M is for Men (and Mecki) Behaving Badly

Or . . . P is for Preening Pants-down Pooping Presidents, Piss-heads and Personalities

This post has grown over the last 72 hours from what might have been a couple of collages to a fuller round-up of characters and caricatures real and imagined, most behaving badly! All the images - with the exception of a return from The Work's Trumpton - courtasy of Mr. Berke in New York, but sent at various times from 2016, through to the other day, so many thanks to Brian.

Possibly the two most famous reprobates in modern English-speaking culture, both pretty hopeless, both fans of a beer or two and both would be less than nothing without the efforts of the long-suffering womenfolk in their lives! I say 'less than nothing' as neither has amounted to much in the course of events as it is!

The figure on the left - for those of you who have been in a coma since the die mauer came down - is none other than Homer Simpson, but many of you may need to be told that the figure on the right is Andy Capp, but, not the Germans, where I belive he is a well know (and re-named?) import.

Seen before, so a quick reprise and sadly nothing fictional about this international joke, it's the pooping, preening-pratt President himself! Carried by The Works over here about a year ago, however it appears that great minds think alike, as retailers over the pond . . .

. . . are offering this variation - he appears to be evacuating solids! Euwe! The store Ollie's could be the source - if you're looking for a late stocking-filler idea - but Jiahua Trading Inc., are claiming for it and - like the UK one - it's also in the form of a key-ring.

However, and returning to fictional characters and their love of beer . . . Mecki's drunk as a skunk (not sure how close hedgehogs are to skunks anyway?) and courting a lamp-post! But if you will elect to have a night-out with the other two, it's a foregone conclusion you'll be in trouble!

This was shot in an NY gift shop a couple of years ago, and they managed to get Trumps G7 Summit conference-pose - I'm going to cross my arms and stare past you all while doing la-la-la's in my head - some months before he did it . . . acting like a petulant child in front of the worlds 6-other main leaders, their number 2's and their entourages!

It's a hell of a line-up! Cheers again Brian!

I just like the thought that starting a side-collection of pants-down, pooping, presidents is a very real 'thing', with at least two key-rings and probably some of those Spanish terracotta 'crappers'!

H is for How They Come In - Another Box From Peter

Mr. Evans, co-founder of Plastic Warrior magazine, has kindly sent the Blog another box of goodies, this time with no warning, and my assistant didn't allow time for full opening of the treasure-chest either; before she downed-tools and went to sleep in the lid!

It comes before I've had time to fully sort-away the last lots from Peter, Chris and Jim, and a frantic photo-session left another bunch of fledgling articles in the queue and a host of mental notes to dig-out this or that for more expansive posts at some point.

The trouble is - and it's a nice trouble to be in - I'm adding lots of nascent articles to the queue, photographing loads, bringing the two collections together and such like, but . . . time moves on with hideous rapidity, it's only a few months to RTM, ie; a year since I got everything out of storage, it's already four months since Christmas!

Yet I've barely begun to get on top of the consolidation task (I've been sorting Hong Kong AFV's this week, alongside the Peter parcel, an eBay lot and several charity-shop finds) while those who have contributed stuff will know how much of it has yet to appear - I can only say what I've said before - it all will, eventually!

What I finally recovered from under the nose of my sleeping assistant! You will recognise the vehicles as having previously been 99p Store or Poundland (about three or four years ago), now in new packaging/brand marks, the animals in the other blister-card seemed - from a cursory glance - to be from the old unpainted Rado Industries mouldings, but they are actually different, just similar, especially the big cat with spots.

In a plain-white polymer with some whacky paint (the elephant and lion are over-sprayed silver and gold respectively!); we will look at them closely along with the contents of the pack underneath in RTM - if I remember!

The Simpson's character set (some capsule toy/blind-bag thing?) is lovely; they are 'unit-scale' so Marge ends up smaller than her baby, due to her large beehive bouffant! And as Simpson sets go, a good selection of characters with 24 of the most common here in 25-35mm.

The two 'detective' rabbit babes (the one on the left is holding a magnifying glass) seem to go with the Sherlock Homes type in orange with the gun - all three are PVC and marked Yolanda. The 'mouseketeer' is a crumbly-rubber and unmarked, he's lost an arm and his sword, but goes with another - already sorted - in blue or green somewhere, so a growing 'sample' nevertheless!

Some other highlights include a couple of Phidal princesses we may or may not have seen here. It's a fact that those who worry about the state of the 'hobby' need to understand the hobby is a collective of 600-2000 individual ideas about what 'The Hobby' actually is, while the toy industry is quite healthy and full of figures - Phidal are producing more new sculpts per year than Airfix ever did, that they aren't WWII combat troops is of no interest to today's kids, who want TV/movie related stuff!

Three Crocco for Wheetabix figures are next to the Phidal's and a blob of Fischer PVC is on the end of the upper row - Paulinchen from Fix und Foxi's Pauli family.

The lower row consists of mostly older characters, including another of those French (maybe Pif Gadget) figurines, two Kinder Smurfs, a Miss Piggy from The Muppets a couple of unknown (to me)'s and the annoyingly sensible one from Scooby Doo as a pencil top. The key ring is from one of several anthropomorphic insect movies (Bug Life, Antz, or the other one!) from the rush of them awhile-back.

These are interesting in that I have a London Toy Fair report in the queue for a Totaku, which shows another healthy aspect of the 'industry', with the Schleich/Papo/ELC (et all) action-figure sized, synthetic-rubber solids, and here are two others, obviously based on the worst franchise ever (I saw the first and they can't have got better!) - Alien V's Predator.

Further - on the subject of 'hobby' health - consider the vast ranges of incredibly accurate and beautifully decorated animals (wild, domestic and prehistoric) from Schleich, Papo, Safari, Plastoy, Wild Republic, and so on, and measure them against the staid and eventually stale offering from Britains? Or the simplistic sculpts of Charbens, Starlux or Reisler . . . nothing wrong with the Britains range - for or in its time - or any of the others, but the picture is vastly improved and far more dynamic now.

Cheers Peter, another eclectic collection of things to entertain loyal readers going forwards!

R is for Return . . . To Cludo

You may have worked out by now that I took the camera through the Kenner-Parker-Hasbro board-game playing pieces box the other day!

So this is just a quick one to catch-up with the almost constant stream of Charity shop purchases of games with figural elements, and the almost constants stream of Cludo (Clue) games in particular!

Having looked at most of these I the last year or two, this is just to show the progression of the figures, while adding-in the figures I've mentioned in those previous posts and which I knew I had in storage, the grey ones with coloured bases. I suspect - looking at them in close up, that several are on the wrong base for the character, but that was as much the fault of Parker Brothers as it is mine!

Originally the pieces were wooden, and looked like the inset card's figure, albeit with a ball-finial in place of the cartoon head! That had become a similar-shaped plastic piece by my childhood.

In the 1970/80's they became the dumpy versions seen in the foreground, and by the 1990's the grey figures (second rank) with slip-on bases coloured to match the traditional characters had replaced the plain 'counters'

The 2000's saw the PVC (or substitute PVC) full-colour set of more caricatured figures in a slightly manga-anime style reflecting both the opening-up of the Asian markets and where they are made!

While the two sets at the back we looked at recently (and will be finable through tags) and are from variant games with the four realistic figures being actually four new characters enabling electronic game-play for the original six who are card-only.

This is the second set of these Simpsons licensed figures I've obtained in the last few years, as far as I know, it's the same game, just - new version = new money for Parker!

The irony is that while I scrabble around shoving the odd quid-or-two at charity, somewhere there will be dedicated Cludo (or Simpson) collectors who have every version ever made. It's the same irony with the TJF 'thing' he gets excited about stuff which is on evilBay every day; often photographed better! For nearly everything I've ever shown here, there's been a hundred better shots on feeBay! Or elsewhere on the wibbly wobbly way!

The best of the playing pieces was this cobra, death by cobra is surely the cobra's fault, not the players, that's manslaughter, not murder! "I didn't know it was a cobra your honor!"

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events

Well, a week's a long time in politics! The Magnificent seven, all Blairite shysters from the Right of the Left, complaining the socialist party is too socialist! And who have registered their new 'group' as a PLC, rather than a political party so they don't have to reveal their funding for a while, joined by the three Amigo'esses; purportedly from the Left of the Right.

Their claims of their 'old' party getting too fascist for them makes you worry, or it should, as all three of them have consistently voted against welfare reforms or help for the very people Tereasa May-be Maybe-not said she would help in her inaugural speech.

The ten since joined by someone else; a 'Lone Stranger'- no-one's ever heard of! Giving us a new colour in 'the swamp', bigger than the Liberal party, but very grey! There'll probably be some more jumpers today [one more already - he's not talking to the other 11!], or over the weekend, we're four weeks from Brwreakshit Day, with both main parties hollowing-out and factionalised, the DUP being . . . what they've always been; bloody awkward while the Scot's Nat's talk common-sense . . . to the wall!

And everybody hoping for a change to the backstop, that the 27 have said - repeatedly - won't happen!

Buy toys . . . it's as good a time as any to buy toys.

Especially from any European dealers who come over for the day, they may not be here again - after the 29th March? Weighed-in, weighed-out, tax-owed estimated, visas . . . it's gonna' be fun, this 'Brave New World' the snake-oil salesmen sold the 52%.

Lots of stuff this coming week, both fairs and auctions . . . 

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Toy Fairs

Saturday 23rd February 2019

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

Cirencester - Retro Ronnie (see note and/or Sunday 24th)

Bingham Hall, King Street, Cirencester, Glousecstershire, GL7 1JT

Web - www.retroronnie.com

Mob. I - 07708 385 061

Mob. II - 07900 266 427

10:00-hrs 'till finish

Admission unknown, early bird (from 08:00hrs) price unknown

Refreshments

NOTE - there is a day/date conflict in some coverage of this fair, I suspect it's Saturday 23rd, it usually is a Saturday, but may be Sunday 24th, check details before going)

Taunton - Exmore Toy & Train Fair

Richard Huish Collage, South Road, Tauton, Somerset, TA1 3DZ

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01643 706 736 (David)

10:00 - 15:00hrs

Admission £2

Worcester - Tony Oaks Toy Fairs

Perdiswell Leisure Centre, Bilford Road, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR3 8DX

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01270 652 773

Mob. - 07825 631 323

10:30 - 14:00hrs

Admission £2, free parking

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Sunday 24th February 2019

Chester-le-Street - Jim Corr Fairs

Lord Lawson Academy, Birtly Lane, Birtly, DH3 2LF

Web. -  https://www.northerntoyfairs.com/clstf_visitors.html (venue)

eMail - jim_corr73@hotmail.co.uk

Mob. - 07504 035 955

10:00 - 15:00hrs

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

Chipping Norton - Don Davidson - Collectors Toy & Train Fair

Chipping Norton School, Burford Rd, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 5DY

Web. - www.chippytoys.co.uk

Tel. - 01608 641 870

10:30 - 14:00hrs

Cirencester - Retro Ronnie (see note and/or Saturday 23rd)

Bingham Hall, King Street, Cirencester, Glousecstershire, GL7 1JT

Web - www.retroronnie.com

Mob. I - 07708 385 061

Mob. II - 07900 266 427

10:00-hrs 'till finish

Admission unknown, early bird (from 08:00hrs) price unknown

Refreshments

NOTE - there is a day/date conflict in some coverage of this fair, I suspect it's Saturday 23rd, it usually is a Saturday, but may be Sunday 24th, check details before going)

Coventry - Barry Potter / BP Fairs

The Connexion, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry, CV8 3FL

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £3, seniors £2.50p, children £1, early bird (from 08:00hrs) £6

Free parking

Rayleigh - SRP Toyfairs

Sweyne Park School, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 9BZ

Web. - www.srptoyfairs1.co.uk

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

Wimborne - Model Toys & Trains Collector's Fair

Queen Elizabeth's Leisure Centre (Sports Hall), Blandford Road, Wimborne Minster, Dorset, BH21 4DT

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01202 590 158

10:15 - 14:30hrs

Admission unknown

Large free car-park

Refeshments

Wirral - Barry Stockton Fairs - Merseyside Hobbies & Model Railway Show

Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, Wirral, CH62 5DH
Web. - http://barrystocktonfairs.co.uk/
Tel. - 01513 343 362
10:30 - 15:30
Admission - Adult £4.50p, Children £1

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Tuesday 26th February 2019

Garstang - Janet Pearson - Garstang Evening Fair

Kirkland & Catterall Memorial Hall, PR3 0HR

Web-presence unknown

01282 439 009

18:00 - Finnish

Admission fee unknown

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Auctions

Reminder - Today

Chippenham - Wessex Auctions

Wessex Auction Rooms, Westbrook Farm, Draycot Cerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 5LH

Web. - www.wessexauctionrooms.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@wessexauctionrooms.co.uk

Tel. - 01249 720 888

Viewing - Too late

10:30 - Finish

On-line catalogue, general toy sale

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

01642 750 616

Railway Auction

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Saturday 23rd February 2019

Cockermouth - Mitchells - Vintage and Antique Toy Sale
Mitchells Antiques & Fine Art, 47 Station Road, Cockermouth, Devon,  CA13 9PZ
Web. - http://www.mitchellsantiques.co.uk
Local Press - Times & Star

Tel. - 01900 827800
Viewing - Friday 22nd February from 3pm to 7pm, and from 8.30am on sale day.

Ludlow - Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers and Valuers

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

Web. - www.mullocksauctions.co.uk

eMail - reception@mullocks.co.uk

01694 771 771

Toys, collectables, Historical items and Native American antiquities

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Tuesday 26th February 2019

Newbury - Special Auction Services (SAS)

81 Greenham Business Park, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG19 6HW

Web: www.specialauctionservices.com

eMail: mail@specialauctionservices.com

Tel: 01635 580595

Fax: 0871 714 6905

Trains and model railway sale

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Wednesday 27th February 2019

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

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

01642 750 616

General toy sale

"The General Toy sale to be held on the 27th of February features over 630 lots, with large groups of Lledo, Matchbox, Corgi, Dinky, Hot Wheels, and Vanguards plus many more including Gift Sets, Cars, Buses, commercials, promotional issues, and aircraft. There is a large selection of Tractors and Farm related vehicles from Britains and others, military related vehicles, Dinky and Corgi car transporters and commercials, Corgi Super Juniors Trucks, and Triang Railways. Other items in the sale include Brooklin and Lansdowne Models, Atlas Editions, plus Matchbox Power track and motorised motorway and Superfast carded issues. The sale also features board games, jigsaws, Lego, annuals, Perspex model cases, shop display cabinets, plastic ride-on toys and a Sinclair ZX Spectrum."

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Thursday 28th February 2019

Sheffield - Shefield Auction Gallery

Windsor Road, Heeley, Sheffield, S8 8UB

Web. - www.sheffieldauctiongallery.com

eMail - jmorgan@sheffieldauctiongallery.com

Tel. - 0114 281 6161

Viewing - Wednesday 27th 09:00 - 16:45, from 08:30 on sale day

14:00 - Finish

Football programs and sporting memorabilia

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

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

01642 750 616

TV and Movie memorabilia sale

"The TV and Film related sale to be held on the 28th of February features The Iain Gothard Collection, 21 lots of Bubble gum trading cards, vintage TV and film related collectables, games and Lego. Other items in the sale comprise a number of vintage and modern Star Wars lots, including carded figures, boxed vehicles, a large collection of Black Series 6" scale items, Star Wars Unleashed, graded figures, graded model kits, vehicles and accessories, porcelain figures, cookie Jars, annuals, games and much more. There is a nice collection of UK graded Transformers within the sale, plus Dr Who DVDS and figures, Action Man, Gerry Anderson, Laurel and Hardy figures and collectables, Subbuteo, Lego, a large collection of Marvel and DC Comics, Diecast vehicles, retro games and consoles and vintage children's toys and games."

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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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Only the One Link

Donation

A bit derivative of stuff previously seen here, but she's young and her heart's in the right place, she will go far!

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'How they come in'!

Yesterday (Thursday)'s trawl up the high-street; an Invicta Dino' . . . nice, and it's a third (there didn't seem to be any in storage - I wasn't sure if there were, when I mentioned there may be), a weird sea-horse/dragon cartoon/monster thing, another Hasbro/Parker Simpsons' related Cludo board game, an AAA wolf and a Schleich Meercat family! Bargains!

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Double-plus Good, Citizen Smith?

It would appear that my 'amazing' is more 'amazing' than his "Amazing"! Not that I would normally claim any such idiocy, but it's a game he plays regularly and which I only occasionally lower myself to - were I to make the effort I could probably frag his arse, five-times a week. And because I'm a collector, not a dealer, I don't need to wait 48-hours for the stuff to be sent via Moscow, or from Stuttgart!

A few weeks ago it was only "Semi-amazing" (a bit limp!), in a week or two he'll be reaching a great big cadenza of amazing, and then what? Roll-over and go to sleep? Too funny, the man's too funny.

He literally started a war with me, without an aim, without the wherewithal to conduct it, or win it and without a proper plan beyond a couple of false accusations and a bit of blow-hard-ery!

Those who may not be as fully ensconced upon the fence - as they might be giving the appearance-of to the rest of you loyal readers - are probably best advised to disengage before they are dragged further-in and go down with him, for - in case you haven't noticed - his wing's been on fire for a while now.

In eight years, I haven't seen enough stuff from him; actually his; belonging to him, to fill three shoe-boxes! If he starts showing us stuff he hasn't shown us before; we all benefit - but I don't think he can, and he's clearly struggling to. C'mon TJF; piss, or get-off the pot . . .