Z is for Zombie Men . . . Women, Dogs and Mummies!

We've managed black cats, skeletons, a possible yeti, assorted monsters and a bunch of ghosts, there's only one trope left really, the undead! The risen from the dead and the rising from the dead! Let's tick those boxes for the finale!

Again, we saw these last year as shelfies (or sent images) I think, but Brian B then kindly sent some to the Blog so here they are in close-up, issued by Greenbrier in the 'States and DTSC in Canada.

It's a fact that all the best of these Halloween/Horror figures come from (or via/due to the efforts of-) North America. Apart from the odd thing like 99p Store's re-issue of Dolgen or the odd Amazon offer (see below), I've looked hard this year and the mountains of plastic tat available for Halloween are of such shite quality and ephemeral robustness they constitute an excuse for banning Halloween here altogether!

It's also a fact I'll get this whinge into one of the posts every year!

Both sides of the card for those who archive this kind of stuff - I do!

A comparison with the other set (SCS Direct in the 'States) which Peter Evans had sent to the blog in time for last year's posts.

Now, I mentioned Amazon, and I did find these on Amazon UK from Fun Express (aping that other firm's packaging again, Amscan . . . or Unique?) and they were quite cheap so, despite the imagery being less than helpful or hopeful, I ordered a set, and this is it, but it wasn't much fun!

What you get is 12 figures, which seem to be split 6 each of the two colours, one a drying-blood red, the other looking to be glow-in-the-dark, but not; just a greenish-white - interior decorators would call it apple-snow or some pretentious crap like that, think - raw tripe!

But when it comes to poses the pack disappoints. Totally random contents with four of some and one of others, I ended up with three poses, one in both colours. now they were cheap, and I did intend to get a couple more sets to see if there were other poses, or just to get all (?) three in both colours, but I kept putting it off as there's no guarantee (from my first sample) that even two more sets would achieve that?

If you try, good luck, they are sized to fit others and as army-builders are a useful addition to the canon, but with most rack-toy issuers getting quite good at packing balanced lots these days it is disappointing to see these, especially as they seem to go to the effort of counting colours? Just pick from 'pose-bins' . . . some firms have automated it so you get a whole or part-runner in each bag!

You can see how he goes well with the WWII set (far right - EMCE Toys 'Previews Exclusive, Zombies At War') we looked at a year or two ago, and he's not much smaller than the two grey zombie sets (far left), so they are useful, but you may need four or five bags to get a good sample?

The big mummy is marked similarly to Phidal stuff but is a softer material than they are currently using and seems to be from 2009, so he may be an early issue from this increasingly prolific (55 sets in the 2019 catalogue?) figure source, he's also another candidate for a Scooby-Doo related-set?

While I don't know anything about the other chap, I'd guess a 1980's rack-toy . . . possibly a He-Man/MotU rip-off? He's a very dense polyethylene or some type of nylon?

Finally Mr. Berke has sent a shelfie of the same black carded version of Dolgen's Mummy Army, and how come they keep getting ten poses while the skeletons have always been limited to eight? Some Pharaoh's-curse rubbish I'll bet . . . fussa-russa!

Thanks again Brian, thanks again Peter, see what turns-up in twelve-month's time!

W is for Who You Gonna' Call? Ghostbusters!

This is a late addition, there were going to be only six posts this year but these turned-up along with the MEG premium figures, but we've seen them once and while I've added a handful (including a nice purple witch), to those we've seen in the past, I know there's a whole tub of them in storage somewhere, and when I've brought them together we'll return to them. In the meantime, these are more fun!

From the difference in the date-marks I assume (and yes Erwin - it's a real guess!) they were timed/issued to coincide with the movie release and the VHS/video-disc release? Video-discs were the future, back in the past (!) and I well-remember a small selection of them in Berlin's NAAFI for those stupid-enough to have bought a machine from the PX, not realising the Philips Laserdisc was already failing back in UK!

Anyway . . . these were (I think) 'box companions' with larger (4") action-figure/dolls from Kenner?! I did read-up on them once, but it's all gone, I believe they are all based on ghosts actually seen in the movie, but mostly those seen briefly, just flitting about during the major infestation?

Also dated 1987, like his red counterpart, I don't know if this was a latter issue or a limited edition version, but he glows in the dark which is very ghost-like and pretty-cool!

The trouble with glow-in the dark toys is that the molecules which provide the glow, are quite nervous (it's their movement which is exploited to produce the glow, by exciting them [the particles] with light beams [waves]; it's quantum stuff), and over time they bugger-off (migrate), like free radicals in ethylene (leading to brittleness) or thalates in PVC (leading to sticky messes), and it gets harder and harder to produce a glow, and even when you do - by holding them against a light-bulb - they dim very quickly (because the remaining particles are too far apart to excite each-other for long), but I managed a half-decent image after about ten tries!

MPC is for Many Pestilent Creatures!

Bit of a box-ticker, but - like the Cherilea Chinese the other day - a nice set, while also perfect for Halloween!

MPC's 60mm horror figure set, I think I have all of them, and seem to remember reading that some of these are 'late' colours and some 'early', which - as they all came together from serious collectors - must make mine an intermediate sample!

The set references various tropes of popular culture as applied to horror, gothic sensibilities or the occult and from top left to bottom-right in either image are;

Count Dracula/Vampire type

Dr Frankenstein's Monster/Lurch type

Wolf-Man/Werewolf (with bat's ears?)

Mummy/Zombie

Death/The Grim Reaper

Living Dead/Skeleton (with pet bat)

Psycho/Night-stalker/Ripper/Serial-killer type (the one I don't like!)

Witch (with drunken pet bat!)

Pretty standard MPC base marks and hole, really just here to make the post!

Now this is nice; obviously around 120mm, and made in a sort of . . . well . . . foamed polystyrene? But not expanded, soft packaging type stuff, it's more like the recycled mixed polymers you get turned into beams for residential-street name-plates or park bench struts? Anyway - it's tough and hard wearing, a bit cartoony but really a nice sculpt of a Count Dracula type vampire about to pounce.

I just can't remember where it came from; I think it was a purchase, but it may have come from someone, so apologies if I'm not crediting you? And no markings of any kind, so a branding/origin still sought for this fine chap.

 

He's the Charbens 4-and-1/2-inch range, they did several and a Batman & Robin

D is for Dem' Bones - Novelty Skeletons

I can see a point where we will have only one post or subject on an otherwise quiet 31st, when we will look at all the novelty skeletons and skulls, as I can't remember what we have seen, what's still to be seen and whether some of these were seen last year or not?

I think these came from Chris Smith (or one of the other kind donators?), and while they don't actually belong together, they nevertheless go-together very well. The skeleton is missing an arm but from the holes in the other three limbs I suspect he came originally as a sort of string-puppet with a simple cross and maybe four, or five  strings? The coffin would suit a fat man in 54mm!

The coffin is marked-up Swizzles Matlow (who may still exist? You can still get Drumstick lolly's!) and has Bone Shakers on the lid. Inside the lid is a picture which looks like one of those Kinder toys where interlocking flat pieces make-up with ball-and-socket joints to a sort of poppet-doll, but I vaguely recall these as being more candy puzzles where you make up the skeleton as a loose puzzle and then eat him; limb by limb!

MPC's 60mm Vampire is trying to work out how to get in before dawn brakes! Yellow plastic - bugger to photograph!

Both charity shop purchases I think, both 'new' over-stock/clearance, rather than donations from the general public, the Tesco skeletons glow in the dark, the Claire's Accessories skeleton mermaids are either rainbow chrome/anodised or pure bismuth, but can you shape-form bismuth like that?

These have all come in over the last 12-months (I think?) although we've seen the smaller plastic one before as he's a colour-variation duplicate. Not sure where they all came from but thanks to Adrian, Brian, Chris, Jim, Peter and Trevor should cover it, and I may have found some myself!

The skull is a glow-in-the-dark novelty probably from a larger gum-ball machine, while the bigger skeleton seems to be a bookmark, maybe designed for jacket-pockets , collars or neck-lines? Although he looks quite new, he's marked Hong Kong so he dates from when most, or a lot of schools still had jackets!

D is for Dem' Bones, Dem' Bones, Dem' Plaaaaasssstic Bones - Carded Sets

We have seen these before, the last two years-running I think, if not the last three, but they keep changing the packaging!

Last year Brian sent us shelfies of the purple card (they had an orange one the year before!)*, but then donated a sample to the Blog, which arrived after the event so I've been sitting on them even since, this year he sent shelfies of the new black-card! I've only gone with another shot of the orange one in the card, as there are lots of loose ones now, and it's the only carded sample here, but you get the idea!

In the meantime I'd found an aluminium-silver and gunmetal-bronzy one in the storage lot, so the sculpts must be over ten years old, probably older, although maybe not - then - Dolgen Corp., or PMS? The samples from Mr. B from two years ago, and the 99p Stores ones (from nearer Christmas, I seem to recall?) vary in shade slightly with light and dark tans, the lighter being the UK (PMS branded)  and some Dolgen ones.

Also shelfied from Brian (in 2017) were the Walgreen set, which he also then sent to the Blog last year, so a quick close-up of them; you get 4x4 poses for 16-figures in an 'onion-bag' net, and they are rather floppy!

They are also rather tall! but there are no rules for fantasy undead skeletal corpses brought back to like and they could have come form god-knows where, or when!

Thunderbird Two! No! But . . . when we were kids, birds peanuts came in long red net-bags (they also came in Christmas stockings and I still prefer them to salted ones) with a similar tie, but it had a bigger slide and more substantial loop which was shorter, fatter and more rounded, and it looked like a red T2, I had a whole squadron of them!

You don't need the warehouses' piled high with plastic tat, we've come to expect in the last forty years, kids raised to imagine, will. And as the planet's journey toward a looming death speeds up, this is something parents and parenting need to recognise and address.

*Checking the posts over the last few years it's all a bit complicated and we have almost over-seen these now, but I think the order of card-graphics is Orange-Purple-Black!

Y is for Yet 'Ee is or Yet 'Ee isn't . . . a Yeti?

I had this chap marked up as a knock-off Chewie from the War of Stars, but, he doesn't have a cross belt liberally adorned with quick-release para-buckles!

Also, he has 'cartoon' hands with three chubby fingers, so I wonder if he may be from a set of something related to kids-TV like Scoobie-Doo or Tin Tin? Is he a Yeti, a Wookie or Mr. James the school-teacher, hoping not to be unmasked by some pesky kids in a hippyfied camper-van?

Posed with a few other hairy lycan types, namely Tim Mee late production Galaxy Laser Team's oh-no-no-no-absolutely-not-no-never-a-wookie . . . err 'Wookie' and MPC's bat-eared wool-uff-man!

Posed with Applause's Luke (hair's wrong for Luke, is it the other one? Dirk Buzzlight? Dick Lightly?), he is still not tall enough (the furry one) so he remains a mystery, but someone must have him pegged?!

Now known to be from the board game 'Bigfoot' from Waddinton's and Milton Bradley/MB Games, and the later 1980's version, not the 1977 version which also has a Bigfoot model still to be added to the collection! He's had two bars removed which would enable him to slot into the game apparatus and kick rocks at the cartoonish running player-figures which i also have somewhere

H is for Halloween - Intro.

I thought this year's 31st of October Posts were going to be a bit weak if not actually non-existent, but in the end I seem (with a fair bit of help over the last twelve months) to have ended-up with seven posts, of which this is probably the weakest, while the seven as a whole will suffice!

A couple of witches familiars' or just scaredy-cats? Worth a thought though . . . fireworks frighten most domestic pets, heat the atmosphere and produce a mass of greenhouse gas. In India they are being severely curtailed, here Sainsbury's have decided not to sell them anymore, and while I like a firework as much as the next man, it's equally true people used to 'enjoy' going to a beheading on Saturday Morning . . . perhaps it's time we consigned Fireworks to the land of Bear Baiting and crucifixion?

On the left a finger-bob or rather loose pencil-top, on the right probably a novelty from a gum-ball capsule machine?

Another small novelty, possibly also a cracker-prize, but definitely in 'pumpkin-orange' and - despite the ball of wool - in possession of rather sinister eyes, I thought!

I haven't opened it as I believe it's got some age, possibly pre-90's as a minimum and may go back to the 1970's, it's not a graphic range I recognise as recent? You've got a bat and spider (rtaher wrapped-together) and a rat and snake, the snake being a pretty timeless design, all four in fluorescent plastic of a PVC type.

And thanks to anyone who sent the cats, Chris, Peter, Jim?!! 

T is for Two - B is for Big Boys & Blow-Moulds

The first of these came in from Chris Smith a while ago and have been languishing in the 'Follow-Ups' folder, an odd folder with most of Chris's-, some of Brian's- and the odd bit of my- stuff and a few screen-caps or scans! But they are worth a stand-alone post . . . 'cos they're lovely!

Chris thinks they may be Spanish, which might make them single purchase kiosk items (but not 'sobres' as they'd be hard to hide in a paper envelope!), and I think they are superb. Slightly generic, slightly GI, blow-moulded combat infantry types ready for beach, bath or garden!

Shared with everyone - cheers Chris!

These aren't blow-moulds, but they are big! From Mr. Berke; the US-packaging version of the figures we initially saw here at Small Scale World from - the now defunct - 99p Stores under the PMSlabel (firefighters as well) a couple of years ago.  4" clone-conversions of Tim Mee and Matchbox GI's, although the hidden 4th-one was a bit Airfix German, running, I seem to recall!

No brand but look for the distinctive card if you're in the 'States - cheers Brain!

G is for Golfwinks

Like tiddlywinks but spoiled! No! This is actually quite a fun variation of the old tiddlywinks game, because instead of just aiming for a cup, you have to navigate a course which has many configurations, changed after each round, to, presumably 18?

From Waddington's (was there a Parker version on the other side of the pond?), this was a charity shop purchase about six-months ago, most of it has long gone to recyling, but the stuff in the bag was retained along with the two long flocked 'greens' which you will recognise as having since become common photo-props here at Small Scale World!

The fences are marked Britains and were obviously bought-in (they also supplied their cyclist to several board games including a number in France/Italy), The players are the most basic version of screen-printed flat 'token', but are figural so will go in the collection (well; 'have gone in....'), the tiddlywinks also have a tub and there is a tub of miscellaneous flags somewhere!

I'll also keep the 'rough', it's fun and stores flat in an envelope! It consists of several die-cut cards which can be slotted together with each other in various ways to make a tiddlywinks-capturing coppice.

This all went the way of all flesh, the underside of the 'hole' has some patent information for anyone who visits the National Archive in Kew (why can't they put them online like the Americans - easy to look up US patents, you just Google them!)*, the fawn item is a 'bunker' the blue - obviously - a water feature.

* Call me a political cynic, but the answer is; 40 years of Tory monetising of society and the State! Things we paid for the collation-of, through general taxation or registration fees, have to be paid for again if we want to 'remind' ourselves what we bought with the first lot of cash!

Vote Lib Dem or SNP in the forthcoming election to shake some of the rotten fruit out of the tree, or vote Tory/Brwreakshit for a semi-fascist, very austere future as the 53rd State, vote Labour if you're undecided or confused, so are they!

G is for 'A Good Walk, Spoiled'

I've had quite a bit of interaction with golf, golf clubs and golfers over the years; as a chauffeur I carried golfers around, while living in the sticks I did a bit of work at a golf-club and many years ago I planted a lot of the trees at Southwood Golf Club (now a nature reserve - hooray!) and can report than in my experience and from my observations, they - golf, golf-clubs and golfers -  live up to the worst of their stereotypes, without any effort! However; plastic figures . . . is plastic figures . . .

. . . and with the exception of Marx they are all basically cake decorations, and of course they would be; wouldn't they? What other group of adults would regularly want a child's cake, and one re-affirming the 'legitimacy' of their 'pastime', on their birthday? Presumably with pringle-patterned icing!

The first three are current or current'ish, seen in the larger craft-stores and branded to Wilton's or Anniversary House, then we have the Marx, a rarity only in not having broken yet! The other two are or were both Culpitt's, one from Gemodels, the other a Hong Kong/China replacement who may well have also been issued under other brands.

There appear to be three (or at least three) different sculpts of the Gem golfer, numbered above; the numbers have no significance re. chronology. A taller version (1) and shorter versions with thin legs (2) and thicker limbs (3). From the similarities between the yellow-jersey 1 & 2 sculpts, they are probably cavity differences on a small'ish mould tool.

A few paint variations of the recent one, I don't think it's still current, but you may manage to find it in the older catering shops, but most of them have closed in the last ten-years, so lucky if you do find one.

Seen here at Small Scale World before but re-shot for completeness; the Corgi golfer & caddy vignette, issued as accessories with a die-cast toy car, the trolley also in die-cast (frame and clubs)  with a polyethylene whale's (marine mammals Mr President!) penis and polyvinyl figures in a dense, stable polymer.

I shot these in a cake-decorators which was closing, these are the current offerings from Cakeboards, although some of them had another branding on them I think, we've seen a few of the others here already and there are more examples and shelfies 'in the bag'! They are poured PU-resin with inset wire-club shafts, in the same way weapons and extremities were stiffened in composition figures 100-years ago!

"Golf is a good walk spoiled."

Popularly attributed to Mark Twain, but it was first used in 1948. Twain died in 1910

Golfers; spoiling good walks, worldwide, daily, since at least 1948!

F is for Follow-up - Q is for Question Time

I managed to get three Applause figures going reasonable, offov* that feebleBay the other day in order to do a proper comparison on the copies against the originals;

And this is what the whole caboodle looks like with 'Berserker' and the next closest pose; Han Solo. You can see that the 'Luke' pose is closest to the original Leia colouring, while the Leia-clone has gone-pink! If they aren't a cheepo rack-toy, I think they may be a two-player board game with a Sci-Fi subject-matter, although not necessarily Star Wars?

* It might not be in a dictionary, but if you know what I mean; it should be a word!

News, Viwes Etc . . . Plastic Warrior Show!

From the horses-mouth, not five minutes ago!

"The date for the next PW Show is Saturday 16th May 2020 (the third Saturday of the month).

It will be held at The Winning Post as usual. This will be our 35th Anniversary show.
For more information please email us on: pw.editor@ntlworld.com"

Not long!

F is for Follow-up - Cherilea Walls and Various Fences

As stated above, a quick look at Cheilea's little window-box enhancers' first;

Very crude, single-sided detailing, and among the earliest 'large scale' things to be collected by me as they are better suited to small scale scenarios! With the exception of the corner piece they are all stood on small 'pod-feet', the corner piece has a more amorphous base arrangement.

Comparing the Cherilea corner with Speedwell's shows how 'small scale' it is, but then these pieces were mostly used with the 45 and 50mm medieval and 'khaki' infantry window boxes, so it sort of makes sense!

I've shown this question-mark castle before, years ago, but it remains a question-mark! having features in common with various British makers, I assume it is a British piece, but it could be Spanish. Colour is similar to one of the sand-bagged emplacements we've looked at, the 'ear' baselettes however are pretty unique, and scale is 'sub'!

Speedwell, top/front left, with a mystery piece behind it. The mystery piece has the whole Speedwell moulding to the left of its moulding (yellow and red rings) with an extension to the right (beyond dotted-line). Elements of the 'original' are repeated (yellow boxes) but not the whole 'run', and the longer moulding has only the one central foot, which is more formal or engineered than the landscaped blobs of the known Speedwell version.

Which of the two is the original and which the copyist is anyone's guess and they may both be Speedwell? The smaller one is - I'm pretty sure - Taylor &/or Barratt.

These are all recent in-comer's, I have yet to find the small-fences box, where I know I have some in cornflower-blue. I say 'I'm pretty sure' as I seem to recall you get a pair (same colour) tapped together with Sellotape (or a similar proprietary sticky-backed plastic!) inside the small T, T&B or B thatched-cottage/hovel?

This is from Codeg's Camberwick Green sets which we looked at here and is one of the scenic pieces from the boxed sets which each had a building, two or three figures and a couple of scenic elements one of which is this charming little dry-stone wall with cottage gate.

I suppose these are from something like Playmobile or Sylvian? But I took the shot, so it might as well go here! Useful as an unpainted picket-fence in large-scale, or a substantial, but more toy-like barrier in small scale - at about 25mm high.