E is for Ephemera - Plastic Warrior Show 2024

I really shouldn't be blogging right now, far too much going on in real life, of far more importances, or worry! And I will apologise to Jon Attwood now for putting the remaining railway figure posts on hold, when we were quite near the end, equally I've got to put Peter and Chris's donation-plunder posts on hold too (although I have taken the images, they aren't sorted/cropped/collaged yet), and the show reports might be a month or two away right now (I haven't even started shooting the thematic stuff), but I will pick at low hanging-fruit when I get the chance/time, and this is a few bits from the show, which have been shot, of a more ephemeral nature!

 

I picked-up a few pieces of ephemera at the show, in the 'paper' rather than 'semi-lost' meaning of the word! With three new 'special publications' from the show's organisers, Plastic Warrior, a useful guide to Leyla farm models, covering both the hard and soft plastic, painted and unpainted with packaging and other bits, and another set of the card figures, I know I've posted - but can't now find - before.

 

The important detail of the last one being, that on the previous occasion, I think I showed them without a maker, as they had already gone-off to storage, this time I can tell you they are by, and called - Kardsmen by Mackenzie, that is John Mackenzie Models Ltd., of London, and dated to 1979.

Now, last time it was two ceremonial sets, if memory serves, and in storage from a fair-while ago, I think I may have two or three more sets which came from the second-hand booksellers' in Wantage, which were also ceremonial subjects (and may, or may not be/include duplicates of those seen here last time?), but these are clearly more belligerent in depiction, being the battle of Culloden, and on the reverse of the card is a hint at a more esoteric output;

• Nelson & Trafalgar
• The Royal Family
• Willian Shaspeear
• Black Watch Pipe Band (seen here?)
• King Henry VIII
• Queen's Guards (see here?)
• Royal Marine Band (possibly in storage?)
• Guards Band (seen here?)
• Yeoman Warders (possibly in storage?)

Which is quite a touristy/museum gift-shop type listing, I think you'll agree? As I say, I can't find the previous mention, which I think was a show report, possibly Sandown, or the London show, but when I find them, probably while looking for something else, I'll tag them to join these. The plastic bases always seem to be the same bright mid-green.

So, to the three specials, they are quite different from each other, being a technical treatise on the vagaries of engraving moulds and cutting detail into the tool halves and such-like (specifically, working 'in reverse' on the tools, not the masters), a more conversational piece on the early figurative Herald artwork and artists, both slim volumes, and a more substantial run through the Britains catalogues from 1965 to 1971, with reminisces of the author's thoughts at the time, and opinions now!

 

All penned by Peter Cole, with Chris Hawkins co-authoring the work on engraving, and both Barney Brown and John Rafferty helping with the artwork volume. While two are Britains specific, the third, technical work, is a wider look at how certain things might have been done to various early British-made figures.

They are available separately or as a package from Plastic Warrior (details below), and all proceeds will go to putting-on the next show (as I am reliably informed "I suppose we'll have to do another next year" due to the success of this year's!), because, let's face it, the subscription to the quarterly mag' is pretty-much 'at cost' given the prices of printing and post these days, so dig-deep, to support the hobby.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PlasticWarrior?fref=ts 

Blog. - http://plasticwarrioreditor.blogspot.com/ 

eMail - pw.editor3@gmail.com (pw.editor@ntlworld.com) 

Tel. - 01483 830 743

Finally less ephemeral, yet more so, and possibly needing a new entry/folder in whatever information storage and retrieval system you possess, if you haven't already done so from the back pages of Philip Dean's book on Wend-Al, is this, from when they wound-up the aluminium production and took to flocking in a big way, a Timpo ape with ball (as supplied by Prindus (Prison Industries) ?), beautifully flocked by a flocking flocker (well, you can't resist the opportunity when it arises!) and in Wendan packaging - presumably; Wend Animals as opposed to Wend Aluminium?

P is for Preliminary Plunder Post

One of those Bucket-list/grail items you don't really contemplate ever getting, do to its rarity, it's likely cost, and its peripheral position in the oeuvre, but nevertheless, I picked one up cheap'ish, clean'ish and complete on Saturday so let's have a look at it!

 

There wasn't the hype surrounding Superheroes over here, that there has been since at least the last War, if not earlier, over where they were invented, and indeed they were rather frowned-upon in some circles, here, but, by the 1970's they were more obvious, and more embeded in the cultural landscape, with both the comics imported (or printed here under licence?) and the various TV shows being broadcast, followed by the big movie; Superman [I] so a few UK-specific toys were created, among which was this from Charbens.

 

Interestingly, I seem to recall reading somewhere, that some comic cross-pollination occurred in earlier decades, due the use of unsold stock, crossing the Pond in either/both direction/s, as ballast in empty or lightly laden tramp-steamers or other vessels, but I'm not sure of the veracity of that particular urban myth, it may pertain more to publishers remaindered or 'pulping' overstock in general, and included or not, comics?

 

On the back we have advertising for the other set, of which we have seen Dracula courtesy of Peter Evans, and from the Dorset/Marlborough/Plastic from the Past era, in a sort of fibrous or mildly foamed polymer, so only two to find, one of which is Frankenstein's Monster, not, as stated, 'Frankenstein'!

 

Dating from 1977, one wonders if these are Prindus (Prison Industries) output, the polystyrene mouldings are a bit flashy, and the polyethylene bases could be old, surviving stock - vast qualities could have been carried/passed-on in a few small sacks/cartons, to whichever Civil Service team set-up Prindus?

 

The seller was adamant I should paint them, but I will probably keep them as they are. The paints, similar to those issued by Airifx in their Battlefront line (and other 'starter' kits), are long-dried-up! Also, a cheap brush is probably missing from one of those slots in the tray?

 

We also looked at a contemporary advert from a retailer's catalogue, of the footballers and Euro-babes from the same range! And the plastic colour, perticularly of Superman (and some of the Euro-babes) ties-in with my hardplastic Greco-Romans from 'Charbens', which I also mused might be Prindus production.

T is for Two - Paint Your Own Catalogue Images

These are both 'seen elsewhere's, and it was pure coincidence that I happened to find, or isolate two different 'Pain Your Own' ad's from two different catalogues, which were both branded to classic British plastics manufacturers.

This was from the 1975 Crescent catalogue, and shows the cake-decoration vignette and an incomplete circus set as paint-your-own's or Paint & Play, but I suspect they never made it to the shops? Or if they did it can't have been in large numbers, as pure white or home-painted white versions of either are not something I have found.

There is a large number of the horses from the circus set in white who turn-up, but they are missing their holes (for the acrobat lady) and seem to have been supplied by Crescent for another job? I remember having a debate with the late Dave Scrivener on the subject and neither of us were convinced as to the possible reasons for them!

While the - usually - cake decoration Santa' is always factory-painted (or tatty!) when found, and most unpainted circus figures are in the multi-colours of the Kellogg's iteration, although a few white ones were issued in that promotion, but only in proportion to the red, orange, yellow and two blues?

Note also, the lower 'useful piece' count of the Santa set, compared to the nine-piece (? the weight-lifter and hula-hoop clown seem to have been omitted?) circus set, is bulked out with a couple of standard green 'monkey puzzle' trees.

These - new for 1993 - are from [a] Charbens (the original was bought out and renamed Charpack a decade earleir!) and WERE issued, as I've seen them on feebleBay, or at least I've seen the European Heritage ladies, I think the 'Soccer' footballers were in Plastic Warrior magazine; probably at or around the time of the ad'? As you can see from the hand, these were 3½ or 4" figures and I think they are polystyrene, against the polyethylene of the Crescent sets.

I would add that these Paint & Display sets aren't from a Charbens catalogue, but rather a retail catalogue or flyer (I've lost the reference now, it's around here somewhere, Rainbow or Lion?), so it could well be a Charpack thing (the trays the figures are presented in?), or even a Prindus (Prison Industries) effort, but they wouldn't have had the rights to the Charbens brand mark, however they could have licensed it?

H is for How They Come In - Medieval Knight Types

I've been buying more off of that evilBay during lockdown, and grabbed a mixed lot of medievals the other day, going spare, for one particular figure, but there were other items of interest in it and as they are a theme, we might as well have them as a post!

Cherilea 60mm, swoppets and solids, nothing terribly exciting, but the black-wash over bronze polymer swoppets were new to me and will be retained, while the yellow plug-ins will help with complete figure building - I have a bag (they're too big for tubs) of finished ones and a bag of detritus! Among the solids I think I like the pinky-maroon re-issue the most, he looks like he's been cast in 'boiled sweet'!

The other usable figures, it was the yellow 40mm from Cherilea I was after (previously seen here), but I have a base for the brown Kinder somewhere, who may turn-out to be a different colour to the one I've got?

The headless 1st version Cherilea will go in their spares tub and the Charbens (top left) is a hard plastic one, they used to be a bit of a mystery to me, they did, now (post PW's 'special' publication on the subject) I assume Prison Industries - Prindus?

Nothing else leaps-out, but they are all complete, which is more than can be said for the third 'third' . . .

. . . who have already gone to 'Recyce' for onward conversion to Solent P! This stuff isn't rare, so there's just no point keeping it in this state, unless you happen to be a converter who wants to work with such an awkward material - and that's not a dig, I have much admiration for those who produce workable figures from polyethylene!