R is for Round-up! Art Plastics

So, our last visit to Art this year, but I'm sure we'll visit them again, as they seem to have been as prolific - as knock-off pirates - out of Hong Kong as Fontanini were back in the home territory of Europe, and - of course - the USA!

I picked these up a few weeks ago, for this 'mini season' on Art, they are the same set we started last year's small-scale post with, but naked as the day they left the injector head! The carry/storage case is different, both in layout and lacking the pull-out dividers, it's all one moulding, so maybe a bit later - more sophisticated technology, as the higher shelves of the smaller compartments are now moulded-in?

I'm not sure on the missing components, as the count is different from last years, and we have all the kings, but I suspect the lamb belongs in the empty shallow shelf, leaving room for a second sheep? Joseph is missing (but the kneeling shepherd with stick can stand-in) and that a couple of shepherds are the other two empty tall ones?

The survivors! Why I'm, sure we'll re-visitArt Plastics, I hate question marks, so I'll track down a better one! The Donkey is suffering from mould-heat induced rickets, and won't stand up!

A couple of shots of off that evilBay; on the right a small scale variation of the other set we've been looking at, marked Art, on the left what I suspect is the 60mm set in a much larger tray (which may be polyethylene? The tray, not the figures), and you can do a quick comparison, one set is 'Art Deco'y with sharp edged sculpting, the other softer and more Fontanini-like.

With standing animals in one set, laying animals in the other, a choice of up to three standing shepherds, a second laying sheep with reverse head-sculpt, different baby Jesus's and several angels, in at least four sizes, and having realistic or stylised painting, on white, dun or cream plastic, or left undecorated, they could produce workable Nativities for most budgets from a basic 8-figures, up to 18+ items, and they were copied by some of their neighbours in Hong Kong!

And, while one or two of the sculpts in the more-realistic set are straight-lifts from Fontanini, others seem more original, with the 'Art deco' sculpted set, I'm not so sure if they are original, or a complete copy of a Euro-set, but I'll find out over time, and as I've said, we'll return to them with more, because there is more, not least a side-by-side comparison between the various figures/sizes and two set, which are currently in three places!