D is for ♫♪♪♪ Dog Days Are Over! ♫♫♪

Aaannnd . . . we return to the 'probably not Rubinstein' trope of a year ago! Indeed, while I have spent that year diligently (occasionally) searching (checking feeBay), and have seen a few more of the sets covered in those posts last year, I have still not found a single pack, or fragment of packaging linking Rubinstein to these dogs!

But, despite the complete lack of empirical evidence for a connection, people keep insisting they are Rubinstein, just as some persist not only in using 'LP' for LB, when they could just use the donor Lik Be (to retain a modicum of credibility!), or keep calling limbers 'caissons' or vise-versa (despite a long, cogent thread on the subject on Treefrog, or a Blog somewhere), the continued use of DGN ('design') is another one, but it does sort of explain Trump, Brwreakshit and a dozen other pointers to our careering toward the end of Western hegemony, or even full extinction!

I think this is actually the seller's image, and again, full sets, multiple lot-listing, not ex-shop stock, but, like yesterdays HK/Tim Mee set, ex-factory stock or ex-out-painter stock, not that either set was known to be painted, but you know what I mean, somewhere in the UK at least two people, had sackfuls of stuff which some collectors would have you believe - through their false narratives - shouldn't be here!

 

The American names for these are, from the left; Boxer, Pug, Boston Terrier and [Dobermann] Pinscher, but to my eyes the pug looks more like a Bulldog, leaving a Mastiff and Boxer as the white pair?

 

German Shepherd (Alsatian), Pointer (gun dog), Irish [Red] Setter, Beagle and Cocker Spaniel. Again, if they were in-scale, which they are clearly not, the Beagle would be better described as a Foxhound.

Dachshund, Scottie (Scot's Terrier), Toy Poodle, Basset Hound and Chihuahua.

 

Greyhound, Russian Wolfhound (Borzoi), Airedale (Terrier) and Collie.

And while most of these are white plastic, there are a few of the Nabisco silver/gold/copper-bronze ones, as made for Kellogg's and Nabisco (and Peke Freans et al.) as soldiers of all nations (under various titles), by Tatra Plastics, who also did a few white plastic soldiers?

Now, I'm not saying these are by Tatra, I know nothing about them as far as this apparent UK stock goes, they could even be Peak Freans premiums? But I am saying they, like the soldiers have as yet to be presented in Rubenstein packaging, and now we know Rubenstein were just another 1970's rack-toy jobber, they were probably last to this story if they turned-up at all, far better to call the Soldiers 'Kellogg's' (as they issued them in more territories that Nabisco or 'Freans), and the Dogs 'Nabisco' as the only named carrier, until more evidence comes to life.

Personally I suspect Tatra, but they didn't claim them when they were in contact over their 50th anniversary, and while they promised to look in their archive, once they'd had their publicity here, at Small Scale World, they went very quiet, and then, ironically given the number of companies they'd swallowed over the previous few decades, got swallowed!

And as to issuer . . . Nabisco have to be up there with Peak Freans, but ice cream, lucky-bags or Christmas cracker issuers (Tom Smith?) have to be serious considerations, suffice to say someone was clearly planning on issuing them here, even if they didn't.

 

Along with yesterday's these are still available on evilBay.uk, I think. Someone in the 'States has a set of these for over 100-quid on Etsy, while a seller in the UK will let you have them for a tenner! Interestingly Nabisco issued a book on dogs (as National Biscuit co.), and in their Australian territory, a set of cereal premium dog collector-cards, so they were a bit hung-up on dogs!

25-10-2024 - I got my copy of PW196 today, and read with interest the anticipated article on Rubenstein,; and nothing above, nor anything I wrote fourteen months ago needs to be corrected! It's actually quite amusing, only confirming some of my past mutterings, and I'll deal with it fully in a future post!

F is for Follow-up's - Various Recent Things

Running over a few additional details, info or images of a few bits we've seen here in the last few weeks, no particular order or sense to it, just things I fancied doing extra/more/follow-up shots of!

The sports pencil top Chris sent, alongside one I had here of a boxer, we both think we've seen a football one, and it would be interesting to find out what others there were, as a set they probably went to at lest four sculpts?

 

The Hong Kong-marked KT figures I have here, about half of them went to storage a while ago, including the pen-stand thing which started the whole odyssey, so one day we'll look at them all together, as there are probably pencil-sharper and stand-alone versions of all of them, along with other novelties for some of them . . . I haven't found a sand-timer yet, but I'd happily put a tenner on one being found.

 

And the pencil sharpener version of the guardsman with its replacement figure. Luckily the old one just popped-off, but I had to do some careful knife-cleaning of one of the foot-studs on the replacement, who had a lump of his old stand still attached as that bubbly-glue patch stuff!

 

Also, while the damaged figure popped-off, he did leave one locating-stud rattling around inside, which I caught by well-glueing the hole with liquid-poly, and shaking it around, upside-down, until it sopped rattling, meaning it had got stuck to the glue . . . something to confuse future archaeologists!

 

That green Tatra figure from Chris, next to the two most common colours, although, these days, you see more and more of the red and blue too, but you can see just how green he is, under the gold-residue?

 

Following on from something in the comments, these are the athletes which have come-in over the last 18-months or so, we looked at them originally as mostly small scale here;

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-post.html

And revisited them more recently here, to look at the larger scale;

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-is-for-athletes-vintage-plastic.html

so with this sort of quantity being added every year or so, when we return to them properly we should have a better idea about which sets/types had which poses, and are therefore, in the two or three seperate 'families' of piracy?

Remember I said I had another Morph, well here's Chris's donation, standing on himself! Too cool for art school! And the brown colour which Morph was made in (his later mate Chas was a neutral beige-gray), is the same brown everyone's Plasticine went after it had all been mixed together in the toy-box!

Plasticine Flash Mob!

 

Oh yes, TJF had such fun correcting my 'brain freeze' when I said they were from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, when they were from some Disney knock-off, but they were also from a different-again board game, and having found the four copies a while ago, I now have a slightly damaged Lost in Space original, also Remco, in yellow, with the missing figure, and 3 more board-game pieces to find we will return to these!

 

Left to right;

 

4x Homecast resin/3D-printed (?) copies of Remco - Lost in Space figures

1x Remco - Lost in Space original

1x Remco - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

H is for Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Rubenstein is the New Rock & Roll!

They just can't help themselves, can they? I knew exactly what I was doing, and they have proven nothing other than that there are more sets than the 12? I think I suggested as much, when I said . . .

 "which is not to say there aren't more"

. . . but twelve would have been neat, and ten seem commoner! TJF has practically had a real cum orgasm in public over a header-card for what are obviously trashy rack-toy clones! Is it any surprise that an import-export concern carried Hong Kong Stock?

Away from this still limited, but now 13-count toy line, they would have had knock-off torches, sewing sets, key-rings, kitchen gadgets that break the fourth time you use them, plant pots, macramé sets, cruet sets, shit scissors . . . you know what they would have had!

 

Kindly, TJF confirms that the card dates from the 1980's, and was 'closeout', which again takes us away from the 1950/60's cereal premiums, and could be old stock from the 1977 days or something more contemporary . . . pretty-much what I dug-up, and he's certainly done Kent's arguments (if he really has any?) no favours!! Fancy having the card without the figures?

And I'd already confirmed they 'do figures' - I showed them!???? He then says, "So it is likely they did a header card Soldiers of the World" . . . why? Why is it likely? Because they sound the same? Simplistic tosh, the evidence (circumstantial) is they took multicoloured shite from anywhere or anyone except Tatra, the dullard!

He then claims the Tatra are R&L, which even the R&L experts don't! They have the lovely Aussie flats of Diggers. And the grandiose shite in his last paragraph is hilarious, I'd be embarrassed to be caught writing such narcissistic rubbish! Or having it written about me!

What I've said, and I will say it again, is that THERE IS NO EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE that they ever carried the Tatra-for-Kellogg's/Nabisco/Peak Freans et al 'Soldiers/Warriors of the World/All Nations'. Nor any evidence for the link to silver/gold cereal premiums, beyond the hearsay present on Kent's site for years. I have never said they didn't 'do them', just that the evidence isn't there?

Now if Mr Specher is to send empirical evidence in his fantastic forthcoming article, then that query will be put to bed, won't it? And the whole hobby will know a truth, but as The Jabbering Fuck is relying on another card-top altogether, I suspect we'll be waiting a long time for that particular evidential revelation?

Is he going to show us the dogs . . . I haven't found the dogs card yet, either . . . let's hope for his sake they are silver and gold with no signs of the staples being tampered with, because otherwise he'll be adding nothing to what I showed/said the other day? Who bought the Dolls of the World on Tuesday, was that Kent? Oh, he could send those to the magazine, couldn't he?!

And wouldn't we rather an American collector tells us accurately, about an American toy importer, than have to wait for a Brit to come along twenty years later and try to undo some of the falsehoods and myths about cereal premiums! So I - for one - am really looking forwards to his article with a barely contained joy, indeed I think I might have fun going through it with a fine-toothed comb!

Now, don't get me wrong, DO NOT get me wrong, Kent has done some amazing work for the hobby (I don't think TJF has, particularly . . . new production? It's on 15 websites!), both by himself, and in league with others, and I have sung his praises here many times, I have posted about 100-links (?) to his pages over the years, but this day was always coming.

Indeed, I have had private conversations with (closes eyes and counts quietly), one . . . two . . . three . . . at least five/six people off the top of my head, over the last four or five years, some a decade ago, predicting this moment. So they won't have been any more surprised than me to see Standinger's arsegasm, nor even, if they noticed Kent's comments the other day.

He's always been conspicuous by his absence, it was notable how he almost seemed to start commenting on Shite Stuff more after the war started, so his associate membership of the PSTSM was always badge-clear! And he started adjusting his site to reflect things written on my Blog within months of my starting, never crediting, never acknowledging, even as I sent him traffic? Something I've also pointed out to people over the years. None of this latest skirmish is any surprise to those who matter.

So the question was only ever, is he going to avoid eye-contact forever, stay 'neutral', sit on his hands over on the verge? And it was beginning to look like he would, but for reasons known only to him, he lost the plot on Monday and fell off the wagon! And because - as you know - I was up on my high horse (it's almost like somebody else scripted half of this!), I couldn't help him up!

Far from Kent's "You got a lot of the history of Rubenstein International wrong" (I didn't even cover much history) or Stadinger's "....contained a number of mistakes", there was one error - on the status of a non-toy soldier charity-trust thingy! Nothing in Kent's comments on my post, nor in TJF's little turd of a piece . . . piece of a turd, corrects or contradicts anything I reported last Monday.

Still; Kent is going to put us all right, hopefully including his own site, which has always contained questionable details, as fact, on Rubenstien, with his future article, it's gonna' be awsome, let's all big it up - coming soon, the fundamentally stupendous, encyclopedic, vastly better than Hugh's, fuller than a full shit-truck's, history of Rubenstein, the article that will save the hobby!

Worth a re-read, as I knew exactly what was happening, and pulled no punches, while Kent was pretending he didn't, but read his words after seeing the Jabbering Fuck's post and it all makes a sort of gutless sense? And a rare link to the almighty arsehole's Shite Stuff, but given his posting rate recently, he needs the traffic!

Oh fuck!, NOW they've annoyed me . . . 

  . . . talking about traffic; TJF's idiocy has sent an extra 6000-odd viewers my way, and the 5-million clicked over a couple of days early! I was hoping to catch-it on the nines, the zerros or the one, over the weekend! Heay-ho, there's always the 10! If I live that long?

Notice we also clicked-over the 4,500 posts during Rack Toy Month!

See, a big bump! The trouble is Stad's Shite is such thin gruel these days, I only visit it about once a fortnight to see if he's posted, anything, at all! It just so happens, it's often on a Friday! [I can't take screen-caps as jpg's on this pice-of-shit Windows-11 machine, so I have to shoot the screen, and I'd already turned the main lights off, me and Bosey-Boy were snuggled for the night when I found the PSTSM arsholery!]

And don't imagine all that traffic came from him, this will be the word getting round, the Vichy will be there, a cock-wacking monkey lizard or two will be there, a cheque-keeping Spanish author and his fan-boys, Deadleaf and the other one, the AFD will be there, a right-wing antipodean, then there are a couple of facebook groups which have been infested by some of my 'eemies', so the word got around; "There's a fight in the playground, Kent finally got off the fence!" All the people who pretend they've never found the Blog will be there, as they were - like Kent - all along, as they will be - tomorrow!

 

You see, all these guys are to the left of the bell-curve, if you know what I mean, while I'm to the right of it, so if I'm never going to see eye-to-eye with them, I might as well learn to enjoy rebutting their stuff!

 

Consider this, up until 48 hours ago, Kent had four sets I think, on his Rubenstein page/section, with some questionable facts. yet when I show eleven and mention the dogs (which Kent's got) The Jabbering Fuck busts a blood-vessel over a thirteenth, at me! Not the 5th, 6th, 7th . . . at 'well-researched' Kent? Why? Why is it, that they hold me to a higher standard, than they hold even themselves to? Huh? Why is that?

Back in the autumn, last year, or the year before? Or every year! TJF did a post with six figures, he got four of them wrong, and it was five corrections from three of his mates and some input from a Brit over two days, before they were all singing from the same hymn-sheet!

 

And that was fine, that was nothing more than an unfortunate series of multiple 'brain freezes', totally allowed . . . I get one detail out of whack, not even a fact, sometimes; just if I don't mention something, I get "Card or paper? Where was they from? How many? Who's that? When? Why?

I am literally held to a higher standard than everyone else! Why is that? I know! And why isn't all this fantastically new and accurate 'history' (of which I got "lots" wrong, apparently), not already on Kent's site? Was he saving it? Was he saving it for us all to enjoy on a rainy day?

There is one inaccuracy in my previous post on the subject, the family's [non-toy soldier] Foundation is not still active, there were about eleven companies between the three (Irvin, Ralph and 'L' - no inaccuracies there), ten had nothing to do with toys and I didn't follow-them up the other night, turns-out that when I downloaded it all, way-back-when, it still was active, I suspect the other 'still active's will prove not to be, too!

Apologies for that, mea culpa, and I'll wear sackcloth and ashes for the rest of the weekend! And sorry for the poor imagery here, really, but it was short notice and I only had a few unused images left-over from the other day!

To be honest, TJF's latest . . . spat? Attack? Is more sad than anything else, the attack on me personally is lacklustre and half-hearted, his own input is wrong and inaccurate, I think he used a similar title before, and it's only a few paragraphs? The whole thing lacks substance, lacks meat; it's pallid, he's not even trying, while Kent hides in my comments, pretending he can't see, what we can all see with our own eyes?

And I know what you're thinking, "Hugh, did you climb on your high horse just to get the Jabbering Fuck to push you over the 5-mil, with or without the fortuitous intervention of Kent Sprecher?", and, would you know it, in all this excitement . . . I've clean forgot.

Oh . . . and there's still three Rubenstein posts in the short queue!

R is for Really Rubenstein!

Ooop . . . just let me get up on my high horse . . . that's better, now, where was I? Oh yeah! Rubenstein. There isn't much on Rubenstein within the hobby and most of what you will find seems to be conjecture dressed-up as fact! So I thought I'd add my tuppenceworth to the mix and probably ruffle a few feathers!

 

Rubenstein were a US jobber, one of a dozen or so companies/entities started by Irving Rubenstein, sometimes with his Brother Ralph, or possibly a wife, 'L' (?), always in or around North Hollywood, California. Rubenstein International were incorporated in 1977 (too late for some of the premiums they are credited with?), but are no longer active, although several of the companies (mostly involved in B2B sourcing, services, or marketing) are still extant, along with a family foundation.

 

On the left are the Euro-premium pirates (eight sculpts in the UK [Kellogg's] and 20 poses elsewhere, under several brands), on the right my fledgling Rubinstein collection about two years ago, I went on to add about three or four more sets, but they all went to storage about 12-months ago! Some described - by Rubenstein - as 'Made in Mexico', other's (most), 'Made in England' (not 'Britain', not 'The UK'). I have so far found one set credited to having been 'Made in the USA'.

The Robin Hood figures are the same version described elsewhere in the hobby (marked with small 'Canada' monikers), and seen elsewhere on the Blog against the New Zealand-made versions. As one of the 'made in England' sets, this would suggest someone larger than Tatra (for instance) as they must have been big enough to have a Canadian office/subsidiary?

The athletes are after the 'Euro' versions (with Olympic flame carrier), not the Kellogg's or Marx sculpts, and while both figure sets are soft polyethylene, the dune-buggys [sic] are hard polystyrene, like the R&L mini-kits, from Australia, but not marked-up to them.

Other figure sets include the ex-Raja Conjunto do Espaço 'space set' (which explains a question-mark from the very start of the Blog; my shiny yellow one is Rubenstein!), ex-Commonwealth Plastics dolls and possibly the dog breeds, but this is where I need to point out that so far, and I have been looking hard for over three years, there is NO empirical or circumstantial evidence for the Soldiers/Warriors of the World/All nations having ever been in Rubenstein packaging?

 

And if the dogs were issued by Rubenstein (and I suspect so), they were the multicoloured ones (from Mexico; not England), NOT the silver or gold ones issued with Nabisco breakfast cereals in the USA, for which the evidence is as sketchy as for the military set.

 

Indeed, let's get this out of the way, Rubenstein International were an 'Import & Export' outfit, according to their licences, and it's very unlikely they ever "made" a single toy! So whoever was supplying Rubenstein, would also have supplied the cereal or ice-cream guys &etc., and earlier, I think. Also - we know Tatra (for instance) were responsible for the warriors/soldiers . . . in silver and gold!

The R&L styled mini-kits, I now have three of these for us to look at in greater detail another day, indeed I think most of these are the shots of the auctions/BIN's I won, I wouldn't use so many evilBay images in one article if I didn't think I had a tad of moral ground under my tippy-toes! Not sure if I ever succeeded in getting the Cars, but I know I bought two sets of motorcycles, so I can make one set up, for a Blog post!

I actually managed to get the Antique Cars photographed, though! But I think I might also have got the set of Wagons, although I might be confusing it with the Historical Vehicles which I know I got but also didn't photograph? Interestingly, while the Dune Buggys are polystyrene, these are polyethylene, and the Penny Farthing in the Historic's set is probably the one Brian Berke sent to the Blog, as an addendum to that premium kit post!

So far the only set sourced in the 'States which I've found, which is not to say there aren't more, but the same eleven sets keep turning-up, with a possible run of the dogs in multicolours, making a dozen.

 

These are also nothing like the others, and we saw a pale-blue Hong Kong example of one of these in Chris Smith's last donation, so, a common gum-ball machine prize, or those rack-toy cards with a bunch of teeny header-bags for a dime or sixpence?

 

All of which gives us;

• Action Athletes - Mexico, after Manurba/Linde et al.
• Antique Cars - England, after R&L?
  
• Comic Animals - USA
• Comic Moon Figures - Mexico, ex-Raja premiums
• Comic Pirates - Mexico, ex-European tool
  
• Dogs - Mexico, ex-Nabisco premiums
• Dolls of the world - Mexico, ex-Commonwealth 
• Dune Buggys - England, after R&L?
• Historical Transportation - England, after R&L?
• Horse-Drawn Coaches - England, after R&L or Pyro/Kleeware?
• Robin Hood Figures - England, previously/also Canada, after Marx
• Soldiers of World War II - Hong Kong, contents unknown, Airfix clones?
  
• Super Motorcycles - England, after R&L?

Sourced from England x6, Mexico x5, Hong Kong and the USA x1 each, for a twelve-count, which make-up grosses, which is how this rack-toy stuff is ordered/wholesaled thirteen-count; a bakers dozen!

The reason I've question-marked the possible R&L connection, is because R&L is another one where there may be falsehoods hiding as fact. When they turn-up in British or European products as premiums, they usually have A) very fine parts, B) 'R&L' somewhere on the runner, these four/five sets (the Dune Buggys may be from another source) are simpler and unmarked, while there is the various Italian sets of similar kits and the De Gruyter connections to consider.

Still no soldiers/warriors, though! Four days later - Still no soldiers/warriors!

Thanks to the Jabbering Fuck and Kent Sprecer for their contributions, not!

P is for Previously Seen on the Internet . . . II - Ancients and Medievals

Continuing with my cheap Lazy Posts, and a quick look at a few figures depicting warriors of the earlier eras.

Starting in pre-Ptolemaic anciet Egypt, Tatra - the brown one is dark bronze and marked 'Made In England' as is the silver one below him, the rest only have the 'EGYPTIAN' name-plate mark on the chamfered edge.

Coming forwards 3000-odd years nearer the present-day and we find the Vikings! Sorting to move to storage temporarily (I hope!) I grabbed one of each for a comparison; they go better together for being a barbarian horde!

Another 4/500-years finds us in the medieval period with Lone Star - odd plastic colours, from the left; metallic green plastic (and paint), a pinkish-taupe, a putty-grey, a dove-grey and a white plastic figure.

I've also been posting a few links of similar ilk/subject matter about the place, here are two on the ancient/medieval theme;

Faceplant -
https://www.facebook.com/worldbeautiesandwonders/photos/a.105095208262327/202175238554323/

My Modern Met -
https://mymodernmet.com/3d-print-sculptures-scan-the-world/?fbclid=IwAR06Es2t-HjS6KWMIvorj13Z9FjAis-x11q44T4kR8X_iIGAsijzxYBqg68

P is for Perfect Parcel!

Chris Smith was a sneaky-beaky! He had arranged to send me some Tatra / Nabisco / Kellogg's / Peak Freans / All-points-West toy soldier premium swaps he had along with a handful of Vitacup premiums . . . but sent a huge pile of stuff! And while Small Scale World needs constant feeding with piles of stuff, it was a very kind gesture.

And - with similar donations from 'Sandown' Jim and Mr. Burke in recent years a humbling thing for which my gratitude never seems to do justice to the act? Thank you Chris, and thank you Brian and Jim.

Mostly the bits I was expecting to receive, with a couple of the larger pieces from the other parts of the parcel. I will have a big sort-out of all the Tatra when the rest come out of storage and do a more definitive article with everything that's come out since the first, rambling and increasingly inaccurate post.

The two tanks are upside-down for a reason - their own post! They're so cool folks, so very, very cool, they're cooley-cool - I say so!

The motorbike is an odd one; it appears to be an unmarked, yet reasonably accurate copy of the Britains Harley Davidson [coming to a dealership near you, from somewhere other than Milwaukie soon!] Police Sherriff Electra-Glide (?), with a soft vinyl copy of the CHiP's-like rider, but with a polystyrene head and plug-on German helmet?

I say 'appears' as I don't have the original to compare with, but I'm pretty sure they were marked Britains on both the engine underside and the tyres, this in totally unmarked, and while the Britains one was maybe a half-dozen parts (less wheels) this would be only three with the missing seat.

Zee, Play-Me? Someone like that! And I will look out for a cheap Britains one so I can compare them in a future post. We'll see him again before that in a M/C roundup already in the queue.

Equally interesting is the cart, which I think has the Blue Box hay-box on it, but the frame is a heavy, crude silver plastic - almost early British (Taylor or Barratt?) in style - and small wheels which may not be right, but fit? We'll definitely return to it one day when we look at them all together . . . it's the same silver as some Trojan Wild West?

And then there was all this which Chris never mentioned! We're about to look at some of the highlights below, but what can you spot . . . there's Waddington's, Dinky-Corgi-Matchbox-Spot-on accessories, Supreme, Airfix, Blue Box, Britains Mini-Box, Gem, Miguel Torres and  various premiums for a start!

Does anyone know the origin of the black duck - or goose? I have him in red (and white now I think?) and may have a chicken in the same style, but no other animals, so I wonder if they are from a board game? They are a bit like the American Judy Toys geese (the Judy duck is smaller) on Kent Sprecher's website, but not quite the same.

The two statuettes appear at first glance to be 'T-in-a-Circle, but it's actually a T in a C - I think, and Japanese not HK? They will join a Santon follow-up from Brian B which has been on hold since January!

Which reminds me - I put a plaster civilian away without photographing it the other day, that'll go with them, too! And it's not actually a 'Santon' follow-up because they're mostly Italian - doh!

This is lovely, I can't decide if it's a US WWI Doughboy, with large-pack/marching-order, or an Italian Bersaglieri with plume and that sort of felt bowler-hat they had back then, I favour the latter and to be honest - while it matters for the origin of the flat - it wouldn't matter for painting-up, as it will make either; most convincingly.

I wonder if he has avoided the addition of a clip-pin of some kind and is actually supposed to be a badge? If he wasn't so clearly 'non-German' (from either war) you'd suspect a Wintershilfswerk piece, especially as he is in the same kind of polystyrene.

Now known - http://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2018/07/f-is-for-follow-up-previous-plunder-post.html

I've collaged these two together, as I suspect they go together? But they might not, both have similar paint and both are hard polystyrene kit plastic, but the fire has no 'scale' so it's hard to judge. The figure is about 40mm and a single piece (no 'kit' construction) and the painting suggests a factory job. He's silver plastic; the fire's a black polymer.

If they are both home-painted you'd go with Aurora or similar monster kits; Revell issued some under their Monogram moniker back in the 1990's? But if they are factory painted . . . well . . . Flash (the remake), Conan . . . He-man? And what; a play-set of some kind - anyone know?

He looks a bit like the 'Barbarian' from the Tomy-Pressman et al catapult games!

Another flat, 35/40mm soft polyethylene and very-much in the style of the Manurba animal flats, did the zoo have a band? He looks to be Sally-Army or WWI British  . . . or even Russian? Lovely thing to get in the post, without warning!

This was initially put in the bag with the other five cats which have come in over recent weeks (two others in Chris' swag-bag, one from a charity shop bag, one from Sandown!) for a future round-up on the back of a set which also came-in, as I thought to myself "Ah, French-issued vinyl from Macau! Poly-someone?" but it looked familiar, so I got the jewellers loupe on it to find "Made in England", I then spent an hour or so thinking it was Timpo, and wondering who made Timpo in PVC/vinyl?

Thinking I was being silly, I decided it must be the Taylor and/or Barrett one, probably made for Barton's dolls houses or something/someone like that? Only . . . double checking with the dongle 'archive', it's not T or B, it IS the Timpo one? Code 1090 (?), I guess the doll's house accessory bit stands, but who produced off the Timpo tools in PVC, could it be a Toyway thing?

Of course it could be a Macau piece, pantographed so well the remains of the lettering have been carried across, but it's a bit soft for the maker I'm thinking of, I have one of the Poly-whatsit Romans (from Peter Evans) and he's much stiffer? They don't appear to be 'rare', this chap seems to have a shop-stock of them! But the first time I've seen one?
It's lovely!

This is also lovely; I'm calling him 'Stumpy'! But they are not broken-off, those are his factory designed, factory injected, intact, itty-bitty, little legs! Anyone recognise him?

He is most like the hard plastic ones from Tudor Rose, but not the same, he's not Gem either, as far as I can tell and my guess is a farm-vehicle's stock/load from the world of die-casts, or a board game, he's clearly designed not to fall over easily, a board-game could be the answer?

Is there a swineherd version of the shepherd game we've looked at here?!!!!

My assistant decided to take her 'statutory' rest-period in the packaging! No fiishy-fiish for you madam; you're slacking - again!

What do you call a fish with three eyes?

Feeesh!

What do you call a fish with no eyes?

F'sh!

Chris - Thank you again, the rest will filter through into, or enhance posts for months and years to come!

Q is for Query - Tatra's World Soldiers

I'd forgotten - when I started the Q is for Question Time trope the other week - until I was tagging - that I'd started a Q is for Query trope years ago! In the interests of fairness (and an Aspergic need for balance and order in a perceived micro-universe!) I will revive the latter (which was the former) while continuing with the former (which is the newer!), using QT for real, out-and-out questions, and Query for the more thinking-aloud type thing!

This will be of no consequence to anyone coming to the blog on another day, but I thought I'd mention it. Anyway; I'll use 'Question Time' as the tag for both types of post.

When I originally pulled all the Soldiers of the World stuff together and mused on some of those questions (before we discovered they were Tatra), one of the sources described 'brown' figures, now this Zulu, individually encountered for the first time would be best described as bronze; and knackered.

But having found several gold and bronzy-gold figures over the years, it's quite clear that this chap is an altogether darker colour, which although metallic could be considered brown to some observers?

I offer it up; damaged as it may be, as an example of the [possibly] brown versions mentioned in the past, and will keep it (in this state) until a better one turns-up.

Also, while I have never previously seen factory painted versions of these; the treatment of the paint is of a 'stab-and-hope' execution that looks quite commercial, especially the lacing on the shield? Yes - a lot of us painted like this at the start; it's a query, not a fact.

As I've never encountered one in this colour before either, could we be looking at adding a painted release to the white and peach plastic issues which have turned-up since the old article? And there was the brighter-looking mid-blue on Tatra's weblog; now gone, following another take-over which wasn't driven by them this time, and has seen them all but disappear.

 

27th September 2020 - Re. The right-hand image; someone called , or calling himself Dan Morgan is now claiming ownership of these images with a similar but somewhat different story as to their origins, so a pinch of salt needs to be thrown at someone? Or the original post? The man Dan Morgan has also established himself on a Faceplant group as a re-painter in single flat colours - one of which (used on some of his Wild West civilians/townsfolk) is very similar to this pink?

However, a true brown one has turned-up on evilBay, so swings and roundabouts!