R is for Redcoats

I can't believe I haven't had that title before? Maybe I have!

Following-on from the policeman and - like the previous post - re-shot after everything had been brought together; it's the Guards, from Cavendish, Hong Kong and possibly Kentoys (Having used Kentoy earlier, I'm adding the 's' for this post - they used both!).

The earlier shot had the figures out of what I suspect is the correct order of issue, but - if more than one Hong Kong maker is involved - not necessarily? The figures marked '1' above are the Cavendish sculpt (Charles C Stadden's work, or George Musgraves?) They have a distinctive plume on the right of the bearskin.

The Hong Kong figures of which there are two distinct versions (and a sub-variation discussed below); numbered '2' and '3' above are all manufactured in polystyrene.

The updated shot gets them in the 'right order' and adds a Cavendish original as the first figure on the left, which, although better painted has a brush-slip hidiosity for a white rifle-sling!

Now, if the Kentoys sculpt is a Norman Tooth effort (as claimed by Mr Tooth in his interview for the eponymous PW special on the firm) and the figure numbered '1' above is a Stadden sculpt where is the Musgrave design; the PW special having listed three?

Might it be that the reference to the Stadden 'sentry' was a crossed-wire with the band's officer (marching) and the sentry above is Musgrave's work, the quality of the sculpt could be either Stadden or Musgrave, but the PW special isn't clear and/or doesn't show all three together, while I don't know of another?

As the '2' and '3' are copies of the 1, almost certainly originating in the copyist-shops of a certain British Crown Colony, I seem to be short a sculpt (and any copies of that sculpt), for the Tooth-Stadden-Musgrave line of evolution given in the PW Cavendish work?

The 1b's are made of a dense polymer more akin to polypropylene than ethylene and seem to be quite 'new', also the painting is more HK than Cavendish in style? The [other] HK copies are all polystyrene while Kentoys and Cavendish tended to use chalky polyethylene's, leaving one with a question mark over the 1b's, as to where they were produced, did Michael Martin or Tony Kite ship the tool to Hong Kong quite early - allowing - more easily - for all the copies? Or has/had the tool resurfaced over here in recent years?

The sub-piracies 3a and 3b have some minor differences; sharper fur on the flatter-topped bearskin of 3b and strange painting of the cuffs of the same figure, which may point to a third (or fourth) source in HK, the others being: 65mm copy of Tooth's figure, copy of Stadden/Musgrave (?) sculpt ('2'), and the sub-piracy ('3a'). My '3b' is damaged but from the paint you can see he's got the same shorter version of bayonet as the '3a'.

Three '2's, the one damaged being attached to a sentry box which is also a Cavendish-via-Kentoys sculpt, although there are so many of these (Kentoys & sub-Kentoys sentry boxes) out there, they'll need a similar comparison post one day.

The Norman Tooth design, here in the 65mm HK form, is similar to Timpo's guards' styling (and I may have described it as such in the past, but A) I was only a few years into this big-scale malarkey, B) I seem to be getting the hang of it now and C) nobody corrected me at the time!), but Tooth sculpted some of their (Timpo's) stuff as well.

The 'Grand Parade'! I think the Cavendish 'Tooth' is the damaged one on the far left (gloss painted-base), then a matt-painted base from Kentoys, followed by the 65mm Hong Kong clone of Tooth's sculpt third, a Cavendish Stadden/Musgrave (? For what it's worth - I think it's Musgrave), the two odd ones, four '2's and finishing with the two 3's on the far right.