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.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

S is for 'Special Publication' and Solido Belge

For various reasons, not least the passing of my father, I've got a bit behind with the old 'housekeeping' including both January's Toy Fair stuff and the fallout from Plastic Warrior's show in Twicker's back in May, it will all happen soon, although my mental-diary says a new PW mag' is due any day now? So that will be slipped, high, into the crowded queue!

Belgian Football Players; Belgian Toy Figurines; Belgian Toy Soldiers; Daniel Lepers; ISBN - 1 - 900898 - 42 - X; ISBN 1 900898 42 X; Plastic Warrior Magazine; Plastic Warrior Special; Published by Plastic Warrior; PW Magazine; PW Show; PW Special - Solido Belge; PW Special Publication; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Solido; Solido Belge; Vintage Belgian Soldiers; Vintage Belgian Toys;
However and having missed it at the show (where it sold-out, I believe?), I managed to pause briefly at PW Towers on my way back from the Smoke the other week, and picked up a copy of Daniel Lepers excellent little monograph of the 55/60mm output of Solido Belge.

When I say 'little', it's 27pp's and a back cover which is a wraparound short of the 32 pages of the quarterly mag', but, being dedicated to one maker; it's quite a fulsome overview. And when I say 'pause' It's a mile to the command-centre and a mile back to Woking station, which - knackered as I was - after a day in London, shows what efforts I'll go to, in order to deliver the news to those of you [Philistines] who still don't subscribe!

Belgian Football Players; Belgian Toy Figurines; Belgian Toy Soldiers; Daniel Lepers; ISBN - 1 - 900898 - 42 - X; ISBN 1 900898 42 X; Plastic Warrior Magazine; Plastic Warrior Special; Published by Plastic Warrior; PW Magazine; PW Show; PW Special - Solido Belge; PW Special Publication; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Solido; Solido Belge; Vintage Belgian Soldiers; Vintage Belgian Toys;
The news being; unless you are very specific in your collecting theme/s, you need this!

I have been picking these (the figures) up since the 2010 PW show, and thought I was doing quite well with a blue one and a yellow policeman and a couple of other interesting pieces to go with a handful of 'khaki infantry', but oh-boy! I still have a long way to go! However I now have a wonderful guide which will also play the part of checklist.

Solido - better known for their die-cast vehicle range, which tended to use Starlux figures where figures were needed or required, had previously produced these under the Solido Belge moniker, and there is stuff in this publication which was new to me, ceremonials, footballers even some Wild West (which I suspect we will hear more of in PW in the future?) and enough motorcycle variants to shake a big stick at!

I can't recommend Mr. Lepers' work strongly enough!

PW's contact details;

They're on the Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PlasticWarrior?fref=ts
They're on the Blogger - http://plasticwarrioreditor.blogspot.co.uk/

eMail; pw.editor@ntlworld.com - mailto:pw.editor@ntlworld.com

Website'sback 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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