About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.
Showing posts with label Make; Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Make; Israel. Show all posts

Monday, May 25, 2026

O is for Odd Ossuary

OK, so to the last post on the Gogo Crazy Bones from Magic Box which have been in Picasa for too long (as have lots of other things, and they're still there!), not least because they have limited pull for most Loyal Readers, beyond this box-ticking exercise!
 
So, I bought a final big lot which came with a Gogo's tin, I didn't shoot these as to a certain extent they were much of a muchness, both with the ones in the original post, and the first few of this sequence, But note, in answer to my comment in the preceding Crazy Bones post, here we have a decent number of dark greens in both opaque and transparent. Likewise with the blues and a bunch of candy-mice and bubblegum pinks.
 
There were also a lot of the glass-clear ones, with more transparent in the reds and oranges, but it was the odds which proved more interesting and are looked at below, by visible marking, the reason being, I didn't look so closely at the original post's figures/bones;
 
 
. . . but suspect a few of the undecorated ones in that lot were from the groups below. It should be noted that the link in that original post also talks of Coca-Cola premiums somewhere, but below are various issues/tranches of their offerings.
 
Apparently issued by Imperial, who pops-up here, regularly retailing novelty tat, and things which look like other people's things, those non-Brabo bendies, for instance, and here they have gone to Israel of all places, and found a Laor Toys, to make several tranches of their Jojo's, over three or more years in the mid-nineties.
 

A whole set of T-Shirts?
 
I assume Tim Foot is the 'designer', however, I don't know the significance of 'Haxey', but will put it separately in the Tag list for those who do! And these seem to predate Gogo's by a year at least, however the collector's wiki, seems to have various producers of these 'bones', before Magic Box blew the gaff wide open?
 
Metallics, China, not Israel, and not of the same quality as the later Magic Box ones; quickly worn away with play, likely a high shine spray, rather than a genuine heat-coating or dip-plating?
 
Don't know?
 
So, we have a kid's craze in the mid-1990's, major player is Magic Box, an unknown Spanish company who will become a global giant off the back of them, who call their product Gogo's Crazy Bones, and which are designed to be used like Roman or pre-Roman knuckles, in a variety of games, rules for which were included in the blind-bags they were purchased in.
 
Flat colours, Metaflek, clear, semi-transparent, metallised, decorated and undecorated, possibly used as premiums by Coke-cola, Hubba-Bubba and others, rival brands, unique sets per. Country, special issues for smaller organisations (UK's FIFA World Cup team), convention and swap-meet exclusives (usually an existing moulding in a special finish), there must be several thousand to find, I've picked up a couple of hundred or so now, and that's too many!
 
A couple of useful links for those who are really interested;
 
Fandom
 
Wikipedia

Monday, July 29, 2019

B is for Broken Blind Bags

They're broken because you can see the contents!

In the news all the weekend just gone, as there was a major competition in the US (New York?) with millions in prizes - I shelfied these in the Works, where the full range (including the 'really rare's) all seem to be on clearance, I don't know what they cost first time round, but they weren't cheap enough for me to 'invest'!

36 Figures to Collect; Epic Games; Five-pack; Forthnite Stampers; Fortnite Figures; Gaming Figurines; Kids Works; New Production News; Novelties; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Stampers; PMI; Sinco Creations; Singleton Trading Ltd.; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Two-pack; Vinyl Stampers;
Five-packs, I think I've seen two different ones, but in different stores! Figures are about 75/80mm, I'm not farty enough to get the tape-measure out in a discount store . . . although as I don't carry a tape-measure that would be hard to do, even if I was farty-enough!

36 Figures to Collect; Epic Games; Five-pack; Forthnite Stampers; Fortnite Figures; Gaming Figurines; Kids Works; New Production News; Novelties; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Stampers; PMI; Sinco Creations; Singleton Trading Ltd.; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Two-pack; Vinyl Stampers;
Two-packs are more affordable, yet more expensive at £2.50 per figure against the two-quid of the five-packs. I know nothing about Fortnight, but have seen various references of it in the media to know it's one of the big games (online?) at the moment, and presumably these are the better-known thirty-six or favourite download characters/'skins'? 

36 Figures to Collect; Epic Games; Five-pack; Forthnite Stampers; Fortnite Figures; Gaming Figurines; Kids Works; New Production News; Novelties; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Stampers; PMI; Sinco Creations; Singleton Trading Ltd.; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Two-pack; Vinyl Stampers;
The single 'blind-bags' which aren't, are the most expensive way to purchase them, but the easiest way to fill-gaps, clearly the marketing model is for you to purchase the five-lots, then the pairs, then finish off with the singles, but - if you are tempted - I'd look for the 'rarest' first wherever they are (one is in a twin-pack), as they will be in smaller quantities, then grab the commoner ones later!

36 Figures to Collect; Epic Games; Five-pack; Forthnite Stampers; Fortnite Figures; Gaming Figurines; Kids Works; New Production News; Novelties; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Stampers; PMI; Sinco Creations; Singleton Trading Ltd.; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Two-pack; Vinyl Stampers;
The whole set; the image embiggens to reasonably large - but a bit blurry - if you click on it! Epic-PMI/Kids Works-Sinco Creations, that's how it is these-days, with this stuff; licenses within licenses!

A word of warning though, if you are tempted, but are also an ethical buyer, these may be made in china and licenced to various intermediates, but ultimate profit channels-back to an Israeli firm.