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.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

DLR is for Dockla . . . No; that would be the silliest attempt at a humorous title ever!

Let's say: Deluxe Reading is for Topper Toys!

These were in my collection for years as Thomas, but that was back when I took the advise spoon-fed by the elders! They are actually Deluxe Reading (latter: Topper) and we know from recent work by the PW-guys(issue 159) that they had a facility over here, control of which was handed to Lines in a licensing agreement.

1963; 3026 - Task Force 109; 3026 Task Force 109; 30mm Sailors; 50mm Airforce; Air Force; Airforce Figures; B-400 Battlewagon; Battleship; De Luxe Reading; Deluxe Reading; Destroyer; DLR; Made in England; Made in USA; Old Plastic Soldiers; Old Toy Soldiers; Operation X500; Plastic Airmen; Plastic Toy Air Forces; Plastic Toy Sailors; Politoys Italy; PT-boat; Rocket Base USA; Rocket Launcher; Rocket Troops; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; The Most Amazing Toy Ever Made; Topper Toys; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers;
We've looked at the larger G.I. figures acouple of times now, but these are the figures you're probably more familiar with; quite unloved, they turn-up in mixed lots, junk lots and 50p/rummage trays all the time . . .

. . . which is good point to thank all those who save junk-stuff for me as they will all have contributed to this post over the last 25 years - Jim, John Begg, Peter Evans, Gareth Morgan, Chris Smith and Trevor Rudkin for certain and probably also Graham Apperley, Mr Carrick, Paul Morehead and Jan Yarzembowski.

Above we have three types of plastic, the bottom row being probably the earlier (and possibly 'US only' imports - FeebleBay has a lot to answer-for!) production in a chalky/cream-white plastic, the main sample in a greyish-white polymer and the two down the bottm-right of the shot who are a semi-translucent 'wishy-washy' white.

All are softish 'beach-toy' polyethylene and I am missing one human pose - another bloke with a radio-telephone; and a little sitting dog, who may be with the other dogs; both of which give me reason to run these again one day!

And a monkey, there's a little space-monkey missing, cheers TJF!

1963; 3026 - Task Force 109; 3026 Task Force 109; 30mm Sailors; 50mm Airforce; Air Force; Airforce Figures; B-400 Battlewagon; Battleship; De Luxe Reading; Deluxe Reading; Destroyer; DLR; Made in England; Made in USA; Old Plastic Soldiers; Old Toy Soldiers; Operation X500; Plastic Airmen; Plastic Toy Air Forces; Plastic Toy Sailors; Politoys Italy; PT-boat; Rocket Base USA; Rocket Launcher; Rocket Troops; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; The Most Amazing Toy Ever Made; Topper Toys; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers;
I also have examples in various shades of orange, one or two almost marbled, and I think the palette of colours has more to do with unstable pigment than actual production batches!

Politoys in Italy issued some Deluxe Reading stuff, they may have been responsible for the orange ones?

1963; 3026 - Task Force 109; 3026 Task Force 109; 30mm Sailors; 50mm Airforce; Air Force; Airforce Figures; B-400 Battlewagon; Battleship; De Luxe Reading; Deluxe Reading; Destroyer; DLR; Made in England; Made in USA; Old Plastic Soldiers; Old Toy Soldiers; Operation X500; Plastic Airmen; Plastic Toy Air Forces; Plastic Toy Sailors; Politoys Italy; PT-boat; Rocket Base USA; Rocket Launcher; Rocket Troops; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; The Most Amazing Toy Ever Made; Topper Toys; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers;
In addition I have a painted one, but he's so tatty it's hard to tell if it was factory or home-paint, and I suspect the latter as the black strap just doesn't quite have the practiced badness of a factory/out-painter, but rather the studied, tongue stuck-out badness of a home painter with little practice?

It gives us a line-up of - 50mm possibly painted; orange and white; the three whites; the three whites again in 30mm (the wishy-washy one is not quite so wishy-washy!) and a base variation of the 30mm with a slot for locating on studs attached to the toy-models they came with.

Note also the double crescent-shaped 'dents' or cut-outs in the edge of the bases and the twin, mould-release pin-marks - removed from the slotted-base guy, who's slot - incidentally - is the same (shape and size) as that found on the previously seen G.I. figures.

1963; 3026 - Task Force 109; 3026 Task Force 109; 30mm Sailors; 50mm Airforce; Air Force; Airforce Figures; B-400 Battlewagon; Battleship; De Luxe Reading; Deluxe Reading; Destroyer; DLR; Made in England; Made in USA; Old Plastic Soldiers; Old Toy Soldiers; Operation X500; Plastic Airmen; Plastic Toy Air Forces; Plastic Toy Sailors; Politoys Italy; PT-boat; Rocket Base USA; Rocket Launcher; Rocket Troops; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; The Most Amazing Toy Ever Made; Topper Toys; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers;
The 30mm figures only have five poses (there's a pointing chap missing from this lie-up) and represent US Naval personnel (or US Coastguard), rather than the Air-force/Rocketry/Space troops of the 50mm set. It's ironic, but the 30mm rifleman is more likely to be found with his muzzle intact than is the 50mm chap!

Partial Set Listing
50mm Airforce
- Rocket Base USA ("The Most Amazing Toy Ever Made")
- Operation X500 (the 2nd most amazing toy ever made?)

30mm Sailors
- B-400 Battlewagon (battleship, 1963)
3026 - Task Force 109 (destroyer and PT-boat)

Some of the above figures may have been issued in Italy by Politoys with different titles.

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