J is for Jurassic Era!

Purely in the sense that that's what it says on the cards, and that it makes a rarer 'J' title, I'm quite sure an expert palaeontologist will tell me there are hundreds of millions of years between some of the species depicted in these sets!

 

These are in corner-shops, petrol stations and small convenience stores, as I write, and were last seen in the previous two posts, from Kandy Toys, they are retailed for between two-fifty and three-quid or thereabouts (2.99!), and while there are three sets here, each with different animals (four per card), there may be more in total?

 

So, I picked the upper one up back in the Autumn sometime, in a newsagent in Alton I think? Or Borden, not that it matters a jot, and is of no consequence to you, loyal reader, but I feel sometimes these irrelevent facts add . . . bones? To the blurb!

 

Then Peter Evans (Plastic Warrior's London office!), gave the other two to the Blog, in one of the November/December lots, so we'd obviously encountered them at about the same time? Each has the four prehistoric animal models, a twin-palm of common design, a blow-moulded boulder and a 'volcanic' piece, which looks more like a meteor scar, or fumarole, if you recall third-year geography!

 

 

 

Most are one-colour over a base polymer in another colour, with a third pigment if you count the eyes, two are red-plastic, with the Pterosaur being only one added colour, the rest a pale-yellow, and modern substitute-PVC type; soft rubberised polymer or elastomer.

 

Current thinking on the appearance of late Raptors, and a three-colour paint-job (with the eyes), done to a better level than the others. But, as with all toy Dinosaur sets, no scale beyond 'set scale', a matching-size form of the old 'box scale' concept, so this would be much smaller than most of the others, in real life, and I'd call the whole set medium-sized?

 

I think this last one, half-Spinosaur, half-Dimetrodon, is another of the not true dinosaur or mammal earlies, like Dimetrodon, but not related? I don't know, and apart from the obvious ones or favourites, I try to avoid speciation on dinosaur posts, so's not to reveal my ignorance too plainly!

Many thanks to Peter for the pair of blisters, and we have quite a bit covering Kandy here now. Onwards and upwards!

KTL is for Kandy Toys Limited - 2025 Spring Fair

Funny, isn't it? I had a good rhythm going, got a bit of a head-cold and some writer's-block on the previous post, and then, when I'd finally posted it, went down with something far worse, on the details of which I will not regale you, just in case it's breakfast-time where you are, but it took me out for nearly a week, and I was really quite ill, in a way I haven't been for many years.

 

Probably not since I was delirious with Gastroenteritis as a teenager and the motorcycle posters on my bedroom wall, started chasing me round the room, while the GP was trying to take my temperature! My 61st also slid-by in the last few days, strangely more of a milestone (mentally) than the round 60, last year?

 

Anyway, this is the second of the Kandytoys posts - they write it both ways and seem to be building KTL as a brand mark, presumably to compete equally with the rival HGL and HTI marks, although they are pretty freindly rivals for the most part, and always stall-out near each-other at these big trade shows.

 

Pretty much the same stuff as last time, but there's a load of new space items in this post which weren't in the inventory two years ago, and everyone likes new images!

 

Not 100% sure on these, some confusion on photo-order, but I think I shot them on the way back down the other side of the aisle, however someone else definitely had them, and they will be in another post, they are 3D printed stock, in both (?) cases being bought-in from a/the same 3rd-party?

 

You can find plenty of YouTube, TikTok and 'Reel' type shorts of this stuff being printed, it's clever, but it's automated and after some interest/involvement in the original conversations on the HäT forum, back in 2007/8, I will not post much on the subject, as it's almost limitless in its scope, whether one is talking about subject mater, plastic type or scale.

 

Indeed, one of the points I made in those distant (and long-ago deleted by 'H') threads, that it would eventually end the toy industry, seems closer to the truth. Literally it's infinite, and while I like seeing the odd bit, I'm not going to look at it here with any regularity, maybe the odd figure/vehicle, occasionally?

 

But these are quite clever, in that the fully animated model is printed in one piece, and with a few twisting clicks of the moulding, becomes the modern equivalent of those old wooden snakes or alligators which were glued to a central strip of leather, or the hinged, tin-plate fishes.

 

Timeless classic, I grabbed a couple more the other day somewhere, and they went straight to storage, but we have looked at them before, and there has been a follow-up brewing in Picasa for a few years, with contributions, so at some point . . . ?

 

Pulled-together under the Star Voyagers branding, there would appear to be the products of two or more lines here, and while the figures are a bit cartoonish or infant-toy in style, there are some useful vehicles and accessories in the sets. And with Padgett (A-Z) carrying a similar range, it's clearly a trend!

 

The traditional 'army men' are a bit thin on the ground these days, but they do turn-up from time to time, the upper ones are Matchbox copies (green) and those seen over the years in Poundland and the defunct 99p Stores, which Mark (Man of Tin) works his magic on (orange/charcoal), in both cases 35/40mm types. While the lower set is a more conventional 'battle in a bag'!

 

I had mixed-up images back in 2023, and only realised when sorting these out just now, so I've whipped a section out of the '23 Padgett post and added it to the previous (below this one) KTL post, also from '23, and now it all makes more sense! The additions are the upper-shot, Transformer knock-off T-50/60/70-somethings which convert into Autobot types!

 

Mostly larger size farm stuff, I know there's little interest in these from even loyal readers, but it all needs to be recorded for posterity, and to help ID the stuff when it comes in loose, a huge series of jobs awaiting me in my final home, with be the naming of the farm, 'Zoo' and Dinosaurs!

 

And, speaking of Dinosaurs . . . 

 

. . . smallies!

 

Biggies, seen before here, under several brands,

singly (boxed and in counter display boxes), in pairs and triples!

 

Biggies with eggs!

 

These will be in a forthcoming post, held-over as the last of the catch-up sequence from February, because I knew Kandy was coming! I'd bought a set, last Autumn, out-and-about, and then Peter Evans gave a couple more to the Blog, so there's a nice overview of them, next post, probably. Medium-sized.

 

Larger, and older/vintage mouldings by the look of them?

 

Tubbed playsets, medium/small.

 

Medium-large, just the three?

 

Another set of smallies, different to the widow-set above?

 

I haven't seen these out-and-about yet, but I have a feeling we may have seen them loose, so it's a case of retuning to them one day, fully ascribed!

 

Pretty sure I bought all four of these, just as I was moving into the flat, ready to sell the house a couple of years ago now, hard to believe this crap's been going on for four years-plus now! I don't know if I Blogged them, pretty sure I shot them, so, I'll have a dig. Each set has a subject-related head moulded-on to the toob's cap!

 

Various selections/formats of wild/zoo animals, sea-life and more species-specific stuff (lizards, cetaceans), including streatchies, jellies, insects, and a few dragons at the bottom.

 

Definitely the set which includes two of the creatures sent to the Blog by Jon Attwood, one of which I had a duplicate of, with the wings set at a different pose/attitude, seemingly deliberate, possibly a change made in order to allow more units per counter-display carton? There seem to be five to collect, but it could be ten, if they all got their wings moved!

 

Finishing up with the huge 'soft-play' squeezy, but not squidgy dinosaurs, I think I've previously shelfied such stuff in TKMaxx or B&M stores? And as mentioned a closer look at the blister-carded Dino's next, and hopefully I'm back posting again, for a while!

KTL is for Kandy Toys Limited - 2023 Spring Fair

I can on occasion get a bit confused between Keycraft, Kinder and Kandytoys, not less than when glancing at marks at a show, but they are all slightly different in their output, except when it comes to Kandy and Key both doing Chinasaurs.

 

Kandytoys (now also KTL) who have been around for a while now also have a newer subsidiary in My Toy (now M •Y), and with both being based in the West Country, one feels they probably benefited from the demise of Marshall's down there, a few years ago?

 

Anyway, I've shot a lot of stuff at this year's trade fair, but I also shot a few bits, two years ago, in my rushed afternoon hour or so, so here's the older ones first! There is some duplication, but, you know; different angles, assortments, viewpoints etc . . . it all adds to the whole!

 

'Army Man' stuff, the green figures look like the Henbrandt boxed set, the bi-coloured set looking like the ones Poundland was carry for many years in various formats and plastic colours.

 

Push and go and freewheeling vehicles/AFV's.

 

Wild Animals and individually packed small Dragons.

 

Larger Dragons, ID'ing two sent to the Blog by Jon Attwood I think?

 

Counter display of biggies!

 

I got these a couple of years ago, but I don't think I Blogged them?

 

The rest of it was all kinds of Dinosaurs in all kinds of packaging and all sizes . . . 

 

The ones on the left we've seen before under various brands.

 

Coming soon as a separate post!

 

'Soft Play' giants.

 

Lego-likey minis!

 

And if you think there's a paucity of blurb on this one, I opened the 'new post' about four or five days ago, added the title the text day, added the pictures a day later, added the opening blurb a couple of days ago, and then sat and looked at it, like a rabbit staring at the car bearing down on it, There's only so much you can say about this stuff sometimes!