Z is for Zàini

First post of 2024, let's hope it's a better year than the last four, because people have literally given-up on the funny-how-awful-this-year-is memes, as they get steadily worse, you don't want to tempt fate!

So, I bought these in Lidl while purchasing mini-stollen before Christmas, and thought to eat them and photograph them while I listened to the few fireworks, if New Year's 'Moment' said anything about the coming year, it's that poverty will bite, as hardly anyone bought fireworks this year . . . no bad thing for pets and the environment, but, Tory-sponsored hunger and evictions hover.

They had two choices, I can't remember what the other one was, but it was 1-in-3 of something 'girly', so I chose the Scoobie-Doo one as I've always been a fan of Scoobie, although you have my permission to turn Scrappy into lion-meat.

It's the same with Tom & Jerry; who's the stupid kitten, who's the idiot different-coloured mouse in a nappy? Phuq-em off, out of it, we want the old characters doing what they do, to each-other, over and over, and over again, we don't want mawkish juveniles intervening after some focus group's been talked round to liking some new characters!

 

I was on a focus group once . . . not only did they try to convince us to 'choose A', but went with A after we'd explained why it was a bad idea, and then disappeared without a trace. A toy soldier thing, I'll have all the bumf in the archive somewhere, they paid attendance for the day, London-parking and mileage, coffee and biscuits, there may even have been a buffet lunch, I can't remember, but, still, it was a good breeze!

So, we've got the cam-snail, an old novelty, which Kinder have done a bigger version of, over the years, an over-moulded pencil-clinger and a figure in 40mm polystyrene from the Train Your Dragon franchise, which was (with the exception of the figure) a bit disappointing!

 

The guide says not all surprises are shown, so while there are more figures, there are also more lame pencil decorations, but the Zàini (apparently founded in 1919) are less than half the price of Kinder, so luck dictates that if you buy enough, you should get what you are looking for.

It's the same with the Scooby-Doo stuff, the inner sheet has two 'Mr. Saunders' dressed-up as haunting monsters, so the range is worth the collecting, if you've got kids, I'll look for complete sets on evilBay in a year or two!