N is for Northfield Products

Do you remember this image, from one of the earlier donations from Chris Smith;

 

A resinated slate (or coal?) lady on the left, what turned out to be Tringa Toys, via Toyway in the middle, and a Britains Highland Piper, trapped in a bottle. At the time I said of the right-hand item: "The final piece is very interesting, clearly a Scott's tourist thing, he is a HK-production Britains Herald piper, held on a cork plinth with a piece of textured green Plasticine . . . and a blob of glue? The tartan band, other than hammering-home the Scottish nature of the item, is probably hiding a clever join at the base of the bottle, or a not-so-clever join bodged with glue?"
 

And, a few months later, I found marked items on feebleBay, of a similar nature, employing the same tartan ribbon, which have been in Picasa for a few years, waiting for the right moment to show, which following a purchase at Sandown four weeks ago, is now!

 

Revealing themselves to have been entrapped by a Northfield Products of Edinburg, I fear they are a little disingenuous as to their London design or Hong Kong manufacture! The contents have actually broken loose, and slide up and down, but you can see how the figures are landscaped onto a piece of hardboard, with green Plasticine, and shunted in from the wide end, before the join is hidden with the tartan tape!

 

My hand looks strangely stunted in that third shot, I can assure you, I currently have perfectly normal hands, and will blame foreshortening, or AI? . . . buzzztt . . . pling! "Northfield Products refers to several different businesses, most prominently Northfield Farm, known for high-welfare free-range pork, beef, and lamb sold online and at markets like Borough Market; Northfield Furniture, offering handcrafted wooden items like toilet seats and trays; and Northfield Freezing Systems, an industrial brand by JBT Corporation for large-scale food processing. Other mentions include school uniforms and even a shoe model." 

 

This is a wind-up music box, with the mechanism hidden in a tartan gift-box, and the same bottle as the loose one, Chris sent to the Blog. It also has the Frea Scotland (from Scotland) sticker, which is missing on the new, larger band-bottle from Sandown's show.

 

And the shipping box the larger bottle came in, this also has the sticker. Now the next question, because there's always a next question, is: were there earlier ones which used the better quality, UK-made, Herald figures? Anyway, for now, that's another one put to bed - Northfield Products, purveyors of quality tat, to the passing tourist trade!

 

And I bet there are other Northfield items, you could probably build a nice little niche display or cameo collection of them?

 

As we're doing an 'Answer Time', here's confirmation, via a couple of dodgy colour scans of B&W copies, of the earlier (pre-RHA figure) Tringa line-up of 90mm figures, sold through Toyway, and also aimed squarely at the tourist trade.
 

H is for How They Come In - Week 18 - 2 Other Military

We're starting with the money box (known as money banks over the pond), which doubles as a 'bissquit' tin, well, it's primary goal is one of protecting biscuits, the saving of money is the novelty 'added value' afterthought!

I did send this to Moonbase's recent season on the subject, which continues apace with a tram added the other day (I might have a bus somewhere, but buried deep in the garage I fear) , however and in the meantime I had found out a little more about it, so we'll have another look now!

I wondered from the shape if it might have contained the dry crackers for cheese, but on reflection suspect it may have been shortbread, aimed at the tourist market, it obviously bearing the likenesses of several ceremonially-attired British troops, namely a Coldstream Guardsman (paired buttons), Royal Marine bandsman/drummer, a Yoman Warder 'Beefeater' from the 'white' Tower of London and a member of the ceremonial 'Kings Troop' of the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA).

Issued by Huntley & Palmer, a local firm here, down the road in Reading (I well remember the smell!)* it is apparently the third in a series, issued in 1971 it followed the pattern of tins originally issued in 1910 and 1914 (hence the 'apparently', it's such a big gap to the third design, one feels there may have been interim designs?).

*Reading had two smells when I was a kid, the H&P factory's wonderful baking sugar and bread smells and - in the centre of town - the sour, stick-in-your-throat smells of the brewery!

The plastic roof was the innovation on the 1971 version, as was the money-slot and all three sentry boxes are on Reading Museum's website (which is why I suddenly know so much about them!) and the earlier two can be seen here;

1910 - Huntley & Palmer's tin - Sentry Box

1914 - Huntley & Palmer's tin - Sentry Box

I've had an email exchange with Matthew Williams at the museum, and after lockdown they will look at adding images of the other sides of the tins, as while it will be interesting to see who's on the other sides of the 1910 tin, more interesting will be who - if anyone - replaces Germany on the 1914 tin?

[06-06-2020 - In fact the notes have already been updated to reflect that fact, Germany was replaced with Belgium! But the RHA is still described as a Hussar. Oh, and it's the 76th anniversary of D-Day today!]

The marking however, is an HBS, which was for many years an independent 'arm' of the biscuit makers started and run by one of the sons; Huntley, Boorne and Stevens, although eventually it was brought in-house, it will - for half a century or more - have also supplied tins and tin-plate goods/components to other customers around Britain and across the 'Empire' - as was.

Other ceremonial or historical figures in Chris's donation include the large guardsman who goes with the previously seen Guards officer and RHA trooper, but this time is based with the full set of Tringa Toy marks including a date; 2004, showing how quickly things which are 'It's still in the shops' current production, become 'Blimey, it's over 15 years old' collectables, purly by dint of the inexorable march of time!

He's missing what I have half a recollection was an SA80, and I think I may have one in the loose weapons zone, from another mixed lot as some point? If I can marry them up we'll have another look at them all-together, as they (three and a sentry box) have all been donated to the Blog (Chris Smith and Peter Evans) for showing to you, loyal readers!

Due only to the delay in getting these posts out, we now know - from the recent plumping of Plastic Warrior magazine No.179 onto our door-mats that the Herald clones are from the Argentine company Oklahoma, we looked at another a while ago (from Adrian I think - another officer with sword?), however, the mag' shows the ACW bugler was also given the Argentinian Army make-over!

The other three are an Esci gunner, a small Highlander 'mocherette' and another Highlander, who may have been removed from a pop-up toy and wired, but Chris suggested he may be an old, damaged earring? I think there's millage in that.

Medievals; Both Chris and I suspect Poland for the rider, the under-paint polemer is very 'Polish' and I have a memory of seeing plain, gold-paint foot figures attributed to Poland somewhere? The little guy may be a war-gaming figure, but I suspect either a board game or a touristy thing; another 'mocherette' anyway! While the archer is Wild Republic (K&M).

I placed him on a spare horse - also in Chris's donation, and if you think the angles poor for getting a handle on the horse, we'll look at it again in the Wild West shots! It's not the rider's horse, but looks the part of a tough little steppe-pony!

Many, many-thanks again to Chris for sending us all these and next-up; Wild West, Prehistoric and Civilians!

P is for Persons of Interest - Chris's Parcel III

I could have done these as one post but it would have been long and unmanageable, I could extend it out to ten or more posts such was the quality and interesting nature of the contents (but would have been bound to still miss one of the things Chris might be expecting me to single out!), but it will all appear here eventually, the pieces we've missed in these three posts coming back after sorting, in thematic, whole-set or maker posts in the future, for now, these are the other items I feel are worthy of a quick spotlight . . .

 . . . by dint of their standing out as I was sorting, or making themselves photogenic!

Footballers, wiff-waff player and the two ice-hockey flats, the cyclists were more 'bits and pieces' for marrying to past or future finds. I think the guy in the packet (Nestlé?) is actually 'The Gazza' himself; Paul Gascoigne, or trying to be him? And I think the yellow goalkeeper (bottom right) might be a baseless example from the same set of premiums, the shirt-markings being paper stickers supplied with each figure?

While the blue figure - 'Ally McCoist' - having a good left-hook whack at the ball (bottom left) is a third player from the Crocco premium set I knew nothing about twelve-months ago, and have had to rely on others for all three - the other two coming from Peter Evans!

The Table Tennis chap looks more Wilton than anybody else, but that's only the look, there are no other clues, so; late'ish Culpitt?!

The flats are probably Eastern European (they share features with The 'Hungarian' Romans) and definitely aren't PJH Effelder! But (like the Russian/Bulgarian Progress cavalry sets) one would seem to be a second generation copy of the other. Equally; they could both just as easily be lower grade Spanish Sobres or unmarked, Hong Kong, gum-ball machine, capsule prizes!

The Divers; we've had these before recently, or at least two of them, which may be a sign of them coming on to the secondary market as a generation moves on from their toys, or a specific big-seller, and any information on either would be much appreciated, the two black ones presumably go with a boat in a play-set of some kind? The smaller, although an action-figure (of limited articulation) is a pretty prefect 54mm, giving you an idea of the size of the others.

Two biggies and an imprisoned Britains! The Welsh lady from Wales (it's not a seagoing mammal Mr. President) is made of slate, but ground-down to a powder and bound with - probably - a two-part epoxy . . . like cold-cast bronze, but slate!

The guards officer - I think - goes with the RHA Hussar-type Chris sent to the Blog earlier in the year/last year (don't know when these will publish yet!) and the Artilleryman is the better figure, this officer should be marching, with the sword out, or standing at attention, not wandering, 'wandering' isn't in the drill manual!

His duel decorations are a bit of a fiction too, but he's a new figure so I'm not complaining, and while officers don't 'stag-on' sentry boxes, it's a really nice box, which will have a wait before we do them again, as they stared here twice earlier in the year. I think the RHA chap will look better in it, and these would seem to be up-market tourist figures, could we be talking the Buck' House walks? Do they have a 'gift shop' in the nation's main palace?

The final piece is very interesting, clearly a Scott's tourist thing, he is a HK-production Britains Herald piper, held on a cork plinth with a piece of textured green Plasticine . . . and a blob of glue? The tartan band, other than hammering-home the Scottish nature of the item, is probably hiding a clever join at the base of the bottle, or a not-so-clever join bodged with glue?

Label says Frae Scotland (from Scotland) and I nearly bid on a mixed job-lot with one of these in it earlier in the year, but with flights to pay back I was a bit of a spectator to feebleBay this year, I did manage a few smaller lots where a BIN was going wanting or it was 99p with five-minutes to go on a Wednesday afternoon, but the worthwhile job-lots tend to be bid up to proper money, which makes Chris's sending of his duplicates and cast-offs to this Blog all the more extra-ordinary.

 

Dec.2025 - we now know it's Tringa Toys via Toyway in the middle, and a Northfield Products (of Edinburg) bottle on the right. 

This was nice; the pole was broken as it usually is with these by the time they get to the secondary (or subsequent!) markets. But finish is otherwise unworn and all the other likely breakables are still there, having sent the other two boatmen to PW earlier in the year/last year I won't bore you with all three now, but if I find a fourth . . . !

The highlights from the medieval pile include from the left; a Hong Kong copy of the MPC knights, we looked at them years ago here, but I don't think I've seen a mounted example from Hong Kong yet and; this one is marked.

Then another (we looked at the whole lot a few weeks ago) of the Cherilea sub-scale re-issue, a Hong Kong copy of an Italian (probably Fontanini) precepi/nativity figure, a Safari knight (toob-size unlike the Indian we saw in the initial post) and another 'girly prince' (there was one in the civilian line up in the same initial post), there are many of these originating in the pinky-purple section of toy stores!

I've a fair-few copies of Airfix Russians, and I think we looked at them earlier this year/last year, but I've never seen them in a cloudy-clear like ghosts! The kneeling soldier is either a short-shot or meant to look like that; it's hard to tell with the material he's made from, but the left wrist is definitely miss-moulded/hand missing.

And I have never seen Hong Kong or other (they are unmarked and could be Solpa from Greece) copies of either the Support Group figures or the Ghurkhas? The base on the Ghurkha is very like Solpa, but the spotter has a thinner one which is more Hong Kong'y

Clockwise from the top left; we've seen it mended, but this is how Hermes left it on the doorstep! It mended fine, but the interesting thing was that the damage revealed a steel-wire/rod armature holding the wings on/out; it's constructed just like its composition forbears, but poured rather than pressed and set in minutes without an oven!

The Gemodels Lifeguard cake-decoration/touristy-chap has been painted as a colonial trooper of some generic type but I think he's rather nice and Chris's loss is definitely my gain; I won't be paint-stripping him . . . indeed - mental note to self - Hampshire Yeomanry next? All blue and silver! The Houshold cavalry do have a khaki riding/barrack dress, but it's greener (based on No.2's) and is worn with a service cap al la WWI.

Twelve flags for twelve brothers! I have a tub of these flag-types somewhere in the garage with various sizes of pole or base and lots of flags, but most of the common flags are in this one lot from Chris! Along with some of the less common ones; oddly though, the US stars & stripes is missing, but is probably the commonest in the normal course of events (it comes with a lot of the Airfix US Marine piracies in small scale), as are both the German/Belgian Red-amber-blacks which I have previously seen.

Finally, I sent my versions of these to Plastic Warrior awhile ago in answer (or part answer!) to a query, but these have come in together, same paint, and it's better than the examples I had up to now so a nice upgrade, and I might re-paint the older top-hat pose as the elusive Dr Doolittle of the original query? but - while it's clearly based on the Doctor - I still think it's from a circus set?

I hope you'll all agree that Chris's generosity is a cut-above, and it's a pleasure to thank him again for this parcel, and nice to share it with the rest of you.