S is for Shelfies - Morrison's

Morrison's supermarkets have taken a leaf out of the 'George at Asda' type business model, and invented the in-house Nutmeg branding for what is collectively, or sometimes rather euphemistically called 'homewares', and among them are the inevitable Poundland-type tat, of which a few are always figural, and I shot these back in April;

The world is groaning under the weight of this stuff, but, if it's figural, I have a sense of duty to annotate it when I encounter it! And, let's be honest, the picture has been the same in toys since the first Tramp Steamer arrived from Hong Kong filled with cheap polymer knock-offs, 70-odd years ago!

It's pored resin, which is pretty stable, so on one level will last forever, whether at the bottom of the ocean or in land-fill, without doing much obvious harm (except possibly confusing future alien archaeologists), but the trouble is, it chips easily, and those chips end-up being ground under-foot into micro polymers which will end up in the environment and/or the food chain.

It's no longer a question of if or when you get micro-polymers in your body, but how much is there already, and the family cats, dogs, local squirrels etc . . . Butterflies were down so much this year an emergency has been declared.

Mini pot-Gnomes, about 90/100mm maybe, they have those weird rods in them which I haven't managed to identify the material of, they may be a coated steel or something more exciting/exotic like a reinforced carbon-fibre?

 

I rather liked this, the mouse is a bit big for role-play, but if you fantasy wargame in 54mm (and some do), this could have a use somewhere in the background! That's it, a few bits I saw out and about, a while ago now!

P is for Probably the Best Car-Park Barrier in the World!

Heineken don't do car-park barriers, but if they did . . . I know, we've had something similar before, but nostalgia includes crappy cultural references! I shot this, also in Guildford (see earlier post on dragon's teeth), but a few weeks earlier, only for the shots to turn out so poor (I tend to pass it at dusk each time), I had to go back and re-shoot most of it, a week later!

 

It's a train! About half-action-man scale, so 1:12th/16th, something like that? And it's towing a bunch of flatcars with local wildlife examples! Made out of stainless-steel plate or possibly a bronze-alloy, it's hard to tell as there's no rust, and I'm not a metallurgist!

 

Saddle-tank loco and four flats with an old style guards break-van at the back, I guess this is a sculpture, or 'public art'? I couldn't fine anything about it nearby, but it was getting dark both times, and it's a teeny car-park with about 15 spaces for dog-walkers at the far-end of the now one-way Woodbridge Meadows, and this barrier is almost underneath the real rail-bridge!

 

LBSC 105 is the Fat Controller's locomotive from Thomas the Tank Engine, but it's a red-oxide, not green! The LSWR Bison class had a 105, likewise the class 395's, but they didn't look like this, however the M7's did! So I guess it's a real loco' depiction?

https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=304453077&type=S&loco=105

The break-van, children of a certain age know these go at the back of a goods train, as sure as similarly aged American and Canadian kids know where the Caboose goes, but I wonder how many people under forty even know what this is called, let alone where it goes?

 

The reverse of the goods wagons, showing how the wildlife is done like theatrical scenery! Now, you can get phosphor-bronze sheet-plate, and I wonder if that is what we have here, it looks a bit brassy, but without the verdigris you'd expect with a purer brass or copper, and I've mentioned the lack of rust spots, which even stainless will get eventually, so it's some corrosion-resistant metal, which is also pretty vandal-proof?

Snail, Grebe (crested, great), Dragonfly and Kingfisher.

Fish, Newt (crested, great!) and Otter.

Coot, or Moorhen, I never get them two right!

Bumble Bee and Snake, generic!

Butterfly, Bat, Water Beetle (vicious buggers) and a Water Rat/Vole

I like that even as our entire political class descends into a naval-gazing madness of seeking power for power's sake with absolutely no solutions on offer, someone somewhere is still doing this kind of stuff, for the hell of it!

S is for Seen Elsewhere - Torgano Alpini

Bit of a box-ticker this one, I collected an incomplete set of Torgano alpine troops or 'Alpini' a while back, and as the weather was good, I took them outside and shot them in the garden, these shots were the result, and I've shown them elsewhere, so here to tick the box!

54mm semi-flat, or demi-ronde; do you use French for Italian figures? Five of six figures I think, the missing one being a kneeling machine-gunner and the weakest of the sculpts as far as realism is concerned!

The plaque is one of two from our childhood, the other is a squirrel I think, or a badger; I can't remember? But they were obviously bought at a craft fair or some holiday destination as keepsakes, and we had one each hung on the bedroom wall at the ends of our beds - we shared a bedroom until I was sixteen!

Hand-carved sandstone, it originally had a knotted leather bootlace to hang it, but when I found them last year, they are perished brittle with age. Anyone know where they came from? They may have come back from America in '69?

H is for Hedge Pig

Mentioned earlier, those hedgehogs in full . . . first shot was taken in April, of a quite ginger one, although the camera flash rather hides it, and I think it's in the trio a week or two later, they liked the uneaten cat-food, but then, round here that's sliced ham!

Public Service Announcement - Fireworks

No, not the dead graphics software, and not as humorous as a couple of previous Public Service Announcements here, with an added gentle, yes, I think 'gentle rant' attached!

DeBrett's Peerage 1886

I love fireworks, don't ever think I don't, I have loved them all my life, and have let-off more than I care to remember, but as the planet burns and we quietly go extinct due to our own complacency in Capital's rape of that same planet, it is imperative we learn to ask (of every existing human 'thing' and every new innovation); "Just because we can, does it mean we should?"

Every firework heats up the planet just a little bit more, every sparkler, every wick/squib, every struck-match or flicked-lighter, every accompanying bonfire or BBQ. And anyone who's retained the lessons of the 'energy cycle' rules from their school days (E=MC² and all that!) knows that that heat remains where it is until it is turned into something else.

But then there is the pollution? The above graphic (which has been around for a few years and may-well have been rendered in Fireworks!) gives some idea of the damage coming from fireworks, and as we all learn to wheeze and cough from traffic pollution (way over published limits) at this damp, still, time of year, we don't need to be adding to that invisible cloud with even more toxic gasses and particles. Some UN figures put air-pollution as main culprit in 2-million* deaths a year.

* Sorry - 4.2-million deaths: https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution

Another pollutant these days are all the plastic elements of modern fireworks, all the features and effects used to be achieved with card tubes, card and paper pistons, paper wraps and cotton, wool, hair or kapok wadding, and that was still the case, for most fireworks, only ten or twenty years ago.

But now it's all done with low-grade plastics (frangible polystyrenes and crumbly polyethylenes) which rain down, hundreds of yards from the firing point, or which get fired through/over the boundary into neighbouring properties where they join fast-food wrappers, shopping-bags, vehicle parts, old clothing, condoms and helium balloons in laying-down a new geology; the 'Anthropocene' sedimentary (or 'discardery') layer.

Pets and wildlife also suffer from our conceited desire to entertain ourselves with frivolous high-explosives - for many years I had a cat (Munchkin) who could handle 'Guy Fawkes', as the local yobbo's would always provide a week or two of build-up, so she'd get acclimatized, but midnight on the 31st December/1st of January always saw her piss the carpet and/or my lap and disappear under to wardrobe for a few hours in abject terror.

Now, I've been planning this post for a few years but never got round to doing it, partially because the timing's never right; if you do it in the summer everyone's forgotten by now, if you do it now, it's probably too late! So I'll try to repeat it regularly as we have to change the way we live, the way we organise our societies and the way we interact with everything else. If we don't we may be going extinct as soon as 2055?

But in the meantime, there are quiet alternatives which tend toward the 'traffic-light', 'golden rain' or 'silver fountain' type, which will still generate the heat/particulate/chemical pollution, but do - at least - minimise both noise and the distribution of crumbly, recycled/raw plastic widgets.

Some of the small 'family' packs will give a very pretty show with minimal 'collateral' damage and simplified woosh- or wheeish-rockets without crappy plastic-parts .

But remember, it's not just dogs, cats or damaged veterans that might suffer, all pets are in the firing line, hedgehogs are only now going to sleep for four months, birds (who lose enough sleep to street-lights as it is?) moths, bats . . . it's just not our right to disturb, frighten, injure or kill them and still call ourselves 'sapiens'.

https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/

And congratulations to Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer who have started to get some momentum behind the inevitable phaseing-out of fireworks by not selling or stocking them this year. While Co-Op haven't been selling them for five years, Sainsbury's joining that stance in 2019. Tesco, Aldi and ASDA are offering low-noise ranges.

H is for How They Come In - They Come Back!

My late Mum was a hoarder, not the daytime schedule/early-evening, TV reality-show, whacko-piles of damp newspaper that eventually kills the occupant in a stairs triggered landslide of old news and sports reports type hoarder, but rather someone who went through the war and it's deprivations, and determined never to throw anything away which might be useful. Consequently the sorting of her estate has been a long, slow process - which is ongoing - and which has thrown-up some interesting stuff, among which was this . . .

. . . I'm not sure if it's an old J&J/Boots fabric-plaster box, or an early Cotton-bud/Q-Tip container, but the contents were momentarily a complete mystery to me (given that she knew I collected this stuff and would pass on the odd bit she did find), until I remembered she had taken a few pieces from my Brother and I, years ago (mid/late-1970's) to try her hand at casting them in silver, using the 'lost-wax' method, but with pre-formed plastics rather than wax sculpts . . . she may have intended to experiment with plaster moulds too, I can't remember.

The reminder of this event was actually a small Britains baby bear (of which I had several in my Ancient Briton army!), which is missing, but I seem to recall both the bear and a small elephant or lion 'not working', so they must have been lost in the 'losing' process?

You can see she took items which might be commercially popular as novelties, Guy the Gorilla was still popular in the national memory, big cats, little cats and pigs are always popular as are rabbits, the highlander was once one of my most prized possessions, like the 'last man standing' Airfix German Paratrooper officer, I had gone to some effort over the painting of him!

There is also the possibility that another incident started the thought process which led to this micro-hoard . . . we were on holiday somewhere, and Mum had made us follow her round some antiques place, you know the sort of thing - with lots of 'kiosks' or bays - and as a reward for our behavior whilst obviously bored, asked us if we'd like to chose something from a cheapie cabinet, I can't recall what my brother chose, but I chose a piglet, landscaped on a plinth; a mini vignette. She then tried to talk me out of it with a disdainful "You don't want that"!, but I was adamant, and the thing was purchased, what she had spotted which I hadn't was that it was a Britains piglet (as above) heavily glossed (black & white) to resemble glazed ceramic, landscaped with Pollyfilla^TM stained with watercolours, on a stack of old coat-buttons, glued together and painted gold! She pointed all this out back at the car, but hadn't wanted to be rude in front of the dealer! I was still happy with it, but the pig soon broke-free of the filler and joined the other animals in the farm tub!

And no - I don't know why there's a Christmas Cracker miniature compass in there with them!

Point of focus was different on the two shots! Highlights include the Britains running rabbit and sitting cat, along with the piglet being fed from the later farm figures' set.

Now . . . I thought I had one of these, but it hasn't turned up in all the sorting and consolidating I've been doing since January, so finding our childhood pair (Mum bought us one each in Fleet Toys, not because we wanted them but because she thought they were dinky!) has been a useful bonus, although one of them has been more chewed than the other; I'll blame my brother as I just don't remember playing with them that much!

This article - on stone animals - has been in the 'long-queue' since 2014 (ignore the given date - it's how I sort stuff in Picasa), and now needs a complete re-shoot, which won't be done for a while yet, but one image was worth pulling-up and adding to this post as it's . . .

. . . another Duck Billed Platypus! Although if you know anything about these critters Duck Billed Dinobeast is more apt, they have a poison spur and a bad temper! But if you are the last/only living species of your entire taxonomic family and genus AND used to be hunted for food by the pink monkeys; you'd be a bit mad.

This one is bronze with 18/22ct gold-leaf on the bill and webbed-claws, the whole soldered/braised (?) to a stone! He's about twice the size of the Britains plastic platypuses, -pusses? Platipii? And must be an upmarket Australian tourist memento thing . . . I have a cheaper miner with pick-axe, in whitemetal, similarly attached to a piece of stone, which might be Antipodean, from the Ruhr or Welsh?

S is for Spring . . . Sunshine!

I managed to photograph a trio of our most shy residents during this latest hot-spell, all keeping warm under the loose bark of an old oak, I replaced the bark after I'd troubled them with the camera!

A grass snake! I took a video, but while it looked nice on the camera's little screen, when i got it up on the laptop is wasn't good-enough to upload I'm afraid. I think she's a female, both from the dullish markings and a feeling I got from her, she fixed me with a look which said "I won't bite if you don't get any closer"! They will only bite if threatened, and aren't venomous.

Under the next log along . . .

A pair of lizards one of whom stayed around for a good shot or two, the other stuffed it's head under the bark and waved it's tail at me, which was a very silly thing to do, as if I'd tried to pull it out by that appendage, it would almost certainly have come-off in my fingers!

News, Views Etc . . . Saturday 28th September - Friday 4th October

October? Where the hell did that come from? It was still 'Summer' last week!

Boris is out of control, Trump is out of control, I'm enjoying my free seat at the show to end all shows - the end of humanity!

Seriously, that little girl from Sweden gave one of the most heartfelt and stirring speeches this planet has heard in the last thousand years, and hardly anyone was listening . . .while the obviously racist and anti-islamist President of the USA found himself too busy to attend because he was chairing a meeting on religious persecution (?) . . . and then mocked her anyway!

You really can't make this shit up! In Courmayeur where I once spent the most wonderful two-weeks; some of the best of my whole life (coming-of-age thing, you had to be there!); a melting glacier is threatening to 'slip' into the valley crushing everything in its path because it's melted so fast this year it's become unstable and lubricated by its own melt-water might slide down its own channel, but Trump won't even acknowledge climate change!

Meanwhile, we've all had the Yahoo eMail which reveals that if we are Israeli, we can join-in the group/class-action for compensation? Never mind '51st State', whatever happens to the UK in the next few years the best we can look forward to is 53rd State, behind Israel and Porte Rico, given how Trump has been treating the Porte Ricans in recent years, I don't have high hopes for our chances . . . but the Brwreakshiteers think it's a brilliant idea!

Fuck! Democracy has been replaced by an Idiocracy

Let's see where we can buy old toys this week . . .

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Toy Shows

Saturday 28th September 2019

Gateshead - Jim Corr Fairs - Toy, Train & Sci-Fi Fair

Gateshead International Stadium, Neilson Road, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, NE10 0EF

eMail - jim_corr73@hotmail.co.uk

Mob. - 07504 035 955

10:00-15:00hrs

Admission £3, children/senior citizens £2, 'Early Bird' £5

Ludlow - Tony Oaks Toy Fairs - Ludlow Toy & Train Collector's Fair

Ludlow Racecourse, Bromfield, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 2BT

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01270 652 773

Mob. - 07825 631 323

10:30-14:00hrs

Admission £2.00

Free parking

Windsor - Maidenhead Static Model Club - International Toy & Train Fair

Windsor Leisure Centre, Clewer mead, Stovell Road, Windsor, berkshire, SL4 5JB

Web. - wwwwindsortoyfair.co.uk

Mob. - 07825 564 960

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £3, concessions £2.50p, early bird (from 09:00hrs) £7, last hour free.

Refreshments

Said it before - one of the best UK shows on the calendar.

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Sunday 29th September 2019

Bolton - Barry Potter / BP Fairs - formally 'Macron'

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

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

10:30-15:00hrs

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

Free parking

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

Enfield - Middlesex

See 'Other Events' below

Lincoln - J&J Fairs (John & Julie Webb)

The Exhibition Centre, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 2NA

Web. - www.j-jwebbtoyfairs.com

eMail - jandjfairs@virginmedia.com

Tel. - 01522 880 383

10:00-14:30hrs Approximately

Admission £2.50p, seniors £2, 1st child £1.50p

Midhust - SRP Fairs

The Grange, Bepton Road, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9HD

Web. - www.srptoyfairs1.co.uk

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

[Probably] 10:00-14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Pudsey, Leeds - Steel Promotions - Leeds (Pudsey) Toy/Train Fair

Pudsey Civic Hall, Dawson's Corner, Stanningley Road, LS28 5TA

Internet presence unknown

Tel. I - 0161 283 1255

Tel. II - 0161 766 2012

10:00-15:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Café, licensed bar

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Auctions

Sunday 28th September 2019

Spalding - M&M Auctions

Unit 4, Plover Court, Stephenson Avenue, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 3SW

Web. - www.mm-auctions.com

eMail - info@mm-auctions.com

On-line (www.the-saleroom.com)

Tel. - 01406 422 848

Viewing - 29th May and mornings of sale days from 08:30hrs

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Tuesday 1st October 2019

Canterbury - The Canterbury Auction Galleries (1st day of a two day auction)

40 Station Road West, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 8AN

Web. - www.canterburyauctiongalleries.com

eMail - general@tcag.co.uk

Tel. - 01227 763 337

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions (1st day of a four day auction)

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

Specialist die-cast sale - Day 1

"The Specialist sale to be held on the 1st of October starts at the earlier time of 10am to incorporate the 819 lots, which include boxed and unboxed Dinky, including French, Spanish and pre-war; Corgi, Triang Spot-On, EFE, plus others. Lots include Military vehicles, buses and coaches, lorries and wagons, road and racing cars, construction, fire and farm vehicles. Corgi models include gift sets and Chipperfield Circus. The sale will also include TV and Film related models, Corgi Aviation Archive and Airfix plastic kits. "

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Wednesday 2nd October 2019

Canterbury - The Canterbury Auction Galleries (2nd day of a two day auction)

40 Station Road West, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 8AN

Web. - www.canterburyauctiongalleries.com

eMail - general@tcag.co.uk

Tel. - 01227 763 337

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions (2nd day of a four day auction)

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

Specialist die-cast sale - Day 2

"The Specialist Diecast and Tinplate Toy sale to be held on the 2nd of October once again starts at the earlier time of 10am. The sale includes 805 lots of cars, buses, lorries, aircraft, military and emergency vehicles from manufacturers such as Corgi, Dinky, Triang Spot On, Britains, Tekno, Metosul, Solido CIJ and Mercury plus many more. Dinky models include French, Spanish, Pre-War and trade packs. There are also TV and film related vehicles including James Bond, Batmobiles and Captain Scarlet; Rob Eddie Brooklin Models, Shackleton Toy Foden flat beds, and Lion Car truck groups. The tinplate section includes large tinplate and diecast car transporters, Bandai and other Japanese tinplate vehicles and toys; Robots and space toys, novelty toys, figures and vehicles from UK and European models such as Schuco, Wells, Chad Valley and Lehmann."

Warrington - Warrington & Northwich Auctioneers & Valuers

551 Europa Boulevard, Westbrook, Warrington WA5 7TP

Web. - www.warringtonauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@warringtonauctions.co.uk

Tel. - 01925 658 833

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Thursday 3rd October 2019

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions (3rd day of a four day auction)

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

General toy sale

" The General Toy sale to be held on the 3rd of October features cars, vans, buses and lorries from manufacturers such as Lledo, Matchbox, Corgi, Dinky, EFE, Oxford Diecast, plus Brumm, WSI and Vanguards. The sale will also include boxed models from Best of Show, Otto Models, GT Autos and Autoart, plus TV and Film related toys and vehicles. There is a selection of kits from Airfix, Revell and others, plus American Civil War "Accurate Figures Limited" groups of boxed soldiers; Playmobil, Robots, Mattel Hot Wheels vintage badges, jigsaws, board games, children's toys, books and magazines, cabinets and much more. "

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Friday 4th October 2019

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions (last day of a four day auction)

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

Vectis' first ever dedicated Lego sale

"In October this year, Vectis Auctions will be holding its first dedicated Lego Auction Sale, which will be the largest of its kind in the UK.

The majority of the sale is the lifetime collection of Stockton based Lego builder and exhibitor Mark Willis who for many years has created intricate and astonishing dioramas for the enjoyment of others.  Mr Willis, who is well respected within the Lego community, has previously exhibited at York, Wakefield and London and was the subject of an episode of the popular BBC TV program ‘Collectaholics’, which featured his vast amalgamation of over 350,000 individual pieces.  Recent works have included a model of Saltburn Pier which was on display at Kirkleatham Museum near Redcar."

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Other Events

Now - Sunday 6th October 2019

London (Docklands) - O2 Arena - Marvel Universe Live!

The O2 Arena, Pennisula Square, Docklands, London, SE10

Web. - www.theo2.co.uk

Dr. Strange, Spiderman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers etc . . .

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Saturday 28th September - Tuesday 24th December (Xmas eve) 2019

Bury St. Edmunds - Moyse's Hall - May the Toys be With You (Star Wars Exhibition)

Moyse's Hall, Bury st. Edmunds, Suffolk

Web. - www.moyseshall.org

Vintage Star Wars toys and posters (if it's anything like the one in Basingrad - covered on the blog - I can recommend it)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Saturday 28th - Sunday 29th September 2019

London (Central) - Alexandra Palace - Tabletop Gaming Live

Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, London, N22

Web. - www.tabletopgaminglive.co.uk

Board, card, war and role-playing games, new and news.

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Sunday 29th September 2019

Enfield - Whitewebbs Museum of Transport - Toy Exhibition

Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, Whitewebbs Road, Enfield Road, Middlesex, EN2 9HW

Web. - www.whitewebbmuseum.co.uk

Tel. - 02083 671 898

10:00-15:00hrs

Displays of Dinky die-cast & Lone Star toys

Other models and railways on display on 4-floors

Some selling stalls will also be present

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Overseas Events

Saturday 28th / Sunday 29th September 2019

Bourgoin-Jallieu (France) - Club Maquetiste Nord Dauphiné - Replica 2019 (Toy Fair)

Salle Polyvalente, Avenue Professeur Tixier, Bourgoin-Jallieu 38, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Club-maquettiste-nord-Dauphin%C3%A9-157050558040073/

Tel. - ++0662 505 489

10:00-19:00hrs (Saturday)
09:00-18:00hrs (Sunday)

Admission €3.00

Toys, models and figures

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Saturday 28th September 2019

Chartres (France) - Galerie de Chartres - Auction

Espace Ventes du Coudray, Chartres, France (venue)

10 Rue Claude Bernard, ZA du Coudray, BP 70129, 28003, Chartres Cedex, France (organiser)

Web. - www.galeriesdechartres.com

eMail - chartres@galeriedechartres.com

Tel. - ++0237 882 828 (Mr. JP Lelièvre)

Fax. - ++0237 882 820

Doll and Teddy Bear auction

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Sunday 29th September 2019

Leverkusen (Germany) - J. Horner - Toy Fair

Forum, Leverkusen, Germany

Tel. - ++0210 351 133

Paris (France) - Association Gueules de Meil - Teddy Bear Show

Foundation Biermans-Laporte, 14th Arondisement, Paris, France

Tel. - ++0616 043 028

St. Michiels (Belgium) - Dipro BVBA - International Collectors Fair

Baudewijn Seapark, Saint Michiels, Brugge, Belgium

Web. I - www.dipro.be

Web II - www.verzamelbeurs.net

Tel. - ++032 395 638

10:00-17:00hrs

Wambrechies (France) - Museé du Jouet/Poupées (Toy & Doll Museum) - 'Eurotoy' 27th International Toy Fair

Salle Gilles Alain Billiet, Avenue Foch, Rocade Nord-Ouest, Sortie No.9, Wambrechies 59, Lille, Nord France

Web. - www.musee-du-jouet-ancien.com

eMail - contact@musee-du-jouet-ancien.com

Tel. - ++0320 396 928

09:00-17:00hrs

The museum also has two exhibitions ongoing; The Female Doll Today and; Meccano - the Collection of Monsieur Riff.

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

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!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Toys in the Media

Chess piece selling individualism at London South East Collages, it looks like a post-modernist production of King Lear - set design by Grayson Perry!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Other Toy News

McBurger Joint Kingdom Chain

In a move which said more for inter-burger espionage that co-incidence, both Macky-D's and The King announced moves to phase-out free toys with kid's meals, Burger K are simply ending toys in kid's meals from last Friday.

McDonald's have come up with a more mealy-mouthed 'Happy Meal' scheme to offer customers a choice between toy or fruit-bag desert! From next year there will be a book offer (presumably a small thing with larger print or an 'activity' thing?) in addition to-, but instead of-,  the fruit as the choice.

Neither chain said whether this was a global thing genuinely wanting to make the world a better place, or if it's being trialled in the UK to see how it goes down with a modern developed population, will they (the lumpen pink monkeys) embrace the move or whine selfishly about the lack of a toy for little Kevin or Kim?

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Hobbycraft

The craft and hobby (see what they did there!) superstore chain have posted an 11% rise in sales to £81.9m, apparently fueled by the sale of sewing accessories and quilting gear . . . who knew! But for a lot of people it's the only place for miles around where you can find [limited ranges of] Airfix, Heller and Revell in the same place, ignoring the fact that it's chains like them who put the 'Indie's out of business in the first place!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Nottingham Mafia

Games Workshop are to pay-out a dividend this year having done well, and 35p per share is not to be sniffed at, that's 35-quid per-hundred shares!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Poundland

An odd story in both the 'i' and Metro the other day announced that Poundland were to experiment with prices above and below the magical quid, but while lower-prices (below) will be new (except that they've often had two for one deals (which is 50p each after a fashion), they have been selling higher-priced items (above) for over  a year now, so I don't know why it's suddenly news? Good PR team and lazy journo's I guess!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Smellycat, oh Smellycat?

Lego have brought out a model of the Central Park café where the Friends used to hang-out, and Phoebe has a very realistic guitar . . . to sing Smellycat! But . . . it's got an RRP of £65, which for 1000-pieces is a lot of money, so if anyone is stuck for an Xmas present idea for yours truly . . . ?

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Lip-smacking, cool-talking . . . Mr Potato Head!

Mr. Potato Head has had a bit of a makeover; firstly he's been on a diet and is now a slimmer Jersey Royal 'newie' compared to his old, round Pentland Squire chipping-spud, no doubt an attempt to convince modern kids that Bibendum is not a look to aspire-to, and secondly he has moving lips which are synced to a series of phrases and songs - presumably in some expensive, electronic add-on?

As I thought he got silly as soon as a plastic potato was included in the box, I'm not that excited by the addition of something which will likely short-out with a bang if you stick it in a cucumber or a lemon - which was the original point!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Hasbro

The US toy giant has bought the UK's Entertainment One Group, who own the Pepper Pig property along with PJ Masks and Ricky Zoom, they say it will enhance their 'storytelling capabilities' a classic piece of 'swamp talk' if ever I heard one!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Card Factory Factor

Another example of the left hand and the right hand not knowing what each other are doing - in the papers on the 14th of the Month - we were told that the Card Factory were doing well despite the other trials and tribulations facing the High Street and despite slow sales for Father's Day (a recent and frankly crappy import), yet today's City A.M. (the UK's business & economy free-sheet) tells a completely different story of earnings being hit (14% drop in profits) due to Brwreakshit stockpiling, one of the tales must be untrue as you can't be both doing well and doing badly!

I hope they are probably close to bankruptcy for not restocking with dinoraser pencil tops the moment I wanted them to!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

H is for How They Come In

A bitty week really but a few chunks of polymer tat was added to the pile one way or another . . .

. . . the main purchase this week was a couple of bags of bits, one of smaller figures and novelties including a panda playing football (top left'ish) who looks like he should be a key ring but has no sign of ever having been such, so a baseless PVC cake decoration maybe?

The other bag was a series of Disney princesses, not something I'd paid any attention to until a few years ago (Phidal, Kinder and Kinder-like), but repaint them in the 1860's Parisian style, dark greens, maroons, black etc . . . and you've all the saloon molls you need for Dead Man's Gulch . . . and they come in a plethora of scales for any Wild West collection. I've already removed the two large bases (which were play-dough moulds or something?), rendering both women smaller - and easier to store! The purple eng-lit' supply-teacher is an ELC witch.

One of the figures in the other bag was this Disney monstrosity passing for the Pooh we knew and loved for the longest time, clearly a lid off something, he needed radical surgery which he received, and it looks like 'berserker' is about to give him some more - Yeah! Stick it to the simpering imposter, stick him like a pig!

I bought something new this week as well, it was half-price, and a bit of fun, being the Disney Little Mermaid on a knight statue, from Penn-Plax.

Four from the fifty-pee tubs or baskets, with the two Pooh animal (not so ruined by Disney's designers) pencil-tops (who need a dusting!) at the start of the week and the other two at the end of it, I don't know he resin character but could he be the Parker/Waddington's Monopoly man? He had a name I think . . . Mr Money Bags . . . or something? The pair of foals or horses (it's all a question of actual, intended or 'for-the-use-of' scale!) might be New Ray?

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Received with Thanks

Plastic Warrior magazine issue number 176 was wung this way courtesy of the mailing elves at PW Towers, a review is forthcoming, and hopefully should get out next week sometime.

Five minutes ago, images from Chris Smith (I'll have to reply later this afternoon Chris!) which will make a follow-up to something recent!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Other News

Herald Toys & Models

New announcement from Barney "This week we are pleased to offer for sale not one but TWO new collections of Swoppet Knights - the Dorchester and Roseberry collections - all in very nice complete condition, together with some good Hilco toy soldiers, including a loose set of 3, seldom seen, 'Monarch Series' Highland Clansmen."

Missed

There was a two-day model railway show and exhibition in Aldershot last weekend, ten miutes down the road and I missed it!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

SSW Command Central

Staffing problems are not only ongoing here, but seem to have increased as the summer weather has decreased - Fontanini needed a bigger box; I should feel lucky my assistant eschews plastic I suppose!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Other Stuff

Having seen what other people had managed to shoot, on-line, I went back to see if I could get a better or more interesting shot last Sunday, and managed to grab this bit of insect porn!

But it took 22 shots to get one usable image! The Rosemary Beetle, now I know where to look, I'll try to improve next year!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪