We have looked at this topic several times, but there always seems to be more to look at or more to say, and as I still haven't got round to the muted 'bicorn/tricorn hat' page (despite my having seen the box pass under my nose back in the summer) we might as well have some now! Actually the box may be get-at-able, so I might get it done while I'm twiddling my thumbs in the new flat?
These came in as part of a loose lot I think (it was a while ago now!), and as we'd only seen the lovely boxed set Brian Berke sent to the blog, a few years ago now, I thought it was a good excuse to photograph them again, only closer inspection showed them to be another set altogether!
And I was going to post the link to Brian's set, but instead here's the 'Spirit of '76' tag link, which if you click on it, will give you the previous five posts on the subject, under this, which you can then keep reading, before carrying-on down to the bottom, in the hope it all makes more sense, as it's been confusing me!
These are larger than the Award International ones Brian sent, at about 60mm compatible, albeit with the same deep bases, and smaller drums, proportionally. With them came a mini flag-waver and the LibertyBell, both also cake decorations.
The vinyl set seems to have bee issued in various brand-marks, all carft/cake decoration importers; mine on the left, Brian's posed-set in the middle, and two others, the Super Minis is a dodgy-packed one with two fifers and no boy-drummer, while SSCO are quite a common brand over The Pond with a fine assortment of figures, some common (Wilton/Culpitt types), some less so.
This apparently 1976-branded 'brand mark' carries the smaller ones I've now tracked down, and what look to be copies - in polystyrene - of the previous baseless PVC set. It's this brand which also carried the two smallies above, there was also a patriotic bride & groom set in period garb, a Bettsy Rose sewing the flag and a Spirit of '76 trio, all done as short-fat-kid caricatures.
I collaged the Lido AWI drummer on the end, as he seems to be channeling the same trio!
Indeed, one of the reasons for all the confusion is that the painting by Archibald M. Willard provided the source material for many bronze, spelter, mazac/Zamak or similar metal statuettes, and there were (are!) a lot of ceramic versions, in both cases some historical, some rushed out for the 1970's celebrations (which I remember being almost as big over here as it was over there?), and the plastic's seem then to be copies of those copies . . . all the ones with the deep bases being copied from the ceramics. Two from evilBay seen here.
Well, by now I had a folder with AWI in the title bar hanging-around and started to shove all-sorts in it! So these got added; on the left a carded clone (no evidence of it being Star Toys, but they were one copier) of the Shell/Innovative set which we have also looked at here previously, and which explains the 'other' cannon, which I mused-on in one of the more recent posts, with, on the right, an artillery piece (which might also be from Brian?) in the style of pencil-sharpener artillery, but sans sharpener and able to fire pellets, branded to an Edge Mark
Then this came in only the other day in a lot of mostly machine-guns! "It's a colour variation of the Brian set" I thought, but no, it's a sixth set of sculpts altogether! The younger drummer in the 60mm set has a full gap between his legs, the 54mm version Brian sent is filled-in with sculpted tree-trunk, while this chap has a part gap, part trunk arrangement, he's about the same size as the Award set though.
So, for all my efforts, and Brian's donation, I've only three-and-a-third of the six sets I now know are out there! And only five-and-a-third sets are illustrated on the Blog . . . so we shall return to them, again!
Knowing where the growing-contents of the folder was going I picked these up when I saw them going cheap, not very well painted (compared to say; King & Country) they are the 'wullumbriton' set (not really Britains!) in factory-decorated, poured whitemetal, and I wouldn't dream of paying full price for this attic-filling shite which is 80% packaging by volume, and 90% thin-air by pricing!
Brian also sent this a while ago, with the museum-visit stuff, some of which we have seen, some of which is waiting for that 1650-1800's page of big-hats! The government forces had drummers too! Better painted than the wullumbriton ones as well, but in the glossy 'toy soldier' style.
To finish; I have the painting-guide postcard for the Old Guard Inc., recruiting vignette/diorama The Raising of a Regiment 1776-83, in the archive, designed by Andrew Chernak; the figures could be painted for either side, but here a farmer has just signed-up for the armed insurgency and a backwoods hunter is contemplating the taking of sides!
Note how the reversed jacket colour/facings of the declared American drummer make him look quite British, something the French drummers 30-odd years later would also experience, were they more likely to survive in the fog of war as a result, or more likely to be shot by their own side, stumbling about in the clouds of musket smoke?
