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, June 17, 2020

P is for Putt-Putt Tank!

Not - as far as I know - connected to this morning's earlier's (real problems with Internet again today!) ABC, but there are similarities; two colours, olive-green and sand; poor representation/sculpting of the original target model; made in Hong Kong in the late 1950 and/or through to the late 1960's and sold as rack-toys or similar within the pocket-money bracket.

AFV's; Airborne Tank; Hong Kong 404; Hong Kong Tanks; Hong Kong Toy; Made in Hong Kong; Small Scale Tank; Small Scale World; Small Toy Tank; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Model; Tank Models; Tank No. 404; Tank Set; Tank Toy; Tanks; Tetrach Air Portable Tank; Tetrach Light Tank Model; Toy Tank;
Generally they come with colour-matched running-gear, but I do have one with contrasting wheels, so a 'Friday afternoon' job or a 'Monday morning' job!?!

We have looked at them before, so it's difficult to know what to add, there were sets (I've only found generics and they are on the blog), they were bought-in by Speedwell (with another generic gun) for adding to large gift-set boxed 'dioramas' and they don't seem to represent a specific marque, but could be used as Tetrach light, air-portable WWII tanks by old-school gamers with a bit of imagination!

AFV's; Airborne Tank; Hong Kong 404; Hong Kong Tanks; Hong Kong Toy; Made in Hong Kong; Small Scale Tank; Small Scale World; Small Toy Tank; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Model; Tank Models; Tank No. 404; Tank Set; Tank Toy; Tanks; Tetrach Air Portable Tank; Tetrach Light Tank Model; Toy Tank;
There is a smaller copy which is less common (the larger one is relatively common as far as these things go), but it's tracks have aged slightly better! I only have the one so don't know what colours it came in - if any others?

The common, larger one is marked MADE IN HONG KONG NO 404, the smaller one just a MADE IN HONG KONG, both in a wide DIN or Ariel-Rounded type font.

AFV's; Airborne Tank; Hong Kong 404; Hong Kong Tanks; Hong Kong Toy; Made in Hong Kong; Small Scale Tank; Small Scale World; Small Toy Tank; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Model; Tank Models; Tank No. 404; Tank Set; Tank Toy; Tanks; Tetrach Air Portable Tank; Tetrach Light Tank Model; Toy Tank;
This example has poor moulding with a hole and splits down the mudguards caused by 'short-shotting' in the production process. It also has better tracks in a silicon rubber best described as pinkish-gunmetal!

AFV's; Airborne Tank; Hong Kong 404; Hong Kong Tanks; Hong Kong Toy; Made in Hong Kong; Small Scale Tank; Small Scale World; Small Toy Tank; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Model; Tank Models; Tank No. 404; Tank Set; Tank Toy; Tanks; Tetrach Air Portable Tank; Tetrach Light Tank Model; Toy Tank;
Side-on ambush! Despite being outnumbered 2:1, green-force should retire from this action with a 6-0 scorecard!

AFV's; Airborne Tank; Hong Kong 404; Hong Kong Tanks; Hong Kong Toy; Made in Hong Kong; Small Scale Tank; Small Scale World; Small Toy Tank; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Model; Tank Models; Tank No. 404; Tank Set; Tank Toy; Tanks; Tetrach Air Portable Tank; Tetrach Light Tank Model; Toy Tank;
I found this shot after-all; three of the sets they come in with further cards of the figures which raises the possibility of blue, grey or purple-brown examples being out there somewhere but as the guns (which we looked at here) have so far only turned-up in green it's not that likely. And many thanks to James Opie for some (most! Four?) of the sets in the above image.

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