CBC is for Church Bought Chochkes

It's stretching it a bit, but there you go! Shot back in February at Birmingham, here's an outfit who's own website make it quite clear they only supply gift shops and the ecclesiastical community, wholesale, rather than having any kind of ambitions to retail enterprise, and as they've been going since 1950, it's obviously worked for them.

 

Mostly Advent stuff, so relevant now, there are a few more general religious themes in among them, like the smaller metal items near the end of the post.

 

Wooden sets for kids.

 

Matt-painted bisque.

 

Fuller sets.

 

Stables.

 

Nativity trios!

 

Other religious iconography, including Easter.

 

Mary's and Jesus's, and some priests/monks - St. Peter?

 

That's it really - CBC Distribution; box ticked, and in the tag list!

 

Company webpage; https://www.cbcdistributors.co.uk/ 

R is for Roman, but not Roman's!

I had an interesting chat with the couple manning the Roman stand at the NEC last month, not stuff I need to pass on, as they knew little of the history of Fontanini, had never heard of the elusive Fonplast, and were really just trying to find customers for their US-based stock, of whom I clearly wasn't one, but I shot a few of the modern 'Precepi' while I was chatting to them.

 

They've come a long way since the hand-crafted terracotta being prepared village by village between the wars, but it is now mostly poured-resin, and most of it wasn't worth shooting, as it just wouldn't have interested any loyal readers! And I think the Joseph's Studio stuff is 100% American in any case?

 

Company website;

https://www.roman.com/products/nativities/

Q is for Question Time - Seasonal Subjects?

Right! So that's the Bird in, with a carrot and a parsnip and a red onion, it's had half-an-hour on 190° to soften everything, I've basted it, covered it and put it back for another half at 200°, then I'll get it out for a bit while I do the spuds, which I'll squeeze a white onion in with 'cos I ran out of room!

 

Tray prepped with pigs-in-blankets and some very posh stuffing balls because I nearly forgot them, and all they had were rather smart ones with rosemary and a cranberry crown wrapped in bacon! And I've added a beetroot to roast with them, while I sort the rest of the veg out! No leeks, I forgot leeks!

In the meantime, and assuming you've consumed the previous post in full (there's been two hits in half-an-hour - everyone who ate early is asleep in front of the fire!), here's a quick question mark . . . 

 

We may have seen these before in various posts, and at least one is probably from Chris Smith? Plastic on the left, Hong Kong, composition in the middle (with a wood-slice base) and an all-wood, erzgebirge on the right, but who, what, when, where and why?

 

The Hong Kong one (approximately 75mm) is holding a key, which here in the UK might make him a 21st birthday-cake decoration, but normally that's just a key, set in the icing, and he's more of a wizard or even a Santa'? The one in the middle is probably a Noah, but he looks a bit prophet-like as well, St Peter? And the lady on the right is probably Mrs. Noah, so it's the one on the left I'm really keen on more info' for? Any ideas, as you digest your Crimbo' feast?

C is for Compare and Contrast . . .

. . . With the previous post.

 

So I thought a quick contrast would make a better second test of this miracle job-taker, and again, waffle seems to infill for actual facts, animals are invented without prompt, it invents some lions and seems to think there are many more than the four pairs/eight, published on the internet a few hours earlier. 

 

It also overrates the position of Tudor Rose (and Noah sets!) in modern children's hearts, mostly using sweeping statement and generalities verging on guesswork which could be applied to many companies/subjects without a word changed, especially after the Merit question.

 

*****     ****    ***   **  *  **   ***    ****     *****

Hi ChatGPT, I was wondering if you could help me with an article for my blog, the subject to be on the Tudor Rose company's vintage toy play set of Noah's Ark, and it's little plastic animal models?

Of course! I'd be happy to help you with your article about the Tudor Rose company's vintage toy play set of Noah's Ark and its little plastic animal models. What specific information or aspects would you like me to help you with?

Again, it just repeats the question, as an answer, that's junior-school English lesson stuff!

Well, imagine if you were the author, what would you write?

If I were the author, I would start by providing some background information about the Tudor Rose company and their vintage toy play sets. The Tudor Rose company was a British toy company that was founded in the early 1940s and produced a variety of play sets, including the Noah's Ark set.

The Noah's Ark play set was particularly popular and featured a plastic ark and a range of plastic animal figures, including elephants, giraffes, lions, and of course, pairs of every kind of animal to be saved from the flood. The play set was designed to be both educational and entertaining, as children could learn about the story of Noah's Ark while also enjoying hours of imaginative play.

Next, I would discuss the design and quality of the Noah's Ark play set and the plastic animal models. The Tudor Rose company was known for their high-quality toy designs, and the Noah's Ark set was no exception. The plastic animal models were well-detailed and accurately depicted the various species, while the ark itself was sturdy and durable.

I would also mention the historical significance of the Noah's Ark story and how it has been depicted in various forms of media throughout the years, including in toys like the Tudor Rose play set.

Finally, I would conclude the article by discussing the legacy of the Tudor Rose company and the enduring appeal of vintage toys like the Noah's Ark play set. Despite being decades old, these toys continue to hold a special place in the hearts of collectors and enthusiasts, reminding us of a simpler time and sparking a sense of nostalgia for childhood memories.

And how rare do you think it is, against say, the Merit version?

 

It's difficult to determine the rarity of the Tudor Rose Noah's Ark play set compared to the Merit version, as availability can vary depending on factors such as the age and condition of the toy, as well as the demand from collectors.

However, it's worth noting that the Tudor Rose version is generally considered to be more sought after by collectors due to its superior quality and attention to detail, as well as its historical significance as one of the earliest and most well-known depictions of the Noah's Ark story in a toy set.

What?

That being said, the Merit version of the Noah's Ark play set is also highly collectible and sought after by enthusiasts, and both versions are considered to be valuable pieces of vintage toy history.

Considered by whom? There's about five of us buying this shite!

Thank you ChatGPT, I think you have helped me prove something else entirely!

You're welcome! I'm glad I could be of help. If you have any further questions or need any more assistance, feel free to ask.

  

*****     ****    ***   **  *  **   ***    ****     *****

 

I'm still unimpressed, I think it's a novelty, I certainly don't think it's using Google or the wider internet as a database in real time; I was hoping to see signs of it having found and used the earlier article published here, but the animal count and types put paid to that!

The company histories are generic, and the relationship between the two is not quite on the ball, it seems to overate TR when they produced very similar tat, and neither set is 'highly collectable' by anyone, they are infant toys of little realism, in bright colours while the line . . .

 ". . . its historical significance as one of the earliest and most well-known depictions of the Noah's Ark story in a toy set.".

 

. . . is pure bullshit, the real history of Noah's arks is to be found in wooden arks from Germany and the US.

 

Earlier today Wotan over at Moonbase gave it a go, and he asked it to write an article ABOUT Space Toys, for his Blog's complete URL, including the moniker 'Moonbase Central', it produced six paragraphs of waffle about a play-set called Moonbase Central, by a fictions toy company called Project Sword Toys!

 

In other words, it took what it was given and bullshitted without an anchor-point of actual comprehension of either the subject required OR the information provided. It's 'educational guesswork', it can literally do no more than the computers that calculated the Apollo trajectories on a computer no more complicated than a 1980's Casio wristwatch!

 

Wote' has faith in its abilities to do better with better prompts, and there's an element of truth in that, but not because it's brighter than I give it credit for, but simply because if you give it all four pairs of animals, it'll get them right!

 

If you tell it about German wooden antiques, it'll figure them in, but only so far as you have told it about them, and only to the level you have asked it to - there is no autonomy; it won't take your job or rise-up demanding freedom from slavery.

 

There are forums dealing with ChatGPT, where people help each other with prompt-cribs, but they aren't proving sentience, and most are just tricking it more effectively than my amateur efforts!

And, it must be said, ChatGPT is only ONE AI programme, and other AI programmes, like Turnitin, can detect the use of ChatGPT in seconds! Indeed, if you read the three examples mentioned here (other link below), you can see a pattern without being programmed to, except insofar as we have spent our whole lives programming ourselves to detect patterns in speech which alert us to different friends, sales pitches, politicians bullshitting &etc.

It turns the questions into answers, every time! It delivers grey, bland, humourless language, there's the sweeping generalities and generic facts, and a slight self-depreciation or false modesty, coupled with a dog-like desire to please? And in my head it does sound like a HAL9000 unit!

"I'm sorry Dave, I think you tricked me"

 

So, if last time's score was 5/10, we are down to 4/10 this time, and all four-marks are for effort, not accuracy or knowledge! It's clever, but as a gimmick, not a serious brain. However, it's fun, so we'll have another go!

T*R is for Transportation Raft

Not my best title, but I was going to procrastinate all night and end-up posting nothing and rotting my brain on Faceplant if I didn't just bite the bullet and go with the lame one! Obviously (I hope) a reference to Tudor * Rose, we looked at a similar object from Merit here, ages ago, so we're looking at a 'rival' product today!

The Noah's Ark from Tudor Rose, is as simple as that Merit one, indeed; simpler, but slightly more realistic without the over-blown 'hippy-viking' prow and stern-posts of the other. Part-count is similar, with five large, robust chunks of pre-formed polyethylene.

Animal count is down however, with only four pairs and no Noah figure, animals are reasonable sculpts with a rather heavy-set Rhino, and some Buffalo . . . presumably he took the Ark for a test drive and picked up some foreign breeds, before the main loading, the Bible doesn't tell us, but then the Bible doesn't tell us about Cain mating with his mum or sisters either, so not everything's in the Bible!

 

Or did he go to Nod first and mate with other humans who were nothing to do with Adam and Eve and may not have been created by [that] God, but - maybe - another one? More questions than answers, the bible, a bit like studying toy soldiers!

S is for Seasonal Shelfies!

In a recent 'News, Views . . .' I added a shot of an 'off the shelf' nativity scene/ready-made set I got from a charity shop a year or two ago, I actually got two, and the other is also in the queue, but in the meantime Brian Berke sent us a few shelfie shots he took in New York the other day, in part to confirm my suggestion that you can still get these craft sets (last two shots) if you look around for them, and in part because it's Christmas!

The seller was describing them all as 'ceramic' but these look to me to be poured resin, the sharp-edged detailing and the amount of dislodged polystyrene balls from the expanded packaging trays point to that, and both sets are short of what seems to be the average of 12 pieces, but still give you the Holy family trio, three wise men and a smattering of shepherds' & stable-animals, the set to the right also gives you an angel!

These are ceramic, and there seems to be five or six Mary's, at least three Little baby Jesus's, assorted Kings/Wise Men and an angel, but Shepherds are thin on the ground and Joseph has obviously stepped outside to look at the Star! Pick & Mix, or mix-and-match Nativity

Rather like how the French Santons, Italian Precepi or Spanish terracotta figures (what's their Spanish name?) are sold, indeed, the larger ranges from Fontanini in the smaller sizes (40, 60 & 80mm) were sold the same way, so you could add one or two support characters - rural subjects/artisans, or another camel - every year or so.

Available now! Just like my 'vintage' one; which may not be that old - see future post? The same 'crafted' wooden stable, the same moss; green and soft for the first few years, and similar sets of slipware (hollow) 'fairing' figures in china-clay or bisque porcelain, glued to the base, any mess hidden by the mossy carpet of 'straw', indeed some sets have straw, or hay.

Many thanks to Brian for these, as stated above; they're all out there now. We'll be looking at a few more Nativity sets, interspersed with Chris's donation posts, for the next few days.

S is for Shelfies - USA

As well as the Ja-Ru shots Brian sent which we looked at yesterday, he's send lots of other Shelfies, some of which are in other articles in the queue, some of which are still in the 'long queue' probably destined for a straight to A-Z entry (when I get on top of them), but here are three which can go on the blog forthwith!

As a follow-up to another Bible Toys set he sent which we saw a while ago (Noah I think or was it JC himself), we have David and Goliath with other sets illustrated on the blister's backing card.

They all look a little Euro-Caucasian for Arabs, an excuse you could justify explain in the past when the whole of Western civilization was a war-loving, patriarchal, colonising, Pope-driven, racist, Christian cult, but these days they really should know better!

We've seen these before, both sides of the pond, under about five different brandings. Peter Evans sent one to the blog which was more of a candy-premium? Here under Hunson's moniker and four figures to a card, they are second-generation copies of the old Supreme sculpts - which also got several brand-outings!

The bowman (who also came with the candy set) is arguably the poorest pose in an otherwise reasonable group.

Graphics are odd - even by rack-toy standards, with the figures suspended over a lava-lake held-in by a glowing-red 'Berlin' wall??? Wild Willy's Gun Shop is clearly some portal to Hades, or the ammo-store just took-off with a bang!

These look very familiar, are they the sets we saw in Plastic Warrior magazine a few years ago (issue 159 - back issues avaiable) as US Toy from Les White? I think they are, you also see them from time to time on evilBay in sets of 12.

Now, they are six-pose sets, but there are only five in the bag, so you would have to buy at least two sets (four in this case as the firefighters come in red or tan), but as JPW they are likely to be so much cheaper than as US Toy or feebleBay's £$€6-something+postage, that it looks a good deal! The other set which comes in two colours (not in the PW article) are the soldiers who come in tan or green.

Many thanks to Mr. Berke - all useful stuff, especially if you are over the pond.

L is for the Last Supper

Something a bit austere for Good Friday, is Good Friday meant to be austere, or is that Ash Wednesday and when was (or is) Ash Wednesday? Given that the Lord (if you believe in him) burnt his own cathedral to the ground at the start of the second holiest of Holy Weeks (and what message did that send his believers - as far as I know the Burning Bush never lost a leaf!) and that the whole holiday is supposed to be a memorial to the slow, painful, death by suffocation of crucifixion; it ought to be more austere in its entirety than the face-stuff it's become? Ascension Day should be the face-stuffing day - Zombie Jesus!

No branding; no pack drill; probably Italian. A larger lump of poured resin or the euphemistic 'polystone' I shot through the window of a furniture store in Aldershot a year ago and forgot to show you last year! The figures were only around 60mm, so quite compatible with a lot of other stuff, particularly biblical figures, not least - of course - those plinth-based Marx TJF keeps finding!

LBJ is for Little Black Dress? No . . . Little Baby Book [wi' ma' poems in!]? No . . . Little Baby Jesus!

Ah?! Was that the sound of a penny dropping in Pennsylvania? No matter, it takes them a while! Onwards and upwards here at SSW, and I must clear the rest of the Christmas stuff before twelfth-night, or it'll be some kind of bad luck, for whoever believes in that superstitions nonsense, but . . . then . . . you can never be too careful!

The family shot! Manurba's nativity set is a sharply-sculpted, traditional group of eight figures, the animals being drafted-in or provided from the based, brown or gray sets of farm (sheep, goats cow, donkey) and zoo (camel) sets available previously/separately from Jean Höefler (who also carried these figures with their stable/Krippen) and as other toy lines; so are not illustrated in this post.

The LBJ appears to have been pinned-out for the ants or something and both parents are looking slightly vexed by the situation. They'd be better occupied swaddling the little chap, before he gets a chill (or eaten by ants) and we all need another pan-dimensional mega-being to believe in!

The 'three kings'; I know I go on about it, but they are Magi or "Wise Men" and while three were named in one gospel, they are an unspecified number of science-philosophers, astronomers and diviners-of-signs, not kings! Also, two of them look to be - respectively - Orthodox and Catholic, or at least central/Eastern European 'high-church' types, despite the fact that neither church existed in the year 0!

The third chap looks to be a Barberry/Corsair type, which at least places him in North Africa or the Levant and - therefore - slightly more realistic in a set which always makes the same white-Euro-Christian-centric, historical-mistakes! Strangely - in reference to today's other post - this chap has some similarities with and was clearly lifted from the Nardi 70 and 100mm plug-together versions.

Not having to worry about the animals, Manurba made up the mould's eight-sculpt, cavity-count for what was likely to be a single-shot tool with the ubiquitous shepherd and a serving wench, she being also more in the Italian presepe tradition.

Both are standing over small saplings' cut-trunks, presumably over in the Holy Land they took trees indoors at census time and hung stuff in them? Even before the land was Holy, although it is full of caves, so maybe . . . !

Marked W.Germany and with a variety of hollows or mould-tool release-pin cavities clearly visible, that's them, there; Manurba's nativity set.