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, July 27, 2015

T is for Two - Soft Metal 40-mils

Another excuse to shift a few pictures from the lap-top! The old 40mm standard of the 19th century, which has held-on by dint of the model railway hobby using it for O Gauge, or Scale 7, which can equate to anything between 1:40th to 1:45th depending on what's being modelled.

Bassett Lowke produced a small range of 'character' figures for their O gauge range and this is one of them (!??). Unfortunately he's in a bit of a state, and might be Charley Chaplin, or he might be Neville Chamberlain, both of whom featured in the set (apparently - I can only find Chaplin).

I'm guessing Chaplin, but with those trousers? The seller told me he was Chaplin the first time I saw him, but Chamberlain the next time...doh! And my Googleing has found a different Chaplin pose, no Chamberlain and figures with thinner green bases, so it may not even be what I've just told you it is! Life huh? Gets Bassett Lowke in the tag list, even if under false pretence!

These are by Heyde, the famous old German firm and represent 'Balkan' bicycle troops from the turn of the last Century...Serbs? Croats? Serbo-Croats? If I know one thing...best not go there...they're lovely figures, wonderfully made and an unusual subject, that's enough.

2 comments:

Ross Mac rmacfa@gmail.com said...

Bulgarians I believe. Not fond of the spaghetti arms but what marvelous sets Heyde did.

Hugh Walter said...

Cheers Ross...They are lovely, but semi-flat, so a bit thin, but also 'a bit' early, a smaller group came up for auction back in the early 2000's with an estimate of 200-300 quid - don't know what they finally fetched!

H