K is for Kennedy Space Centre - Trucks

A brief look at the trucks in my Carry All Action Cape Kennedy Play Set, there were four cab-units and five trailers, I think there should be three different trailers and three identical cabs, so obviously the contents of more than one set, plus a piece which is a bit of a mystery!

 

High-pressure liquid something?

It can't be 'rocket fuel' because that's the next one down!

"Honest Kev's Scaffolding Co."?

 

The rocket-fuel tanker, it's marked 'ROCKET FUEL'!

 

The rocket transporter, the rocket just sort of sits there, it's not held-in firmly, and you get the feeling it (the trailer) was a bit of a rush-job, or afterthought? Cab is similar to my Aurora tanker kit (although 'kit' is doing the simplified, almost clip-together too much justice!), so a future comparison with other similar types is on the cards! Scale is about 1:70, or bigger, and they are simple 'readymade' style models; right up my street!

 

This was also in the tin? I don't think it belongs in the tin, I don't think it's even Marx, in fact, I think it might be a ladder from a carpet/beach-toy fire engine, but I don't know, and any clues will be gratefully received, but it is the same colour and type of polypropylene, that the vehicles are made of; which is the same plastic as the return-module, so it could be another, contemporaneous, Marx piece?

T is for Two - Rocketry

 I seem to have a whole bunch of images from two Sandown's which have - in the case of the earlier show - already been dipped into, and with several donation posts still in the queue, I'm just going to use piecemeal, as part of the oddments-folder plundering, or like this as a quick box-ticker!

Although box ticking is a bit rich for these two, both picked-up at the show two weeks ago, as they are more gap-filling detritus than box-tickers, yet. still, some boxes will be ticked, if you know what I mean!

On the left is an almost certainly incomplete pen-case or holder, while on the right is one of the rockets from the Mettoy 'Tank Battle Game', more on which below. Both cheap as chips, I think total outlay was £5.50p?

 

The pen-case is definitely missing a few pens, and seems to be missing some kind of central pole or mechanism, but it's not clear what, and Google has only found similar things, but not the same thing!

 

The three part tail includes a grey disc of plastic which is somehow connected to the free-spinning fin section, through the cup, but free spins itself, too, and I can't separate them without apparently doing damage, and you wonder at the smaller cup at the nose end of the rocket and what it might do, in relationship to the tail assembly, or not?

I'm pretty sure the pens are the commonly seen (back in the 1970's) generics from geometry sets, knock-off spirograph's and the like, so I may have some in the pen-zone (oh, yeah! Things we haven't even contemplated here yet!), so I might be able to replace the missing colours - a red and some blues?

[image removed!]

Courtesy of Vectis Auctions (their Christmas Toy Soldier auction is pending, but I didn't notice anything exciting, unless you're looking for boxed Timpo buildings and/or farm sets), this inage is the set the smaller red rocket belongs to, the mechanism is the same as the Tri-Ang Battle Space rocket-launcher, so it may well be fireable from the rail-car. But despite being the same company, they designed a new one for another toy, rather than reusing stock!

 

Right, that was all bullshit! Racing to publish before I went to work - in biblical weather! Actually the two Lines Group rockets were the same fat-nosed one (Mettoy game and Triang train-set), so they did reuse, and the person who told me they were 'from that game' must have been mistaken or thinking of something else, which leaves my second guess as it's being a Solido or similar 'unknown rocket'? Suffice to say, this post is now two unknown rockets!

B is for Bristol Bloodhound

Managed to tick-off a smaller 'grail' at Sandown a month ago, with the purchase of this beast, I knew it existed, I can't remember when or where I saw it, but I had seen one, some years ago I think, anyway, I recognised the box and bought it quickly without checking the contents! I've also managed to shoot it twice, with some of the following 'seen elsewhere' soon after the purchase, so a few more images than usual, and no collaging!

 

The box; exactly the sort of thing I remember from Webb's The Newsagents in Hartley Wintney when I was a kid, colourful, but basic three-colour screen-printed on low quality card, reminiscent of early, cheap, post-war wallpaper like our grandparent's bathroom ducks! It leaves little doubt as to the contents and includes simple graphical instructions in the drawings.

 

Components; there's approximately 30+ pieces, all factory assembled in both polystyrene and polyethylene, with a couple of metal parts. Several small, plastic pivots/axle-pins allow for elevation/depression of the whole launcher, which also revolves on its baseplate, and a separate Bloodhound Missile with spring-firing mechanism can be locked in.

 

Ready to fire; The trigger is slightly damaged, so while I can set it up for a photograph, I can't fire it, and that's probably a good thing, as making such a model in frangible 'styrene was not a wise move, as far as longevity is concerned, and it's a bit of a miracle it's still this complete. And that white button on the back may have had a function, which I haven't yet worked-out!

 

When I first posted it elsewhere, I suggested in might be scaled-up from the Corgi die-cast, but rapidly came to the conclusion it's more likely to be based on the Frog kit, which will give my crew-figures, from that aforementioned kit, something useful to do! It's around 1:35th scale, or maybe a little smaller, I'll have to get the Frog kit, I've never previously been after, to compare! And obviously, no maker, or any clue to same!

R is for Renwal . . . or not?

Further to the earlier post, and in part an answer to Andy B's comment on that earlier post, I already had one of the tanks Brian sent, but mine was marked Renwall and is silver and green. Brief research (a google images results page!) reveals that they come in reversed colours as well - green body/silver turret &ect . . . missile, gun, whatever. A rule which breaks-down on the single mouldings, as seen on Ed's Blog with the Army Ambulance, where you get one or the other!

 

Brian's donation on the left and my sample on the right, it's possible they are trying to depict the M103, a heavy tank designed to face-up the JS/T10 series of Soviet biggies during the early Cold War, which, unlike the Stalin's or Britain's Conqueror (that all looked 'heavy'), was more of a scale-up on the M46/7/8 series, and looks quite normal in some photo's?

You can see clearly, that where mine is marked 'Renwal' the new addition has a clear remnant of mechanical scrubbing on the tool to remove the maker's mark. I think Plasticraft bought some Renwal tooling, could the all-green (more realistic) one be a Plasticraft issue? It's also a different shade of green, but I've seen other colours/shades so that proves nothing!

Another silver/green marked Renwall combo', they all have other markings including a title block, normally on an upper (normally visible) surface, and a stock-code/tool-number, along with the branding, usually underneath.

 

And another, this being a sort of giant Sparrow Missile, doing service as a Nike/Ajax anti-Nuke' SAM. Sadly, it's not a working "You'll 'ave yer' eye out..." toy, but a useful item for space bases and the like.

 

Comparison with the Norada we saw the other day (back), possibly also trying to be an M103? The Airfix 'Pershing' (front, nominally an M26?) and a diminutive, carded Marx cap-firing die-cast to the right!

Z is for Ziggurat!

Well, I wouldn't have bored you will my travails over the last few days, you don't want to tip your 'eemies' off, but suffice to say a cancer scare has been downgraded to a 'phew', with a slightly ominous "Get it checked if it doesn't go away" caveat. Anyway, to celebrate my lighter mood this evening, here's one of the odder things in the kit catalogues of the 1960's, Imai's M2000T SF Ziggurat, is it a plane . . . yes! Is it a tank . . . yes, is it a SAM-missile T.E.L., yes! Is it goddamned-barking-mad? You betcha!

I've actually been looking for it for several years, but I thought it was in one of the UPC catalogues and when I couldn't find it there, I was stumped, but it just turned-up in a smaller AHM one!

 

It seems to be a mash-up of Imai's Scud-A ('Missile tank BB3' tracks and road-wheels), some Thunderbirds elements and their own fictional SAM 5 rocket launcher parts, so probably around 1:24th scale . . . 'ish! Relatively clip-together, and you can have one for less than 2,000-quid;

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404657806927

 

I don't normally like linking to evilBay stuff, as it doesn't tend to hang-around long, after it's sold, these days, but I think this may remain a hot-link for some time, unless there's an idiot out there keen to be parted from his money! And $4.98, would be the best part $45 today, a lot of money?

V is for Von Braun's Vergeltungsparschwein!

Half WWII German A4/V2, half Tin-Tin, and all piggy-wiggy-bank! I would have sent it to someone else, as a bit outside my remit, but they eschewed my input with their own actions, and my remit has changed, so we will see more of this stuff and other things beside, so much to catch-up on!

Shelfie taken in TKMaxx just before the main Christmas decoration display went-in, mid-November, at which point they were displaced, but may be back there now, they weren't cheap though, or I would have taken the silver one, paint on the other was a bit hit-and-miss!

T is for Two - Current Rack Toys

Another quickie, one of the things I like about RTM is that I clear 20/30-odd folders from the ever-growing pile in Picasa and this one's one of them! I think these have both come from Peter Evans, although I seem to have two examples of the boat one, so probably found one myself, it seems the same stores which carry the Red Deer rack-toys, often also carry the BJ Toys stuff as well, and we have one here in Fleet, but it doesn't always have the same stock as whichever store Peter finds his in.

We've been looking at these, both vehicles and figures in various packaging (Poundland, 99p Stores, Funrise &etc) pretty-much since the blog started, and always 'current', so this is just another iteration of product bought-in from multiple sources and packaged by a middle-man shipper, printed-up/configured for each contract/order - the VAB-type is new I think, and quite useful?

This is the one I have two of; better on the figures, not so hot on the accessories, but under the naff paint is something which could be painted-up better, and would/could serve a purpose in someone's wargaming army, I'm sure!

Close-up of the figures, better quality versions of the common 'new sculpts' (first seen from Ja-Ru or Ackerman in the 1990's?) and old Matchbox US Infantry sculpts, that's it, and thanks as always to Peter for spotting and sending the stuff to the Blog.

S is for Sandown Park - May 2023 - Military Vehicles

So to all those vehicles, in point of fact I was more restrained than I thought at the last Sandown, I just took lots of shots and split them into five posts, but there's still a fair bit to look at!

 

I think I've managed to find a Sunderland already, probably posted here, but this one was quite clean, not too distorted and relatively cheap so I grabbed it, Palitoy, but now I'm looking for the clockwork version, and any other undocumented ones like the previous posting on the subject.

 

While the US dime store/slush cast Armoured Car from Barclay was also going for a song, and was also quite clean, a few paint-chips and some grubby wheels, which would turn the purists off, but I'm not so fussed!

This ends-up dominating the post, even though it's a piece of modern crap, but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes! I have trays of this stuff, Altaya, Matchbox, Eaglemoss, DeAgostini etc . . .  and most of it is pretty, but also pretty run-of-the-mill, a lot duplicated, however I was quite taken with this.

It's a long-wheelbase, GS Truck, Unimax 85061 German Büssing-NAG Type 4500A (also available in a desert/yellow-brown scheme), with a half tilt and two passengers, and was just a bit different, and going for pocket-money, as without the packaging this modern stuff isn't worth a bean! Again - more-fool the purists!

A dodgy photograph, but it looks like it's whizzing past the viewer!

A pair of real box-tickers here; Britains 1263 Royal Artillery Gun, a gap in the collection filled, it was just a clean one and again, reasonable on the money-front, I don't think it's rare, but it was needed, was it the budget/entry-level gun, there's lots of them! And a Timpo siege catapult, which - mercifully - was complete!

Really pleased to find this, it needs the speaker/siren on the mudguard, but I've had the khaki one for years, very distorted now (probably on the Airfix Jeep page?), while this is manufactured a while later, and is a stable polystyrene, the red's a bit leery, but airfield-airside, it's good for fire/accident investigations!

I suspect this was a comic-cover giveaway or Hong Kong knock-off, of those we saw in a couple of posts a while back (lockdown?), the launcher, apart from being candy-pink, is quite a light/flimsy moulding compared to some of the branded ones, and the rocket is marbled from scraps by the look of it (not clear in the photo'), so a nice addition to that side-collection/sample!

F is for Follow-ups - Space Stuff

Sorting folders I've found two readers contributions following up on stuff from ages ago, so I'd better get them up here before they get any older!

Apologies to all, you will by now have realised it's organised chaos at this end, and with about 800 folders on toys and toy stuff, things do just 'disappear'! Sometimes they actually disappear; it seems that from time to time Picasa will just stop showing a folder on the scroll, so every year or so I try to find an hour or two to go through the 'My Pictures' folder, looking for both empty folders and folders which have been lost / forgotten or hidden by Picasa's ornery rules!

This was sent to the Blog by a loyal reader in Finland (he's since sent me something equally interesting, which is on-hold due to current events in the Independent Republic of Ukraine), and shows playing pieces for a board game which you will recognise as the Reisler spacemen (one shown) but in plain / primary coloured plastic; red one damaged. We partially tied them to Thomas's space figures here.

The game is by a Danish manufacturer Adolph Holst of Aalborg and called Avaruuspeli or 'Space Game', published in Danish there are also Finnish language versions ('rare birds' in the contributor's words!).

The same company produced a WWII type board game; Taistelupeli (or 'Conflict Game'), an example of which can still be seen here, but it's a sales site so it won't be there for ever! You can see it also has undecorated Reisler figures as playing pieces, the rather generic 'combat infantry'.

While Ed Berg sent these as a follow-up to Brian Berke's follow-up to a spring-launched missile post I did!

They are another version of MPC's rocket launcher, the missiles are very different to those shown in the original post. A smarter version still can be seen on Ed's excellent Blog here, while this is awesome!

Cheers guys, it's all bricks in the wall! It's all appreciated and it all makes it here - eventually!

A is for Army Base

And so to the Toy Major Army Base play set, not their usual PVC or ethylene 50-60mm fodder with a few accessories, and - like all their inventory - bought-in from someone else, the vehicles may one day help ID the maker, if their ad' turns-up in an old trade publication?

Being a major middle-man in the trade, Toy Major will have had some input to the manufacture and contents, if only so it would fit into the line which includes a knight's set, and probably also had, at the very least; a Wild West and either dinosaur, farm or zoo iterations?

The illustrated packaging (which we will look at below) suggests there are more contents than those displayed on the card and visible through the window, but we get a vaguely Cold War set up.

The backing photograph is unusual, depicting Canadian paratroopers (mid-1980's?) debussing from a Hercules transport 'plane, I can't find the actual photograph, but others which could be from the same sequence can be found on the Internet.

The figures, they are somewhere between the solids from First we saw here back at the beginning of the Blog, and the Action Fleet style of Galoob's Battle Squads; heavier sculpts; more like the First figures, but articulated like the Galoob.

The jeep is mostly Willy's MB, but there is more than a hint of M38 about the front end, while the Hawk trailer is a surprisingly common toy/model, I can think of four or five now, more if you include SNAP's ridiculous flying machine!

An M60 medium tank, nice from the skirt, up, but the chassis and running-gear are a bit crude, I suspect a push-and-go motor is hidden in there. It's one reason I will unbox this one day, another being to get a better look at the figures.

While the box-art; full contents-photo', suggests there is a bag of extra scenics and figures hidden in the carry case . . . and a helicopter? More reasons for an unboxing! You may also notice a similarity between this case and the diminutive one - also carried by Toy Major - we looked at just over a year ago.