A is for Autumn Assortment - Gift Fair

Peter Evans, roving reporter in London, roved to Birmingham for the Autumn Gift fair, which I had hoped to attend, but Space, Time and Nathaniel waits for no man, and it wasn't going to happen, still, we do have these from Peter;

 

Possibly a bit big for war gaming, but in the garden the rules can change, they're only counters, when all's said and done! No figures though!

Variation on a theme, I don't think we've seen the packaging before, but we have seen the figures now, the ones with 'vignette' bases.

 

Kawong is a new name, so a new Tag! The stuff looks similar to the New Ray stuff (next shot), so fans of modern farm equipemnt can have a field day . . . field? Geddit? I'll get me coat . . . 

 

Just mentioned.

 

Dinosaurs, it seems you get a window-visible realistic dinosaur, and a dig-for-it skeleton, to match whichever Dino' is in the specific bag?

 

I think we've seen these before, but you can't have too many images of things!

All the above look to be from Padgett Brothers (A-to-Z) 

 

Definitely seen these before, I think several times, Tobar, House of Marbles and others, but we like a bit of paratrooper action here at Small Scale World!

 

Gotta get me one of these, preferably a Hugh? You don't always find a Hugh in these pre-personalised sets, but any company which does Anna and Annabelle, Ben and Benjamin, must surely do a Hugh? Also, note one of each colour are supplied with a blank lable (top of display), so you can write what you like - "Kiss my shiny metal arse"!

 

A Japanese merchandise store had a full range of Gashapon, including those which can be presented as Christmas baubles for placing on a tree (lower shot), although Peter noted "unfortunately, no Samurai". And many thanks to Peter for sending these over to the Blog.

P is for Plamodel?

No 'y'. With this SF-Series set of six vintage gashapon, we seem to have a maker/branding, and while there are some similarities, especially with the box-reverse artwork/instruction graphics, enough for me to retro-add Plamodel to the previous post, now you've seen this one, there are also differences, and it may be only a matching of the vending-machine's standard format/parameters, or Japanese toy-trends of the day, rather than any closer connection?

 

Of the six we have another two giant, transformer type robots or 'mecha' battle-suits, and only one 'Space Tank', along with two starfighters and a larger spaceship, all to a box-scale, rather than a constant scale.

 

Space Tank!

 

Giant Robot!

 

Another Giant Robot!

 

'Bronco'

 

'F15/16 Angel Interceptor'

 

'The Hooded Swan'

 

Those last three are my titles, based on their vague resemblance to other properties, and all other comments on the origins of the sculpts/designs are the same as for the previous post's. The artwork makes them look familiar, but Japanese kit-art of the 1960/70's was sublime, even supreme, and has a tendency to do that with anything! Especially when you consider that both the Anime and Manga of the period, also followed quite tightly stylised formats.

 

The main difference with the previously seen quartet, is that these are fuller models, building into more substantial and realistic playthings, also, they are all manufactured of polystyrene 'kit plastic', and can be glued easily to make more permanent display models or toys.

 

The four runner/four colour trope is the same, except for the spaceship and 'Tank', which both have only three, and while the red-blue-black-yellow theme is also generally the same, there are an obviously-turquoise and silver runner exceptions.

 

The 'Space Tank', visually, a sort of Cullin hedgerow-cutter on the Cristie suspension of a Tetrarch light/airborne tank's tracks! Those tracks scream Gerry Anderson, not without reason, they were used extensively by the Anderson's Supermarionation studios, on various models, although taken from models of post-war Vickers Vigor bulldozers, the Tetrarch's running gear was a thinner, lighter affair altogether! 

 

When WWII becomes sci-fi vintage future-past - Vickers Vigor bulldozer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP6y-cDAxRY

S is for Super Robo!

We looked at contemporary gashapon, with an overview, a while ago, today we're looking at a more vintage, fun, sci-fi line, which I picked-up at Sandown Park the other day . . . yeah, I was being lazy, and didn't get round to posting a reminder; soz!

 

Super Robo in English, is the only clue attached to these, which are from the middle period of gashapon, after the adoption of American style gum-ball machines, and before the modern large-capsule dispensers, there was a period when banks of these machines were found out on the pavement/curbside, dispensing toys in little boxes, like cigarette vending machines, or the old chocolate dispensers from Cadbury, I remember from my childhood - which survived on the underground until the 1980's, but which had been at main-line rail stations too.

 

'Space Tank' bulldozer/helicopter!

 

Matt Mason'esque 'walker'.

 

Giant Robot.

(Only one with green runner) 

 

Hint at interactivity through a 'zip wire' on the box reverse.

 

Another big-boy!

 

I don't know if these are referencing one specific cultural licence/element, or are just generics, based upon the many tropes found in Manga comics, of which there have been tens of thousands issued from childish infant works, through to hard pornographic 'adult' works, or Anime movies/TV serials, of which there exist hundreds?

 

They all have a familiarity, but without a knowledge of Japanese, can't be pined-down, by me, as either 'made-up' or existing property's, or a mix of the two? The first vehicle above is very Gerry Anderson-like, for instance, like a Thunderbird 2 pod-vehicle?

 

While this (the only one with a figure, approximately 20mm), obviously has the lines of Matt Mason's strange sucker-walker, but with the practical addition of paired wheels to allow for movement over gullies, low cliffs, or wadis! The nose-cone and tail-fin being in the small bubble-wrap parcel seen above.

 

All are quite crude, in the style of cereal premiums from the likes of R&L or CGGC, and while three of them are in a sort of dense polyethylene, or polypropylene, one (the flying, tracked, bulldozer'copter), has been manufactured in polystyrene 'kit' plastic.

 

Beyond the obvious 'ST' mark (known to most for years, explained in all the books, and on my abbreviation pages for the longest time!), there is no clue as to a maker. However, I've added Plamodel, see newer/next-day post.

G is for Gashapon - Tarlin - Samurai Suits of Armour

While I love the Onepi No Mi figures, and am really pleased with the Samurai and the not-shot Ultraman monsters, I think these are my favourites of this sample; suits of Samurai armour, as displayed in museums, or, knowing the order of a Japanese household, probably how they were displayed between wearings, back in the - ancient/medieval - day.

 

Colour-coded capsules don't actually help when the randomness occurs behind the trap-door, and in the depths of the cabinet, which you can't even see through the glass, for the pile of balls, wickedly showing you the one you want, high up on the right!

 

Components of one laid out, the construction of these Tarlin miniatures, though simpler, is similar to those 4D Puzzle tanks, dinosaurs, spaceships, and the kangaroo we've seen here, I think!

 

Three of four, however, as my Japanese is as poor now, as it was three days ago, and there are no English titles on these sheets, as there were on the Bandai Samurai set, I can't give you any names, but assume the owners of the armour are all relatively famous, or at least well known in Japan.

 

The missing set, from the below sheets.

Paperwork!

 

Next day - Courtesy of EY, from the 1:72nd Multiverse;

 

Armor #1 belongs to Sanada Nobushige aka Sanada Yukimura.
Armor #2 belongs to Uesugi Kenshin
Armor #3 belongs to Mori Motonari
Armor #4 belongs to Ishida Mitsunari 

 

Bringing this mini-season to an end, many thanks to Adrian for finding them and stuffing his luggage with them! We've seen the odd figure in Show-plunder posts over the years, and looked at an earlier Tomy set many moons ago, here, from when Gashapon machine's contents were less sophisticated than they have become in the last 20-years, while there was a Tarco-Tomy mash-up with some UK issued capsules in a previous round-up of such things, and these days, Tomy machines can be found in the UK, The Entertainer often has a bank near the doors, but they tend to sell the smaller (older?) stuff.

G is for Gashapon - Bandai Namco - Ultraman Cityscape

It is the bane of blind or random selection that you won't always get what you want, what you hoped for, or what you need to complete a run or set, and while this set has three nice figures, both Adrain and I ended-up with the same simplified, micro-building, hay-ho!

 

The machine!

 

The capsule, and prize, I couldn't work it out until I'd got it out of the packet and studied the sheet! It's a small (1:600th or even 1:1200th) type micro-bulding, to be made-up, with five others, into a cityscape, for the 'Giant' Ultramen to stand amongst as they battle Godzilla or Mothma, or something equally daft and rubber-suit sized!

 

Paperwork, I don't know if the three figures are different heros. different generatuons/movie-versions of the same guy or what? Having never really followed the franchise (I haven't seen any of the recent big-budget Hollywood takes either, and I'm not in a queue to!), it always struck me as a kid's daftness, and while you can have nostalgia for your own (I wish someone would find a stash of Hector's House recordings), I don't think you can retro-establish a love for something aimed at kids, as a cold, cynical, logical adult?

 

Powered by a sealed watch battery, the novelty has a limited life-span, in its illuminated form at least, but you can, hopefully, from the right-hand image, get an idea of how a bunch of them would look with one or two of the figures looming out from the midst of them!

G is for Gashapon - Bandai Namco - Ultraman Monsters

I forgot to shoot the figures with this post, and they are long buried in the storage unit, so this one's just a quickie now, to get us to the end of the sequence, and my favourite set! Not that these were in any way shabby, and I actually ended-up with two sculpts, the 1st and 3rd in the line-up below.

 

 

 The machine responsible for this truncated post!

 

 

 Pink balls . . . Ooo-eerr missus!

 

Paperwork, and that's a wrap! Well, more of a fold . . . bah-duum TISSH!

G is for Gashapon - Bandai Namco - Samurai Warriors

Some 'proper' toy soldiers types, here with medieval warriors, followers of the Bushido code, and one time powerhouse in Japan . . . God! I over-egged that pudding, didn't I? I like them, a nice 54mm, albeit with thick, plinth bases.

 

Paperwork! Note they are manufactured in the Philippines, China is slowly losing that crown, I've seen several toys made in Taiwan, Vietnam or Korea (South, of course) recently, as people try to divest themselves of exploitable links to the next Superpower, while still  looking to follow labour-costs below their own!

 

The simplest figure had a two-compartment bag, with the whole figure and a base (ABS), along with the long, thin paper.

 

While this chap gets five compartments!

 

As with the golds in the Shogun Palace line, these had polychrome or all-black versions, and I got one of the latter, but left it in the packaging for now, having the full colour one to show and look at.

 

The three of them, the guy in the middle will benefit from the old hot-water treatment at some point to get the separate rear of his pole-arm/weapon (a Kara/Jumonji Yari) to line up with the front, and a touch of WD40, or a pin drill may help the front locate in the hand a little better.

 

Left; Kanbee Kuroda      Middle; Yukimura Sanada      Right; Hideyoshi Toyotomi

 

Kanbee (also Kanbei, Kambē or Yoshitaka, December 22, 1546 - March 20, 1604), was a mighty Samurai of the late Sengoku and the early Edo period. Yukimura (also known as Nobushig Sanada, 1567 - June 3, 1615) was famous from the siege of Osaka, while Hideyoshi (27 March 1537 - 18 September 1598) was a famous Samurai from the same period, who came up from the peasant class to become one of the major Daimyo's and an Imperial regent, as the 'aristocracy' lost its tight-grip on things.

 

Western sites reverse the names, I've copied the paper for the middle line, as the Japanese fashion is to place the 'surname' or family name first - Walter Hugh, obviously I wasn't a Samurai, but once I was a warrior, and Donald J. Trump; you can go fuck yourself, you bone-spured, shirking, gobshite, wanker.

 

Close-ups; the decoration is exquisite, presumably some kind of tampo- or pad-printing, the detail is like ink-jet quality, or three-dot magazine colour of the 1970's. And I assume they are all based on surviving or replica sets of armour from Japanese museums - like the Artesania figures from Spain's Royal Armouries?