About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Monday, January 4, 2010

C is for Culpitt's Cake Decorations of Cowboys and Indians

Going through the archive for 'lazy-post' last night I found this, which was going to be my next post when the Laptop crashed back in April, so here it is!

Sold by Culpitt's in the UK, these were made in Hong Kong, first with separate bases and 8 (?) poses, then with moulded on bases and only 4 poses. The "8 (?)" is because there seems to be an Indian missing, this may be because he/she is actually an it! I.E. it may be a Tee-pee, camp fire or Totem pole. in which case it's somewhere else in the collection (I hope!), does anybody know who/what the missing 8th piece is...if it's missing.

Other rows/columns are colour variants. The based ones are quite common, the older one's are getting harder to find. [These were produced/issued in Portugal in cans of Toddy chocolate powder, thanks to Jorge Freitas for that, see; Comments.]

8 comments:

Jorge said...

I had some of these figures when I was a kid, in the early 1970s. Here in Portugal they came as an offer inside the cans of "Toddy", a brand of chocolate powder (to mix with milk)!

Hugh Walter said...

Thanks for that Jorge, it's always useful to discover what they were issued with in other parts of the world.

Were yours the seperate-based set (in which case do you know if one piece is missing?!) or the moulded-on bases?

Jorge said...

I think they were of the separated-based kind, but I am not certain. Unlike the cheap Hong Kong-made soldiers (see my comment elsewhere), no figure of this collection survived the ravage of time...

Hugh Walter said...

Well thanks for you comments anyway, perhaps someone else will know...pass the word!!

culpitt said...

Hi, A friend of mine sent me a link to your blog. Culpitt's cake decorations was my family business from 1921 to 1999.

My Dad was in charge in the 1970's and I remember having some on a birthday cake when I was a kid. Dad is no longer with us, but the man who was the head of Marketing lives just up the road from me so I've sent him a link for old-time's sake! I'd never have thought someone would regard these as collectible!

Hugh Walter said...

Thank's, They are of importance to collectors more for their conections with UK firms like Gemodels and Festival than the HK producers, but all info. recieved add to the bigger picture. I've eMailed you seperately...
Hugh

Jorge said...

I've found them!!
Three of these figures I thought lost for ever!
Tipically, I was searching for much different objects in my garage, when I found a box full of old miniatures and... BINGO!
They were of the separate-base type. Do you want pics of them?

Hugh Walter said...

Yes Jorge, I'd love to see them, eMail them to my hotmail account;

maverickatlarge@hotmail.com

Cheers