The top row are quite decent figures as far
as finish goes and would paint up well, the Rambo-Murphy with his linked belt
is a pain, yet seems to be in most of these modern sets! 17 is a small sample
of no consequence and very poor quality, but we'll be looking at worse in a
minute, while the 18b's come - surprise, surprise, chooks - with those I have
numbered 18A! But first . . .
. .
. these are the same as the 18B's, but so far haven't come with A-equivalents;
different contract: different mix! They are the figures that came with the two
better-plastic Tiger-Sheriden-T62
hybrids we looked at the other day, but not the Rex take on Imperial
where the AFV was from the same mould, but the tank, Jeep and figures different
- different contract: different mix.
So the additional A's for 18 are a larger
size, even to having some of the same, but bigger poses! Material type and
colour is identical and they will have been added to give each set a better
appearance/play-value; today's kids weren't raised on war comics or war films
and don't critique rack-toys as we might have, back in the 1960's or 70's, but
they do know when they are getting total shite as opposed to vaguely cheap
shite!
To be honest, the size difference is down
more to the bulk of the sculpting, the A's are better-fed!
The Hunson
sets (nice tanks) are carrying 18B only while Jaru's carry the full range of both A's and B's.
Bases are the same but each marked
differently to reflect the contract, whether the request was made by the
shipper, importer or originating factory will be down to the vagaries and
structure of each contract, while some importers will request a . . .
. . . personalised base-stamp! Here Jaru [Ja-Ru] making sure you don't forget who sold you the figures long
after the packaging has gone, but they are the same figures that at least two
other concerns have marketed in recent years . . . possibly through or via Jaru! And you may remember Brian burke
sent us a shelfie of sandy ones with different cart art (#1658 Army Command)
but the same base-mark, last year.
This base marking is a recent thing with
China, and as I've mentioned several times recently is down to improvements in
QA/QC, the clamping-down of health and safety and - coupled to both - the
resultant need to have traceability in toys (or all consumer-goods).
In recent weeks I've seen several toys
asking you to keep the packaging "for
future reference" and "dispose
of carefully" or "recycle
packaging please", you can't make it up!
A few orphans, the painted ones may be
earlier, this pick and silver, stab and hope paint-job was very 1970's, and if
it wasn't for the inclusion of the Audie-Heston with his linked-belt you'd
easily think these were earlier than they probably are?
24 and 25 may go together, but as lone
samples looking slightly different I'm not making the connection - except
conversationally; as I just did! The 26 figure carries the same New Ray note as 11/12 yesterday? 27 aren't;
being yesterday's 7!
Huicheng are offering a set which looks familiar but the standing ready guy
sets it apart as another set of clones, but with a thin thread of its own
'DNA', while I just can't make out any of the figures in the Zhorya set ("Millennium
edition" so been around a while?), which means it may belong with
yesterday's post, but they had 10 images and this post only had 9, so he got
collaged with the Huicheng!
This set was missed in the first
photosession, but they are so poor as to not be worthy of inclusion, but I'm
not fussy here at Small Scale World, so, here they are; awful - aren’t they?!
They seem to have taken at least one pose
from all the other sets we've looked at so far, yet were sold is such small
mixes you wouldn't have got every pose - although that a fair criticism of lots
of these sets.
They were so poor when I saw them 'on the
hook' I shelfied them in rejection of the idea I might part with a quid - yet
somehow have ended-up with a bag-full anyway, in three colours!
Yet; it's gets worse than Poundland's -
much worse! Look at the backs of the figures in the left-hand pile and you'll
see the best thing to do with these is paint them as mutant-zombies! While you
can't see or judge the backs of the Ming
Tong's, it's clear from the bases and pose-count they are the same as the Chengji figures, and probably from
someone else!
But then these are probably sold so cheap,
if you're a 5-year old kid from a low-income family in Samarkand, Ulan Bator, New
Deli or from the slums of Lagos, Nairobi or Sao Paulo; you're not going to be
fussy; indeed; you're probably not going to know any different.
The sad fact is; here in 'The West' . . . that is the 'developed' West . . . our own
kids (not to mention their younger parents) are becoming so distanced from the
military and so oblivious to the tradition of 'toy soldiers' as a staple of the
toy-box - they'll accept this shite to keep quiet for a hour, too, because they don't know any different.
2 comments:
It simply amazes me how much play the simple little green soldiers get. They are one the greatest toys of all time.
You can't beat them for a nostalgia hit Jan!
H
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