This is the sample size I'm working from,
with little clue-wise on the cards apart from the possibility that the larger
version may be Italian, I would only have written the note if one of the
Italians who came to the old Russell Square Toy Soldier Shows had told me so?
The cowboy poses; from the apparently
commoner (and certainly more numerous) version. Their colour-scheme differs
from the Indians greatly, being a cold, metallic palate with a few blues and
greens thrown-in to reinforce dampness!
Compared to the Indians (next shot) they
also lack mounted poses (spell-check wants a 'posse'!), I expect some more to
turn up at some point, indeed, I expect more poses all-round; I think we're
looking for a 20-a-side for a minimum 40-count?
Funny!
Note three different poses of lassoer,
including a Britains Herald copy . .
. or if these are as early as they might be; did the Britains sculptor have one of these Flats on his desk? I thing
it's the flats plagiarising, as there is derivation of other makers figures
too.
The Indians come in fiery reds, yellow and
oranges, along with some fawn/brown ones and the odd bit of marbling. They have
19-poses to the cowboys' 16, but as we will see in a minute, there may be a 21
count for these chaps already?
Again there seems to be the influence of
various other fully-round figures, including Bergen/Beton and continental plastics?
The four types I have now;
On the left are larger (possibly Italian)
versions, without the little pilloti or 'columnette' between the pod-foot base
and the figures. Actually the metallic-red cowboy ends-up slightly smaller as a
result, so the copying was probably by pantograph, with some variance in the
size change/difference between the two sets.
In the middle the common versions, with to
the upper right three soft plastic ones, which could be from the 1970's, and
may be Christmas Cracker things, or those Maltese 'throw from the window'
things we looked at with the zoo animals from the Swagman's Daughter?
Bottom right are those previously claimed
as WHW, I think that's obviously a red-herring now, and while these two are a
tad chunkier (they've been fattened-up to demi-rond!) and obvious copies, they
are probably 'after' the common set.
Also; 1) I think the marbled one I shot
with another silver firer last time was actually from one of the other two sets
(possibly the 'Italian' set, he was quite large) and 2), both these small
samples add mounted figure poses to the grand total, which if they are also from
the common set (as sculpts) would give the 21-count as a starter for the
Indians?
Then there's this chap! Better finish, new
pose, with more substantial, sharper chamfered baseletts/pod-feet, the chamfer
is reversed from the other sets as well.
I kept the other figure in the pack in case
it was the delivery vehicle, like cereal-premiums, but after photographing them
it's obviously some dealer's nonsense, the figure's damaged in two places but
the bits aren't in the bag! And if he belongs to the common set, he's in the
wrong colour!
If the musing by myself last time about
cigarette-premiums is anywhere near the truth, there may only be two or three
types here, with a larger variation of sculpts - by way of cavities or
replacement moulds - within the full set, but I've sorted enough figures over
the years to be happy with the demarcations I've given them at the moment!
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