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, July 16, 2020

N is for Not Jean! Noreda

I had one or two items in the Jean H' tub, which were not happy being there, a truck body and chassis which wouldn't take any of the plug-ins known to be Jean, and a transporter trailer/low-loader which wouldn't attach to any of the Jean stuff . . . and they both had 'new' wheels. About 18 months ago I found them on feeBay, did a bit of a dig, satisfied myself as to their being what they were and started watching two BIN-lots! I finally purchased them the other day.

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
Starting with a reverse of the Jean article (which will appear above this in one minute's time! If I get the scheduling right!), but here the Noreda (for that is what they are!) are the left-hand of each photo-pair, and looking at the troop carrier. It doesn't matter how you cut it, the Noreda are better finished (flash excepted) than their German counterparts. Although; with those blanket rolls, the troops themselves are a bit . . . err . . . Soviet!

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
Like the Höfler trucks there is a generic cab/chassis to which various add-on's can be attached, and also like Jean, the canvas-tilted GS (General Service) variant is a separate moulding, but here the tilt is a simple plug-in, rather than Jean's clumsy, hinged effort.

A nice touch is the matching trailer . . . when we used to go off on major field training exercises, nearly every vehicle would have a trailer, something missed by most kit manufacturers and/or war-gamers, it's the shear amount of 'stuff' on the move which actually blocks the roads after a strafing!

You can shift a few burning trucks in minutes by pushing them out of the way with a same-size or larger vehicle, but if they are all twisted together with their own or other vehicles' towed-crap, it all takes much longer. A battalion carries tows about 12 field kitchens, several wreaker-bogies and about 1-in-four water carriers to GS trailers (as here) on most of the other vehicles, the HQ company packets (small convoys) would have a number of generator trailers and office-bodied comm's trailers distributed among everything else.

The radar truck is another throw-back to the earlier polystyrene and die-cast sets of the 1950;s & 1960's 'dime store' era. The truck itself seems to be a generic although I've seen it described as a Berliet, I can't find a matching real-life example?

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
The Tank Transporter however is truer to type being a Berliet T-6 / TBU15 as also modelled by Dinky Toys (France), although the trailer is more reminiscent of that attached to the equally die-cast T-12 (also a Berliet) as modelled by Solido of Belgium. It's really a 'low-loader' suitable for APC's or (as here) plant, rather than a tank-transporter trailer.

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
Another comparison between the Jean APC (left) and Noreda bulldozer tracks; you can see the Noreda tracks are all-over neater, being narrower, better sculpted & finished with more strongly defined links/pads.

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
As a GBU, the T6 cab-unit was used with various body-types including artillery tractor and GS truck in real life, and Noreda followed that in their toy line, although this model is a bit odd - obviously meant to be a telescopic-boom crane, there is no hook, cord or anything else likely to provide instant lift, so presumably the buyer was expected to cobble something together themselves; several sets are exactly the same?

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
The same cab was given to an articulated petrol-tanker trailer which is similar to the Jean beast, but again cleaner and less prone to warping.

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
They do a Jeep, this will be the French-build post war licensed version, although I don't know what the signature differences are, I do know that AFV-geeks will walk round vintage fairs saying "That's not WWII, it's French" to anyone who'll listen to them! Same size as the Airfix Jeep (top left) takes it out of scale with the rest of the line?

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
The two Noreda items I've been watching for months while waiting for the moment when I'd have the funds to spare - a lack of shows has improved the evilBaying budget! Also in the lower shot a comparison with the smaller Jean card, that some copying was going on seems hinted at by the choice of both makers to go with an orange field? However given the ubiquity of Jean and the superior quality/finish of the Noreda's I don't think you can really call for either being pirate, or victim?

The guys still have a few for sale, and I can heartily recommend them, there were problems with the order - a combination of factors some of which seem to have been down to the limitations of eBay's own systems for handling currencies - anyway, they sent two [big] parcels for one postage charge and gave me top feedback the same day, not knowing what I'd give them after 24-hours of confusion!

6x6 AFV; 6x6 Truck; AFV's; Army Lorries; Army Vehicles; Artillery Cannon; Artillery Tractor; Bulldozer; Carded Toys; France; French Noreda; French Toys; Jean Germany; Jeep; Low Loader; Made In France; Noreda France; Noreda MIP; Noreda MOC; Noreda Originals; Noreda Plastic; Noreda Plastic AFV's; Noreda Truck; Plastic Guns; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tank Transporter; Tanker Lorry Tanker Truck; Toy AFV's; Toy Army Vehicles; Trailer Tractor; Troop Carrier; Wreaker Truck;
The stuff was superbly packed as well - which left me fighting for the right to unpack! You-know-who has learnt to recognise the postman's knock from the bottom of next-door's garden! She slept in it all afternoon!

And I got to catch up on the local München news courtesy of some paper twists holding all the bubble-wrap in place. It's one of the secret pleasures of buying stuff from around the world, or around the country, papers local to the sender; Florida car-dealership deals are so much more interesting than the local garage's!

The fight for the oldest chip-shop in some forgotten corner of Norfolk seems far more important than the corrupt parking regime here in town, some property tax debate in New South Wales takes on a certain fascination lacking from the possibility of 24-months disruption if they widen the motorway within earshot . . . do you enjoy other peoples' papers in your plunder-parcels?

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