About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

News, Views Etc . . . Plastic Warrior 173


A bit late I'm afraid but the December issue often is, especially if I don't do it literally the same day! A load of good stuff though, so if you're still not subscribing, here's what you've missed!

Magazine Review; Plastic Figurines; Plastic Soldier Magazine; Plastic Soldiers; Plastic Toy Figures; Plastic Toys; Plastic Warrior; PW 173; PW Magazine; PW173; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
Articles

* An interesting look at early Hilco Wild West horses by Joe Bellis with additional editorial material on the similar Lone Star examples, with a view to comparison between the two, kicks-off the issue
* Andreas Dittmann reports on the new interactive book/games from Dorling Kindersley (DE), each with a pair of figures; Roman Gladiators or medieval foot-knights
* Steve Morris discovers Kraft Dairylea giveaways
* James O'Connell (lovely chap, we'll be looking at a piece of his erudition, in depth, here, soon) looks at the sort of make-believe armies we used to paint-up, when we were kids
* Scalextric figures go up a size with Adrian Norman's coverage of the rarer 1:24th scale figures
* Les White is back with his lovely conversions, this time a German WWI Schutztruppe in Africa on an Armies in Plastic (AIP) Egyptian base-figure
* Bob Legget (of SAS Auctions and the Alresford exhibitions) 'Shows and Tells' on a very special Triang Spot-On medieval castle

'What The !&*$?' has five queries again this month (there were five in PW172!)

  • Colin Penn seeks an ID for a Dr Dolittle-alike
  • Brian Berke wants help getting an ID on his Desperate Dan, previously seen here (answers to PW please)
Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Speedwell; Speedwell - Trojan; Speedwell Army Tent; Speedwell GI's; Speedwell Khaki Infantry; Speedwell Toy Soldiers; Tent; Tentage; Trojan 14th Army; Trojan Australians; Trojan Japanese; Trojan Toy Soldiers; Vintage Army Tent; Vintage Plastic Figures; Vintage Plastic Soldiers; Vintage Plastic Tent; Vintage Toy Figures; Vintage Toy Soldiers; Vintage Toy Tent; Jecsan
  • The Editor is asking for information on a tent (see above, answers likewise)
  • Brian Carrick has a knight in need of a name
  • Colin's back seeking info on a lovely tradesman's wagon, I know the answer; should be lots of feedback from France and Iberia!

* Speaking of Colin Penn, his F&G 'Crazy Clown Circus' is revealed by Michael Bonnefoy of the Plastics Historical Society to be made by . . . [Subscribe!]
* The Replicants mounted Comanche figures launched at the PW show last year are reviewed by Tom Stark
* The set of eight relief-flat 'Kings and Queens' from Shredded Wheat are fondly remembered and critiqued in depth by Peter Watson
* Finally Brian Carrick covers the 'multipose' kits of S-Model - Ivan Wieslawa from Poland

Which - as I use the same template for these reviews - means there's an extra article squeezed in there somewhere, over the PW172 count; I needed an extra pink asterisk! What? I have to order them from Ulan Bator!

Regular Features
* 'NEWS and VIEWS and other stuff ' covers
  • PW show date - Saturday 11th may 2019
  • 100th issue of US Playset Magazine
  • News on Britains old factory from Peter Evans
  • Call for last few copies of Suspended Animation by Peter Cole - when they're gone; they're gone!
  • Website news
  • Email anomalies (I've been getting the same thing with some Blog comments)
  • Paul J Robinson a 'Marx' man has passed away
  • Paul Stadinger has news on a figure for-/the retirement of Ron Barzo
  • Chicago Toy Soldier Show date - Sunday 27th September (shurly shome mishtake? Ed. Must be Sunday 22nd or 29th or Friday 27th?)
  • Reader request for an unpainted Starlux source?
  • Editorial (?) request for Speedwell boxed or bagged sets to photograph
  •  Jack Shalatain gets a picture credit
* 'Readers Letters' include
  • Norman Nevard has a question on Britains sheep and the relationship between catalogue appearances and availability
  • Eric Keggans has repainted Cherilea Sikhs and a lovely set of soldier erasers to show
  • Musing on the last PW show and Naval cannons comes from Ashley Needham
  • Still more on the Olympians/premiums from issues 171 & 172 comes via Les Collier, Rainer Maul and Andreas Dittmann (I'm waiting 'till all the smoke blows over before showing mine!)
  •  Kent Sprecher feeds-back on the Wild West 'What the !&*$?'s from PW172
  • Brain Carrick suggests an answer for Chris Smith's figures from the same issue
  • There's more on Barrett's coach from Brain Heaps
  • While [deep breath...] Erik Kemp, Peter Evans, Brian Carrick and Les White all answer John Rafferty's call for help with gluing and glues.
* 'What's New' covers recent releases from;
  • Un-branded figures from the subsidised Russian co-op everyone (in the Old Guard)'s busy pretending is fifteen separate concerns!
o   Romans
o   Slavic's
o   Teutonic's
o   A mounted Conquistador
  • Paragon Scenics - Plains Indians
  • Expeditionary Force
o   Roman
o   Ancient Barbarians/Celts
  • Engineer Basevitch
o   Sumerians
o   Hittites
All available from Weston's Toy soldiers (www.plasticsoldiers.com)

Plus all the usual readers small-ads and a commercial supplement

Covers -
Front has A. Dittmann's Dorling Romans
Rear shows the B. Legget Cotswold fort

PW's contact details;

Website's back on the menu but won't be updated (email first) . . . www.plasticwarrior.com
Tel: 01483 722 778
Address; 65 Walton Court, Woking, Surrey, GU21 5EE, UK
And they are on Paypal

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