S is for Smart Toys

In the recent parcel from Chris Smith was another one of the 25mm versions of these (he sent most of the others previously), and I'd just seen the Smart Toys box tucked-away in the garage, so I dug it out and shot my small sample for a box-ticker, as I think I mentioned them when doing the PVC round-ups last  . . . October?

I encountered them in the mid/late-1990's as HO-gauge compatible sets of civilian farm and construction vehicles, or Micro-machine clones, both with HO figures of the 18/20mm bracket. These are some of the military sets in the two sizes I found them.

Plant, with some of the civilian figures, there is a definite parallel with the contiguous production of New Ray at the time, and there may be some cross-fertilisation, but I suspect just 'copying' for the same market/price-points?

A couple of tractors from the farm range and a blister of aggregate piles, clearly aimed at the model railway layout people, what you would do with that many identical piles is anyone's guess, but the sculpting is so crude and lumpy they could double for potato's or sugar-beet on a farm . . . with a bit of paint!

Every military set in the 20mm range came with a tent bearing a red-cross on one end, so they will be a feature of mixed lots till the dusk of time!

In the meantime the marked figures in a 28/30mm bracket have started turning-up in loose lots, and I've found a few of the vehicles (to look at, not buy) on feebleBay; an odd mix of late Cold-War stuff in approximately 1:72nd scale - German Unimog, French-looking tanker-lorry (ex-civilian?) that kind of thing, I haven't found heavy AFV's yet?

Both samples are of limited pose-range, and one suspects that as a pocket-money/rack-toy line, they weren't expected to gather in 'collected' numbers, but rather to be more impulse/pester-power purchases at checkouts or in corner shops (where I was picking them up back at the time? And rather nicely showing how a smaller size allows for a larger campaign!

The smaller figures are definitely aimed at Galoob Micro Machines customers, the larger ones are not so close to either size of the 'believed to be' Pioneer we looked at last time, so more stand-alone? Obviously the MG fits in a vehicle mount, but is super-glued to the operator's hands!