W is for Well Now! That's Interesting!

It's nice to put a question to bed, even when it was more of a mystery than a full question-mark, but in this case it probably should have been flagged-up as more of a full question-mark to begin with!

We looked at the - technically - Air Force, cold-war figures from Deluxe Reading/Topper Toys just over two years ago here, at which time I mused that the orange ones might be Politoys output in Italy (who apparently handled the sculpts), but it turns out . . .

. . . they were Thomas Toys! I'm not getting it out of the bag until I find a second one, but I can assure you it's the same figures, with a Jeep which is also not the well-known Thomas-Taffy-Poplar design, but neither do I believe it's Deluxe Reading? If nothing else it's a better sculpt than the hiddeosity which accompanies the Deluxe Reading GI's!

There are no visible marks on the Jeep (which is way over-scale at about 1:24th) to help ID the supplier, or to suggest it might have been a late design of Thomas themselves - which nevertheless remains a possibility?

The suspicion is that Deluxe Reading here in the UK ran the tool in orange polymer as the contract manufacturer for the figures, while - possibly - a third party provided the Jeep, the whole being a typical beach toy; sandcastles; for the use of, as marketed by Thomas?

The card looks old, but the figures - as Deluxe - soldiered-on into the 1970's long after Alden Industries took over Thomas's US operation (if they [the figures] were even available when Thomas were around?), meaning either that Thomas UK carried on for a while (I don't have the relevant Plastic Warrior guide in front of me!) or Poplar (who did a lot of this sea-side stuff) continued to use the brand-mark?

Note that the TNT mark reads;

NTT

While I've had the Deluxe Reading's out, it struck me that the Blue Box 'Secret Missiles Base' figures are also copies of or based on the Deluxe' figures, but being (above) more like the navy guys from the smaller scale range, although this set on Moonbase Central had closer copies of the Air Force ones, also with the flesh painted-in.

The Singapore mark would tie them into one of at least two Blue Box factories in the island nation, but a lot of the Redbox farm and zoo sets tend to carry a Singapore mark, so using the Tai Sang parent for attribution might be safer . . . now we know they all shared the same chairman for over fifty years despite the best efforts of the PSTSM to say otherwise by inventing a whole port/facility!

DLR is for Dockla . . . No; that would be the silliest attempt at a humorous title ever!

Let's say: Deluxe Reading is for Topper Toys!

These were in my collection for years as Thomas, but that was back when I took the advise spoon-fed by the elders! They are actually Deluxe Reading (latter: Topper) and we know from recent work by the PW-guys(issue 159) that they had a facility over here, control of which was handed to Lines in a licensing agreement.

We've looked at the larger G.I. figures acouple of times now, but these are the figures you're probably more familiar with; quite unloved, they turn-up in mixed lots, junk lots and 50p/rummage trays all the time . . .

. . . which is good point to thank all those who save junk-stuff for me as they will all have contributed to this post over the last 25 years - Jim, John Begg, Peter Evans, Gareth Morgan, Chris Smith and Trevor Rudkin for certain and probably also Graham Apperley, Mr Carrick, Paul Morehead and Jan Yarzembowski.

Above we have three types of plastic, the bottom row being probably the earlier (and possibly 'US only' imports - FeebleBay has a lot to answer-for!) production in a chalky/cream-white plastic, the main sample in a greyish-white polymer and the two down the bottm-right of the shot who are a semi-translucent 'wishy-washy' white.

All are softish 'beach-toy' polyethylene and I am missing one human pose - another bloke with a radio-telephone; and a little sitting dog, who may be with the other dogs; both of which give me reason to run these again one day!

And a monkey, there's a little space-monkey missing, cheers TJF!

I also have examples in various shades of orange, one or two almost marbled, and I think the palette of colours has more to do with unstable pigment than actual production batches!

Politoys in Italy issued some Deluxe Reading stuff, they may have been responsible for the orange ones?

In addition I have a painted one, but he's so tatty it's hard to tell if it was factory or home-paint, and I suspect the latter as the black strap just doesn't quite have the practiced badness of a factory/out-painter, but rather the studied, tongue stuck-out badness of a home painter with little practice?

It gives us a line-up of - 50mm possibly painted; orange and white; the three whites; the three whites again in 30mm (the wishy-washy one is not quite so wishy-washy!) and a base variation of the 30mm with a slot for locating on studs attached to the toy-models they came with.

Note also the double crescent-shaped 'dents' or cut-outs in the edge of the bases and the twin, mould-release pin-marks - removed from the slotted-base guy, who's slot - incidentally - is the same (shape and size) as that found on the previously seen G.I. figures.

The 30mm figures only have five poses (there's a pointing chap missing from this lie-up) and represent US Naval personnel (or US Coastguard), rather than the Air-force/Rocketry/Space troops of the 50mm set. It's ironic, but the 30mm rifleman is more likely to be found with his muzzle intact than is the 50mm chap!

Partial Set Listing

50mm Airforce

- Rocket Base USA ("The Most Amazing Toy Ever Made")

- Operation X500 (the 2nd most amazing toy ever made?)

30mm Sailors

- B-400 Battlewagon (battleship, 1963)

3026 - Task Force 109 (destroyer and PT-boat)

Some of the above figures may have been issued in Italy by Politoys with different titles.