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.

Friday, January 19, 2024

B is for Britains' Big Book of . . . !

I have this book, but I think I got my copy cheap from the wonderful second-hand book cooperative in Wantage a decade, or more ago, without the slip-case /box and freebie of a set of reproduction hollow-cast toy soldiers, manufactured by Britains themselves, for the mighty-tome, which is authored by the inimitable James Opie, so it was nice to be able to shoot it elsewhere the other day.
 
There's very little left to say or show from Britains, and while there was a little more history to them, I believe James has updated the story in a smaller work, with the final death and shenanigans surrounding it. The box is not in the best condition!

The all important (to completists) set of figures, being colonial era ceremonial troops in their parade finest, foot guards and lancers. There were 2500 copies of this version issued and each is numbered, if not also signed by the author? I didn't check.

With the equally (to the history of toy soldiers) important cavalry horse, much copied, first by other lead and hollow-cast makers, then in plastic by the likes of Bergan/Beton, Frazier & Glass, Airfix, Tudor Rose, Reamsa and Reisler as 2/3rd generation, then by Hong Kong and various French/Spanish/Italian producers as bazaar/'Sobre'/rack-toy's and premiums (Bonux) in smaller sizes, often much smaller/thinner, often pulling horse-drawn equipment/transport.

4 comments:

Jan Ferris said...

Lovely Hugh, very lovely!

Hugh Walter said...

Cheers Jan, it's not mine, as I say I have the cheap version without the figures, these boxed-ones go for £200-plus nowadays!

H

Jan Ferris said...

That is a lot of Guinness!

Hugh Walter said...

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! It IS mate! It's officially a fuck-ton, which is several shit-loads!

H