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.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

B is for Boys Toys

This is in my mothers attic, I don't know or remember when it was given to us or how long it was in the games drawer, as both my brother and I were not 'football' kids. I have a vague memory of playing it once or twice but as to who gave it to us and when I haven't a clue...

...but if you were a Football Kid, this would be the best under the tree on Christmas morning, a big box printed in two colours with the magic word "soccer" writ-large!

From the late 1960's judgeing by the hybrid tin-plate/plastic construction, although I think it soldiered-on for most of the 1970's pretty much as an unchanged design, however, the box got more colourful with each generation.

Close-up of the players, the ball - if I remember correctly - was a Subbuteo-sized thing but of lesser quality in a browny-orange? Chad Valley was resurrected a few years ago by Woolworth's, I don't know what happened to the trademark after Woollies demise?

10 comments:

MSFoy said...

This is a nice piece of kit - I think I remember these. I spent my childhood looking for a football game which worked - a friend had a very strange game with magnets under the players and magnets in the ends of control rods you slid around under the board. Nightmare - it was too easy to cheat by blocking the opponent's control rod, and if all else failed a smart bang underneath with the rod would cause the men to fall over and goal-bound shots to fly off into space.

This one looks as though it would work though - good nick too.

Hugh Walter said...

I think I know the one you're thinking of, the players are pale blue and maroony-pink on a large plinth with a very small round magnet?

Can't remember it's name, I have a couple of lose figures, found it on eBay once and took it down but the info's on the unplugged PC!

Have a good Christmas
H

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Brilliant. If you are interesting in selling please contact me.
Mike
coolcom5@gmail.com

Hugh Walter said...

Sorry, not for sale, but it's not particularly rare, it ran for years in several versions and you should be able to find one on eBay, or at one of the larger car-boot sales.

Mark said...

Brilliant, I had one of these when I was a kid in 60s, the football was a small ball bearing. Had many a good hour playing with it, my mam used to moan about the noise the ball bearing would make, Happy days.
Mark

Hugh Walter said...

Mark! You're a star!

I have a whole bag of plastic footballs, from about 5mil up to about 30mm+, in various materials and hadn't the faintest idea which one might belong in this set...now I remember with a memory-jog from you it was indeed a ball-bearing about 8mm?

Glad you found it and thanks! Cheers,

Hugh

Mark said...

No probs Hugh, I am jealous though, just out of interest I'm a can't let go of my childhood sort of bloke and I've got a unused meccano no 3m and an unused no 2 set.
Mark

Hugh Walter said...

Unused is a bit of a sin, but I know the feeling, my Uncle still had his red/green set and we weren't allowed to play with it!

I still regret the coming-of-age chuck-out I indulged in voluntarily as we moved from the childhood home just as I hit teenager-hood! And I've since replaced most of it...

H

MSFoy said...

The childhood chuck-outs! - please don't make me cry. When I was away at university my mother decided she would clear out some cupboard space, so she gave away a pile of stuff to my younger cousin - who later moved with his family to Zimbabwe, so everything went to the church jumble sale! That particular clearance included a full set of Timpo's (metal) Knights of the Round Table, a mass of military Dinky Toys - some of them pre-war inheritances, a mint set of Discbat Table Cricket, about a hundred diecast buses, a heap of toy soldiers - including some pre-war Elastolin, a Schuco take-apart GP Mercedes, boxes and boxes of Meccano, Bayko Builder, Lott's Bricks sets, etc etc.

I have never forgiven her (secretly), though I do realise that all this stuff would be valueless anyway if everyone's mum hadn't thrown it out. I'll get my own back when it comes time to decide the cost and quality of the nursing home...

I jest of course (or do I...?)

Tony

Hugh Walter said...

Church Jumble Sales...the were brilliant, that's where half our toys came from! A big bag of 54mm plastics, older Action Man stuff including the explorer set with the silver storage boxes....HMS Ark Royal semi-professionally made-up which I promptly repainted gloss red!? Load of commando comics, rolled bundles of Look & Learns with the Trigan Empire....ahhh!

Your mother loves you Mr Foy!

H