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.

Sunday, November 27, 2022

A is for And so to London - Loot Bag!

While I'm up 'The Smoke' (which has been smokeless since at least the 1970's!), I always look around for a few things I might not find locally, and Peter takes me to his local discount store, to which end the results of my last trip 'up to town' are this post!

15; Aras; Candy Toys; Candytoys; Ceremonial Troops; Desert Tank; Die Cast Metal Set; Dio Keyring; Eggo; Eggo Toys; Elgate Products; Global Gida; Hunter Price International; Mini Slinky; Minion Slinky; Minions; Pencil Sharpener Set; Pencil Tops; PS 336; Souvenir of London; Squish Animals; Styler Baby; The Sensory Toybox; Tourist Souvenirs; Tourist Trinket; Toymania; Unique Plus Ltd.; Wind-up;
In the said discount store I grabbed a box of three capsule-eggs by a minor-make, imported by Unique Plus Ltd., and from a Turkish outfit called Global, but branded Candy Toys and 'Aras Eggo', I've only shot one, but it was a nice clip-together bicycle around the 54/60mm size. I can't remember if the other two were crap, or if I saved them for another day?

15; Aras; Candy Toys; Candytoys; Ceremonial Troops; Desert Tank; Die Cast Metal Set; Dio Keyring; Eggo; Eggo Toys; Elgate Products; Global Gida; Hunter Price International; Mini Slinky; Minion Slinky; Minions; Pencil Sharpener Set; Pencil Tops; PS 336; Souvenir of London; Squish Animals; Styler Baby; The Sensory Toybox; Tourist Souvenirs; Tourist Trinket; Toymania; Unique Plus Ltd.; Wind-up;
These were also there for a quid-each or less, Toymania from Hunter Price International (whose logo is a large bear riding a penny-farthing!), and looked like a bit of Dino-fun, only the two designs were available, I don't know if there are any others, and a soft rubbery polymer, probably filled with the same corn-syrup Stretch Armstrong was?

15; Aras; Candy Toys; Candytoys; Ceremonial Troops; Desert Tank; Die Cast Metal Set; Dio Keyring; Eggo; Eggo Toys; Elgate Products; Global Gida; Hunter Price International; Mini Slinky; Minion Slinky; Minions; Pencil Sharpener Set; Pencil Tops; PS 336; Souvenir of London; Squish Animals; Styler Baby; The Sensory Toybox; Tourist Souvenirs; Tourist Trinket; Toymania; Unique Plus Ltd.; Wind-up;
And this little babe was next to the Dino-sqishes! She's a bit weird, as she has two clip-on dresses, but ony the front/sides are modelled, so from the rear you can see her pink-underslip! Hence the stand and mini action-figure holder, she's for display, with the odd change of outwear! Also from Global Gida.

15; Aras; Candy Toys; Candytoys; Ceremonial Troops; Desert Tank; Die Cast Metal Set; Dio Keyring; Eggo; Eggo Toys; Elgate Products; Global Gida; Hunter Price International; Mini Slinky; Minion Slinky; Minions; Pencil Sharpener Set; Pencil Tops; PS 336; Souvenir of London; Squish Animals; Styler Baby; The Sensory Toybox; Tourist Souvenirs; Tourist Trinket; Toymania; Unique Plus Ltd.; Wind-up;
On the way to visit Peter's work, we passed a junky-antiquey shop and I asked if he ever got anything from it and Peter said occasionally (without much enthusiasm!), but after missing the bus past his work on the way back, I elected to walk up to the next stop, and the next (exercise is good for you and the weather was fine!), inevitably though; the  next bus went past while I was between stops!

Eventually I realised I'd walked back to where the shop was over the road, so I popped in, there was nothing of interest, but the chap there was determined to 'help' me, and when I mentioned I was looking for vintage toy soldiers, model figures or military/space toys, he went out the back and came back with this!

No brand, beyond a tomato in yellow shorts which may themselves be a Chinese character, and clearly not that old, but mid-to-late 1990's is old for some people! It's a space ta . . . err . . . armoured car!

Clockwork, the key's missing but I have a bag of spares somewhere, it has an eccentric wheel to send it off in odd directions, and a sparking engine-bay (so, much like most Russian tanks these days - Slava Ukraine!), and was a bit of fun so it came home with me!

15; Aras; Candy Toys; Candytoys; Ceremonial Troops; Desert Tank; Die Cast Metal Set; Dio Keyring; Eggo; Eggo Toys; Elgate Products; Global Gida; Hunter Price International; Mini Slinky; Minion Slinky; Minions; Pencil Sharpener Set; Pencil Tops; PS 336; Souvenir of London; Squish Animals; Styler Baby; The Sensory Toybox; Tourist Souvenirs; Tourist Trinket; Toymania; Unique Plus Ltd.; Wind-up;

Walking down to Charing Cross and cutting through St Martin's Place you pass a bunch of Touristy shops, and while there wasn't much, I saw these two in a stand at not-much each and grabbed them so you won't have to!

We've looked at animals with pencil-top holes very similar to this horse I think (they may be in the long queue?), so this is more confirmation than anything else, while the guardsman is a pen-dangler, and a little blob of super-deformed poured resin to boot!

15; Aras; Candy Toys; Candytoys; Ceremonial Troops; Desert Tank; Die Cast Metal Set; Dio Keyring; Eggo; Eggo Toys; Elgate Products; Global Gida; Hunter Price International; Mini Slinky; Minion Slinky; Minions; Pencil Sharpener Set; Pencil Tops; PS 336; Souvenir of London; Squish Animals; Styler Baby; The Sensory Toybox; Tourist Souvenirs; Tourist Trinket; Toymania; Unique Plus Ltd.; Wind-up;
When I went to pay for the toppers or the next lot (below, seperate shops) this egg was on the counter by the till, so I grabbed one on the off-chance and got a figural, Minion slinky . . . or 'slinky-Minion? I haven't noted the brand on this, but I saved the wrapper so it's in the 'archive' for future revalation!

15; Aras; Candy Toys; Candytoys; Ceremonial Troops; Desert Tank; Die Cast Metal Set; Dio Keyring; Eggo; Eggo Toys; Elgate Products; Global Gida; Hunter Price International; Mini Slinky; Minion Slinky; Minions; Pencil Sharpener Set; Pencil Tops; PS 336; Souvenir of London; Squish Animals; Styler Baby; The Sensory Toybox; Tourist Souvenirs; Tourist Trinket; Toymania; Unique Plus Ltd.; Wind-up;
Theseare both good and bad, they're good because they were dirt cheap, they're quite nice die-casts, wire brush-polished for that satin/silk look and then both anodised gold and antiqued with a dark wash, but bad because they are obviously drilled for pencil sharpeners, which haven't been fitted, so either a bloody swizz, or an ugly hole, you chose! Imported from China by Elgate Products - previously importing resin Pirates; see Blog passim, also courtesy of Peter Evans.

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