswagen

    v.1 yellow with orange sun splash on roof

    v.2 yellow with no markings

 

D21 Chaparral / Sand Dragger

 

D22 Dragster

 

D23 Dune Buggy

    v.1 plain

    v.2 Police

 

D24 Bubble (copy of Hot Wheels Silhouette)

 

D25 Ford Model T

 

D26 Ford GT

 

D27 Honda F1

 

D28 Ferrari F1

 

D29 Lotus Ford F1

 

D30 McLaren F1

 

D31 Matra F1

 

D32 Repco F1

 

D33 Lotus F1

 

D34 Ferrari F1

 

D35 Jaguar E-Type

 

D36 Lotus Europa

    v.1 yellow

 

D37 Mercedes 300SE

 

D38 Lamborghini Miura

 

D39 DeTomaso Mangusta

 

D40 Mini Minor

    v.1 orange (Zylmex)

 

D41 Citroën SM

 

D42 Audi 100 LS

    v.1 sedan

    v.2 Sheriff

 

D43 Datsun TV Wagon

 

D44 Rolls Royce

 

D45 Ford Capri

 

D46 Chevrolet Vega GT

 

D47 BMW 2002

 

D48 Lamborghini Marzal

 

D49 Early '70s Boss Mustang

 

D50 Renault

 

D51 Opel

 

D52 Mercedes Benz C111

 

D53 Ford Mk IV

 

D54 Lola Chevrolet T-70 Mk III

 

D55 Porsche 935 Turbo

    v.1 metallic silver

 

D56 Lancia Stratos

    v.1 red

 

D57 BMW Turbo

 

D58 Toyota Tow Truck

 

D59 Toyota Covered Flatbed Truck 

 

D60 Toyota Stake Truck

 

D61 Lamborghini Countach

    v.1 metallic blue

    v.2 yellow

    v.3 black

 

D62 Porsche 908/936

    v.1 metallic gold

    v.2 metallic silver

 

D63 Fiat X1/9

    v.1 metallic dark green

    v.1 hot pink

 

D64 Porsche 910

    v.1 metallic blue

 

D65 BMW 2002 Racer

 

D66 Toyota Garbage Truck

 

D67 Toyota Cargo Truck 

 

D68 Toyota Van Truck

 

D69 Morgan Plus 8 (copy of Tomica #F2)

    v.1 red (above left; Tomica original version above right for comparison)

 

D70 Ferrari 365GT Berlinetta Boxer

    v.1 hot pink with blue accent trim

    v.2 red with no markings

    v.3 yellow with black accent

 

D71 Ford Capri

    v.1 black with silver and red accents

    v.2 black with no markings

    v.3 black with red and white sticker on roof

 

D72 1914 Prince Henry Vauxhall ("1941 Vauxhall"  imprinted on base)

    v.1 silver with black fenders

 

D75 Datsun 260Z

    v.1 metallic blue with no graphics

    v.2 metallic blue with silver graphics

    v.3 yellow

 

D76 Chevrolet Corvette

    v.1 silver upper

    v.2 orange yellow 

 

D77 Ferrari 308

    v.1 red with black interior

 

D78 Nissan 300ZX

    v.1 metallic red with white racing stripe, "28", "300ZX" on nose

    v.2 enamel red

 

D79 Honda CR-X

    v.1 metallic dark green upper, black lower

    v.2 red upper, metallic grey lower

 

D81 Toyota MR2 Police

 

D82 Police Car

    v.1 black and white Police

    v.2 Fire Dept

    v.3 white with orange stripe

 

D83 Volkswagen Golf GTI

    v.1 red with black graphics, cream interior

    v.2 red black graphics, black interior

    v.3 blue with yellow graphics

 

D84 Volvo 760

    v.1 metallic graphite grey

 

D85 BMW M1

    v.1 blue

    v.2 yellow

 

D86 Jaguar XJ-S

    v.1 metallic red

    v.1 enamel red

 

D87 Audi Quattro / CPS

    v.1 white with rally trim

    v.2 lime green with bat design

    v.3 purple with green flames

 

D88 Ferrari Testarossa

 

D89 Porsche 928S

    v.1 silver with brown interior

    v.2 silver with black interior

    v.3 yellow with red and black stripes, Pennzoil

    v.4 blue and yellow

 

D90 Mazda RX-7

    v.1 red with rally graphics

    v.2 orange-yellow with dark blue graphics, black interior

    v.3 metallic orange-yellow with dark blue graphics, tan interior

    v.4 white with blue graphics

 

D91 Ferrari 308

    v.1 blue with black

    v.2 red

 

D92 Chevrolet Camaro

    v.1 metallic blue with gold trim

    v.2 metallic blue with no trim

    v.3 burgundy with yellow and blue trim

 

D93 Pontiac Firebird

    v.1 white with red firebird logo

    v.2 white with red hood graphics

    v.3 black with gold firebird logo

 

D94 Fiat Abarth (copy of Matchbox #9, 1982; #74, 1984)

    v.1 white with red and green rally graphics (above left; Matchbox original version above right)

    v.2 same as v.1 with no graphics on sides and trunk

    v.3 metallic blue with red and green rally graphics

 

D95 Porsche 959

 

    v.1 metallic blue

 

D96 Nissan MID-4

    v.1 black with hot pink graphics, "MID-4" on sides

    v.2 black with pale purple graphics, no side graphics

 

D97 1986 Pontiac Firebird T-Roof

 

    v.1 metallic yellow with blue graphics

    v.2 enamel yellow with blue graphics, plain sides

 

D98 Chevrolet Camaro

 

    v.1 metallic purple

    v.2 metallic dark green

 

D99 GMC Off-Road Pick-Up

    v.1 red

 

D100 Off-Road VW Bug

 

D101 Stock Car

    v.1 deep orange, "TECH POWER", "86"

    v.2 pale orange and blue, "GTX", "88"

    v.3 "Mode" graphics

    v.4 "Champion" graphics

 

D102 Crew Cab Pickup

 

    v.1 gold with hot pink graphics

 

D103 Vintage Wagon ('57 Chevy Nomad)

    v.1 metallic orange, earlier version with fins

    v.1 fluorescent orange, earlier version with fins

    v.3 bright orange, later version with cropped fins

    v.4 yellow, later version with cropped fins

 

D104 Sand Buggy

 

D105 Ford Mustang SVO

    v.1 black with hot pink interior

    v.2 black with beige interior

 

D106 VW Beetle Convertible

    v.1 light blue Boom Bug with purple graphics

 

D107 Mitsubishi X2S Show Car

    v.1 burgundy with X2S graphics on sides, tan interior

    v.2 red with no graphics, white interior

 

D108 Ferrari F40

    v.1 red

    v.2 white with fuchsia and pink graphics

 

D109 AMG Mercedes

    v.1 silver with blue "Karl" graphics

    v.2 fluorescent orange with dark blue graphics

    v.3 blue and yellow

 

D110 Jaguar XKE

 

    v.1 metallic blue with white interior

 

D111 Formula One Racer

    v.1 white and red

    v.2 black and grey

    v.3 blue and yellow

    v.3 red

    v.3 yellow

 

D112 Hot Rod

    v.1 olive green, plain sides

    v.2 bright green, graphics on sides

    v.3 red

 

D113 Concept Car (Pontiac Banshee)

    v.1 red, original casting

    v.1 dark red, original casting

    v.2 red, generic modified casting

 

D114 Toyota Lexus 4-Door Sedan

    v.1 white with white interior

    v.2 pearl white with butterscotch interior

    v.3 red

    v.4 hot pink

 

D115 Lamborghini Diablo

    v.1 yellow

 

D116 Mercedes-Benz Coupe

    v.1 metallic dark green

 

D117 Peugeot 405 T16

    v.1 black

    v.2 pale green

 

D118 Ford Mustang II

    v.1 black

    v.2 yellow

 

D119 '70 Hemi 'Cuda

 

D120 McLaren M-8A CanAm

 

D121 '70s Indy Racer

    v.1 lime green

 

D122 Dodge Charger

    v.1 metallic teal blue

    v.2 orange

 

D123 Chevrolet Ambulance

 

D124 '70s Chevrolet Blazer

 

D125 '70s Ford Bronco

    v.1 black and white police

    v.2 metallic dark green

 

D126 never produced

 

D127 never produced ('95 Chevrolet Camaro)

 

D128 never produced (Hummer)

 

D129 never produced (Nissan GTP)

 

D130 never produced (Cobra 427)

 

D131 never produced ('57 Corvette)

 

D132 never produced ('69 Corvette)

 

D133 never produced (Toyota Airport Lift Van Truck)

 

D134 never produced (Toyota Airport Stair Truck)

 

D135 Ford Tank Truck (Aviation Fuel); same tooling as P336

 

If you know of any Zee Toys or Motormax models that aren’t on this list, please let me know.  Thanks.

Dana Johnson

PO Box 1824

Bend  OR  97709-1824

E-mail toynutz@earthlink.net

e-mail toynutz

toynutz home