S is for Swiped Swoppets

A quickie today, but interesting nevertheless as being not so common Hong Kong piracies of Britains Swoppets, I can't remember where these came from, but an odd bag at a show I think? I ask as I wonder if I should be crediting someone, but they're not in any of the major plunder photo-shoot's so I guess they were in an odd bag from a smaller purchase . . . it's funny as a typical collector, lists or records come a close second to the artefacts themselves, but things come in all the time and the odd lot gets-in under the radar of obsessiveness!

The components - and that's the whole point, not that Hong Kong has copied something again, but that it has copied a limited number of components from a multi-part 'system', to create a similar variety without the full range of pieces.

There were a few other pieces copied, particularly foot-figure's legs and we will see a few other variants when I get round to the relevant post on the Hong Kong Blog, as Baravelli imported them on little carded sets.

The mounted figures, note that one of the horses is taken from the American Civil War set also branded to the Swoppets line as well as being an Eyes Right mount for a 'Mountie'!

Both horses have a hole in the small of the back; as the Britains originals have a stud for attaching the blankets/Saddle-mouldings, and the copy's blankets are both lacking that [receiving] hole or any protrusion that might locate with the hole in the horses there's no real reason for the hole, but there it is!

Also showing a shot of the base mark, I have as yet not tied this lot into a specific set, vis-à-vis the mounted figures, but the foot figures were issued by Baravelli in threes with three smaller monochromatic figures as Indiani et Cowboy, on cards with otherwise generic artwork.

I only have the one set of legs but other legs do exist, all from the Indians though (so far ID'd by me that is - you may know different!); the kneeling archer, running brave and dancing witch-doctor.

I really like these; they're crap, but it's a nostalgic, colourful, glossy, think-we-had-some-back-in-the-day Rack Toy crap!