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.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

O is for Ougen (by Elastolin!)

'O' is another difficult one to come-up with! And I've already got this out on STS the Animal collecting forum, but it's an interesting shot I took two and a half years ago and which has been sat in Picasa like a proverbial turd ever since!

A quick Google reveals that what little there is about Ougen is all Elastolin related, so not premiums (as I had thought - getting mixed-up with Onken I think!), rather the French marketing arm of Elastolin (Germany - the old enemy!). I'm sure Plastic Warrior has told us all about them in the past, but mine are in storage and Garrett says nothing!

Really just a packaging comparison shot, for what will have been late-1970's-mid '80's? With an Elastolin original on the left (contents aren't original though! Or; very 'played with'!), the Ougen item in the middle and then an 'HEIA' header-carded bag to the right, not sure if it was a brand as in Heia, or just an abbreviation for the information in the yellow disc...Hausser Elastolin International...Animals?

3 comments:

Brian Carrick said...

Hi Hugh, HEIA SAFARI is a Swahili term, it was the title of the marching song of the Schutztruppe Askaris in German East and West Africa (there is a tape of it on youtube). It may have been a brand or series name here but I don't think it was an abbreviation.

Ougen seem to have been a general toy distributor in France, I have seen Pelham pupets badged under their name and all sorts of other things. They did make a very nice set of Normans (which included a character figure of Kirk Douglas as he appeared in the fold "The Vikings") the figures carried the Ougen trade mark under the base.
Best wishes, Brian

Hugh Walter said...

Hi Brian, cheers for that, I knew about the 40mm bases, but when I Googled to see if there was more all I found was Elastolin 70mm plastics and the swoppets, along with the Air France stuff and the siege engines - which seem commoner in Ougen than Elastolin boxes sometimes!

H

Brian Carrick said...

Hi Hugh, the Ougen Normans are 54mm figures and are original sculpts not copies or rebranded figures from another maker. I only have a few damaged ones, they're very hard to find and I'd love to get more.
Best wishes, Brian