S is for Speedwell and Friends

Except some of them were probably less 'friends' than pirating little rip-off merchant, shit-bags! But, as Speedwell can/could hardly claim a totally original inventory, it's all a moot-point?

This was sitting in Picasa for a silly reason; I'd found a whole bunch of these, and only when sorting them for photographing them did I realise they were the over-spill from a master collection, or swaps, so put them to one side while I waited for the master collection to turn-up in the 'from-storage' lot.

At some point these turned-up, and I shot them thinking they were the master collection, but I don't actually think they are, because they don't contain the farm items in the overspill/spares pile, meanwhile, I'd forgotten where I parked the spares pile, so they aren't here either!

In other words, what's here is some of the master collection being most (or all?) of the Speedwell Battlefield Accessories I have, and some copies, along with an archive shot, but missing all the farm/civil stuff in red plastic (probably most (or all?) of the Trojan I have), except those that are here . . . if that makes sense!

These are definitely, 100%, 24-carat Speedwell! I can say that with some authority as they are both clearly marked Speedwell Made In England! The number 1 pertains to the next-but-one image. Points to note are clean sculpting and surface detail, cracked plaster modelled to the inner wall surface and a sharpness to the 'steps' in the broken brickwork.

There are two cavities seen here, with the one on the right being the 'copy' with a loss of etching-detail and a slightly drunk arch, 'leaning' to one side.

We then get these, and from the level of detail it would appear that they may have originated in time (chronologically), as numbered? With the 2 a quite close but smooth inner-walled copy (Trojan?), the 3 losing detail to the coping-stones and broken-brickwork and in a glossy plastic (Benbros?) and the 4 being so crude at to have been carved by a myopic invalid!

The 2 and 3 both taken from the second Speedwell one with the lean getting more noticeable on each in turn (hence my numbering), but the 4 has a more even arch.

It's also smaller overall with a smaller window and smaller arch with machine-routed stone-work on the inner-wall, however, it has traces of that dark (decades dried Evostick) glue residue known from Blue Box sets . . . and Cherilea sets? Goes off to Cherilea folder on dongle . . .

. . . to find nothing obvious, they have a similar, thinner version in the later window-boxes, but not this 4. However when looking at the bases the 2 stands out as having the least 'copy' base, I still think it came after the 1, but suppose the 4 was first, just cruder in sculpting, with the brown one possibly an independent copy, contemporaneous with the marked-Speedwell and the 2 being last?

The small window suggests the numbering is more correct than the musing, but it's not clear; anyone got any other bright ideas?

Really pleased with this collage, I shot the dark-green ones (1 & 2) years ago (thank you to John Begg) knowing they would come in useful one day, and then the shiny one came in with the 'big purchase', and is clearly a latter specimen, remember; they (Speedwell) did shiny troops at the end).

But also what we see is that they obviously had problems with the tool, probably getting the product off the mould as a wide, flat dome would 'cling' a bit wouldn't it? So, the left-hand of the two chalky, dark-green ones (2) has had both a couple of release-pins fitted (rim-edge, north and south) and a reinforcing ridge added - presumably a few exist with the pin-marks but no ridge - as the act of engaging the pins bent the cooling moulding (it's quite thin across the top), so a stiffener was added as a spine below the surface?

Finally in my example (3), and having failed to solve the problem with the previous changes (?), four more release-pins have gone-in to force the product off the mould with six pins! the edge/rim has been 'heavied-up' and evened-out at the same time, presumably with the same idea in mind as the earlier spine - keeping the product true after it's got off the tool?

The barbed-wire may not be original and consists of security wire of the sort used by gas and electrical fitters to seal meters and junction-boxes with a lead-plug which is stamped over a loop of uneven wire. I think wire 'escape saws' in WWII were a similar design, but a harder material? By the way, while I say 'may not be original'; given the 'made-yesterday' state of the plastic and paint I think it probably is factory-fitted, and both examples in the Plastic Warrior 'Special' on Speedwell have it fitted . . . incidentally; that publication also has an apple-green base version of the 2 moulding.

All marked Speedwell, the white one having lost nearly all of its paint which seems to have been mostly a yellower olive-green. Of the two tan ones; one is all hand-painted (left of pairs) the other (right) is part airbrushed, it has had a stone removed from the low end. Also, note that the left-hand of the two tan ones has only been painted on one side, the other fully painted (and airbrushed) on both sides.

Unmarked for the both, but internal wall detailing and door/window colour say contemporaneous with the 1-wall (above) and they go well together to make a destroyed out-building, stable or hovel.

I haven't a clue! The one on the left is the simpler of the two and quite glossy and probably equates to the brown 3-wall (above), while the multi-coloured one seems to be of similar agency to the 4-wall?

The only clue I do have is that neither are Speedwell; the recent Plastic Warrior magazine's special (post forthcoming) on Speedwell shows marked versions of this with no loophole and a wider or more-spreading base, I think it's made of fatter pillows too!.

I'm lovin' the colour of the right-hand one, despite the lack of realism, it evokes all sorts of 1960's plastic tat, not least Marx Miniature Masterpiece and Merten plastic display-trays or various forts!

I think an over-zelous fettler may have also removed the top sand-bag from the brown one? As an aside - I wonder if George Musgrave had a hand in any of the above? The first wall section has similarities with his little bridge-pieces and Kentoys could be one of the names in the frame for some of the unattributed versions of this stuff?

We will return to these when either the 'rest' turn-up or the big bag of spares, as there's plenty in that to be going on with, I just have to remember where I've put it down!