About Me

My photo
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.

Sunday, March 3, 2024

F is for First Show of the Year - II

Continuing with the look at what came back from Sandown Park last Saturday evening, although it's always nice to meet-up with people you haven't seen since the Autumn or Christmas, the plunder's what it's all about!

These came from Gareth for a fiver, the cowboy didn't make it home in one piece, but that serves him right for stealing somebody else's country! Lone Star HO-compatible figures, a bit brittle, but they add to a small and very slowly-growing sample!
 
While this was my purchase from the terrace-stand 'car-booty' which occurs while we're waiting for the doors to open, card is a bit knackered, so I may take him off and sort it out one day, but for now my first carded Lincoln 'biggie', I have a bunch of bits in a tub somewhere, and a smaller bag - from Chris - I think, so when they all come together we'll have a proper look at them.
 
Brain Berke sent us images of this Hong Kong one, for the canoe season, and he also sent a sample to the Blog, which was shot while still in the pack as I knew I had the seperate images 'in the bag', so I will compare this with the other when they come together, and open one for another look, in a wee-while!
 
Another eclectic mix of 'singles', the early (non-geometric base) Starlux has been mucked-about with, a complete cover of green paint has all but flaked-off (I cleaned the arm after this photo-shoot with a toothpick, but the paint seems to have adhered permanently to the gaiters), while a sailor's scarf has been painted in, but looks original, which doesn't tie-in with the Para' beret, so I don't know, but it was cheap as chips!

The policeman is another die-cast or plastic vehicle accessory to join the hundreds waiting to be formally ID'd, a Blue Box cowboy (Britains Swoppet copy) and cake decoration footballer (late, polystyrene) complete the upper line-up.

The lower image seems to include a 'fire chief' for those 1-ton Humber truck fire-engines, the wheels are the same, anyway, and a soft-polyethylene copy of the Blue Box copy of a Matchbox sports car - it needs wheels, but cannibalising a tatty one will take care of that! With a penny-toy motorcyclist, from the inter-war period (think TE Lawrence), in a flat gold spray finish.
 
I think the Timpo Richard III (sold as 'King Arthur') was also a fiver, but what an addition to the Lone Star and French copies, otherwise plastic, line-up of those figures, he's a lead hollow-cast, as are the two khaki types, both from Mercator's rummage trays, Crescent on the left, not sure on the right.
 
While the rail-man is an Irish-American Comet-Gaeltacht O-gauge railway worker from Holgar Eriksson's hand, and the mechanic is the die-cast replacement for the erlier Zang-for-Timpo composition figure, probably also bought-in?
 
Finally, a few more penny-toy types, with two naval subjects above, landing party (or is he a Russo-Japanese war type?) and a rather nice Scot's piper, who I think Adrian said was either a minor-make or actually French, but I've forgotten what he said now, and it's not obvious in Joplin's big book?

What is obvious from the photographs is that he is a well-detailed and quite finely cast sculpt, particularly the drones and their connecting cord, which - level of detail/care - would tie-in with a couple of other French hollow-cast in the pile?

No comments: