R is for Rack Toy Rascals

Not cake decorations! An excellent find at Sandown in September was this carded import by Merehall, more commonly associated with the larger, boxed plastic vehicles, from the old Crown Colony of Hong Kong, and doubly fascinating for being figures, previously known their role as Culpitts and other cake decorations, but also seen here (link below) as open-front, boxed teams.

 

"Collect your own team", it says, and with 12 figures, including the keeper on a card that’s possible, but, not all the known poses/shirt numbers are here, there's no referee, nor any other team strips?
 

So, were there other cards, with the other colours we've seen here before, were the other cards assorted to the point where all known poses could be found? And did some cards have the better team-strips of the carded sets we looked at last time - assuming each card was a singular colour-way like this one?

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2020/06/n-is-for-nearer-but-further-away.html

M is for Merehall's Military Mutineers

It's always nice to help the hobby with a solid attribution of figures which have until now, remained question marks, and with a lot of nonsense said, and confusion sewn about mostly crappy generics of the half-rubberised verity in recent years, it's particularly satisfying to tie-down some of the better, more 'collectable' versions.

Merehall (MH), known to me for a rather fine military hovercraft, and attributed to trucks and vans of the cheapie-shelf variety, are behind these reasonable copies of Timpo ACW, who are easy to ID with their heavy hollowed-out bases and the two pronounced ring-collars to the foot-plug receiving holes.

 

They also copied the Wild West, 'Armymen', Crusaders and generic knights too, and are marked with a neat HONG HONG, the one over the other, between the two locating holes. I can only make out three or four poses, but assume the box had eight-each of six, or six-each of eight for the reported 48 pieces.

Unethical dealers use these to flog old Timpo figures, as the flag can pass for Timpo (it's more equilateral than the Timpo standard yellow, but aping the 7th Cavalry flag) and the hats are very useful!

 

The all important empirical evidence! Many thanks to John Begg, who was sitting on the solution, for letting me shoot this back in the summer. The other identifier is that these are one of the piracy-types with the seperate plug-on boots. And what looks to be a nice date of 1971 (31st June, corrected from 32nd!?).

O is for Over-sexed, Over-paid and Over Here!

A common wartime refrain in 'Blighty'! Referring to our erstwhile allies and their apparent lack of want for anything, pouring into a country three years into 'Total War' and the associated deprivations.

For some reason forgotten to me now, the American swoppets aren't in with the GI's but are in the everybody else (except the Germans) box? So here they are...including some of the better Hong Kong copies - and I use the word 'better' in its loosest form!

The first version Timpo figures, I don't remember an eighth pose but suspect there aught to be one? These are the ones I mentioned the other night with the moulded on weapons, the German infantry were the same but in grey plastic and with darker helmets.

Second version, again without my check-lists I can't off-hand remember what's what, but the two on the right-hand ends of the row are taken from the AT vignette while - I suspect - the chap top left is from the assault-boat, along with two firers; that seems to leave one missing pose?

In the case of the Americans, Timpo themselves used the American Indian head with the brown-handed figures, but not always, it seems. Note also how the AT/Bazooka No.2 is a variant of the waving guy bottom left but with the ring in the other hand.

The bazooka vignette from above with the US version of the parachutist we looked at the other night, the three little figures above are the Speedwell copies/attempts and seem to draw on both the Timpo figures (above the waist) and the legs of the 54mm Cherilea swoppets...a bit!

Various Hong Kong versions; some are straight 'lifts' others have gone with a bit of variety, such as the squatting figure in the bottom row, or the top-right figure who seems to be more based on the Britains Swoppet British Infantry. The top row are from three different sources, the bottom row are all from the same source.

By comparing the bases with the ACW ones we looked at here 'G est pour la Guerre Civile' you are able to start putting makers together, but you need the boxed or carded examples to do the job properly and I don't collect packaging for the large scales!

27th March 201- The pale green officer (top middle) is known to be M-Toy (May Moon, Maysun - possibly Marty Toy) and most of the bottom row are probably theirs as well. 

Dec. 28th 2023 - While the guy with the twin-ring base (far-right, top and bottom)is now known to be produced by Merehall who use an MH mark on their packaging.

G est pour la Guerre Civile

Having covered both Cherilea and Timpo albeit not fully, it seems to make sense to look at some of the other swoppet types before moving on to pastures new. These are all small samples, and a lot are 'unknown', but they give a flavour of what else is out there.

Another British firm; Charbens, did a set of swoppets which are clearly Timpo rip-offs, as kids we always thought these were better Hong Kong production due to the ridiculous pistol holster/belt. The flag's a belter though, bit of paint and it would knock the Timpo guidon into a cocked hat! No Union yet - I'm afraid, but they were the same mouldings with blue shirts.

These are a common kind of Hong Kong pirate, again taken from Timpo and possibly some connections with Linda or Blue Box, but it's such a firm 'don't know' I'll not be putting either name in the tag list. I do have somewhere images of HK ACWswoppets - that could be these - under another name entirely, if I find them I'll update this post in pink!

Very similar - even to the plug-in boots, this chap is by Transogram. Several of these HK sources adopted the double belt-loop and over system in vinyl for the braces that replaced the actual leather or canvas belts used in the civil war, this was due entirely to Timpo's influence and lead!

This guy is actually quite a good moulding from the waist up. A small HONG KONG on the top of the base helps separate him from all the similar figures. The third hole in the base is for the running legs that came with some of the Cowboys and Indians in this range.

Of the four HK sets looked at so far these are the best, they also have the plug-in boots but are otherwise very good copies of the Timpo originals, even down to the guidon, leading some unscrupulous dealers to try passing it off as Timpo - it actually has much cruder stitching and an almost unreadable 'th' after the 7.

These may be by Ellem for Cherilea, but I don't know so for now the same note applies as to the first lot (re. Linda/Blue Box) and once I've identified the Ellem bases, it may all become a little clearer?!

Dec. 28th 2023 - Now known to be produced by Merehall who use an MH mark on their packaging.

 

This 45/50mm lot are more Britians based, with PVC vinyl-rubber torsos on ethylene legs. Origins seem to be half Herald (bugler) and half Britains Swoppets. At some point the torsos were used on larger legs making 60mm giants - far-left in the lower left image.

I love what they've done to the Britains lying firing pose, reminds one of the Airfix prone or mounted poses that Montaplex put on bases!

"Lookout! Observation balloon!"

"I'll poke you with my big stick!"

"Go on then...I'll get my sabre out while you ignore yours shall I?"

"Blame the Photographer for posing us like this"

"Hmm, all right, I blame the photographer...you're still a long time dead"

Elastolin Yankee waves a red-flag to a Giodi Reb-bull...ha ha - I shouldn't be allowed! I think he's one of a set made for Kinder in the 1970's. These are both good quality figures - as you'd expect from European manufacturers, although the Giodi figure has some disturbing similarities with some of the HK production?