C is for 'Collector Pack' Corsaires!

So, the biggest question mark hanging over ITLAPD, was actually answered in the spring of 2024, when, quite by chance, looking for something else, I encountered not the Zizzle Pirates I've been asking about for years, but the superheroes tacked-on to the end of this post. The answer to the question being . . . They are Disney theme-park Collector Pack figures. But I ran-out of time last year, so they didn't get posted!

 

Five additions to the collection, I think one or two may be duplicates, but as they turn-up infrequently, and seem to have some value, when listed correctly (I've been lucky with mine, and the three or so prior purchases has always been unknown, undescribed, or just PotC type listings), the duplicates should sell-on eventually, and it's going to be the only way to get all of them!

 

 

Not that I have any idea how many there are, yet, and decent websites on the collector packs are hard to find, like, I haven't found one! I did find that in around 2012 (or earlier, Zizzle ceased trading in 2009?), the size changed, and the chap in the middle here, is from a set of 16, which includes three micro-ships, sized for board games!

 

An Internet shot with some of the figures I still have to find. It seems the Collector Packs, are like blind bags, or Gashapon, and only available in the theme-parks, possibly as you arrive, or leave? And the reason nobody managed to ID them all these years? I think the average toy soldier collector is two cultured to spend his or her days praying to the corporate money-pit of self-referential Mamon, which theme-parks represent?!

 

Another of the new, smaller figures, 40mm against the 54mm'ish of the older sets, depicts Captain Hook from Disney's Peter Pan, again, I don't know which set he’s from, or whether it's a set of Pan characters or mixed Disney staples, Micky, Sleeping Beauty etc . . .?

 

However, I did find out that newer franchises/Disney properties are represented in both sets, and ended-up with these Superhero figures in 54mm, also by Zizzle to go with the Kinder and Res Plastics types! I still don't know the significance of the base marks and wildlife silhouettes, and if this now rings any bells with anyone, we still need all the other questions answered!

• How many sets
• How many figures
• When were they issued
• How were/are they obtained 
• What's the story with the base marks

and, I guess;

• If Zizzle made the old ones, who's making the new ones?

But, at least we now know they are Disney collector packs, and I'll try to find time, in the next few days, to re-Tag the previous outings of them, here at Small Scale World.

ITLAPD is for It's That Long Assorted-Post Dissertation

Oi' been led to ber'live some scurrvy scurr callin' hisel' Mad Cap'n Tom were for a number o' years callin' hisel' the 'ead of ther Brit'ish ITLAPD . . . and feel Oi' should point owt, Oi's been postin' err' regulur-loik ferr longurr thun thaat!

http://www.yarr.org.uk/

So 'ere's be ther furrst o'a' few posts on Poirates and Poiraty things 'er at Small Scale Worrld, not as many as some yurrs, but plen'eny to's keep me 'and in! Aharrrrr maties!

First off, a question-mark; they keep turning-up, usually in small numbers and have as many clues to early Hing Fat or late Ri-Toys (plastic type, plastic colour) as they do to DFC or HG (figure size, figure subject), and could be two of the above (or others altogether) as there are definitely two versions of the sailors/pirates (left and middle), but so far only one type of AWI/Revenue-men?

You feel they should be commonly known, but they might have been some kind of cheap'o rack toy? Or I'm just being dumb! Anyone able to add any more to these; were they branded, big-box or bottle-bag, 1980's or '90's? I've been picking them up since the early 1990's and they're around the 50mm mark.

The weird thing is the unmarked revenue men seem to go with the middle pirates, not the similarly coloured lot who ARE marked CHINA, so late 1990's-onwards for definite, on them

Another question-mark; A rather stubby gun and pile of muddy cannon-balls. From the colour this looks as if is't cut out of a Bellona vac-formed scenic sheet, but which one? There was a 19th century battlefield one I think and a couple recommended for ACW, but the barrel here is more piratey than Napoleon or Parrot?

We've seen these before, and I keep a look-out for them on that there interwebamathingy, but the big lot were sniped at the last second and the others were too-expensive or reposted on value-aggregators like Worthpoint, but the two question marks remain; what's the significance of the wild-animal base marks? And what set/line/range were they in? I've seen them listed as 'The Disney Collection' but not found many more with that as a search term.

From the number which have turned-up and the number of duplicate characters/different poses now found, it looks to be at least two boxed sets of around ten poses? First two movies? Two waves of the second movie? Four boxes of six figures? I said we'd return to these and we have . . . and we will again!

We looked at these big-box generics last year, but I've collected a couple more images which are worth a peek, if only because one is wearing a rather piratical A-to-Z logo (which is the importer Padgett Bros) and new box graphics.

Just a bit of fun, these are out there on-line; expanding foam pirates, this one credited to a Forum Novelties Inc., but there will be others I'm sure! Put him in water and he grows, put him on a radiator and he shrinks, cat gets him and he shreads!

With the demise of the Early Learning shops, and having received a few of their other large 'solid' figures in Charity Shop lots, I was pleased to find this old sales picture still finable on-line, The Early Learning Centre pirates.

Saw this, or was I sent it? It might have been part of the wider conversation into Brian Berke's Charles W Morgan kit, which we looked at a couple of ITLAPD's ago? Or I looked it up after? No matter, it's piraty, and Captain Morgan may have produced pirate premiums at some point, maybe a little metal one like the old Britains semi-flat Johnny Walker? I just feel I should be saying more about it?

I got a Supreme carded pirate, I'm sure I've seen a generic version in a catalogue somewhere, but can't remember where . . . Henbrandt or Marshalls maybe? Anyway, it comes with a faux-velvet purse (treasure bag!) and one figure, who gets a rather crude boat to play in which is barely large enough for him and his huge treasure chest, which has a naff card-insert treasure, rather like Blue Box's hay-wagon load! Here branded to Halsall's (HTI) Time4Toys.

When I looked at the Klutz bits a while back, this chap had just come in, in a mixed lot, so I used him as a sizer, and shot a couple more to go here, so here they are! Fontanini, hard PVC 60/70mm, they also appeared in a smaller size, like these and as unpainted/antique-washed polyethylene versions - the cat'O'two-tails!

Peter Evans bought this for me in the Toy Project Charity shop a while back (Christmas-time I think) and we will be back with them in a minute, but this post is written-up in an 'as they were added to the folder' order, and he came earlier.

He seems to be designed to hold something on his head and I suspect it's treasure or tokens as you move round a board game? He may - equally - not be a pirate, but more of a general 'historical' figure, he looks a bit fairy-tale-artwork-of-my-childhood like? I think he IS a pirate, just covering possibilities - anyone recognise him?

Why is this in the folder? First Captain Morgan, now these? Goes away, has a coffee and a think, comes back non-the-wiser and writes a couple more picture captions . . . OH! Yes, someone (Chance Priest?) on Brian Heiler's Facebook group (where lots of them are Mego fans) found it and I was sufficiently amused by the subject-matter to chuck it in the ITLAPD folder!

Italian kids of the 1970's obviously thought nothing of buying their pirates large and in sixes! There's gotta'be a story here - festival of some kind, very larger garden-toy/sand-pit ship by the same company? Giocattoli Querzola.

Unknown cartoon octopus with a pirate's air about him, unmarked, but in a Kinder style, so maybe another capsule-toy issuer? Is he a character from Sponge Bob or a more generic thing?

This IS a capsule toy AND Kinder! Lady-pirate from a crew which is both unisex in mix/numbers and overall quite androgyn! Not sure if the 'Pablo' character comes separately - and apart from the rest of the set - in a larger 'maxi-egg', or is reduced from the apparent size in the artwork on the insert sheet (where this figure - Alisea - is not seen in the issued figure's pose/sculpt) to fit in the normal-sized eggs?

Not my thing particularly, but it does ID some blobby, black knights we may or may not have seen here, I know I had some come in but can't remember if I posted them? Redbox infant toy set, with equally blobby pirates and a ship which is of limited use in any scale that might be looking for something more realistic, but they would be cheap.

I can't remember if we've seen these here before or not, they were available last year as I shot them for the 'seen elsewhere shot (next shot below), but I think I then realised they weren't on the Blog, so shot them for this year, or something, anyway, here they are and I don't think I know anything else about them - more corner-shop, counter-box pick'n'mix vinyl's?

That 'seen elsewhere' shot, which was all the softer PVC or PVC-a-like figures, with the K&M / Wild Republic; centre left, Klutz in his own row; top right, the chap from Brain B above him. The two ships crew; bottom right, the four we just saw; top left, and a few odds and sods.

These are on Alibaba, and are probably available about the place as generic cake decorations, I have a similar Disney Alice' set in the queue which I have managed not to post several times despite meaning to! Nice sculpts, well finished, but cartoony, and nothing like the characters in the licence they are knocking-off, but both the skeleton and the lady have mileage enhancing others sets?

Current listing on Toy Major's site, set W5545 Action World Pirate Collection window box, previously carried by Toysmith (and others), and here with some useful accessories.

Another one I was outbid on! And it went for silly money for a relatively current set, but there you go! Pech Brothers copies with a runner of crude accessories from BumSlot! They may previously have been seen from Montaplex or Hobby-Plast.

I was up in London last Wednesday and added these two to the post at almost the last minute, a Papo-Mini (40mm) and a piratical penguin of unknown origin who has something of Phidal about him?

Both bought from the Toy Project which I visited with Peter Evans, they have a new layout and more stuff (post in the queue) and have opened another shop, so seem to be doing well which is nice!

But the eleventh-hour slot on additions to this post went to an eBay BIN-purchase of cheap fondant-icing cutters which arrived a day or two ago! They were so cheap, and I plan on making a pirate-cake for a future ITLAPD, so we may see them again - plans and reality being separate tenants on life's journey!

F is for Follow-up - Disney Stores by Zizzle

This was - in part - originally included in the intro, post, but I then remembered I'd had some others come in which I hadn't shot, so I got them all out the other night and took some supplementary photographs and knocked-up this three-hander!

This guy is definitely new as he was waiting here after the rest went-up to the shipping container! I still haven't worked out what - if any - significance the little animal cartouches have, but I am pretty sure now that these were Disney Stores exclusives.

However, as you can see from the comparison-image; bottom left, of Jack Sparrow, that they are quite 'lumpy' compared to the general Zizzle line (and other Zizzle products), so it looks like Zizzle may have subcontracted them out to an as yet unknown factory, other than their own/their usual contractor? But by 'lumpy', don't think I'm being derogatory, I prefer these to the over-engineered 'collectables' of the standard range, these have a more traditional Toy Solder charm.

The line-up as it stands, there are starting to be duplicate characters in other poses, so this must have been a series of sets over a few years running alongside Zizzle's own-branded sets, now they're not rare (they're mass-produced, 21st century polymer, sold through one of the once-busiest (another closed the other day) chains in the developed world!), but they are hard to track-down and I am enjoying the slow-building of the 'gang'!

Two versions of Bill Turner, was he in two movies (- two lines in the rage) or one (= two sets in the same year)? Unfortunately, while there are PotC wiki's, they seem only to list Zizzle's branded sets, not the Disney Stores ones! We will return to these!

ITLAPD is for I've Totally Lost the Administration of Pirate Day!

Aha! Me'arties! It be thaart toime'o yearrr again . . . it be talk loik a poirate day! Orrrrrr . . . if yer'appen to prefuurrrr; it be talk in a baaad West Cahnt'ree aaacent - in yer own 'ed - woilst do'win hous'old chorrrrs -day! Ahaarrrrrr . . . !

And . . . that's enough of that! If - and writing this, on Thursday night at ten-twenty-one PM, it's a big 'if' - I manage to get everything done by midnight on Sunday, this might be the best ITLAPD ever, and the last few were pretty good if I say so myself. But September has crept a little too suddenly into view, and onto the nineteenth?

I don't think I've even used any of the 40 or 50 RTM posts, I was going to carry into September, and have only half-emptied the odds-folder I started doing the other week, so I've got three days to write this all up, but I had my second jab today, so may feel shit tomorrow, and then there's an early start for an all-day Sandown Park (which I'd better go and do a quick news views on! So that's not a good start) on Saturday!

But If I get this done now, a few tomorrow, and maybe one on Saturday evening, I'll then plug-away on Sunday and try to get the rest done!

Last year it all went like clockwork, but this year's . . . while I had lots of articles shot, I've spent the last two days going through them (when I've had a few minutes here and there), re-shooting, or shooting supplementary shots, which has taken half the contents out of this intro., and into two new post, while a couple have been added as I went through the boxes - which had to come-back from storage!

It's madness really in'it! But we're here, and I've made a start, but I must just go and do a 'News, Views Etc . . .'  for Saturday!

So last year, this year's ITLAPD started to take shape on the 25th of September 2020! With the arrival of a mixed-lot from that-there feebleBay! Actually joined a few days later (tenth October?) by a Diorama, which winged its way across the Pond from Brain Berke and which will - hopefully - follow this post, shortly!

This is they, mostly odds or colour-variation duplicates and some Naval/Boxer-rebellion figurines (AIP? & Replicants), which obviously looked piratey to the seller! Already sorted away, the Charbens pirate is a new-issue one, the Hing Fat's are the earlier (probably not Hing Fat, likely Rado) colours, but no tied-hands prisoner!

Thanks to Quentin McClelland for ID'ing the cannon back in December: "It is from Imex set 711. It was also available in blue. The Italeri howitzer barrel is assembled from four parts, left, right and two dolphins. The Italeri trunion caps are also separate pieces.", there had been quite a discussion as to which set it was from!

All sorts of Odd's have come in over the last 12 months, and some have gone into separate posts, others are here, and we have in this above collage; five (top right) who were a single lot - I think, two enlarged to the left look like Haribo, Kinder or Onken type yogurt or chocolate capsule-egg premiums/prizes?

A vinyl pirate who's new to the stash and a pair of vinyl smallies who are marked MADE IN CHINA on Smart Toy style bases. Below them is a duplicate Saom who came in with something and he's holding the hand of one of the ones on the left - I don't even know what they are, I have bags of this shite . . . Zuru, Ty, Flair?

But five of them are piratey! And there are gold versions . . . Zomlings, Moshlings, X-something? About three years ago I was threatening to do a bunch of posts on these, but they got put back and put-back, they are NO priority and there's so much of this stuff . . . Go-Go's, Shopkins, Ugly Pet Shop, Grocery Gang, Super Zings . . . Teeny Mates (sportsmen from Brian B in the 'States!) We'll cover them all one day, just to tick the boxes!

Note the busy table with Russian plastic flats, Chinese ivory, Indian sub-continent brass votives and Pelican markers!

The two new ones compared to the older six (1980/90's) and the three Halsall/HTI copies, similar not the same, but in that 30-40mm grouping of flesh-coloured substrate! Can anyone put a brand o the new pair?

These came in as two sets of four, only the other week, and four have gone off to one of the Blog's contributors to try and pay back all the past kindnesses! Softish, modern PVC-substitute, and around 60mm like several other sets of these corner-shop, display-box, pocket-money types! Again - no brand or brand-mark.

My first large-size Papo pirate, he has a separate sword and looks a bit like the chap from the statue my mate Louise dragged back from Corsica!

Bottom right is a singly who came in with something, compared to one of those Zizzle Disney-store rarities (they were a bigger part of this post but now have their own if I get round to it) and no brand, he could be a game-piece or chess-set piece?

A week later - just found him in a recent (Volume 172) Plastic Warrior magazine, ID courtesy of Colin Penn; he's by Klutz and came with a card homecraft model of a pirate boat. There's a Harry Potter too, along with knight and Space Warrior figurines.

To the left is a comparison with the new Papo, two new 40mm Papo's and the stripy-shirt we saw a year or two ago. Top is the three new vinyls compared with two older ones (Wild Republic in red and a blue pocket-money generic).

I saw these going reasonably, earlier in the year and bought them, not Disney's PotC Davy Jones crew, oh no-no-no, absolutely not! Mars's Zombie Pirates, first time ever I've bought the 54mm version of 1:72^nd scale figures first!

They're nice-enough, but I found them a bit thin, but some of my other zombie figures are, and a semi-dehydrated undead cadaver dropping bits of itself about the place is likely to look 'well exercised'!! Compared with another Zizzle, this one new to Blog!

I saw these going cheap on evilBay and stole the shot, Jema Plast from Mexico with a copy of the old Hing Fat/Pressman ship and Ideal pirates, there's also a totem-pole in there with two 'jolly boats' . . . "I don' like these Jolly Boats Captain", says a certain look-out as he sinks for the umpteenth time!

Unimax FoV pirates, I have started adding these to the collection, there's not many, but they seem to duplicate in packaging, so it's going to be like the Zizzle non-Disney's, a few at a time while trying not to get too many duplicates!

Right me'arties! Thaats got us off and runnin' a'Haarrrh!

J is for Jack Sparrow . . . et al!

I managed to add to the Zizzle collection again this year, but I have to admit I didn't try too hard or do too well, finding only two suitable lots, letting the better one go and buying the other a few weeks later, a couple of three months or so ago! Of the eight figures in the lot, four were duplicates/damaged, but the other four were new for ITLAPD!

I then photographed them when they arrived and a month or so later, having forgotten I'd photographed them, did so again!

Two more from 'last year's' Chinese crew, another of Davy Jones's slimy pals and - at last - captain Jack Sparrow himself. Now, here's the weird thing, I remember seeing all these in the shops at the time and thinking I bet the 54mm guys are loving these, but not buying them as I was still only a small scale collector.

Now, of course, I don't know how many there were! But I think it's about two or three sets of three or four figures per movie, for the last two, with an unknown number of the simpler-based ones which kicked-off the sample three or four years ago, from the first movie - and harder to find.

So if I manage to get a few more additions over the next year or two and only show them, we can look at them all together in a future post?

The whole purchase lot before the rejects were hived-off, Cap'n J is definitely between a rock and a hard place, running from the frying-pan and heading for the fire or . . . between the devil-fish and a deep blue grave!

Close ups of Mr Depp and the four rejects having a scrap, just because they were there, and won't be! And because this might have been a funnier post if things had been different, but it's just a case of finding my feet again and getting it posted without my little editor on the end of the bed.

Z is for Zizzle's Zombies from Zanzibar!

No They're not, they're from the Caribbean, or Disney's excuse for the Caribbean and they were cursed rather than specifically undead - we all know that, but it was a title crying-out for a post which was never going to happen, so in an act of piracy on English as we understand it, I went with my heart!

Such is the way of things that I bought these just after last year's ITLAPD, I can't remember what I shelled-out for them, but they would have been going for a song, or I wouldn't have jumped at them so soon after clearing the decks of the previous 12-month's stuff!

Although they look like the action figures, they are roughly 54mm, and are a continuation of the earlier, more simple or 'bog-standard' based series we've looked at in ITLAPD's passim (2018 I think, under Zizzle in the tag-list they will be below this post if you jump the tag), but now with landscaped bases, which actually limits their use in some imaginations!

Two of Davy Jones' crew; the man himself and one of the seaweed men, this Davy is much of an improvement over the one in the previous series, but if he didn't exist, there'd be nothing wrong with the old one, if that makes sense! They both have seabed/coral pod-bases which can pass for ground or beach.

Two of the Chinese vessels crew (third or fourth movie?); The boss-man's base is also quite generic, it's the fat bloke's which is so specific, but I remember looking at these in the shops at the time they were released and thinking several of them had bases which limit their scope, so it's pure chance three of mine are quite generic and match the others better than this last chap; he also has a separate loop-over cross-belt.

The seller had sent the wrong captain, and was quick to get the correct one in the next post with an apologetic eMail. While I had them both in front of me I shot them together with a sizer (the trusty berserker), before returning the 100mm action figure to the seller.