E is for Epixx . . . Fantasy Knight

Credited to both Revell and Blue Box/BBI, I picked this up (TKMaxx, Basingrad, April) purely because it was clearly cheap as chips, well . . . cheaper than chips, unless you limit yourself to a child's portion (as I do!) in which case chips are cheaper, but only just - 80p!

Now, the first thing to notice is that apart from the shield-art, there's little to suggest fantasy really, his flaming sword looks like/can double-for a flaming-brand and the fact that he's wearing his jousting finery is not that remarkable, the aristocracy tend to the same vanities and social climbing as any other pink-monkeys, and I'm sure some did go into battle 'over-dressed' in their 'best-kit'!

But the other thing that leaps-out is that he's covered in dust and fluff?

It would appear (the figure is dated 2007) that it fell down the back of a storage shelf (probably in the same branch) and sat there for the best part of the last decade! There were signs of the card having been given a clean - a column of dust with finger-marks either side of it down the card immediately behind his back - but the figure itself hadn't been cleaned.

The usual OTT packaging on these types of toys and the info-panel on the bottom of the box; assuming a year's retail, a few months in storage, clearance to TKMaxx, distribution to Basingrad and what; four weeks on display? This has been hidden from view since at least 2009 sometime!

Cleaned-up with cotton-buds (paper stem only!) he's a fine chap, rather channeling one of the better Herald - Hong Kong - figures (pole-arm), the flaming brand needs to go though, it's about to set his headdress on fire!

Removal of the jerkin design and a repaint of the shield with an eagle's head or similar motif and he'll be just another medieval, if a little on the large size, but with Schleich, Papo and ELC increasingly appearing in the collection, he's not that out of place and we'll be looking at some even larger medievals soon here at Small Scale World.

A is for All Hallows' Eve - Skeleton Pirates - Small

These Blue Box are a bit of a mystery too, only because while I keep a good track of everything that comes-in, I seem to have completely lost track of these! I can't find them in any 'how they come in' shots published or not, but I don't remember them coming from a charity shop either, so while they may have been in the ex-storage stash, or a Sandown purchase which escaped the radar; if you recognise them as being from you, let me know for a full acknowledgement and thanks!

If they did come out of the 'storage sorts' the other week, they pre-date the issuing dates given elsewhere, by a certain self-abusing monkey-lizard, by some years, as they would have to be from 2010 or 2011 at the latest?

Skeletons that are pirates, pirate-skeletons . . . which day to post them, are they firstly pirates and skeletons second, or primarily skeletons with a secondary pirate theme? It's not all having toy-fun, or baiting TJF here at Small Scale World Towers, some heavy editorial decision-making has to be undertaken on an almost daily, weekly, monthly . . . regularly occasional basis!

They came with five similar - but fully-fleshed - pirates, in blue,  I may (must?) have somewhere else! Bases only have a generic 'CHINA' mark.

Comparison shot with some of the similar figures out there, the 1980/90's Egyptian skeleton sculpts are a little bigger than the others, but nothing paint won't hide! Sculpting style is quite like both Jaru's pirates and their version of the Egyptian skeletons?

A is for Archive - BBI Elite Command

Not their finest hour!

The Elite Command sets of Romans, Napoleonics and ACW were reasonable if slightly wooden or static sculpting, but most of these WWII figures are pretty dreadful! The six 'Classic' figures on the bottom row are obviously by a different sculptor (or sculptors?) and are much improved, in sculpting, posing and finish; they are also harder to find on evilBay!

Marshals' Rommel and Eisenhower manage to hold a little gravitas by dint of having most of their person and/or detailing covered with greatcoats, but the other three look like clowns dressed-up as famous generals/officers! The American grenade-thrower's all right I suppose, but the kneeling guy? He looks like he's never seen a rifle before!

News, Views etc . . . Blue Box + Generic

Brain Berke sent these shelfies with the news that they are back in K-Mart . . . if you are lucky enough to live over the other side of the pond! They never got a release over here the last time (as far as I know - but I'm a retard!) and I haven't seen them over here recently either.

However; I haven't checked the Toysaurus since Christmas and will also have a look in the new Smyth's which had its 'grand opening' in Farnborough last month and the re-ferrb'ed Entertainer in Basingrad, which is due to re-open any day now!

Under the wider BBI - Elite Force branding, Blue Box's tub-set; Battle Group - available now!

Meanwhile I was taking shelfies of my own in Basingrad the other day, at £10.99 it's staying on the shelf and the - roughly 65mm - figures have been around for a while in various sets; branded and unbranded, so just another format.

The toy tank actually looks like a reasonable model of an M46-47 type - road wheels a little small maybe and it's big; better suited to 4/5-inch action figures, but if you've got the space and a spare tenner; it looks like fun!

They say;- "Famous Wind Speed"!

V is for Vinyl Villains

I had a bunch of stuff to publish between Christmas and the New Year, but decided to have a few days off, I hope everyone has had a good holiday, the weather would suggest the [absolutely happening] climate-change models will need tweaking in the new year, my thoughts with those wet souls in the North, along with the victims of fires in Australia and California, unseasonal - in severity - tornadoes in the South-west States (and snow in Mexico!??) along with anyone trying to find the melted North Pole...Happy weird New Year!

Perhaps - with the Paris agreement now dry - 2016 will be the year people finally understand the Hippies were right all those years ago, and big business has got away with another 50 years of unregulated damage-making...still, we buy their shit, and elect their overseers, so we can only blame ourselves! Trump for President of the end of the world!

Spotted in Poundland in the lead-up to Christmas. Dressed in the in-house Funtastic branding, these seem to be re-badged BBi (Blue Box International) Elite Force copies of the Schleich for Revell 'Epix' figures of a few years ago, same poses but cruder castings and much cruder paint!

These appeared about three weeks before Christmas, and I never managed to get the standard bearer before they sold out, whether they will be restocked in the new year remains to be seen, but worth looking-out for over the coming months.

The crudity of the copies is soothed somewhat by the fact that they are a pound each, while both Revell originals and BBi branded copies (which can still be found about the web) are between £5.99 and £7.99 or thereabouts, while a skilled painter can soon enhance these.

One shouldn't condone blatant piracy, but if companies as big as Schliech or Revell don't prosecute a company as established as Blue Box, then it's left to us to exploit the situation! 8 poses at the moment; three knights, four legionaries and a gladiator, I think this may be the same story for the similar large pirate/buccaneer figures issued in the same stores a year or two ago?