K is for Kick-ass Key-ring Kurassiers

I scored this pair for a song of-off that there feebleBay the other day, thinking "They'll go well with that knight" (I have a knight!), but in going to look for the knight A) found he was much smaller, softer and chunkier and B) that I had another from this series, so, as is often the way, the post grew from what might have been one collage into this - enjoy, loyal readers!

So my purchase, which was only a week or so ago - they came yesterday; Two rather over-dressed or flauxy, foppish chaps from the - vaguely - Napoleonic era, in all their finery trotting out to do some hawking or handkerchief-dropping or some such? They would complement the 'Prince' from Exin Castillos or maybe some of the Merten medieval court stuff.

Off to the 'unknown/unbranded pre-20th century military' box for the knight I knew I had and found both another of the 40mm'ish ones and that the knight was actually a bit of a stumpy-runt! The 3rd figure being in the same dense PVC Injectaplastic (and JSP) use while the knight is more of a silicon-rubber? I say that because . . .

. . . the 35/40mm European premiums of Wellintonian types also go quite well with the riders, and also have that Macau-sourced, via-Portugal, look about them! And bases in the style of the Wild West we looked at recently. Mine are both Bonbon-marked Napoleon-brand premiums (small sweets), but Nestle had a set, Kinder have been credited (pinch of salt there?) and Huilor as well.

I seemed to take more shots of the old figure than the two new ones - he was the only one who would stand-up before I took the chains off! After removing the key-chains; I used to cut the loops off as well, but that was when I was a philistine, now I just slip the ring out and leave the key-rings in the bag with the figures.

The funny thing was the seller had them listed separately, so it was 'shopping-cart and see what they look like together when they turn-up', then, when they turned-up, I wondered if they might be (from the colours) an old 1976 [1776] novelty opposing-pair, but after finding the third I'm now just wondering how many more there are in the set and/or; do colours change on the same figure? It's another rabbit-hole!

They would also probably go well with Spencer Smith as a bunch of foppish, Old Etonian, staff officers or ADC's, wot-wot! And they will look good with those cake decoration copies of Airfix's Washinton's Army?

T is for Two - Follow-ups

A couple of things which pertain to recent posts, or maybe not so recent in the case of the second item, but which can go together for an eclectic post!

I was very impressed by Brian's pictures of the Charles W. Morgan (I nearly wrote Henry!) the other day and he sent a couple of uncropped/cheat shots to show how they are done. This one shows how he got the horizon shots, and it was simpler than I'd imagined, he just held them up to the sky!

While here Brian's using natural light to get those atmospheric shadows. I can't get these results outside with my little Nikon's, I have to find shade, use a tripod and then employ flash, yet still get quite smoky or flat shots (as the recent and forthcoming board-game pictures attest), if I tried this kind of shot (without flash) they'd be blurry.

I used to get better outdoor results with the old Fuji Finepix's, but they were also the least robust and shortest-lived of the five cameras I've had now, and six I've used since 2007, so it's a 'swings and roundabouts' thing with these digital cameras and you just have to try and see!

Meanwhile I managed to score these from Mike Harding, who always seems to find interesting things. Three FFL from somewhere, when I got the other one (below) a while back (Plastic Warrior Show 2019) someone suggested Argentina I think, but I'm now wondering if they might not be JSP or their Portuguese suppliers (Injectaplatic) as they are that same stiff 'Macau' PVC?

And there's clearly at least two colourways, I wonder if there mightn't be blue ones turn-up at some point, If they are Injecta'/JSP the three poses would make sense, as that is how they sold the slightly smaller Romans, one mounted and two foot per card?

I have no evidence either way, but will put both names in the tags for now. Taken from Timpo, obviously, but probably from hollow-casts, the binocular guy wasn't produced in plastic by Toy Importers?

N is for Nearer . . . but Further Away!

There was one thing in the recent donation from Chris that stunned me - a complete set or whole team of the footballers we looked at a while back here at Small Scale World . . .

. . . and it will help with the rest of this post if you go and read the earlier one again first . . . no . . . really - it will make things much clearer . . .

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Have you read it . . . have you?

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Really?

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OK! . . . OK, I believe you! let's have a look at the new ones again;

Each is numbered and all together are a continuous 1 to 11, with the un-numbered referee. Having read the previous post (as you did, didn't you?), you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a full team, having all the poses we have looked at previously, with the correct shirt numbers and enough missing poses/numbers to make a full team?

Well, so far so good then, the bases are new (from the old post), with each numbered to match the figure attached to it, here 1 and 5 (note that the '5' is reversed), also the 'landscaping' makes them very much a fourth type to the previous three, being light near-parallel striations on the surface of otherwise flat tops.

But, then, just when it's all making sense . . . it goes weird on us!

These were on evilBay about the time of the last post as someone sent me the link, there were more images, but this will suffice to illustrate the problem! There are at least two 'more' or 'other' poses! One almost definitely wearing a number-6 shirt ('our' number six being absent from the line-up) the other apparently replacing the missing 3, but it's not clear from the other shots. I assume the 9 is our 9?

And being sold as a team in a quite ornate paint-job (I found this link for those interested in which teams can be represented), on a backing card - from the other shots in the listing I can tell you each player is glued to a printed outline with his number on it in this un-sequential order, although I don't know what's printed in the referee's place . . . '0'?

From the bases landscaping I think they are the set I called type 2 last time, I think now they are the earliest, but I'll try re-sorting them next time we return to them - which we will, when there's more to tell or questions to be answered! Note also that shirt 1 is painted as a goalie.

It also struck me that both material and base type on these would tie-them in with the Wild West we looked at again recently which would bring Injectaplastic of Portugal and/or Jouets Super Plastic of France into the mix and to help with that theory, the backing card would appear to be set-up for a multinational customer base with various languages, found on the pitch-side advertising hoardings?

So, thanks to Chris (and this was very generous of him) I now have a 'full' team, but there's another one out there! Well; given the evidence in both posts, many teams, with any one of four base types and numerous strips - it could be a field of 'cameo collecting' that would occupy someone for years, just by itself!

And can anyone tell us what number is on- or confirm- a number 3 shirt in the new diving pose? The base-plug/locating-stud is on his left bum-cheek I think?

Cheers Chris, as is often the way; the more we know, the more we have to find out!

I is for Intermediate Scales - 40mm Wild West; Introduction

The following image is the comparison shot for the three posts which should have appeared immediately below it.

Both images consist of a Merten 40mm Wild West figure on the far left of the line-up, followed by - from left to right - an early Culpitt's cake decoration with separate base, also issued as carded rack-toys in France by Jouets Super Plastic (JSP) shipped into Portugal by Injectaplastic, a late Culpitt's version with integral base, a - probably Hong Kong - copy of Atlantic in that tinny plastic of the 1990's and a similar Waddington's clone - except it may not be a clone, but more on that in the relevant post below this, so scroll down if you want more on all four types.

I couldn't find the Elastolin box, so I couldn't add one each on the right of the line-up, as I had intended, but they are much-of-a-muchness with the Merten's, only Elastolin's sculpts tent to be slightly sharper in the sculpting/finish.

I is for Intermediate Scales - 40mm Wild West; M is for Macau

It's also for Injectaplastic of Portugal, Jouets Super Plastic of France, and - as we know them here - Culpitt's the cake decoration people. We looked at them years ago, and as far as the figures go I haven't got much to add, but hopefully the imagery is a little better this time . . . or at least - I think we've seen them before, but finding the old image un-cropped in the dongle folder, I'm not so sure, and  - in case I don't have time to check - I've added it to the end of this post.

So - the Indians or Native Americans first, and the upper row are the earlier versions, the lower two rows are the latter ones, possibly only issued as cake decorations, but the more we learn about all this stuff the more they turn-up elsewhere as something else or claiming to be someone else's!

The separate-based set has more poses and are slightly larger/better etched and - as stated - here in the UK were cake decorations handled by Culpitt, on the continent however they were imported by Injectaplastic of Portugal, and - through their packaging - we know they were made in Macau (a 'free' colony (similar to Hong Kong and just along the coast from it . . . also 'handed back' at around the same time?), they probably also supplied the sets branded to JSP over the Pyrenees mountains in France?

Unlike the cowboys we'll look at in a mo', the Indians are pretty original is sculpt/posing, with a slight nod to other makers in the spear-thrower and maybe the chief?

From an evilBay-lot a while ago, the Jouets Super Plastic set from France, as almost certainly supplied by Injectaplastic, these sets don't have any more poses, but they do have various accessories including both a teepee (or tipi) and a totem-pole, both of which seem to equate to the 'eighth pose'. There was also a camp fire and the fort, along with some rock piles which were issued with both cowboy or Indian cards.

Note the different coloured trousers on one figure, from the 'UK paint-scheme'?

The cowboys; here there are eight poses, and a definite Marx influence to most of the poses, from the larger 4 and 6" figures - much copied, particularly in Hong Kong? Unlike the Indians, the cowboys get different-coloured bases, with consistency between pose and base . . . or at least there was consistency before the green ones which match the Indians started turning-up! They're possibly Portuguese/French examples (?) and the two in the full row always have green bases, so it's not an exact science!

The upper row are darker fleshed (possibly Injectaplastic/JSP) and seem older, below them the full row is Culpitt, then the replacements with the moulded bases and finally a set which seem to have an all-over tan paint (on tan plastic!) before the other-colour highlights to match the usual scheme?

Each generation gets paler flesh . . . they go from the harder tanning of the early figures to almost white!

Backs and bases, the drummer and the native woman could almost be used as pencil-toppers, but I think it's just a material-saving device on the part of the manufacturer?

I may have shown you this already? Anyway; I showed more colour variations but in a less clear fashion and with the earlier figures in the centre of a sort of exploded graphic or pictogram. And with a smaller sample in those days (shot was taken in 2009) the separate base cowboys are a mix of [what might be] earlier and later figures.

R is for Return . . . to Romans

We've seen these before here; on the Roman page (where I think they are waiting for blurb!) with their anachronistic card-art, and possibly in a rack-toy month, but having found another header-card set and got the loose figures out of storage, it's time to look at them again, and a few others of similar ilk - Hong Kong/Macau clone'ery!

Not the largest sample but it meets the purpose; there seem to have been three generations of these, the gold/silver ones which were mostly (all?) rack-toys in the 1960/70's, a set of muted colours (Christmas cracker/capsule-toy contents) through the 1970/80's and an issue in 'neon' or electric colours which were quite common as handfuls in the early days of evilBay and must date from the late 1980's/1990's, probably from similar cracker/capsule origins, or - from the bulk findings; those Maltese festival 'window-throws'.

The emerald green figure (in the little bag) was the first of these I found back in the early 1990's (it's the running pose), and I have glued him back together once or twice, but he has the consistency of candle-wax, so I hang on to the pieces for loyalties sake, or until a similar coloured sample turns-up with a bit more backbone! If I chucked him I'd be unable to show he came in that colour - it's how the collection works!

There are minor differences in the bases, with the early metallic figures having their mould-release pin-marks as punched-through holes, the mid-era figures have a slighter 'dink', while the late, bright-coloured ones have barely a sign of the pin, or no visible showing at all. It would seem that the release-pins were a separate process, possibly triggered by hand, or by hand in the early days of the tools life, with some operators forcing them through the still soft plastic, later batches showing more finesse in the phase application!

Compared with other HK clones, they (pink one) are the smallest, and were probably copied from the Elastolin 40mm figures as would the lollipop figures (orange brown one)* have been, after the original figures (far right and middle of bottom row) are the not Hong Kong, but 'Made in Macau' figures in gold and silver polyethylene.

These were probably copied from the 70mm figures, pantographed down to 50mm, but could have been grown from the 40mm Hausser originals. I'm not sure if the painted fighter is home- or factory- paint, but overall they have the makings of cake decorations, although I think they were carded rack-toys in France?

*This is one I think is probably not the Platicom/Soldabar series, but rather, another similar lolly-stick sweet-with-prize issuer as we saw here a while back with the contributions from Konrad Lesiak in Poland; it has the hole, but without the collar and with a smaller, more-oblong base. My sample is also a bit heat shrunk from early removal from the tool. - On the subject of which; there is a section on the Plasticom figures coming to the Khaki Infantry page with new poses courtesy of Chris Smith as soon as I get the blurb sorted!

These (upper figure) were also sold in France (by Jouets Super Plastics?) imported from/via Portugal (by Injectaplastic) as carded sets and are also believed to be from Macau in origin, this one was given to me by Peter Evans many years ago, and is missing what looks to be a polystyrene weapon - probably made soft at the hand-hold by the actions of the free-radicals in the dense PVC, the same thing you see with early tracks on Airfix AFV kits. Below is an Elastolin 40mm original for comparison.