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.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

G is for Gun Line

Keeping with the theme of follow-ups, this harks back to the flurry of AWI and Innovative posts a year or two ago but which also included several sets of cake decorations &etc. This time we're looking at the heavy-hardware!

American Revolution; American Toy Figures; American War of Independence; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Crew; Artillery Gun; Artillery Piece; AWI Artillery; AWI Swoppets; AWI Toy Soldiers; Briatins AWI Gun; Britains AWI; Britains Copies; Britains Eyes Right; Britains Herald; Britains Toy Soldiers; Innovative Gun; Innovative Products Inc; Innovative Promotions; Innovative Promotions AWI; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
The three guns together with a close up of the Britains piece which is lacking it's side tools but I seem to recall a post on a bag of bits from a show a while back in which the tools were to be found . . . all I have to do is find the bag again!

The darker of the two Hong Kong copies (both of which have the tool hooks but never had separate tools) is the one seen previously from the second (carded) issue on Innovative's, while the other may be from the earlier Shell issue, or be another copy altogether, I don't know?

American Revolution; American Toy Figures; American War of Independence; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Crew; Artillery Gun; Artillery Piece; AWI Artillery; AWI Swoppets; AWI Toy Soldiers; Briatins AWI Gun; Britains AWI; Britains Copies; Britains Eyes Right; Britains Herald; Britains Toy Soldiers; Innovative Gun; Innovative Products Inc; Innovative Promotions; Innovative Promotions AWI; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
Comparison doesn't help date the two Hong Kong copies as the smaller and less detailed oxide brown one actually has the better barrel, with the 'US' clearly reproduced while it is no more than a smudge on the Innovative Promotions piece. It also has more realistic plating on the barrel than the gold-chrome Innovative went with.

American Revolution; American Toy Figures; American War of Independence; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Crew; Artillery Gun; Artillery Piece; AWI Artillery; AWI Swoppets; AWI Toy Soldiers; Briatins AWI Gun; Britains AWI; Britains Copies; Britains Eyes Right; Britains Herald; Britains Toy Soldiers; Innovative Gun; Innovative Products Inc; Innovative Promotions; Innovative Promotions AWI; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
Because I am new'ish to this large-scale malarkey, I don't know how many generations of these there are, I suspect someone like Rado Industries or Hing Fat might be responsible for one, but given the differences we've already seen between the two issues of Innovative's (Shell's premiums first and then the Men of '76 anniversary set) I'm tempted to think the smaller one may be the Shell issue, knowing the other is from a MO'76 card, however, before TJF and the minions of the PSTSM climb up on their high-horse of idiocy, I'm musing rather than carving anything in stone!

The ironwork and wood-grain are nicer on the larger gun, but the wheels (particularly the hubs) are better-rendered on the smaller-piece, and with the differences in barrel already mentioned, it's anyone's call as to which is the copy or came first? Unless you happen to have the smaller one - in mint packaging?

American Revolution; American Toy Figures; American War of Independence; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Crew; Artillery Gun; Artillery Piece; AWI Artillery; AWI Swoppets; AWI Toy Soldiers; Briatins AWI Gun; Britains AWI; Britains Copies; Britains Eyes Right; Britains Herald; Britains Toy Soldiers; Innovative Gun; Innovative Products Inc; Innovative Promotions; Innovative Promotions AWI; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
I shot this (TV mini-series, press-release image) from a recent newspaper (Times I think?) a few days ago, purely to use 'one day' (imagining sometime in the middle-distance) in the future, but realising it would be ideal here with regard to the plastic colours of the carriages; I thought the colours of the wood of these two, otherwise identical [Polish?] rifles perfectly illustrates how all figure-painters are correct in their choice of woodwork colour!

One being a dark mahogany, looking like a hardwood, the other hinting at pine or softwood? Now I realise they may both be dense-rubber film-props, but I've seen the same differences in older (pre plastic-furniture) SLR's and the many shades of AK woodwork, again - before Plastic became the norm, also if they were prop's they'd be more likely to be painted alike.

The point being both HK guns can sit together 'on the line', happily!

American Revolution; American Toy Figures; American War of Independence; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Crew; Artillery Gun; Artillery Piece; AWI Artillery; AWI Swoppets; AWI Toy Soldiers; Briatins AWI Gun; Britains AWI; Britains Copies; Britains Eyes Right; Britains Herald; Britains Toy Soldiers; Innovative Gun; Innovative Products Inc; Innovative Promotions; Innovative Promotions AWI; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
The guns crewed! Britains get their issued crew, the question-mark gets a Shell lady and later US figure, the Men of '76 gun get a British crew, with the mounted officer put on standing-firers legs and given the Britains ram-rod.

4 comments:

Paul´s Bods said...

As a nipper I loved the britians gun. The fact it was loadable and fired by Pressing the pin back into the "touch hole"..Genius
I also had the 155mm gun Breach loader with reloadable Shells! Would ayone make and sell such a Thing These days?

Hugh Walter said...

Not even the Chinese can produce such quality for the price with their low-wage, state-controlled economy!

But you can find the quality at the higher-end if you want a die cast car for a few-hundred quid!

H

peterE said...

The lighter carriage cannon came in Zodiac Toys 15p bags with HK copies of Timpo cavalry

Hugh Walter said...

Cheers Peter

Strangely that's the second time in less than 24-hours someone has mentioned Zodiac Toys to me!

H