C is for Classic Charbens

These are relatively common, and in recent months I have picked up quite a few in various states, the early ones having very little paint on, but some of the later ones are reasonably good. Michael Melnyk is to be thanked for some of these.

As with the recent post on the Crescent/Kellogg's guards, I have started with a shot of the whole lot marching up and down, oldest - or believed to be oldest - to the left, later issues to the right.

There are basically two versions, the earlier being taller with smoother bearskins, the later are shorter with more textured headdress. At the back are a set in polystyrene, which - by the nature of the material and the ability of paint to adhear better to it over time - are harder to date, but are the later mouldings.

Trumpeters (someone's bound to say they are cornets or bugles!); again oldest on the left with the hard plastic one on the right, the paint changes (black base to apple green to summer green) seems to be the same as with the Highlanders by Charbens, which we will look at another time.

The earliest base is flatter than the more domed versions of the later moulding, and there is a shot of the three base types with the white-styrene one to the right of the line-up.

More instruments, more variety, the very short guy is a heat-shrink, caused when the figure is pulled from the mould too early, but he's usable. Charbens had quite poor QA with these and they often turn up with the odd deformed one.

The Band-Major, these are all the late version, with quite gloss paint on the first one, both sides of the second and rather different painting on the third, who is again a hard plastic one.

Finally a few of the ceremonial poses, these are in poor condition and with only four poses, probably not even half a set, but they do show the difference between the early squarer bases and the later rounded ones, this 'marker' is shared with the Highlanders.