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, June 5, 2023

C is for Canoes - 23 - Marx

I've recived shots for a 24th post, which won't surprise you, you had no idea of the plans, but they were originally for 22 posts, which stated to look like more a week or so ago, although the original 24th was to be Thomas-Poplar, but I may hold them for now as we covered them quite well a while ago here, and they can be a stand-alone post in a few weeks, or something?
 
In the end we might have got to 30, but I pulled the posts on Modern Metal production as the images were mostly current commercial ones sent to me more for reference, and likewise a Ron Barzo post, where I think The Toy Soldier Company are still using all the images! But, Dogs Of War, Frontline, Jon Jenkins and Little Legion all have very good white metal native canoes, Barzo have done two or three over the years, in resin, and I meant to do the Crescent slush-cast lead one, but it didn't happen!
 
Did we do the five-piece plastic Cherilea one? Oh yes, years ago, now tagged, and the other day, with bits and bobs in other posts . . . My 'eemies' have very small victories, but they have very small minds! Heehee!
 
Marx UK version of the Johnny West canoe, Now I have a confession to make here; when we were kids I hated the Marx 12" Wild West set, for a number of reasons, all of which fail to meet the test of retrospective scrutiny. To wit: Wild West (we had Action Man, and he was all WWII-to-Modern), PVC accessories (like late Action Man sets!), Hong Kong manufacture (well a lot of Action Man's stuff especially the stuff shared directly with GI Joe was firmly stamped HONG KONG!), different articulation (they still pose well), lack of real-cloth over-clothing (they are well detailed) . . . it was simply some sort of childhood/childish snobbery!
 
The fact is, as 'any fool know', they are very well-made, characterful and the PVC accessories have mostly stood the test of time, if I had a better budget and more space I'd probably start collecting them!
 
Luckily I don't have enough of either, but for those who do, they don't seem to be that rare (but then neither is Action Man these days, after the heady gold rush of the 1990's, a lot has come out of the woodwork!), although, I'd collect through part/bitty/job-lots, as the near perfect ones are often set far higher than they are worth!

But the canoe doesn't seem to come up so often and may be worth any premium it carries, there were none available when I looked on evilBay the other day. A US made version, shown above, I think.
 
Marx also did a 54mm/1:32nd scale canoe, and this is Brian's reissue. We saw the nominally 'HO' one, in the small scale post a few days ago. Many thanks again to Brian for the images.

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