E is for Eye Candy - Naval & Marines

This was shot back in November 2020, so five years ago, give or take the odd day and a leap-year! There's about the same again to be added to this, in the still being sorted pile, at the lip of the storage container, and we've added a couple of rack-toy assault-craft over that time, all seen here in various posts, I think, try 'Vessels' or 'Naval - Marines' in the tag list. But what can you spot?

 

Top left is all the larger 60mm'ish stuff from Marx, MPC, Auburn (polymer, not rubber) or Ideal (?) and so on, originals and re-issues, to their right is the Lone Star sample, with some PVC, Timpo-branded, Toyway reissues, while the more historically-uniformed Charbens are in the little bag.

 

In the box, top right, are the more modern (WWI/II'ish) Charbens with four of the ever more brittle Lone Star marines - fighting in No.1 Dress uniforms! I have added one or two I think, but they may be duplicates. Below them is a mixed tub of the smaller Marx and a few others; Reisler, hollow-cast &etc, which we saw in an early post on the subject. There's been a few hollow-cast additions too.

 

Sandwiched between those two tubs is a wooden, hand-carved, tourist chap, who we also saw here over a decade a go, but there are four, similar, and very interesting plastic versions about to hit the blog! To the left of the mixed tub is a newer one, since enlarged, but still not ready for the definitive post, with the Britains Naval gun, now 'guns', but not all versions yet, although we did have a look at them, in part, a while ago.

 

In the corner are the three Greek assault-boats, copied from Britains, which got a post, and then in the top-left quarter of the box, all the iconic novelty floating toys from Britains and Timpo. You can see the Greek crewmen under the US Assault craft . . . I've actually done an 'Assault River-Crossing', in a remarkably similar boat, but ours didn't have engines, so we had to fucking paddle, in the rain!

 

The final tub, outside the box, has all the European types, obvious are Cofalu/Cofalux swivel-heads and the Coma assault marines, but there's some other stuff, a couple of Atlantic, a Hong Kong or two, and, strangely, mu original Frog trio, who are RAF rocket-troops! They've since been moved, as the sample is up to about ten now!

 

You can add a largish sample of the Gem cadets, those Argentine rubber ones which came in a while ago, and more Atlantic, Lone Star and Reisler, along with some Starlux (not sure where they are?), but, there's actually quite a few to sort into this tub at some point, and more take-away tubs will be needed! Then there's all the ABC and other Hong Kong copies, from hollow-cast, taken from Britains, which we have looked at here, on more than one occasion, now.

M is for More Mini Military Machines

I only posted Bren Gun/Universal carriers the other day, but I was also posting them elsewhere, then a Lone Star one turned-up, and I had a separate shot of the Tudor Rose one, to which I've added a couple of comparison shots to give the post some originality!

So, the new member of the team first, it's not a particularly fine example, and it could have done with a clean before I shot it! But as a sample it does what is needed.

 

Lone Star, die-cast mazac/zamak early version, also came in sand paint, often with German markings, not inaccurate as the Germans captured a fair few during the run to Dunkirk, and would also press them into service when they captured them in the Western Desert. [Oooh! Just avoided a 'dessert' typo there; I wonder how many of them there are on the blog, Doh!]

Some more shots of the recently seen here, Marx Battery operated late version carrier, not much to add to whatever waffle I appointed it with last time, needs comparing to the Timpo one, I think they are a similar size - biggish?

 

The Tudor Rose version on the right, also a late pattern, with the Dibro tinplate novelty push-and-go tank to the left, the both, trundling down a French country lane, lined with Lombardy Poplars, still on the Cofalu card - possibly aimed at the Tour De France line, or the farm?

 

The trees are hard polystyrene, the tank is quite common and must have been very popular at one point, probably due to its cheapness, maybe one of the first, affordable toys, mass-available after the war? The carrier has both Bren-guns intact, which is uncommon for this model, they are both easily damaged.

Comparing Marx, French composition, Lone Star and Tudor Rose mini military machines! I still need a Britain's slush-cast one to compare with the TAT's, and when that happens I'll try to remember to dig-out the Timpo one!

H is for How They Come In - Francophone Lot

I was round a mate's a while ago, John Begg, who many of you will know as PTS52 on feebleBay, and he talked me into a junk lot, well, he sort of shoved it at me and I accepted it with an unbecoming over-eagerness . . . I'm addicted to this stuff, but you've probably worked that out for yourselves by now!

Four 'SINGAPORE' marked animals; without the box, or a bit of research I can't say whether they are Blue Box or Redbox, but Tai Sang owned all three (? see the Blog passim) factories, so it's all a bit academic! Along with a Jean Höfler one-humped Arabian camel; with that factory paint - I think an earlier version.

A charming polystyrene cockerel which I suspect might be French, or Danish? Pretty little thing either way and new to me, new to the collection  . . . and now - new to the Blog! Can you tell I had no blurb for this? It's factory-painted!

Interesting but damaged solid copy of a Britains Swoppet Indian, again, possibly French (hard plastic) rather than a Hong Kong knock-off, a nice Wagoneer, who is Hong Kong, but a cut above the usual pirated swoppet crud, with a separate vinyl jerkin and PVC whip. He's not rare, but it's nice to get him with the whip.

While the loose 'styrene flats, are downscaled copies of the Gibb's ones, and finding a few more loose justifies my not de-bagging the set we saw here, and nice to find a couple of the teepee/tipi's, but still waiting for the cavalry to turn up? They are also Hong Kong.

I have quite a few of these, they have a distinctive 'drum' of plastic, usually around the feet or on the base, which might be a mould-release pin-mark, or something more technical, and I assume French 'bazaar' or Spanish late-production?

This sample increased my pose-count and revealed that they come in two sizes, or were themselves copied - the bright, fluorescent-yellow chief could be younger as well as smaller! Remember the Hugonett beretted combat figures had a saluting chap in a smaller size too? Lifted poses are a mix of Britains and French figures I think?

These are mostly Cofalu and include my first mounted Indian from them. I'm not sure about the hard-plastic chap, he's similar to my 60mm swivel waist Cofalu French infantry, but he is glued and doesn't have the swivel head, if neither Cofalu nor another French producer; might he be an Italian make?

Medievals; again, I think mostly French and a fair-bit of home-paint, but the important one (bottom left - Cyrnos) is still in his factory finish. The figure next to him could be Hong Kong or French bazaar and is clearly a copy of Timpo's early swoppet line, the two top right are Cofalu again I think, while the Elastolin siege-engine crew copies are more (home-painted) bazaar output.

Combat infantry; a Reisler wire-cutter from Denmark leys alongside two 'multipose' kit figures, and while the DAK MG38 operator may be Airfix Multipose, I suspect the Italian is Italeri (or Italaerei as the name probably was when the kit was first issued!), or even Heller?

Behind them two Starlux 35mm's which from the state of the paint (cursory flesh on one, none on t'other) I suspect are 'for' Solido (Belgian) die-cast model vehicle accessories.

While towering over everyone is other Belgian, a WWII/Post War infantryman, in his British inspired beret and battle-dress (poor Belgians!), who's base is thinner than the Durso one's I thought were here somewhere, but I think they must be on the languishing composition page, so he maybe by someone else?

These are interesting, in that I've not seen them before (but did see a lot again the other day!), and they are based on the larger Silver Knights by Supreme, but without the moving arms, and some of the poses of the smaller Supreme figures we've seen here before, and my suspicion is that they probably are Supreme, but possibly a specific contract for someone else, maybe even a generic?

Soft PVC in black and chocolate brown, the reborn Starlux 'brand' had a similar set in silver/black a while ago (Le Chateau Noir), which was a partial re-badgeing of a Simba set (also Supreme contents) and given the French/European nature of most of the contents of this tray, it may be a rival product from that market? I think the painting has had 'help' at someone's home!

Everything else! Three flat lead, horse-race, game-playing pieces, two Giant horses and a cowboy, Matchbox Adventure 2000 (boy, were they a few decades out!) spaceman, early British intermediate-scale horse (Rocco Household cavalry), Minie Mouse (Combex or Heimo?) and a Supreme pirate who is a color variation of those previously seen here, I think?

Which leaves the chap all tied-up. Now I was sure I should know who he was, and searched quite hard, but I'm stumped, he's similar to the Domplast/Heinerle/Manurba one, but his chaps are far more flared, Jean's is moulded integral to the tree, while I have a similar one somewhere, tied to the tree with little button-thread ropes, but I think he's smaller (storage!) and possibly Timpo, so, I'm out of ideas - he could be French bazaar (given the rest of the lot), and I wondered if he may be from a helicopter toy's casualty basket (with flared jeans - very 1970's!), but I would like to know for sure!

Anyway, all useful grist to the mill and many thanks to John for saving them.

PW2 is for This Year's Themes

As always there is - once you've got the plunder home and sorted it - some obvious and some accidental themes revealed in all the little bags waiting for subsequent breaking down into the master collection, and this year was no different on that score. The first two are the same as two of last year's . . .

. . . with Gem/Gemodles/Culpitt's and/or other cake decorations making themselves felt again, this time it was mostly duplicates - but interesting nevertheless - and a fisherman who has the look of early Blue Box about him, but is probably a Wilton/Culpitt commissioned thing. The Crescent sleigh . . . isn't, it's the Hong Kong copy while the footballers are less common in powder blue, so I took them when offered (Kevin?), they are the type two with no ball-spigots.

Early Airfix is another regular trope at this Annual Show, although I only found the four items this year, the dog is a charcoal-grey colour variant (I've got half-a-hunt of these beagles now!), the paratrooper is in the Featherlite colour plastic and the [un-catalogued] 'Cigarette Pack' ship in a bottle is a bit 'hens teeth' so I grabbed it while I could.

The huntsman is just a clean sample of a figure I have several of, and I suspect the horse has been repainted? But it is a bent-tail Airfix horse; not one of the other designs, even Airfix seem to have carried some of.

I've been aware of the ships for a while now (over a decade), and you are supposed to decorate the ship (a 'Euro-margarine' premium in creamy/Ivorene semi-flat), glue it into the bottle and then glue the cap and bottle-base on. Four pieces in kit form within a blue & white cigarette packet, the range includes a Viking Longship, Thames Barge and this which is supposed to be the Santa Maria - I think; they may be bought-in or Airfix originals? I don't know how many there are in total; maybe four, maybe eight; probably six?

There's a fifth piece to a complete kit; a long base/stand in the creamy white plastic, which is designed to hide the scar of the glue on the 'ship-side', but no-one at Airfix had considered the overall foxing of the clear plastic from the fumes of the glue so it was not a successful novelty, and probably didn't run for long?

Now, the Cofalux motorcycle Nicolas Aulnette let me have for next to nothing ("For you? A pound") which we saw briefly in the previous post, has been put away, but should be in this section as it's purchase was the start of a mad 90-odd seconds, because as soon as I'd paid Nicolas, I saw across the aisle a small takeaway tub of vaguely familiar looking figures which were 'new' at the same time.

Going closer and picking one up, I felt it to be soft polyethylene and tuning it over found Cliaret France on the base "Never seen these before" says I, seller explains he hadn't either. I sort four different poses out and pay while Nicolas who had followed my gaze explains they are known but relatively uncommon.

Leaving about six for the next guy (I don't know if they'd had more poses earlier in the day, for this was heading toward finishing-time) I was about to leave Nicolas chatting to the two guys behind the table (sorry - I don't know your names!), when the other chap asks if I'd be interested in this . . .

. . . and hands me a little bag with the above in it. Again; obviously French, again; soft plastic, "Yes!" says I, and a price is agreed. While I'm paying the conversation from the previous Clairet's is adjusted to account for this new figure and Nicolas suggests that they may be UK copies, apparently they have (on the odd occasion) tended to turn-up here?

He also gave me the original maker but in all the excitement I forgot, I think he said either Clairet or Cofalux as I have a half-an-idea I made a mental note that it was connected to one of the other two purchases, but I can't find him in either archive, so that's probably a false memory? Like I say the whole series of purchases and a four-way rolling conversation over two tables was probably less than 90-seconds?

You don't hang around when there are bargains to be had! But with the missing motorcycle, that was the day's third 'trope' - uncommon/unusual French military!

The next theme, which was a big one two years ago, was not so evident this year, but I still managed a few Fontanini items starting with this chap from Mr Carrick's table, which looks like a Carrara Marble one, removed. Notable for his child-like face, he was, before the end of the show joined by . . .

. . . these chaps; all Fontanini sculpts, all Hong Kong copies, from two sources and seller was Peter Harris, who took me back to find the other three when I rocked-up in front of him with the hard plastic painted one in one mitt and money in the other . . . hay; it's only once a year, I can break the habit of the other 11 months - I save from February, and accept an austere Sandown two weeks later!

The multi-coloured one is probably a cake-decoration thing, while the other three are trying very hard to look like some of Fontanini's own production, with the bone-white plastic and over-wash of antique/dirt; technically, the painted one is a piracy, a 'civil' crime under intellectual property law, the undecorated trio are 'fakes', 'criminal' law crimes as they are deliberate attempts reproduce like-for-like or - to defraud.

Another minor theme on the day was uncommon/unusual nappy-types, and mostly cavalry, with - from the left above - a polish PZG (line-infantryman?), a Prior premium, poorly home-painted I suspect; I've seen similar WHW's turn out to be original! But I've also seen a few others in unpainted cream. Then another Polish figurine, but sub-scale and maybe not PZG, two non-matching French figures who happen to fit each-other . . . the horse being a harder styrene and looking older, although the rider may be repainted and is missing a wire sword, heat-set into his hand and finally; a Starlux officer in stable-dress or 'barrack dress'.

P is for Picasa Clearance

I think we've had that title before and we will definitely have it again! I keep muttering about clearing stuff from Picasa but I keep adding to it, not just article folders but the 'other images' folder which had just under 500 shots a few weeks ago and now stands at 700+. A lot of it is shite, but here's some I can clear as a random post, alphabetically;

Britains

Simple shot of Hong Kong produced Britains cowboys, showing some of the colour/base variations in the Herald range - note that the orange one (they all seem to be wearing mechanic's overalls!) has only detailing  three paint colours (black, silver, flesh) while the other two poses manage four each with the neckerchife blobbed-in, in yellow.

Charbens

Thanks to Paul Morehead at Plastic Warrior for ID'ing these for me the other day, I'd scoured the PW 'specials' I have here and checked various websites, but of course my Charbens special (for that is who they are by) is the old B&W one in storage - Paul came to the rescue the other day. From my attempts to find him I'd say he's not too common?

Cofalux

I don't know what these Cofalux are doing in Picasa as we looked at them before everything went into storage, I think they must be latecommers from Samwise/Pascal? I like these French 'bazar' figures (because they are sold in bazaars), they have something of a cross between US production (seen in the UK through Marx or Thomas) and Hong Kong rack toys.

Hornby-Meccano

A Hornby rail-staff figure repainted to represent some fat, rear-echelon, staff-donkey; ready to send a hundred-thousand lions into a hailstorm of Ruhr-moulded lead, at walking pace!

JB Models - now Airfix

Ah, yes; "Would you like a model kit with that fresh-air, Sir?" - The other kind of 'box scale', not an odd-scaled ship or aircraft designed to fit the box size, but a box design resolutely happy to be filled with 5/6ths atmosphere! I don't think they were 'US' either; it's an Australian expediency-design born pout of marrying the turrets of retired Saladin armoured cars with M113 APC's to provide a bit of oomph in Vietnam, which it did quite well I think, albeit while being a bit top-heavy.

Lucky-Giant-Helen of Toy (and others!)

Scans of old photographs that never got used in One Inch Warrior magazine, one of each pose, both colours, err . . .  That's it! Comic offers in the US, they replaced earlier flats.

Norev

Plastic fire engine (dusty) with figures, there should be four outriders, two are missing and one was wedged in the delicate plastic ladder and I wasn't going to force him. Also you have to ask why they are riding outside when they have a lovely crew-cab with two bench seats!

Italian Texas Indian on the left

German bubble-gum premium on the right

All covered before, two random Euro-figures closing a random figure post - call it 'magazine Sunday'! Tomorrow we start a short season.

M is for "♫ Motor'bikin'! ♫ . . ♫ . . ♫ Motor'bikin'!! ♫ . . .

. . . ♫ Moving on the Queens High'way; Lookin' Like'a Streak-a'Lightning ♫"

It is a mystery to me how this stuff comes in, it only seems a few weeks since I did a round-up of motorcycles thinking "That's it for a while", and damn-me if I haven't got a whole lot more to share with you! And to show it isn't really a mystery, but rather synergy; these all piled-up in the last couple of weeks!

This was first, an email from Brian Berke with a few 'shelfies' and a note to the effect he knew I liked motorbikes on the Blog and thought this was worthy of my attention. It is! And it's also the 'other' FunTastic, so I'll have to be careful with the tags!

It says 'three styles' and what looks to be an identical one is seen below, with a different colour-way, whether that's it, or whether there are different models and colour-ways leading to the necessity to collect a whole fleet is something the Atlantic will prevent me investing in a search of the definitive answer to - no bad thing - but thanks for the shot Brian!

At the other end of the spectrum in every sense is this Holgar Eriksson designed generic 'combat troops' machine in 30mm lead. . . weird for having an obvious sticky-out, kick-stand (both sides) but no sticky-out handle-bars? Unmarked by dint of its design, I'm assuming Comet/Authenticast, but it is just a likely to be SAE?

We've seen the silver chap (recently I fear?) but the gold one with blue wheels turned-up at Sandown the other day, so a fleet of these seems to be in my future . . . oh lordy!

While below them two more [purported to be] Airfix bikes to add to the - currently in storage - bag, sans riders (but that made them cheap!), they normally have a chap in a sort of field-cap/service hat, but there may be other riders.

Because by Monday just-gone, I could see a bike post building; when I saw these I nearly bought them on the spot . . . but went back and got them first-thing Tuesday! From a larger set of Iwaco-type erasers (a pound for 6) we will look at separately; they're too cool for driving-school!

The gods of space-saving: Crammy and Pylitup, decided I couldn't add these to the stack, so I photographed them on Adrian's Mercator Trading stall at Sandown Park - French, look like Cofalux (?), it's very similar to the damaged black one we saw here a while ago (separate handlebars are even closer) and the pointy-hands of the riders suggest I have a spare military rider somewhere!

And as the Belgians were stalled-out behind us - with some nice modernist melamine shelving - I took the opportunity to shoot them on a contemporaneous, '50's-feeling, patterned-background! But I forgot the jiggit on the camera-lens, Doh!

The interest element here is that you have polystyrene bikes, polyethylene handlebars and vinyl-rubber figures! The comedy element here is that they are motorcycles? Presumably the ladder folds into the side-car and the hoses are micro-bore, everyone's using micro-bore now!

It was the best way of getting more desirable toy subjects (police, fire and even ambulances) into a budget for every pocket, like all those family-saloons and estate-cars/shooting-brakes sold as Fire Chief's. I think we had more fire chiefs in our toy box than all other fire vehicles put together . . .

"Hey Chief!"

"Hey yer'self Chief! Oh, look here's the Chief coming..."

"You Chiefs over there, can you grab the County Fire Chief when he gets here; and go and blow on that fire, see if you can put it out?"

"Who made you Chief?"

"Who made you Chief?"

"Who made you Chief?"

"Who made you Chief?"

O is for Other Bikes

Really an exercise in clearing Picasa, actually a never-ending exercise! These have slowly accrued waiting for their chance to shine on the blog, and this is it . . . although most of them aren't very shiny!

The big black one is actually quite badly damaged, but on the other side! Came in a mixed-bag of odds and sods from someone (so I'll thank - alphabetically - Brain Carrick, Peter Evans, Gareth Morgan and Trevor Rudkin - to cover all the bases!) and is - I think - Cofalux, it certainly looks like others I've seen, but isn't quite the same so may not be? It'll be French though?

The other is also probably French as I don't think Wendal ever listed a fire-brigade motorcycle? Therefore it must be one of the 'alu's, but which? Cof, 'do, or Mign'! Seems to be Fire Service and photographed on Adrian's stall ages ago.

Oxford Diecast; yes I know one's not a motorbike, but this is an exercise in getting stuff off the laptop as much as it's about motorcycles!

As an aside, the tractor should be green and old Henry Marshall was a mate of Dad's and actually helped us source our Marshall's Thrashing Engine, now that's a day's hard work: thrashing corn the old way! And when you feed horse-beans into the drum, it sounds like someone's trying to open the gates of hell with a machine-gun!

This is the actual one, I painted it - so much for Rustoleum! We used to run it off a Fergie-135, but I'm afraid the salt-air got to it after a time and it was a landmark up on the cliffs for another decade or so, before the scrap-man got it - but he didn't get much!. When the tag-list says it was abandoned - it wasn't, it was used as a shelter by the eepydeeps, and I think that's Minnie or Tiddles in the background with their kids (no, they're not kids, they're lambs, goats have kids!), we specialise in black-sheep!

More, what's to say about it . . . OO-guage compatible, but a bit big for HO, reasonable detail, reasonable paint - for moulded metal - and current production . . . er, that's it!

Brilliant! I think this was a quid at Sandown Park toy fair sometime in the last few years? Seems to have just appeared in the collection! Probably Hong Kong, but unmarked, probably a copy of a better US dime-store toy of the 1950's; has similarities to the copies of the submarine bath toys and copies of Manurba mini-subs in the construction and the silver-grey plastic type . . . brilliant!