B is for Benevolent Buys - 2 of 3

This first shot was a bunch of things from a charity shop in Cranleigh, same visit as the Post Office and includes the deer we've already seen (I should pop over there again, it was a while ago!), while the others are more recent, but a few interesting things?

 

A ceramic cat fairing, I've picked-up so many of these I wonder if I shouldn't do the 'Shire Album'! In point of fact, the 'proper' ones have been done, and most of the ones I've picked-up over the years, are the cheap, unrated/discounted (by the serious/dedicated collectors) copies, or Japanese imports, so that's not a viable idea! I'll do a page here one day!

 

A resin otter and Phidal Marvel or DC character, a capsule-toy dinosaur, distributor obscured, the glass vitrine deer we saw the other day, two teddy bears, one generic, the other from the Noddy set which is slowly growing, along with an inclusion bouncy-ball.

 

That inclusion; it seems to be a cake decoration, with icing spike!

 

Undersides of the two bears, one in plastic and marked 'Noddy Subsidiary, Empire Made' with code and date (no, I can't read them either!), while the generic, probably also a cake decoration is chalkware, made of a plaster composition.

 

 

This was one of those strange moments of serendipity bordering on synergy, I'd seen the [marked] Peter Fagan (which is why I could 'believe' earlier today!) in Blue Cross, and left it as a bit daft, then went next door to the DEBRA shop and found the 'Sitting Pretty' trio from The Leonardo Collection (real high-street jewellers fare from Lesser & Pavey), so, it seemed dafter to not grab the one, and wizz back next-door for the other! Kittens . . . in satchels . . . on the Internet!

 

1987 for the smaller, 1998 for the larger, and I'm guessing, given some cats' love of bags, that this is a common trope among these ornamental 'collectable' sets of cats, so we may find more!

 

This came with one or other of the above purchases, and I don't think it's Jade, but one of the many false Jades which can be marbles, or quartzes/quartzites, maybe a greenish onyx? There is a sub-collection of reptiles in a half-shell, which we haven't really looked-at yet, but one day!

 

And there is another one or two of this type there, as they are always popular tourist mementos (there are elephants too, and we've seen a lizard here, I think), things made of the local stone, are forever anchored in where they came from, if you know what I mean? Much nicer than a poured-resin, puffin, fridge magnet with Camber Sands marker-penned on it!

M is for May's Visit - Civilian and Sports Etc . . .

You know the score by now, so no pack drill, just running through vaguely thematic group shots of known or unknown figures, with a bit of my blurb to try and explain some of the many, many figures out there, with the civilian and/or sports, being often among the more interesting of the posts.

 

 

Seated; I think I've decided (or found?) that the Napoleonic hat figures (two sizes, right) are actually firemen from smaller garden/beach toy fire engines, while the huge blue one is from a very larger racing motorcycle and sidecar, the smaller blue is the Budgie motorcyclist, and the painted-blue, from a 1:24th'ish racing car.

 

The little red one on the left is from the might be Kamley / might be Marty artillery/speedboat crew, as seen on the But Is It Giant blog, the grey naval-looking chap in the middle is still unknown, but keeps turning-up so his toy must be common, a jeep or taxi, plant, maybe? While the other is also one who turns up from time to time, an arabesque/LRDG type, possibly from a 'dessert' vehicle toy, but just as likely to be a helicopter/fighter-pilot, or B/Op' Tank crew, and one of two poses, if I recall correctly.

 

Various farm/civilian types; I think one or two might have been marked I can't rememeber1 Best pleased with the orange one which is another of those 'animated' novelty figures, we saw a pink tennis player from the set of a while back.

 

I think we've seen the synthetic rubber guys at the back, in ones or twos, before, but this looks like it may be a complete pose line-up, or set's figure contents? The rest are larger carpet-toy figures, four Casdon and a damaged Poplar I think, with a simplified copy of the Corgi cherry-picker cage chap.

 

There are tubs of these waiting to be sorted in the main stash and bags of them in the TBS (to be sorted) zone, and one day I'll have a session uniting all the flippers, masks, tanks and accessories, with the correct figures, and we'll have a better look at them all and ID a few!

 

Board game figures from the Charity shop, no idea, yet, but obviously aimed at younger players, and having some kind of nature-walk or safari/hunter theme, not 100% sure the bush goes with the four figures (slightly different base design), but they came together and look to have similar sculpting?

 

Mechanics and construction workers, there are so many of these, but I have, over the years downloaded or shelfied many sets, with figures, so again, a big ID session and better look will happen at some point!

  

A cake-decoration baseball player, small novelty Olympian, from Hong Kong, and taken from larger-scale sets, and two figures who are more interesting; they seem to be more HK rack-toys, but I have a couple with silver belts, a bit like the MPC ring-hand chaps, but these are much smaller and more sportsmanlike with bare-heads - but helmets could be missing? I suspect Christmas cracker novelties, as they have come in, in ones and twos.

 

Another couple of firefighters, and two policemen, the fully painted is the Hong Kong copy of Cavendish's policeman, which Cavendish also carried/wholesaled to the tourist trade at one point, and two Matchbox figures, I think those with a touch of paint were earlier than those without.

 

Two Bell Games (foreground) footballers, from the magnetic sets, three Gem, and damaged, larger 'kicker' figure from Subbuteo, along with a small-scale copy of Airfix's goal-keeper, or, at least, he looks similar to the Airfix guy!

 

A chalkware figure, probably a cake-decoration, possibly of a good-fairy, or fairy tale character, sleeping beauty? Dated 1964, with what could be a logograph, or cypher mark, but the crudeness of the writing suggests they may be more of an ownership thing, by the kid, or a parent, it's quite fine, but not formal, if you know what I mean . . . a real mystery figure?! 'Betty's Birthday 1964' . . . that kind of thing?

 

Farmers and a cuckoo-clock/barometer figure (left), we saw a similar one the other day, and I've recently discovered you can still buy them, as craft items for home hobbyists, although they look to be poured-resin copies!

 

I used to confidently say 'Thomas' for all these rubber seated figures, but having found similar figures with Tudor Rose stuff, I'm not so sure these days, and some poring over old files is needed! Probably Thomas, or similar!

 

These are nice, soft plastic versions of the frangible, hard-plastic copies of Gem and Britains ski-wearers, Arctic/Antarctic explorer on the left (ex-Britains sculpt), more Gem-like sports skier on the right. The righthand figure has ring-hands, with the broken remains of sticks, so will need a pair of them and they both need skis, but there are bags of this stuff around, so hopefully the best of everything will make-up good samples one day!

 

Two Airfix German Infantry, who were left over (we're working 'up' the folders, so, last shots first), and the larger-scale 'Lawn Jockey' (for trying-up horses) statue from a Marx playset. I have a whole bag of these somewhere, in various colours and conditions, vintage and reissue, as I was literally one of the few small-scale guys in the room for years, and people didn't know what they were (including me), so I would buy them as 'unknown, odd-scale', from 10, 20 or 50p rummage trays!

H is for Haunted Hallows Halloween Hangable . . .

. . . Plaster Paint Your Own Kit! Shelfied in The Range the other day, this chalkware/plaster Witch comes with a half reasonable paint brush, which is excuse enough to part with a quid?

 

From two angles, just because of the flash, and the store's own lighting, there's not a lot else to add, it's a figural, it's seasonally relevant, and it's out there now . . . fun for kids! Purple and orange paints too!

O is for "Oojah-Cum-Pivvy"

Which is the word I've been searching for in past posts on this subject, as was also I searching for the name of the importer, who was the famous Shamus Wade, he went on to use the word/phrase for a range of lead figures made by/sold as Nostalgia Models, while the phrase itself has a very complicated etymology (in our family it's always been '[H]oojah-mah-flip'), well worth the crawl through the rabbit hole, and is currently the name of an alternative or 'indie' band.

One of the Oojah-Cum-Pivvy sets, as originally imported by Wade (while he was still in Ireland?), it was a part-set of these, my late Mother found in a charity-shop for me, which made the first post on the subject, and got me paying more attention to charity shops after a bit of a hiatus.

 

But this post has its own chequered history, as the images below are all from Brian Berke, and he sent them ages ago, around April '22, I found them in a folder at Christmas last year, and excitedly told him I'd found this folder with all sorts of stuff in and would move it up the queue, only for life to intervene - as it does - and they didn't get posted that Christmas or in the new year, and while there were quite patches, overall, last year was pretty prolific for publishing, they just never got the attention, so I had hoped to post them over this Christmas, and looked at them a few times, but in the end, it happened just now!

Brian spotted these in a little store in New York (I think, or Connecticut?), and as you can see it's an interesting collection of British imports (Britains and Hornby 'O' I think I can see), and domestic American production including a Comet Authenticast (? Grey overalls) and early Beton plastic, front-right. There's also a rather nice Indian-made chalkware, in the back-right corner.

Which was obviously from this lot, in a neighbouring compartment! And . . . we have a brand! Only the third I think for India, a shameful situation given it's a nation of over a billion, but it is mostly either this craft-stuff, or the more-commercial, imported Western/Hong Kong-China shite.

They appear to be made by Ramdass of Lucknow (I once lived in Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth!), are slightly larger than Wade's Oojah-Cum-Pivvy's and as mentioned, chalkware, rather than the terracotta of the musician sets. They each represent a given trade or function, which is written on the base in English and - probably - Hindi?
 

Here we see the marking, which is simple pen & ink, as per similar figures seen on the blog from both Brian and Adrian, I think. And they are probably decorated in powdered poster-paint, so you wouldn't want to be getting them damp, for two reasons - paint and material!

 

Three more.

The jeweller, before and after having his hand fixed!

Along with a scaler - they are a good 70/75mm, without the bases.

 

I've also had this in the folder for a while, it's an old auction shot (Bonhams maybe?), and shows what are 'composite' toy figures, also from India, being a mix of wood, wire, cloth and plaster or papier-mâché? I love the cushion ticking/fringe on the elephant's howdah!

F is for Follow-up - Funny French Fellow!

Shot this at Sandown Park on Saturday-gone, outside my budget, but a fun follow-up to the Nappy post the other day . . . other week! How time flies! Serves to wind-up my Vichy 'eemies' and get Cellose in the Tag list!

Not one of my best shots, but lighting in that corner of the room is a bit poor, chalkware from France, better known for their dolls, they did a range of these 80mm+ figures which i think are pinned to wooden-disc bases?

A is for And a Good Time Was Had by All!

Well, the Umpty-somethingth Non- inaugural, All-singing, All-dancing Plastic Warrior Magazine's Toy Soldier Show has been and went, hasn't it! I'm too knackered for a proper post, so here's a quickie from the Seen Elsewhere folder, actually stuff I found at a Sandown Park show a while ago!

These are chalkware and from Japan, probably 1950's, so pretty-well proper antiques now! Trousers are a bit too blue, and the band is brass-heavy, so good for promoting Hovis! No brand/brandmark.

It really was a good day today apart from the Rugby which cost me a coffee, but that's my fault for being too honest, had I pretended to be a Rugby fan I would have got the coffees! Kudos to the team for organising it.

 

I have to push off and do a few bits now, but I'll try and post something similar later, there's a folder full of this stuff which needs emptying!

T is for Two - More Machine Gunners

I meant to have a series of these posts off the back of a bunch of fleaBay and show purchases last autumn, but circumstances since have knocked that plan on the head for now, they'll all come out of the woodwork eventually one way or another, but for now I do have this pair.

The Atlantic Russian Maxim-type MG was quite a piece of work for those raised on Airfix's little WWI and 8th Army MG's, and the large scale one is exactly the same; the one reduced from the other - the master model likely being bigger still. However, in both scales it is ridiculously over-sizes and comes-in about the same as a 1:35 6lb'r might be! It didn't matter much to a kid, but must be frustrating for wargamers wanting MG's for Atlantic-sourced units?

In the shenanigans I went through getting these lots, hinted at in the previous post, the gunner and gun ended-up in two different auctions, one of which went invisible for a while, but somehow I managed to get both pieces back together in the end!

 

The sum of its parts; it's probably the decision to go with a clip/pop-together assembly model which led to the over-enlarging of everything, certainly with the 1:72/HO version, as the hand-grip would be unfindable at a realistic scale, but that doesn't excuse the problem with the size in the 1:32nd range, beyond the fact that the operator needs to remain in scale with the rest, whilst still reaching the grip-handles?

 

 

This might be American, but is probably French in origin, and depicting a Brit' in Mk.I helmet rather than a Yank in a 'Brodie' version. And it might be chalkware or some other composition, but is I suspect Blank de Meudon, a hard plaster or chalk mixed with clay, also used for mould-making - particularly in the pre-production phases. Painting is simpler than some French chalkware though, so a basic penny-toy?

 

Also; while he might actually be a rifleman, I think he's trying to depict an Owen-gunner, so maybe a First World War figure?

M is for Mawkishly Meowy Moggies!

A bit of non-Toy Soldier self-indulgence today, but it is Christmas and if I can't post this sort of stuff at this time of year when can I?!!

I found - at the back of a cupboard - that I'd inherited a rather Disneyfied mug with two cracks in it, as I wouldn't normally give such a pinkly sentimental piece house room, and as the finishing of any drink in it would result in two ceramic ears butting your forehead, it rather had to go. But it was loved enough by my late Mother to be kept at the back of the cupboard, so the overly-sentimental Hugh thought something better be done to retain the memory, for another decade or two, gods willing, at least!

A sharp blow from a heavy kitchen knife seemed to be the likeliest move, so placing a folded towel on the floor and kneeling over it I'm afraid I gave kitty a bit of a sharp whack up the jacksie with said implement, which worked a treat! Glued over the glaze with a bit of slip, the slipwhere kitten popped-off with barely a scratch.

I then filled her (pink bow?) with tiling-grout, let it go off, causing it to shrink back into the hollow/cavity, repeated the exercise and gave the rough finish a bit of a carving and filing.

Ergo; one slightly surprised looking, pink-bowed, all-white kitten joins all the genuine fairings and 1950's 'mantle ornaments' in the cat zone of the collection!

Where she will be joining - among others - these Charity shop, 50p jobbies! Three chalkware (mother-cat needs replacement eyes) and one ceramic of the Siamese type, these have been in the queue since 2016! Siamese's were very popular when I was a kid, you don't seem to see them so often now.

Back when the motorway network consisted of the M1 and A1(M) and getting round the top of London involved long journey's through Berkshire, Buckinghashire, Bedfordshire and Essex (where you raced from traffic jam to traffic jam!), there was a house somewhere which had two straw Siamese cats sitting on its thatched-roof, I sometimes wonder what happened to them? There were others, one gatehouse had a peacock, another cottage had several foxes!

The ceramic one (right) was made in Sussex (but not the famous Joan de Bethel 1923 - 2017), while the chalkwear examples (left) are just 'British Made', all seem to be cheap, smaller attempts at the better known and more sought-after Goebel or Winstanley Siamese's? Which is why they are 50p, not 50-quid!

That's it, something more acceptable to the hardliners later!

F is for Faber Figures' Foppish Foreign Forpersons in Formal Finery!

Another set of esoteric, early British composition and again it's thanks to Adrian Little (Mercator Trading) who let me photograph them.

These are a little later than the other sets we've been looking at though, I think, and were issued by R. Briton Rivier, as Faber, alongside the slightly later-starting Matchlock range of military subjects, Faber being technically civilian, also contained court subjects such as the regal pair in this box, probably sold through heritage sites and museum gift shops, along with Hamley's, Harrods (?) and the toy soldier dealers of the West End.

The box opens in the style of CGB Minot's display boxes - but without the decorative background lining-papers - to reveal the royal couple in all their (plaster rather than pumice I believe) finery. The Orange King looks a bit pale and rather surprised to be King of England (as well he might!), but she's looking very Queenish, if not; actually haughty!

From behind; the painting is 'Toy Soldier' style and they have a deep gloss varnish finish, for toughness/protection as much as for pure decoration, and I think William the III has a card or matchwood disc under his plaster-base to prevent it braking or chipping.

N is for Naturecraft

Naturecraft were a set of Christmas crackers issued back in the . . . errr . . . 1990's? 1980's maybe, but I think the 90's is closer; they do appear on evilBay on a regular basis, usually a sign that they aren't that old, which is not to say older crackers don't regularly appear on sales sites, but the frequency with which this, one, particular set turns-up, suggests it wasn't that long ago since it was retailed, and it probably only ran for one or two Christmases?

Painted, washed and varnished chalkware animals, I think there are eight in a set, maybe ten, but I seem to recall it wasn't a full-twelve; annoyingly I have all the details on the damaged dongle, but I'm putting-off the task of delving into it with the icare and testdisc software as I think it's an all-day (or many-hours) job, so I can only work with the actual loose sample, who are six!

Each is marked on the rear with a Naturecraft England mark, and I think each cracker had the picture of 'its' animal contents glued to it's main . . . drum? There must be a whole nomenclature for crackers . . . sleeves or grabs? Drum or compartment? Snap, motto, gift, hat, what about the scrunched pinch-points?

I have a half a thought there was a charity or some fund-raising (WWF/WWFFN?) behind the crackers?

5 is for "On the fifth day of Chrissssstmaaas, His True Love Sent to Hiiiiiiimmm...."

We've got it; Snowman No. 5

He and Gina had a bit of a laugh about it over coffee; still - more time for a chat, as they'd got the unloading down to 12 minutes!

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Another Chalkware figurine

4 is for "On the fourth day of Chrissssstmaaas...."

A fourth snowman!

So he'd got the measure of it by now - he hopes? The quirk of his 'True Love' in sending a snowman was writ large, she was clearly going to send 12, it was 'quirk' all right - on another level!

They got the unloading down to 14 minutes...plenty of time for a coffee and bit of small-talk with Gina . . . didn't I mention the driver was called Gina? She was.

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Chalkware snowmen are an old favourite of mine, and I have more in storage, we may even have looked at them on the blog, until a few years ago I would have said "you can still get these" meaning they were still contemporary, I now think they are getting thin on the ground and if you are lucky enough to find mint ones in a bakers they are probably old stock, not replacement stock?