P is for Plunder Posts - 2 - Fellow Collectors Brought Stuff

Various people save me the odd bit, and while you'll be familiar with their names as I've mentioned them all in past plunder posts, it made sense from an image-number perspective to have a separate post this year, although Peter gave me so much stuff, he's getting a separate day - tomorrow!

This was Trevor Rudkin's bag o'bits; he apologised for the small size of it, yet it had several nice things in, not least a  complete set of Triang Minic Motorway figures (centre right), a bunch of Ge-Models ('Gem') below them and a few Spot-On first type figures. Even the Hong Kong plastic copy of Minic Navy aircraft carrier turned out to be new to collection, when I put it away; it's slightly smaller than the ones that have been seen here before.

Chatting to Trevor I pointed out that it is probably 24 years since he started saving me his gash stuff, HK shite, flotsam, jetsam and other bits and bobs, and my collection (or this Blog) wouldn't be what it is without the contributions of Trevor, the other people mentioned in this post and others such as John Begg, Graham Apperley and Micheal Melnyk or Jim ('from Sandown'!), whether gifted or just 'let-go cheap'.

Due to confusion during sorting and photographing, I don't know if these were in Trevor's bag or Brian's, so I've put them between the two! They are odd things, as they are not that rare, not that pretty, yet quite sought-after, as they are the Hong Kong monsters (issued in several sets and copied/reissued in several generations - with or without additional dinosaurs) which Gary Gygax used to illustrate the bestiary which accompanied the original first edition of his Dungeons & Dragons role-playing rule system.

As a result, they are collected by D&D/Role Play fans for that reason, Then they are collected by straight 'fantasy' fans as non-dinosaur, proper 'monsters', they are also collected by some LRG'ers, despite not being monochrome, or rubber, as early examples of monsters, and they are collected by 'one-of-each' complete'ist nutters - like me!

The one on the right (Pterodacturtle)  is my favourite, and I have him in several versions/sizes/colour-ways, the pineapple-prawn monster is - in contrast - my least favoured! I don't know what they are called in D&D!

This year I had a small bag to give Brian, so more of a swap! Brian's bag - interestingly - had a pile of the same fish Peter gave me last year, but with some variations, I wonder if they split a lot, years ago?

There were two other marine-related animals, a large (but not that large) whale and a sea-horse, similar to one currently offered by Aneco, but not identical, the same can be said of the sea-grass, although this older (Hong Kong) pattern was a common filler in many tubs and play-sets (along with blow-moulded rocks!), as the mini, double palm trees's are today.

Adrian Little brought lots of small-scale bits and bobs for me to look at, and with the bits I had off his stall, I ended up with a large bag of interesting-to-very-interesting things from all over the world, in all scales and from most eras or genres! And he charged me peanuts for them, so they belong in this post.

We'll be looking at some of the highlights in the next few days, so I won't go through the whole image, what can you spot? The rest will come out in the wash over time, or be filtered into the master collection - for instance; the little box (top right) is for the Minialuxe figures for their 'old fashioned car' range, it's incomplete, but I have a few in storage with some spare figures, so it will either be 'made-up' or used to store all the buckshee figures, it should have a layer of cotton-wool as well.

Likewise, I picked-up three more Lido-type space figures (middle left), but won't bore you with another post on them until I get the rest out of storage in a month or two - it looks like it will be mid-August. The same is true of the pod-foot Wild West flat (lower centre, red). The Jig-toy crown will go on the Jig-Toy page, but not until I get another out of storage - with the original instruction card for a fuller collage.

Thanks all!

P is for Plunder Posts - 1 - General 'In the Hall' Purchases

I didn't really take any general shots of Sandown last weekend, the show reports don't get terrific traffic, I guess people who were there know, and people who weren't don't want to be reminded of what they missed! I did take a few shots at PW, and some video, but neither are that conclusive of anything, so I may knock something together in a day or two, I may not.

'Plunder Posts' on the other hand always get good traffic, so I'll show you what I took away in my swag-bags on the 12th of last month. Starting with my general purchases around the hall, I suppose I go round about four times, as a 'thorough look', pop back for a few bits and maybe do another row or two on my way back from the gent's or something, or someone may call me over to look at something and I'll check the odd rummage tray on the way back!

There's no rhyme or reason to these pictures, they are just stuff as it was unpacked and made a vague square to photograph! This was mostly rummage-tray stuff I think (and possibly the floor sweepings at the end - next to the 50mm mounted Indian), which got combined into a couple of larger bags, I know I got the submarine from Steve Vickers and I think some of these were from Colin Penn, but I can't name check everyone!

I look at some of it later and wonder "Why?" But rummage trays are like lucky-dips, 'cos you're going through them at speed, and palming things you 'think' are useful on the spur-of-the-moment! The HK scarecrow for instance; I'm sure I've got one already; a better one - and the reissue Charbens knight it hardly a priority, but I didn't have the reissues when I blogged them (not that long ago) so any future box-ticker can - now - be that bit more comprehensive. And - why did I buy the hard, tinny reissue bull, when I have the original!

Odds and sods, literally . . odds & sods! The Hong Kong 5-inch GI is probably the highlight, although I was pleased with the trio of swivel-waisted gunslingers on Hong Kong card from Barney Brown - we actually looked at them a while ago too, but these will be there next time . . . or Rack Toy Month isn't that far-off!

The cripple's crutch is odd, it's cream polystyrene painted silver and may be from an Aurora horror kit, or something like that? It's not Playmobile or anything of that ilk, but could be a doll's thing? It must have been a make-weight in a 20p tray, or off the floor?

The commercial issue of cereal premiums type mini-kits will get their own post, they are quirky and from Italy. A bag of Charbens horse-flesh will prove useful, the pirates will appear fully on TLAPD with a second group I got the same day.

While the large resin lumps? I know, I know . . . I'm not even that big a fan of resin, but they were a bargain from a mate and I may paint them one day? When I used to go to Herne you'd see a lot of this stuff, from these five-inch 'smallies' to figures about three-feet high - or bigger, usually Vikings or Wild West, but from the Beefeater I guess these are a more British thing?

The three Bonux came from Brian C, the two Montaplex from Steve, can't remember where the others came from, we'll look at the tank more closely in another post, while the buildings are Marx Miniature Masterpiece scenic pieces from the Troll Village or Disney's Sleeping Beauty I think, one of those sets?

A youngish guy who's name I didn't catch had these at a pound-a-piece so I made-up a tenner's worth, but he then came over a few minutes later with an 11th - which was kind. Nothing really exciting, but nevertheless useful Giant, Blue Box/Triang-Hornby and Unimax 'army builder' stuff, the 'plane is missing it's nose, but I think I may have some bits in storage, along with a whole BuM one, but this looks to be a Montaplex original - not an easy science?

T is for Thunderbirds Are . . . Hung on a Hook with the Car Keys!

The best'est thing EVER! . . . err . . . since the last/'till the next Best'est thing [ever!].

Another Sandown purchase, also from the Belgians, although I've put an American brand to them, they might be Spanish (careful Hugh - you know how excited TJF gets when you mention Spain) in origin; Hong Kong being the other obvious choice.

Scott Tracy doing some plumbing!

The American company being Xandria-Holland of New York, however, they themselves used the tag-line '100 million sold in Europe' on their trade add (itself typical corporate hyperbole; I doubt there were many more than 400-million people in Europe in the 1970's and these weren't distributed on a 1-in-4 ratio), which rather suggests they were carrying something previously popularised elsewhere first, as importers (jobbers) or agents.

Brains with an early design-model for T1

"When it's erect, it'll look like this!"

And while they (Xandria) also state 'Designed and manufactured in our own factories', they don't state where those factories are, so they could be anywhere - US companies tend to sing from the rooftops if their products are made in the USA!

And 'our own' can hide a multitude of corporate contracts - some people think Arco had their 'own' factories in Hong Kong, but there's no actual evidence for more than an office, it's all about the contract, an exclusivity clause for a product (or a sales-territory) with a contract-manufacturer will give you the [technical] right to use 'ours'!

Footnote - Arco were probably using Soma, which may be why Soma is the primary manufacturer of Hot Wheels for Mattel these days?

Paker! He's a bit tasty, he's the 'Daddy' now!

He's got a little black box with his gun in!

Bill (at Moonbase Central) thinks he was told they might have originated in Spain and there are certain pointers to that possibility; both Spain and Portugal (along with Italy) seem to have used PVC more often than the other European figure makers, they had the TV series (and other ThunderBird related products - bubble-gum canisters, Comansi sets, &etc.) and the 'build quality is good, but it's not top-notch, so HK are still in the frame.

Lady Penelope. If the stiletto doesn't get them...

...the pink pearls will!

My brother and I were given two of what Xandria called their 'Pixies' (another reason for eschewing the US as origin, they were non-Disney style fairy-tale and children's story characters) in about 1974 - possibly later, no later than '77 though, I had the mouse on a piece of cheese, my Brother either had the tramp dog in raincoat and straw hat, or a chef dog with a cake? They were clearly bought in Sheffield, Retford or Doncaster, or somewhere around there.

So while the seller thought they were Belgian, the American Xandria state 'our', Bill has been told Spain and I know they were 'British'. I suspect they are in fact a better quality Hong Kong (or Spanish - for the reasons above) product, a 'jobbed' novelty, taken up by various wholesalers and popular for a while just about anywhere in what was then referred to as First World countries, or nations with 'disposable' wealth!

The very large rings (also seen in Xandria's press-add') may be a clue for key-ring experts or collectors?

Virgil Tracy with a ray-gun!

I don't know if all the characters were available, or any of the bad-guys or episodic 'walk-on' characters, but there were 41 Pixies in Xandria's list, with the possibility of ordering corporate logos, so I suspect the rest of the Tracy brothers should be out there as a minimum 8-count for this set?

They are fascinating figures; part swoppet, part over-mould, part 'stackable' by pulling from all three techniques.

The ring-chain loop is at the end of a central core which - whether long or short (as a rod) ends in the bottom [visible] moulding/piece or main body of the figurine. With the exception of Parker where the legs are attached-to/formed-with a longer rod; the boots painted, these are simpler than most of the Pixies, having short rods attached to whole-body (one colour) mouldings, with only head/hair as separate mouldings.

The other components are 'strung' on that rod, like beads, shaped to fit together snugly (like over-moulding, but without being fused together), allowing limited movement where the joint is in one plane, waist and neck (as swoppets) the whole held in place by the loop for the last link of the chain, which is fatter than the diameter of the rod/threading holes (stackables) - all very clever.

Accessories are polyethylene; glued firmly into holes in the PVC, which being a tough and flexible polymer takes a lot of punishment. Brains' little model (has he bought the Rosenthal C21 toy?!!) seems to be polystyrene though? Parker's Gun is PVC (integral to the body-moulding) with his violin case in ethylene, while the two Tracy boy's sashes are die-cut, adhesive-backed, vinyl-sheet stampings which have gone - predictably - sticky over the years, but are over-printed nicely with the Thunderbirds logo.

Although they could take a lot of punishment, my mouse lost his block of cheese (and feet) while I was playing in the big barn's bale-stack (it was an additional PVC component added to the legs with a separate heat-weld), and while not exactly as small as a needle, I was upset enough for my Uncle Bob to mail me the found item about six months later when the last straw-bales went off to stables - it's hard to find a needle in a haystack, but not impossible!

Also discovered - digging for this post;

Thunderbirds' Tracy Family / Staff

Identifying / Sash Colours

Alan - Grey/off-white/cream

Brains - Bronze (Once? In Thunderbird 6)

Gordon - Orange

Jeff - Gold (but only in a commercial for Bernardo's - the Children's charity)

John - Lilac/purple/mauve

Lady Penelope - Always wears pink, or something pink (scarf, hat, pearls etc...)

Scott - Light blue

Virgil - Yellow

Finally - I've taken all these shots with the dying camera, so I've had to stop down shadows and pile on contrast, when the new camera arrives I'll take a second set of images and send them to Moonbase Central - where they really belong!

News, Views Etc . . . Free Reading Material

If there's not enough to read on Small Scale World this weekend try downloading a few of these! They are all .pdf files so you will need Adobe-reader software, but I think everyone has that these days?



King & Country Collector 25th Anniversary Issue 

Article on the Toy Soldiers of Washington DC shop

OTS April 1982 (vol. 6 no. 2) 
OTS Spring 2011 (vol 35 no1)

TS&MF article on Chauve Toy Soldiers by AJ Mergenthaler

Allison Mowatt - A Magical Toy Soldier Museum in Cresco, PA

Toy Soldier Collector Dec/Jan 2008



Download them now, as I suspect some of them aren't supposed to be there and may not be there for ever?

F is for Follow-up - Wooden Car

Following the post on the little wooden car the other day Chris Smith (who some of you may remember from his days dealing ex-Soviet era Eastern European toy soldiers at PW's old venue) sent me this set of book-ends by way of a follow-up.

How cool are these? It's a sort of Triumph Spitfire/Porsche 911 hybrid - with luggage-rack holding a school trunk - I'm loving it! Similar to the little one we looked at the other day Chris wondered if it was by the same people; I suspect not, these have a better build-quality for a start, and less intrusive varnish?

The one we looked at the other day was a little tourist novelty to be played with 'on-tour' and dropped over the side of a ferry on the Bodensee by accident, leading to tears before bedtime!

These are by Woodentops of London Chris reports - the link takes you an outfit in Chelmsford which I suspect is a newer and unrelated concern (the bookends look quite 1970's/Habitat?), but they do import from Germany.

Many-thanks to Chris - it's always nice to get feedback by way of a follow-up, which adds to the original post, or the 'bigger-picture'; we like wooden toys here at Small Scale World and the warm glow of nostalgia.

"Eer, Max - It's the laast pair of V8 interceptors. . . race yer . . . with guns!"

C is for Comics; Characters, Capers and Spain

I love it when a plan comes together by itself, or a post sort of creates its own momentum, this is just such a post and while we will look at little we will cover a lot!

Juan (Gog of Toys From the Past and the free, biannual, Action Figures magazine I mentioned in the week) had sent me the above a while ago, part in response to my previously blogging something he's sent me and partly conversationally in an eMail exchange.

The issue highlighted in the picture/discussion being that the figure on the left is a Heimo original (with damaged feather) of Robin Hood from the 1974 set tied-in with the Disney movie which I remember going to see in Godalming (when it still had a Cinema!), while the other two are bootlegs or 'knock-offs', possibly from Spain?

While it was intended to be used at some point, as a stand-alone image it got put to one side (metaphorically; in actual fact it sat on the laptop's desktop, where I have far too many folders and files!) against the 'rainy day' when it might get used.

Then at PW I picked up the King John, bootleg; not Heimo (left hand figure - it's a crown, not a cake!). So in so far as it went it was so far, so . . . so-so!

Not really enough for a post, but I've also been getting so much Phidal stuff that the Cartoon, TV and Movie - TBS box ('to be sorted') had reached crisis levels of lid-angle, leading to my constantly recovering self-seal bags of often quite uncommon stuff from between the joists in the attic.

However, following more cartoon characters incoming from the PW and Sandown shows I had a big sort-out and putting-away session, finding the other two figures in the course of my endeavors . . . "Ah-ha!" I thought, "Shoot these together and have a conflab' with Juan, I think" I further thought, so I did!

Juan kindly confirmed that the other two were Heimo (which was actually a slight disappointment as I was hoping one or the other might be either a knock-off or by/from Comics Spain - latterly: Comics Figuras).

As you can see, the bootleg-King John has a spurious, meaningless C (for 'copy', heehee!), the woman is marked © W.D.prod. (for Walt Disney Productions) and the foxy-looking gentleman is marked Appolo ©, with what looks like a remnant of a D, possibly a cavity mark?

The woman is called Medusa and is a character from a Disney cartoon movie called Bernard & Bianca (in Germany, here it was called The Rescuers I think), while the fox is called err . . . Fox (Fuchs) and is from a non-Disney set of Pinocchio figurines.

I'm going to guess here that Apollo may be/have been a German/European TV production company and that the figures are characters from a local kids TV version of the tale? Certainly the figure is ascribed to Heimo in the German guide, and the character has no other reason to carry Apollo on its base.

Then, this week, I got four bags of mixed shite from charity shops (the day after the road signs!) and a very interesting deep-sea diver (waiting for new camera!), among which was an actual, fully marked Comics Spain figure from The Muppets and . . .

. . . Bingo! We had a worthwhile post! We've also gone full circle as the post which lead Juan to send me the first image was a Comics Spain post!

By way of thanking Juan for his input both to this post and the Blog over the years, can anyone help him ID these? I know they are late Hong Kong or early 'China' era rack-toys (mid-late 1990's?), probably with dinosaurs and a palm tree or blow-moulded rock or two, but can anyone ascribe a set title or brand-mark to them?

A is for Also, Apparently [Collectable]

Two more of these Corinthian hideousnesses (apparently 'hideosities' isn't a word!) have come in since I last wrote disparagingly of them! [the rest of this post is for those following current events and no innocent Germans or Carrick's should take offence, those who need to, know to]

One marked Carrick the other Heinze. Older British readers will remember that Heinze came a close second to Fritz as the generic form of address for German 'baddies' or prisoners in the war comics of the 1950's, '60's and '70's, with Hans, Otto and Günter as fall backs.

Seeming to be in the Manchester United strip, I believe they are all currently playing for PSV Eindhoven, oh . . . no; sorry . . . not PSV Eindhoven - TJF Allentown; they're all beating their me . . . sorry; batting for TJF Allentown now! I think Small Scale World will survive . . . and prosper - freed of certain shackles of conformity!

Did I say they were big-heads?

O is for Odds and Ends

Well, it seems we're having a second football mini-season this year, purely by accident or coincidence I can assure you, I thought I'd cleared the decks of footballers back in January, but then I regularly think that about insects, dinosaurs, fish, motocycles and various other perennials - which are all back in the queue!

This is from Terranova, who sent it after the January mini-season, so it started the follow-up folder! A printed card or plastic flat figure included in a goal-keeping/scoring game of the 'executive' toy or table-top game variety. It's almost a scale-up of one of the Yorkie Easter-egg premiums from Hasbro/Subbuteo we looked at a few years ago, or a variation of 'Blow football' wich tends to have two goalies and not much else.

Franklin also do a mini Table Tennis game. Cheers Brian!

These two came in recently as well, one possibly at PW, the other - I think - was in the lot which turned-up out of the blue from Jim, but they may both have been from Jim?

The one on the right is a cake decoration, there are several generations with or without balls, with or without textured bases of the swoppet type and with or without shirt-numbers, figures and/or bases being PVC, 'ethylene and/or polystyrene.

I will be looking at them fully after everything's out of storage as the master-collection of these is there! This one is obviously missing his base, but there'll be spares in storage, so I should have him back on his feet by September.

The other is a converted (loop removed!) key-ring, one of a set of maybe four poses, each pose however . . .

Old eBay shot

. . . seems to have been sold singly in multiples of 12! The Henry Ford school of team-picking, you can have any 11 players you like, plus a substitute, but they must all be the same!

As you can see the carded set has a reverse of the above guy - dribbling with the left foot-  in a blue/white strip  and I've also seen a guy striking with the right foot in red strip with a white ball.

Although - I say 'maybe four' because I've seen a better-sculpted figure striking with the left foot, slightly more anatomically correct and with a realistic and more-proportional head, so suspect the short fat ones are bootlegs of the taller, thinner ones (also key-rings) with both sets/series having two dribblers and two strikers, but that’s all conjecture and there could be more, or less!

I love the card too, a German man-child taking-out a British goalie (in a clown mask), with 'Footballers' in a Kellogg's font and 'Key Chain' in a Chinese take-away, shop-front font . . . it's SO rack-toy!

Shot taken after I'd edited to this point, a blow-football figure as mentioned above (which did come-in at PW), there are dozens-upon-dozens of variants in tin-plate, printed card, wood or plastic and I haven't the faintest where this chap's from, but if I had to guess I'd say Merit or Spears?

Below him are three of the also mentioned cake decorations (which should have been seen here in January?) next to the new one, they are all 'styrene (with polyethylene bases) against the PVC of the new one and have unpainted numbers as opposed to the blue-chap's lined-in number.

It looks like they may all have balls, but I'm pretty sure some striking and saving poses don't - we will return to them! Also I seem to recall some figures (sub-piracies) don't have numbers at all?

 

Four . . . Years . . . Later . . . !

. . . and Deadleaf Hairband 'Strongly Suspects' they might be key-rings! Bwaahaahaahaahaahaahaa! They are so funny; these PSTSM guys - we KNOW he follows this blog, but somehow he's having to guesstimate it all by his little old lonesome! It's just too funny.

S is for Substitutes!

Continuing with both Subbuteo and football, this was an interesting happen-stance, or 'curio' I picked-up the other day . . . well, the end of April . . . another Charity shop purchase, it appeared to be one of the new sets and was only a few quid, I de-labelled it; shot the box . . .

. . . and opened it to find the teams were all hard plastic! Someone had bought the set for the new players, chucked two old teams (of the newer variety) in the blister tray and sent it off to charity - otherwise 'mint'!

No matter, it gives us a chance to look at a whole set in close-up, and - as a collector - has given me two teams and the new-style/designs of pitch- matt and goals.

As you can see it's not that it's an older pre-flexible figure set, it's definitely meant to be the newer type, although it's dated 2012 so they've been out for a while without my noticing.

The players are also interesting in that while the older versions (all generations) were basically one chap, there are now variations with long hair and short hair in black brown and blond.

The new nets are a bit chunkier than the old ones (and harder to store!), but there's not much in it and there's probably a reason for the two 'ears'. While the raised bar between the ears helps get the ball out of the back of the net without moving everything around!

A little vignette with red having a shot on an open goal! "Cum'on Everton; what are you playing at? Mark your man!" Straight out of the box - hours of fun!

News, Views Etc . . . Subbuteo in the National Daily's

You probably caught this news item a couple of three weeks ago or so, it made several papers and the broadcast media, but as we had Subbuteo earlier today; now's the time to box-tick the press-release here!

You can read the story - as original - by clicking on the image, but I've converted it into text below for ease:-

Net gains: first

all- ­female

Subbuteo set

By Josie Clarke

The first all-female Subbuteo set

has been launched to reflect the

rapid growth of women’s football

in the-UK.

   The FA and the game’s maker,

Hasbro, revealed the limited

edition version of the table football

game ahead of the SSE Women’s

FA Cup final at Wembley on

Saturday with the figures in

the colours of finalists Arsenal

and Chelsea.

  The FA said the new version

supported its objective to

tackle barriers in the women’s

game. The set includes 22 players

plus substitutes, with their

own characteristics.

  It is not available to buy but it

can be won via FA social channels

in the coming months.

  Hasbro and the FA said that

they were “exploring future

opportunities” to bring out a

commercially available women’s

football set.

Unless you're some sexist old dinosaur it's gott'a be a good-news story, and it'll be twice the number of teams to collect for the Subbuteo completists, and then there's the possibility of fielding a women's team against a men's team and beating them - heh-heh! Or converting them to face-off against Nottingham's Space Marines; Ripley style auto-loaders anyone?!

It should be pointed out that I can't find the competition (to link to) on the FA site, anyone know where it is?

O is for Officials

F is for Follow-up - Subbuteo, but it was so long ago I did the Subbuteo 'round-up' posts it might as well have its own title.

Today we're looking primarily at the new set of match officials from the resurrected Hasbro Subbuteo (carried in the UK by Paul Lamond Games), actually called Official Referees Set, you get four completely new sculpts and a spare ball (you can't have too many spare balls; they tend to leave the table easily and don't support the weight of a human in shoes terribly well!), firmly embedded in a vac-form tray and further ensconced in a window-box - so you can see what you're getting.

Compared to the older (Charles Stadden) sculpts, these new ones are slightly smoother, and although not the soft, pliable polymer of the new players, are in what seems to be a pretty survivable hard plastic like polypropylene? Also where the older sets gave you two identical linesmen, this new set has opposite flags, so whichever side you place them, the 'wind' will be true across, or on both sides of the pitch!

The digital substitution board is a nice touch and as far as I know the first time he's been seen on the Subbuteo sidelines? I see a market for a set of stickers . . . or it'll be continual bad luck for Number 2!

While the cultural changes in football over the years are evident in the Ref ' who used to be firmly pointing to the penalty spot - no questions asked - but is now waving in the hope that whichever miscreant primadonna it is, will realise he's not getting away with it!

While I had them out I sorted a few others that have come in since the last set of posts and found that there are now three generations of policemen to join the three generations of St. John's Ambulance we looked at previously.

With the first type slotting into players bases (with all those pitch invasions in the 1970's they needed to move round the pitch quickly!), then a similarly based figure to the last set. I only have the one - so far, so don't know how many there were in the set, but it looks like the 1^st type were converted to integral-bases and all three issues seem to be by the hand of Stadden?

Buckshee shot on the right of the rest of the set, but I don't know what I was doing there or why I cut his hat off?

Finally, while I'm comparing; the old pitch versus the new pitch, I know some old-school die-hards have some harsh-words for the new pitch elsewhere online, but then the old school always hate change in any field of endevor!

The fact is - it is first and foremost a plaything for kids - it will follow industry trends and changes in technology as time passes and the new nylon pitch holds its shape better than the old felt one which would warp over time. I do think it could be a lighter green . . . and it (the new one) will be very useful for 'charging-up' balloons and sticking them to the ceiling at parties . . . every cloud!