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Thursday, December 5, 2019

V is for Variations on a Theme - Keep-Fit Santa's

This is the held-back and enhanced tail of a post from the summer on the Model Power sets Ed Burg sent me ages ago, as the more I dug-out, the more it looked like a whole other post, but first back to the obverse of the Model Power card;

8521-6; Argeal Diecasting & Plastic Factory Ltd.; Cake Decoration Figures; Cake Decoration Santa Claus; Cake Decoration Santaclause; Cake Decorations; Christmas Cake Decorations; Christmas Decoration; Christmas Decorations; Christmas Figure; Christmas Figures; Christmas Santa's; Doric Cake Crafts; Greensward Co. Ltd.; Model Power; No. 6057; Non-edible; Novelty Santa's; Santa Land; Santa's Exercising; Santaclaus Keeps Fit; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
The reverse of the card gives a hint at the range of sets available in this scale/size and the most interesting one is the Santa Land one, clearly designed to do seasonal front lawn or garden (front yard over there) displays in O-gauge/O-027, of the 'full Griswold' type! But they look familiar . . .

8521-6; Argeal Diecasting & Plastic Factory Ltd.; Cake Decoration Figures; Cake Decoration Santa Claus; Cake Decoration Santaclause; Cake Decorations; Christmas Cake Decorations; Christmas Decoration; Christmas Decorations; Christmas Figure; Christmas Figures; Christmas Santa's; Doric Cake Crafts; Greensward Co. Ltd.; Model Power; No. 6057; Non-edible; Novelty Santa's; Santa Land; Santa's Exercising; Santaclaus Keeps Fit; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
. . . not least than because I have Blogged one here years ago; under Culpitt or Anniversary House branding I think, might have been a smaller cake decoration supplier? We've also seen some of the second set (see below) under the Doric label before now.

You may have them as Wilton or Carrousel, but in 1986 two Hong Kong factories (from Bill B's catalogue) were both advertising them as 'new'! The truth is probably that Argeal made them and Greensward shipped them but a third contract manufacturer could have made them, with both Greensward and Argeal then taking them to load their novelty lines for wholesaling to Culpitt or Wilton . . . and now Model Power have them!

8521-6; Argeal Diecasting & Plastic Factory Ltd.; Cake Decoration Figures; Cake Decoration Santa Claus; Cake Decoration Santaclause; Cake Decorations; Christmas Cake Decorations; Christmas Decoration; Christmas Decorations; Christmas Figure; Christmas Figures; Christmas Santa's; Doric Cake Crafts; Greensward Co. Ltd.; Model Power; No. 6057; Non-edible; Novelty Santa's; Santa Land; Santa's Exercising; Santaclaus Keeps Fit; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
I only seem to have one (on shelf), I thought I'd got all of them, but they may be in with the Kinder stuff? A second, more modern set also exists, clearly influenced by the mid-80's set (possibly from the same source - decoration is spot-on - yet smaller belt-buckles), but six new poses, also doing things you;d expect to see in a gym, not from Santa Clause! We see three above . . .

8521-6; Argeal Diecasting & Plastic Factory Ltd.; Cake Decoration Figures; Cake Decoration Santa Claus; Cake Decoration Santaclause; Cake Decorations; Christmas Cake Decorations; Christmas Decoration; Christmas Decorations; Christmas Figure; Christmas Figures; Christmas Santa's; Doric Cake Crafts; Greensward Co. Ltd.; Model Power; No. 6057; Non-edible; Novelty Santa's; Santa Land; Santa's Exercising; Santaclaus Keeps Fit; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
. . . and the other three, with their icing-spike (pick)'ed twins. Whether the spike came first or second I can't tell you, but the spikeless set show no signs of the removal in the moulding (lump or scaring), and they may have been two sets?

8521-6; Argeal Diecasting & Plastic Factory Ltd.; Cake Decoration Figures; Cake Decoration Santa Claus; Cake Decoration Santaclause; Cake Decorations; Christmas Cake Decorations; Christmas Decoration; Christmas Decorations; Christmas Figure; Christmas Figures; Christmas Santa's; Doric Cake Crafts; Greensward Co. Ltd.; Model Power; No. 6057; Non-edible; Novelty Santa's; Santa Land; Santa's Exercising; Santaclaus Keeps Fit; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
The spikeless set are the ones we've seen before, I got them in a Christmas pop-up store in Basingrad a couple of years ago, probably as old stock, but not that old, so . . . last ten years? The Snowmen who accompany them have a large (almost but not quite pencil-top size) hole in them and each gets a crude'ish fir tree and a motto/sign for the cake.

8521-6; Argeal Diecasting & Plastic Factory Ltd.; Cake Decoration Figures; Cake Decoration Santa Claus; Cake Decoration Santaclause; Cake Decorations; Christmas Cake Decorations; Christmas Decoration; Christmas Decorations; Christmas Figure; Christmas Figures; Christmas Santa's; Doric Cake Crafts; Greensward Co. Ltd.; Model Power; No. 6057; Non-edible; Novelty Santa's; Santa Land; Santa's Exercising; Santaclaus Keeps Fit; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
A seller was offering them with sleds (sledges?) this time last year, but as 'assortments of three - six designs'. Looking at the sledges (sleds?) they are drilled for a string or wire (to a reindeer?) and might be the seller's marriage of two bulk purchases, rather than an original commercial offering?

8521-6; Argeal Diecasting & Plastic Factory Ltd.; Cake Decoration Figures; Cake Decoration Santa Claus; Cake Decoration Santaclause; Cake Decorations; Christmas Cake Decorations; Christmas Decoration; Christmas Decorations; Christmas Figure; Christmas Figures; Christmas Santa's; Doric Cake Crafts; Greensward Co. Ltd.; Model Power; No. 6057; Non-edible; Novelty Santa's; Santa Land; Santa's Exercising; Santaclaus Keeps Fit; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
A third set of six Santa's is out there, slightly smaller and probably another source, they either started life as gnomes, or where designed to be both gnomes and Santa's, having all the boot and hem trimming one associates with cake decoration Santa's, but clearly engaged in a spot of more gnome-like gardening . . . or mining - the chap with a lantern; is there a seventh pose somewhere?

Cheers again to Ed for the Model Powersets.

4 comments:

  1. Oddly I had these tiny acrobatic gnomes from Tobar (or some such) advertised / with header (long lost) as some kind of incongruous comment about Tory PM John Major and his own or brother’s family connection to the garden gnome business. Early 1990s.

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  2. I hadn't made the connection Mark, but you're right!

    https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2013/05/j-is-for-jolly-joke-against-johnmajor.html

    On the Blog! It's only paint!

    H

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  3. Thanks Hugh for reuniting me with the header card of such bizarreness, it’s just as odd as I remember it.
    Most of my six tiny John Major commemorative gnomes were lost in a rockery c. 2001/2 on patrol whilst repainted in khaki colours as the Gnome Guard. Bad pun and I’m sticking to it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well Mark, it's funny because I'd made the connection on that post! Which only goes to prove not only can you not HAVE everything or KNOW everything, you can't even remember the things you once knew you had!

    One of my secret pleasures is the Mouse Guard graphic novel line, and I would love someone to do them, but there may be vintage sci-fi/fantasy lead that would suffice . . . not vicious little rat armies, but fat, kindly mice?

    H

    ReplyDelete

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