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.

Monday, May 8, 2023

H is for How They Come In - Chris - Intro'

As I mentioned the other day, Chris Smith sent another parcel of chuck-outs, oddments and things beyond his collection parameters to the blog the other day, and I've enjoyed the initial opening, the sorting and the putting away (the last of them went up to the new flat earlier this evening!
 
So it's time to share them with the rest of you, both to entertain as to what is out there, and in the hope you may be able to ID some of the odder items?
 
The parcel commeth;




 
The unpacking and initial sorting! Because they are heading to the larger agglomerations that are the 'To Be Sorted' (TBS) boxes, which contain most of the last four or five months of incoming stuff, from Chris, four or five shows, Peter, charity shops and evilBay stuff*, they first get sorted thematically, so I can then spend a few evenings further sorting them into those boxes, which are also thematic, at which both some go in existing bags with their own kind, some get new bags.

*And in this cycle a nice gift from Jon Attwood.

I though we'd do the 'regulars' here to flesh the post out, and there was another nice bunch of parachute toy figures, as always missing their 'chutes and as always, at lest one with the remains of his strings . . . they are always 'he'!
 
The large painted one is all new I think, current, and we have seen them in several iterations and two or three sizes, but the only other one this size is grey I think, so a single figure vastly improves the overall sample!
 
The blue blow-mould is nice and the third from the left may be an 'all new' version into the collection, the rest will be mostly colour, shade or size variations of existing figures in the wider sample. That page will progress once I'm out of here.

And then there was this guy! It's a man-bat, and probably an unlicensed version of THAT Bat Man . . .but look at his features, his plastic type/colour and his face/overall sculpting . . . then look at these . . . could they belong together? I'm imagining a two blister rack-toy card with this chap and his folded parachute in one blister and a handful of the 'Bad Bat Bots' in the other? Not exactly canon; but a distinct possibility, I think?
 
Seated figures are usually another handful or feature of any lot from Chris, Peter or Trevor, or most of the type of mixed, junk lot I like to bid on. Divorced from die-cast or plastic vehicles, beach toys or model kits where they were drivers, passengers or crew, there's many to find, and many to ID . . . a future project!
 
The green chap looks like he may be from a slightly comical wind-up toy? His arms are movable. I do have a Hong Kong brand for the Kinder-like guy on the right, but I think there are a few sizes of that figure, so they will need careful attribution. If he's the one I think he is, he drives a pull-back motor trike.
 
Finally, this can go here! It's a OBE conversion from a Britains Cossack, into an Indian or Burmese (?) drummer, which Chris got in a mixed lot, it's not the best, but I doubt I could do better, and it's a fun piece, I only hope it was a damaged figure before the work started!

Many thanks to Chris, we will work through the contents of the parcel over the next few days, alternating with . . . drum-role in New York please . . . canoes! If everything goes according to a dodgy plan wot I have got! This will enable me to restock on new plunder at the Plastic Warrior show and get that sorted and shot!

2 comments:

Mark, Man of TIN said...

Bottom row numbers 2 and 3 man and woman of the seated figures / drivers picture look strongly like the civilian Bus passengers from the Airfix Old Bill type 1:32 1910 London bus kit?

Hugh Walter said...

Yes, I think we've seen them before, likewise the Tudor Rose trio, the painted one is interesting, but arm'less and the big blue one must be from a yacht or dingy?

H