S is for Seen Elsewhere - Space!

I got confused last night, that bronze figure wasn't Lido, it was Archer, but these (first shot) are Lido, seen elsewhere, not that long ago, but I'm trying to get stuff cleared from Picasa, and off the PC, so let's get these out of the way!

 

Lido, Captain Video, the large versions! I'm missing the robot, and there may be a fifth pose, but as a sample which didn't exist two years ago and has literally come in as one's and the painted pair, it shouldn't be too long before I've tracked down the missing miscreants! Note the 1930's leather American football or early Tank Crew helmet, on whom, I assume, is the actual Captain Video himself?

 

I don't know if the two painted ones are factory or 'home' painted, but if home, it was a long time ago, so contemporary with the unpainted issues, I'm not going to strip them, as I have unpainted versions, and you can harm 'styrene in a way you don't damage 'ethylenes, trying to clean them.

 

While this is the latest (and not even the best) line-up of Archer robots. These have all come-in over the last 24-odd months, and add to previously seen samples here, with two Archer on the left, a probably Tudor Rose in green, a - smaller - silver copy by Glencoe unknown and the 'heritage' reissue of the answer-robot! House of Marbles or Keycraft Global? They've both carried the game in recent years?

 

As with the Lone Star 'Richard I's, there will have to be a final comparison with all of them, as this makes about 11 robots now!

 

I wondered where the turquoise one had gone (it's in other images), and upon finding it realised the Glencoe are from the old tools (I think there's a long post, somewhere else on the Wibbly Wobbly Way, which explains it all), so I dug-him out on Sunday afternoon, and here's a corrected image with, from the left

• Archer
• Archer
• Glencoe (recent)
• Tudor Rose
• Unknown (smaller copy)
• Board Game 'Magic Answer Robot' (current)

S is for Spacefleet's Spiffing Speedplane!

I'd forgotten asking Brian Berke for pictures of one of his future projects, once it was completed, and the other day, he sent me these! A Spacefleet marked McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane to rush Dan Dare from his still warm rocket, back to Headquarters with some devastating report on the nefarious doings of the Mekon and his minions!

 

 Brian's cover-notes; "Here is the McDonnell XV-1 Convertiplane. I built the Kleeware version back in the 50's. I saw the actual aircraft in the Smithsonian reserve collection back in the 90's. A few years ago some Frank Hampson reference sketches for Dan Dare turned up referring to the craft. Here's my Spacefleet rendition."

 

It really looks the part, and got me thinking that a couple of Fairy Rotodynes and a Bristol Beverly in equal markings would produce a fine Spacefleet Air/Space Port, with a few Helicar's and Helijets rushing about! Perhaps a line of Bell X1's in the background . . . the future we never got! And the cockpit/body looks like the Edgley Optica which was doing well until one crashed, crossed with a Gazelle!

This version is (was?) produced by Glenco Models, who have managed to reissue some pretty rare birds over the last three decades or so, and not just 'birds', although it doesn't seem to be in their current kit line-up, so you may have to shop-around for it?

 

Aircraft history at Wikipedia -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_XV-1

 

Frank Hampson - https://frankhampsonartwork.co.uk/

 

Also, it's amazing how futuristic some of these 1950's & 60's designs actually still are, a weird kind of future-retro-past! And many thanks to Brian for sending these.

V is for Variations on a Theme

Nothing earth-shattering or definitive, so much as a few bricks in the wall, on the subject of the two robots seen in the previous post, which I picked-up at Plastic Warrior's show back in May, these are from a number of image folders I have with lots of pulp-era 'dimestore' stuff in, and were probably all shot on Mercator Tradeing's stall over the years.

 

We did have a look at them here before, as well, and some of those in this post may have since joined my sample in the older post, to which the other two will be joined, when everything gets sorted at the other end, where-ever and when-even that is!

 

I shot these on Adrian's table, this Saturday just gone, the reason being I thought it was interesting to show, that while there are some differences between the early and late runs of the old tool, here we have two originals (blue and copper-bronze), and a Glencoe re-issue (turquoise) who all have the same PAT. PEND. (C) mark on the rear of their torsos, latter Glencoe issues had a larger set of marks for some reason, but I've yet to shoot one, I have a sealed set, which I'll open on here one day, and see what marks that's got!

 

While these silver ones have no markings at all, and must be copies? You can tell they're not from the same tool by the lack of a collar/washer on the rivets compared to the Archer originals. I'm pretty sure the one in the two comparison shots is now in my stash, while the top left image of the back was taken at Sandown, at the weekend, and shows a more gunmetal/aluminium coloured moulding. The green one I picked up in May is the same moulding.

Suggesting these (bottom image) are clones too (Ajax, Banner, Dillon or Empire? Maybe Tudor Rose or Kleeware over here? Nobody seems to be 100% sure! Indeed, one source states no one else produced them, which is patently false.), while in the upper shot, I compared them to a few other spacemen from Marx, Manurba (et al) and Torgano., that were available on the day! Really only musing on the robot, I have rather neglected all these dime store era space figures, but soon hope to have the time to play catch-up with all of it.

T is for Two - Marx's Mischievous Maritime Men

Just a quick one to make-up the numbers this year, the alturnative was to squeese them into the first post, but it would have started to get unwieldy, and with the two to look at, it makes sense to have a separate quick post, as with the diggers earlier!

We've seen the better versions of hard polystyrene Marx, looked at them way back, but this chap on the left (re-issue of original on the right) is from Wilton's cake decoration range, although also issued as a carded Treasure Island rack-toy., he's lost most of the meaningful detail of the original sculpt and his pistol has become no more than a pointing finger, although it has a dash of silver!

This is the Marx pose included with the Ideal re-issues in the Glencoe set a while ago, I think we've seen my original (on the left), but Peter Evan sent the other in one of his parcels and I think he may have painted it, although it's got a bit flakey.

That's it; a couple of Marx smallies to look at!

A is for Answer Robot

There was a game, very popular in the past, more of a 'parlour game' than a board game, but it was sold as or in-with the board-games, and would end-up in the family board-game cupboard.

There were many versions from the 1950's or earlier, through to the 1970's if not '80's, it appears on all the auction sites in a dozen languages and can come with a magician/mage/mystic, or a monkey/ape, but the best is The Answer Robot!

On Boardgamegeek

Mentioned a few years ago here in passing (possibly in a 'News, Views...'?); it was re-issued the other year as The Magical Amazing Robot, I didn't at the time of mention have the publisher - it's House of Marbles.

Spoiler alert - for the young at heart, please miss-out this and the next paragraph!

The mechanism is simple slight-of-physics in that you set the robot (or magician/monkey) correctly and then turn him to a question "Any question, pick a question sir, I'll wager the robot gets it right", he having been rotated has become off-line with his hidden magnet.

You then move the answerer to the mirror-pond in the centre of the answers and by placing him randomly opposite a wrong answer, he will revolve until his hidden magnet lines-up with another hidden magnet set at another angle, under the pond; both being polarised bars which can only line up one way, leaving the answerer pointing to the corresponding correct answer!

Here he is, the subject of today's biography! He oozes that 1950's throwback kitsch to the Sci-fi of the Edwardian era, of Wells and Verne, looking more like a kid's comic idea of a robot schoolteacher, still a popular trope when I was young, and you will recognise him as being . . .

. . . a reduced-size copy of the old Archer robot, a copy/re-issue of which by Glencoe is seen on the left, with an original (sans 'answer stick') sandwiched between, His pointer arm has been re-set to allow for the dramatic sweep of the denouement and his feet absorbed into the large base, but otherwise there's not much in it.

The new one is lacking in the finer surface detail (as if the other two have much to write home about!) and would seem to be a copy, but a good one, there's no reduction in size; or from a very old and tired mould.

It's not the first time the Archer has been served 'homage', as both Johillco and Cherilea issued copies of him first in hollow-cast lead and then in plastic (as seen here) possibly under the later Hilco branding, all examples are around the 50mm mark, and very brittle these days in the plastic form.

With the gubbins of the secret base removed he looks like a robot mine-detector, or a Vogon intergalactic space-highway surveyor!

Another difference between the older version and this latest incarnation, it that the old one was formed round the pointer (which would have been set in a jig in the tool before each shot), while the new one has the [heated] wire inserted into the hand after the figure has been manufactured, leading to minor melting/loss of detail to the fingers of the hand.

The dismantling of the set for onward transit to the recycling-bin raised an interesting query which will appear as a separate Question Time in an hour.

And many thanks go to Adrian Little for letting me photograph mine next to his pair.

I is for Itlerpud - Part One; Bits & Bobs

Which sounds like one of Adolf's paw-prints, but is in fact ITLAPD . . . AaHaarrrrrr! Mee'Artieees! It be Int'ernationaalll talk loik a Poirut day! Again begorra! It be almost loik it's everry yearrrr?

Thaall'be foive postin's to come this foin day, this'un be'in the firrrst ov'em! AaHaarrrrrr!

I think that's enough talking like a pirate, so long as you're seen to be making the effort! So, the first post will look at the odds'n'sods that I have picked-up or found since last year's ITLAPD "Aa'haarr!"

These were 'unknown' last year (or the year before? Mass nicht!) in different colours/poses, but I recently found them on my old phone, taken in 2009 in clearance store Poundstreatcher (I think? Mass nicht!), they were attached to the backing card of a large window-boxed 'Pirate Ship Play Set' and branded to Halsall (now HTI), they would have been branded to others/nothers elsewhere and are really generics, but it's nice to put them in a named-place if you're a UK collector!

I think this has missed a couple of TLAPD's "Aa'haarr!" having been put in the unknown/TBS civilian box as a kid in dressing-up clothes, which he is, but they are Pirate clothes, so he should have been included in a  previous TLAPD "Aa'haarr!"

He is - as some of you will have recognised straight away I'm sure - a Hong Kong copy of the old rubber Thomas Toys dolls house child, others included a girl dressed as the Statue of Liberty. I have somewhere in storage a similar copy of the Dutch Boy with his ill-fitting trousers, and when I say similar; I think it's the same 'army-man' green plastic. So from a set of kids not from a set of pirates - but definitely piracy!!

As we're on copies, let's stick with them for these two pirated pirates pirating (centre, yellow) who are 'based-on' copies of the Ideal pirates (outside, grey, here re-issues by Glencoe), they are not exactly the same - the left-hand one having simpler buckled slip-on shoes (against bows on the original), no bows on his stockings, no pistol in his waistband and no hat, in addition his collared-shirt is a sleeved affair, open to the waist at the front with the sleeves rolled up as opposed to the string-vest of the original sculpt.

The right-hand diminutive imposter has lost the turned-down 'cavalier' boots in favour of the shoe/stocking uniform, has added a neckerchief to his otherwise equally bare chest, replaced the waist-belt with a cummerbund and had a haircut!

I've had a Google for them and found zilch, they have some of the look (and size) of 1970's European bubble-gun and ice-cream premiums by Gelados Olá, Mundi bubble-gum, Tito, and the rest, but they lack the typical release-pin holes in the undersides of the feet typical of those makers/issuers figures, still,  someone must know of them?

22-09-2017 - Paul Morehead, revered editor of Plastic Warrior magazine, thinks they are Poplar Plastics which makes sense, but then why didn't they scale-down the spacemen or Romans; 'cos they had the moulds?

Finally in this introduction to TLAPD "Aa'haarr!", are the chaps I picked out of Peter Bergner's rummage bins, thinking I didn't have enough for ITLAPD "Aa'haarr!"; how wrong I was, but, here they are again; generic Chinapirates!

I've seen them in various colours and two versions; some are less well-fed than these - and look a bit better for it, these are not terribly realistic having the squat look of badly designed war-gaming lead. Someone suggested they were Toy Major, I can find no evidence for it, although Toy Major are a jobber and have carried all-sorts, but this lot aren't in their current inventory.

Now known to be Tai Sang's 'Redbox' and carried by various wholesalers/generic or phantom brands

These appear to be the thinner, better-looking version.

That's it for now, next part of ITLAP Day "Aa'haarr!" in a couple of hours . . .