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.
Showing posts with label 1:8th. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1:8th. Show all posts

Sunday, July 2, 2023

F is for Follow-up - Marx Birds!

An unscheduled post, in that I wasn't planning one, but an old friend came round while I was gardening, and a coffee and beer later, and quick trip over to the new flat to show him, and I've lost the light, so the gardening has been halted early and will be finished tomorrow, just hope the beer doesn't affect my spelling! Or should that be 'effect'?!!
 
I mentioned these the other day, they have been in Picasa for a while now, and it was clear the contents were all muddled-up when I shot them, so I'll just chuck them up as a box-ticker, and to confirm that that one the other day was also a Marx bird I think, same design, not sure anyone else did anything quite like these?



Clues on the packaging suggest at least three tranches/print-runs for the boxes, probably only one main run for production of the models, with an earlier and later issue (red or black text for the bird names) and a UK specific issue (/UK codes)?





Simple pre-coloured kits of 5-7 pieces, depicting relatively common species, and a little card with a water-colour sketch of the bird (if you want to repaint in slightly more realistically?) with a thumbnail biography on the reverse. Box-scale but maybe between 1:6th/1:8th, for the smaller tit-birds at least? The owl probably around 1:12th.
 
Similar 'match-box' packaging to the Zoo/Wild Animals (which explains my Hippo being in two parts!), as copied by the lesser Hong Kong sourced stuff from Shackmann, they must have been fun!

Now fully covered on Moonbase, via Paul the Antipodean, although it's probably the sixth time since Christmas one of the Paul's have used my Posts for their follow-ups! It's getting boring now guys, 23,000 toy companies to Blog from and you need to keep following me? Sign you're running out of original copy, isn't it? And it's not his work, it's everybody else's efforts! Tedious; but there's that bell-curve, in the background!

Friday, February 9, 2018

T is for Toy Fair '18 Reports - Minimasters Sports Company

A new name at the Toy Fair this year, and they have figures, or - at least - a figure!

I suspect a toe-dipping exercise to see how it runs and whether it will be joined by further sports figures, or quietly dropped in 18-months or so! Website says there's a golfer - good walk spoiled!

And what a figure it is! 1:8th scale (about 10-inches), the idea being one of a single interactive plaything, posable on a mantle-piece, bedside cabinet or bookshelf, paintable (it's not clear if paints are included) and for playing two knock-down or goal scoring games, as Minimaster puts it in their own blurb: "Play, Display or Customise".

A bit big for me (I'll take one if I see it unsullied by 'home painting' in a charity shop) but I wish Minimaster Football every success and might get-in small pots of claret and blue - just in case!

Humm . . . should have run this with the other footballers last week! Hey-ho, it's all grist to the mill, the first Pirates for TLAPD were stuffed forcefully thought the letter-box yesterday (Monday 5th) by Royal Fail, ripping the jiffy-bag's corner and we're about/soon to have a Pirate-ship - out of pirate-season! And them joined by more TLAPD stuff today (Tue. 6th) from Mr. Berke, so  - shaping-up for September, all I've got to do is remember nearer the time!