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.

Friday, February 7, 2020

12 is for Army Figures

A bit of a follow-up to the other day'spost even though they've been in Picasa for ages, but I sort of lost track of them, leading to this appearing in a less than timely manner, so soz' for that tardiness!

12 Army Figures; 12 Army Men; 12 Armymen; Anker Group; Army Men; Armymen; Blister Pack Toy Soldiers; Carded Rack Toy; Home Collection; Jaru Toys; Made In China; Matchbox US Infantry; Plastic Toy Soldiers; Rack Toy; Rack Toy Armymen; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soma Toy Soldiers; The Anker Group;
12 Army Figures from the Anker Group, brand-marked to Home Collection and containing a pretty standard set of twelve 'army men' although when I say 'pretty standard' there is a notable exception, who was hiding under the others.

12 Army Figures; 12 Army Men; 12 Armymen; Anker Group; Army Men; Armymen; Blister Pack Toy Soldiers; Carded Rack Toy; Home Collection; Jaru Toys; Made In China; Matchbox US Infantry; Plastic Toy Soldiers; Rack Toy; Rack Toy Armymen; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soma Toy Soldiers; The Anker Group;
Five Matchbox US Infantry clones, four poses taken from the old Jaru/Soma (et al!) set and an officer who could be Marshall Zukov, General-Field-Marshall Rommel, or even the elusive Ché Guevara some collectors have been chasing-after like blind tracker-dogs, in recent years!

I'm guessing - from other developments in recent years - that there may be a better version of this chap out there somewhere, possibly in solid metal? King & Country type of thing . . . Figarti or even a Del Prado (K&C also I think?) donor? Although there could be a polymer originator; anyone recognise him? And; there's more to this already rather louche-posed sculpt . . .

12 Army Figures; 12 Army Men; 12 Armymen; Anker Group; Army Men; Armymen; Blister Pack Toy Soldiers; Carded Rack Toy; Home Collection; Jaru Toys; Made In China; Matchbox US Infantry; Plastic Toy Soldiers; Rack Toy; Rack Toy Armymen; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soma Toy Soldiers; The Anker Group;
. . . he has a top-knot and pony-tail!

So now were looking at the Dutch or Danish army's of the 1980's! If those pleated service-dress pockets fit? For those in Pennsylvania who think I'm being 'racist'; I worked with both, in the 1980's, and they were fine soldiers, they also had an enlightened approach to modern soldiering which allowed for beards, long hair and yes, even pony-tails, however enlightenment can be lost as well as gained and I think, now most have gone over to all-volunteer, the situation has been tightened-up somewhat!

Although if the conscripts of one (I can't remember which) attended a joint-nations special-forces course, they accrued so much 'extra' leave-entitlement, according to their union's rest-&-recuperation schedule, they tended to go home until the end of their National Service, rendering the attending of a multi-national, co-operation training exercise rather a waste of time in the first place

But an excellent wheeze if you never wanted to do National Service in the first place; finish basic training - volunteer for a four week 'jolly' in the Bavarian Alps - bugger-off home for good!

Going back to the figure though, and joking apart, it could be a decorative kerchief/plume type thing (on the original) did the Cossacks who sided with the Axis in WWII have something of that sort hanging from their cap's head-bands? I have looked and I can't find anything, either historical, or in metal figures!

2 comments:

Chris Smith said...

Hugh, think i might have the donor figure. Will email photo's later.
Cheers Chris

Hugh Walter said...

If you have that would be brillian Chris! Metal or plastic? . . . I'll wait!

H