H is for How They Come In - Often from America!

The same day Peter's parcel arrived, another hitched a ride with it on Postie's trolley, in fact with both of them sent regular-mail and the postmen working under cut-hours (or under-cut hours!), he didn't even knock, just tucked one on the other, behind the wood-stack in the porch and I found them both returning from the station with the daily Metro!

It was from Brian in New York, and had all sort of goodies in it!

He sent three bags of the Flixstars from Mattel we looked at last time he sent some! I'm going to have to keep one mint, but don't know yet which of them will be the two to open, but I must say I think they're fun, and from the front they all make nice figures.

I opened this one straight-away, because the packaging is a huge thing, and I can scan the card sometime for the archive, which will stack flat 'for posterity'! He's a bigg'un, about 80mm if we assume they grew to human size, and from Monogram 'the new'.

Funnily-enough I found the old Playmate's 54mm'ish TMNT's while putting that Plume Brisse (or whatever it was) Indian premium away the other day and I thought that with the ones we've seen in the last few years and others including the Yolanda Sobre ones we might have a round-up of turtle ninja, mutant-teenager figuress in the spring!

This year's packaging colour-way from Dollar General/Dolgen, I would save it for October, but thought I'd clear the decks now, as we can compare all three - to date - next year, they being; black, orange and purple cards. Still unfair that the Mummy's get ten poses and the Skeletons only eight!

Brian also sent three bags of some of his finds on the secondary market; the top bag has a mix of MPC 54mm (which I know I'm short of) and Hong Kong Monogram clones, the middle bag are the Payton (? I'll check before I blog them again) copies of the Marx hard plastic polystyrene figures. We did look at them, but it was ages ago, so they will prove really useful when I return to them here.

The last bag was particularly kind of Brian as we've already had the images - indeed it leaves me with a quandary as I'd like to shoot them again (now they're here!), but with some more CMV shots (for that is what they are) from Chris Smith added to the mix, they were/are fully covered on the khaki infantry page, so I'll have to be patient, or get a grip on an A-Z entry!

A return to Mattel with these two 65/70-mil'ish figures, a nice Batman and The Rock - who's pretty-much escaped me but I know of him from my Brother's enthusiastic gabbling on the Fast & Furious franchise!

I shot the card backs to illustrate a point previously highlighted - the mass of consumer information you find on these things, these days - they must be as 'safe' as a lungful of mountain-air!

Mr. B also sent three more of these large stretchy 100mm combat types from Greenbrier/DTSC for Imperial with a new colour and a new pose - the bazooka firer. Thanks as always to Brian and wishing him and the rest of you a Happy Christmas . . . I know - but it's not far off; any-day-soon and it'll be in the past already!

H is for [Super] Heroes in a Half-shell!

How can you possibly follow Bat-Bots^TM but with humanoid Tortles . . . no; Turpins . . . err . . . Terratoises . . . Doh! These shelfies from Brian Berk were sent in a while ago, but they should still be available in the 'States or on-line?

The back of the pack gives news of a full set of four being available and that if you put children under three years of age in a wheelie-bin, they may take-on a miserable countenance; so Don't! It's Christmas, everything goes in the bin after the New Year!

"Hey kids! If you're going out to beat things up with nun-chucks, remember to wear skate-pads!" Michelangelo keeping his chained fighting-sticks warm under his armpits!

I think the click-and-go refers to the base; there's no sign of other moving or replaceable parts?

Around 70mm, I'll be looking out for them over here, although [he thinks] I'm still missing one of the smaller Tactik ones (Donatello) I was picking-up a couple of years ago. These are under the new or second Monogram label, the same lot behind the Batman pencil-top bust we looked at a while ago, also courtesy of Brian.

Cowabunga!

C is for Contribution Season - XVII - Monogram (II)/DC Comics Figurines from Brian

I thought we'd  looked at these briefly a while back, but I can't find them on the Blog and now Brian's sent me some more shelfies, and the card-back has changed slightly, so the range is obviously larger than first thought, and we'll have a look . . .

 . . . first at those recent shelfies - four figures all DC (well they have the better characters!) with two of three different Batmen shown on the card backs, a Flash and Superman.

Card back of one of the figures Brian donated to the Blog, I think this is the older card showing a Robin and only one Batman, along with a rather nice Joker - barking at the moon "No! Not The Batman - again!"!

Robin's gone (best place for 'im!) and we have new Man-Bat poses (yes - I know there was a character called 'The Man-bat' . . . he was a baddie; I seem to remember!).

I don't remember buying any of these which means Brian must have donated them to the blog twice as I wouldn't have de-carded the two if the other hadn't been around to keep mint. This Monogram is the same one who do the Simpson's figurines.

Wonder Woman, she was wonderful wasn't she....ummmmm...Sorry! Were was I? Oh, yeah! Thanks Brian! Mmmmmm...Lynda Carter....where are you now?... I need saving from the horrid Penn-State gang...mmmmmmm...Lynda....

L is for 'Love Boat', Lovers Louché Living and Lovable Lazy Loser

The day before the Plastic Warrior show, I had another parcel arrive from Brian Berke in the Big Apple, lots of lovely things, among which were these vintage 'cuties' (to steal a phrase from Louis Marx! It's alright - he went bust years ago...), I'm only familiar with them from Kent Sprecher's site, where they have sat (with some interesting looking styrene ones...crew!) for many years - on my wants list (with a million other figures!), but I've only ever otherwise seen them occasionally on US feeBay.

Brian reports that "The Love Boat passenger figures were sold off in the early 80's in a NYC discount chain called 'South Pole'. The actual game/toy had these figures and beds which at the time raised concerns about the morality of the game. It wasn't called Love Boat for nothing!"

I think this is managing to present both all the poses and all the colours available. The blue chap had the same deposit of waxy dust on him that some Matchbox 54mm figures get, clearly one of the many additives leaching out over time, but he hasn't shrunk or distorted and cleaned-up well with no sign of brittleness.

Presumably: the crude MTC mark on the shoulders/back of each figures was part of the contract with the Hong Kong manufactory and represents Mattel Toy Company?  And with the . . . err . . . a'hem . . . 'coat-hanger' charms (embellishments?) of the female poses ('Like Scammell wheel-nuts . . .'), it's easy to see why the set was withdrawn; the fact that there's not a full-suitcase of clothing between all six of them was undoubtedly a factor in the decision too!

Following on from the recent bendy-toy posts, these turned-up at Sandown Park toy fair this Saturday just gone, and if the all-American 'beautiful people' above were of questionable morality, the silhouettes on this box are quite depraved...

...if I was about to stick my book where he looks like he is about to stick his: I'd expect the police to bring charges of domestic abuse against me, however; if she is about to do to their son what she looks like she's about to do: I'd expect a tub-thumping, New England, Presbyterian Judge to let me off!

Madame; the reason your relationship appears to be in trouble is because . . . your husband is gay . . . he's gayer than a gay man that's gone to university and had himself elected professor of gayness, he's so gay he's about to leave you for a Californian gardener called Crispin (apologies to all non-gay Californian gardeners called Crispin . . . and any over-sensitive gay gardeners called Crispin, anywhere!), set-up home with him in Haight Ashbury and open a poodle parlour.

Wherever he got that tie; it wasn't the 'Olde Worlde Real Manns Necktye Shoppe' and that's a fact. He's also borrowed one of your blouses and a pair of slacks from one of Charlie's Angels, and: Chocolate Brown? It's so'oh last decade!

Now you may not have noticed, or maybe you're a 'very' modern couple . . . oh! I see you've put your son in a bright-red skirt and gingham blouse . . . I think I understand now: "completely flexible" huh? Just raise them both to know it's also OK to be heterosexual and/or monogamous.

And don't get me started on the 1970's connotations of 'bender'! Suffice to say - it had nothing to do with sarcastic, opinionated, back-chatting robots! I have visions of late 1960's schoolboys spitting mirthfully through gritted-teeth while trying to keep a straight face after asking for a 'Bend-a Family' at the corner shop. Indeed; the more I think of it, the more I suspect that it was me with the rictus-grin, in Brecon toy shop?

Although: speaking of Matt Groening (in a roundabout sort of way); Brian also sent me . . .

. . . a Homer Simpson . . . Whoo-Hoo! Because "every man should have at least one as a reminder that he is in all of us" . . . Doh!

Made by Monogram, but not 'that' Monogram, another one . . . which is a bit of an oxymoron, they will have to be renamed Duogram I and Duogram II! Thanks Brian, I love 'im, but 'e's not getting my doughnuts!

Next day - Brian corrected me: "The M on the back of the figures stood for Multi-toys a NY based toy company, see link above. The bag of figures included one each of the main crew characters.", so tag-list adjusted and he also provided a brilliant link! Cheers Brian.

https://2warpstoneptune.com/2016/04/05/the-love-boat-playset-multi-toys-1983/