W is for Wroxham Miniature Worlds

This was going to be part of a twin posting/comparison with the 'museum' at Mountfitchet, but things took a darker turn at that establishment, and for now I'll stuff it inconveniently under the carpet, and instead you can enjoy this as a stand-alone!

 

The shots Chris Smith took on a visit to the Wroxham Miniature Worlds attraction up in Norfolk, just NE of Norwich . . . 

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"From the outside the building looks like an industrial unit with entrance via a propped open fire door escape, I knew entry price was £13.95, did think about not going in... But took the plunge.

Very well laid out displays, some massive model railway scenic setups. Not my thing but couldn't help but be impressed by the standard of work involved in creating them, 100's of plastic buildings and 1000's of small figures included. All the trains controlled by a central PC program.

A number of working flight and driving simulator PC games from the 80/90's set up to try. I was useless at these back then so passed on trying."

"Good Scalextric track and display. Pelham Puppets, another massive collection on display. Huge vintage Star Wars action figure collection, figures, vehicles and boxes"

 

"Only other plastic figures I spotted were four Britains RNLI boats and crew in with some other, larger model ships."

"The Lesney/Matchbox bus was amazing, the sheer amount of vehicles was staggering. They do need to improve the lighting in this and the head height is an issue if you're over 5' 9" having to stoop on both levels."

 

 

 

"A small display of more general toys of interest were Magic Roundabout Figures, Sooty & Friends cereal premiums and a strange space bike with no rider, approx 1/32 scale that I'm sure would know the maker." [MPC Fireball XL5]

 

"Massive Lego display, from vintage Lego city to more recent lines of  Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter etc."

 

"Knitting! Not my thing, but impressed with the level of detail and work involved."

 

[Excellent use of a mirror-back display cabinet, to visually double the size of the diorama]

 

"Airfix models, poor display, obviously not loved. Poor quality build and a bit battered now. Were a few Airfix painted 1/32 figures and 1/72, but at ground level and hard to see.

 

One of my favourites was a collection of penny arcade machines all in working order, old pennies available via a change machine a £1 for ten, which I enjoyed spending. 

 

Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone if you're in the area on holiday or in Norfolk visiting/working. Personably disappointed by the lack of plastic figures."

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To which I'll add my tuppenny's worth, firstly thanks to Chris for sending all this to the Blog, and secondly, it appears to be a much better curated and displayed than others I have seen, the Airfix 54mm case, not withstanding!

F is for Follow-up - Wavyline Magic Roundabout

So, re: the red set of Magic Roundabout premiums in the previous post (see below, or click on 'previous post/s'), the colours usually associated with the known UK issue, are as these;

 

To which you can add orange, we looked at them in more detail here;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2018/09/f-is-for-follow-up-magic-roundabout.html

 

in part as a follow-up to the previous post here;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2017/01/c-is-for-contribution-week-iii-tatra.html

 

And while some sources still call them 'cereal premiums', we know they were issued with biscuits here in the UK (above colours) and as Olá ice cream premiums in Europe, as a much wider range of colours, they were probably also issued as individual gum packet premiums in Europe, under more than one brand, and now; 

 

Wavyline Magic Roundabout

 

Promotion

No.00997

 

Wavyline premiums. This is at least the second set of these to appear on-line, there is one on there now (same given code, which might be the promotion-code, rather than a carton number), but I would never use live images, I know someone who would, but he has the ethics of an ally-cat, and the morals to match! Scally's, what can you do?

 

Do we start with the image, or start with the history? Wavyline was a small, independent supermarket chain, in the Co-Op model; smaller, local 'supermarket' or convenience stores, down here in my neck of the woods, indeed, I think the current Tesco in Hartley Wintney was a Wavyline once, after it was a butcher's? Then an International? But, I might have made all that up? I was a kid! And, we used the Keymarkets in Farnham, now a Sainsbury's superstore!

 

The image above, shows each pose/sculpt in a separate bag, and while I don't know the nature of the premium/prize issue, I'm guessing it was a bit like Green-Shield Stamps (other stamp collecting schemes were available!), except with instant gratification, i.e., spend a pound, get a figure, spend five - get six figures, something like that? The similar Codec stores in France, were running giveaways in their rural shops, using multi-issuer premiums; ex-Van Brode, ex-Bonux etc . . .

 

EFE Bedford TK as articulated tractor-trailer for Wavyline

HO-OO gauge/scale

(http://www.modelbuszone.co.uk/efe/trucks/bed/22002gy.html)

 

So, if you did live in a village or suburb lucky enough to have a Wavyline, or a smaller market town, where everyone knew everyone else, and/or you knew the staff in the store, you could, upon qualifying for the dividend, ask for them to be red, so long as red ones were still in the bag, or you could ask for the figure/character of your choice? If your aunty/Mum/older sibling worked in the store, they might put aside the ones you were still needing?

 

Which would enable you to build a set of red ones! Or blue ones! So, the set I picked-up in DEBRA the other day were probably Wavyline, not Nabisco (who put one (random colour) in each pack), not that you would know, when you find them loose, they were all coming from the same factory, which still hasn't been identified, either side of the Channel. But the point is, we've lost more than we know, with a lot of this stuff, and it's only lucky feeBay hits, which fill the blanks we didn't even know were there!

B is for Benevolent Buys - 3 of 3

Along with the cats and turtle/tortoise (you'll agree it wasn't clear, but flatter = turtle?), came this bag of shrapnel at the start of October, nothing special, but all fun!

 

A Fiver's the top-end for this kind of thing, but it'd been a few days since anything joined the stash, and withdrawal was starting to itch, so what choice did I have?!!

 

A near-complete set of the 'Nabisco' Magic Roundabout, and in a follow-up I'll explain way I haven't italicised the Nabisco, and have placed it in single-quotes, but for now, strange that it's all in red, with no sign of the other colours normally associated with the 'cereal premium'?

 

Standard Erzgebirge houses and church, but larger than previous ones we've seen here, with an extra window each, The Church/Public building with Zwiebelturm (onion tower, one of the first German words I learnt, the dreaded Umleitung came second, Bummelzug third!) is one from our childhood, I've been after for years, so really pleased to add this to the pile!

 

 

Other wooden stuff of the Erzgebirge type, with the train possibly a later Kinder one, and the car probably from a board game. Some of it may go with the cottages in the previous shot, but it's not obvious, while styling, paint, varnish &etc. . . suggests several sources, and many years between oldest and youngest samples.

 

Mostly 1970/80's rack-toy scenic stuff, but the greenhouse is from the New Ray HO civil/model railway accessory range, and the two Poplar trees are new to the collection, and - with those huge bases - probably from something more infant-oriented, and also, probably more modern.

 

Odds & sods; the barrow looks like it should have a pencil-sharpener attached, but there's no sign of such an accoutrement having ever been attached, and I don't know what the blue-cap is from, or if it's even anything to do with toys whatsoever? 

K is for Kitchenalia!

All sorts of stuff has come out of the woodwork, or the kitchen cabinets over the last three years, some I've photographed, some has gone to storage, some went to charity and some went in the bin. Here's three pieces of kitchenalia which may trigger the odd nostalgia button or two?

 

I can half-remember the birthday party where these were used, and they were 'dead posh' and modern, bring plastic rather than waxed-paper/card (how times have changed!), but it has left them brittle. They did have matching Magic Roundabout paper plates and napkins/serviettes, and I think the cake was Mum's rendition of Dougal dog!

 

Every 1970's kid appreciated a curly-wurly drinking straw, didn't they? I think they did, even if they didn't admit it! I seem to recall these were Christmas stocking presents one Christmas morning, and would have been christened with milk or tea . . . possibly milk with food-dye in it, as "It's Christmas"!

Kiddy cutlery, the cat was usually mine, the snoopy was my Brother's and I think we shared the Disney knifes, depending upon who grabbed which first! I should find some kid/s to pass them on to, but all my friends' kids have grown-up and gone to collage! Maybe a hospice for kids would be a thought?

K is for ♯♪♫♫♪ Keep'ouwn Raaahhkin' . . . ♫♪♪♫

♫♫♪. . . in the Freeeee-wooorrrlld! ♫♪

Ladies and Gentlemen . . . The camera never lies!

The esteemed editor of Plastic Warrior magazine played the Teamsterz Stadium, with Dylan - fact!

Get the ultimate Rock'n'Roll merchandise here.

F is for Follow-up - Magic Roundabout

Although a follow-up, it's a little longer than most, as it pulls everything together in one place with some archive stuff. As we saw last time (no point in a back-link as we're going to look at it all again) there were three sets of Magic Roundabout premiums, getting at least four issues between them.

We are actually starting with the second, as it was the first to hit the UK and I've already re-numbered all the images once, so I'm not going to do it again!

Kellogg's brought these out in 1969, almost certainly manufactured for them by Crescent who had a contract with them for such things, while the plastic colours/bases match the Sooty, Noddy, Spacemen and Thunderbirds figures of the same era.

• Dougal Dog
• Zeberdee
• Brian the Snail
• Dylan the Rabbit
• Mr MacHenry
• Florence

From Cluck I comes this poor scan (copy of a copy of a copy . . . ) of an advert from TV Comic for the set in 'Twicicles as Nicicles' Ricicles! Dated to the 5th of April 1969 it lists the six to collect. These are the 2nd largest of the three sets and would be the equivalent of 50mm-odd; were we not talking about fictional anthropomorphs!

Base marking refers to the French licensor; © SERGE DANOT 1968 rather than Kellogg's or the BBC who were carrying the series over here.

Funny story I happen to have in my head about The Magic Roundabout;

The BBC Children's TV department ('Watch with Mother' in those days) bought the footage from the French either without sound, or without translations (or both?), so had to make-up the narrated storyline from what was happening on the screen, as a result some of them are completely different 'mini-adventures' to their French originals, and even when it was pretty obvious (the sugar-cube trail/hunt) they are still far removed as far as dialogue and unfolding action sequence is concerned from their Gallic counterparts!

And - if it's not true - it's a nice story!

The rival food combine and breakfast cereal producer Nabisco issued these in the autumn of 1970, I have a note somewhere that they were in their cereal Shreddies, but both Cluck and Brian Berke's contribution (below) say Magic Roundabout Biscuits, so the Shreddies link will have been an earlier assumption on the part of collectors in the late 1980's-1990's I guess?

16 items to collect gave 15 'assemblies' as one of the items was Mr. McHenry's tricycle. I have to confess, despite being a fan of the Magic Roundabout at the time (I was six, alright!) I don't remember the birds, either separately or on the barrel-organ? I do vaguely remember Penelope the spider in a few episodes though.

• Dougal Dog
• Zeberdee
• Brian the Snail
• Dylan the Rabbit
• Ermintrude
• Penelope (spider knitting)
• Mr MacHenry (long beard) and his 'Motor Trike' (tricycle bike)
• Mr Rusty (long toothbrush-moustache) and his Barrel Organ
• Tweet (bird looking one way!) and Tweet-tweet (bird looking the other way!)
• Florence (ribbon on her head)
• Peter (boy pointing)*
• Rosalie (girl with pony-tails)*
• Paul (smaller boy)*

* As far as I can remember, these characters were mostly seen in the comics and annuals which accompanied the success of the TV series.

These had actually already been issued in Portugal back in 1968 by Gelados Olá ("Hello" Ice Cream); believed to be a Wall's subsidiary or partner brand. I think they were also issued as bubble-gum premiums at the time through various brands.

Cluck I reports that the figures were made by Airfix, I don't know where that comes from, the plastic colours would suggest someone like Crescent or Hillco (who had turned down the Kellogg's gig?) and while any one of a number of plastic fabricators could have run them, I believe the moulds were continental (as evidenced by their earlier-use over there), while others mention R&L in Australia.

Brian Berke kept his packet tops! 48 biscuits AND a toy! There are 8 of the commoner characters illustrated on the box and no clue as to how many you need to collect.

The Olá/bubble-gum issues came in a myriad of plastic colours while the UK got the four colours in the 'one-of-each' shot (three images above) only . . . and ours were a shinier plastic against the continentals more understated, chalky - or at least matt - finish.

Piracies exist of them, similar to the Tito-marked, Comansi-carried, Lucky Luke bubble-gum premiums we've seen here before. I guess they must have been gum-ball capsule things from Hong Kong, or possibly Christmas cracker prizes over here?

And like those Lucky Luke figures the originals have the distinctive holes (usually assumed to be mould release-pin marks, but a little too deep and deliberate, in my mind) in their feet, also shared with the two series of Asterix premiums of similar size and issued by the same ice cream and bubble-gum sources, along with wild animals and Disney, ergo, Tito are more likely to be the parent; not Airfix?

However, trying too-hard to work it all out leads you up a garden path littered with Americana, Malabar, Mundi, Tylers et al! There's a very good bubble-gum wrapper site somewhere which shows how incredibly convoluted the market was and still is with people like Bazooka, Topps, Wriggly's and ABC issuing licenses all over the world and sometimes to multiple factors in the same country.

So, it will never be worked out where they all came from, certainly not 'first'; another name in the frame (after Tito) is Heimo, who produced other sizes of the Disney even as Comansi were carrying rubber versions of the Tito's?

Two Mr MacHenry's meet! He has a larger hole in his feet which locates with the stud on the tricycle, firmly holding them both together as one. The set would be the equivalent of 35/40mm in a weird, but otherwise 'real' universe!

Ricicles had another stab (deliberately against the Nabisco issue?) in 1970, but instead of re-issuing their previous set (as they had done with Sooty and Noddy) they turned to Tatra for a new set of sculpts carrying eight characters instead of six, these were overall slightly larger at an equivalence of around 54mm.

• Dougal Dog
• Zeberdee
• Brian the Snail
• Dylan the Rabbit
• Ermintrude
• Mr MacHenry (long beard)
• Mr Rusty (bushy moustache)
• Florence

Tatra's own image which they kindly let me have before being swallowed by a competitor, ironic really; as they had swallowed a couple of dozen firms themselves over the decades, but there's always a bigger fish in the pond!

Above; a scale comparison between the three sets.

Below; We gott'a Rock Band with Spidey on the sticks! She (along with the barrel-organ) is harder to find undamaged.

So, that's them, there were other Magic Roundabout toys, the much sought-after Corgi sets, larger flocked-toys imported by HCF, wet-on temporary tattoos, rub-down transfers, key rings and such like, and you could send away with packet-tops from the Nabisco set for trees or a little train (also available commercially) which now goes for a mint on feebleBay occasionally.

From Cluck;

"Send-away 2/9d (14p) and 3 packet tops for a complete set of 16 Magic Roundabout toy figures. Also send-away 9/2d (49½p) and 3 Magic Roundabout biscuit packet tops for Mr Rusty‘s Magic Train - a toy steam engine with cattle-cart, passenger carriage and cart, also 4 Magic Roundabout Garden trees."

The difference between the Nabisco mail-away trees and the Corgi play-set ones is in the bases; Nabisco's were round, Corgi's diamond-shaped.

While the Nabisco/Olá organ and Penelope commonly suffer damage, both Dylan and Brian also can lose ears/antenna respectively, something the first set gets around in Brian's case by not modelling them, the tricycle sometime loses its headlight-lantern.

The TV series was remade a few years ago for a newer audience, and some new episodes were added, which to be fair - as someone who hates re-hashes and the changes to resurrected franchises - I didn't realise I was watching until I saw a computer in it and thought "Hold on! They hadn't invented PC's in the 1960's", I then realised the narrator/voices weren't quite the same; it was an all-new episode!

Links

1969 Ricicles Set

1970 Ricicles Set

1968 Olá - 1970 Nabisco Set

Gum Companies (now only on the WayBackMachine - takes a while to load)

I think the metal set in that third link will be from Goodsoldiers, I did email the webmaster a while back but I think he's no longer active on the site?

Thanks to Brian Berke for the Nabisco pack-tops and The Philosophical Toad for the Cluck I

C is for Contribution Week - III - Tatra from Brian

These are a fascinating contribution from New York, having come all the way here, via there, from the UK! Brian says they are the last UK figures he collected before leaving these shores for pastures new.

A packet front from the Nabisco biscuits that contained the premiums, Brian thinks around 1972/3 (they were also issued with Kellogg's Ricicles, probably the year before - 1971), Brian reports that there was a mail-away offer-panel on the box for the whole set, which he did send-off for, intending to paint them, he's still to get round to it; maybe if he does he'll send the Blog those pictures too!

Close-up of Mr. McHenry; However, if this is the correct figure I'm afraid they're not the Tatra set Brian thinks they are!

These figurines were one of three sets of Magic Roundabout premiums around in the late 1960's and early 70's, and are the most common being the smaller-sized set given away by Wall's ice cream, the biscuits Brian found them in and in Europe by several people including Tito (?) and Ola (who were a Wall's subsidiary, or in some way connected? Similar logo and brand-marks).

In the above shot Dylan is damaged and one of the birds is missing from what is - fully - a 16-item, 14-figurine set, it was a hurried shot of what's come-in, in the last few years; all my premiums are in storage!

While all the figurines have the little holes in the base (probably made by mould release-pins), common on these 'Euro' premiums, Mr McHenry has a larger hole which is used to locate him on a pin sticking up from the floor of his tricycle.

The other shot shows one of the more interesting colours available from Ola's Portuguese Ice Cream premiums (among others) on the right.

A larger sized set (probably* made by and -) looking like the Crescent Thunderbirds figures, was a Kellogg's Ricicles premium (1969), being issued with only 6 sculpts, most having bases - left hand figure in both shots. The Tatra set (also Kellogg's - 1970) were eight figures a little smaller that the [probably*] Crescent set - second from left in both shots, while Iron-on Magic Roundabout transfers were also issued by Kellogg's around '72.

The figure far right seems to be a piracy of the Nabisco and others commercial set, bearing all the hallmarks of the Lucky Luke piracy we looked at a while ago, those LL premiums also being widely issued by several of the same sources and having the little holes in the bases/feet.

Getting back to Tatra-produced stuff, Brian also sent a shot of his Kellogg's Soldiers - most [shock horror] still in their sanitised packs! These - of course - are Tatra! He remembers them as being in Sugar Smacks, also around '72. Of course I'm joking with the 'shock horror'; these premiums carry a 'Premium' if they are still unopened!

Again - thank you for the contribution Brian.

* Similar colours, similar bases and six poses; I rest my [probable] case until someone proves me wrong! But it further raises the possibility of Tom Smith having carried them as well?

Kellogg's on the Cereal premium website

Crescent (?) set 1969

Tatra Set 1970