L is for Late Show Report - Last Word, Classics!

Not 100% sure what I feel about these, they were cheap, but not that cheap, i.e. 'all the money', and I can't blame the seller, as I enthusiastically talked myself into them! I thought they were plaster or chalkware with a bit of age, but they are actually some relatively modern, resinated polystone stuff, and they are bulky, filling a whole half-fruit box - my temporary storage unit of choice, as they stack!

 

Timpo

 

To be honest, in conversation with the seller, I think the situations was the same when he acquired them, thinking "Ooh, brilliant", then getting them home and thinking "What the flying-phuq was I thinking?!", but, they are my problem now, and it gives me my first and probably only opportunity on this blog to pull from my history of architecture modules!

 

Sadly I only had Roman figures to hand, for the photo-opportunity (the whole reason for selling them to myself!), while the three buildings are all, obviously, Greek! This being a reasonable rendition of the relatively iconic temple of Athena-Nike on the Acropolis, combining two goddesses who had been separate, one - Nike - being at various times the goddess of victory and/or subservient to the other - Athena, daughter of Zeus.

Blue Box

 

In fact all three subjects are from the Acropolis, and this with it's famous Caryatids (maidens of Karyai [Caryae], a village in Ancient Sparta) is the south porch of the Erechtheion (or 'Erechtheum'), which is the most architecturally interesting of the many ruins on the mount, being build over several levels, to account for changes in the ground elevation (solid rock) of more than three meters. It also has several 'rooms', including this entrance vestibule.

Kinder

 

The Parthenon, also dedicated to Athena, and look at the state of it! Lord Elgin, in the context of the time, and who he was, bought the friezes fairly and spent a small fortune getting them back to the UK (he also saved one of the caryatids, the ones actually on the temple now are ground marble plaster (polystone!) copies, with the other five (laser-cleaned) in the Acropolis museum), he literally saved them for humanity, years before the Greeks were prepared, equipped or even minded to do so for themselves. The noise surrounding the marbles is all political, with a bit of roguish nationalism thrown in.

I don't know if they are locally produced decorative pieces/garden ornaments, or Greek tourist keepsakes, but given how chunky they are I suspect the former, with TKMaxx, Matalan or a Squire's Garden Centre being the more-likely source, but then you remember the size of the larger figures on Carrara marble from Italy, sold as tourist trinkets, and the wonder remains?

Anyway, they are here now, and you can see that they do make quite useful bas-relief props for figure photography, so they'll stay for a while! Many thanks again to Adrian Little, Barney Brown, Brian Carrick, Chris Smith, Michael Mordant-Smith, Paul Stadinger, Peter Evans and Trevor Rudkin, for contributions to this year's plunder-pile, and it's only eight-and-a-bit months to the next show!

O is for Ornamental . . . Forts, Palaces and Shrines

The same funny-little four page AHM catalogue/trade update, also had the first shot here, showing five of the initial six Ornamental Shrines from Funimimokei (better known as just Fujimi), which reminded me I had some more somewhere, so another lazy-post was born!

 

 

I think the AHM is about 1968, the loose-leaf trade catalogue from Fujimi is the 1970/71 one, and the last page, mostly forts/palaces is from the 1985 (or 1995?) retail catalogue, but the beauty of them is the nature of the architecture means they can be used as war-gaming accessories, even if the scale's off! Or the parts can be used to make smaller structures in figure scales?

I also love the quirk of a Japanese model-kit company making a replica of the Coronation crown! Question is, would it fool the Yeoman Warders long enough to get the original melted-down and fenced to 'Fast Eddie'?

A is for And so to London - Pleasant Walk Across the River

No, no a toy soldier in sight, but I did purchase a few bits along the way which will be in the final post! After the disappointment of Forbidden Planet, I moseyed-down to - and over - the river at the Golden Jubilee bridge, across Trafalgar Square, skirting Whitehall and shooting a few shots of things which caught my eye.

Something going on inn the Vietnamese quarter?

 

Nigerian (above) and South Korean Embassies (here) flying at half-mast for the late Queen Elizabeth II, the whole of that part of the North bank; Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Victoria Embankment and Northumberland Av' was sealed-off and pedestrianised, which made for a quite and pleasant walk in an area of London usually teeming with angry traffic!

London Eye

Golden Jubilee Bridge, there's actually two, one each side of the old Hungerford

Bridge, which has always been rail-only, I believe?

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

'The Queue', I avoided it like the plague, and I just don't get it, in the 16-somthing's maybe, but now? After over a hundred years of compulsory education and two World Wars . . . ♫ Britons always-always-always will be slaves! ♫

A vista which has changed greatly in my lifetime!

The London 'I'!

 Trying to shoot aircraft at Clapham Junction!

 And then on to Clapham Junction and home, what I found is in the next and last of this sequence!

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events; Saturday 22nd - Friday 28th June 2019

So it's between Hunt, and we all know what the Health Sector thinks of him (and indeed what his colleagues have accidentally called him - in Parliament!) and the lying, racist one? Meanwhile the orange loon; Trumpton not Boris, has 'announced' for a 2nd term and Fort Bragg is to stop doing toy-runs (see news - below), call me a cynic - but I think we can conclude that we are now in the 'end of Anglo-Saxon hegemony' phase of human history! 250/300-odd years; it was a good run?

Meanwhile having lost the Witch-hazel to last summer's drought and the dry winter/spring, we've now lost the Bramley to the soak, just keeled-over and snapped at the base, and it was well-over 100-years old, the last tree from the orchard which was here before the railway came. Climate change - as predicted - making itself felt everywhere now, and Brazil's monkey-in-charge wants to log the last of the Amazon forests!

Toys are struggling to cheer, but see what you can find this week . . .

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Toy Fairs

Saturday 22nd June 2019

Carmarthen - Chris Dyer Fairs

Carmathen Leisure Centre, Llansteffan Road, Johntown, Carmarthen, Wales, SA31 3NQ

Web. - www.chrisdyerfairs.co.uk

Tel. - 01643 702 757

Mob. - 07966 694 579

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £2

Gloucester - Steven Clement Fairs

Churchdown Community Centre, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL3 2JH
eMail: clementfairs@aol.com
01380 725 322
10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown
Refreshments available

Maidstone - Maidstone Vintage Toy Fair

Lockmedow Market Hall & Leisure Complex, Barker Road (Hart Street entrance), Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8LW

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01622 298 159

Mob. - 01732 840 787

09:00 - 15:00hrs

Admission £2.50p

Park & ride, pay and display parking, refreshments

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Sunday 23rd June 2019

Bolton - Barry Potter / BP Fairs - 'Macron'

The Premier Suite, Macron Stadium, Bolton, Lancashire, BL6 6SF

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

Hours unknown (probably 10:30 - 15:00hrs)

Admission £4.00, early-bird £8, (from 08:00hrs), seniors £3.50, children £1

Free parking

Worthing  - SRP Toyfairs

Charmandean Centre, Forest Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 9HS

Web. - http://srptoyfairs1.co.uk/

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

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Auctions

Saturday 22nd June 2019

Newark - Northgate Auctions

17 Northgate, Newark, Nottingham, NG24 1EX

Web. - www.northgateauctionroomsnewark.co.uk

eMail - auctions@northgateauctionroomsnewark.co.uk

Tel. - 01636 605 905

Fax. - 01636 612 607

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Wednesday 26th June 2019

Lot 4402 - Be your own Dalek, just remove your legs!

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions

Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9JZ

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

Starts 10:30am

Viewing 08:00-10:30hrs on the day of the sale

TV & film related merchandise sale

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Thursday 27th June 2019

Lot 5613 - Roy Cross original artwork

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions

Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9JZ

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

Starts 10:00am

Viewing 08:00-10:00hrs on the day of the sale

Military & civilian figures, equipment & accessories sale

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Other Events

Saturday 22nd 2019

Duxford - Imperial War Museum - Vintage Evening
Web. - www.iwm.org.uk
Air and ground displays

Currently Cancelled - may be due to (now improving) weather, so worth keeping an eye on the website? If not; next show is Saturday/Sunday 13th-14th July 2019

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Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd 2019

Kenilworth - English Heritage - Legendary Joust

Kenilworth Castle & Elizabethan Gardens, Castle Green, Kenilworth, Warwickshire

Web. 1 - www.english-heritage.org.uk (Home)

Web. 2 - www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/kenilworth-castle-legendary-joust-22-23-jun-2019/ (Venue)

10:00-17:00hrs
Medieval jousting

Weston-super-Mare - Various - Weston Air Festival

Seafront / Open Air

Web. - http://westonairfestival.com/

Free

Red Arrows, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

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Sunday 23rd June 2019

London (Central) - Royal Academy - Big Architecture Family Day

Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London

Web. - https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/event/the-big-architecture-family-day-2019

11:00-13:00hrs - Sky Creatures Drawing Workshop 

14:00-16:00hrs - Lego Architecture Challenge

Admission Free

Three leading British architecture practices will be competing to build with Lego

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Overseas Events

From Friday 21st June 2019 (today) - Saturday 27th July

Lisbon (Portugal) - Norman Cook - Underdogs Gallery 'Smile High Club'

Underdogs Gallery, Rua Fernando Palha, Armazém 56, 1950–132, Lisbon, Portugal

Web. - https://www.under-dogs.net/exhibitions/smile-high-club-group-show/

eMail - info@under-dogs.net
Tel. - +351 218 680 462
14:00-20:00hrs - Tuesdays-Saturdays 

Exhibition curated by Fatboy Slim, yes - the Trance-Techno guru and ex-lucky-husband of Zoe Ball (when she was still cute and grounded!) - showing both his 40-year-ammased collection and of other people's 'Smiley' memorabilia and artwork pertaining to Harvey Ball's culturally-famous, instantly recognisable, yellow peace symbol.

Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd June 2019

Parsippany, New Jersey (USA) - Veteri Productions - ToyconNJ

Parsippany P.A.L. Building, 33 Baldwin Rd., Parsippany, NJ 07054, New Jersey, USA

Web. - https://www.toyconnj.com/

10:00-17:00hrs, 16:00-finish on the 23rd, 'Early Bird' from 09:00hrs, games room stays open 'till 19:00hrs on the 22nd.

Admission; Saturday: $15.00, Sunday: $15.00, Early Bird: $20.00 (each day), VIP weekend pass (unlimited access): $25.00, cosplay'ers: $8.00 (each day), veterans: $8.00 (each day), under 10's free.

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Missed

Last weekend there was a massive attempt to re-set Waterloo in 25mm, nothing obvious in the press last week (printed or on-line) so I didn't cover it, but after the event it was in all the papers, BBC online and elsewhere; Ce la vie as the French say, and they know what they're talking about - they all speak French!

Organised by the University of Glasgow, 20,306 painted figures were controlled by teams of over 120 'players', the whole thing being in aid of Waterloo Uncovered, a charity for ex-military personnel. The game was conducted on a 2,066sq.ft. map on four tables with historians and archeologists on-hand, none of the reports state a win for the Sardinian, so I guess the outcome was never in doubt?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-48639233/mini-armies-gather-for-massive-waterloo-war-game?

BBC link courtesy of Paul Morehead at Plastic Warrior magazine

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If you are an event promoter/show curator/auctioneer and you want your toy, model, collectable or popular-/youth-culture type sale/exhibition/event listed here -  FOR FREE  - or linked to; please eMail me -

maverickatlarge[at]hotmail[dot]com

- stating the date/s of the event, address of event, contact details, opening/viewing times, admission pricing and any other relevant facts/details or features - parking, travel notes, disability access, availability of refreshments, event subject matter &etc.

And please mention any flyer-art or poster-/leaflet-scans but send by separate eMail, in case they go to the 'junk' folder, from where they can be recovered and marked safe, but only if I know they're there!

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News

Link

Fort Bragg 'drops' Charity Toy Drop [https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20190607/does-fort-braggs-annual-toy-drop-have-future] - Five-thousand toys which won't go to needy kids and another mealy-mouthed excuse from a 'spokesman' for more undoing of all the good things we used to do, same month as the D-Day commemorations too; if there's one thing you can count on from the 'moral Right' and conservative 'silent majority' it's that they'll kick you when you're down! The 'U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command' . . . they sound like propagandist bean-counters don't they? Make America not so great . . . ours is the more informal KAPE - Keep the Army in the Public Eye; which - in my day - used to involve marching through Bristol, getting paint thrown at you!

Hornby

The railway maker has announced that losses have halved, which to city gamblers is good news, so shares are up on the news that losses this year will only be £5.2m! Sales are also down from £35.7m to £32.8m which is also good news apparently, as it's due to an end to discounting! Call me a cynic - but capitalism's mad.

Smiggle

Who I discovered with those dinosaurs a while back (checks - still in the queue!) have announced a slow-down in 'aggressive expansion' after opening 133 stores since 2014, the Australian-based stationers will concentrate on market share and other such boring, grown-up stuff in the near future!

Lego - Turkish Airlines

The national carrier has adopted the song from the Lego movie 'Everyone's going to have a good time in the air tonight' as part of their in-flight entertainment, I think (I'm not sure) that it's been redone so the singer is now in TA's trolley-dolly attire?

Mattel

The toy maker and parent of Barbie has rejected a hostile merger-bid from MGA Entertainment, the background and details of which are such tediously boring accountancy-speak and legalese; we'll leave it there!

Charity Shops

My find of the Dinky's the other week is apparently part of something called the 'Marie Kondo effect', she seems to have a televisual programme somewhere among the 400-odd channels available to some of you, concerning de-cluttering, which has led to much donating to charity; I'm all for it, you take your treasures to charity - they're in the way aren't they - and I'll pop-down and pick 'em up!

Which brings us to . . .

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H is for How They Come In

A handful of - mostly TV/movie related - stuff this week, along with a vintage Waddington's board game and an evilBay lot (the lot I thought I'd missed two weeks ago!), which will both get their own posts in the fullness of time. The green Michelin man/Hulk'y key-ring is a second (recently found) and along with the three 'phone-string' superheroes (and the pterodactyl) is/are probably Kinder.

There's a Phidal Thor, two more McDonald's Smurfs (I picked-up three a while ago) and a Schleich PVC one. No idea on the unmarked leaf-head while the two small superheroes are probably capsule toys too - LPFToys?. The large 'Torch' is a duplicate from the bigger Zuru capsule toys we looked at a year or so ago. Finally, the Splinter (is he Splinter?) in a Lego-likey/Megabloks style is also Kinder I think?

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Toys in the Media

Fridge magnet numbers being used to illustrate an advertisement for some financial 'thing'!

Two cake-decoration brides are employed to accompany a piece on the first lesbian marriage as part of the hype surrounding the build-up to the recent BBC (?) Gentleman Jack, it'll annoy small-c conservatives, but anything which annoys them is OK in my book!

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