W is for Willows - Wispy and Weeping

I don't know which came first, and haven't checked which of the two ran when, but the 'Willow Trees' had an illustration that showed weeping willows, yet the supplied foliage, despite being soft PVC, didn't really do the weeping job very well, probably why the were called plain 'willows'...

Wispy...

My only box, rather; a carded bag! But it will suffice to give an idea of the others. You got two trees in this set, always matching vis-a-vis plastic and vinyl colour batches.

The component break-down is similar to the others we have looked at, with the vinyl foliage replacing the polyethylene of the other trees.

There was a vast range of colour batches with this set, bases, trunks and foliage varied enormously from pack to pack. The fact that this was one of the cheaper sized sets, and was also included in some of the larger farm play-sets, means that more were produced, so more colours were tried.

A mid-green one made-up and photographed from various angles.

My childhood ones, actually I bought them as a teenager, in a toy shop in Alderney in the Channel Islands, where they were at the back of large wooden selves among all the inflatable toys and Bucket & Spade sets. Often a source of old toys, these seaside gift-shops.

I can't remember if the instructions called for heat to be applied, or if it's in an old war gaming book or magazine (Terry Wise?), or if I just had the thought, but I took a cigarette lighter to the right-hand one to make a proper weeping willow by literally 'brushing' the flame over the point where the fronds meet. I think it works quite well?

All right...hidden in a hedge with other trees from mixed makes and having a Tiger Tank placed in front of it; it looks OK!

Weeping...

Britains did have a go at a full-on 'weeping' willow, note that all the components are different. Getting the fronds to attach to the little keys is a nightmare, and the effort is, well...

...wasted...

...utterly wasted!

Looks good with Dinosaurs though...