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.

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

W is for Wedge-Hand Warriors

I've been after a set of these for ages, I have one or two somewhere without weapons, or with the wrong weapons, but I knew what they were as they seem to have been common about 15/20 years ago - around the time 'The Wall' came down, and there had been several dealers; one in Ireland, one in the US and one in the West County (I think) selling the boxed sets, usually for a reasonable amount, but at the time I wasn't really buying online.

And while more recently I have bid and lost on a couple of boxed sets (or dropped out 'cos they went too-high for my wallet!), I spotted a lose but complete set a while ago and got it for a reasonable price (can't remember if it was bid or BIN?), so while a box is always nice, and makes for a longer Blog Post, it's really all about the figures, so -  with all the accessories - let's have a look at them!

Alexander Nevski Knights; Alexander Nevsky; Knight In Armour; Knights In Armour; Medieval Figures; Medieval Knights; Medieval Toy Figure; Mir; Plu-In Weapons; Plug-Ins; Progress; Progress brand; Progress Medieval Retinue; Progress tradename; Russian Knights; Russian Plastic Toys; Russian Toy Soldiers; Slot Hand Figures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soviet Era Toy Soldiers; Soviet Plastic Toy; Soviet Progress Toys;
Progress again, they seem to have been one of the more prolific of the Russian figure producers, surviving for some time after the end of the Soviet Bloc and with factories/licensees in some of the satellite countries, these Alexander Nevsky Knights are notable for having slot/wedge hands like the 1st version Cherilea combat infantry. I've also seen them described as Progress Medieval Retinue, but don't know if that was an/the official title or a Western translation?

Also like their British counterparts, these are not rubbery or 'grippy' hands, but quite rigid polyethylene hands you have to force the accessory into only for it to pop-out in play! The archer gets two plug-ins which are a bit more successful, while the chap in the middle of the upper row has a more conventional ring-hand for his sword.

Alexander Nevski Knights; Alexander Nevsky; Knight In Armour; Knights In Armour; Medieval Figures; Medieval Knights; Medieval Toy Figure; Mir; Plu-In Weapons; Plug-Ins; Progress; Progress brand; Progress Medieval Retinue; Progress tradename; Russian Knights; Russian Plastic Toys; Russian Toy Soldiers; Slot Hand Figures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soviet Era Toy Soldiers; Soviet Plastic Toy; Soviet Progress Toys;
The accessories they come with (and the ease with which they are parted from the figures is/was the driver for trying to find a boxed set!), some can be swapped between figures, but they aren't terribly good swaps - visually - and with differing thicknesses of shaft or handle; are really figure-pose specific?

Alexander Nevski Knights; Alexander Nevsky; Knight In Armour; Knights In Armour; Medieval Figures; Medieval Knights; Medieval Toy Figure; Mir; Plu-In Weapons; Plug-Ins; Progress; Progress brand; Progress Medieval Retinue; Progress tradename; Russian Knights; Russian Plastic Toys; Russian Toy Soldiers; Slot Hand Figures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soviet Era Toy Soldiers; Soviet Plastic Toy; Soviet Progress Toys;
These all ended-up with rather busy backgrounds, so I will revisit them at some point with a plainer setting, but for now you get the idea, the Soviet equivalent of rack toys gets shoehorned into RTM again!

I suspect they are the same sculptor as the set of WWII Infantry with the plug-in red-flag we've seen here (with Chris's help), and are reported to have first appeared in 1976, but with only the five poses in this set, possibly because of the extra effort and second mould-cost required by the accessories?

Alexander Nevski Knights; Alexander Nevsky; Knight In Armour; Knights In Armour; Medieval Figures; Medieval Knights; Medieval Toy Figure; Mir; Plu-In Weapons; Plug-Ins; Progress; Progress brand; Progress Medieval Retinue; Progress tradename; Russian Knights; Russian Plastic Toys; Russian Toy Soldiers; Slot Hand Figures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soviet Era Toy Soldiers; Soviet Plastic Toy; Soviet Progress Toys;
I ended-up with a couple of images which cropped so similar again, they make for a nice .gif, which gives the impression of 3D without faffing-about on making a short video which is often more effort than it's worth.

Alexander Nevski Knights; Alexander Nevsky; Knight In Armour; Knights In Armour; Medieval Figures; Medieval Knights; Medieval Toy Figure; Mir; Plu-In Weapons; Plug-Ins; Progress; Progress brand; Progress Medieval Retinue; Progress tradename; Russian Knights; Russian Plastic Toys; Russian Toy Soldiers; Slot Hand Figures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soviet Era Toy Soldiers; Soviet Plastic Toy; Soviet Progress Toys;
Progress Russian Alexander Nevsky/Medieval Retinue knights' set - box ticked! I'm now searching for a complete set of the MIR copies; cruder sculpts, also silver PE, but with plug-in heliotrope pink/red bases, making them even more 'swoppet'-like!

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