W is for West End Final

Although anyone who's commuted for any length of time will know that actually some 'West End Final's' have a different cover from other 'West End Final's', suggesting that at some point they issue a Final West End Final-final!

[For readers further afield; the London Evening Standard newspaper (which starts coming out mid-afternoon), runs to a West End Final as the supposedly last, most up-to-date version]

Further to yesterday's post (and please read PeterE's comment below it) I promised Chris yesterday I'd check mine when I got home, and did so, only to find that the wasp-in-the-wood-pile was (or is) the 'berserker' from Crescent who is only 50mm! Anyway I deleted about 20 images trying to get Chris's to compare with my line-up, on-screen, and while this final attempt sort of works, I then remembered that in certain forms of Picacsa's collage tool . . .

Ghosts in the machine!

. . . you can move one image around, over or under the other and the one becomes semi-transparent, so I tried that and as you can see it clearly reveals that both Chris's and my copies are roughly the same height while the original is a tad taller but nothing significant, a lesson for trying to second-guess different things in different places!

Next time I'll just trust Chris and assume I'm doing something wrong, because I was; by not measuring the Crescent dwarf! But we'll stick with him as he's still a reasonable guide.

Anyway, many thanks to Chris for his patience, and to Peter Evans who supplied the original Anker Group 'Home Collection' (which may be the home-furnishing stores added to Wickes builders-merchants' bigger outlets in recent years?) blister-card, I think.

Also with this pesky figure (now an Italian policeman!) and the Riesler copies we saw in another lot from Peter, it's clear that among the ever decreasing-quality copies of Airfix, Matchbox and generic 'Rambo' types, there are - increasingly - a wider spread of donor-figures?

F is for Follow-up . . . P is for Pony-Tail or Professional-Appendage?

True to his word the other day, Chris sent images of the believed donor figure for the strange 'officer' type in my set of Home Collection 'army men' from the Anker Group. I think it's easier to hand over to Chris for the first two images and come back at the end -

I bought a figure from a junk shop in Tallinn in Estonia in 2006. Plastic about 1/32 scale wasn’t sure if was a soldier, policeman or a railway worker, although nice the moulding wasn’t great. He is holding something in his right hand (gun ,baton or flag?) but it is moulded to his right leg and unclear. Posted in PW what the F&%$ but had no response…

Fast forward to 2018/19 and I spotted what appeared to be the same/similar figure in a junk lot on Ebay, so purchased that lot. [There] was in fact two of those figures from your blog today. Compared against my original this figure was smaller, and only based on by being a mirror image of the original but the shoulder strap is the same as the original. The original had no pony tail.

The new figure looks to be holding a large spoon/ladle (Special catering Corps!) One other figure in that junk lot which seemed to match the pony tailed chap but again pretty poorly moulded wearing a gas mask with a 12 gauge shotgun. Again I didn’t recognise the pose, have wondered if they are based on Fishel or New Ray figures? Or are they character figures from a computer game (Modern warfare or the such like)?

Now looking at mine (without Chris's to hand) I suspect Chris has measured 'under slightly, with the original being closer to 'Euro' 70mm? If only because mine is heading toward 60mm and may be the smallest of the three? Here posed with the 54mm Crescent 'berserker' and one of the other Anker figures, over whom he towers.

Either way, mine would seem to be a third version, with a huge hole for no reason, and two mould-release pin-marks (rear, left ankle and upper-small of back) lacking from the copy in Chris's possession.

The item (now in the left hand) looks like a platform-guard or dispatcher's paddle, again - until recently - more of a Euro-'thing', but now seen on several UK carriers, especially those owned by European transport companies. On the Tallinn 'original' and in the right hand it does look more like a pistol or machine-pistol? If a train staff-member is depicted, the pony-tail could be a scarf, but they tend to be worn by the female staff (one of whom this isn't obviously depicting), and round the neck, not knotted to the back of a service-cap?

Can anyone else add anything more to these interesting figures? And thanks to Chris for adding what he has.

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Later the same day . . . 

Chris sent a sizer which clearly shows his are both around the 1:32nd mark, which means mine is a - if not giant - slightly larger copy?

I'll check the Airfix German against my 'pony-tail' (and the crescent berserker) tonight for a possible further follow-up! They don't make it easy for us these little plastic men!

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The next day . . . 

Update here now;

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2020/02/w-is-for-west-end-final.html

12 is for Army Figures

A bit of a follow-up to the other day'spost even though they've been in Picasa for ages, but I sort of lost track of them, leading to this appearing in a less than timely manner, so soz' for that tardiness!

12 Army Figures from the Anker Group, brand-marked to Home Collection and containing a pretty standard set of twelve 'army men' although when I say 'pretty standard' there is a notable exception, who was hiding under the others.

Five Matchbox US Infantry clones, four poses taken from the old Jaru/Soma (et al!) set and an officer who could be Marshall Zukov, General-Field-Marshall Rommel, or even the elusive Ché Guevara some collectors have been chasing-after like blind tracker-dogs, in recent years!

I'm guessing - from other developments in recent years - that there may be a better version of this chap out there somewhere, possibly in solid metal? King & Country type of thing . . . Figarti or even a Del Prado (K&C also I think?) donor? Although there could be a polymer originator; anyone recognise him? And; there's more to this already rather louche-posed sculpt . . .

. . . he has a top-knot and pony-tail!

So now were looking at the Dutch or Danish army's of the 1980's! If those pleated service-dress pockets fit? For those in Pennsylvania who think I'm being 'racist'; I worked with both, in the 1980's, and they were fine soldiers, they also had an enlightened approach to modern soldiering which allowed for beards, long hair and yes, even pony-tails, however enlightenment can be lost as well as gained and I think, now most have gone over to all-volunteer, the situation has been tightened-up somewhat!

Although if the conscripts of one (I can't remember which) attended a joint-nations special-forces course, they accrued so much 'extra' leave-entitlement, according to their union's rest-&-recuperation schedule, they tended to go home until the end of their National Service, rendering the attending of a multi-national, co-operation training exercise rather a waste of time in the first place

But an excellent wheeze if you never wanted to do National Service in the first place; finish basic training - volunteer for a four week 'jolly' in the Bavarian Alps - bugger-off home for good!

Going back to the figure though, and joking apart, it could be a decorative kerchief/plume type thing (on the original) did the Cossacks who sided with the Axis in WWII have something of that sort hanging from their cap's head-bands? I have looked and I can't find anything, either historical, or in metal figures!

D is for Brucey Bonus!

Didn't get the text done in time yesterday!

This is the regular return or regular roundup - if you like, they haven't been in the queue, but rather collecting in a TBS (to be sorted) bag as they come in until there's enough for a quick phot-shoot. Mostly generic-enough Chinasaur shite, but there's a gem or two among them.

Start with a pair of classic, rubbery, proper-common, cheepo' Chinasaurs, these turn-up all the time and always remind me of baby birds, with their gaping mouths, soft PVC and their eyes painted like gum-ball machine rubber-jigglers or Imperial Poopatroopers. The carnivore won't stand up, so he's punching Dimetrodon in the face! Nature, even bug-eyed nature; raw in tooth and claw!

Having let a whole set through my hands a few years ago, I'm now building the Invicta/Natural History Museum set again, one dino' at a time; this is number three I think! Described as 'Scelidosaurus - about 4 meters'.

A collection of mostly old-school (or old tool) Chinasaurs from the HK days, the one on the right (looks like a mole-rat!) is definitely an earlier issue, with the middle pair of very poor quality, one marked with a bit of Hong... the other not marked at all, while the one on the far left may be a more recent 'China' re-issue.

The per'terra-thingy has been seen here under both Home Collection and Perfect Moments branding, and while the Steggie' looks likewise familiar from those monochromatic sets, it's actually a different sculpt with opposite plates rather than the off-set ones of the other brands, and a very poorly sculpted head on an otherwise reasonable body.

The little yellow one is tiny; about the same height as an Airfix HO/OO guardsman, but a relatively original sculpt, so he may be a baby from a larger parent in a more commercial play-set?

Two ceratopsian's from the current crop of toob sets, which one - I haven't a clue, but there are dozens of them and one day we'll have a proper look at them and make some sense of them all.

These are utter shite, but I love them! Reason being, they are modern shots taken from the old 1970's rubber dino' moulds from which my childhood Dimetrodon comes! They have been moulded in a pale fawn or sand rubber and painted likewise with over-brushing in oxide red or grey for a dusty, desert-dwelling look.

The Dimetrodon on the right is the one I remember with a sharper-tipped sail, the one in the middle has had his sail-tips smoothed-off. The one on the right also ended-up with some flash, pulled away from the gate-mark as he was taken from the mould, and now looks as if he's god and is using a gecko-like tongue!

Anyone who had these in the heyday of their semi-translucent, silicon-rubber, 1970's glory will recognise the smooth scalloped bellies of the other three sculpts, and the rather flat 'fence-panel' of the Dimetrodons!

♥ is for Home Collection ★ is for Six Dinosaurs

This was going to be a quick box-ticker, a small set, still in blister, but they looked familiar and a quick search revealed that we have seen them before, under another brand.

Packing on the left, one of many in the bags from Peter Evans at PW back in May, on the right the contents, in the upper two rows, below them a comparison with some similar dinosaurs, the purple one we saw here a while ago, but three more turned-up and they are similar (unpainted, finely wrought, polyethylene), but seem to be another maker/brand.

The six - although brand-marked Home Collection - are marked Anker Group on the reverse of the card.

While I will often keep a header-carded bag intact, I usually carefully remove blisters as they take up too much room, the cards can then be filed - flat - separately. I seem to have reused the lower image for no good reason!

On the right in the upper shot is the larger sample we saw, under 'Perfect Moments' branding from Poundland with Henbrant's 'Oker' packaging, a year-and-a-half ago; they are also the right-hand of each pair below, with the lefties the 'new' Home Collection's from Anker - they are slightly less translucent or 'flatter' matter-finished than the newies, but the same palette and the same six colours.