C is for Contribution Fortnight - IX - Novelty Chopsticks from Brian

Well, the title says it all, Brian sent these with the following line; "Seen in Chinatown, NYC, these plastic one piece children's chop sticks are delightfully colorful plastic tat." And I can't disagree with any of his points, they are colorful (you're going native Brian!) ahem . . . colourful plastic and they are delightful tat!

They remind me of the Iwaco erasers, but I suspect a less 'take-apart' more 'over-moulding' technique is involved? Loving the green Panda, the orange tiger looks the part and who didn't have a pink rabbit when they were little . . . you didn't? Sue you parents for mental cruelty, everyone had a pink rabbit! I assume they can be removed and stood next to your place setting?

Brian added; "They somehow cross the divide between toy and practical objects.". Yes, and like nite-lites, candles, 'phone-stands, plant-ties, bottle-stops or bog-brushes we love that sort of thing here at Smallscaleworld! I'm still looking out for the 3-Samurai glass-stand thing that was in Plastic Warrior magazine (I think) ages ago!

I will also assume NKM is the retail-outlet not the brand . . . and did you notice that the piggy-wiggies come in Mr. & Mrs. variants!

Thanks Brian - novel, charming and tat - bargain!

C is for Contribution Fortnight! - VIII - Commonwealth Street Light from Susan

Susan Chadwick sent me these next two images with a question...

"Great information on your blog about Commonwealth Plastics.  Very much appreciated.  I found your blog researching the Lamp Posts.  I have a Blue one that isn’t listed on your blog.  See attached.  Wonder if they made other colors…any idea of boxes for these items or how they were sold?  Were they sold as part of a kit? Thanks in advance."

To which my rather poor reply was...

"I'm guessing they were sold for model railways Susan? Sort of O or G gauge, 'carpet', tin-plate type, toy trains? But possibly for dolls houses? H"

But what are we on about?

It's a combined glow-in-the-dark street-light/lamp-post with street sign and mail-box. I've since remembered that there are some more on these somewhere on the Internet and after a bit of a search . . .

On Binn's Road Website It doesn't add much, but there are other colours! Meanwhile on a short-lived link (so copy it now if you need it) there's this on Terapeak with its original envelope/label!

Thanks for the pictures Susan.

C is for Contribution Week - VII - Battat's 'Terra' from Brian

T is for Terra

Just a quick one, I know I said we'd have a News, Views yesterday, but because I've been a couple of weeks ahead since the 20th December, and wanted to get the 12-Days thing out of the way before the other unpleasantness (a whole harbour and industrial estate, from thin air, bwaahahahahahah!), we will continue with odds and sods from Picasa and a box-ticker or two for a while I think? [Written 5th Jan and totally out of context now! Except the harbour complex,; that's still dead funny]

These came courtesy of Brian Berke, back at the end of the summer, and were going to be a Rack-toy Month thing, then a December thing but I ran out of room and time, so they're here; now! No - Now!

Bears! Brown and white, nice sculpts, certainly as good as anything done by Britains or Schleich in the last 60 years! But - priced to the point where a whole family can be obtained for the price of a single lump of German vinyl-rubber.

Brian reported them being in Target when he first eMailed them to me (and these are marked on the rear 'Only at Target'), and by the autumn I'd found them in TK Max which means they may have been in TJ Max - over the pond by Christmas? (That's a question mark covering my arse against future accusations, not that I haven't used them in the past, but some people...). They have since appeared in Wilkinson's (Wilco) and Poundland as well.

The Poundland one is a huge fantasy warrior'ess/Amazon type - about 6", but not for a pound; having bought out 99p Stores, a year ago, they were themselves bought out in the autumn and are now starting to carry items for far more than a pound, re-locating themselves in the market somewhere below Poundstreatcher or that place I found in Basingrad (Home Bargains) before Christmas; who were also in the news the other day with good sales-figures for the holiday period. When you've created lots of [relatively] poor people - discount stores become 'where it's at'!

The tubs were not to be found in Wilco's, probably because they have the similar set of not-so-blind bag dinosaurs (coming to the Blog soon) along with the cats (which we looked at over Christmas) and some dogs but they were in the larger TK Max down at Farnborough Gate, although they weren't in the smaller Basingrad one, so it's a bit hit-and-miss clearly!

As well as the mini-animals tubs ($7.99 is about a £-fiver* - I didn't note the UK prices!), the dinosaurs and the wild animal range, I also saw large-scale farm/domestic types in TK over Christmas.

*Given what's happening in both countries at the moment: by the time you read this it could be 1,000 dollars to the pound or £1,000 for $1!

While the whole range are Terra by Battat, these larger dinosaurs are further credited to the Dan LoRusso Collection; whether he designed them or sculpted them I don't know, but they are very good.

As mentioned above - a fantasy range also exists.

When I was a kid, Hydras (in books) were always fat, female-looking, opera-singer type giants with lots of snakes for hair, but at some point in the early 1980's that seems to have been changed to multi-headed dino-dragons, I guess we have Ray Harryhaussen to blame for this situation, but Mr. Gygax may have had a hand in it!

I guess it's easier to sculpt 2, 3, 4 or even (as here) 5 heads that a few dozen! But again; beautifully executed and clearly the meaner cousin of T-Rex? As always - thanks to Brian for the contribution.

More on Battat at rhe STS Toy Animal Wiki; Here

C is for Contribution Week - VI - Marx Tabletop from Clarence

This appeared in my inbox with no text the following "Marx Desert Fox custom play set table..thought you might like....." in the title box and an eMail address I didn't recognise! I though it looked lovely, but needed something to go with it, so sent a message - "But that's lovely! Would you like to say something about it before I put it on the blog...."

I love it that one American has made it across the river and started laying into the Germans with his bayonet, windmill-fashion, while the spotter on the island's 'bought-it'!

Clarence Causey (for it was he) then explained the idea behind the table-display . . . 

"Hugh [I] got [The] original set in 1972 for Christmas at age 9.  Then for some reason at age 50, after having my own kids, began to relive my childhood and decided to start with the old Desert Fox play set.  I have the original plastic play mat, but thought a table would be easier to move around and have fun with, and my kids helped me paint it.  The set is all original Marx with exception of palm trees, US soldiers and 88mm flak guns which are all recasts.  Naturally enough, everything came from eBay..."

 . . . and sent a close-up of the rarer Marx '51' Tank, a scale-up (with extra detailing) of the older model.

The close-up of the bigger '51' tank

So thank you Clarence for sending that little treat to the blog (he sent something else as well!), 50? The best reason for starting anything Clarence!

C is for Contribution Week - V - Poopertrooper! From Brian

Or to be exact "Silly Dilly Sky Diving Poopatrooper With Parachute Attached" as imported by Imperial in the early 1970's. Except that this chap looks to be a denser vinyl and larger than the Imperial (knock-off?) ones? He's close enough for the moniker though!

Knowing - only too well - my passion for paratroopers (I wonder how many of you followed that link the other day?), Brian sent this a couple of weeks ago; a near mint (but paint'less) 'Poopatrooper' with what looks to be an unused parachute;

Brian was rather taken by the worried countenance of the chap - all the Poopatroopers were in daft poses but without clear expressions due to their over-emphasised googles, this guy doesn't seem to be enjoying the sky-diving experience! Otherwise the pictures speak for themselves so . . .

As hinted above; this is unpainted, unlike the Poopatroopers in the '72 catalogue (and others) which are a soft silicone rubber with paint highlights like Imperial's Cuddly Wuddlys, dinosaurs or their Chinese dragons etc.

So Brian's is most likely another company's earlier import, but with that caveat left, I'll tag them Imperial anyway as he's as close-as for people searching for them on t'Internet!

Picture zz

Mine (which we've seen long-shots of here) is an Imperial type, daft pose but no real facial expression although from the back-pack; clearly a copy of Brian's.

More Imperial Here

Thanks again Brian, maybe someone can put a brand-name to this superior 'Poopatrooper'?

C is for Contribution Week - IV - Silvercorn from Brian the Different . . .

. . . Brian, being in fact Uncle Brian of A Fistful of Plastic! Helping us return to Silvercorn quicker than I anticipated.

Always happy to be proved wrong, especially when it gets more figures on the 'wants' list, you may remember the exchange of comments last time we looked at Silvercorn, well I got this from Brian a while later:

With the intriguing note "Please find attached a picture of the green and tan Silver Corn figures. I have found my set of the Silver Corn aircraft and will send you pictures of them soon." So, that puts my question-mark over the sandy chaps to bed - they do exist! But then: Aircraft?

Only for these to turn up a month or so after that . . .

. . . same little suitcase as already seen over at PSR, the contents . . .

. . . pretty-much as I predicted, but a little bigger perhaps, I was thinking of something more in line with the ships at three or four models to a frame - around 1:300; what you get is at least 8 different aircraft types somewhere between 1:144th scale or 1:200th (?) scale, packed as randomly as the ships or figures, with some doubled-up and some singlies.

I love those little Chinooks; I think I've said before - one of the few times in my life I was really shit-scared-frightened was in a Chinook with a Bedford 4-Ton'er as a slung load, and feeling the wagon pulling my seat away from my butt as the chopper banked, I really thought we were going to fall out of the sky! Or at least be pulled out of the sky by our load, 'Ginge' Hyatt - the MT driver I was 'guarding' looked as white as a sheet too; while the load-master just grinned at us - the fucker!

Construction is as simple as the vessels, basically necessitated by the getting of a maximum set of frames into each case rather than for constructional/hobby purposes; just laying the sticky-up bits flat!

Not that you'd know that from the packaging, reading it in the shop:

WARNING CHOKING HAZARD - WITH FUNCTIONAL SHARP POINTS/EDGES - THERE IS A DANGER OF CUTS, ABBRASIONS AND SIMILAR INJURIES

'Similar Injuries'? I think I'll take my chances in a Chinook, thanks!

And thanks indeed to Uncle Brian tor sending these to the blog.