R is for Roaring, Roaming, Regulars

There are some folders I could leave permanently in some corner on the desktop; Daleks, motorcycles and 'poopertroopers' are three obvious candidates, but increasingly insects and dinosaurs are appearing on a regular - if casual - rotation here, and today we're back to 'Dinos', all these having come in since the last lot we looked at - less the couple of specifics that appeared over Christmas!

I can't remember when I showed the first three of these (looked it up), but they were cheap for what they are and I've been back for two more 'sets' of three, although I think that's enough, I'm not sure I can get another three out of the choice remaining (actually I don't think I've seen them the last couple of visits) as I tend to avoid the pterodactyls and plesiosaurs - all that flapping of wings and fins might be fine in the sea or the air, but it looks dumb on a shelf or table!

Brian Berke sent these from Big Lots Stores Inc., a while ago; of similar size to the WH Smith (Keycraft) lot above, I quite like the look of them, they have an old-school paint style, blocks of brighter colours, yet the set includes some less common types and seems to be modeled in scale, where most dinosaur sets are same-size or 'box scale' - there's a particularly small one, half-hidden by the flash in the centre of the upper deck. I love the hedgehogosaurus, top left and the little green 'land-plesiosaur' to the bottom-right.

We looked at the cats before Christmas I think, and there are dogs or puppies, but today it's the day of the dinosaurs, courtesy of Wilkinson's (Wilco) and their non-blind 'make sure you've got all three different four's before you pay' bags!

These ARE box-scale and also roughly the same size as various other mini-saurs we've seen here, so; when I get the old ones out of storage we'll have a dino-fest comparing all the similar mini-saurs!

I had more shots than needed so you get more shots than needed . . . hey; it's Google's servers not mine!

The two main shots are also from Brian, but he actually donated them to the blog! I haven't got them out yet as they are leaching that PVC-residue stuff the mini lizard capsule toy is, and until I find a better storage solution for such items I thought it best to leave them in their blister-cave, with the backing-card soaking up the unknown solvent.

They have a finger-tip sized hollow under the throat and can be fired with force at your enemies by pulling the tail back (I haven't the finger-strength to get them as far as Pennsylvania, but I'm happy to try alternative power sources!), indeed; while there is a 'choking hazard' warning on the dual-language (Greenbrier/DTSC - US/Canada) packs, there isn't one warning of little-brother's likely eye-damage!

The other set appeared on Moonbase Central [link] the day after I photographed them, but in Wilco packaging (I think?), I shot a shelfie in The Works as they really weren't worth a pound, being copies of piracies of copies of piracies of copies of old US sculpts from the 1950's or 1960's, and they will turn-up in mixed junk lots a few years hence!

These shelfies are from Brain again, and although the colours appear brighter in the right-hand lot, I think that's down to light-levels and they are the same products, on the left badged to Bely and on the right unbranded and imported into the 'States by JPW.

I also can't tell if they are new sculpts or older moldings, they have the look of vintage dinosaurs about them, also the language on the packaging suggests the same factory - in need of a better translator!

'Animal series design for the children all are fangled and in the high quality welcome you use our products'

'Collect all the style - be more fun' and 'The best welcome gifts for the children'

Another shelfie; I wish I'd bought it now - as I have a thing for Dimetrodons , but I think I was feeling particularly skint that day, they are nice-looking models, and the already relative cheapness of the magazine makes them freer than 'free'!

All the D's - A couple of recent charity shop buys (50p each) meet on the bedcover! The dastardly Dalek has appeared here before I think, but I can't remember the brand - Bluw? While the Dimetrodon dinosaur reinforces the paragraph above! Another nice sculpt from an otherwise anonymous chinasaur manufacturer, anyone recognise the set/brand he's from?

N is for New Finds, Pt.7 - Gold Daleks and Pencil Tops

Or...B is for Bluesky, Blueprint and Bluw Ltd...

So, this little lot of interrelated things were all coming in to the collection over Christmas just gone, as I went about seeking things out for other smaller people, the linking trends being names with blue in the title, gold Daleks and/or pencil tops!

So the first purchase (back in the late summer/early autumn?) was the Bluesky pull-back motored, hard-styrene space-shuttle pencil-top and astronaut rubber (that's 'eraser' to those so childish they can't say rubber without giggling), there were other designs, I can't remember them but I know I then found more on the Internet but this was the one with a figure, so this was the one I got. Can't remember where either, but it was a cheepie shop - I think?

Then at Christmas I was passing through Basingrad and found a little old model shop clinging on to the pile of new precincts joined together with poured concrete. In a mug on the counter he had white, yellow, blue and orange Fatleks along with a TARDIS as pencil-toppers, this time by a company called Blueprint out of Harlow, Essex (importers I imagine), I bought a yellow one.

At around the same time Dr. Who Adventures were re-running (?!) their pencil-toppers, so an issue was acquired.

This meant I needed to go back to Basingrad to get a TARDIS (for comparison!) and another - blue - Dalek...because it was there and er...the orange and white ones had gone! The TARDIS is a pen top, not a pencil top.

A week before Christmas doing last-minute shopping for jelly window-stickers (a tradition) I found this die-cast key-ring of the new-old-shape gold Dalek in Robert Dyas (UK hardware chain) and had to have one...for comparison! I also couldn't resist taking it part to see how it was put together. it's a very robust little model but the eye stalk is the softest PVC ever. This is the Bluw contribution.

Then just after Christmas I got this big one in Waterstone's bookshop, it's part of the range of little boxed games and 'executive toys' they do on a rack near the tills. I've previously bought the little set of foam aeroplanes. I suspect it's a re-boxed toy from the action figure lines but is unmarked?

Comparison shots include the Character Options minis in black and gold, a styrene Fatlek from Dr. Who Adventures/HMA and another of the Basingrad Fatleks - in orange, because...

...in January I returned to see if he'd been restocked and he had, so red, orange and white were added t the growing pile of approximately 35mm Fatleks!

The shots to the right are the final comparison for now and include two colour variations of the DW Adventures pencil top, the Blueprint pen top and a resin Police telephone-box from Harburn Hamlets.

Now when I wrote '(?!)' above, that's because when I was putting all these away I realised that the Christmas Adventures TARDIS pencil top (which came with a note book) was different from the one issued with a Fatlek and other things a year or two ago (see blog passim), so HMA have issued two different TARDIS's (what IS the plural - Tardis, Tardii Tardises or Tardis's?), but that will have to wait for another day when we can also look at the Dinky and Wardie/Mastermodels Police boxes!

Relevant Links;

Church Street Models - Basingrad
Bluw - Daleks
Blueprint Collections
Bluesky Designs Pullbax