T is for Two - Cherilea Rarities

Clearing Picasa with this post!

This is rather exquisite, photographed the other day on Adrian's stall, well outside my budget! Obviously designed by the same guy who did the UN troops, but he seems to have improved his sculpting slightly, and they work better for not having all the panoply of combat soldiers draped over them!

It's a bit impractical, I assume it's designed to float, but without the weight-system of Timpo and Britains, combined with their flat-bottoms; it's unable to stand-up on the carpet. I didn't try to assemble the loose figure as at this age it's best not to try, unless you've paid for the item first!

This has been in Picasa since March 2013, so well over-due for its fifteen minutes! The 1st version British Infantry swoppet-type, with plug-on boots, a separate bayonet and integrally-moulded sniper's rifle, I bought some 2nd version bits the other day, and it's the best way to collect these, a hand-full of bits at a time and mix and match until you can make-up a few complete ones.

M is for Magnetic Monsters on Magazines

It's been quite a while since we visited Dr. Who Adventures Magazine, but I spotted these on Wednesday, so time for a return visit clearly, and more Doctor Whatisname stuff for the collection!

Given that the cost of the mag. is the same whatever is on the cover, this is better than some of the generic shite they give away with a DW sticker on it! A set of four semi-flat (or relief), PVC/hybrid styrene- rubber, paint-your-own, fridge magnets.

The figures; approximately 30mm. Since out last visits to the publication it's gone to bi-weekly, then monthly, then it just petered-out. For several months I didn't see it anywhere, and then about six-months later I noticed it again, had a shufti and noticed it was issue 5! It had re-started; as if it had never gone away, or - given the numbering - as if it had never previously existed!

I'd rather lost interest as it had stopped putting useful stuff on the cover (although I picked-up enough for a mate), and the new-shape Daleks never got a re-issue, even though the old Fatleks kept getting outings, including a gold issue before last Christmas. Then when it did have a new-shape on it a couple of months ago, it was with a load of other 'real' crap; so I left it!

We've heard my view on this sort of marketing before - with this mag, with the Horrible Histories and with the Star War Command stuff, and it's so annoying to see young flibbertigibbets with their degrees in publishing, digital-marketing, history of art &etc . . . not exploiting a good idea properly...and it's not a question of me applying my old-school sensibilities to something I don't understand, it's clear they don't give the ideas time to grow, they don't market them properly, they give-up at the first sign of 'bottom-line' damage, they drop-back to lowest common denominator novelty face-masks without 'building brand' . . . frustrating . . . I tell's yer!

The magnets were A) not strong enough to hold the figures on a vertical surface and B) had suffered some catastrophic reaction to either the glue or the figures, resulting in them all coming loose and sitting in a chemical puddle, which may well have had a degree of toxicity! I gave them all a good clean with a spirit-based cleaner and chucked the magnets - those funny little rubber chads with magnetic dust mixed it. But it hardly helps sales when the cheapie-novelty is unworkable and sticky, straight out of the box!

There was no Advent calendar for 2015, this is the 2014 one; the contents were the same as the previous years, just new artwork with a cut-out 'Battle Scene' on the back and the same tray-insert.

L is for Lounging Lizards or Lizard's Lounge

I feel a bit of a theme developing, there was the bronze one awhile aback which was itself triggered by a nice rubber one on another Blog (Jan's?), the pack of 12 the other day, and now these sent in by Brain Berke yesterday.

Current rack-toys from across the pond, they come in two sizes of which these are the smaller set. Two poses, three of each but given six separate colour-ways.

The larger ones come four to a pack, and they are four different sculpts, and like the mini-ones the other day seem to be well detailed and anatomically correct, although the paint-jobs are, I suspect, a bit, err, over-zealous?

Brian found a second set with four more colour variations. I know nothing about MTC, except to assume the TC is 'Toy Company' and that's it's a modern US jobber, rather than either of the MTC's I was confused by the other day...or is it?!

Have you any Lizards, old or new to share with us?

M is for Marx Miniature Mash-up

Both a lovely thing and a bit of a shitter! A 'lovely thing' because it contains very fine polystyrene animals which have - mercifully - not been damaged, yet 'a bit of a shitter' as it's clearly designed (as if the word even pertains here!) to exploit a TV franchise, by grabbing whatever is to hand and shoving it in an existing format box, with no thought other than to make a few bucks!

The box follows the format of the late window boxes; we've looked at here before now - several times. Quite dramatic artwork with the zebra-stripes, it is guaranteed to catch the eye and generate pester-power for a purchase! 'DAKTARI' writ large only increases the desire to 'own a bit' of the child's current favorite TV series.

But hold on! No people, no vehicles, no recognisable characters; human or animal . . . just a bunch of European-looking deer and some giraffes, all from the Noah's Ark sets. Also; a quick investigation of the contents reveal that they are not the soft [unbreakable] plastic usually associated with these window-boxes, but rather the very frangible polystyrene of the earlier Miniature Masterpiece Ark sets.

Of interest though is the attempt to add interest to the contents with pop-up, card cut-outs of the grass-clumps. Although the two largest ones at the back have been ignored by 'staple-machine person' back at the factory! I should add that the three types of palm and the 'tropical' plants are soft ethylene however.

The missing: 'r'

The deer! Least said soonest mended forgotten! If any of these walked the plains of Africa, it was a Hollywood Africa, probably filmed in Yugoslavia!

Made by the Taiwanese arm of a US company, shipped to and packed in Hong Kong for onward transit to the British arm's marketing men to 'tie-in' with a TV series set in Africa.
I still think you'd be bloody disappointed when you got this home and broke half the animals getting them off the cardboard they've been grimly glued-to with something looking like Evostick . . . rubberised, brown snot!

The carbon-footprint of this item is frightening enough given what we know now, but the intent to rip-off is more worrying, and points to reasons other than oil-crisis' and Eastern competition for the demise of some Western companies; they were taking the piss out of their customers!

F is for Fat-Flat French Fellows from Figurines Historiques

And so to the London Toy Soldier Show, which I wasn't planning on attending, and haven't been to for years, certainly not since the move to the new venue at the Business Design Centre in Islington. I can well recommend the trip to anyone who's umming and arrhing, it's a light airy venue, with plenty of space and wide aisles.

I had my eye on these all day, but wasn't supposed to be buying much (budget not stretching to three shows in a month - I also did Sandown last weekend), so - at the end of the show - I asked the vendor; an old mate, if he could do me his best price, and he quoted a fair-one, so the deal was done.

I had taken a few looks at them/rummaged through them during the show and having not seen any obvious duplicates knew they would be worth a punt, but was pleasantly surprised - when I'd got them home and sorted them into chronological order - to find what seemed to be four full sets of 12 semi-flats or 'Demi-rond'.

Being the Mokarex re-issues by/as Figurines Historiques for Historex/Historex Agents, less the 3 Napoleonic sets which may not have seen a FH re-release (Historex having their own extensive range of fully-round 'multipose' 54mm Napoleonics), and the other set of French Personalities, which - ironically - I have bagged, in storage! The missing figures being;

• Bayard
• Conde
• Connetable de Bourbon
• Duguesclin
• Hoche
• Jeanne d'Arc
• La Tour d'Auvergne
• Mal de Saxe
• Marceau
• Roland
• Turenne
• Vercingetorix

However; let's look at what I've got here . . .

• Gaulois 300 (Gaul)
• Franc 400 (Frank)
• [King] Clovis 465-511
• [King] Clotaire 1 558-563
• Merovingien 600 (Merovingian)
• [King] Charlemagne [The Great] 768-814
• Carolingien 800 (Carolingian)
• Capetien 1000 (Norman)
• Chevalier Croise (Knight Crusader 1100'ish?)
• S• Louis 1226-1270 (St. Louis)
• [King] Louis XI 1461-1483
• [King] Francois I..1515-1547

As these figures are from more than one set of original Mokarex premiums and/or separate runners (as Figurines Historiques) I stress the above is not a set, but rather figures from up to three sets, arranged chronologically by date/s given.

The Figurines Historiques runners do all have 12 figures, arranged as branches of a 'tree' format; six each side, and were sold bagged with a header card. They are in the same pure-white, slightly soapy or soft polystyrene as the rest of the Historex range, holding detail well, and easy to clean-up, glue and or paint, however . . . compared to the silver, gold, bronze or gunmetal of the Mokarex originals: a bugger to photograph!

• Archer 1520 1520 (date repeated, no bow, so; man-at-arms?)
• Cent-Suisse de le Garde 1558 (Landsknecht type)
• Lansquenet 1562 (Conquistador type)*
• [King] Charles IX 1560-1574
• [King] Henri III 1574-1589
• [King] Henri IV 1589-1610
• Piquier [of the period of] Louis XIII (Piquet/Night Watch?)
• Mousquetaire 1627 (Musketeer)
• Garde Cal Richelieu 1628 (Cardinal Richelieu's Bodyguard)
• [King] Louis XIV 1643-1715
• Fusillier [of the period of] Louis XIV 1667 (Fusilier)
• Carabinier 1692

*Where the term 'Landsknecht' comes from?

Mokarex (another French 'x') were a coffee brand in France (and predominantly French-speaking Belgium) based in Paris, and issued all these along with fully-round solids and hollow plastic figures as premiums in their coffee, and I mean 'in' their coffee, I believe you had to break the seal and pour the coffee carefully into another jar, or dig-about with a spoon, to find your 'prize'.

Being the earlier figures I assume these were designed by Leroux, with the later solids being of Leliépvre's hand? While the 1976 Figurines Historiques revival - from which these figures date - seems to have been exclusive to Historex, JG Garratt reports that Nathan Polk (of Polk's Hobby Store) stated he and the Brethiot family (owners of Mokarex) were responsible for getting the project to fruition.

• [King] Louis XV1715-1774
• Garde Francaise 1724 (French Guard)
• Infanterie [of the period of] Louis XV 1745 (Infantryman)
• Grenadier 1771 [of the period of] Louis XV 1745
• Fantassin 1792
• Infanterie [of the period of] Louis XVI (Infantryman)
• Colonel De Hussard 1804 (Colonel of Hussars)
• Grenadier 1804
• Tambour Major 1804 (Drum Major)
• [Emperor] Napoleon I.. 1804-1815
• Chevau-Leger 1810 (Heavy Cavalry)
• Cuirassier 1810

I would imagine that these are actually less common than the Mokarex originals, as despite the customer base of Historex back in the day (and Polk's), there were - like cereal premiums - millions of the metallic-plastic ancestors issued.

One thing I have noticed about this type of polystyrene is that it tends to yellow if left in direct (or bright/long-term indirect) sunlight (the Airfix 'Multipose' and 54mm collector's kits suffer the same problem), so to find them mostly so clean-white is another bonus . . . however, if they are painted, that's not a problem . . .

• 6085 - D'artagnan 1611-1675
• 6086 - Athos
• 6087 - Porthos
• 6088 - Aramis
• 6089 - Maitre Bonacieux
• 6090 - Madame [Constance] Bonacieux
• 6091 - Planchet
• 6092 - Anne d'Autriche 1601-1666
• 6093 - [Earl of] Buckingham 1592-1628
• 6094 - [King] Louis XIII
• 6095 - [Cardinal] Richelieu 1585-1642
• 6096 - Milady

. . . the seller threw these in as well. They were only 11, but by some stroke of luck, I had picked-up the missing 12th pose (Mrs. Bonacieux ) three weeks ago at Plastic Warrior, from another seller! Painted by the same artist and numbered consecutively on the base, I don't know the significance of the numbering, which I have reproduced above; it could be a Mokarex catalogue thing, a Figurines Historiques thing or the painter's record-keeping thing?

Such a coincidence suggests, and it's only a suggestion, that these might be painted by William J. Carman (due to other offerings from both sellers and a recent re-auction of a portion of the Carman Collection), who was a fan of flats, when he wasn't designing solids! Whatever the truth, they are painted to a professional level, in an expressive, fluid style and I won't be dipping them in cleaner, overnight, ever!

If they aren't Carman's work, and you know who is responsible, please let me know as I'd like to credit the artist. D'artagnan looks as if he's been knocked over by his own caption!

"Right gang . . . circulate; you two watch over His Royal Holy Majestyness;

We'll both keep an eye on that slippery turd-bastard; the Cardinal"

 

A lot of Mokarex's output was based on figures in famous paintings, and one feels some of these might have been taken from a court view?

The discolouration I talked about above, also, a comparison between a spare figure and the new, painted one shows how, despite the figures being already quite well-detailed, the artist has added hints of so much more.

 

Below shows a few base variations, the one in the middle has the base typical of the Mokarex originals with a sort of orange-segment indent, to the left is an apparent attempt to remove the indent, resulting in a raised hump which makes the figure rock slightly, a few of the Figurines Historiques figures suffer from this, while the miss-placed base-block of the third example suggests a certain degree of changeability in the mould-cavities, which would only add to the confusion with trying to tie-down 'set' contents.

And we've hit one-million and 65 hits!

I is for Indian . . . with the Horn

I got the Horn . . . fnarr-fanarr - as Finbar Saunders would be bound to say at this point, another sub-collection seems to be forming, by accident as these things do!

I'm guessing there must be a Cowboy version somewhere, with a cowboy card, but I keep finding Indians . . . Indians from the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong!

Comparison with the ones we looked at in the December novelty-fest, or actually I think it was a couple of weeks before the rest? The large one is a reed-blower rather than the simple whistles of the small ones.

Different pose, it is the wonder of how many are out there, that will drive this sub-collection, curiosity; the force behind collectors . . .

. . . if you had a family the size of the Von Trapps, you could build an orchestra . . . it would be an excruciatingly painful orchestra, but still, it takes all sorts to make a world!

12 is for Lizards

Twelve of them, there are, Lizards, in a pack, that's twelve lizards - for a pound!

You see; I kid you not; it's twelve lizards in a pack, which clearly states "Pack of 12 Lizards", in The Works now, for a pound, that's less than 10p each - per 12th lizard*. They're cheaper than bites of a Mars Bar!

Joking apart, these aren't the crummy rubber approximations of a Dimetrodon without the sail you used to get stuffed in a capsule 20 or 30 years ago, these are well sculpted, well detailed, well made animals with a decent (if formulaic) paint job. Numbered 1-12 (top left to bottom right) there's definitely twelve of them!

I don't know if they are realistic paint jobs, or imaginary species? They also have relatively blank bellies, AND (while not being an expert in these things) some of them look like geckos (reptiles) and salamanders (amphibians) which would mean it's actually "Pack of 12 Geckos, Lizards and Salamanders", but I do know if Britains were still making their animals, they couldn't compete with this stuff - which is why they aren't!

But you have to ask how long Schleich and Papo can keep charging 4, 5, 6.99 for individual animals smaller than these (their puppies, cats and poultry for instance), when you can get twelve for a pound, even the capsule puppies start to look dear at a pound each.

If you're an animal collector; look out for them now, probably in other packagings elsewhere in the world.

*8.3-recurring pence per Lizard (about 12¢)

I is for Is it a rabbit? Is it a train? No! It's 'Super Tank'!

"Ladies and Gentlemen! May I present for your delectation, for your appreciation, for your admiration, for your fascination . . .

. . . The one, The only, The Kelo 'Super Tank', this tank Ladies and Gentlemen comes with the very latest in gyro-movement, it boasts 7 road wheels on each side - ignore the publicity material; the artist's been sacked - and the all important three little ones. It comes with reversed, rear, mirror-inverted, near-horizontal, torsion bars, triple-laid, kinetic, shock-plast armour AND - Ladies and Gentlemen - an eccentric wheel! The Peeyow-peeyow gun is second to none and the hidden co-axial is well hidden! The Kelo 'Super Tank' will meet the needs of generalissimos, dictators, interplanetary Merciless Mingers, despots and alien battle-fleet commanders everywhere . . . cash, cheques or bankers drafts drawn on Panamanian accounts preferred, no kryptonite! Please form an orderly queue, my colleague Barry will take your orders, free key-ring of Bugs Bunny in a Super Tank with every 10 vehicles ordered, terms and conditions apply..."

[Thinks...] Blimey . . . I want one of those; they sound, err, super . . . oh? I've got one? YES!
Read it and weep, peeps! Any nonsense out of you and I'll be round your gaff to dispense my kind of justice with the Kelo Super Tank, that wot I jus' got, init!

Forerunner of the Kinder mechanism! This is a difficult one, as my favorite AFV has been - for the longest time - the Dibro space tank, now this has turned-up and it's got a working turret and everything . . . Hasta manyana Gibro, hello Kelo! They both beat the Panzer IV running-gear-equipped LP efforts, hands down!

Pictured with contemporary figures for the 1950's (Tiny Trojan khaki infantry, lower image) and the 1960's (post-Giant spacemen, upper shot), Kelo (or Ke-Lo) ((Keith Lowe of Dudley in the West Midlands) were a small company with big ideas who sunk with little trace, they were - by the end - owners of the intellectual and some actual property of A. Wells and former Bing collaborator's Brimtoy, (Wells-Brimtoy) and I'm hoping to get more details from the expert - Chris - in a while, I think we had a Kelo rocking horse when we were kids.

[New] Best Space Tank Ever!

L is for 'Love Boat', Lovers Louché Living and Lovable Lazy Loser

The day before the Plastic Warrior show, I had another parcel arrive from Brian Berke in the Big Apple, lots of lovely things, among which were these vintage 'cuties' (to steal a phrase from Louis Marx! It's alright - he went bust years ago...), I'm only familiar with them from Kent Sprecher's site, where they have sat (with some interesting looking styrene ones...crew!) for many years - on my wants list (with a million other figures!), but I've only ever otherwise seen them occasionally on US feeBay.

Brian reports that "The Love Boat passenger figures were sold off in the early 80's in a NYC discount chain called 'South Pole'. The actual game/toy had these figures and beds which at the time raised concerns about the morality of the game. It wasn't called Love Boat for nothing!"

I think this is managing to present both all the poses and all the colours available. The blue chap had the same deposit of waxy dust on him that some Matchbox 54mm figures get, clearly one of the many additives leaching out over time, but he hasn't shrunk or distorted and cleaned-up well with no sign of brittleness.

Presumably: the crude MTC mark on the shoulders/back of each figures was part of the contract with the Hong Kong manufactory and represents Mattel Toy Company?  And with the . . . err . . . a'hem . . . 'coat-hanger' charms (embellishments?) of the female poses ('Like Scammell wheel-nuts . . .'), it's easy to see why the set was withdrawn; the fact that there's not a full-suitcase of clothing between all six of them was undoubtedly a factor in the decision too!

Following on from the recent bendy-toy posts, these turned-up at Sandown Park toy fair this Saturday just gone, and if the all-American 'beautiful people' above were of questionable morality, the silhouettes on this box are quite depraved...

...if I was about to stick my book where he looks like he is about to stick his: I'd expect the police to bring charges of domestic abuse against me, however; if she is about to do to their son what she looks like she's about to do: I'd expect a tub-thumping, New England, Presbyterian Judge to let me off!

Madame; the reason your relationship appears to be in trouble is because . . . your husband is gay . . . he's gayer than a gay man that's gone to university and had himself elected professor of gayness, he's so gay he's about to leave you for a Californian gardener called Crispin (apologies to all non-gay Californian gardeners called Crispin . . . and any over-sensitive gay gardeners called Crispin, anywhere!), set-up home with him in Haight Ashbury and open a poodle parlour.

Wherever he got that tie; it wasn't the 'Olde Worlde Real Manns Necktye Shoppe' and that's a fact. He's also borrowed one of your blouses and a pair of slacks from one of Charlie's Angels, and: Chocolate Brown? It's so'oh last decade!

Now you may not have noticed, or maybe you're a 'very' modern couple . . . oh! I see you've put your son in a bright-red skirt and gingham blouse . . . I think I understand now: "completely flexible" huh? Just raise them both to know it's also OK to be heterosexual and/or monogamous.

And don't get me started on the 1970's connotations of 'bender'! Suffice to say - it had nothing to do with sarcastic, opinionated, back-chatting robots! I have visions of late 1960's schoolboys spitting mirthfully through gritted-teeth while trying to keep a straight face after asking for a 'Bend-a Family' at the corner shop. Indeed; the more I think of it, the more I suspect that it was me with the rictus-grin, in Brecon toy shop?

Although: speaking of Matt Groening (in a roundabout sort of way); Brian also sent me . . .

. . . a Homer Simpson . . . Whoo-Hoo! Because "every man should have at least one as a reminder that he is in all of us" . . . Doh!

Made by Monogram, but not 'that' Monogram, another one . . . which is a bit of an oxymoron, they will have to be renamed Duogram I and Duogram II! Thanks Brian, I love 'im, but 'e's not getting my doughnuts!

Next day - Brian corrected me: "The M on the back of the figures stood for Multi-toys a NY based toy company, see link above. The bag of figures included one each of the main crew characters.", so tag-list adjusted and he also provided a brilliant link! Cheers Brian.

https://2warpstoneptune.com/2016/04/05/the-love-boat-playset-multi-toys-1983/

P is for the Post-Plastic Warrior Plastic Plunder-Post Picture-Pile Pronouncements

So, did I mention there was a T . . . oh, we've had that meme before . . . well; this is what I carried back to the cave after the hunt . . .

This was the bag of bits I received from Gareth Morgan, in the car park before the doors opened! All sorts of nice things were present, and some of them will be in posts soon. The highlight was actually a small sealed bag of Hong Kong small-scale farm, almost certainly from 'Lucky Bags' or Christmas crackers, and tying two base-marks into one source - so very useful.

Two copies of Airfix zoo animals (already added to their posts) along with various capsule toys and other novelties were also in the bag, as well as several bits of wattle fencing from Britains Garden which make excellent stockade sections for Airfix Ancient Britons! I think the bendy-boxer, blogged last week, was in there as well.

Trevor Rudkin's bag was equally full of useful bits and bobs, although intercepted; it came to me in a roundabout fashion anyway! Highlight was probably the little trail-bikes with riders; I suspect from a board game, there was three (red, green and blue) so possibly another one (four players?) or three (six players?) to track down, along with the game's title - a BGG session I think.

There was also a cake decoration coach in a new colour, which was timely as I'm working on the wagons for the new HK Blog, although it will be a while before they get published. Cherilea cacti and a Lucky Toys Thames Trader with a broken back (easily glue'able) were other items of interest.

Adrian Little brought various bits for me to look at, and I had a few things off the stall as the day progressed; a bunch of Quaker gladiators which are destined for Italy if the reciprocal Co-Ma ever turn-up, an HK salesman's sample, some card flats from a cereal box so old I don't remember when Shredded Wheat was called Welgar!

Bag of bits, tub of bits, 'nother bag of bits . . . Starlux firemen, a large anthropomorphic mouse - playing guitar . . . a Portuguese donkey in a straw hat and green trousers, Wiking Stuka . . . the usual stuff! The Marx 'Sunshine Series' boxing of Blue Box's small scale wagon has been seen here before, but it's a clean one!

This lot mostly came from one stall, up the top of the hall near the entrance; a bag of Marty Toy knock-offs (probably Gordy) which are useful, the Merten sailors will be for a comparison shot with the Blue Box copies one day, the Secret Army Supplies card destined for a follow-up to the post I did - not long ago...timing huh? Thus it ever was!

The little pile of Tractors and things (a pig playing a sousaphone!) was from Steve Vickers's rummage tray - I think (?) - and the Merten knock-off cake decorations were blogged last week.

The LP/LG Buck Rogers bags were from the same stall as the other stuff, I have the robots and Matchbox clones already and have blogged them here and on Moonbase, but the character figures are a nice gap-filler...the Tweedle-Twaddle thing is missing, but at this scale it looks like a child and is no loss . . . I think my distain for that particular character has surfaced here before now? "Weeble-wooble?" Fuck-off, you demented, cutesy, family-living, low-brow, tea-time entertainment, future-past, hideously eighties, R2-unit-cloned, Nazi-helmet equipped pile of ducting: I don't care who's stuck down the space-well!

The same stall I think, also gave-up this bag of Kinder bits, mostly complete 'bits' as it happens, no nice RP figures, but various late-1980's/mid-1990's stuff I missed first time round, and while I have another lot of them somewhere (storage!), these have all the stickers and inserts intact. There's another mini racing-car for the board-game project, along with various trains, 'planes and automobiles. Competition time . . . no prize - find Micky's nose . . . warmer, warmer . . . cooler . . . left a bit . . . !

Above is my quick gathering of harvest from Peter Bergner's rummage boxes, this was five-minutes work, and you could spend all day just on the one task! I also got the Effigies paratroopers from him; the plan is to use the under-scale parachutes to produce in-scale papier-mâché canopies for smaller scale figures. Winner is probably the large blue-rubber polar bear, seems to be missing a plug-in belly-plate, but who cares, he's brilliant!

Other minor purchases included the Replicants medieval clerics, a Blue Box wagon I thought was a colour variation (it wasn't!), some more Lucky Luke premiums and a set of LOTR board-game Hobbits which were a gift from Graham Apperley as part of a deal which didn't happen fully, years ago!

Loot from the 50p box on the stall behind us; the Liverpool gang - as always: with nice things. There are some Blue Box Brit's and Germans, a BB knight, HK copies of Britains Khaki Infantry (destined for that page), a couple of Chinatanks (in the style of Zee Toys/Zylmex, but different, I suspect), a rabbit, a Spanish, terracotta, touristy, caricature, policeman and a couple of paratroopers. The three steeplechasers came from Brain Carrick's table, and at the moment are vying for 'best at show'!

Girly-girl thought she'd help sort-out, but didn't do much helping until . . .

. . . she decided to try unwrapping a 53-year-old card box with those claws . . .which I explained wasn't really helping at all!

I also got an Anzio Beach from Aurora: box was tatty but saveable and the contents - which were mucked about with and covered in gloss black, brown or green - have actually presented some paint-free smaller parts, plus the usually never present transfer sheet. There were also three Bellona bunkers and a bridge in the box . . . Bargain!

Mid-sort finds most material boxes ticked, most scale boxes ticked, most subject, era or object boxes ticked...you get the picture!

The 'junk' bag from Brian, there was one from Peter Evans too, similar contents, but I forgot to photograph it, and it's all been broken down and sorted now, but thanks to both.

It's the bags of bits I go to the shows for really, if you want a set of quality Timpo something's or Starlux something else's, you can ring a dealer, go on evilBay, or just ask around at a show, but the things that make the story whole, the things that make some of the posts here more interesting, or complete, the real 'gap fillers' are to be found in the oddment bags! So special thanks to Adrian, Brian, Gareth, Graham, Peter, and Trevor for looking them out for me, to share with you.

Less than a year to PW 32!