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.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

R is for Rosedale

Another Box-ticker really, large scale (120mm figure?) farm tractor from (or marked) Rosedale. Actually an 'imprint' of and the parent for Tudor*Rose, and I really only photographed it because I thought it identified the pieces I've been digging-up at the bottom of my Mother's garden, but in fact they are from a similar-sized but different model!

Rosedale used to be a confusing moniker to me, as while it is not a 'Smith' or 'Jones', and seems unusual (as a brand name) there seemed to be several users of the title and for years I couldn't work out who they all were or if - for the most part - they were related or not.

1 - This Rosedale was one of several brands used by Rosedale Associates the company started by Norman Rosedale and one of the companies close to Islyn Thomas/Thomas Toys (see FIM Vol.II for more). This is the one I think of as Tudor*Rose.

2 - There was a Canadian branch (Bonar Rosedale Plastics?) who seem to have used Rosedale in preference to the Tudor*Rose more common over here, and continued to do so later (1980's?) than the T*R mark became ubiquitous in the UK.

3 - Rosedale Figurines, now part of Fleurbaix Toy Soldiers made soft, poured or centrifugally cast, white-metal figures in various larger (54mm-up) scales.

4 - Rosebud...where the confusion stemmed from, and (I've just Googled it) still seems to. Rosedale/Tudor*Rose seem to have had a 'Rosebud' doll, but a company called Rosebud near Northampton also made toys and dolls in plastic. A listing on the Internet right now describes "Vintage sweet little tudor rose or rosebud hp doll 1950s in darling outfit". Rosebud - the company - was responsible for the model train kits in HO gauge taken-over by Airfix. The rest of the company was absorbed by Mattel in 1967 becoming Rosebud-Mattel for a while.

2 comments:

Kim Carter said...

My father Dennis Carter joined Rosedale circa 1948 as General Manager. The Rosedale factory was in Cinderford Gloucestershire. He moved on to be managing director of Combex,, part of DCM group, in the mid 60’s. While at Rosedale he was offered the opportunity to take on Lego for the UK but …….. turned it down thinking it was just a pile of plastic bits!!!!!!

Hugh Walter said...

Thanks for that Kim, interesting, and having myself a love-hate relationship with Lego due to their thievery of Hestair-kiddybricks, fascinating to know they were looking for agencies. If you have any archival material, I'd love to see//copy it and pass any relevant stuff on to Plastic Warrior Magazine or the Plastics Historical Society (maverickatlarge@gmail.com)

Hugh