H is for Holy Self-Signed Toy, Batman!

I bought this at Sandown Park, I won't tell you what it cost, but suffice to say it wasn't cheap as chips, and I was initially a little disappointed by it, suspecting a mug had been seen coming, a little buyer's remorse crept in, but, like last night's cartoon, that's something which often accompanies the post show sort-out!

 

Holy boxed battle-taxi, Batman!

First, it was sold to me as AHI (Azrak Hamway International) when it's not, it's the later Australian reissue from Len Hunter Trading, and dating from 1989 (AHI carried this in 1977), and that it was signed, which I quickly convinced myself was a bit dodgy? However, having seen the prices of a few unsigned ones, and enough samples of Adam West's signature to be slightly more convinced by its sloppiness, I'm much happier about the purchase now!

 

 Holy facsimile figurines, Batman!

 

The main body of the Batmobile is all-plastic, so it ticks one box, and has two figures, of The Batman and pesky Robin, The Boy Wonder, so it ticks another box there, and is clearly a scaled-up copy of the Corgi die-cast, where that was 1:43rd, this is closer to 1:35th/32nd scale.

 

Holy Batbath brum-brum, Batman!

 

The boat is the same, and while I initially though they were blow-moulds; so many of the bootlegs and knock-off's have been, it is actually a couple of lumps of polystyrene, the frangibility of which means they are far worse survivors, than the original Corgi die-casts.

 

Holy crime-fighting combination, Batman! 

 

I think the figures can be used in the Batboat, but the seats are closer together, so maybe only one at a time? I noticed, before purchase, the blister had been off at one point, and not replaced brilliantly, so there's an option to remove it again, in the future, photograph the combination in close-up, re-set the Batboat in it's trailer properly, and try resetting the blister a little better?

 

Does the fact that the autograph is 'To Robin' from Adam West, give it a little extra caché? And, as I said to the seller, with all its faults or potential faults, when was I going to see another one? Holy philosophical fuckwittery, Batman!

F is for Follow-up - Antique Antipodean Aircraft

So, Ozi sent these a few days after the previous post involving his images, and it's more, rare to the point of unheard-of outside Australia, model aeroplane news, so I'll let him tell it in his own words, but first the images;

 

 

 

 

"About twenty years ago I ran into this diecast model of the Boeing B29A – or, seeing as it features RAF roundels on the wings – an RAF Washington B1. Made by Pope, Australia (local manufacturers of household appliances including washing machines) it survived in not-too-bad 'play worn' condition. Wingspan is nine inches. 

 

The hollow undersurface of the fuselage has the legend “Made in Australia A Pope Product” and the undersurface of the wings is “Supa-fort”. Close examination of the nose of the model shows that some attempt at shading was made to give the appearance of windows.  

 

The Washington B1 was in RAF use between c1950 to 1954 (as an interim waiting the arrival of the V-Bombers) was reportedly a better performer in all respects than the Avro Lincoln. That is despite what “Aircraft of the Fighting Powers” says!

On the internet is shown a similar Pope product with USAF markings and legend on the fuselage.  The markings on that item look to me like transfers."

 

Many thanks to Ozi for this rarity. 

B is for Beach Buggys [sic]!

When I was a kid I always wondered what '[sic]' or '(sic)' meant after a word or phrase, and while I did ask the odd adult from time to time, I clearly didn't ask the right ones (with 4-billion people to the left of the bell-curve [phrase du jour!], there's a lot of pretty thick adults out there, people; be careful!), and while I kept meaning to look it up, I'd never remember to, when a dictionary was nearby!

Eventually, when I started my Encyclopedia of Military Abbreviations (don't ask, several box-files of shite, all in long-hand, several formats/part-drafts and unlikely to ever be finished, but it probably kept me out of various troubles!), I did finally look it up! I'm sure many of you, too, now know what it means, but for those who don't - from the good old Oxford English;

 

Used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original, as in a story must hold a child's interest and ‘enrich his [sic] life’ or a hero of antient [sic] Rome.

 

In our case, here, the word should, correctly, be 'Buggies' or 'Buggy's', not the given Buggys. Now I know one or two idiots across the pond will assume I'm having a go, specifically at America/American and that therefore I'm being "racist" (again!), but I'm not, I'm just correcting an incorrection* in the correct manor [sic], because I like a bit of correctness!

*Noun. incorrection f (plural incorrections) a fault, default or impropriety, especially of language. State of what is incorrect. (dated) Character of what goes against courtesy and politeness (Heeheehee! The Rubenstein card is impolite!).

 

Rubenstein's Dune Buggys [sic]; As you can see, they - like ALL Rubenstein sets - have a stock code (3004), and you can find them in single colour sets and multicolour sets, two production tranches or one quirky production run? If anyone knows it will be Kent Sprecher, hopefully he'll tell us, with empirical supporting evidence, in his forthcoming, world-saving, Hugh-beating, article of grand-importance?

Six different designs, very much in the style of Rosenhain and Lipmann from Australia, but are not R&L, and are not claimed as such by the R&L experts. R&L did do vehicle sets including the Dragsters which are certainly in the same vein, but where R&L have lots of fine parts (or several per kit - wheel hubs and axles in particular), these are much simpler kits.

Unlike some of the other vehicle sets from Rubenstein which are a softer polyethylene, mine are in a hard 'kit' polystyrene, however the multicolour set may be the opposite, and it might be that they all got issues in both plastic-types/colour-ways, I don't know, but hopefully Kent will tell us everything, about everything, all at once?!

 

I should point out, before some bottom-burping oaf in Pennsylvania hysterically reports "Ah-Haa, they've all got a name he didn't tell us!", that they all have a name and I haven't told you, only because I forgot to write them down before they went to storage, life is too short and it gives us an excuse to return to them another day! Like when I build the other four . . . I was in a hurry, this all happened about a year ago, you know? I can't presage the idiocy of idiots, 24/7/365.

 

R&L did however, supply Aurora with their little kits, at the same approximate time Rubenstein were carrying their Dune Buggys [sic]! Sold as Snap-a-roos, they were the cereal premium sets, as sixes, sold in little boxes, which is how these (and similar domestically produced) sets were also issued in Italy.

But then 'Burns' reports this group of three, apparently simple, small, clip-together kits as being announced in the 1973 Lindberg catalogue (or catalog, not a '[sic]', but an accepted foreign variation of English), which was subsequently never issued. The feeling being that they were supposed to be, or seemed to have a connection with; the eponymous 'Kilroy' of World War II fame.

 

Which, applying TJF's logic must mean there's a Kilroy 'of The World' fame, out there too! And can you hear that scratching noise in the background? That's Sprecher quickly adding a paragraph to his Magnum Opus! He's probably added several in the last seven days.

That they (the Aurora set) never appeared and Rubenstein's wouldn't appear until sometime in or after '77, suggests that the Rubenstein set, was whatever was left after the above three pre-production artworks went through the production process, those driver/Kilroy figures would have required much more complicated (and therefore expensive) tooling for undercuts &etc . . . so there is a possibility they were simplified into this set . . . but I stress, that it's casual musings on the subject, not canon-history or any fact of any kind.

Another candidate for the Aurora no-shows is this similar set from R&L, but again, not these, and again; fine parts, a feature. However, there are similarities in one or two of the main-parts, with both the Lindberg drawings and the Rubenstein set, so who knows; Burns didn't, I don't, Sprecher doesn't, The R&L guys don't and TJF never will!

H is for How They Come In - Chris - Wild West

I think I'm right in saying Chris isn't much of a Wild West collector, excepting where that coincides with one of his core themes - Early British minor makes, so his parcels to the blog, and therefore the rest of you, always have a fair bit of Wild West in and a fair bit of that is interesting!

The small scale, as I've said before this all needs further sorting, and will appear, eventually, on the Giant or What? page! Two bags this time, one a right-old mix, the other quite a clean sample, and there were a few in the bottom of the box!

 

The forts too need further sorting as several people had a stab at them or copied/carried them, this isn't Giant as it has the Fort Chyenne over the gates, Giant's was unnamed.

Next size-up and we have a couple of Lucky Clover Indians, one of the - probably - French, reduced-size, premium copies of Jean's swivel waist figures. A pair of Marx, a trio of Blue Box, a horse divorced from its West German wagon, and two figures I've never seen before!

 

Both swivel waist, no more that 25mm and I think I found their horse, which may have come from Chris in a previous bundle. I suspect I have no more than one or two in all the - litaerally - tens of thousands of Hong Kong hollow-horses, sorted or waiting, and I think the other's might be a white one and a limp-green one?

 

But what a thing to find, in a donation! Both are damaged, I'm guessing yellow probably had a pistol on his left hand, and red might have been waving a rifle, but how many are there in the whole set, are they Hong Kong, or some minor make from Italy or Portugal or somwhere, has anyone else got any? Among the 'best items' in the parcel!

Next size up and inset are a small scale who missed the other shot and bits of a CGGC, Giodi or Kinder figure, with a Siku premium top-left in the main image, next to a Christmas cracker-toy of the old Marx moulding of Pecos Bill.

 

The lower row includes from the left, a semi-flat in soft ethylene who might be Hungarian, but wasn't in that bag, another of the ones I think are French premiums or bazaar toys, with the neat, parallel-sided, oval bases and two of a Hong Kong lot who turn-up so frequently I can't understand why I haven't seen a whole set (card or bag) on feebleBay yet . . . but it should turn-up one day!

Up another size for the Toumoulage originals, with - again - believed to be French, probably premiums, smaller copies, the larger unpainted (late production?) 'styrene, the smaller, the softer polyethylene. The green one, actually belongs with the larger figures and is a polystyrene original.

 

Chris has managed to find another three of the Lone Star shooting game figures, all yellow, in three different junk-lots/purchases! I have to confess with a few more come in, in the last year or two, I've lost track of them, but I think we're getting close to full sets of both colours, although they were issued alternating in the sets!

 

Below them, we have one of the Crescent/Lido poses we've covered here recently, and next to him a painted one, which from the clues on the underside of the base, has come straight off one of those W. German pencil sharpeners. Note he's larger than the standard figure, something which wasn't clear in the previous posts on the subject - I've said it before; Pantographing can go up as well as down!

 

Either side of the cowboy pair are a couple of matching hard plastic, painted Indians without bases which would appear to from a similar novelty line/item, but no clues as to what, or how many poses we're looking for?

A small bag of Hong Kong swoppet copies, same note as the canoe post the other day, a late, two-halves with belly-moulded Airfix horse, I'll give him the tail of one with a missing leg or two!

 

Three HK figures 'after' those Bergan/Beton-Airfix-F&G-Tudor Rose (et al) figures, my first Carzol premium, an MPC ACW clone, a hard 'styrene paddler from Thomas and a very interesting copy (unmarked) of a Crescent cowboy? 

Finally, a wagon driver, to which I said in my email to Chris - we always go over the highlights before I share them with you - "The Wagoneer looks modern, but might actually be older, 1970's? Although he's quite realistic, he may be from a comical wagon, or novelty?", only to be looking in the new (newish, I think I mentioned them in the autumn) thematic folders for something to send Paul M when I found him . . .

. . . bottom right! And although the wagon is almost as realistic as him (some whacky wheels action goin' down there), the artwork on the box is every-bit as cartoony as I was expecting, and I'm not claiming it for my abilities as a soothsayer, but more the old back of the mind being triggered!

 

This is lovely, he's missing his feather, but that's the sort of thing which will turn-up in a junk lot or on a tattier, loose figure, but having seen or mentioned Hong Kong, Russia, Dulcop and Kinder on these 'Charlie' figures, here's a Směr one, from the former Czechoslovakia!

 

Finally, this pair were in a lot from Australia, which won't be in these posts, as they are destined for greater things elsewhere! But these two are interesting for several reasons, first we're back with the Crescent hollow-cast/Lido set again with the chap on the left.

 

But he's clearly paired with the mounted figure who seems to be a copy of a semi-flat, possibly home-casting mould, which could be another Schneider or even something more local . . . there must have been Aussie metal manufacturers? The quatrefoil bases should be a clue?

 

And who made these, between the Australian end and the island next door (NZ) there are about a dozen names in the archive now, not all of them necessarily toy makers, not all of them shooting plastics? So tatty, and probably very old, but fascinating additions to the stash, cheers Chris!

News, Views Etc . . . Additions

I've added a couple of pieces to the Airfix 'Early Figures' page courtesy of Danny O'Neill in Australia . . .

. . . and some Britains boxed sets to the Khaki Infantry page which I shot on John Begg's table at the Plastic Warrior show two years ago; the show review post wasn't strong so I'm cannibalising it for useful images! Actually this one is not the best image, but it is useful!

R is for Robin's Roustabout Rebels - Part 2 - The Figures

I also grouped the earlier post's figures by character/thematically, for closer comparisons, and this post is the result of those shots, in the course of preparing this pair of articles, they all got put away and taken out again several times, and one of the archers has migrated to another set!

Robin Hood's above and Will Scarlet's below, along with the guy I used to think was falling or sitting, but who I can only picture hiding in a tree now! The guy middle-bottom is an unnamed character - one of the Merry Men - but could pass for Robin or Will!

Now, there is no discernible difference between the two smaller Will's, and in the course of taking these mages I came to the conclusion I'd had the Down Under version all along, which means I need to find a Canada one at some point, just to satisfy myself as to their differences/similarities, as all the other figures do have clear differences between the sculpts and I believe the Canada issue is an unnamed figure?

The Maid Marion/ian's; Marx's 'ian is Rubenesque sexy in a Viking-court sort of get-up, the antipodean 'ion is a bit Hippy-chick sexy in plain Anglo-Saxon villager's garb, the Canadian 'ian sculpt looks like a rather dry Mother Superior or a 'Flanders mare' in full Norman aristocratic finery and Robin would be a fool to get involved with her, she's just gonna' whine alot!

'The Tuck'; my kind of priest - a godless one! I prefer the Marx sculpt, if he's got a staff he can get fightey-bitey, but the smaller ones have him holding a scroll or torch/brazier - it's not clear? This is the other pose (after the archer, if mine are of different sources) which has little change beyond base markings between Australian and Canadian issues - the Canada one is better detailed/etched and slightly taller maybe?

The two sheriffs' (Nott's & Darby!) and tree-climber/falling guy again! He's actually the most dynamic pose of all four sets (I haven't shown/got the other Marx set), but this may have meant he was a bugger to manufacture - lots of weird undercuts, not in the pose per se, but in relation to the layout of the other cavities/rest of the tool?

Little John; the difference between the two smaller ones is clear here with heaver sculpting of the thin parts obvious, while the dagger on the Canadian chap is longer. Neatly; both/all three issuers have gone with a taller sculpt for the man whose name was a play on his notable height, he's half-a-head above Robin and has a good [scale] six-inches on everyone else.

Alan-a-Dale/Minstrel, a close-up of the base marking differences, the 'Canada' sculpt is on the right. I find red plastic a bugger to shoot (so don't know why I concentrated on this one!) but with a black & white filter and some stopping-down it seems to show what's needed. The unnamed 'minstrel' could used as/taken to be the Coeur de Lion's lover; Blondel?

Much the Miller; I seem to remember him from childhood stories, although Marx haven't named theirs, they all share the same hood and similar kilt/surcoat tails, so they were all watching each-other or the Saturday-matinee's for their fashion leads, rather than historical sources, although they can all be painted-up for medieval armies!

Down Under this one's Will Stutley, another one I recall from tales told to me as a child, or read in comics, elsewhere he's the anonymous 'signaller'! One of the missing Marx versions has the green guy shouting with cupped-hand and no stowed-bow!

♪♫♪ Stick-fighting Maaaaaaaaaaaaan! ♫♪♪ The best candidate for converting/repainting to court jester or fool!

The other three! Australia/New Zealand give them all names, Canada doesn't bother, but they still make-up the numbers. The rock guy needs a siege-engine, but there are plenty around to chose from, and Will Stutley would make a good No. 1 to this chap's No. 2. While you can never have enough medieval archers, for Crecy, Agincourt or the other one where we gave Frenchie a good spanking!

Done did!

The lack of available information on the 50mm set from Down Under leaves questions still outstanding, for someone to follow-up, somewhere, sometime;

• ·         Which cereal were they issued with?
• ·         Were they Australian or New Zealand-issued, first?
• ·         Who made/manufactured them?
• ·         Did Canada issue a license or are they pirates
• ·         Was there a Sherriff or 'tree-hugger'!?

And - to be honest similar questions remain over the 50mm 'Canada' figures!

Many thanks again to Glenn Sibbald for revealing the antipodean versions and donating a set to the blog - New to Hobby/Internet - cheers Glenn!

R is for Robin's Roustabout Rebels - Part 1 - Sets

I think (with the pink guitarist) we've looked at all the stuff in Glenn's excellent parcel from New Zealand, bar one item . . . it is that item, kindly donated to the blog by Glenn we're looking at in the next two posts.

And . . . Glenn lives literally yards from the epicenter of the horrendous atrocity which struck Christchurch the other day, so please spare a though for him and his neighbours, as I don't think anyone expected the 21st century to visit the fair lands of 'The Shire', so soon, or so violently.

I did cover this topic back nearer the start of the blog due to a lucky find of the smaller figures from Canada, and the larger figures being in the 'Big Purchase' or a tubbed PW Show purchase, I can't now remember - which are mostly the Ri-Toys re-issue figures also supplied to Marksmen.

At the time, I told the story as it was presented elsewhere on the Wibbly Wobbly Way, but the story seems to have changed once or twice since then, and still doesn't seem to be set in stone, so we'll ramble though it and each can draw his own conclusions!

The total extent of my sample with the previously-seen Marx/Rado 60mm's at the top, the new figures from the Antipodes in the middle and the Canada set - also seen previously - below them.

Now a complication in this, is that the Canadian/Southern Cross set/s are based on the Marx 54mm set, of which I have no examples! The 60mm are from Playsets I think (I'm missing all four of the original 'pose variations') while both the smaller sets were issued as Breakfast cereal premiums.

Another complication is that the smaller figures (specifically the Canadian issue) are also credited to Rubenstein, in the 'States, after the Canadians had finished with them (?) but I have never seen them in Rubenstein packaging, nor any empirical evidence for the accreditation, or for the link between Rubenstein and the Tatra 'Soldiers/Warriors of the World/Through the Ages'?

Knowing - as I'm sure by now you do - how much I like my empirical evidence for statements of fact, I'm maintaining a healthy scepticism of the Rubenstein link until I see something more concrete, but it's credible.

However and having said that, my sample - in multi-colours - is supposed to be Rubenstein not Breakfast cereal, which were [apparently] all-green, and an apple green not the jade-green of a couple of mine? Mine are mostly marked 'CANADA' though, which would suggest that even if Rubenstein handled them; they handled them as a wholesale jobber (Erwin's "...so called joggers"!) or a contractor, not as a manufacturer/mould-tool holder.

Or it means the apple-green ones are Kellogg's US Suger-smacks (and/or Rubenstein) while the multiple coloured ones are Canadian Kellogg's? Kent Sprecher's site says unmarked are from Canada and marked ('CANADA') are from the USA, but doesn't mention the unmarked Aussie/NZ ones? But then there are other colours, and I've seen half-and-half apple-green/orange-brown lots/sets being offered which seem to have come together?

Upon posting this - it's changes again! Colours are less of a 'set-in-stone' now and apparently the Canada-marked are Canada-issued, the opposite of two years ago . . . like I said, draw your own conclusions it'll likely have changed again in two years time!

The Marx/Rado-Ri Toys/Marksmen set, from the top-left to the bottom-right;

• ·         Robin Hood
• ·         An unnamed 'Merry-Man'
• ·         Main Marian
• ·         Friar Tuck
• ·         Sheriff of Nottingham
• ·         Little John . . .
• ·         . . . and three more unnamed Merry Men.

I am missing the four 'adjusted poses' from the original 60mm set which are on Kent Specher's site here (just over half-way down the page), but my 'guy blowing horn' seems to be my only Marx original - the more astute of you will have noticed he had some 'work-done' half-way through preparing the articles - he's as brittle as hell!

The Rubenstein-via-Canada-whoever set was a fourteen count - with the missing archer now in the Antipodean line-up below (see note on next post), these are the slightly finer-detailed of the two sets, but really only noticeable in the thickness of weapon-handles/bow-strings and other thin elements.

Base markings are on one or two circular depressions and are also reading from top-left to bottom-right are thus;

• ·         Canada / Robin Hood
• ·         Maid Marian Canada (single ring)
• ·         Friar Tuck / Canada
• ·         Canada / Sheriff of Nottingham
• ·         Little John / Canada
• ·         Minstrel / Canada
• ·         [large release-pin mark but no text]
• ·         Canada / [blank]
• ·         [blank] / Canada
• ·         Canada / [blank]
• ·         [blank] / Canada
• ·         [blank] / Canada
• ·         [blank] / Canada 
• [other 'Will Scarlet' archer unknown]

The new kids on the block! An apparent set of twelve poses; the Canadian 'Nottingham has seemingly gone 'walkabout' (with a teenage Jenny Agutter?. . . Who wouldn't?) along with the falling-back/sitting guy, who Glenn suggested might be hiding in a tree, which I thought was a lovely idea. Glenn hasn't seen them Down Under and I don't know if the two were part of that issue?

Again - left-to-right, top-to-bottom

• ·         Robin Hood
• ·         Maid Marion
• ·         Little John
• ·         Will Scarlet
• ·         Alan-a-Dale
• ·         Friar Tuck
• ·         Much the Miller
• ·         Will Stutley
• ·         Derwent
• ·         Quentin
• ·         Timothy
• ·         Archer

They are all named with the exception of 'Archer', understanding - of course - that the modern surname (much encountered in Borsetshire!) is based on the old occupational title!

One should also note that while the Canadian set carries a scaled-down version of the Marx 54mm Main Marian (as the whole set is copied from the Marx 54mm set), the Australian/New Zealand issue uses a new pose as Marion - which I've seen credited to the Marx 60mm 'Richard Green' TV tie-in set's version, but she seems to be actually a wholly new sculpt.

The Ri-Toys packaging; Marksmen used a variety of their own header cards and the guys who ruined the market by going direct to Ri-Toys (Rado Industries would only sell in large quantities) sold loose. Note the additional colours (over my sample) of red, blue and white figures. They only seem to have carried the nine poses, not the 'conversions', so a separate tool for the other four?

I can't find anything on the Australian/New Zealand end, or - at least - not on-line; there's nothing on Astronit and nothing on Crater Critters, so I'm assuming we have Mr. Sibbald to thank for bringing them to us as 'new to hobby' or 'new to Internet'. Cheers Glenn!