R is for Rootin' Tootin' Six-gun Shootin'

Like the figure we looked at the day before yesterday, this started life in Herald's stable, got taken-in by Britains, simplified and sent to Hong Kong for its sins. It also got copied by nearly every Tom, Dick, and early British plastic producer, along with several in the colonies!

This image has been on the blog before, so we'll get it out of the way before we look at the original, most of these are now in storage, but more have joined the staff here until they can all be reunited! And the trio of 'early British' were photographed again before incarceration, while the Britains are here.

The top row - Britains, Britains - Hong Kong, Paramount, Hong Kong

Middle - Hong Kong, Speedwell, Speedwell, Trojan

Bottom - all Hong Kong

So, the original Britains chap was a bad-guy (all in black - probably smoked, almost certainly liked Country & Western music and definitely cheated on his women!), greyed-out in PVC after the move to Hong Kong production, he was finally brightened-up with a bit of a denim two-piece! He also got the separate base. I don't think I have all the versions, but the blue one has extended the sample slightly!

 

I don't know if my 'bad guy' is a shrinkage variation, or that the moulding was simplified in HK, but he looks cooler spitting death with his face hidden, even if you couldn't hit a barn-door at twenty paces with the brim of your Stetson over your eyes! But really - he's slotting some dude sneaking out of a side-alley, two cool for gun-play school!

The guys have swapped places from the first image, so we have Trojan dropping the hat to effect 'originality' on the left, while Speedwell - middle and right - didn't bother and just went with a straight copy, However with hat, shirt and sometimes 'kerchief' painted different colours, they make for more interesting figures than the Britains herald original.

Two recent additions, all the Speedwell figures are two-part moulds with a split-line across the base, and I'm always hoping to find a hatted figure with a smooth base, as neither UNA nor VP seem to have been associated with this pose yet, and a three-part version might be from one of them, but no luck so far!

Another Paramount has also come in; theirs is quite a different pose, although influenced by the Britians figure; he's an older, sheriff type, with a ten-and-a-bit-gallon hat, swanky boots with a cavalry turn-down type thing going on there, more balanced stance, he's begging you to think he fired six - feeling lucky? Punk!

Painting on this one's fuller than my storage copy with the hat, boots and fringe painted black, and further red-highlights on the fringe.

This chap has also been seen here before, but for completion - here he is again! The base marked MADE IN HONG KONG and 634. Following-on from Wednesday's post - I don't know if Benbros had a version of this figure? I certainly don't have one/haven't found one, although both Lone Star and Benbros have a whip-handed chap with similar posing.