C is for Crazy Cartoon Kids

Yeah, I'm giving that K a battering! This set came in back in January, but I didn't get to shoot it until February, It's funny, 'cos Bushy keeps asking his readers to send him their 'LP' lists, while I keep posting the LB lists! We've had the Dinosaurs and Cavemen, did the Gygax knock-offs and skirted round the farm sets (and musicians); not quite ready to do the definitive on them or the other Funimals yet, but I thought I'd better do the Wild West, which will leave the Christmas cake decorations for another day!

 

The box had seen better days, and there is at least one item missing, but otherwise this seems to be a complete rendition of the Wild West line, a similar 'circus village' was seen on Faceplant a couple of years ago, with all, or most of the Funimals, if only we could find something similar for the fishermen . . . throw them in with the divers, and a boat!

 

Cowboys!

 

Mexican!

 

Only five foot cowboys and the missing Mexican (he'll be in the next post), for a six-count (the Indians get eight), I love how some enterprising out-worker has painted the skin of the flesh-coloured figure ashen-grey, for a contrast . . . so he looks like a zombie cowboy kid!

 

The Stage Coach

 

I suspect it should have the sticker on both sides, not least than because the box shows it on the other side! But, like the Mexican it's been lost somewhere between Hong Kong, Italy (from whence I purchased it) and here, so I'll have to keep an eye out for a damaged one going cheap, with at least one sticker I can transfer!

The horses are in the same arrangement on both wagons, as per colour distribution (it's a single moulding), as they are on the box-art, but a different pattern, so, I guess each out-worker got into a different rhythm, but all got one of each colour! Wagoner is the same moulding on both, increasing the cowboys to seven sculpts.

 

Boys!

 

But the cowboys are outnumbered by the Indians who have eight foot figures, four each boys, and girls, while there are no cowgirls? Fluorescent pink is probably not quite historically accurate, and you may be noticing a similarity between some of these poses, both cowboys and Indians, and the Britains Deetail range, not that they are direct piracies, but some of the poses have been used as a guide, which means these can't be older than around 1972?

 

 Girls!

 

Not so with the girls, and I have to apologise to a mate of mine, as I sent him one of these as a 'Little Plumb', a few years ago, and it turns out she was a Little Plumbette! You know who you are, and I'll sort out some boys as soon as I have some duplicates! For reasons I can't begin to explain, these four seem to be far easier to find, loose, at shows, or on-line, than either the Indian boys or the cowboys?

Raising the count to ten!

Looking similar at first glance, these are completely different sculpts, although they have reused the body from the neck down. But a lot of effort went into the whole set, as shown with these two. Opposite arm sculpts to match, and it's clear the body tool and arm tools were different as the plastic-colours don't match, which happens if you're adding the pigment by hand, to neutral granules at the final stage.
 

Final count 9/11

The demented horse is different from the wagon animal, but was used for both riders.

 

Three buildings are included, which are half-Timpo/half-Atlantic in execution, with a shallow rear assembly (identical for all three) attached to different facades, this is the Silver City Bank, but when you're outnumbered by the locals you haven't got time to rob a bank!

 

Construction follows the Timpo model, but as shallow 'theatrical scenery' in heavy polyethylene blocks, which is more like the Atlantic 'Abilene West City' buildings, from Italy?

 

Frisco Bar

City Office - Land Claims / City Jail

 

All the free-swinging doors are factory fitted, but the back 'box' requires assembly.

Another Britains copy, this one Herald, and an umteenth-generation one though, with many better ones coming before it, including the hard-plastic one we saw as part of a cake decoration set a while back.

 

The distinctive LB fence sections, you get six in two bags of three, presumably because three was the number added to other sets, like the My Farm sets we saw, or the Animal Fun Fair set?

 

As far as I know, the two cactus vignettes are unique, rather than copies of anything else, and while I'd previously ID'd the righthand one and listed it in the Lik Be master list, the left-hand one here, was a revelation, when I got hold of it earlier this year.

 

The tree is a common Hong Kong item, and while carrying an LB A-code, is a fourth-or-more-generation copy, as is the ex-Crescent monkey-puzzle tree.

 

Two scenic vignettes, both taken from Britains Deetail, which nicely pulls it all together, re my comment above, and the well! We looked at various versions of the well a while ago, and I don't remember even looking for marks in the roofs!

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2020/09/d-is-for-ding-dong-bell-pussys-in-well.html 

 

But I bet it'll turn out that the slightly smaller ones are all LB cake decorations, that chromed one is similar to the spacemen from Culpitt, while the slightly larger one (on the left of the two shots) will be a donor, from someone else? But it's nice to be slowly pulling all this stuff together, I got a lot of help with those well-posts from Chris Smith and Barney Brown.

 

Finally, a unique, but very childish design of Totem pole, to add to that oeuvre! Apart from the base sticking out, it's a slab-flat with a smooth, blank reverse.

 

Nearly everything in the set carries a standard Lik Be A-code, which, with a few exceptions among the scenics, and with the addition of two Rhinoceroses, are in several blocks toward the end of the main LB A-prefix numbering, as known to this author. But there are a few 3, 4, 5 and even 600's before the B-codes, with probably more to discover, much of the below was only added a few weeks ago.

Listing

Wild West

≈

No. A149 - Wishing Well (two-part, marked in roof only)

[unmarked] - Farm Fence Section (x6 in large set) 

≈

No. A153 - Tree/Shrub with Clump of Grass 

≈

No. A219 - Teepee / Tipi / Wigwam (ex-Britains Herald, polypropylene, might be bought-in, but has LB code) 
No. A220 - Totem Pole (unique, but juvenile design) 
No. A221 - ‘Clancy Claim’ Sign (Britains Deetail piracy) 
No. A222 - ‘Dead Mans Gulch’ Sign (Britains Deetail piracy) 
No. A223 - Stage Coach (Multi part kit with 4x A225, marked on one half of body only) 
No. A224 - Cowboy Waggoner (for stage-coach [A223] and Wild West Wagon [A234]) 
No. A225 - Cart Horse / Wild West Coach-Wagon Horse (MADE IN . . HONG KONG .)

[unmarked] - Horse-Trace/Furniture

[unmarked] - Base for Four Horses

[unmarked] - Small Wheel/Axle Assembly

[unmarked] - Large Wheel/Axle Assembly

No. A226 - Native American Canoe (hard polystyrene) 
No. A227 - Indian Girl Canoeist (one feather in headband, earrings, pigtails) 
No. A228 - Indian Girl Canoeist (two feathers in headband) 
[unmarked] - Canoeists Arms (dipping oar to left) 

[unmarked] - Canoeists Arms (dipping oar to right)
No. A229 - 
No. A230 - 
No. A231 - 
No. A232 - Rhinoceros (very male!)
No. A233 - Rhinoceros (female?)
No. A234 - Wild West Wagon (Multi part kit with 4x A225, marked on underside of wagon-box) 
No. A235 - Silver City Bank (three part building frontage) 
No. A236 - Frisco Bar (three part building frontage) 
No. A237 - Land Claim Office / City Jail (three part building frontage) 
[unmarked] - Building Roof Piece 
[unmarked] - Building Rear Wall 
[unmarked] - Building, Left Side 
[unmarked] - Building, Right Side 
No. A238 - Monkey Puzzle Tree (Crescent copy, x2 in large set) 
No. A239 - Group of Cacti & Succulents (x2 in large set) 
No. A240 - Prickly Pears (x2 in large set) 
No. A241 - Indian Girl with Tomahawk (pirated by SK as No. 194) 
No. A242 - Indian Girl Dancing 
No. A243 - Indian Girl with Tom-Tom Drum 
No. A244 - Indian Girl with Bow & Arrow (shooting up) 
No. A245 - Cowboy with Lasso/Lariat 
No. A246 - [Mexican Boy with Six Guns] (should prove to be A246?) 
No. A247 - Cowboy with Six-guns, One Pulled, One Holstered 
No. A248 - Cowboy Boy with Rifle

≈
No. A263 - Mounted Indian Boy, Lance & Rifle 
No. A264 - (Possibly unused horse code, replaced by No. A267?) 
No. A265 - Mounted Cowboy, Two Six-guns, One Pulled, One Holstered 
No. A266 - (Possibly unused horse code, replaced by No. A267?) 
No. A267 - Wild West Horse (for both riders)
≈
No. A280 - Cowboy with Six-guns (right level) 
No. A281 - Cowboy with Six-guns (right high) 
No. A282 - Indian Boy ‘Little Bear’ with Lance 
No. A283 - Indian Boy with Tomahawk & Rifle 
No. A284 - Indian Boy with Bow & Arrow (shooting parallel) 
No. A285 - Indian Boy with Tomahawk and Shield (pirated by SK as No. 195)
≈
Sets
No. 1104 - Cowboy & Indian (large set containing one each of everything, with multiples of scenics, building parts, and draft-horses, along with six pieces of farm fencing)

B is for Box-ticking Bountiful Bags from the Boot!

I picked these up at the last BP toy fair at Sandown Park  . . .

 

. . . Dulcop bagged Wild West sets from Italy, and I think this might be how Plastic Warrior magazine imported them, way back when, but I could be wrong about that, they may have got them all loose, hence the melty ones Brian Carrick gave the Blog a few years ago?

 

The tall slim one is the Indians, with totem-pole and wigwam, the cowboys (to the right) get a tent and the short bag is American Civil War, with a small selection of cavalry from both sides.

 

The ACW set, I think it's two mounted from each of the Union 'Blues' and Confederate 'Grays', a pretty basic set compared to the other two? I have a cross-section of the loose figures, which we looked at here;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2015/09/d-is-for-dulcop.html 

 

Not clear what's in the tent, but I think it's four foot and two mounted (same as the ACW), but it might be three mounted and five or six foot? You also get a camp-fire to cook your beans on, outside your tent!

 

While with the Indians you get a full set of foot figures, I think, six, eight? A mounted figure, the same camp-fire and a totem pole. There's also something which looks like it might be the sticks for the Tipi, and there's a sort of weapon-stand thing, which is plug-in decoration for the Tipi, other accessories may be hidden under the figures/inside the Tipi, which could be a selection from a stretched skin, carpet, sack, cactus, tree with vulture,  &etc.

P is for Polymer Plunder Package - Wild West

We've reached the Wild West, and while there's not so much, it's got some useful bits included it the sample, and raised the possibility of a theory or two! And with figures/accessories from 15mm to 6"!

A fine, if wingless, Totem Pole, which both Chris and I though might be 'Playmobil, or similar', but which a quick Google, or actually a quick evilBay search, revealed to be a Spanish Madleman (like Action Man/GI Joe, but half-scaled to 6-inches) piece, apparently modelled after a surviving Alaskan one?

 

Around the base are a few interesting figures, another of the early 'by everybody' polystyrene, ex-Crescent cowboys, but with a touch of what looks like factory paint, a Blue Box cowboy/hunter/farmer (he filled all three roles, depending on the set), another metallic Euro-premium and two of the knock-off Hong Kong copies of early British plastics.

Some more odds, with other early hard-plastic one, I can't remember of the legs were Timpo or Cherilea, but they are from one of the wagons? While the painted missy is interesting, she has something of the Panini Premium/Collectable Cavalry and Indians out of Italy about 25 years ago, but isn't - as far as I know from them, but an ID would be well received?

 

So, to the theory/ies . . . These keep turning up, five of the six Crescent poses, rendered as semi-flats, and I have begun to think they may be replacements for the earlier, hard plastic, frangible pod-feet ones, Brian Berke ID'd as having come from Lucky Bags, or maybe a similar product from a rival source?

 

Which also got me to thinking maybe the endless stream of racehorse & riders in 20-somthing mm, which we saw again the other day, are a similar item? In addition to probably being Cracker prizes? Note the guy with flaming brands (2nd from the left standing up) is actually a rarer, darker red, washed out by the flash.

Small scale included a bag of mounted for further sorting, a bunch of post-Giant foot figures from the old Giant tools and some of the novelty mini's; 3 of the 15-mil ones with two of the 20mm Lone Star copies behind.

 

The other smallies include a larger Britains copy, three more horses for the bag, a tee-pee/tipi, which I have found in red and pink previously, but from which - probably rack-toy - set I don't yet know the origin of. Blue Box Indian and the coach-driver from the Morestone Essem stage.

P is for Plasty's Plastic Pole!

Just a quickie, I found Plasty's Totem Poles from Germany a while ago, and got one, there are several colourways I think, and while cursorily like Timpo's, they are actually plug-together, rather than over-moulded.

I was back on the original totem-pole post again the other night, getting frustrated by the inability to correct or add anything, due to its conflict with subsequent rule changes on Tag-limits, and I think I'll break-it down to three posts, but I will leave them on the same date, which is a bit of a cheat, but one we can legitimately call an 'edit'!

A is for Arboraceous Articles of Actual Aboriginal American Art

Mostly seen elsewhere a while ago, it's about time for a regular'ish re-visit to Totem Poles, with some recent incomers which may or may not have been seen here too in contribution or show-report posts? And I notice we've slid over the 377 'next' target, so it's officially the fourth-best year for posts here, but I won't reach 468 in a month, so that's as good as it gets this year!

Bullyland

A quite rigid PVC-replacement polymer, with slightly cartoony wings.

 

Elastolin

Composition, but really quite well made/finished, so I suspect a late production model, perhaps even manufactured after the plastic figures started coming in?

Landi - Chromoplasto

A quite bendy rubber, possibly silicon or a mastic?

Unknown

And I'm guessing from the remains of paper and glue on the underside of the base that it's probably French and from a boxed set/window-box type thing, but it's only a hunch, and it could be a tourist thing or Hong Kong? It's a rather nice one, quite realistic?

 

Stackable shot glasses!

Found on the wibbly-wobbly-way! 

Clear or coloured glass and aping the old cereal premiums!

Speedwell

I used to think this was Cherilea, don't know why, and then nearly wrote 'belived to be' Speedwell, but there's a really nice boxed one in Plastic Warrior's special publication 'The Book of Speedwell', so that's that cleared-up then! Ask about a copy;

 

Here: http://plasticwarrioreditor.blogspot.com/ (Blogger)

 

Or here: https://www.facebook.com/PlasticWarrior (Faceplant)

Canadian tourist piece, I shot this through the window of a camper-van in Fleet's Church Road car park, only for a slightly irate man (with several kid's in tow) to accost me as I headed for Sainsbury's; "Problem?" he demanded, "Oh, is that your van?" I said, "Yes!" say he, "I was just photographing the totem-pole", says I, showing him the close-in shot still visible in the viewscreen, "Oh, OK . . ." he said, almost in disappointment, and walked off without a care as to why, obviously the mere act of photographing a totem pole in public made me one of the good guys! It looks to be a fibre-reinforced nylon or 'styrene?

 

A line-up of stuff we have mostly, previously seen here in show-reports, contribution posts and/or charity-bag plunder coverage, and from the left;

• Marx Miniature Masterpiece
• Starlux - small size
• x2 Argentine copies of Atlantic (new to Blog?)
  
• Wend-Al (cast aluminium)
• Cherilea
• The Speedwell from above
• A stumpy resin/'polystone' tourist lump
• Hong Kong Britains Herald copy

This is the third of these 'I-know-but-I-don't-know's this year, and we did manage to remember one in the end, but I can't remember which one or why, and will probably forget it again next time!

 

I definitely know what these are (toob/tub set inclusion / sobre / cereal premium?) and who they're by, but can I remember? It's on the dongles somewhere, they were ID'd on the Internet years ago, possibly on a blog which may have disappeared?

I believe there are four different runners, each issued separately as a whatever, brackets above, and in various colours, of which these are the commoner. The green one seems more common than the others; I have seen/handled several over the years, but I have three totems loose somewhere, one possibly in blue or a darker brown? They might have been on the blog? Equally unknown/unremembered if they were!

I have a feeling they could be Spanish, but I might be making that up, and French bazaar would fit the bill, but I'm pretty sure they aren't Montaplex . . . so if anyone can remind us, it would be a weight off my mind!

S is for Seen Elswhere - 40mm Comansi / Novalinea

These were not only seen elsewhere - on the intermawebby thing - recently, but are the shots (in colour) which illustrated my (black & white) article in One Inch Warrior magazine about . . . err . . . 20-years ago? I really don't know where the time goes, but I suspect Hell has played it's part in stealing the hours, days and years! Only scans, and lowish-res', so captions, rather than full blurb, they'll be looked at properly, again, another day.

 

Long boxes, I believe these were saved from a damp shed in Malta (?) or Cyprus, by that stalwart finder of nice things, Mike Harding, back in the early 1990's.

 

The box art from the three of them.

 

Loose figures as found in the sets, unpainted examples are from the later Novalinea branded sets, painted will be Comansi issued.

 

Horses, Indians get a quiver of arrows,

cowboys and cavalry get a sheathed rifle.

Accessories are the same as for the 54mm range.

Except the Teepee / Ti-Pi / Wigwam, which is downscaled.

 

Both sides of a flyer, which came in a larger set.

This was in the tub my loose samples came from, it went the way of all flesh, being very discoloured and brittle.

Comparison between the Novalinea box and one of Esci's classic red-box sets, a clear attempt to impersonate and (given the contents) mislead. And a bit naughty as Franco died in 1976, while Spain would join the EU in 1986, so there wasn't the 'Franco / dictatorship' excuse of being 'out in the cold' to justify such piracy against a near-neighbour?

Base marking of the 40mm figures.

I'll do a better job in the future with photography!

The Yolanda mark is the same 'Saloon' font, in the same 'TV' frame!

This was the label from a tub of 54mm figures, and the reverse of the sheet shows it to have been recycled from the Thunderbirds line, which included new character figures and some of the earlier Ovni ("UFO") space figures reconfigured as 'red-shirt' army-builders!