H is for How They Come In - Chris - May - 4

Vehicular 'Access All Areas' with this post on Chris's recent package to Small Scale World's Central Control Room, with a look at flying, floating and free-wheeling types - can you tell this first paragraph is sometimes the hardest to fill? If the muse has turned-in for the night, then she's turned-in for the night and that's it!

From the cake decorations and premiums pile; two Festival candle-holder trains, particularly pleased to get the yellow one as previously I though only Hong Kong had done it! Teeny-tiny coach with its father (a Hong Kong copy of a Manurba one) behind and a cereal premium 'Transport of the World' Chinese Junk.

Actually, there seem to be several iterations of the set, both either side of the Channel (La Manche) and either side of the pond, with cereal premiums claimed (UK/USA), margarine and coffee premiums (Germany and France respectively) and others, and different issues having different line-ups, there are also soft plastic copies from the colonies and bagged sets in opalescent pastel-colours which probably came via beach-side vendors at the sea-side, consequently (like the athletes) every example adds to the whole picture . . . one day we will look in depth at all of them together, this Chinese vessel is a subtle pink-white.

Hong Kong sports car on the left, odd body-shell on the right which might be Triang Minic or Jouef-Playcraft, they both had similar lines as rail-drive/new vehicle delivery items on their model railway flats/low-loaders/transporters? They were also both Lines Brothers!

Also a civilian car I suspect, probably from a bagful of rack-toys, but in a military green which makes it a staff-car! It actually looks quite like the Zephyr Dad had sometimes when he was 2IC in Hereford, or commandant in Brecon? Or was it a Zodiak? Big bench seat and wallowy suspension like American Cars, my brother and I thought it was better than a Rolls!

Another which is shadowing the verge between civil and military, both Chris and I have Googled all the likely movies with no luck and haven't found anything like it so it would appear to be from a  minor cartoon/movie or even small scene-specific? It's marked Disney so should be a shoe-in to ID, but so far no banana!

If you know, put us out of our misery! The driver slides back as the other [same] guy pops up to man the 'Gatling Gun'! We both suspect McDonald's, but the lack of any other mark beyond the 'DISNEY' (not even a date) rather rules that out as their Kid's Meal toys are usually covered in consumer information and licensing marks?

It's bloody cool though? Very Indiana Jones, or WWI'ish, and would [will!] go well with the Disney Store Indy' stuff - I wondered at Incredibles II which I haven't seen, or the latest 101 Dalmatians?

Actual Military now, with a Micro-Machines Frog/Scud divorced from its 'TEL' (transporter/erector/launcher), and a current twin-gun rack-toy tank, which we may have seen or not, there are a few out there!

Now . . . this is brilliant, a traditional, 1970's style, rack-toy BRDM, in four-part clip-together polyethylene, with the standard (for the era) US roundel from early-war aircraft! But . . . clearly a copy of the Play Art die-cast model of the same vehicle, most unusual, and a very gratefully received present!

Mini and Micro 'planes, I rather like the Iwako style eraser helicopter (plastic skid landing-gear and prop'), and again the rack-toy 'ethylene AWAC is fun. The teeny one on the middle is a Fairy Fulmar from Airfix's 1:600 Ark Royal - I ruined one when I was a kid!

The silver trainer type jet has a plug underneath and may be from a larger scale Carrier toy, while the mosquito is an MPC copy.

One the right two from cheepie sets, one camouflaged, one more colourful and a nice bronzed/weathered pencil-sharpener which will join the rest of the 'mocherette' accessories, for that still-in-the-pipeline page! All die-cast alloy.

W...T...F...? Gotta'be a wing-walking team, but who? Galloob? Corgi? 'China'? And why do only two have their goggles painted in (making them look like extra's on The Fly!) . . . that's the pilot, in brown, by the way - on his back . . . four ladies dancing on an aeroplane's wing . . . Mono- or Bi-? Answers on a postcard, or just let us know in the comments!

Naval elements include two Chris had previously sent me images of for a follow-up which never sort of happened, but it was also conversational in that emails were exchanged, they being the outside two.

Nearest the camera and the aircraft carrier are Hong Kong copies of TriAng Minic Waterline ships, while the coloured one is Galoob Micromachines. Which leaves the one I had question-marked against the WHW vessels and possibly also being WHW, but I fear it's looking more likely they are a lesser HK thing? Jury's still out on that one.

Ahh, yes . . . Royal Fail and Parcel Farce, conspiring to carnage! The Marx 'miniature Masterpiece' medieval horse will glue, as will the rather fine terracotta Santon with fish-baskets on a yolk-carrier, but the fixed-turret, twin-barreled, rack-toy tank has been well and truly unfixed!

I can't complain because thanks to Chris Smith they were all free! And it'll be the military figures next.