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.

Monday, March 22, 2021

J is for Just a Quick One! F is for Follow-up, T is for Two . . .

. . . Three . . . Four? We looked at this oddity here ages ago, can't remember when now, but I know I've highlighted the weirdness of a Pz.Kfw. II 'Luchs' (lynx) light-tank chassis on a M4 Sherman medium tank, however I was convinced mine had a broken driver (Matchbox Battle Kings piracy), so when I saw one in a charity shop days (or hours?) before the latest Lockdown . . .

AFV's; Lynx Reconnaissance vehicle; M4 Sherman Tank; M60 Reactive Armour; M60 Tank; Main Battle Tank; Medium Tank; Novelty Stationary; Novelty Toy Tank; Pencil Sharpeners; Play Me; Pz.Kpfw.II Luchs; Reactive Armour Suite; Sherman Tank Model; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Souvenir Novelty; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Novelty;
. . . top left, I bought it. I got home to find a parcel from Chris Smith, which had another (top right), and they were different, so I dug-out the third (bottom-middle, to find the driver was fine!), and found more differences, not great, but they are there.

AFV's; Lynx Reconnaissance vehicle; M4 Sherman Tank; M60 Reactive Armour; M60 Tank; Main Battle Tank; Medium Tank; Novelty Stationary; Novelty Toy Tank; Pencil Sharpeners; Play Me; Pz.Kpfw.II Luchs; Reactive Armour Suite; Sherman Tank Model; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Souvenir Novelty; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Novelty;
Chris's on the left here has the Hong Kong in a sort of 'postmark' cartouche, the Charity shop purchase has added carpet-wheels, while the old one is a hybrid of the two, sans wheels but with the same mark as the wheeled one.

Like I say, not great differences, but they confirm the evolutionary nature of such things, as we looked at previously with the pencil sharpener/tourist figurines. I have no idea which order they go in, so it's only for curiosity's sake . . . and 'completism'!

AFV's; Lynx Reconnaissance vehicle; M4 Sherman Tank; M60 Reactive Armour; M60 Tank; Main Battle Tank; Medium Tank; Novelty Stationary; Novelty Toy Tank; Pencil Sharpeners; Play Me; Pz.Kpfw.II Luchs; Reactive Armour Suite; Sherman Tank Model; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Souvenir Novelty; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Novelty;
The current iteration of these common-enough tourist trinket/gift shop/museum novelty pencil sharpeners, as far as armour goes, is an M1 Abrams I believe, but there was also an M60 with an ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour) suite, and I've picked-up one of those at some point. Its running-gear is not much better to be honest, having more in common with those cheap Pioneer knock-offs of Matchbox 1-76 type die-casts.

AFV's; Lynx Reconnaissance vehicle; M4 Sherman Tank; M60 Reactive Armour; M60 Tank; Main Battle Tank; Medium Tank; Novelty Stationary; Novelty Toy Tank; Pencil Sharpeners; Play Me; Pz.Kpfw.II Luchs; Reactive Armour Suite; Sherman Tank Model; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Souvenir Novelty; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Novelty;
The two together, they're 'box-scale', but might suit 1:100th scale war-gaming? I won't bother with branding on these; there are maybe 20+ boxings around the world, most of the main importers/jobbers and some odder firms more normally associated with dolls house accessories, games and such-like have also had a go, although Play Me in Spain (tag'able) may have been originator on some?

While the superstructures on my three are the same, when we get on to the canons (yeah . . . one day!), we'll see that there are different versions as well as variations within one version, with two or three different Mortars, Naval Guns, Catapults, Trebuchets or Battlement canons, so it's quite complicated!

Thanks to Chris for my third [different] M4 Sherman pencil sharpener!

5 comments:

Andy B said...

I think they're fun, but can't go with the Luchs wheel system- its such an obscure vehicle that I suspect something more mundane (and there are few small models to rip off, as far as I know! Perhaps a German half track?

Hugh Walter said...

Sorry Andy, but it really is the most esoteric combination they culd come-up with, it's not just the arrangement it's the six-spoke cast-iron wheels, the half-tracks all have stamped discs!

H

Andy B said...

Hey, the lynx has unpierced road wheels with radiating (rounded, not distinct) ribs!

Hugh Walter said...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . . I think the Bellona guide had various low-run 'Luchs' one of which looked like this . . . but, now you've got me wondering if they've used the Atlantic 1:32nd Kettenkraft's running gear!!?

H

Troy said...

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