P is for Pikit Toys

Have we had that title before? Many, many moons, and a fair-few new-moons ago, I posted some of the Tank Transporters here, and the unknown Hong Kong one, bottom left image in the collage (second picture down, in that post), is now known!

 

Or at least one of its importers is! Pikit Toys, a short-lived but quite prolific while it was going, outfit from Birmingham, and for those fatuous gits who keep posting stupidly ignorant questions on quora.com; no, not the new one in Alabama, the old, original one in the Midlands, England, Britain, the UK!

 

Some Pikit sets were also imported by Gordy in the US with a different overprint, I don't think this set was one of them, but someone else may well have done so - Laramie or Ja-Ru would be main likelihoods?

My loose one was (still is!) missing its rear ramp, I thought I'd mentioned it at the time, but I'd carefully hidden the loss with an Imperial staff car! What? Misleading journalism? In the 'Free West'? Surely not! Next, someone will be trying to convince you the Daily Mail and Sun are full of shit and everything that comes out of Trump's press-office is a lie! It's shocking, we're all going to the dogs!

Clearly cobbled together by a middle-man from the products of more than one of the smaller toy makers in the colony (there were 2000-odd registered there at the time), the transporter is a multimedia model with working metal axles, polyethylene tyres and a well detailed, roughly 1:76th in-scale, polystyrene main-body, while the two little tanks are common HK fodder, found in various sets from various makers and or under various brands/brand-marks, so, not much to learn there.

 

But the figures (Airfix 8th Army clones) do seem to be married to the Jeeps in origin (plastic colour), so a small clue against future research, they are similar to the Rado Industries (Ri-Toys) ones, but with solid bases against the slightly hollow ones of Rado, a bit bigger too, I think, in a year or two I will nail all this down on the But Is It Giant Blog, indeed I probably should have posted this there? Another day, new images!

Aaaaannnnnd . . . that's Rack Toy Month, off and running! You can all sod-off on holiday, and hope, maybe, I'll have something more worthy and meaningful for you in September! Those travelling incognito can find something similar to post on Faceplant!

T is for Two - Mighty Antar's & Conquerors

We looked at both these back near the start of the blog and have revisited features of them once or twice I think, but the opportunity to do 'full line-ups' wasn't to be ignored, indeed; sorting and packing was held-up for a day while I struggled to find the Matchbox one, the others all lined up on the green-baize, with a gap ready!

From the rear/right; Raphael Lipkin/Pipin Toys (1:30^th'ish), Dinky (1:43^rd), Airfix (1:76^th), Budgie (damaged), Matchbox (painted, badly!), unknown - might be Scotia? The last being two at approximately 1:125^th 'box scale' and one 1:300^th 'micro-armour' scale.

Anomalies include the Lipkin load being an FV 214 Conqueror rather than the Centurion (from Mk.5/1 - FV 4011) everyone else went with, the Budgie having the later cab design of the Mk.III [not 'mighty'] Antar with narrower bonnet and Matchbox having a simple rendition of the Sankey 50-Ton Tank Transporter trailer along with the error of the name 'Thornycroft' as "Thorneycroft" moulded on the base of the tractor-unit.

The micro-armour one is a curates egg, seemingly based on a ballast-body variant (draw-bar trailers, for the use of) it nevertheless has an articulated, fifth-wheel, DAF style trailer like the others, and may be based on the RAF's lone C6T variant, but with added 'saddle' fuel-tanks? The fuel tanks being used as tool-bins on the Lipkin biggie!

The recent purchase of another Conqueror from [The] Lucky Toys meant that while the Lipkin was out . . . anti-clockwise from the top left; the red version I got at Richmond-call-me-Whitton (the . . . no . . . THE Plastic Warrior show!) a couple of three-years ago!

Then the standard green Lipkin one that came with the transporter (you may remember we looked at the individually boxed version a while ago and both colours were on the box-art), while bottom left is the new Lucky one - I believe a home paint in gray over the chromium-finish still visible on the tracks and running gear, and about the same as the Dinky Centurion at around 1:43^rd scale.

Then the two version of Tri-Ang Conqueror (approximately 1:72nd [00-guage compatible]), one from the Minic Motorway sets (I believe) as a tank, the other from the latterly Hornby-Triang 'Battle-Space' line of the wider railway range, as a well-wagon/flat-car load with twin rocket-launcher turret and finally two box-scale (1:76^th'ish or smaller?) Tri-Ang Minic's configured as imagi-nation armoured cars but with scaled-down Conqueror turrets!

Instead of an anomaly, we have a coincidence with these; they are all equipped with push-and-go motors! Actually - maybe the train one isn't; just free-rolling? I've sent them to the storage unit now!

For those who don't know the Conqueror; it was a post-war super-heavy tank in the same family as the Soviet Russian Joseph Stalin - JSIII and American M103. The Lipkin is probably the closest to the real thing, turret-wise, but none of them really do the actual vehicle full-justice.

The Lucky Toy's model (new to me when I saw it on evilBay for no money! What else is out there?) is clearly a copy of the Tri-Ang rendition, scaled-up and with an integrally-moulded, non-revolving turret and equally integral radio-aerial.

Base-mark; aft of the forward axle's push-and-go motor housing, which is very similar to the one fitted to TAT (see tags)'s Universal/Bren-carrier, and their dime-store lorry-copy. I don't know if there is any significance to the 'v' suffix of the model-number, or if it just means 'v-ehicle' range?

N is for Not Jean! Noreda

I had one or two items in the Jean H' tub, which were not happy being there, a truck body and chassis which wouldn't take any of the plug-ins known to be Jean, and a transporter trailer/low-loader which wouldn't attach to any of the Jean stuff . . . and they both had 'new' wheels. About 18 months ago I found them on feeBay, did a bit of a dig, satisfied myself as to their being what they were and started watching two BIN-lots! I finally purchased them the other day.

Starting with a reverse of the Jean article (which will appear above this in one minute's time! If I get the scheduling right!), but here the Noreda (for that is what they are!) are the left-hand of each photo-pair, and looking at the troop carrier. It doesn't matter how you cut it, the Noreda are better finished (flash excepted) than their German counterparts. Although; with those blanket rolls, the troops themselves are a bit . . . err . . . Soviet!

Like the Höfler trucks there is a generic cab/chassis to which various add-on's can be attached, and also like Jean, the canvas-tilted GS (General Service) variant is a separate moulding, but here the tilt is a simple plug-in, rather than Jean's clumsy, hinged effort.

A nice touch is the matching trailer . . . when we used to go off on major field training exercises, nearly every vehicle would have a trailer, something missed by most kit manufacturers and/or war-gamers, it's the shear amount of 'stuff' on the move which actually blocks the roads after a strafing!

You can shift a few burning trucks in minutes by pushing them out of the way with a same-size or larger vehicle, but if they are all twisted together with their own or other vehicles' towed-crap, it all takes much longer. A battalion carries tows about 12 field kitchens, several wreaker-bogies and about 1-in-four water carriers to GS trailers (as here) on most of the other vehicles, the HQ company packets (small convoys) would have a number of generator trailers and office-bodied comm's trailers distributed among everything else.

The radar truck is another throw-back to the earlier polystyrene and die-cast sets of the 1950;s & 1960's 'dime store' era. The truck itself seems to be a generic although I've seen it described as a Berliet, I can't find a matching real-life example?

The Tank Transporter however is truer to type being a Berliet T-6 / TBU15 as also modelled by Dinky Toys (France), although the trailer is more reminiscent of that attached to the equally die-cast T-12 (also a Berliet) as modelled by Solido of Belgium. It's really a 'low-loader' suitable for APC's or (as here) plant, rather than a tank-transporter trailer.

Another comparison between the Jean APC (left) and Noreda bulldozer tracks; you can see the Noreda tracks are all-over neater, being narrower, better sculpted & finished with more strongly defined links/pads.

As a GBU, the T6 cab-unit was used with various body-types including artillery tractor and GS truck in real life, and Noreda followed that in their toy line, although this model is a bit odd - obviously meant to be a telescopic-boom crane, there is no hook, cord or anything else likely to provide instant lift, so presumably the buyer was expected to cobble something together themselves; several sets are exactly the same?

The same cab was given to an articulated petrol-tanker trailer which is similar to the Jean beast, but again cleaner and less prone to warping.

They do a Jeep, this will be the French-build post war licensed version, although I don't know what the signature differences are, I do know that AFV-geeks will walk round vintage fairs saying "That's not WWII, it's French" to anyone who'll listen to them! Same size as the Airfix Jeep (top left) takes it out of scale with the rest of the line?

The two Noreda items I've been watching for months while waiting for the moment when I'd have the funds to spare - a lack of shows has improved the evilBaying budget! Also in the lower shot a comparison with the smaller Jean card, that some copying was going on seems hinted at by the choice of both makers to go with an orange field? However given the ubiquity of Jean and the superior quality/finish of the Noreda's I don't think you can really call for either being pirate, or victim?

The guys still have a few for sale, and I can heartily recommend them, there were problems with the order - a combination of factors some of which seem to have been down to the limitations of eBay's own systems for handling currencies - anyway, they sent two [big] parcels for one postage charge and gave me top feedback the same day, not knowing what I'd give them after 24-hours of confusion!

The stuff was superbly packed as well - which left me fighting for the right to unpack! You-know-who has learnt to recognise the postman's knock from the bottom of next-door's garden! She slept in it all afternoon!

And I got to catch up on the local München news courtesy of some paper twists holding all the bubble-wrap in place. It's one of the secret pleasures of buying stuff from around the world, or around the country, papers local to the sender; Florida car-dealership deals are so much more interesting than the local garage's!

The fight for the oldest chip-shop in some forgotten corner of Norfolk seems far more important than the corrupt parking regime here in town, some property tax debate in New South Wales takes on a certain fascination lacking from the possibility of 24-months disruption if they widen the motorway within earshot . . . do you enjoy other peoples' papers in your plunder-parcels?

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events Saturday 8th - Friday 14th June 2019

So the fat, meat-sweating, golden-rugged, orange'u'tang came to Britain this week, he first opined on our internal party-political elections (against international diplomatic protocol), then opined on Breakshit (against international diplomatic protocol), then claimed never to have met the arselicken, backstabben Govey-gove (despite having done so) and then refused a meeting with the leader of her Majesty's Official Opposition (against international diplomatic protocol), the first President/Foreign Leader to do so since, err, forever, and claimed the protesters were 'fake news' despite the fact they could be heard in Downing Street!

And his Breakshit 'advice' was pure nuts! What would we sue the EU for exactly - we elected to leave? Are we going to sue them for not kicking us out quick-enough? Are we going to sue them for letting us sign the Good Friday agreement (making Breakshit technically impossible)? The Treaty of Rome, Maastricht? The man's a fuckwitted fool, I mean; he's not wholly sane and hideously ill-informed!

He did all this in the days immediately after starting trade-wars with Mexico (his third largest trade partner) and India? I note the State Department is now panicking over rare earth stocks! Go, China! You fight fire with fire.

Knowing Trump described the Duchess of Cornwall as "nasty" (there is a video), I was pleased to see the Duke keeping his distance and scowling grimly while Her Majesty the Queen gave Trump a verbal kicking in the family-jewels (and lessons in history and statesmanship) with her 'International Organisations' speech - Go, Your Majesty!

The man's a child-like, self regarding, self-obsessed, self-delusional, racist, sexist pig with no depth of knowledge of International Affairs, diplomacy, economics or even 'real' politics (or even realpolitik). He's a corrupt, nepotistic, money-driven, bully and a pervert, a serial bankrupt, tax-cheat and stooge of Moscow, I've heard. He has no redeeming features in my eyes.

The damage he's doing to America at home and abroad must have the Founding-Fathers spinning in their graves like Linda Blair's head hoying bucket-full's of vomit in the direction of the White House; the whole point of the role is to bring the country together, not break it apart!

I feel for my American friends and despair for the fools who find succour in this shambolic excuse for the Office of President. Although - hopefully his intervention will be the needed nails in Boris's coffin? Good luck Ireland!

But that luxurious natural growth on his bonce is going great-guns by the looks of it!

Anyway, the damage will only multiply over the next year or so, or even the next five, so more comforting old toys are called-for I think . . . and let's prey for no war!

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Toy Fairs

Saturday 8th June 2019

Ludlow - Tony Oaks Toy Fairs - Ludlow Toy & Train Collector's Fair

Ludlow Racecourse, Bromfield, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 2BT

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01270 652 773

Mob. - 07825 631 323

10:30 - 14:00hrs

Admission £2

Free parking

Nottingham - Townsend Toy & Train Fairs (Malcolm Townsend) - Nottingham Toy Fair

Bluecoat Academy, Nottingham, NG8 5GY

Web. - www.tttf.co.uk

Mob. - 07951 072 790

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission unknown, but accompanied under-16's free

Light refreshments

Free parking

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Sunday 9th June 2019

Haltwhistle - Jim Corr Fairs - Toy, Train & Sci-Fi Fair

Haltwhistle Leisure Centre, Greencroft, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, NE49 9DP

eMail - jim_corr73@hotmail.co.uk

Mob. - 07504 035 955

10:00 - 15:00hrs

Admission £3, children/senior citizens £2, early bird £5

Haydock Park - Barry Stockton Fairs

The Exhibition Centre, Haydock Park Racecourse, WA12 0HQ

Web. - http://barrystocktonfairs.co.uk/
Tel. - 01513 343 362
10:30 - 14:30hrs
Admission - adult £2, children £0.50p

Matlock - MGM Fairs - Matlock Dolls House Show

The Imperial Rooms, Imperial Road, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3NL (venue)

Linnet Lodge, The Village, Wembworthy, Devon, EX18 7RX (promoter)

Web. - https://mgmfairs.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@mgmfairs.co.uk

Tel. - 07818 462 448

10:30-15:00hrs

Admission - adults/seniors £2.50p, children .50p

'Pay & Display' parking

Refreshments, prize draws

Shepton Mallet - Bulldog Fairs

Royal Bath & West Showground, BA4 6QN

Web. - www.bulldogfairs.com

eMail - bulldogfairs@aol.com

Tel. - 01373 452 857

Mob. - 07917 125 641

10:30 - 14:30hrs

Admission - adults £4, under 16's free if accompanied, early-bird (from 08:30hrs) £10

St. Ives - J&J Fairs (J&J Webb)

'One Leisure' St. Ives, Burgess Hall Events & Conference Centre, Westwood Road, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 6WU

Web. - www.j-jwebbtoyfairs.com

eMail - jandjfairs@virginmedia.com

Tel. - 01522 880 383

10:00 - 14:30hrs

Admission - adult £3, seniors £2.50, 1st child £2

Where the cats and the sacks and the wives came from, not Cornwall!

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Tuesday 11th June 2019

Hook - Steven Clements Fairs - Hook Evening Fair

Hook Community Centre, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 9NN

eMail: clementfairs@aol.com

Tel. - 01380 725 322

Mob. - 07958 101 891

18:30 - 21:30hrs

Admission £1

Free parking

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Thursday 13th June 2019

Theydon Bois - Joe Lock Fairs (evening fair)

Village Hall, Coppice Row, Theydon Bois, Essex, CM16 7ER

Internet presence unknown

Mob. - 07866 641 215

19:00-21:00hrs

Admission £1

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Auctions

Saturday 8th June 2019

[Runcorn] On-line Auction - British Toy Auctions

Web. - www.britishtoyauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@britishtoyauctions.co.uk

Tel. - 01928 579 032

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Monday 10th June 2019

Lewis - Wallis and Wallis

West Street Galleries, Lewis, Sussex, BN7 2NJ

Web. - wallisandwallis.co.uk

eMail - toys@wallisandwallis.co.uk

Tel. - 01273 480 208

Fax. - 01273 476 562

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Tuesday 11th June June 2019

Canterbury - The Canterbury Auction Galleries

40 Station Road West, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 8AN

Web. - www.canterburyauctiongalleries.com

eMail - general@tcag.co.uk

Tel. - 01227 763 337

General/mixed auction including toys

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Wednesday 12th June 2019

Warrington - Warrington & Northwich Auctioneers & Valuers

551 Europa Boulevard, Westbrook, Warrington WA5 7TP

Web. - www.warringtonauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@warringtonauctions.co.uk

Tel. - 01925 658 833

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Overseas Events

Sunday 9th June 2019

Dublin (RoI) - Chris Dyer Fairs - Dublin Toy & Train Fair

The Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, Eire

Web. - www.chrisdyerfairs.co.uk

Tel. - 01643 702 757

Mob. - 07966 694 579

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £4

Just off N11 trunk road

Pasadena (USA) - Brick Boutique / Power Morphicon - Robo Toy Fest

Pasadena Convention Center, 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, California, USA

Web - http://robotoyfest.com

eMail - robotoyfest@gmail.com

Telephone contact unknown

Hours unknown, starts 10:00hrs, early bird 09:00hrs

Admission $10.00, early bird $15.00, children under 12 free.

Gift-bags while stocks last

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Friday 14th - Sunday 16th June 2019

Hong Kong (China) - HKTF - Hong Kong Toy Festival

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Web. - info@hkexpo.com.hk (venue)

Web. - www.hktf.com.hk (promoter - text is in Chinese characters)

The Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HKToyFestival/

Tel. - 852-21 531 177

Friday 14th - 10:00-21:00hrs

Saturday 15th - 10:00-21:00hrs

Sunday  16th - 10:00-20:00hrs

Admission $30HK

TimeOut says;

"Not just one for the kids, but for toy enthusiasts too . . . bringing a plethora of super cute and affordable products and collector’s items too, such as classic Tomica Hong Kong bus models and figurines featuring the city’s very own B.Wing characters. There’s also going to [be] a giant inflatable slide, game stalls and [an] interactive area to build your own toy train and tracks. Something to keep the little ones, and your inner big kid, entertained this summer."

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6th June 1944 Etc. . .

Same message as last week, loads going on all over the UK and Northern Europe, the memorials kicked-off on Tuesday with events on the South Coast and will continue into the weekend and beyond, and no doubt there will be an 15-month rolling programme of 75th's globally, culminating in first VE Day (May next year) and then VJ day (September '20).

I'll try to keep an eye on it and post the relevant links here, with minor or one-off events getting a separate listing, for now it's the same three links as last week . . .

Independent Over-arching Listing

https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/normandy/commemorations/2019

Britain - UK Government Site

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/d-day-75

France - Local Authority Site - Normandy

http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/calendar-of-events/june-603-2.html

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Toys in the Media

The Daily Torygraph managed to get both Chinatroop 'army men' and a Preiser type on the same page illustrating a story on ex-military personnel trying to get into employment in civi' street on Tuesday of this week.

Meanwhile this advertorial has been seen in several papers, the logo looking suspiciously like the old  Auctioning4U  brand-mark! Oh - God, that pink; they painted half the main office with it, it was like being trapped in a sister's dolly's wedding-dress; luckily my desk was downstairs and I didn't have to face it too-much!

If the information-age has taught me one thing, it's being suspicious of anyone who substitutes a 4 for err... 'for'!

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SSW Passim - Bendy's

The frogs which launched a series of bendy-toy posts (which is still ongoing - if occasional) a few years ago are to be found in gardening catalogues, currently dropping through the letter-slots of Britain's doors as I write.

Of interest is the pricing, 3-6-quid for an NJCroce superhero, 1-3-pounds-each for a Tobar fantasy novelty figure, but less that 35p for a frog of the same material, same size and same construction? We need Pirate-Skeleton or Man-Bat plant ties!

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H is for How They Come In

1 - All Change at BHF

The British Heart Foundation seems to have adopted a central process for 'bulking' small toys, with a new wall-rack of header-carded, bottle-bagged toys appearing on Monday. I grabbed a mixed animals one with four MEG (Morrison Entertainment Group) 'something' ...In My Pocket's (top right), two current rack-toy wild animals (bottom left) and a Hasbro-marked 'Dino-bot' of some kind. They also had bags of Lego, K'nex, building bricks etc . . . and I'll be checking back regularly, it's similar to the system used by that London charity; The Toy Project.

2 - Scored a Haul of Plunder!

On Tuesday I managed to get this lot for a total of £9.40p, the BAT (Britains) and fictional rocket-firing trailer (Lone Star) are both near-mint, while the 'Mighty Antar' and Centurion (Dinky) are a bit play-worn, but they're both things I never thought I'd own in anything other than tatty condition. As soon as I got them home I grabbed the instant cleaning kit - wet-wipes and a fluffy cloth!

After cleaning; I had to do the tank's wheels twice; they had seen heavy service somewhere muddy! The tracks are a bit slack, but complete and undamaged; likewise the two ramps on the transporter have no problems beyond paint-chipping where they slide up and down to lock-in behind their retaining bars.

The detritus and a few more shots of the main 'score'; you must have realised by now - if you've followed the Blog for any length of time - I have a bit of a thing for Thorneycroft Antar's . . . when we were kids we saw these all the time, thin-nosed and these earlier, wide-muzzled beasts, there were always convoys of them on the A30, and they used to stop for char at the old truck stops near Hook or up on Blackbush common.

If we were lucky (not so our parents) we'd get stuck behind a convoy travelling down to 'The Plain' and it might take an hour to get past them all! Funny enough, just before I bought these, like a minute or two; a couple of the modern replacement tractor-units - Oshkosh's - had passed up Fleet High Street, sans trailers?

I think they had taken a wrong turn heading for Rushmoor as we have about nine sleeping policemen in the High Street and haven't seen heavy military traffic for years! When you see them complete - the Oshkosh units - they are usually hauling steeply-angled tanker-trailers.

3 - Last Friday

Too late for last week's post, what can I say? They were a pound, what am I supposed to do? I collect figurals, they look vaguely military? They were a quid; a measly quid! They'll go with the nut-crackers and egg-cups and such-things in the 'Household Goods' box!

Branded to an MC, I think I recognise the postcode as belonging to other cheapies, so probably a phantom brand for one of the chains, Wilco or Poundland maybe, or it could be a novelty Christmas thing from Boots or Superdrug?

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Mad Mike's boys in the Congo?

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