F is for Follow-up - Dime Store Row Crop Tractors

The first of a few (?) follow-ups to things seen recently here at Small Scale World, and it's those pesky row-crop tractors, a design which never took off here in the UK, indeed, while there may have been a few demonstrators, or experimental imports, they were never a 'thing' over here at all, but, nevertheless, British toy companies ran with them, as mould-swaps or straight lifts from US dime-store vehicle manufacturers, and may have instigated some?

 

Partially as a follow-up to this post;

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2025/11/m-is-for-mohawk-and-more-military.html

 

A line-up of the recent additions to the genre, with from the left marked Tudor Rose, x2 unmarked, marbled blue is slightly larger, both likely British, possibly Tudor Rose or Kleeware, the previously seen (in the above-linked posts) marked Made in England in military green, and a marked Banner in dark blue, The last two being bigger again, but not the same. Obvious differences in wheels, also contribute to the question marks.

 

Comparison between the Banner and unknown tractors, frankly the unknown (which I floated as possibly Kleeware last time) is the better moulding, did it come first, or was it re-cut? Maybe it was a mould swap with someone else - Pyro, Wannatoys or Wyandott - with the Banner being a copy of whatever donor's tool, the England mark was using?

 

I then found the military pattern Banner-marked version, so re-took the comparison, light conditions differed, so here's two, the lower image is eye-true colours, and you can see how the engine details are cleaner and more symmetrical on the Made in England - left hand of each pair.

 

The two Banner's, the blue one is marked Banner USA, the military-green one has had the USA removed, otherwise they are the same, and one wonders if it's a case of domestic and export, and if so, which is which?

 

They both have a hole on the right side of the engine-bay, which could be for a missing flywheel (more normally found in the other side in the UK, when present), or a higher-price-point's clockwork conversion, unlikely as the wheel is partially obscuring it?

 

The two known British ones, they are different mouldings, with the yellow Tudor Rose one slightly smaller, and only marked in the upper portion of the hollow engine cavity, while the 'army' one has the Made In England along the length of the engine on the right-hand side.

 

A larger, closer to 1:32nd scale, soft polyethylene Tudor Rose row-crop, in reversed colours from the smaller one, which is an earlier 'styrene, or less stable polymer (phenolic or urea-formaldehyde type?), but with perfectly stable polystyrene wheels.

 

Kleeware marked wreaker-truck (a straight mould-swap of the Pyro dime-store model) behind the 'England' pulling its gun, just for a colour study between the two, and because it was kicking about! The gun is a much copied design, and really, I don't think anyone knows who did it first (Auburn Rubber?), or in what size! And - of course - there was that close connection between Kleeware and Tudor Rose, and between both of them and Pyro on the space-stuff.

 

This artillery combination appears to be the one seen in this post;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2016/11/d-is-for-dimestore.html

 

Where a mix of a Bell machine-gun, a pair of unmarked Gilmark (possibly Tudor Rose) AFV's in bright colours, and some of the 'Built-Rite/Hardy/Kilty/Loeser/Spencer' semi-flat GI's were all found together with the tractor-gun combo'?

 

We've looked at them before, and looked at three versions of the Merit (J&L Randall) offerings, with solid wood, solid-rubber and hollow-backed plastic wheels like all the above. When I've got them all together, we may be able to work out a timeline of piracy, from US originals, to n'th generation Hong Kong clones!
 

All six. This post doesn't prove anything, but it didn't set out to, beyond the fact that there are many of these, and their heritage/origins aren't clear! When marked, we can say, they are what they claim to be, even if the tool is someone else's, but when unmarked, it's all a bit grey. More images are here;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2025/03/b-is-for-banner-and.html, and I bought them in the end!

 

And knowing at least one was used as an artillery-tractor, I'll have to look at them all again, with the guns present? There were several already in the stash, mostly military green ones, but there are some other 'farm' ones.

C is for Confirmatory Combat Canon!

This is one of those useful pieces, which consolidate that which we know, but seem unable to prove, and should come as a relief to those of us who have developed a tendency to mutter 'could be one or the other', when dealing with unknown plastics, on the understanding we are referring to Rosedale/Tudor Rose and/or Kleeman/Kleeware.

 

Speaking as someone who was a younger member of the follow-on force in the hobby, but who is now looking at himself as an older (or ageing!) member of the next generation, watching younger people come into the hobby with weird notions on the intrinsic value of Lego or WWF action figures, I don't know why I just 'trust' the older guards insistence in a relationship, beyond, that they said so, and that the one, Rose-, bought the other, Klee-, but finding things like this underline the closeness of the two, as fact! Especially as those insistences were always about mould-tool sharing.

 

We previously saw this M55 post-war US self-propelled gun (SPG), three years ago;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2023/05/afv-is-for-absolutely-feckin-vast.html

 

Clearly marked with a full set of Tudor Rose markings, and, in fact, have seen this Kleeware version before, as a show 'shelfie' nine years ago, so I was already pretty confident of the cast-iron connection, but still needed some introductory blurbiage!

 

The central mark above the reinforcing bulkhead is the same on both AFV's, but where the T*R model has two more ID discs either side of it, the Kleeware has a longer, untypical (for either make) mark, parallel to the discs, but below the bulkhead. However, and unlike some of the space crossovers from these two makes, there is no sign of the missing marks as faint, blanked discs, which you often find on the spaceships.

 

It may point to a rule - marked T*R is IS T*R, unmarked; probably Kleeman? It'll be worth a post one day comparing all the marks, as there are other marks, Kleeware having a small disc mark, and Tudor Rose having a longer written mark.

 

Anyway, I now have enough ammunition for both guns, and given that the Rosedale 25lbr came green with silver shells, it's likely some Tudor Rose M55's got them too? That's it, short and sweet, another chapter in a story which still has the odd question mark!

M is for Mohawk and More Military Miniatures

At the recent Sandown Park show I picked up a parcel from our roving reporter in New York, Brian Berke, which was very useful, as while I've mentioned them once or twice over the years, I've never encountered the sample while transferring things between different places, so they've remained rather absent from the Blog, but we can now tick that box - Mohawk's mini 'dimestore dreams'.

 

The one on the right is the colour of all my sample, so the pale herb-green ones, to the left, which made-up the bulk of Brian's donation were new to me, and this is a slightly larger version of the jeep we've seen before here more than once.

 

Brian also included a few marked-Lido mini's, so we can compare the two mouldings, as a full-stop to this original post, here, which compared the other three contenders for who's the pirate, who's the licensee, and who did the first version!

 

So that's six (Kleeware, Lido x2, Merit, Pyro and Mohawk) in total now, with the soft plastic Hong Kong version, Lido seem to have sanctioned themselves, toward the end!

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2018/08/l-is-for-lido-not-load-of-limp.html 

 

The lorry on the left, a sort of 1950's pantechnicon, is also a homage to other mini 'readymades' of the era (the Pyro 'artic'), and also scaled-up, while the Ambulance is a more original moulding. I know I have a tanker, to look at another day, but I think I was missing the pantechnicon, so lovely to get both colours.

 

The car is also based on another model, and while less obvious, joins the Empire-Ideal-Kleeware-Lido-Pyro (2 sculpts)-Wyandotte family of small post-war family saloons, for an eight-count! While Brian himself sent us the Carzol coloured versions of the Tank not that long ago;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2023/07/n-is-for-new-stuff-from-new-york.html

 

Lido on the left, Mohawk on the right and there's more on the cars here;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2013/03/s-is-for-siblings-take-2.html

 

Among the Lido's was a lovely bronzed version of the 'StuG III' which was new to me, and while rather washed-out by camera-flash in this shot (left-hand tank), is - in daylight - a distinctive goldish-bronze colour plastic, like some of the Captain Video figures!

 

At the same show Adrian had a few dime-store's saved for me, both of which are useful, having seen marked tractors and or guns from Banner, Bell and Merit, I'm not sure who issued this unbranded pair (left, the tractor has a 'Made in England' which I'll compare to others in the collection at a later date), but in a batch of British stuff, Kleeware, Tudor Rose or Merit (licensed or copy) are in the frame, and with the wreaker-truck a marked Kleeware copy/mould-swap of the Pyro, the clever money goes on Kleeware?

 

As with the Jeeps and 'Staff Cars', we've looked at many versions of the gun here at Small Scale World, already, but getting two new versions in one show is a feather in the collection's cap, with the unmarked green one, and a full-sized Hong Kong copy, in silver polymer, with eye-damaging ammunition!

 

There were a couple of more conventional/less contentious British 'Dime Store' AFV's from Tudor Rose, not copied by five other people, or licensed to anyone, the rather good Churchill IV, and the more dodgy armoured car.

Many thanks to Brian and Adrian, it’s all a dimestoretastic show-plunder and donations post, folks!

L is for Last May's Lots of Lovely Loot - Vehicles

Before I can get on to the very late Plastic Warrior show reports, I need to get the previous, and even later, Sandown Park's loot out of the way, which was purloined a few weeks before the PW show, so let's get them out of the way sharpish! Although I don't think you can say sharpish, when the posts are three months overdue!

 

A small Gescha/Gama style tin-plate tank, bearing more resemblance to some early post-war APC's, with a small turret, and high superstructure. I can't remember if it had branding, or if someone gave me a brand? Space Tank!

 

Two mystery (when I saw them) die-cast military vehicles. a nice inter-war armoured car, actually Charbens, it is die-cast alloy, but has lead wheels, and a British tanker-truck, which was marked Britain or England I think, the trouble with doing these posts so long after the event, is you forget stuff! But while in the style of Dinky, it's not, and is probably a re-painted Benbros Esso tanker - note the red on the paint-chips! Interestingly, a re-issue of an old Timpo mould.

 

Vintage Tootsie-Toys AFV's, one marked the other anonymous (can't remember which was/is which), I think the lorry may be pre-war (1930's), while the Armoured-car might be just post-war? But that's going on the wheels/tyres (or 'tires', they're American after all!), which could, just as easily, be replacements? You won't believe the trouble I had, getting the two MG's to look right, they are suspended, free-floating or hanging, between small bumps in the moulding, and loose with age, and were a bugger to get right!

 

Another Charbens, this all die-cast, wheels and body, and darker green than some I've seen, and while not the most accurate version of Humber out there, it's a darn-sight better than the plastic one they did later!

 

Two more French 'readymades', one each Noreda (front, Jeep-like) and Injectaplastic (behind, DKW with Jeep trailer), we've seen them both before, but they were clean, and cheap, so I took them home with me!

Banner 'row-crop' tractor in military green, possibly depicting an Oliver tractor (US Readers?), and two copies, the copies are slightly smaller all-round, and have a few detail differences, unmarked, I hope they are in Bill Hanlon's book!

 

Again, newish to me, similar to some Archer space cars from the 'States, I was told these were actually British so Kleeware or Tudor Rose, but the larger one is a Marx future car, the smaller however is a Pyro/Kleeware moulding, so could the Marx also be a mould-swap with Kleeware?

 

Two teeny-tiny battleships, probably from a late-Edwardian board game, and a larger lead yacht, which could also be a board-game piece, or a smaller component of something more decorative? It's covered in what appears to be black paint, but which could just be severe oxidation?

 

Because they came with a T4, these two reprobates have got themselves into the vehicle post! In the style of MUSCLE or Kinnukiman, these two Thunderbirds Keshi are new to the collection, along with the little Thunderbird Four.

 

A damaged Manurba coach and spare helmet crest for a Lone Star knight are snuck in at the end, just to get them off the laptop!

L is for Lots of London Loot - Sandown February - Animals & Bits

Having had a fair number of the figures in the first post, and then the bulk of the vehicles, I thought I'd shove the rest of everything except the other figures up first and do them last! Animals, mostly horse-drawn stuff and some scenics!

 

Hong Kong hay rake . . . I guess that can be tractor drawn! Ornamental plated coach, might be a cake-dec', but I remember them being glued to ashtrays and those onyx table lighters, desk-sharpeners etc...War gaming naval cannon, maker unknown, a rather nice motorcyclist who could be a game playing piece, from a cheap railway figure-set, or a gum-ball/cracker type thing?

 

The wreaker-truck is a soft polyethylene copy of the Blue Box 'styrene copy of the original Matchbox 1-75 series die-cast, probably by Bluebow, or someone similar, there are several of those knock-off brands out there! And the horse team will be from one of the cheapo' wagons by Morestone or similar.

 

A couple of really nice-paint, early, British, plastic animals, which should be Cherilea farm for the foal, and I thought Charbens for the Giraffe, but I seem to recall looking it up before, and deciding it was Cherilea too!?

 

I bought these to check the three against the recent post on the subject here, and they are all duplicates, hay-ho, I also think the painted-eyes Poodle is Cherilea, but I don't know why I think that, and stand to be corrected for my vague-arsed assumption!

 

The (Timpo?) flocked Kangaroo looked better under the show lighting, he's actually a bit grubby, and it looks like fag-tar grubby! And he's a few bald spots, but still, a sample is better than no sample! The Moose is a reduced-scale copy of the old cereal-premium Moose, which was stolen from Lido I think? Green Scotties are a broach-badge, the Pigeon is Reisler, from Denmark, they liked their red-plastic! And I think the little Doe is Siku?

 

I may have a similar bag of these somewhere in the stash, but it may just be something I handled back in the days of sorting JB's stock, nearly twenty years ago! All I need is the coach now! I think it's actually only two mouldings of horse, and one rider, all duplicated four times!, but if I do find Paramount coach, I may attempt to put it all together!

 

This was a lovely find, we had the 'Japan' made ones as kids, one Christmas in our stockings I think, I remember an Elephant, Owl, Gopher, Squirrel and Hedgehog, I think, and these are clearly cheaper copies from Hong Kong, the Japan ones were better printed within the outline of the cut shape, and had one or two, little 3mm or maybe 4mm, googly-eyes!

 

The seller started to ask 50p for this and then just gave it to me! It's modern, and a dodgy piece of Chinese not-a-dinosaur! What drew me to it, though, was the similarities with both Möbius's Arzak / Arzach and the alien Tweak from the Judge Dredd story 'The Cursed Earth', with the now-banned burger-war pages! Although really it's only the nose which is Tweak's! Basically, when I saw it - it was so bad, it was good!

 

Two horses from Malleable Mouldings, the black one is OK, the white one will need work on the rear leg, both have been messed-up with home paint, I fear. I may try one of those ultrasonic cleaner tanks for the latter, and maybe hot-water first for the former, it's an early, not terribly stable 'styrene I think?

 

Three early German plastic buildings, which we have seen before, following the pattern of the old wooden Erzgebirge ones, a baby's high-chair, or lifeguard lookout from some Bluebird, Galloob or Mattel micro-playset? And an unknown shell, bullet or missile?

 

FG Taylor's farm cart, like the road-roller, a cross-over piece with metal wheels and plastic rest, quite common in this configuration, I think the all plastic one is the rarity?

 

Bits - Kleeware sub-scale garage-service-petrol station with roof parking for micro-cars, the standing platform from the late Corgi circus set and some foliage! The pale tree-stump is actually a sun-faded and very brittle tree which has lost its branches with a few 'snap!'s, but it was free!

L is for Lots of London Loot - Sandown February - Vehicles

Two of the best pieces, which covered both vehicles and figures went straight to 1970 in Picasa and won't be seen until September, if I remember, but, if you've worked it out, they'll be well worth the wait! In the meantime, after a couple of quirt Sandown's in the second half of last year, I actually picked-up quite a bit the other week, and there were a fair few vehicles, several from Adrian, so many thanks to him as I got them cheap as chips!

 

This was the first thing I bought, from Alkwyn I think (?), during the 'car-boot' phase out on the terraces while everyone waits for the doors to open! What I loved about it, it's otherwise a pretty standard road-roller from Triang 'Minic', is the fact that it's a crossover piece with tin-plate body and plastic wheels, that the smaller details are turned-brass is just the icing on the cake!

 

A small sample of Hong Kong cars, unusual for being brittle polystyrene, less common for having metal axles, and, the more observant among you may have noticed, the same as four Chris Smith donated a while back; same colours but some different mouldings - an MG-type roadster and a drop-gate estate/station-wagon.

 

If I already have a few in the main collection, the three lots (or two - if I don't) make a better sample, and that's why I love this stuff - there's so much out there, finding it all takes an eon, and we don't get an eon, we only get an age - four-score-and-ten if we're lucky!

 

More conventional US-originating dime-store stuff, with one of 'those' cars (Banner version I think), at the back, and a similarly coloured one in the foreground which may be from another source/set (blocked-in windows), all have the simple moulded-on wheels.

 

I've had a knackered example of this in the stash for a while now, no trailer (which I didn't know about), missing the gun and steering wheel, possibly windscreenless too, so, it's nice to get a decent one, even if the box is a bit shot! Generic, or, if the HK in the shooting star is a brand-mark, related to all that ABC/CMV/HK piracy of Britains stuff we've looked at a few times here, over the years?

 

The trailer is pretty fictional, I don't know if it is based on any post-war camping/outdoors press-release, but google suggests they never actually got made/sold (too many ex-military trailers if you needed one, and fully-covered camper-trailer designs, for those who wanted to stay dry and relatively bear-free!), but one of the dimestore makers did one, and various rivals copied it, until Hong Kong picked up the design too!

 

Two Kellogg's Frosties Land-Speed record attempt cars, it was all the rage when I was a kid, I'm not sure Rochard Nobel/Andy Green's attempts have garnered the same place in public discourse, but it's a different age now, then it was all boys-own-annuals and cigarette cards, now it's the whole known universe on a hand-held device?

 

More here - they are all 'Campbell' cars!

The yellow one is more of a generic pocket-money job, probably German or French, or a Hong Kong copy of the same?

 

This is a step-up, in the world of dimestore vehicular modelling, he says in that faux-poshness he employs occasionally! Not marked, so, again, I hope it's in Hanlon's book, or somebody recognises it, the driver (not brilliantly shot) is a bit Pyro-like, but they didn't tend to this level of detail with the opening doors and boot? You feel Dick Tracy chased this down a canyon while someone shot at him, out of the back window!

 

Treats and treasures! The broken plane is a copy of the German premium/promotional we've seen before, so just for 'sample', while the red racer also seems to be a copy, of the yellow Rosedale we saw a few years ago, but this one is unmarked.

 

Behind them, two real veteran survivors, a carded Kleeware locomotive whisle, and what I've been told is a Poplar Plastic's novelty performing clown, but I'm not sure on the mark, and it may be a long-forgotten smaller maker? All four are polystyrene.

 

While this is definitely Poplar, it says so! Needs a good clean, what is it with ships, those MPC Minis from the James Chase collection had the same black smuts? Some sort of marine-subject only, polymer-loving mould! Bathrooms?

 

The red White's Scout Car seems to be an unmarked variant of the Gilmark, so possibly Bell? We saw a silver one in the Bell/Banner/Merit-related boxed set, along with a similarly red armoured car. So a mould-swap rather than a copy I feel, and it's on another Pyro-like piece, a fire appliance, missing its ladders?

 

The Silver Morris-nosed van is unmarked, as is the sports car, but while the van is hollow, the car has a matching maroon baseplate with engine/drive-train/axle details etched into it, I think it could be British, but I don't know?

 

Noreda; I think I have both vehicles already, but this was a new (to me) packaging, so in the stash it goes, in order that the A-Z will be that bit more complete when I get round to it! I need some thin (ship-in-a-bottle or crochet?) tools to hook the bucket back on to the lower arm!

 

The second carded item was this Raphael Lippkin train in the Pippin line, a bit of fun, and early'ish plastic, I think it's wheels would fit the plastic Playcraft infant train sets based on Brio, and later copied in Hong Kong.

 

The card will need to be straightened, at some point, and I think the gentlest way to do so, will be with a wood-frame and clamps, overnight, or for a few days?