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, October 26, 2020

Q is for Question Time - Hilco or Not?

Chris Smith is hoping for a ID on this chap, or at least a more solid ID than the maybe Hilco it currently enjoys!

60mm Military; 60mm Plastic Soldiers; 60mm Toy Soldiers; Cherilea 60mm Soldiers; Cherilea Toy Figures; Hilco; Hilco Plastic Figures; Hill & Co.; Johillco; John Hill & Co.; Phoenix Toys; Question Mark Figures; Question Time; Sharna Group; Sharna Ware; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; UN Helmets; UN Infantry; UN Troops; Unknown Toy Soldier; Unknown UN Infantry;
Sent nearly a year ago; it's a sign of the amount of stuff in the queue as much as it is a sign of my tardiness! The figure in question is on the left for those not necessarily familiar with the Hilco UN troops (figure on the right), and it was posting my UN troops elsewhere the other day that reminded me this chap was languishing!

You can see that while there are some subtle or minor differences in the sculpt, they don't really amount to full piracy or copying, but the base is quite different lacking the indentations left by mould release-pins on the Hilco figure, it also has a smaller outline/footprint and slightly different shape. It came with a bunch of the standard figures, but in a bigger mixed lot, so not too-much should be read from that?

I'm sure it’s from the Hilco-Phoenix-Cherilea-Sharna family, as does Chris, but where and/or when and under which of several brands? It's painted to match the UN figure as far as beret and base go, the rest once over-painted green, so it can clearly be taken as a sign of attempted 'self-coloured' military or camouflage (like the Super-Deetail paratroops from Britains), but an attempt which failed, hence the paint remnants?

Was it a production piece or simply a sample painted-up for comparison before showing to management/sales for decisions - a 'test shot' in other words? Another possibility might be a short-run for inclusion in a vehicle set? The problem is the various handlers of the various tools from the above 'group' used various base treatments of the same figures, so the base alone is not much of a clue!

Has anyone seen these flecked-version figures in their branded habitat to put Chris's curiosity at rest?

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