H is for How They Come In - Chris - December '21 - 1 of 2

I sort of knew we'd overtaken this, and did explain to Chris back in Jan/Feb that to get 'up to date' I'd jumped a post or two, but I had hoped to get this one out before now, never mind, it's here now! I shot larger 'line-ups' with this one, so rather than three or four thematic posts, I've just split the sixteen into two-eights, as I shot them!

Initial sorting! Straight away I can see a couple of things I didn't shoot further for these posts; two of the W.Germany/Hong Kong-marked (can't remember which) coaches, we've seen them before, and with a number having come-in in the last year or two, we will return to them more fully one day, while in the bag are some Kinder (or similar Italian) pocket-money kit aircraft and I can see a micro-Chinook peeking out of the box!

These three are all interesting, they are all hard polystyrene, and it's a miracle the one on the left is still in one piece, probably a cake decoration, but a cut-above the usual fare! The middle one is a relief flat, probably surviving a long-gone snow-shaker?

While the one on the right is clearly sculpted by the same (possibly German) sculptor who did the Vitacup premiums (inset for comparison), with that same 'carved wood' effect, and we have seen a painted one of those, so not a surprise, so much as a nice find which seems to extend that 'family' of sculpts.

These are just lovely, I've got the funnies from Peter Evans (which might be Kinder) and I've got the HO Marx versions of the Babe's in Toyland guard, and now these have turned-up! Obviously cake-decorations and styled in the manner of some little angels I've seen, they are superb! About 30mm and made in polystyrene.

This was a nice surprise as I've downloaded several carded ones over the years (images only) while hoping a loose (or cheap carded-) one would turn-up . . . and here it is! Not Hong Kong's finest output, but back in 1960-something, it was just what you needed for your sandcastle on the beach! And we all had a bobby like this in our local community; although round here they had scooters - Honda 90's! One of my kittens came as a stray from 'Polly' Parrot, our local bobby! About 3&1/2 or 4-inches?

Army men! The big chap is from one of the 1:18th or 1:24th (?) kits, he's about the fourth now from various sources, all different, the guys who make those big kits tend to either not bother with the figures or replace them with servo-operated animatronics . . . I have a video somewhere I'll try to dig-out in the next few days.

The five 60-mil's are all new to the blog I think? Gulf-wars era, and really nice sculpts. The Matchbox copy might have been seen before, but I think it's a new colour, we've looked at the monogram piracies before, but I always grab/accept them when I can as there about 8-generations and I don't know how many of each there are until new ones stop turning-up!

Two smallies, then an interesting vehicle crewman, I may have a shot of him with his vehicle somewhere (one of the 'Spacex Cricket' copies, or Italian Polytoy type things?), while the last two are Tente from Spain, the construction system, similar to Lego, but preferable because they had space and military sets before the Danes!

Smallies! The camel is probably from a Christmas cracker, as will be the yellow dog (Setter/Springer type), and the Marx-copy Pecos Bill's. Hong Kog mini-sub crewman (Manurba copy) and a bag of Wild West and a Quaker gladiator horse (red), pink mini-horse (mini crackers?) . . . all lovely stuff!

We will have to return to these, as several have come-in since we did an over-view and follow-up a year or two ago, including this one! It's gone to storage and I can't remember if it's the marked Blue Box one or a more generic 'Home Farm' copy, but both are around somewhere!

Oddments, of which the obviously most-interesting is the 50mm or thereabouts miner? Bottom left, 'armyman' green plastic - is he a coal-miner, tin-miner, gold-miner? Tourist thing? Playset figure? A real mystery and a pretty unique figure? He's holding a mine-lamp and has a tin hat of the US construction/South African mine type.

The key-ring Beefeater is nice, the clown is from that set tentatively advanced as possibly the missing Hilco cake-decorations, the proboscis monkey is a lovely sculpt, but no clue as to maker, possibly a smaller accessory or 'companion piece' from a larger action figure card?

The WWI German appears at first glance to be an Airfix original of the sort you always find in mixed 'junk' lots, but when you look closely, he has a locating-stud on the base and is actually a plug-in piracy and the first I've encountered - he'll be shot with an original and dropped on the relevant page on the Airfix Blog in the fullness of time - some kind of vehicle or vessel crewman?

While, coming a few days after the Comansi GI's (down the page), the pink Indian is interesting as I have factory-painted vintage 35mm ones in Comansi packaging, unpainted 'realistic' plastic colours in Novalinea packaging (Esci knock-off boxes) and now this leery-coloured one, who might have been issued under either brand?

Many thanks to Chris as always for these donations, part two tomorrow!