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Tente is one of the first toys that I have consciousness of having in my childhood. As the most old site know, Tente was a building game from colored blocks, Lego style. Although the concept is very similar to the legendary Danish building game, invented back in the 30's, Tente not be considered a mere copy of Lego. The toy company created by the Barcelona Exin (legendary creator of toys as Cinexin -relaunched the same Christmas-Scalextric or Exin Castillos) had brought their own personality and great ideas to the vast world of construction toys . Many people whose childhood has taken place between 1972 and 1993 (the years in which Tente was marketed in Spain with great success before the disappearance of bankruptcy Exin) certainly prefer Tente Lego.
As mentioned, in 1972 launched the first set Exin building Tente, with an almost immediate success (remember that Lego did not reach the Iberian Peninsula to the 80's practically), a fact which led to the production of new sets exploring new themes and settings. One of the most memorable series was called ' Sea. " It was ships, aircraft carriers, cruisers and all types of military vessels. I can still remember the great airplanes that had the aircraft carrier. And it included Tente accessories such as human figures and stickers to decorate the buildings. Besides articulated parts and chrome (which were discontinued when the crisis began to stalk Exin) with the dream that the very creator of Lego, Ole Kirk Christiansen. Tente's main innovation was that the pieces had a hole in the assembly allowing a second connection (which is used to place antennas, laser guns, poles ...)
had plenty of series: Air (helicopters ) Astro (spacecraft), Cosmic (rovers), Scorpion (tanks and other military mastodons), Route (construction vehicle), Titanium (hyper detailed futuristic vehicles), Pocket (small cars) ... the list was lengthy. Some sets even had light and sound. But Tente not only lived on boats and aircraft but also had all sorts of structures and buildings, control towers, etc ... Both contemporary and futuristic.
A series that I have burned into my brain, I guess because I had at the time several models, was Roblock Series: huge, colorful robots that could transform into vehicles (Clearly inspired by the Transformers , although Roblock had the advantage that you built yourself and the possibilities were endless.) Undoubtedly one of the best and most charming series of Stand, near the spectacular series Titanium. I'm sure I left many series and models, but I wanted to base it more on Tente I had at the time and that I can convey to the feelings that caused me when I was a kid, than making an exhaustive list.
Exin This legendary toy was discontinued in 1993 after the demise of the company based in Molins de Rei (Barcelona). Tente was one of the toy makers Exin's success, but also brought several headaches, especially when they Lego sued for plagiarism in the 80 ', when the Danes began to market their products in Spain and saw how successful they could Tente harm. The trial was conducted in Israel and claimed that Exin Lego had plagiarized his concept of ' building game with pieces of colored plastic . " The judge, however, ruled in favor Exin, ruling that could not be considered plagiarism and avoiding the monopoly of the powerful Danish company. After the extinction of Exin by economic problems, Borrás took Tente rights, marketing it several years (with a new series created by Borrás, some incompatible with the old) until was allowed to manufacture in 2008 . Although
Tente is history, we must recognize that the English competitor of Lego went far, far away. At the time, Exin signed an agreement with Hasbro to distribute Tente U.S. and Japan (though the sets were in shops, not like Lego, which could be bought in any shopping center), plus to possess an American subsidiary, Exinmex, which popularized the toy in some countries American. hard to believe that this toy invented in Barcelona conquered half the world in his day.
So far this brief look at building game Tente, known almost entirely by the kids of today and overshadowed by Lego, but he had the charisma and personality enough to seduce an entire generation of children. I hope I've rebuilt a bit of your childhood with this retrospective, as pieces of Tente.
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