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.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

F is for Follow-up . . . P is for Pony-Tail or Professional-Appendage?

True to his word the other day, Chris sent images of the believed donor figure for the strange 'officer' type in my set of Home Collection 'army men' from the Anker Group. I think it's easier to hand over to Chris for the first two images and come back at the end -

Anker Group; Army Men; Armymen; Bagged Rack Toy; Carded Rack Toy; Estonian Toy Soldiers; Home Collection; Railway Staff; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tallinn Toy Soldiers; Unknown NAZI Figures; Unknown Toy Figures; Unknown Toy Soldiers; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Toy Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers;
I bought a figure from a junk shop in Tallinn in Estonia in 2006. Plastic about 1/32 scale wasn’t sure if was a soldier, policeman or a railway worker, although nice the moulding wasn’t great. He is holding something in his right hand (gun ,baton or flag?) but it is moulded to his right leg and unclear. Posted in PW what the F&%$ but had no response…

Anker Group; Army Men; Armymen; Bagged Rack Toy; Carded Rack Toy; Estonian Toy Soldiers; Home Collection; Railway Staff; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tallinn Toy Soldiers; Unknown NAZI Figures; Unknown Toy Figures; Unknown Toy Soldiers; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Toy Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers;
Fast forward to 2018/19 and I spotted what appeared to be the same/similar figure in a junk lot on Ebay, so purchased that lot. [There] was in fact two of those figures from your blog today. Compared against my original this figure was smaller, and only based on by being a mirror image of the original but the shoulder strap is the same as the original. The original had no pony tail.

The new figure looks to be holding a large spoon/ladle (Special catering Corps!) One other figure in that junk lot which seemed to match the pony tailed chap but again pretty poorly moulded wearing a gas mask with a 12 gauge shotgun. Again I didn’t recognise the pose, have wondered if they are based on Fishel or New Ray figures? Or are they character figures from a computer game (Modern warfare or the such like)?

Anker Group; Army Men; Armymen; Bagged Rack Toy; Carded Rack Toy; Estonian Toy Soldiers; Home Collection; Railway Staff; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tallinn Toy Soldiers; Unknown NAZI Figures; Unknown Toy Figures; Unknown Toy Soldiers; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Toy Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers;
Now looking at mine (without Chris's to hand) I suspect Chris has measured 'under slightly, with the original being closer to 'Euro' 70mm? If only because mine is heading toward 60mm and may be the smallest of the three? Here posed with the 54mm Crescent 'berserker' and one of the other Anker figures, over whom he towers.

Either way, mine would seem to be a third version, with a huge hole for no reason, and two mould-release pin-marks (rear, left ankle and upper-small of back) lacking from the copy in Chris's possession.

The item (now in the left hand) looks like a platform-guard or dispatcher's paddle, again - until recently - more of a Euro-'thing', but now seen on several UK carriers, especially those owned by European transport companies. On the Tallinn 'original' and in the right hand it does look more like a pistol or machine-pistol? If a train staff-member is depicted, the pony-tail could be a scarf, but they tend to be worn by the female staff (one of whom this isn't obviously depicting), and round the neck, not knotted to the back of a service-cap?

Can anyone else add anything more to these interesting figures? And thanks to Chris for adding what he has.

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Later the same day . . . 

Chris sent a sizer which clearly shows his are both around the 1:32nd mark, which means mine is a - if not giant - slightly larger copy?


I'll check the Airfix German against my 'pony-tail' (and the crescent berserker) tonight for a possible further follow-up! They don't make it easy for us these little plastic men!

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The next day . . . 

Update here now;

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2020/02/w-is-for-west-end-final.html

2 comments:

peterE said...

Hi
The original figure was from a set of four Italian (?) police, came with a simple building and a white car with a sticker saying'POLICIA'
I picked one up while on holiday in Rome

Hugh Walter said...

Cheers Peter, there's a follow-up publishing in about five minutes!

H