S is for Snowboarding Santa, Snowman, Snotty-nosed Kids and err . . . Polar Bears!

This is one of those things you just can't believe you're returning-to, especially when it's fair to say 15 or 20-years ago you wouldn't have found a snowboarding figure anywhere on the planet! Skateboarders' yes (they appeared in the 1970's, courtesy of Gem and the odd key-ring), sailboards . . . maybe . . . and Britains did a sand-yacht I think; in that late line of 54mm extreme sports, but snowboarders are a new thing!

Got a mixed bag from a charity shop a few weeks ago and with a couple in the 'waiting to be sorted' pile tried to have a competition, but the camera's flash washes-out the 'slope' and it just looks like they've been strewn about on an old hankie! I can assure you it was the Devil's own job getting the bears to stop sliding down, long enough to get the shot in.

The newest additions to a collection which you'd be forgiven for thinking has less and less to do with 'Toy Soldiers', but that's more to do with my blogging more esoteric stuff, rather than endless box-tickers of figures most people are familiar with!

I suspect these two are from a board game, probably aimed at the 5-11 age bracket? But they might be from something more 'teenage'; there's a certain street-edge to their styling, I wouldn't be surprised to find their profile sprayed on the side of Underground rolling-stock!

This guy too is aiming for cool and trendy, but he's marked with the current Kinder 'K', although as he's far too big for one of their pocket-money eggs and doesn't seem to come apart (I've pulled him every-which-way!) he must be from a Maxi-Egg, which - I noticed in Debenhams recently - are more common that they used to be over here, being more of a Continental treat in the past.

He's also incomplete; that spigot is a pretty standard Kinder thing, and is usually either a locating stud (into something else) or a handle to be held by something/someone else. Also, while he's too big for the standard eggs, he's a bit small to fill a Maxi-Egg?

Cakeboards; I've picked up a few of their pieces recently; they seem to occupy the place of Gem/Festival (although there are a couple of other players), albeit only in the dwindling number of independent cake/craft shops or online, and working in poured vinyl-resin.

Seen before, but waiting in the TBS bag, so he was dug-out and included in the 'photo-op'!

While we saw this guy a while ago, and while I can't remembered who was responsible (possibly own-branded to a supermarket?), I only started the Poly-clay tag for that Culpitt's soldier the other day, so I can add him in, while I try to find the original post!

It's an irony - which may be keeping dentists in work - that Polyclay figurines look exactly like sugar-craft figurines!

Snowboarding - it's strapping yourself to a tea-tray!

C is for Culpitt's Crafted-Clay Combat Cake Curio

Picked this up a month or two ago, current production from the investor-owned brand which was once the family-owned firm of Cullpitt.

CD0092 - Claydough Soldier, made in China and available now, he's polymer and he's a soldier so he's in the right place, but that's about as much as I can say politely! I guess he's supposed to be a Marine? I don't know what's happening with the buttons!

He was actually broken, and glued, in the factory, with a blob of silicone, which meant that by the time I got him home he'd become two parts! However it gives some clues as to technique and method, so worth a few shots!

That's it, Culpitt's polyclay not-a-paratrooper!

C is for Cristmas, Crimbo and CAKE!

A bit of a thematic - indeed - 'Seasonal' post tonight. We have looked at this sort of stuff before and will again, tonight's have all come into the collection in the last 15 or so months.

This is a surprisingly sophisticated design from Festival, a UK company, and I suspect a late production attempt to fight back against the onslaught of cheap imports from Hong Kong, who were simply copying their older polyethylene cake decorations in polystyrene.

Made from a polypropylene type material, it's in two parts which slot together, the white trim and red cloak reducing the need for the quantities of paint they had used in the 1950's and '60's. Supplied to Culpitts in the UK (as most of their output seems to have been), we see also a late Culpitts packaging.

Another carded set; this company (Anniversary House) are still extant and based in Bournemouth, although this item seems to be a discontinued - probably 1980's - piece, it has a spike or spigot to punch through the icing on a Christmas cake.

Nothing to do with cake this one, except that I have a whole set of cake decorations somewhere with this trombonist, so he's a case of cross-marketing, being supplied to cake decoration wholesalers and glued into snow-domes/snow-shakers.

Some older or more traditional ones - to me that is...or people of a certain age! Tradition with regard to Christmas is a very movable feast! But these are the sort of thing I remember from my childhood. The top picture's items are all by Festival, with the deer, the motto and the cupid all being copied in Hong Kong in polystyrene at one time or another, these are all originals with the registered trade numbers and/or Festival logo showing. The clown is only in the picture because they were all in the same bag, he's more of a Birthday cake decoration!

Bottom left are my favourite type of Christmas cake decorations; the plaster-of-Paris ones, going back to the turn of the century they ran alongside the bisque ones for years as the poorer brother, but have slowly lost out to plastics in the last 40 years, although they are still around and two of the above were bought new from a bakery in Newbury a year ago.

The final shot are 1970's style Hong Kong imports of a tree with and without a metallic finish and a little church, with another Festival item - the other tree - to the right.

Mostly more modern types although the large picture of the Santa' with a spigot looks to be early British (1950's) and could be Festival or Gem (who I think are connected anyway). Top left are poured resin (or 'Poly-stone'!!), the chap next to them seems to be made out of that oven-cure modelling compound, used by kids for craft stuff, but here used commercially.

A mixed bag which starts with a pair of earrings, these were imported by several companies a few years ago. and somewhere I have a bunch of them with the hangers removed and various treatments, both hand-painted and sprayed, in various schemes.

Next is a 'Mr. Man' pencil top who looks like a snowman and - you'll be unsurprised to hear - is called Mr. Snow! The very small one skating is interesting as he appears to be a polystyrene HK effort, but is quite finely designed and may be a copy of an earlier European moulding, but I've never found a soft plastic or marked version?

The chap on a card-plinth is the only Christmas themed cake decoration I could find in Britain's main supermarkets in the last month, and I tried Tesco (Andover and Aldershot), Walmart-call-me-Asda (Farnborough), Waitrose (Fleet) and Sainsbury's (Fleet and Farnborough). Not one of them thought to stock Christmas dec's, despite all having large displays of 'year-round' and birthday decorations? Oh...and he's made out of Royal Icing and is good for eating or removing teeth!

The lower image shows a china/ceramic 'fairing' type candle-holder of indeterminate years and origin...possibly made in Japan post war for the German market? And a hideous glitter covered, pipe-cleaner 'enhanced' Santa' who came with a commercial cake years ago, but was being sold with 5 other coloured fellows as tree decorations in Tesco this December, so the mould - unfortunately - survives somewhere in Hong Kong/China...

Going back to earrings for a moment; the main shot here shows three ex-earrings, which are just the right size for filling in at the top of the tree where you want little baubles and other hangings, and both the stripped bauble and the Christmas pudding were so converted a few years ago, while the little bell was courtesy of Tesco's about a week ago!

Below them is last years Christmas cake, with a poured resin and Santa Claus and his tree, which lost out at audition to a more traditional brush-type with plaster snow...and this years Yule Log with a squirrel bought from the local toy shop.

At the risk of repeating myself - wherever you are and whoever you're with; have a lovely Christmas, and get cake, eat cake, only...save the decorations!