NZNAM is for New Zealand National Army Museum Figures - Reds on the Bed!

So, more 'New to Hobby' figures, although - I'm sure - known already to other Antipodean collectors, hinted at earlier this week, here, and not my discovery; but sent to all of you reading Small Scale World by Glenn Sibbald, who then had to draw my attention to certain aspects of them - long after I'd taken the first set of shots for this post.

I'd clocked that they were a bit special, by dint of them not being mentioned in the original 1978 supporting paperwork, but I hadn't noticed the obvious differences, even when editing the images, apart from the runner being complete.

A quick look at the figures first; reds are a bugger to get right, photographically speaking, but a green background seems to help, as do neutral beiges! I angled them slightly to get the semi-flat nature of the sculpts across. And shot to match the order of the earlier issue - which is chronological.

Not only were they absent from the original competition paperwork and the collector's magazine review, turning up later on the secondary market, but they have had a cavity-shuffle with regards to the order in the injection-tool, and must have been sold in a different format as they don't carry a flyer and haven't had their runner's end trimmed-off to fit the original bag-sealer's setting.

As well as changing the order of the figures, the short channel-runners leading from the main frame-runner to the figures have been spaced more equidistant to each other and directed into the undersides of the bases, rather than the offset 'kissing the rims' (Ooh! Matron!) of the older tool's configuration.

Yet, the flattened terminal 'blob' where the 'real' sprue came in, is the same on both samples, so the outer components of the tool and the main frame-runner are unchanged.

One suspects they were actual National Army Museum stock and it seems the obvious conclusion, but why they chose red for the re-issues is anyone's guess as it's a bloody-odd choice? I suppose it's colourful - helping to attract kids in the age of action-figures and movie promotional toys (1980's or even 1990's? They've only turned-up on the secondary market this century), sparking a bit of pester-power at the gift-shop's checkout tills perhaps?

Now we come to my bit of 'spanner in the works'. Although they are clearly by different sculptors, it seems to me that the less skillful sculptor on the NZNAM figures had at the back of his mind (at least) the slightly more consummate sculpts of original 'early-Airfix' figures, the similarity of pillar-like statuesque, casual, upright poses, the small 'penny' bases - I don't think it's accidental, and it's definitely food for thought? Of course photographing all the reds together -rather [falsely?] reinforces the idea!

Further - I think I'm right in recalling Lincoln (who made the NZNAM figures) used to issue Airfix kits in that part of the world - there can't be that many tools of a Sunderland Flying Boat? If Lincoln had a relationship with Airfix, they might have produced the set we saw this/last Monday, borrowing the mould before or after Pierwood? More mind-food!

And if you don't like the idea of Lincoln being behind the earlier figures, we learnt from Les Collier's article in Plastic Warrior (Issue 162, pp.22/23), that the head/founder of Lincoln was a chap called Les Tolmer . . . of Toltoys . . . further sustenance for the grey-matter?

I shall leave these three paragraphs hanging here until more is dug-up and it all becomes clearer!

Finishing with another close-up, this is the dismounted Mounted Rifleman from the South African campaign.

Many, many thanks to Glenn Sibbald for all these figures (he sent the only pack with an original price label!), I can't thank him enough, and I hope you've all enjoyed these three posts, along with the early Airfix/Pierwood/whoever posts on Monday, the finalising of the board game pop-stars and  . . . .there's still an couple of Antipodean posts to come, with an NZ-angle!

And if you want some - he's still got a few on the runner, along with loose; sets and figures, contact me and I'll pass your eMail on (maverickatlarge[at]hotmail[dot]com).