H is for How They Come In - Charity Shop Backlog - 2023, 3 of 3

So to the last of the Charity shop plunder from last year, a pretty average bag of mixed animals, but it did have a figure in, or did I buy him separately for 50p or something, I really can't remember and shot them together, so, whatever!

Looks like one of those reusable fresh-veg' bags Sainsbury's were experimenting with, I think they've dropped them now, but they are useful for running bulk lots of paint-stripped figures through the washing machine, saves checking the filter afterwards, as all the larger flakes of paint end-up in the corners of the bag!

 

Mostly Dino's, and mostly generics, but when you think how many there've been in the last three posts, and how many Jon sent to the Blog in the autumn, and how many there are half sorted in that pile I shot on the stairs before they went to storage, and it'll be a mammoth task to make more sense of them all!

 

Wild animals, and a sea-horse which might have been branded, in fact it's here somewhere, and I could look it up, but I can't be arsed and does to matter right now, I've enough for a whole sea-horse post at some point, and such thematic posts are a definite plan for the future!

 

I think these go together and look like pretty current stock, in the two halves glued-together (to help with 'undercuts' on more complicated sculpts) style, they will be one of the carded sets you still see occasionally in the few remaining Independent corner-shops? BJ Toys, Red Deer, Funtastic, somebody like that?

 

This went straight back, or at least I think it's in the box of stuff to go back! McDonald's Happy-Meal thing, or something similar, there's a press-button to make him do something movie-related!

 

Well, I can't hold them all 'till ITLAPD, an ELC pirate, they're a bit big for my liking, but they are lovely sculpts and this is about number six now, with a few fantasy-types, and some knights from the same source!

ITLAPD is for It's That Long Assorted-Post Dissertation

Oi' been led to ber'live some scurrvy scurr callin' hisel' Mad Cap'n Tom were for a number o' years callin' hisel' the 'ead of ther Brit'ish ITLAPD . . . and feel Oi' should point owt, Oi's been postin' err' regulur-loik ferr longurr thun thaat!

http://www.yarr.org.uk/

So 'ere's be ther furrst o'a' few posts on Poirates and Poiraty things 'er at Small Scale Worrld, not as many as some yurrs, but plen'eny to's keep me 'and in! Aharrrrr maties!

First off, a question-mark; they keep turning-up, usually in small numbers and have as many clues to early Hing Fat or late Ri-Toys (plastic type, plastic colour) as they do to DFC or HG (figure size, figure subject), and could be two of the above (or others altogether) as there are definitely two versions of the sailors/pirates (left and middle), but so far only one type of AWI/Revenue-men?

You feel they should be commonly known, but they might have been some kind of cheap'o rack toy? Or I'm just being dumb! Anyone able to add any more to these; were they branded, big-box or bottle-bag, 1980's or '90's? I've been picking them up since the early 1990's and they're around the 50mm mark.

The weird thing is the unmarked revenue men seem to go with the middle pirates, not the similarly coloured lot who ARE marked CHINA, so late 1990's-onwards for definite, on them

Another question-mark; A rather stubby gun and pile of muddy cannon-balls. From the colour this looks as if is't cut out of a Bellona vac-formed scenic sheet, but which one? There was a 19th century battlefield one I think and a couple recommended for ACW, but the barrel here is more piratey than Napoleon or Parrot?

We've seen these before, and I keep a look-out for them on that there interwebamathingy, but the big lot were sniped at the last second and the others were too-expensive or reposted on value-aggregators like Worthpoint, but the two question marks remain; what's the significance of the wild-animal base marks? And what set/line/range were they in? I've seen them listed as 'The Disney Collection' but not found many more with that as a search term.

From the number which have turned-up and the number of duplicate characters/different poses now found, it looks to be at least two boxed sets of around ten poses? First two movies? Two waves of the second movie? Four boxes of six figures? I said we'd return to these and we have . . . and we will again!

We looked at these big-box generics last year, but I've collected a couple more images which are worth a peek, if only because one is wearing a rather piratical A-to-Z logo (which is the importer Padgett Bros) and new box graphics.

Just a bit of fun, these are out there on-line; expanding foam pirates, this one credited to a Forum Novelties Inc., but there will be others I'm sure! Put him in water and he grows, put him on a radiator and he shrinks, cat gets him and he shreads!

With the demise of the Early Learning shops, and having received a few of their other large 'solid' figures in Charity Shop lots, I was pleased to find this old sales picture still finable on-line, The Early Learning Centre pirates.

Saw this, or was I sent it? It might have been part of the wider conversation into Brian Berke's Charles W Morgan kit, which we looked at a couple of ITLAPD's ago? Or I looked it up after? No matter, it's piraty, and Captain Morgan may have produced pirate premiums at some point, maybe a little metal one like the old Britains semi-flat Johnny Walker? I just feel I should be saying more about it?

I got a Supreme carded pirate, I'm sure I've seen a generic version in a catalogue somewhere, but can't remember where . . . Henbrandt or Marshalls maybe? Anyway, it comes with a faux-velvet purse (treasure bag!) and one figure, who gets a rather crude boat to play in which is barely large enough for him and his huge treasure chest, which has a naff card-insert treasure, rather like Blue Box's hay-wagon load! Here branded to Halsall's (HTI) Time4Toys.

When I looked at the Klutz bits a while back, this chap had just come in, in a mixed lot, so I used him as a sizer, and shot a couple more to go here, so here they are! Fontanini, hard PVC 60/70mm, they also appeared in a smaller size, like these and as unpainted/antique-washed polyethylene versions - the cat'O'two-tails!

Peter Evans bought this for me in the Toy Project Charity shop a while back (Christmas-time I think) and we will be back with them in a minute, but this post is written-up in an 'as they were added to the folder' order, and he came earlier.

He seems to be designed to hold something on his head and I suspect it's treasure or tokens as you move round a board game? He may - equally - not be a pirate, but more of a general 'historical' figure, he looks a bit fairy-tale-artwork-of-my-childhood like? I think he IS a pirate, just covering possibilities - anyone recognise him?

Why is this in the folder? First Captain Morgan, now these? Goes away, has a coffee and a think, comes back non-the-wiser and writes a couple more picture captions . . . OH! Yes, someone (Chance Priest?) on Brian Heiler's Facebook group (where lots of them are Mego fans) found it and I was sufficiently amused by the subject-matter to chuck it in the ITLAPD folder!

Italian kids of the 1970's obviously thought nothing of buying their pirates large and in sixes! There's gotta'be a story here - festival of some kind, very larger garden-toy/sand-pit ship by the same company? Giocattoli Querzola.

Unknown cartoon octopus with a pirate's air about him, unmarked, but in a Kinder style, so maybe another capsule-toy issuer? Is he a character from Sponge Bob or a more generic thing?

This IS a capsule toy AND Kinder! Lady-pirate from a crew which is both unisex in mix/numbers and overall quite androgyn! Not sure if the 'Pablo' character comes separately - and apart from the rest of the set - in a larger 'maxi-egg', or is reduced from the apparent size in the artwork on the insert sheet (where this figure - Alisea - is not seen in the issued figure's pose/sculpt) to fit in the normal-sized eggs?

Not my thing particularly, but it does ID some blobby, black knights we may or may not have seen here, I know I had some come in but can't remember if I posted them? Redbox infant toy set, with equally blobby pirates and a ship which is of limited use in any scale that might be looking for something more realistic, but they would be cheap.

I can't remember if we've seen these here before or not, they were available last year as I shot them for the 'seen elsewhere shot (next shot below), but I think I then realised they weren't on the Blog, so shot them for this year, or something, anyway, here they are and I don't think I know anything else about them - more corner-shop, counter-box pick'n'mix vinyl's?

That 'seen elsewhere' shot, which was all the softer PVC or PVC-a-like figures, with the K&M / Wild Republic; centre left, Klutz in his own row; top right, the chap from Brain B above him. The two ships crew; bottom right, the four we just saw; top left, and a few odds and sods.

These are on Alibaba, and are probably available about the place as generic cake decorations, I have a similar Disney Alice' set in the queue which I have managed not to post several times despite meaning to! Nice sculpts, well finished, but cartoony, and nothing like the characters in the licence they are knocking-off, but both the skeleton and the lady have mileage enhancing others sets?

Current listing on Toy Major's site, set W5545 Action World Pirate Collection window box, previously carried by Toysmith (and others), and here with some useful accessories.

Another one I was outbid on! And it went for silly money for a relatively current set, but there you go! Pech Brothers copies with a runner of crude accessories from BumSlot! They may previously have been seen from Montaplex or Hobby-Plast.

I was up in London last Wednesday and added these two to the post at almost the last minute, a Papo-Mini (40mm) and a piratical penguin of unknown origin who has something of Phidal about him?

Both bought from the Toy Project which I visited with Peter Evans, they have a new layout and more stuff (post in the queue) and have opened another shop, so seem to be doing well which is nice!

But the eleventh-hour slot on additions to this post went to an eBay BIN-purchase of cheap fondant-icing cutters which arrived a day or two ago! They were so cheap, and I plan on making a pirate-cake for a future ITLAPD, so we may see them again - plans and reality being separate tenants on life's journey!

H is for How They Come In - Eclectic Lot!

I haven't managed (read; wasn't bothered-) to get up to town for a couple of weeks so these are from about three weeks ago? And only a few pieces from three different shops, to make an eclectic group of odds!

The lightweight foamed-resin flamenco dancer and the china fairing of a Wellintonian officer were from British Heart Foundation in Farnborough I think, she being similar to the Reamsa one, he needing a plume-repair, the three little ones were from a rummage-tray in Scope while the ELC knight (another one!) was a shelf-jobbie in BHF Fleet.

From the other side! It's all grist to the mill, literally, the amount of stuff out there means that no one can have everything, but the wider the net is cast the bigger the picture that can be drawn-in!

All marked Hasbro, the hound doing a Ghostbusters impersonation came in only the other day - hence my grabbing the two boys when I saw them - either from Charity or from Peter or Chris, I can't remember now, but it means I've probably only got the two girls to find . . . maybe some 'monsters'? That is; evil, humourless, money-grubbing, local conservative types dressed as monsters!

I love the magnified eye painted on the glass!

Later the same day - err . . . no! The Hound is doing a Sherlock Holmes impersonation, it's Shaggy who's channeling the Ghostbusters!

ELC is for Extra Large Crowd

Or - B is for a Bunch O' Biggun's

I'm not being lazy, I'm out in the garden, this isn't the weather for blogging; this is the weather for a good dose of fresh-air! Especially when you have firewood to cut, firewood to split for the coming winter, and a tree or two to deal with! Shot a slow-worm yesterday, so that's all the native reptiles bar an Adder photographed in two weeks . . . and I got Adders twice a few years ago!

But I have a load on on the back-burner, have received all sorts of stuff from Arto, Brian B, Chris Smith and Theo van der Weerden by eMail, two lovely lots from Chris and Peter E via the mail system and am awaiting a few more bits and bobs to add to things.

But I did mention - just as we went into lockdown I think - that I was bringing all the ELC figures together and would Blog them as a group, and this is that post!

The good guys, or at least; I assume they are meant to be good-guys for the target age-group who may still believe in such fairy-tale nonsense! We all know those at the top are robber-barons, intent on screwing someone, somewhere, whether they have title over them, or not!

There's a weapon missing from the palace guard/man-at-arms and it's probably an axe or a lance, as his sword is in it’s scabbard?

Might be good, might be bad, and probably depends on how much silver you have to cross their palms with! What games-master's might call the 'independent adventurers', or 'non-aligned', the witch looks to be a good fairy, the other two look a bit rough-about-the-gills to me! I could fix the swords, but they'll only bend again when they go back in their bag, better to wait until they have a tub or shelf of their own and straighten them the once.

Badder than bad things which have gone to university and had themselves elected joint-heads of the being really-bad department! Some sort of Troll on the left and an airborne Ork on the right . . . an airborne Ork? Isn't it enough than Orks are pretty awful already, that you'd go and give them a pair of wings, f 'f 'sake!! And these were sold to five-year-olds!

Is it a Troll and an Ork, or an Ork and a Goblin? Flying Goblins . . . even worse!

If the previous two were bad; one of these is dead and the other's eight-foot and has burning-eyes! These are the anti-heroes of the piece and no mistake!

Berserker says -

Cumm'ooohn dude, this isn't funny! I don't mind the odd 60-mil, but . . . WTF?

Scale wise these are collectively around 90mm but vary considerably, although at this size it doesn't really matter, especially given the fantasy nature of them as a whole, and they will go perfectly with similar figures from other manufacturers.

To the eyes the three medievals are 80mm (King, designed to ride and stand) and 85, the witch is only 75-mil, while the rest are 90-100mm, the red-eye from horrorville being the top end.

H is for How They Come In - Week 11

Missing from my sudden departure was the H is for... thread, so here it is as a separate thing, which it might have been anyway, as, after a slow start; nothing from the Friday to the Tuesday, I then picked-up quite a bit, just before modern life melted away!

The Tuesday find was four bags of stuff thematically sorted into a bog of dinosaurs, a bag of funny ugly/rubber jigglers, and two bags of domestic animals, one with mostly dogs, the other having quite a bit of Cherilea!

Dinosaurs were a mix of generics and marked examples, with Safari and AAA/'Triple-A' among them, the rubber jigglers were two-each of three designs while among the dogs were some MEG's  - Puppy in my Pocket. I'm loving the shocking-pink flamingo!

The Wednesday saw me blow four 50p's on these, the flamenco dancer goes with the terracotta civil-guards, military and ceremonials we looked at the other day - and because another came in at the same time, we will look at them all again; any day now.

The bear with the phone is another of the HH Hill's we saw a couple of, a while ago, while the standing, anthropomorphic one is unmarked, as is the squirrel . . . I've picked up several squirrels (and foxes) recently, most in resin!

The next charity shop along gave me another ELC fantasy figure, I've since brought them all together, as they have been appearing in ones and two for a few years here now, and will do a post on all of them at some point.

Finally I picked up another bag of figures, the resin otter is not the first recently either? The two footballers are the same 'Gazza' sculpt as the one with base Chris Smith sent to the Blog a while ago, but different 'strips' so clearly you could find your favourite team . . . provided your favourite team is one of the 'big four', or six or whatever!

The civilians are rather in the same vein as the larger ones we saw at the Toy Fair, and while slightly similar to Homies (coming again soon), are a bit too big, and seem to be an exclusivity thing with clear nods to nationality, ethnicity and disability.

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events - Saturday 13th - Friday 19th April 2019

Brwreakshit's going so well now; I don't know whether to laugh or emigrate!

Netanyahu's 5th term got off to a good start with the dumping of more rubbish on the moon! Did you know there are 120 tons of human shite on the moon? Some of it in self-seal bags and without the 'e', one small dump for a man, one giant headache for the man in the moon! Will they name the new crater? Mare Israelius Follyii?

Meanwhile The Trouser-trump seems to be looking to a third-term - as a dictator! The way he's just hijacked the security services, sacking anyone who won't do what he says or say what he wants to hear, really is Third-World, Banana-Republic stuff . . . but welcoming Assisi, a military dictator as a 'friend' sums up the golf-cheat; nes't pas? And having used Wikileaks to his advantage in the election campaign, smearing Clinton, he's now going to hang the idiot Assange out to dry! Rotten - they are all rotten.

Toys aren't rotten! Pretty evens between Saturday and Sunday this weekend, a Tuesday evening show and a bunch of auctions through the week, should be something for everyone, and there's tons of Easter Holiday stuff . . . happy hunting!

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Toy Fairs

Saturday 13th April 2019

Faversham - SRP Toy Fairs

Bysingwood Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7PA

Web. - www.srptoyfairs1.co.uk

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Henfield - David Parsons - Toy & Train Collectors Fair

Henfield Village Hall, High Street, Henfield, West Sussex, BN5 9DB

eMail - modelcarmart@gmail.com

Mob. - 07742 609 865 (David)

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 14th April 2019

Birmingham - Barry Potter / BP Fairs - 'NEC'

Hall 18, National Exhibition Centre, Birminham, B40 1NT

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

Admission £7.50, early-bird (from 08:00hrs) £12, OAP's £7, Children £2

Free parking

Haltwhistle - Jim Corr Fairs - Toy, Train & Sci-Fi Fair

Haltwhistle Leisure Centre, Greencroft, Haltwhistle, Northumberland, NE49 9DP

eMail - jim_corr73@hotmail.co.uk

Mob. - 07504 035 955

10:00 - 15:00hrs

Admission £3, children/senior citizens £2, 'Early Bird' £5

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

Reading - Tony Oaks Toy Fairs - Toy Fair & Exhibition

Rivermead Leisure Centre, Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8QE

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01270 652 773

Mob. - 07825 631 323

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £4.00, accompanied children under 16 free, 'early bird' (from08:30hrs) £10.00, 'lazy bird' (from 09:30hrs) £7.00

Parking, refreshments, full facilities

Layouts and displays

Incorporating 'Reading Vintage Toy Fair'

Dateline show - dealers should carry stock up to 1995 only.

{If you've never been you should give it a go, it's one of the better shows in the year's calendar}

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Tuesday 16th April 2019

Wootton Basset - Steven Clements Fairs - Wootton Basset Evening Fair

Memorial Hall, Station Road, Wootton Basset, Wiltshire, SN4 7EN

eMail: clementfairs@aol.com

Tel. - 01380 725 322

Mob. - 07958 101 891

18:30 - 20:30hrs

Free parking, café

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Auctions

Saturday 13th April 2019

[Runcorn] On-line Auction - British Toy Auctions

Web. - www.britishtoyauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@britishtoyauctions.co.uk

Tel. - 01928 579 032

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Tuesday 16th April 2019

Newbury - Special Auction Services (SAS)

81 Greenham Business Park, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG19 6HW

Web: www.specialauctionservices.com

eMail: mail@specialauctionservices.com

Tel: 01635 580595

Fax: 0871 714 6905

'Glorious Trains' sale

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Wednesday 17th April 2019

Warrington - Warrington & Northwich Auctions

551 Europa Blvd, Westbrook, Warrington, Lancashire,  WA5 7TP

Web. - www.warringtonauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@warringtonauctions.co.uk

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Thursday 18th April 2019

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

01642 750 616

General toy sale

"The General Toy sale to be held on the 18th of April features over 400 lots of cars, commercials, buses and military vehicles from manufacturers such as Corgi, Dinky, Matchbox, Vanguards, Lledo, Oxford Diecast, Rami, Solido and EFE. Plus, Lansdowne and Brooklin, Jaguar Model Club, and Atlas Editions, including aircraft, with further models from Corgi Aviation Archive and Sky Guardians. Other lots in the sale include WSI Collectables, Tekno and other Trucks and Trailers; Scalextric, Railway related, and Plastic Kits from Revell, Tamiya and Airfix. The sale will also include reference books, comics and annuals, pottery, vintage games, F1 figures, and Trade Packs from Star Wars modern collectables, "Stig" and Thunderbirds figurines, and "The First Real action" game system."

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Other Events

From Now

London (Kensington) - Lindt (sponsor) - Gold Bunny Treasure Trail

Kensington Palace Gardens

Tube - High Street Kensington (Circle & District), Notting Hill Gate (Central, Circle & District).

Ages - 3-12

Duration - Approximately 90-minutes

Runs until April 22nd

From Now - Sunday 14th April 2019

Whitby - Whitby Goth Weekend

Whitby (all of it), North Yorkshire

Web. - http://www.whitbygothweekend.co.uk/

Saturday 13th April 2019

London (Central) - London Games Festival - Free Family Day

Trafalgar Square

Web. - http://games.london/ (odd URL, but that's it!)

"Free, fun, family-friendly"

Seem to have missed the first 11 days - blame the promoter!

Saturday 13th April - Sunday 14th April 2019

Manchester - 'Animecon'

Sugden Sports Centre, 114 Grosvenor St, Manchester, Lancashire, M1 7HL

Web. - www.manchesteranimecon.com

Cosplay, manga artists, panel discussions &etc.

Saturday 13th April - 23rd April 2019

Basingstoke - Festival Place Shopping Precincts - Lego in Space

Web. - https://www.festivalplace.co.uk/events-features-offers/features/bricks-in-space/

From Saturday 13th April 2019 - 'till . . .

Windsor - Legoland - New Ride; The Haunted Monster Party

Web. - https://www.legoland.co.uk/explore-the-resort/land-views/adventure-land/rides/the-haunted-house-monster-party/ (beware of pop-ups)

"Lord Vampyre invites you and your family to the ultimate fang-tastic celebration at The Haunted House – Monster Party!"

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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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Competition - Just for Fun!

Tom reveals the answer to last week's little quiz question - while I must apologise as I had said I'd give a further clue on Monday and then didn't! It was another time-poor week! The clue - which would have confirmed the Oracle at Smithii was 'It's waterproof to 600-meters below sea level!'

Seiko Prospex Diver's Watch!

Handing over to Tom . . . "With our guessing game, I’m pleased to say Chris ‘the master of suspense’ Smith has largely nailed it first post!

The figure is indeed a mascot for Seiko divers watches. But here, the plot thickens. Assuming you could afford the $700 AUD entry level price for one of these watches (that is a million Brexit pebbles to you guys) ~ you do not get the figure with the watch :-(

I asked in the shop, and the woman there explained to me that the figure is part of Seiko's ‘VM’. So I stood there and smiled awkwardly, and she elaborated – their ‘visual merchandising’. Which for you and me means – you can’t buy him!"

But please - less of the 'Brexit pebbles' Mr [consummate] DJ; I'll have you know the crazies wise old Etonians on the Tory's back-bench have assured us we will be signing very agreeable trade-deal's with you and the neighbouring Kiwi's any day now!

Burkina Faso is already in the bag, and talks with Mongolia are quite advanced, I believe! While you can almost smell the artisan whale-blubber candles winging their way here from the Faeroe Isles; firmly packed in guano - The Little Englanders' Brave New World, who needs Gibraltar huh?

And anyway, some of the pebbles in those Welsh streams 'round Brecon have little silver and gold flecks in; they must be worth a tanner or two, or at least a swap for a couple of sardines?

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H is for How they Come In

Bought some stuff this week for Easter posts which I'm not showing now, sorted artillery and tracked vehicles, shot some of the Russian die-casts, found the [storage] totem poles but haven't combined with the newer ones yet and combined the Roco-Minitanks' stuff, both vehicles and figures - who have separate, different sized boxes.

The above was an odds bag from Blue Cross the animal charity; three ELC medieval/fantasy giants, a late Britains Petite knight and a Kinder mole, not just any mole, no common-or-garden mole, but a sexy, busty, Baywatch beach-babe mole!

You can't make this shit up anymore, with TJF and Sell spouting their shite at one end of the hobby and Funko-superdeform-Star-Wars-Angry Bird-Lego-Minecraft-Pencil Top mash-up's at the other end; it's Warhol's 'pop eating itself' writ-large!

I actually purchased these as I was posting last week's 'Events' post and have since acquired four more for a forthcoming post (or 'update') on Jada's Nano-Metal figures, here from the Halo gaming franchise and on clearance at The Works.

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Toys in the Media

Two this week, large Duplo-compatible bricks of unknown (but likely Duplo) origin are being used to illustrate an educational story in the 'i', while UK readers will be familiar with the IKEA ad. (here in Metro), as I seem to remember it being used a few times now, but for loyal readers further afield, it pertains to a 'real' chariot (flat-packed - of course) but very-much channels the pictures on the backs of old Airfix 'Blue Boxes' or the Atlantic ancient sets!

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A is for Archive - So Called Joggers!

The man the PSTSM and their French friends would have us believe is a 'connoisseur' of toy soldiers, knew - in 2016 - absolutely nothing about the previous 70-odd years of the US Toy industry's history or its relationships with Europe, Japan, Hong Kong or domestic wholesalers!

One would also hope we'd all be a little less flippant about ivory production now!

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Sorting!

The 'Treasure Chest', or one of them! Spencer Smith's combat infantry and a few plastic Authenticast copies, some Japanese blow-moulds, Tiny Trojan's and Springwood's Napoleonics; all together now except the blow-moulds which have outgrown the tray and will be moved when I've found somewhere to put them and the others, still elsewhere.

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Spring!

The mild winter and sudden cold-snap in February followed by a mini-heatwave has produced a mass of wild, native violets in among the strawberries, there's always a few, but this year there's a mass of them! They won't pose a threat to the strawberries and - as their flower seasons overlap - may help get the strawb's pollinated, ergo; more strawb's - bargain!

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