H is for Happy Birthday to Me!

Yeah, it was a while ago, but before I get into the other April/May donations and show stuff, Adrian gave me a nice parcel for my Birthday, so I'm Blogging that first!

Having already supplied several of the missing Circus M's (M-Toy, Marty, Maysun & May Moon), along with the poodle (see previous posts), Adrian had found another lot of the Circus stuff, and look what that monkey in a vest - previously seen from Chris Smith - sits on...

A Unicycle! Which leaves, as far as I know, the rearing version of the Britains Baby Giraffe as the only item in the line, still to be found loose, but it may not be that simple? The lot also contained a Festival clown and a teeny-tiny 'styrene clown, which may have been an early Christmas cracker or gum-ball capsule-machine charm?

The clown is - I think - the first I've found with the Maysun mark, usually, but not always found on the Ringmaster. While the wheel seems to be an odd one from something else, the stub-axles having a square cross-section, which I suspect are meant to lock into a heavy metal object, allowing the monkey to balance on a 'high-wire'?

The reason I'm not sure what's still to be found in the line, is because these were also in the lot, and while they look like Blue Box (or Holly), I suspect they may be part of the M's sample, and there's nothing to place the zoo fencing with the figures, beyond the fact that they were all in the same 'mixed' lot? A family of three different sizes of the same ex-Britains sculpt crocodile.

These semi-flats were added to the tub, when I picked it up at the BMSS show, the two Brits are a mystery, seemingly being die-cast and quite crude sculpts, they aren't known to be home-cast mouldings, and are relatively unique poses? The German or 'Euro' gunner is a more common home-cast piece.

 

A lovely art-deco take on a 'Greek' war horse (?) cocktail glass decorative ornamental in blood-red, transparent polystyrene, originally credited to the industrial designer Don Manning, and they (a range of between 8-12 sculpts) were first produced in the USA, in larger sizes as Lucite ornaments, before NOSCO reproduced them, smaller (in several sizes) as novelty cocktail-glass/cheeseboard/finger-buffet decorations, in cheaper materials, as we see here.

 

Again probably Blue Box, but could be Holly Toys, New Maries or another maker altogether, what's interesting is the goose family (common in the Blue Box and Sunshine Series sets) is joined by copies of Britains hens from both the hollow-cast and Herald eras, of the British donor's production. Indeed, Britians ran the central ex-Hollow-cast mould in plastic themselves.

 

The nearer sculpt is quite common, but the rather chewed one behind it is my frst sample I think? It has the raked-bow of the WWI-era 'Dreadnought' classes, and I suspect is from another source to the commoner one, possibly from a board game, but more likely a budget-price, cracker prize.

 

The de rigueur handful of Hong Kong, post-Giant, hollow-horsed Wild West mounted figures, we will dig down into all these on the Giant Blog eventually, but this seems to be quite a clean sample, with just a couple of interlopers from another source?

 

Bag of bits! Two useful Lone Star rockets and some hand weapons are joined by the radio ariel from Airfix's Comet tank (I think?), a Corgi sack, and a lovely hand-saw, in an early polymer, probably from a toy truck/van's tool box?

 

The brown cat is from a set of early learning things which could be placed on one of those mini-whiteboard/peg-boards you could get for the playroom, Merit or Bell, Raphael Lipkin maybe? The little kitten looks modern'ish, but the other might (and it's a big 'might', I'm not calling it!) be Gem or Festival?

 

This was an interesting find by Adrian, it's the 20mm composition pilot, from Zang (for Timpo), but aping the Skybirds lead pilots, in having a white suit . . . for 'civilian'? Although, probably painted over the more common khaki (broken one lying at his feet), it appears to have been done in the factory, as the pink face matches my other samples?

 

I think the flocked puppy is probably Polly Pocket from Bluebird Toys, while the teeny chick has a W GERMANY mark on it's base, so small you need a magnifying glass, or jeweller's loupe, to read it! While the Mini Mouse is of unknown origin?

 

A collection of railway and die-cast accessory figures brings this eclectic little gift to a close. I got quite excited by the figure on the left, thinking it was one of those celluloid figures from Japan, until I realised it was an over-painted Hornby figure!

 

PVC chap on the right was Corgi, and the silver boy/driver is probably Dinky or Spot On? My gratitude to Adrian for a lovely suprise, which came between shows, and gave up all sorts of new bits!