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.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

G is for Grid Iron

Which I assume is the pattern of lines on the pitch (field?) resembling a bar-b-que or griddle's grill? And I'm not taking the piss; happy to be corrected, I was giving the term some thought and the other possibility was the helmet's wire face-guards but I think they came after the use of 'Grid Iron' as a phrase?

American Football Premiums; American Footballers; Cracker Toys; Football Players; Football Set; FootBaller Premiums; Footballers; Footballers Key Chain; Grid Iron; Gum Ball Capsule Toys; Hong Kong; Kicker; Linebacker; Made in Hong Kong; MW American Footballers; Novelty Figurines; OB2; OB4; Offencive Back; Pat.Pend.; Pepco; Premium Toy Figuress; Premiums; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Sportsmen;
Not a terribly good shot, but I couldn't be arsed to re-shoot it . . . anyway, not something terribly common in the UK, and therefore pleased to pick this up the other day for three-quid, which is 50p-per-figure and a 'free' card! I think it may be a salesman's sample, the label says PAX 50p pkg [package] Football Players with the 'Pax' possibly a sales-code or salesman's/agents order number?

American Football Premiums; American Footballers; Cracker Toys; Football Players; Football Set; FootBaller Premiums; Footballers; Footballers Key Chain; Grid Iron; Gum Ball Capsule Toys; Hong Kong; Kicker; Linebacker; Made in Hong Kong; MW American Footballers; Novelty Figurines; OB2; OB4; Offencive Back; Pat.Pend.; Pepco; Premium Toy Figuress; Premiums; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Sportsmen;
I had some loose ones as well, so we now have a pose count of five (top row are reversed duplicates), but I suspect there are more to be found, especially if a carded set can leave the packing-bench with three duplicates from six figures!

American Football Premiums; American Footballers; Cracker Toys; Football Players; Football Set; FootBaller Premiums; Footballers; Footballers Key Chain; Grid Iron; Gum Ball Capsule Toys; Hong Kong; Kicker; Linebacker; Made in Hong Kong; MW American Footballers; Novelty Figurines; OB2; OB4; Offencive Back; Pat.Pend.; Pepco; Premium Toy Figuress; Premiums; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Sportsmen;
Of more interest to completists is the fact that they come from three different sources (I'm assuming they are copies of some US originals by Commonwealth, Stromberger or Van Brode; someone like that?), with the new ones further brand-marked to a WM. The middle - unmarked - set in greyish-white plastic are in a rougher styrene, and may be the originals, US or otherwise; they seem to have some age over the others?

American Football Premiums; American Footballers; Cracker Toys; Football Players; Football Set; FootBaller Premiums; Footballers; Footballers Key Chain; Grid Iron; Gum Ball Capsule Toys; Hong Kong; Kicker; Linebacker; Made in Hong Kong; MW American Footballers; Novelty Figurines; OB2; OB4; Offencive Back; Pat.Pend.; Pepco; Premium Toy Figuress; Premiums; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Sportsmen;
I have a few more, but - as I said - they're not that common over here. In addition to some Tudor Games figures I have the two yellow ones which I think are copies of the Tudor's, but in soft polyethylene and with plinth-bases (hiding four little spigots which clip-into something?). If they were soccer players you might expect to find OBL and OBR, but I suspect these are 'Offensive' not 'Outside'?!!

The two to their left are probably gumball/Cracker novelties while the guy on the other end is interesting as he's had a key-ring/chain/fob loop removed, but it was removed before he was painted, so a dual-purpose figure, that being planned at the manufacturer, he too is probably a capsule 'content'?

The white-plastic Papco-marked figure is probably a Papco gas (petrol) station premium, although there have been several Papco's, most in the oil industry! Which leaves the large golden-yellow guy who is obviously a working [kicking!] novelty figure, although - from the '6' - apparently part of a set, possibly cereal premiums?

I can't work out how to make him work though! Clearly a small dentists elastic-band hooks over the two studs, while resting in the mid-length on the larger ring, to provide automatic movement in the leg, but how to either 'fire' the leg, or get it to return? There's a further spike on the end of his foot and a hook on the base, but, unlike similar toys I've seen, there's no push-down head or trigger-arm to produce the action, so if anyone has an instruction sheet for this chap (or the rest of the set) I'd love to solve the mystery! And there must be a ball for him somewhere?

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