S is for Sandown Park - May 2022 - 3 of 3

The final part of the show report; not so exciting, mostly small scale, but the stat's seem to indicate that both these show reports and the 'H is for How...' posts are popular, so I tend to photograph everything, rather than just the highlights, these days!

The chap I bought the Airfix SAM-2 Guideline from in February, had said he's bring a better one (a detail I left out of that show report!), and he had, but he'd put it out for anyone to buy which was worrying, but it's a fine line when people make such agreements - I know from past experience - that the one or other party either forgets or doesn't attend, leading to wasted time/journey or a cheated feeling in the other!

If as a seller, you say you'll bring something to the 'next show', you have to write it down and make the effort to take it, and if someone says they will do so, you, as the buyer have to turn-up and at least look at it with willingness!

Contents were minter than a minty thing which grew-up as a mint, got picked by the mint harvester and taken to the mint works to be turned-into minty-mints! So I will make-up the February one at some point in the future, and keep this as the sample.

The lid is probably slightly better that February's more common version, but the tray was a mess of tape, some of which has been extended to the skirt of the lid, so I will do the hair-dryer trick before deciding which to retain with the contents, as I know the corner-dinks on both will iron-out as well as each others? And - to be honest - I prefer the extended artwork of the latter boxing!

The Slater's box of 'Huminiatures' was a present from Adrian Little, when I first opened it and saw the chap with two cases I had a wobble on the Trojan theory, but it was just bad, or yellow lighting in that far hall! It actually contains the expected Wardie/Merit/PPP figures, but painted, they later issued them unpainted on wheel runners, alongside the Merit ones.

The others came in from various quarters and include an unpainted Mastermodels casting (right) some Merit versions (centre) an Airfix farm dog and what I suspect is an airliner civilian (left) with more Wardie Mastermodels metals' in the little bag.

The only way to tell if they are Slater's or Merit are the European-style thin, clear-plastic, sheet bases on the Slater's (some merit have none (early?), other latter ones got heavier oval bases with a chamfered edge) and the more subdued painting of the Slater's figures - the yellow lady might be a latter Merit make-up-the-numbers addition? You can't really tell the difference between Merit and Modelscene (fourth branding of the sculpts) at all!

Charming Christmas cracker charms, as I bought them; two matching 'sets' of six, missing one shoe. I suspect though, that they are home-threaded, and came one per mini 'tree' cracker, as per similar items we've seen here before. They are an early 'styrene or late, stable'ish fenolic/cellulose type polymer and the little pony is still around in the very cheap crackers.

The rabbit actually came with the FG Taylor's in the first post, but is a Hong Kong example, who usually comes on a mini runner with two other poses. I have a good white-plastic Policeman, but wasn't sure on the black one (I think I have shades of blue) so as they came together, I ended-up with a  headless horseman! Metal sheep-dog is Timpo I think and a Merten/Preiser (?) horse.

A larger version of Merit's barrel (as copied by Marx), but I think there was a larger one in one of the earlier, larger 'load' sets? While the windmill is lovely, probably a tourist item from Holland, it's early I think, and polystyrene with an aluminium rivet.

Odds and sods and out of focus, so we'll move swiftly along - cereal premium, Phidal superhero and pencil topper!

I meant to grab these at the PW show, as I knew they were getting cheap, but it wasn't until Michael M-S grabbed most of them that I remembered, so took the dregs with a three-part Plesiosaur (who'll glue OK) and a woolly Mammoth!

Another Remco firefighter closes the shoot, although I did also buy a whole train-set which will get a separate post!

S is for Sandown Park - May 2022 - 2 of 3

Part two of the Sandown plunder posts, and while it wasn't a particularly memorable show for nice things, I did get a pretty eclectic mix of bits and bobs, so let's have a look at a few more . . .

I think these were two separate purchases as I went round the tables, on the left a late, but still marked, Lik Be (LB) robot fitted with a key-chain loop and in soft polyethylene with a few stabs of silver paint. On the right a variation of the bath diver, this paler than usual, and unmarked so might be British rather than Hong Kong in origin, but not the - often overpriced - Tresco one! We looked at a few here.

Some more hollow-cast, lead 'gap-fillers' from Adrian, another red-legged Lone Star legionary (from Steve Vickers, who thinks it's a repaint . . . I don't mind!), and a bag of Pic-a-Pac (Prison Industries/Pridus?) Charbens Guards, who we have to assume are Scots Guards, from both the lack of a plume and the inclusion of a kilted piper - not rare, the seller had a box-full!

The price was taped to the catapult and was quite expensive - for a catapult, the rest were spread about the shelf a bit, so I asked it it was for the catapult or the whole lot and he said the whole lot, at which point the unit-price became very reasonable, so I bought them - the second 40mm Elastolin lot in two weeks!

Four crew and a wheelwright/blacksmith's assistant but take his spare/mended wheel away and he makes an excellent extra crew-member!

This bunch were in the lot too, various archery shield-works/screens for laying siege, wicker and timber mantlets with wheels to push about the place, and a more substantial wall, with modular construction.

Poor photo I'm  afraid, there's a couple of them as I was shooting against Boysey-Boy's freshly laundered fleece and it's so soft and fluffy (he loves it) that the camera didn't know what/where solid was! But yeah - Blue Box Russians, another HK radio-operator Adrian found in his post-PW Show sort-out and another Aurora kit figure Russian.

Two Marx 60mm sports figures, coincidentally the two most usually broken (I think I have the golfer WITH super-glue!), both have their flesh coloured-in which I think was an end-used addition? And a reissue (?) of the 54mm female jungle explorer

Box-ticking with the lead civilians! Charbens (or copy?) farmer - Crescent mechanic -Unknown (penny toy?) - Johillco milkmaid? I'll check them all against the books at some point! I love the farmer's matching neck-tie and handkerchief in polka-dots!

Seen before here, courtesy of Chris Smith, as 'unknown, a bit like Arco', now known as Pikit Toys 'Battle of the Bi-Trons' with a better post coming, probably in RTM?

A well! Since the two or three posts/follow-ups on these a year or so ago, Chris has sent me one or two, I've bought one or two, so the whole sample/side-collection has grown somewhat but is currently in several places, most of them buried in a shipping container, so it will be a while before we return to them, but we will and with a better picture than last time, and they told a reasonable tale then! This is the all lead version of the Barratt piece we looked at here, produced after Taylor had 'won' the T&B tool in the divvy-up!

Another one that's not quite in focus, we saw them years ago when I shot them on [I think?] Phil's table at Sandown Park, now I have a set, a nice box ticked. A bit pricy, and not as rare as some would have you believe, they found a load when the Elastolin factory closed about 15/20-years ago, so all the interested parties got a set at the time!

From the rears, the red one is quite a traditional, if portly 'crab-man', and the spaceman is very good if a bit uninspired, the other two however came from the fevered minds of a surrealist on drugs! The blue one is both inventive and wacky, but the monkey-faced, horned, flat-chested, ostrich-knickered, hoofed, rubber-stretchy hula-lady is the stuff of nightmares!

I wonder if there is a Perry Rodan connection with these figures; there isn't an 'overt' one as far as I am aware, but I thought maybe some of the paperback artworks might have inspired the sculptor/s?

S is for Sandown Park - May 2022 - 1 of 3

Following the pattern of the Plastic Warrior show posts, I've just shot these in a random order and they happen to have worked out - after a few collages - to eleven shots per post, three posts!

I bought this in the stand-scrum which occurs outside, before setting-up, although it wasn't much of a scrum this time; only four or five dealers set up on the terraces last Saturday. This is unmarked but probably British, and would have a rubber-band to twist/wind, for motive power.

Four mini-cars; another colour variation of those Quaker premiums, the green one is unmarked but identical to a Beeju example I have (I think!) and the driver is very Beeju, so it must be one of theirs! The yellow-one is very simple and reminiscent of the educational bulk-lots, but thinner-walled plastic and the grey one might be Minic or Joef, but from a rail-wagon car-carrier I suspect - it's not got the chrome underside or Minic mark, but some marks have been blanked-off the tool?

F.G.Taylor's rabbit burrow and pair of rabbits! Aren't they delightful? The sitting one has a carrot and the other is rushing back to share it!

Tin-plate pieces; I think I have a better version of the tree, and the garden fence seems to go with it, set wise, both are probably ciggaret-pack premiums, while the guardsman is a bit older I suspect, a penny toy (?) in two peieces - the guardsman and the base he's pinned-to, the others make their own bases with a quick bend!

Before and after cleaning; this is interesting, it's a bath toy, it floats, we've seen 'em, had 'em in the past. It's marked 'Made in England', could be any one of a number of makers, all the 'usual suspects'; Airfix, Tudor Rose/Kleeware, Thomas/Poplar, Bell, Merit . . . but, I would like it to be - Fraser & Glass! The upper (deck and superstructure) is beginning to curl-up with age and has the properties and colour of F&G's Crazy Clowns . . . nothing empirical, just a hunch/wish! Some of the six side fenders are damaged.

Couple more Captain Video's who are probably Winco Condar! Both in a heavy 'styrene of a a dark silver or gunmetal shade.

Starting to track down a few of the real rarities! Playland Products (M. G. Southall)'s pulp fiction figures of Sir Hubert Guest in a green spacesuit and the eponymous Dan Dare in the yellow.

Now, having never been happy with the Thomas/Poplar attribution for the origins of the Frog Bloodhound Missile kit's crew figures, something I have gone on record saying, more than once, I have to say, there are a few similarities here. The baseless feet in heavy shoes, the size, the casual poses (four out of the five in this set are just standing around - like the RAF geezers, only Digby's active; waving weapons around like a reckless redneck!), even - to a lesser extent - the sculpting, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were found that Southall were behind those contracted buy-ins?

I got eight key-rings in three purchases, but they have gone-on to the various posts in the medium-to-long-term queue, so you only get a glimpse here, but what can you make out; I had the skeleton as a teenager, it ended-up on my denim 'cut-off', Xandria,  Henson's Muppets, the cannon is nice, and another Highlander!

Now these are interesting, six sexy Manga babes, to compete with the Marx Misses we saw here recently! They are actually a limited (50 sets apparently?) edition, in resin, of plastic 'Pit Babe' figures issued with Scalextric Japan for a limited time - quote from Worthpoint (so eBay!):

"The 2004 JGTC [Japan Grand Touring Car (Championship)] series of cars released by QuattroX (Japanese Scalextric) were a hit with kids all over Japan but later shunned by parents due to the seductive anime style "Pit Babe" . Such a controversial outcry provoked Quattrox to promptly remove the cars from the shelves, later re-releasing them minus the race Pit Girl."

A mixed lot of metal and composition from Adrien's rummage trays on the Mecator Trading stall, metal for reference in the future, composition because I can't pass on it! The three pilots I've probably got, but I grabbed them to make sure I could produce the next image, what with all mine in storage!

Combined with the stuff from the PW show, two weeks ago now, we have a shot of all known - to this author - versions of composition pilot; 20, 54 and near-60mm. I think Dave Scrivener sent me a shot of his before he left us, which I should have somewhere, so we may well return to the subject again in the future?

The new, brown one, is similar in execution, but has a better base, and, more importantly; a different arrangement of harness-straps, so a second maker is likely, as Zang/Timpo/Timpolin stuck with the same pose and uniform for all the other versions. The new one doesn't have gauntlets either.

H is for Hedge Pig

Mentioned earlier, those hedgehogs in full . . . first shot was taken in April, of a quite ginger one, although the camera flash rather hides it, and I think it's in the trio a week or two later, they liked the uneaten cat-food, but then, round here that's sliced ham!

Q is for Quintet of Queerish Questors

Yeah, I dun'know, it sort of started with Quartet and just grew! At one point it was diving divers di . . . it got samey! Just a quicky; it's been a long day! We're looking at a group of pretty diverse divers - oh, could have run with that?!! - I picked-up in the autumn and spring.

It's the five on the left we'll inspect in a minute, but I shot them with a few commoner plastics (trio to the right) to give some idea of size/scale and bulk/sculpt. From the left we have Manoil's hollow-cast US lump, a fully painted/matt-glazed bisque from Japan, Argentinian plastic cake-decoration (seen before) and Britain's own ceramic classic from Wade, the last is a Murano style, hand-made/blown vitreous example of the glass-carftsmann's art.

So Manoil's lump, and I don't call it a lump in a derogatory fashion, just that it's a heavy chunk of post-war lead-rich solidity! For it's time, it's a surprisingly modern suit with no cage-windows; although he seems to be carrying his air-hose, so deck or dock-side?

Also carrying his hose, this chap makes a quite good alien, being unrealistically short with a huge head, and fanciful suit-design . . . pressurised rubber? Slip-cast hollow-bisque and marked 'JAPAN'.

Wade's is similarly as fine a material as bisque, but a solid cast with a full, translucent glaze which settles after firing like a heavy wash. Not a Whimsy, but a larger, stand-alone piece aimed at the tourist keepsake/seaside market I guess . . . I shouldn't have to guess, I have the Wade book somewhere, but currently in a storage unit!

The fourth of the new additions and what a peach! Probably not as difficult to produce as some of the little animals, but still, it's all very clever . . . one of my secret pleasures at the moment is watching glass-blowing and twist-marble manufacturing videos on YouTube! So I have some idea how he's been rolled out and split, the colours added as hotter blobs, the fins squished down with steel pinchers, and so on!

We did see this chap, not long ago, but he was still around, so he gets a second outing! A polyethylene cake-decoration, with icing-spikes, under his feet and simple paint; that silver again, the Argentines like their silver paint! But a unique sculpt, as far as I know?

A second group shot, the number of photographs is due to the fact that I shot 'an article' . . . twice! Only a few days apart, I totally forgot the first photo-shoot - when I uploaded the SD-Card, there they all were; a few hedgehogs apart! Doh!

S is for Shot at the Show

I only shot one thing at the show, if you need pictures of tables about 20 were published on the Friends Who Like Plastic Warrior Faceplant page the next day! But I did shoot this as I thought it was a bit special.

Malleable Mouldings circus set, beautifully boxed and had you found this under your family's Christmas tree in the 1950's you would have been well made-up! Actually quite simple with two horse trainers, two clowns and six prancing horses, but most sets in those days were a bit simple and contained duplicates - it was only when Plastics took a full-hold that the variety we're used to now, became the norm, I guess that's why farm and zoo was so popular, their sets' tended to have lots of different items rather than six-to eight identi-men and an officer, bugler or standard bearer!

The outer is a generic gift box, laminated in patterned wrapping paper, and was probably bought-in for the festive season, it is very age-faded now, but was once a bright primrose background with scarlet and navy motifs.

Quite a Germanic or Scandinavian look to the repeat pattern, both must have had good paper industries with all those forests, maybe it came from the Hertz Mountains? All a bit Grimm or Hans Christian!

Not brilliant shots and I've placed them sideways to concentrate the eye on the colours, not the figures, but the marbling of the clowns' plastic was stunning, if you like such things (I do!); one having what seems to be every colour in the factory that day, the other centered more on the reds/yellows, but after the gloom and greyness of six years of war and blackout and ten-odd years of post-war austerity, these would have lit up the parlor/living-room when that lid came off!

A lovely thing and so rare . . . thanks to Mercator Trading for letting me shoot it.