H is for How They Come In - Peter

A few days after Brian's parcel, another arrived without warning from North of the river, something some of you are probably expecting as he's scrupulously fair and seems to send parcels together so if he's name-checked at the other place he's shortly thereafter name-checked here, or vise-a-versa!

An interesting sample of mixed 'odds and sods' (which is right up SSW's street!); most of them happy to wear the 'Novelty' moniker. /the contents of the small bag (bottom-left) is now a separate post.

I'm not so sure about the large pink mouse, however the similar mini-bath duck is a happy receipt, so I can't reject his stable mate and one day there will be an overview of all rodents here on the blog (as there - hopefully - will be for everything) and when that day comes he/she-or-it will be ready and waiting . . . for a second viewing!

The three nutcracker'esqe (or 'Babes in Toyland' style-) guardsmen are part of a larger family which hung around in the late 1990's and early 2000's, I've pinned them to two or three brands and - in at least two sizes - they were used in snow-shakers, the sort of mini-trees truckers' put on their dashboards, as novelty earrings and possibly (as here?) cake decorations.

Both the drummer and the blue-jacketed chap were new to me and we will look at them all properly one Christmas, as that seems to have been their destination, whatever the end-use.

The Kinder eggs carried the latest figure type, and they are both nice (well sculpted and approximately 54mm) and disappointing at the same time.

The disappointment steaming from the fact that as stand-alone figures they are all in a silly pose, yet the point of the pose is a bit pointless, you have to balance the 'shield' on the two hands (not easy as a dextrous adult, god knows what kids will make of the job!) and then flick them [the shields], using the over-designed base, at the paper/card flat 'baddie' targets. The hitting of which seems more unlikely than getting the shield to stay put, but maybe I'm just a curmudgeonly old-git and it's easier on a smooth surface?

I had discovered them a few days before Peter's parcel, but typically in situations like this sod's law meant I had found the same figure as two of Peter's so now have three gold'n'green fish-men!

This is charming, possibly missing a few toes, but then he's probably over eighty and clearly survived Corvid-19 so one can't complain! Made in Japan and a fired bisque, hand-painted after firing there has been a bit of rubbing over the years . . . and another cricketer!

Now . . . we saw the female addition the other day and with another from Peter the total's become seven figures in a few months, from one, and five from Peter - here they all are together.

The new one is a second Spanish National Guardsman (like gendarme); an 'other rank' to my previously found officer, but the officer had a cartridge-paper board to his hat (as the Beefeater also has a card rim), while the new addition has the whole hat in the same clay.

He also has a slightly more expressive face, and while - like Erzgebirge - I suspect a regional aspect to the production, equally I suspect a different locale or town/village . . . the clay's a different colour to the other six, as well?

 

11th February 2021 - Now known to be craft figures (artesanos) from Alborox in Grenada

Another fisherman! Sans rod, so I put a 'pole' rod into the hold for the photograph, the original was probably a length of piano-wire with a piece of cotton-tread glued to the tip? Like the Spanish 'toristicas' in the previous shot, he's a terracotta/clay, rather than the bisque of the cricketer, but is also Japanese I think? And he's been glaze-fired rather than painted.

Aaaahh! I'm lovin' this! I already had the archer on the left and had always thought of him as a cartoony/anthropomorphic ancient or medieval type; a warrior archer, if you like, but the new figure from Peter makes it clear there is probably a set of 'sports cats' somewhere, and gum-ball capsule-machine inserts, or Christmas cracker prizes? Anyone else got some?

I shot it without flash (inset) to show the true colour difference.

Another excuse for a group shot was the china cat, which is also a different colour (darker grey), but the flash washed it out, so they look like twins (centre-left), and - as a group -growing ever larger!

I also have plastic copies/versions of the little kittens playing with balls of wool (front row), which are not direct piracies, being smaller, slightly different poses and . . . for another day!

The three Siamese's (top right) are chalkwear (plaster) and named, but I forgot to note it! The two dirty ginger's are Whimsy's from Wade the rest are porcelain 'ornamentals'.

Finally is this interesting chap, a Maori dancer from New Zealand, who has been glued to a paper or card base of some kind, I suspect as part of a tourist keepsake, but has a brand; G.L Models and may have had a second purpose as a colonial war-game figure, he's the right size and material under the paint?

And many thanks to Mr. Evans again, for another collection of eclectic stuff without the sending of which, I wouldn't have been able to share with you!

Z is for Stumps!

Another board-game, but this one has some age, as it seems from the box-lid blurb to pre-date the whole National/International Team Competition era, mentioning the Australian 'Test Team' as being a separate entity to 'English Teams' (isn't one of them from Wales? No Mr. President; no; not the big 'fish'!) without mentioning any other national country?

The contents consist of a playing board, rule-set, score-book, arrowy-thing, various cards for the batsman (who doesn't seem to get a representative figure which is a bit odd) and the nub of the set as far as we're concerned; a set of 23/25mm (HO'ish) figures in lead. De la Rue now - of course - famous for making a high proportion of the world's paper (and increasingly - Polymer) currencies, and based down the road, just outside Basingrad.

Of particular interest is the playing surface, which despite the lack of batsmen, bowling or batting apparatus (that's what all the cards are about) or balls, has been given a flocked surface in three colours, each immaculately printed with no fuzzy boundaries or colour-bleed. But then if this was made between the wars, in the Edwardian period, flocked wallpaper had taken flocking 'tech' to heights it has only retreated from ever since!

Close-up of the playing pieces, they can - with exceptions - be moved between balls or overs, and the reason there is a bowler when there are no batsmen, is that the fielding-player can vary the run-up and ball toss.

The figures are semi-flat and probably full of lead, with four poses, standing and squatting fielders, wicket-keepers and the bowler. A lovely set and many thanks to Adrain who let me shoot it at the recent Sandown Park toy fair.

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events - Saturday 12th-Friday 18th October 2019

Well Mr. Trump's economic genius is starting to look good now he's used-up the boost he inherited from Obama isn't it, toy prices going through the roof just before Christmas, blue collar lay-offs . . . meanwhile the people of Northern Syria are loving his military genius!

There really is a pee-pee video, somewhere, isn't there? He is slowly surrendering American influence in the Middle East to Russia, while slowly falling-out with Europe, yet his genius as a statesman is coming along much faster elsewhere, he's falling out with China very quickly!

Both him and Boris refusing to co-operate with their own parliaments or their own courts, and while the cats misbehave, the mice are out of control; Brazil, Hungary, Poland and Turkey, sliding into gentile fascism as fast as they can learn what to get away with, from the two blond-buffoons and their coteries!

It's tragic, but as the planets dying anyway, I suppose it's all a bit academic; something for historians to argue over before the end - I watch with bemusement and buy old toys . . .

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Toy Fairs

Saturday 12th October 2019

Chester - Tony Oaks Toy Fairs

The Cheshire Country Club Sports Club, Plas Newton Lane, Upton, Cheshire, CH2 1PR

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01270 652 773

Mob. - 07825 631 323

10:30 - 14:30hrs

Admission £2.00

Free Parking

Hawkinge - SRP Toy Fairs

Hawkinge Community Centre, Heron Forstal Avenue, Hawkinge, Kent, CT18 7FT

Web. - http://srptoyfairs1.co.uk/

eMail - srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Mob. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Nottingham - Townsend Toy & Train Fairs (Malcolm Townsend) - Nottingham Toy Fair

Bluecoat Academy, Nottingham, NG8 5GY

Web. - www.tttf.co.uk

Mob. - 07951 072 790

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission unknown, accompanied under-16's free

Light refreshments

Free Parking

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Sunday 13th October 2019

Kempton Park - RM Toys Ltd.

Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, TW16 5AQ

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 02392 381 529

Mob. - 07957 823 507 (Russell Martin)

10:00 - 15:00hrs

Admission - £4.00, seniors £3.50p, children £1.00, early bird (from 08:30hrs) £10.00

Plymouth - Events Frontier - 'Devcon' Sci-fi and Comics Convention

Plymouth Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 2BJ

Web. - www.eventsfrontier.com

eMail - eventsfrontier@hotmail.com

Mob. - 07508 548 938

Hours unknown

Admission fee unknown

Rayleigh - SRP Toyfairs

Sweyne Park School, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 9BZ

Web. - www.srptoyfairs1.co.uk

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Stafford - Barry Potter / BP Fairs - 'Stafford Showground'

The Preston & Argyle Suites, Stafford County Showground, Weston Road, Stafford, ST18 0BD

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

10:30-15:00hrs

Admission £4.00 (early-bird £8), OAP's £3.50, Children £1,

Free parking

Wincanton - Toy Trac - Model Farming Show

Wincanton Racecourse, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 8BJ

Web. - https://toytrac.xyz

Tel. - 01278 785 925

10:30-15:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Licensed bar, Disability friendly

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Auctions

Saturday 12th October 2019

[Runcorn] On-line Auction - British Toy Auctions

The Auction Centre, 9 Berkeley Court, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 1TQ

Web. - www.britishtoyauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@britishtoyauctions.co.uk

Tel. - 01928 579 032

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Monday 14th October 2019

Lewis - Wallis and Wallis

West Street Galleries, Lewis, Sussex, BN7 2NJ

Web. - wallisandwallis.co.uk

eMail - toys@wallisandwallis.co.uk

Tel. - 01273 480 208

Fax. - 01273 476 562

General Toy Sale

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Tuesday 15th October 2019

Newbury - Special Auction Services (SAS)

Originally there was a ' Collector' sale pencilled-in for the 15th, it seems this sale is not now going ahead, replaced by a 2-day event on Tue-Wed. 29th/30th October 2019

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Friday 18th October 2019

Ledbury - John Goodwin

Bromsberrow Village Hall, Albright Lane, Bromsberrow, Ledbury, HR8 1RT (venue)

3-7 New Street, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 2DX (office)

eMail - rupert@johngoodwin.co.uk

Tel. - 01684 593 125 (office)

Tel. - 07968 694 746 (18th October only)

Viewing - Thursday 17th October 15:00-19:00hrs and morning of sale from 08:00hrs

Sale starts 10:00hrs - finish.

'Toy & Transport' sale, trains, ephemera and advertising goods

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions

Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9JZ

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

Toy & model railways & trains

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Other Events

From Yesterday 'till Sunday 13th October 2019

Ironbridge - Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) - Brick Bridge World Record Attempt

Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, Shropshire

Web. - www.ironbridge.org.uk

hands-on building with 'a market leading brand' of brick-block to create the world's longest model-bridge . . . hopfully!

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Saturday 12th October & Sunday 13th October 2019

Harrogate - Yorkshire Event Center - The Great Yorkshire Antiques Fair

Yorkshire Event Center, Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrowgate, North Yorkshire

Web. - www.eventcentre.co.uk

Antiques, vintage and collectables

Swansea - Swansea Museums - Book Swap

National Waterfront Museum, Oystermouth Road, Maritime Quarter, Swansea

Web. - www.museum.wales

1-for-1 book swap

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Saturday 12th - Sunday 20th October 2019

Hastings - Local Authority + - Hastings Week

Various locations

Web. - www.hastingsweek.com

Classic car show, town crier competition, re-enactments, parade, stalls, other events

Celebrating the anniversary of 1066's crown-change

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Sunday 13th October 2019

Theydon Bois - North London & Essex Transport Events (NLETE) - Transport Bazaar & Vintage Bus Displays

Theydon Bois Village Hall, Coppice Row, Essex, CMI6 7ER

eMail - nleevents@outlook.com

11:00 - 15:30hrs

Admission £3.00, accompanied children free

Free rides around Epping Forest.

No public car parking, refreshments, stalls etc . . .

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Overseas Events

Saturday 12th October 2019

Houten (Netherlands) - R. Hobma - Train & Rail Fair

Euretco, Houten, Netherlands

Tel. - ++0481 353 288

Toledo (USA) - John Carlisle - Ohio Collectors' Toy & Model Fair
Sylvania Exibition Center at Tam-O-Shanter, 7060 Sylvania Ave, Sylvania, Great Lakes (Toledo), OH 43560, Ohio, USA (venue location)

Old Toyland Shows, 6996 Chestnut Ridge Road, Lockport, NY 14094, New York, USA (organizer)

Web. - http://www.oldtoylandshows.com/

09:00-14:00hrs

Admission $7.00

Valthermond (Netherlands) - Martin Klein - Die Cast Fair

eMail - mailto:martin.klein@planet.nl

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Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th October 2019

Ohrdruf (Germany) - Leokadia Wolfers - Doll & Bear Show

Schloss Ehrenstein, Ohrdruf, Germnany

Tel. - ++01785 335 668

Paris (France) - Automedan - Die Cast & Tin-plate Fair

Parc Exposition Le Bourget, Paris, France

Tel. - ++++0164 465 222

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Sunday 13th October 2019

Bergheim (Germany) - J Hörner - Toy Fair

Tel. - ++0210 351 133

Dublin (Republic of Ireland) - Brian Collins Enterprises - 'Collectables Toy Fair'

Collinstown Suite, The Carlton Hotel, Dublin Airport, Old Airport Road, Cloghran, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland (Eire)

Web. - www.briancollinsenterprises.ie

Tel. - ++00353  879 827 712

[Findable on Facebook - Brian Collins]

Admission "Small charge"?

Nanterre (France) - Philippe Albaret - Eurofigurines

Espace Cheverul, 97-109 Avenue de la Liberté, 92000 Nanterre, France

Web. - www.eurofigurines.com

eMail - albaretphilippe@orange.fr

Tel. I - ++0614 611 618

Tel. II - ++0148 033 343

08:30-13:00hrs

Admission free . . . yes; FREE

The biggest show for little figures in France?

Olten (Switzerland) - Oltnerboerse - Toy Fair

Stadthetre / Konzerthsaal, Olten SO, Switzerland

Tel. - ++0627 914 289

Tournefeuille (France) - CCAM Toulouse - 'Retrojouets (Old Toys) 2019'

Salle 'La Phare', Tournefeuille, France

Web. - http://www.retrojouets.com/

Tel. - ++0561 765 607

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If you are an event promoter/show curator/auctioneer and you want your toy, model, collectable or popular-/youth-culture type sale/exhibition/event listed here -  FOR FREE  - or linked to; please eMail me -

maverickatlarge[at]hotmail[dot]com

- stating the date/s of the event, address of event, contact details, opening/viewing times, admission pricing and any other relevant facts/details or features - parking, travel notes, disability access, availability of refreshments, event subject matter &etc.

And please mention any flyer-art or poster-/leaflet-scans but send by separate eMail, in case they go to the 'junk' folder, from where they can be recovered and marked safe, but only if I know they're there!

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Toys in the Media

Two action figures, almost certainly enhanced by CGI (beyond the obvious sparks) and being used to illustrate a story about sports clothing store chains and their incestuous scraps!

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Other Toy News

No real toy news this week, something about recycling Lego, in Germany I think, but I wasn't paying attention!

Missed

A toy show in Lisbon, Portugal, another in the 'States last weekend and Bertoia Auctions (today, if you're near it; Vineland, New Jersey, but a bit late now); blame the promoters!

And Birmingham . . . again! AND Phil reminded me with plenty of time But I only found his mail just now . . . blame the promoters . . . Cheers Phil, thanks for trying and sorry I missed the eMail, I hope the three of you found 'stuff'!

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Links

One hates to denigrate anything for a good cause, but I'm nothing if not constant,and have no sacred-cows, so  . . . I think the UN funded something pretty similar a few years ago, linked to here (and elsewhere at the time) so while worthy; not quite as original as made out

https://musebycl.io/advertising/mccann-made-40000-toy-soldiers-based-real-wounded-veterans

and

https://www.keyc.tv/40000-toy-soldiers-emphasize-conflicts-of-veterans-transitioning-to-civilian-life/

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H is for How They Come In

For most of the week this was it! 50p each, totally unrelated to each-other and I'm not sure if the realistic one is LotR or GoT? Or whether or not he's had his head repainted, I suspect it's something-omire, the bad one who dies coming good, saving the little 'Blooody' Hobbits from the Forlorn Hope!

While the fox may be Phidal, is marked Disney but isn't the one from Peter Rabbit, isn't the one from the cartoon Robin Hood, isn't the one at war with a bird ('cos he was a coyote anyway and not Disney), looks far too laid-back to be trying to eat three little pigs and isn't the other one so must be another one?

Then I had a bit of luck today (Thursday); another LotR figurine, this one an elf, via McDonald's and a resin Teddy Bear playing cricket . . . why not! Legolas hasn't got a bow so he may have been part of a larger 'interactive' firing-toy/premium/freebee thing?

Giant knights marked China also came in at the last minute, they have certain similarities with some of the past output of Pioneer, Soma or Supreme, and are probably from some big-box generic thing shoved through TKMaxx or one of the Department Store chains at Christmas, maybe with a slot-together card fort or wooden thing?

23rd April 2020 - Now known to be Red Box from a castle playset 

In addition to the above bits, a bag of stuff for a future post was purloined (or sorted out from the large rubber knights) and a little thing was put to one side against a specific job!

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Other Stuff

The staff behaved herself this week, only because there weren't any boxes involved in the week's blogging activities, she did sit on Thursday's bag! But I caught a couple of insects with stories attached.

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I noticed this creeping very slowly across the bedroom ceiling the other morning and managed to get it to drop into a jar. I suspect it's more of a maggot than a caterpillar (they're all larvae), flies tend to find bodies in the eves (bats, tit-birds or pigeons), and the odd maggot finds a way into the house (we once had them raining-down on the patio at the place in Berkshire!), so, as the weather has turned now, I put it in the compost heap as I figured it would be warmer, and it would find something to eat as it must have used too much energy getting to where it was to successfully pupate? I just hope I haven't saved a clothes moth!

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This was caught in a spider's web outside the bedroom window on Wednesday, and with the sun behind it I could only make-out a stripy belly and couldn't work out what it was. I got the high steps and the longest cane I could find and managed to get it free, whereupon it fell on the sill, bounced and fell on the bay-window, bounced and fell on that sill, bounced and fell again, onto the paving, bounced and finally ended up in the undergrowth next to the drive, still wrapped in a few strands of the web!

It quickly freed itself though, once it had terra-firma to brace against, and clearly wasn't something a spider would normally tackle; The garden spiders set up these big sail-webs at this time of year and the various Atlantic squalls rip them to shreds every few days, but so do large insects like this, bumble-bees or hornets, who just fly through them with what sounds like threats if they get temporarily caught.

The problem was that in part breaking-free it'd been left hanging on a few threads with nothing to brace-against to break the last few strands as it'd fallen in-line with the brickwork, leaving a gap to the glass pane, so it was just swinging there waving its legs about!

It's not in the book, but I suspect a capsid of some kind, or mirid-bug relative, having some features of them and some shared with the related shield-bugs, but it has an elongated head and was big, well-over an inch in the main, more than two at full leg stretch. Possibly blown-in by this string of weather-fronts we've been having . . . Europe or North America?

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