S is for Santorini

Where - I think it's fair to say - a majority of ancient historians (that's historians specialising in the ancient period, not a bunch of decrepit historians . . . although some of them are bound to have some age) now believe an advanced, pre-historical, bronze-age, naval society, akin or related to the Minoans or Troy, were based on their island paradise . . . which just happened to be a sleeping volcano - and you thought 2020 was a bit shit!

Another Waddington's game today, with 'plastic smalls' . . . . [thump!] there, that's the PSTSM leaving the room, phew! I picked this up soon after it came out, for about half what it cost, with figures still on the runners, which is usually a sign the family didn't get through a first read of the rules!

The figures are suitably ancient in the fashion stakes, and while wildly different sizes (if she stood-up straight she'd be 7-foot-6 to his 5-11), they would both paint-up well for inclusion with Atlantic's Christians in the big arena! He'd also make a good chariot soldier, while she could hide from 'Kong'!

I wasn't prepared to do a .gif of this one as there are far too many pieces (120+) and I didn't bother reading the rules at all! But a central citadel leads-on to six town pieces, 12 countryside pieces and 24 rock-sections, after which, escape (the main aim of the game) lies in crossing the ocean . . .

. . . a task facilitated by catching a ride on a passing bireme - only three at a time thought (Covid-19 social distancing!), Ding! Ding! "Move down the boat please! And don't forget to report anything unusual - No! Not the molten lava-balls falling from the sky Madam, management is already aware of that - and take all you belongings with you if you leave".

'If', because there are giant octopi and sea-dragons to help stop you ever getting to the mainland and being sold into slavery to pay for your passage! Note; the box art has reverse colours from those in my set.

There are sharks too! Now you start to understand why each player has 12 counters, it is probably likely some players don't save more than one, if any at all? The dolphins probably help . . . bloody liberals, always wanting to aid people worse off than the majority . . . it's fucking socialism you know, sodding pinko-commie cetaceans!!

I posed them with the boat as I had it out for that post the other day!

There you go, someone else went to the effort of setting-up a sample game so I didn't have to!

I'm not saying she's mad, but look at the eyes, I think she's going to kill her 'mother' as soon as the photographer says "Wrap"!

 

19-06-2022 - I've since learnt that there are various versions of this game, some with simpler or more cartoony sea monsters, another with simple cone-counters for the people, one with all card pieces, another (Germany?) with wooden playing pieces and everything else in card, but I think the above is the best version of the lot.

U is for Update - Parachute Toy Page

I suspect BT has failed completely (or blocked me, without informing me, for being a complaining git), so this and the previous won't get up 'till Monday, but it will - at least - be in time for RTM, with the other stuff which should have published over the weekend being filtered into the normal output!

As you can see I got on in-time, but the six posts which were supposed to publish Sat-Sun., have been held so that's rather it for RTM, now, but there's always more to come here!

All these are contributions from (alphabetically) Brain Berke, Chris Smith. Peter Evans and Theo van der Weerden, and while the rest have gone on the other page, the section for 'poopatroopers' hasn't been edited or uploaded yet, so it can go here!

These are from Imperial, via Brian Berke over 'The Pond' and while they (Imperial) were responsible for the original Poopa-Troopers, these are slightly different, however, they are not the clones we've seen in BJ, Jaru and Kandy Toys colours in the last few years, they are if anything closer to the Imperial originals.

Also they are only a small part of a larger set of summer garden/beach stuff, although that bat could be used to get some height on the sky divers!

These four on the other hand have published to update the relevant sections of the Parachute figures page. That's got novelty paratroopers up before the end of RTM, and we'll be on to other things as the Autumn gets a grip, looks like we're in for a hard'ish Winter!

Y is for Yawn!

Nah! Not really, but we don't get many 'Y's in the tag-list! This was going to be a figure-free day today, here at Small Scale World, looking at vehicles and I said as much to a loyal reader in an eMail last night, but in the end and because of the problems with BT-WiFi (which clearly means 'Where Is FIdelity) I'm chucking this up here for now, cos I've managed an Internet window, and it may be all you get today!

For those who have been on holiday, there's plenty published recently to catch-up on, for those observing lockdowns and social distancing who have been following more closely, sorry; 'cos it's not even that 'new' or interesting, but the box needs ticking!

Seen just about everywhere now, and associated with about five brandings already, we're adding another here; Stobok, almost certainly a phantom-brand of Amazon's own warehouses (it was a 'lockdown' purchase along with the Egyptians!), it's the accessories which are of interest here, the figures being-sub-sub-piracies and of the accessories, the totem pole, being also the least interesting (also a sub-piracy of a common design), that's got the worst image out of the way!

These are the nice bits; and worth the paltry sum you can find the set for. A 'sky' or 'air-burial' platform (which can also be a lookout!)* in six parts and a five-part camp-fire and cooking tripod arrangement. The latter useful with any period or scenario from cave-men to a galaxy far, far away!

* Or shelter roof!

The Teepee (Tipi) is a bit so-so, but nice for being not the Britains one! Both the decoration and the fully-round sculpting setting it apart from the much copied 'usuall' one and while it's fair to suggest the flat has britains DNA, equally there aren't many ways of showing a flap and folded back against the tent's body is the easiest!

Heh-hay! It's another Marra'jah'wanna-tree! The last time we saw this it was in a Red Deer dinosaur set I think? Which probably means this set may turn-up in Red Deer packaging, although it has already been attributed to Maxxi Toys, who sell in the same stores that take Red Deer branded product, so they may both be generics from the same source anyway?

That's it, that's them, box ticked.

M is for More TaT!

I'm sure we’ve had that one before, but they were asking for it all those years ago!

Quick look at a boxed truck from TAT of Hong Kong this is toward the larger end of toy vehicle scales at around 1:43rd scale.

For some reason I didn't do a nose-on shot, so it looks like that old favourite of mine a Bedford MK, but I think it's a Ford D-Series? Also, while it's a skip-bodied tipper-truck, it doesn't tip! But it has a standard (for the time) flywheel, kinetic-energy 'friction' motor, so you win some, you lose some!

Box! It's got a box. That's it - box-ticked!

AB is for Vidalis Brother's 'Joy Toy'

Back to Greece, pure coincidence but there it is, another Greek plastic toy here on Small Scale World, but sadly no figures again; no figures today actually, so figure-purists come back tomorrow, and more 'plastic smalls' so the PSTSM can have the day-off too!

The set, which has - since these shots were taken - gone in the bin! Reason being, it was a very poor carton when I got it, with a sun-burnt blister-window, and a lot of hidden mending; I did the whole dismantle - dampen - iron - patch-the-inside (with Butterfly paper-tape) job on it years ago; so it was already a bit ersatz over its originality, and these are not so rare on feeBay, or at the bigger shows like Sandown, so - in the end - there was little point keeping it limping along.

The 'meat and two three veg' in this set is the Bedford car-transporter with three VW Golf/Polo type 'hot hatches', all have tinted windows and the Bedford is particularly well done with only the gryphon missing from the little shield 'nose'.

Partly that is down to a larger size, these are toward the larger end of 1:72nd, rather than the similar Blue Box's smaller end of 1:76th, and the cab is the same model as that military MK from Blue Box (and others), but as a triple-axle tractor unit this would have been a larger engined vehicle or have a different gearbox and therefore a different code-designation, I suspect?

The same cab on a longer chassis provides heavy-lift and there is a good measure in interior detail in the cab. As far as I know this type of Bedford nevr saw service with the British Army, who used Foden's in the heavier classes, but some other NATO members may have had such equipment, while for old school war-gaming all they need is a coat of matt-green and they can serve in any army you want them to!

The logo is an AB from the Latin alphabet, odd for the country which still uses the Greek alphabet, but as it stands for 'Adelphoi Bitali' which is the Greek for 'The Vidalis Brothers', I suspect it's all cleverer than me! This is - obviously - the Mercedes bus.

While there is a lack of figures, there is still a lot of play-value added with the inclusion of a whole bunch of accessories, including both working traffic lights and working pedestrian crossing lights (for the non-existent pedestrians!), for those who need to know about these things, there are two variants of road sign with longer and shorted plinths at the bottom of the Lego-like pole.

The light units are quite clever with a slider placing a white plastic disc behind clear, coloured plastic lenses as you push and pull it up and down behind the cover, finally' two slightly sub-scale petrol-pumps are included. there's also a bag of traffic-cones

The typical range sample circa-1970, when this set was issued (note the larger 1:43rd (?) sports cars), there are a few earlier, simpler models from the 1960's, and it may be that more will be revealed by Greek collectors going forward, I don't know a good source for Greek toy info, beyond a couple of toy soldier pages, but 87th Scale Info havea page on them here, despite their mostly being quite oversized for HO-gauge - the smaller turcks here are Toyota's in a very HO-looking size.

And - as with the Comet-Authenticraft stuff (which they never actioned) if someone from that site contacts me I can give them the new model numbers and some new photo's?

T is for Thames Trader Trucks

Which were actually Ford's! Neither are they strictly rack-toys, as they would have been in a stack on a shelf somewhere, but as they would have been priced below a single Dinky, Corgi or Spot On toy and probably no more than two Matchbox's, they fit the bill, which in RTM is Hong Kong (or China) cheapies!

Before moving on - a quick apology for all the typos and lack of editing the last few days, but that BT-Wifi has decided to play-up big-time and I'm now fighting to get the posts up as quick as possible before the mast drops Fleet off the map for the third time in an hour!

Also while I always try to credit stuff which has been donated, gifted or come-in rediculasly (and delibereately) cheap, I don't normally credit for stuff I've bought normally as A) I couldn't possibly rememeber every purchase or who from and B) if you buy something in the normal way, it's yours to do what you will with, but I would like to thank Paul (of 'Saint and Grievesy' for those on the circuit who know who I mean) who came up to me at the end of a show in some forsaken sports hall in Sussex or somewhere, about 12-years ago and said it looked like the kind of thing I'd be interested in - it was!

"True to scale", but no scale given!

Typical of all eight; the axles are the worst part being cut by hand and therefore all lengths from tight-in to extra-wide 'Carlos Fandango'! It's one of those weird things about HK production in the 1950's, 60's & '70's, some used a jig to cat axles the same length, others did them by hand or a finger section or something and ended up with none the same length - this is one of those assemblers!

A body is slid over a flatbed, integral to the cab and the floor-pan holds an un-glued chrome-plated radiator/headlights part in two pre-formed slots. In this case the body has an additional refrigeration-unit (red plastic) glued on and a sticker.

Yes I said 'sticker', this is so cheap it's criminal as the cost-saving is minimal to the manufacturer, but the disappointment to the child (probably already used to cheap plastic toys instead of the die-cast stuff of his middle-class counterparts) will be measureable, and repeated, every time, but they really only put a sticker on the widow-showing side!

They are fitted into the trays with a bar that has twin pinch-points, on either end, which grab the axles, and make useful construction material! The pipe-truck is reminiscent of the Matchbox one, but that was a later vehicle - another Ford I think, but later '60's to the Thames Trader's 1959 birthday.

The tipper is a bit naff to be honest and the lorry being loaded with beams is someone's conversion chuck-out, another pipe-truck which I suspect was destined for military service - in a war games army - but only got as far as losing it's stakes/stachions. All have the dhrome hubs/rims and rubber (PVC) tyres.

You can see from the USAAF figure that they are a reasonable 1:72nd scale.

Comparisons with - from the left - an Empire Bedford RL, an interesting variant of this oeuvre as it is heavier than the (possibly absent)* Blue Box truck you'd think it was a clone of, and just as well made, so Blue Box may have been the copyist here?

Then a copy of [or] the Blue Box animal transporter (I think I've had this in a Blue Box set?)* from one of any number of 'Home Farm' sets or clone-sets, another Bedford RL type (the civi' version was an S-series I think?) which has given today's subject it's equally cloned-body.

Finally; a smaller (HO-compatible), later model of a 1960's Ford (?), copied from Matchbox with a different body which is a combination of the others - a drop-side with stake/fence for animal transport. It has single-moulding running-gear sprayed chromey-silver, but it allows for duel-wheel sculpts on the rears.

What unites all these is basic, glueable, model-kit quality, brittle polystyrene plastic for all bodies, chassis and cabs, with variation of materials restricted to the wheels and axels.

*I think the Blue Box and this are the same, even to the sub-copies by other brandings (as we saw with the Noah sets), but the Blue Box weren’t to hand when I shot these, so we’ll compare the other way, another day although the smaller Blue Box shell tanker has been on here once or twice I think?

Box-art close-ups of the Thames, a similar lorry from Commer (?) and the rest of the smaller sample which came from Trevor Rudkin a few years ago, the silver body is an older shipping/rail container, which were made of wood, rather than the stamped steel of the modern international standard. Stock-code may help someone, but I thought it might be E for Empire until the superior Empire truck turned-up!

 

A week later - I've now seen a five-truck closed-box set of these branded to Emson

Han Solo is for Indiana Jones? Or is it a Blade Runner!

Another bike! And he got around - that Harrison Ford, and gave us three iconic characters!

A couple of sets here which could have been part of something much bigger and more long-lived, as far as toy lines or concepts go, but which was aimed at the casual 'tourist' pound and priced way beyond true rack toys despite being 'only' rack toys, and pretty scant ones at that!

One blistered from the common Disney mall-shops, a card-back shared with two of the other sets in this four set line, the other (the fourth) windowed and apparently a Disney Theme Park exclusive, I have no way of verifying that and one needs to remember that the gift shops in those places are some of the busiest, highest turnover retail spaces on the planet, so 'Limited Edition' it 'aint!

I got it for the motorbike! I haven't taken a tape measure to them but they are sort of 35/40mm, not the 54mm they were passed off as by someone a while ago, not that there are many people who would make such a fundamental error (as fact), indeed, I can only think of two, and it was one of them!

Not so sure about the candy-pink sand though, especially as it doesn't match the tan bases of the other set! I think these are the third movie's characters?

While these are from the 1st movie; Raiders of the Lost Ark, the other two sets were single vehicles, the vaguely Blom und Voss from 'raiders and the WWI tank from Lost Ark, with stroppy, pouting 'ex' in tow

Basically between the four sets you have everything you need to reproduce the two most iconic scenes from both the 'German' movies, the fight at the 'plane and the tank chase. I didn't measure them and they are back in the garage now, but they are approximately 30/35mm, not the 54mm indicated by TJF's sidekick a year or two ago!

USMC is for ABC Box Ticking!

It's one of those things isn't it; time moves on when you're enjoying yourself! This, as a smaller post might have published a couple of years ago, I took the first shots within days of getting the storage stuff into the garage, two Augusts ago, but I didn't know what to say about them, then I lost the images, then I took a couple more (or found one in Picasa? I have this habit of forgetting I've shot something and shooting it again!) but wasn't very happy with them, only for someone; Blood, Pugh or Shalatain (?) to publish them in Plastic Warrior magazine (link), so the post got put on the back-burner, as if it wasn't there already!

I'd always thought of them as RAF regiment, despite (and indeed - ignoring) the fact that they kept turning-up with white trousers! But the contributor to PW (. . . it was Jack wasn't it, Jack Shalatain, who also showed some lovely pith-helmeted colonial Infantry read-coats, which I haven't found yet) made the connection (as I suspect other people had, while I wasn't listening . . . JB?), anyway, that was them and there's not much else to add, but I have found a few different ones over the years and can stake a claim for the 'Rock Apes'

The original of shot on the left has vanished, but after I'd done the collage, so it's been left in a folder somewhere, or accidentally moved to another, but it's definitely my laptop they are shot on! They are re-issues and could be quite recent?

On the right are two newer shots with base variations below (we'll return to in a minute) and paint variations above. There are two iterations of unpainted (who can be RAF regiment as they aren't dark-blue enough to be № 1 Dress), with the US Marine Corps to the right.

Second to last was always an anomaly (there's more, I just tried to pick the better ones for the shots) as he has a red cummerbund and trouser stripes, and looks like an inaccurately-painted Colour-Sergeant from the British Army, the cummerbund intending to be the cross-sash in heavy red linen?

Then, recently this chap joined the fold, he is similarly marked, so I think at least one issue tried to represent a British regiment in № 1 Dress uniform, but with the wrong blue? As the original Britains USMC in hollow-cast would pre-date the RAF Regiment's creation, I assume they were pirated from the American Marine sculpts though. And the marines (US) have all-blues but with a white hat . . . home-painting could do a lot more with these figures!

There are two main base types, the ABC, and another which may be a separate company running alongside, or just blank base inserts for ABC to use on contract-production. The arrowed two are the ABC lozenge-marked ones, while the other have a similar MADE IN HONG KONG but smaller and closer to the rim of the base - the ABC's quite centralised with the lozenge below the message.

Both have a US Marine painted version and an unpainted version, but the red-trim guys are both of the second, non-ABC version? All have the swivel-arm of the original hollow-casts.

M is for Many More Motorised Machines!

I think it's fair to say Rack Toy Month wouldn't be RTM without three elements, Parachute toys (coming), Dinosaurs (done!) and motorcycles! Not all 'rack-toys' but let's get that box ticked before we run-out of Month!

Lion toys from . . . I can't remember when now, I think I've mentioned it on another visit to the Catalogue, about 1984 I think? Maybe 1980? Anyway, the bike's tool is still around, we saw them in newer packaging a couple of year's ago, but of more interest are the Corgi copies of race official and camera-man.

Lego! I was holding this for a better shot, but this post is a Picasa clearer, so they've been shoe-horned in to get them off the laptop. Note (if you were following the Blog eleven years ago) the conversion to a German soldier on a DKW is still waiting for arms, handlebars and . . . . paint!

I will try to re-shoot them separately (and better) as comparisons with the scooter rider in the Airfix Civilians set over on that Blog one day?

Not motorised, but as there were bicycles in the previous shot, they can fit here, also we have seen them before I think, but I don't always remember what's what, so shot them again (or just had some shots left over) as I think the red one is a new colour?

Robo-motorbike-cop! There's no indication this chap from Lik Be is a policeman or any other kind of law-enforcement or security operative, but I've always thought of him that way! He could just as easily have a hose and a buffer in his hand sockets for cleaning cars "Would you like wax with that Sir?", but I like to think they are a siren-horn and a 'needle-gun'!

Branded to Hunson and shipped into the 'States by JPW, these were sent to the Blog by Brian Berke and look to be 3/4 inch Action Figure sized? Four colours with a possible shade variation of the green - but including it would have ruined the collage!

I can't remember if we've seen one of these, both of them or neither? More board game flats anyway! The one on the left looks a bit like the Waddington's one from those post-war versions of Monopoly (see recently here at Small Scale World), but is a softer lead/whitemetal flat, while the other one (with a short-shot suffering front wheel - bouncy-bouncy!) is probably from a much earlier Edwardian game from between the wars?

Similar to the green one

By way of a follow-up to a motorcycle ChrisSmith donated to the Blog a year ago, but only in its size, and the stabiliser wheels! Classic rack toy, and it can't have been rare as that rider seems to have been in every-other rummage tray I've ever looked through!

Speaking of Chris, he sent these as a follow-up to the unknown copy of a Britains Sheriff's motorcycle we looked at a while ago, which came from Jeff I think, at Sandown Park, or Gareth - I can't for the life of me find the post now, so if any loyal readers happen to have bookmarked it, or know where it is?

Chris not only found the bike and a complete rider, but he found the accompanying (Spanish) guard and the base of that figure reveals the truth - Guisval! Obviously they can be used as WWII Germans, but with a Harley-D and white gloves I think we are actually talking Franco's Civil Guard, on parade?

These came in a week or two ago, a donation from Peter Evans, and another Red Deer offering; chunky and fitted with stabilisers, they are really infant toys (as if most of the rest aren't!), bt it's all grist to the mill.

Only seen the other day, but I already had these in the big folder! Home-cast or similar figures, the post was here.

News, Views Etc . . . Dinoposts

I have added a bunch more imaged to today's (new yesterday's middle post.

Naming Names! (It's actually a post or two down the page!)

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And later today you've got the 'annual' motorcycle round-up, ABC US Marine Corps and Indiana Jones.

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I've also added Amato's (Connecticut) and Toy Soldiers Depot (Maryland) to the US dealer's list.

D is for Dino III - The Search for Karn...'ivore

I love that title! Sometimes you think of one and you think "Yeah, there's about four levels there!" . . . anyway, it IS the third Dino-post today, the second from Brian Berke over in the Big Apple, and we're looking at the Dollar Tree dino's, most compared to the Dollar General ones we saw earlier today.

These are branded to our old friends and regular visitor's to these pages; Greenbriar/DTSC, who are more widely available I think. Again there are no species given on the sales-tags/labels - I didn't ask Brian if they have monikers on their bodies?

Sizeing with both the previous lot and our trusty Crescent rifleman reveals a larger animal from a similar species, indeed it's almost a scale-up, but there are differences.

Compared to the pretty basic 'Chinasaurs' of our childhood, there are some very good models out there now, and while the real biggies from Schleich, Papo and Co., are very, very good, these cheapies are also excellent sculpts. I think a lot of it is in the skin-textures they give them, think of that WHSmith's set I was buying a few years ago?

The new set runs to seven against the five we looked at earlier and here the 'Tree's are compared with their 'General counterparts, except the Triceratops who is compared to the old Timpo one (which Brain pointed out is as good as a dinosaur 'dinosaur' such is its age!), the new one is a really nice pose, in my opinion! A second meat-eater should be identifiable from the larger arms but is unknown to me?

The two Steggie's are quite similarly posed, but the new one has slimmer limbs, while the Dollar General example seems to be barking! And there's a kerthunkersaurus to finish-off the line-up

Cheers Brain, that Dino's done in RTM, but I've only got a few days to tick the annual motorcycle and paratrooper boxes . . . it's in hand!