While I'm up 'The Smoke' (which has been
smokeless since at least the 1970's!), I always look around for a few things I
might not find locally, and Peter takes me to his local discount store, to
which end the results of my last trip 'up to town' are this post!
In the said discount store I grabbed a box
of three capsule-eggs by a minor-make, imported by Unique Plus Ltd., and from a Turkish outfit called Global, but branded Candy Toys and 'Aras Eggo', I've only shot one, but it was a nice clip-together
bicycle around the 54/60mm size. I can't remember if the other two were crap, or
if I saved them for another day?
These were also there for a quid-each or
less, Toymania from Hunter Price International (whose logo
is a large bear riding a penny-farthing!), and looked like a bit of Dino-fun,
only the two designs were available, I don't know if there are any others, and
a soft rubbery polymer, probably filled with the same corn-syrup Stretch Armstrong was?
And this little babe was next to the
Dino-sqishes! She's a bit weird, as she has two clip-on dresses, but ony the
front/sides are modelled, so from the rear you can see her pink-underslip!
Hence the stand and mini action-figure holder, she's for display, with the odd
change of outwear! Also from Global Gida.
On the way to visit Peter's work, we passed
a junky-antiquey shop and I asked if he ever got anything from it and Peter
said occasionally (without much enthusiasm!), but after missing the bus past
his work on the way back, I elected to walk up to the next stop, and the next (exercise
is good for you and the weather was fine!), inevitably though; the next bus went past
while I was between stops!
Eventually I realised I'd walked back to
where the shop was over the road, so I popped in, there was nothing of
interest, but the chap there was determined to 'help' me, and when I mentioned
I was looking for vintage toy soldiers, model figures or military/space toys,
he went out the back and came back with this!
No brand, beyond a tomato in yellow shorts
which may themselves be a Chinese character, and clearly not that old, but
mid-to-late 1990's is old for some people! It's a space ta . . . err . . .
armoured car!
Clockwork, the key's missing but I have a bag of spares
somewhere, it has an eccentric wheel to send it off in odd directions, and a
sparking engine-bay (so, much like most Russian tanks these days - Slava
Ukraine!), and was a bit of fun so it came home with me!
Walking down to Charing Cross and cutting
through St Martin's Place you pass a bunch of Touristy shops, and while there
wasn't much, I saw these two in a stand at not-much each and grabbed them so
you won't have to!
We've looked at animals with pencil-top holes very similar
to this horse I think (they may be in the long queue?), so this is more
confirmation than anything else, while the guardsman is a pen-dangler, and a
little blob of super-deformed poured resin to boot!
When I went to pay for the toppers or the next
lot (below, seperate shops) this egg was on the counter by the till, so I
grabbed one on the off-chance and got a figural, Minion slinky . . . or 'slinky-Minion?
I haven't noted the brand on this, but I saved the wrapper so it's in the
'archive' for future revalation!
Theseare both good and bad, they're good
because they were dirt cheap, they're quite nice die-casts, wire brush-polished
for that satin/silk look and then both anodised gold and antiqued with a dark wash, but bad because they are obviously
drilled for pencil sharpeners, which haven't been fitted, so either a bloody
swizz, or an ugly hole, you chose! Imported from China by Elgate Products - previously importing resin Pirates; see Blog passim, also courtesy of Peter Evans.
