T is for Toro, Toro, Torres!

We first looked at these 15 years ago, here at Small Scale World, and while I've reused the main image in this post (brightened and cropped slightly for a better user experience!), it's still worth a link for the oddments, in the lower image of that older post, before we get into the subsequent developments.

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2009/03/t-is-for-torres.html

 

And by developments, I mean that in addition to the ones we looked at earlier today, in the show-plunder post (below this post), which although similar in execution, probably have no real, direct connection with the Torres ones at all; I have also obtained the second series, a colour variation, and a few other bits which deserve a second look!

 

So, first to compare with the ones we saw in the post below, they are similar, but only for being the same sized models of the same thing; a male, fighting bull. Just as the British art world is known for its renditions and sculptures of horses, I would imagine Spanish artists know their 'bullflesh'.

 

I don't think it's the same sculptor, nor the same manufacturing source, and with comparisons to the older Torres (lower image), and newer one (upper image), both as close, pose-wise as I could get it, the touristy ones are rougher sculpting.

 

They are moulded in black or white plastic with horns in the same white for both animal types, the white ones painted with black splodge-patches, black examples overpainted with white, and the horns differ from the Torres set in being two identical-parts glued into small holes in the sides of the head, rather than Torres' one-part unit, slipped through a tube in the skull, and you can see from the size of the sample in the background, I'm pretty sure there's only the three poses, two with sash-collars, painted red or red.black.

The older shot, cleaned-up, there are four poses here, and I may have had a few more come in, but not to be seen here right now, and it's become clear that they weren't always on all the wines from Torres, nor where they always on any given brand or vintage, but have been used as promotional freebies/collectables, just like ice-cream, bubble-gum or cereal premiums, from time to time.

This has also been found, and would likely have been something given away by salesmen, or included in a whole box/crate/order, or something like that, rather than an item you could buy seperately, It's interesting for a second reason as it's 'TORRES' moniker has been picked-out/highlighted in white paint, maybe a whole tranche of them was on some bottles too? If so, I would imagine an earlier iteration?

But, even as I was posting them last time I'd found a newer set of sculpts, only one or two, on evilBay, so I've been quietly waiting for this post to build for a while! These are smoother, and have a slightly Art Deco look about them, with some quite stylised sculpting, particularly on some of the legs/hooves.

 

Note also, the first one on the far left, is a comedic sculpt, with his arms folded behind his head, and one leg crossed over the other, as if he's sunbathing or waiting for the bullfighter to get a grip of himself!

 

If you look at the upper middle pair you will immediately notice that while one has the TORRES mark, most of these are actually marked ST which is for Sangre De Toro, or Bulls Blood, which I understand is a 'first pressing' or new season wine, like France's Beaujolais?

All eight known sculpts of the newer ones, removed from all packaging and tags/tabs, the horns are the same as the older ones, a single piece which is slipped-through the hole running across the skull, and you can swivel them slightly to further vary a heard of these, although I'm not sure if you can keep fighting bulls together? Their 'wedding tackle' isn't obvious though, so maybe you could use them as a herd of long-horn chonkers, on a model railroad!

A few lose ends, I'm pretty sure I saw a blue version of the 'art deco' ones when I was looking 15-years ago, but might have imagined it, and I haven't found a gold one on the newer sculpts yet, but this red or burgundy one has turned-up, probably a Bulls Blood promotion, although not with the ST mark?

 

The tabs on the ST versions have what we used to call bogie-tape on the back, the same stuff they attach free-samples to magazines with, and, while there is no sign of the ribbons found with older versions, the tab for them is still at the base of the 'plant label'!

Who would have guessed you could get so much info' on one small set of freebies, but the Casa (House) Miguel Torres Carbó (established 1870) have been issuing these on-and-off for many years, certainly since before the 1960's, and with periods of hiatus between issues, changes were bound to creep in, leaving them as an interesting side-pursuit!

A nominal listing is;

 

1960's? [string]

- Celluloid (provisional)

 

Approximately1970-90's [ribbon]

- 1st version polyethylene (painted 'Torres', round tab, also/only key rings?)

- 1st version polyethylene (unpainted, round tab)

- 1st version polyethylene (gold, round tab)

- 1st version polyethylene (angular tab)

 

 2000's to recent time [plant label]

- 2nd version polyethylene 'Torres'

- 2nd version polyethylene 'Torres' (burgundy)

- 2nd version polyethylene 'ST'

- 2nd version polyethylene '?' (blue, provisional) 

Obviously all those above without tab, tags or tings have had them removed to imporve the lines of the animals as stand-along figurines.

H is for How They Come In - Chris - May - 1

Just before the May show I received a big parcel from Chris, which was lovely,  but I explained to him that while I was trying to keep up to date with the H is for's, I would probably do the show reports first, and with Sandown immediately after PW, and a few other things to hand, a month has gone by! So, let's see what the blog got . . . around the date of my birthday, as it happens!

Sorting, left of two; I tend to go through Chris's parcel picking out all sorts of treasures and quirks until I've no room round me (I sometimes a take a shot at that point, but forgot this time!), then I realise I need A) some order and B) to empty the box, so I pile by theme, which doesn't take long.

Here we have from top left to bottom right - paratroopers, 20th century military, historical/colonial/ceremonial, Wild West and part of the civilian pile, then, below, small-scale Wild West/Giant/Giant like, cake decorations & premiums, cartoon/TV & movie related and finally animals, birds & fish . . .

. . . while, starting with that part civilian pile we have; civilan/sports, aircraft & water vessels, fantasy & Sci-Fi and a bag of Hungarian stuff which will feature in future posts, so only a tantalisation today!

The bottom row is civil vehicles, biblical, military vehicles, odds & sods/scenics and a bag of Toltoys figures, which again, we will look at another day, in fact I think both bags have gone to storage now, so it will be a while! And a small toffee hammer we will look at properly in the next post!

Then I used to photograph the highlights, however traffic-stats say you like these posts, so most of the more recent ones (and the show reports) have taken to showing most items, even if we've seen them before, there's something fascinating about the breakdown of a mixed lot, isn't there?

This time the animals got enough shots to provide a post/fill this post, and were shot first so here we go. Very pleased with the mouse, we HAD this mouse when we were kids, I'd recognise those relief-flat whiskers anywhere, despite many similar mice being issued by the former Crown Colony. Ours discoloured after a lengthy sojourn in the garden, lost his tail and went the way of all flesh, I’ll look after this one!

The other three are similar silicon 'rubber jigglers' with one of my favourite Chinasaurs, a seal and a snake which also - along with the Dimetrodon - has childhood familiarity!

Polyethylene and polyvinyl here with another snake, an unusual (in age and subject) Narwhal whale and a dolphin apparently from the same set, a ladybird ('ladybug' if you have to!), a per'terra'dacktill and a Natural History Museum dino' from Invicta Plastics.

Two Torres wine-bottle tag/mascots above and three deer below, I don't know if they are Preiser or Merten, but it will be one of them, and they might have been home painted which makes it harder to decide without pouring through the catalogues which are all in storage! I think Preiser, purely from the smoothness of the finish?

A santa sleigh deer here, which will be useful, as mixed lots of cake decorations of the sort I get occasionally are often missing one end of the team or the other! Three Quaker horses, very useful, and a Tupperware alphabet animal make-up the rest of the shot.

Domestic[ish] animals and a zebra! The highlight here being the dog, which is clearly another of those cracker animals, but in a larger size than the wild/farm ones, and like the dinosaurs (also discovered by Chris) points to a set of dogs? Cats? More to come on them anyway, I suspect!

Tacked the Biblical's on at the end as a make-weight! The two on the outsides have probably been seen before although there are variations, the two in the middle will add to a growing collection and fill gaps which will complete future posts, I think the smaller one in from ART out of Hong Kong, who we have looked at in the past, but he might be a better finished original 'donor' for the subsequent copied ART ones . . . and - in which case - like the larger one, possibly Italian?

Often in the background but rarely interfering helping like his Mum, although he has a habit of wanting to help, with his teeth, if really valuable stuff is being looked at! Many thanks to Chris for another cracker of a 'red-cross' parcel and part two will be Wild West and bits.

News, Views Etc . . . S is for Seasonal Stuff

Part two-of-two looks at the Easter half-term stuff, a few recent minor purchases and a couple of other bits.

Movies

Films likely to have an effect on toy production, coming to a cinema near you in the next few weeks (or days) include a Smurfs cartoon; The Lost Village, a live action Power Rangers movie and (fancy that - with all the other news stories surrounding the brand recently?) a Pepper Pig feature 'My First Cinema Experience' is in cinemas from the 7th April; a hour's collection of 5-minute cartoons stitched together with sing-along sections. For older kids the Japanese manga-made-flesh Ghost in the Shell looks likely to produce merchandise - if it takes off?

Easter Events in the UK

Kew Gardens are running a Moomin Adventures 'Fun for all the family' thing from the 1st to the 17th April.

Moomins are also to be found staring in the Southbank Centre's Adventures in Moominland, now extended to August 2017

Also on London's South Bank is an exhibition run by artofthebrick on DC Superheroes . . . modelled in Lego.

The Acton Depot Museum of Transport for London (TfL) are having a double open day on April 22nd/23rd with rides on a live-steam garden railway.

Sticking with railways; the Epping Ongar Railway have an egg hunt on their full-size, steam line with Bertie Bunny putting in an appearance!

Kenwood House (Hampstead Heath) are also running an EasterEgg Hunt, with kings, Butlers and Roman Centurions helping kids solve the clues.

While the Wetlands Centre in Barnes have an Easter Giant Duck Hunt, staring Dusty Duck - also 1st-17th April, with an additional Celebrity Dusty Duck Trail from 1st April until the 21st May; Michaela Strachan seems to be involved too, so I may go myself!

Further afield Willows Activity Farm in Hertfordshire (St Albans) are running an Easter Eggstravaganza event from 1st-17th with a Peter Rabbit theme.

Other egg-hunts are being held at London Bridge (Saturday) and in Battersea Park

Museums

Rachel Whitread (the first female Turner Prize winner back in 1993) has revealed a permanent exhibition called 'Place (Village)' in the V&A's Museum of Childhood. In situ since the 25th march, it consists of 150+ vintage doll's houses, all lit from within, but empty "...evoking haunting memories and melancholy", arranged on a bank of shelving like a hill-side village.

Notting Hill's Museum of Brands (Ladbrooke Grove) is also holding an egg hunt over the half term holiday.

The Tower of London is also gearing-up for an event; the 'Go Medieval at the Tower' festival, which will be running over the bank-holiday weekend - 29th April/1st May - with knights sword fighting, archery with crossbows and other attractions recreating the world of warfare from 1445.

The National Army Museum in Chelsea (the old Duke of York's barracks) is re-opening after a three-year refurbishment/upgrade.

Recent Minor Purchases

Charity Shops

This was a 50p bag in a charity shop in Basingrad the other week, nothing exceptional and we've looked at the Cherilea chickens already, but a full set of 4 Corgi calves and rather tatty B&S (Barratt & Sons) giraffe were worth 50p - each!

The yellow camel is another of those tinny, dense, propylene-like versions we looked at when I did the premium animals (seven or eight years ago?) so there are definitely at least four origins of them including the US originals. The green one is a Kellogg's bog-standard one and by comparing the forelimbs it's easy to see that the harder ones are copies, not the same moulds being re-used.

Another Torres bull - joined by Matchbox bulls and Blue Box mini-cattle - I have a whole stadium of them now! The set of three HK rabbits have good paint and the Britains medieval charger must be worth another 50p? As - indeed - should be the Timpo farm's heavy-horse.

The two vinyl bears are modern 'CHINA' marked in the same vein as the Henbrandt we've been looking at. The goat's nice but the two HK sheep look to contain bee's DNA! The rest's mostly damaged shrapnel, or common/HK shite, but for 50p you can't fault it!

These were from the Animal Charity shop also in Basingrad a couple of months ago now; the smiley is also a bendy toy (yes! Another one!), but he's so small he's a bit stiff and I could only bend him forward a bit and slightly move his arms up.

The Bear's resin, but more anthropomorphic that the 'teddy' designs of the other resin bears we looked at last year, so she will go with similar stuff in storage eventually, unless I can put a brand to her.

Capsule Toys

As we're looking at smiley's; these blobs were 20p 'gum-ball' capsules from a corner shop on Friday last, same machine but different eggs/packages, the pale one with the cruder face being branded to CBG Bv. (Brabo) of the Netherlands, the other one to FIAM of Turin, Italy. I'm sure they both come from the same Chinese factory, just different contracts/different batches, I'm equally sure they also conform to the previous versions seen here at Smallscaleworld, I'll try not to test them to destruction!

What also set these two apart from the other 2 or 3 we've looked at in the past few years and which links them together, is that while carrying different branding, they have both been in the machine for so long they have 'stuck like that', failing to spring back to their original shape as the others did when released from their capsules, a situation which prevailed after 'hot-water' treatment was tried.

Don't Forget

Details available from;

Facebook

Blogger

eMail; pw.editor@ntlworld.com

And they are on Paypal.

The old website is to be run-down/retired. And also don't forget that table prices have been reduced this year.

Finally

Peter Rabbit is being given a starring role on the new 50p piece. Designed by Emma Nobel there are full-colour enamelled limited edition type things available from the Royal Fail website and plain stamped metal ones, due for general release, but these 'specials' rarely seem to make it into your small change! Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten and Benjamin Bunny will follow quarterly through the year.

T is for Torres

Miguel Torres to be precise, maker of fine Spanish wine and sherry, but in order to make it a post worth viewing, there are a few others...

Above are the poses I've found so far, I'm sure there are more, each time the mould wears out - a new one being made. The Gold colour variant is probably for a premier product, in the same way that Scot's Scotch over the years has been issued with premiums of horses or Scottie dogs tying in with their 'Red Label', White Label or Black label, home/export brands etc...Pointing to the possibility of all the poses being found in Gold - eventually!

Top left is a hard plastic bull I am assuming is an earlier (1930's/1950's?) version of the Torres drinks bull, perhaps one of the Spanish followers of this blog can help?

Then the Airfix and Matchbox bulls as a size guide, with the brown bull belonging to the yellow and red guy below. I have been told he is Kinder, but this is clearly nonsense, he is marked Hong Kong, as is his Matador and a small magnet hidden behind the red cloth and within the body of the bull puts them firmly in the Joke Shop novelty 'pigeon-hole' along with the kissing teenagers, or the Stag Toy nudes who will only get out of a bath or bed if you flick them in a certain way.

The rest of the bottom row shows a polythene Torres to compare with the hard plastic one above, a Kinder Matador and a soft vinyl-rubber bull similar to the bulls produced in 54mm by Charbens and Cherilea (not to mention most - if not all of - the Spanish plastics guys), I guess he's modern HK/Chinese production for the Spanish tourist market, I have yet to find his Matador.