W is for We Do This Shit . . .

. . . so you don't have to!

You may remember when Peter Evans sent the home-making moulds by Irwin RX to the blog? Four years ago, where does it go! Anyway, having not bought a couple of the 'ovens' in charity shops because they were too expensive (I'm not paying 20-quid for a second hand novelty-toy in a broken box!), I did find a cheap one, so we can now look at them properly!

 

 

A reminder of the set Peter sent to the blog, although the 'oven' is prominent all over the box, you actually get a few plastic moulds with reminders to buy a "3D Magic Maker available separately"! Which I had previously shelfie-shot, in TKMaxx I think?

The 3D Magic Maker, it looks like an oven and while there is nothing in the instructions (or online, then (2018/19) or now), I am 100% sure it is nothing more than a couple of small ultraviolet (UV) 'tanning' lamps!

 

The gel is quite soft, think mayonnaise, and here you can see an empty cavity on the left, new 'squeeze' in the middle and smoothing the gel into the cavity on the right, I used a cocktail stick, but something like a credit-card would be better, a Plasticard offcut, something like that?

 

Once you are satisfied that the moulds are prepped as good as you can get a semitransparent gloop, into the 'oven' it goes, and after a few minutes, out come the slightly warm, soft rubber figures, as halves!

After trimming ('fettling' the 'flash') you glue the two halves together with a slip of the gel, and give them a couple more minutes under the lamps, a single base needs to be manufactured twice more, and if you're still persevering with the project, similarly glued. I think we can assume I won't be making any more.

I can see this being fun for kids between about seven and maybe eleven years of age, but the fun will be in the doing and the mess, not the finished product! The gel however, in combination with the 'oven', may have further uses for hobbyists, for scratch-building, by producing specific parts, bits or scenic items?

 

There are other ranges of UV-setting resins out there, so A) there must be other similar products and B) you could extend your available pallet and even mix shades before 'cooking'? So I may well have a go at something more 'free hand', at some later date!

 

Most of the data online pertains to 2016, so they were probably already in clearance by the time I found the one in TKMaxx, and while there are a few other moulds out there (sea life etc...), Irwin RX seem to have had a better launch/presence in the US than Europe (distributed by Boti), although Russia seems to have got them as well.

As always; many thanks to Peter for the donation of the moulds.

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events

March is quieter than I thought it would be - show wise - but I guess it's not full-on spring yet, and there are a fair few on Sunday so I'm probably just being a cynical misery!

Speaking of cynical misery - isn't the Brwreakshit 'thing' going swimmingly! Add the Grayling thing, the Irish thing, the Anti-Semitism and Anti-Muslimism things, The knife thing, the police thing and the fact that the other 27 keep telling us there's no movement on the backstop while our lot keep telling the media they are sure of movement any minute 'thing' and I recon we're heading for the Klüsterfik of all Clusterfucks, and with literally no-one useful to vote for when it all collapses - sometime in the next three weeks!

But you get what you vote for and 52% voted for this, despite being told endlessly by lots of sensible, intelligent, articulate, non-political people, that this is what would happen!

Buy toys . . . cheers you up! Or drowns your sorrows

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Toy Fairs

Saturday 9th March 2019

Romford - SRP Toyfairs

North Romford Community Centre, 32 Clock House Lane, Collier Row, Romford, Essex, RM5 3QJ

Web. - http://srptoyfairs1.co.uk/

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 12:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Err . . . That's it! Let's hope the weather's good on Saturday, 'cos it looks like gardening day!

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Sunday 10th March 2019

Doncaster - Barry Potter / BP Fairs - 'Doncaster Racecourse'

Doncaster Exhibision Centre, Leger Way, Doncaster, DN2 6BB

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission - Adults £4, Seniors £3.50p, Children £1, 'Early Bird' (from 8 a.m.) £10

Plenty of free parking

Newton Abbot - Ray Heard Train & Toy Fairs

Newton Abbot Racecourse, Devon, TQ12 3AF

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01823 480 097

10:00 - 15:30hrs

Admission £2

Free parking, refreshments

Walsall - Transtar Promotions (Geoff & Linda Price)

Oak Park Active Living Centre, Coppice Road, Walsall Wood, Walsall, West Midlands, WS9 9BH

Web. - www.transtarpromotions.com

Tel.- 01922 643 385 (Geoff or Linda)

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £1.80p, seniors £1.50p, child £1

Refreshments

Worthing  - SRP Toyfairs

Charmandean Centre, Forest Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 9HS

Web. - http://srptoyfairs1.co.uk/

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

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Auctions

Reminder - Today - 8th

Taunton - Greenside Taylor Hunt (GTH)

The Octogon Saleroom, 113a East Reach, Taunton, Devon, TA1 3HL

Web. - www.gth.net

eMail - antiques.saleroom@gth.net

Tel. - 01823 332 525

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Saturday 9th March 2019

Elstree - Excalibur Auctions

The Village Hotel, Elstree, Hertfordshire, WD6 3SB (venue)

Chiltern Buisness Centre, Woodside Road, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP6 6AA (office)

Web. - www.excaliburauctions.com

eMail - enquiries@ excaliburauctions.com

02036 330 913

Free Tea or Coffee

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Wednesday 13th March 2019

Prints to A4

Tunbridge Wells - C&T Auctioneers

The York Suite, The Spa Hotel, Mount Ephraim, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 8XJ (Venue)

Unit 4, High House Business Park, Kenardington, Near Ashford, Kent, TN26 2LF (Auction House)

Web. - www.candtauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk

Valuations - jamesopie@yahoo.co.uk

Tel. - 44 1233 510 050 (from abroad)

Tel. - 01233 510 050 (within the UK)

Viewing from 08:30hrs, sale starts 10:00hrs

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

Specialist die-cast sale

Note - this is actually day 1 of a two-day sale, the details for the second day weren't ready at the time of going to press.

"The Specialist Sale to be held on the 13th of March features five private owner collections. The first includes Dinky aircraft, military and emergency vehicles plus trucks, Corgi TV & film related, helicopters and Matchbox superfast."

"The Colin Collin's Collection features over 280 lots of Corgi racing, road, sports and rally cars; buses, emergency vehicles and giftsets, Corgi Juniors James Bond and TV vehicles, plus Dinky cars, kits and shop displays, Solido groups and gift sets, plus models from Siku, Mebetoys, Joel, Schuco and many others."

"The Thailand Dinky Toy Collection features 107 lots of cars, trucks, tankers and French Dinky; and The Spanish Dinky Toy Collection includes cars, buses, farm, trucks, military and French Dinky including a "Coffret Cadeau Tourisme" set. The Tynemouth Collection includes Dinky Military, Corgi Farm, Chipperfield's Circus vehicles, tankers, trucks and gift sets. Further items in the sale include White Metal & Resin models from TW Collection (Trevor Wright Models), Brooklin and Lansdowne, Dinky Toys and Corgi instruction packs, and collectors club leaflets."

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Thursday 14th March 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

Specialist die-cast sale

Note - this is actually day 2 of a two-day sale, the details for the second day weren't ready at the time of going to press, and should be added here in the course of next week, all details will be available earlier on the Vectis website

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Overseas Events

Dublin - Brian Collins Enterprises - 'Collectables Toy Fair'

Collinstown Suite, The Carlton Hotel, Dublin Airport, Old Airport Road, Cloghran, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland (Eire)

Web. - www.briancollinsenterprises.ie

Tel. - 00353  879 827 712

[Findable on Facebook - Brian Collins]

Admission "Small charge"?

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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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H is for How They Come In!

Good haul week this week; Apart from the Sandown Park show stuff which will get a separate post Monday brought a couple of bags of novelties, insects and collectable blind-bag, kid's TV stuff . . .

. . . which as a sample weren't a whole hill o' beans, but will sort into a growing pile of such stuff, which I'm learning about 'on the hoof' as it were (three Crazy Bone knock-offs from two brands?), and they will make useful posts in the future as the sets or sample sizes grow. The best bit was four different crocodile/alligator erasers, all with the same mark, for kids who don't want dinosaur or cacti erasers!

Tuesday it was a bag of AFV's (a large incomplete Jeep with a GI Joe sticker has already gone to recycling!) and a bag of mixed dinosaurs, snakes, lizards and a fish!

Can I help sort the sorting?

Wednesday brought a huge parcel from Peter Evans which had some very interesting stuff (a bendy-toy Vicky the Viking!); I will do a HTCI post on it, and a few posts on individual pieces, while some of it will be held 'till September!

Well, maybe I'll just nest on the bags!

Two things I will definitely follow-up on are the Irwin (it's actually Irwin RX which will help separate it from the vintage Irwin in the tag list!)* 3D Maker I shelfied at Christmas in TKMaxx, which it turns out has no maker in the box!

* At time of posting - Tag list says I said that last time!

There is a bit of small-print to that effect, but the moulds (or the mould for the figures) will be of interest - and they look better than the box-art! Also the food-picks we looked at a while ago, seem to be here, on the runner, with another branding, so that'll be two F is for Follow-up's!

Finally; today, a quick purchase in a little pound-shop which opened recently in Fleet, they don't have much of use to toy collectors, but this Red Deer dino' set was worth a punt, and turned out to be two-part polystyrene models with a prehistoric marrajahwhanna tree! I took a couple of further shelfies (farm and paper-planes) while I was there!

Funnily enough one of the dino's in Tuesday's bag was also a hollow 'styrene model, as were two others I picked-up last weekend which I haven't shot yet. Coincidentally; the first mention of Red Deer here at Small Scale World was courtesy of Peter and there's more in the queue somewhere.

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Seen-But-Not-Bought

The Works had a set of four resin fairies around 54mm and a set of four similar animals paired as two panda-bear sculpts and two sloth sculpts, I nearly grabbed them but thought they could wait 'till next week, I also forgot to shelfie them!

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M is for Mokkie's Military-Men Moulding Machine

Shelfies today, after yesterday's freebootin' figure-fest!

It's one of the rules of the hobby, as applied to shows particularly, but also a useful general rule, that if you see something and you like it and you can afford it, you should get it, as it won't be there if you come back for it later.

It's one of those self-prophesying rules that play on our tendency to doom and gloom, because actually if you return, you often get the thing you left on the previous pass, but it's the occasions when you don't that seem to reinforce the rule and build to this empirical 'mountain' of missed opportunities in your head!

I should have bought this, as I've been back three times and they haven't got another one in!

Branded to '3DMagic' with an accompanying website and licensed from Irwin RX of Toronto, Canada, this Fortress Battle Set is imported by Mookie Toys a newish name, but one we've seen here before recently; the Italian Buzzbee clearance in PoundworldPlus just before it's demise.

I left it because I thought 'Eight-quid for three figures? Nah, not worth it', but when I thought about it, with three coloured-gel bottles, it's nine figures if you only make one of each, which is less than a pound-a-figure, or around the average for figures at a show, so I should have got when I saw it and happened to have a tenner on me . . . Hey Ho!

They don't look terribly militaristic; grenade throwing (?), head-scratching and waving at a passing bus! But with a spare's tub of old Airfix ' Multipose', Italeri or Tamiya weapons, they could soon be knocked into shape for deep-penetration missions behind the sofa!

Set with a UV-light 'oven', I'm not sure how long they would last, or how robust they would prove to be, that 3D pen (a rather disheartening experiment in barely-controlled squirt-extrusion) I bought about a year ago in Lidl had bio-degradable filament, if this is a similar polymer . . . ?