F is for Follow-up - Place Marker / Glass Hangers

Remember those two figures Peter Evans sent the Blog around Christmas-time and my tale of woe in trying to get some surfer-babes only to find you needed to remortgage your house to purchase them? Well Terranova sent these and judging by the price sticker, it's the same story the other side of the pond!

Now these are hard to make out, the one on the far right seems to be giving a thumbs-up sign, but number three looks to be 'flicking the bird'. Far left may be thumbs up, while 2 would appear to be giving a Papal-blessing! I suspect they are all thumbs-up and it's just my imagination? Inspired anyway - the sort of stuff Archie McFee used to do!

But these are NPW, previously associated - here on the blog - with cheapie-budget stuff, yet the four come in at a frankly eye-watering . . .

. . . $15! Which is around the same price as that I baulked-at in Basingrad's new M&S back in the January sales, I guess they're aimed at the sorts of Trumpundbrexit 'eer celeb-culture types who will pay to have the 'right stuff' at their party?

'Men in Uniform'? I think we're talking a Village People tribute act at the Blue Oyster Club here, aren't we? Not so much publicly-spirited, uniformed professional types, nor heroically serving Blue Watch night-after-night while the nation sleeps, but rather baby-oiled,  semi-dressed, hen-night heroes - pumping to the beat!

Cheers Brian - has anyone else seen these, what others are out there, we've seen Her Madge The Twoeth, Surfer Dudes, JC and the above, I know there are bikini-girls (keep the surfer-dudes happy!), but there must be others? They're 54mm give-or-take!

600 is for Welsotoys!

For the second positive ID of the day (and second mention of Lone Star by-the-by) we go right back to the beginning of the blog and an image kindly lent to me by Moonbase Central (link) for an article on the Raphael Lipkin tank transporter (mentioned again the other day!) which I then further mined for the not-Lone Star crewman figures post . . . or maybe I borrowed the image for the later and returned to it for the former? Mass-nicht!

At the time I stated "I was not so sure about these as being also Raphael Lipkin, and suspect they are actually Triang 'Minic'" and "The figures I thought were Lone*Star are - in fact - a slightly different design, clearly copied from LS,..."], and it turns out they were neither/nyther/none [of the above], they were actually Wells-Brimtoy's under the Welsotoy branding, catalogued together with the Raphael Lipkin set.

From the box-art it would seem you only got one figure per-vehicle, and could chose weather to have him seated on the crew-bench, or operating the 'load' from a protruding bucket seat - faithfully reproduced by Blue Box in their diminutive piracy.

Now - Wells, Brimtoy and Wells-Brimtoy pre-date Lone Star/DCMT by some years, if not decades, and given the resemblance of several of Lone Star's Wild West to the Britains/Herald figures, I think it's fair to suggest that the figure we looked at in the above linked post actually originated with these '600 series' toys and was lifted by Lone Star, but in their defence it may be that both companies availed themselves of the services of the same sculptor?

The wagon in detail - there were still a few of these Bedford RL's in second-line service when I served in the mid-1980's, mostly with fixed, specialist bodies, or recovery gear. I don't know when they came into service but I think it may have been quite soon after the war, as they are 'next generation' although in Malaya they were still using QL's and - to ferry the kids to school in CT-troubled areas - armoured AEC's or Ford WOT's . . . or Indian Patten equivalents (this is from memories of pictures in Soldier Magazine, not absolute fact!).

Blue Box in copying these for their small-scale range, as well as adopting the Lone Star seat position while sticking with the Welsotoy flat-bed seem also to have replaced the crew-bench with their own design of James Bond-style control console! Albeit; not copying the gear-wheel revolving mechanism.

Thanks to Alcuin for letting me shoot this at Sandown Park while he was trying to pack-up; nice to end the mystery.

A is for A Problem Solved is a Problem . . . err . . . Solved!

I was going through the 'Unknown' dongle the other day, transferring stuff that actually has been ID's to the correct folders on the A-Z dongles, a job I don't do often enough (if I die, someone will go through that dongle saying "But he's ID'd them correctly on his own Blog?"!), and to aid the - ongoing - task, today we're closing the lid on two question marks.

The figures tentatively described by me as "... probably from an 'old fashioned' car, and look to be early British in a chalky brown plastic..." even thought they were included in a couple of articles here and elsewhere on unknown HK motorcycles as being quite similar to another question mark (draws breath...) turn out to be from an 'old fashioned' car[s], and look to be early British in a chalky brown plastic!

So off to Lone Star's folder both these and the older images go! Road-masters; die-cast metal, beautifully made and finished to a standard that holds up next to Corgi, Matchbox or Dinky. And the mystery figures are indeed the driver/passenger of the Ford 'Model T' . . . among others.

Now - I'm hoping this chap may be in the 'Unknown Seated Civilians' box in storage, but he's so similar to the others I suspect not, so there's another figure to find! Driver for a Ford Thunderbird coupe (second time we've had Thunderbirds this week and I'm still typing it Thinderbirds or Thunderbirts!), except . . . is it a UK 'Thunderbird', or has another car been placed in the box, it doesn't look like the huge wallowing American T'birds I used to see at the Guildford cruise? [Google says:-  '55 T-Bird! And possibly ex-/licensed from Tootsitoy?]

The driver gets a second outing with the iconic 1904 Darraq 'Genevieve' from the eponymous  movie, and the backing/shop-display cards of both packagings suggest several other Marques which could be responsible for the black-garbed version of the driver in my collection and the pink (versus grey) highlights of my lady-passenger?

A couple-more shots, not a lot to add; sometimes the lady is driving the Darraq. And - it's nice to finally put the files in the right folder and to label-up their index card correctly. Thanks to Mercator Trading for the photo-opportunity.

The three I have here cropped from the old article's images, there seems to be at least one other pose, a chap in a large bakers cap and long waterproof coat? As I say I may have some in storage, but I don't think so . . . Lone Star (DCMT) . . . Road-masters! Army lorry later!

News Views etc . . . Shows & Toy Fairs Forthcoming This Week

I will prepare pages for both shows/fairs and Auctions, as it takes a surprising amount of time to gather all this together, and it makes sense to keep it all in one place, duplicating each promoter's entry every time will become a fag! Forthcoming over the next week or so are;

Saturday 9th June 2018

Maidstone Vintage Toy Fair - Maidstone

Lockmedow Market Hall & Leisure Complex, Barker Road (Hart Street entrance), Maidstone, ME16 8LW

Tel. - 01622 298 159

Mob. - 01732 840 787

09:00 - 15:00hrs

Admission £2.50p, park & ride, pay and display parking, refreshments

Ray Heard Train & Toy Fairs - Exeter

Matford Centre, Matford Park Road, Exeter, EX2 8FD

Tel. - 01823 48 00 97

10:00 - 15:30hrs

Admission £2, free parking, refreshments

Tony Oaks Toy Fairs - Ludlow Toy & Train Collector's Fair

Ludlow Racecourse, Bromfield, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 2BT

Tel. - 01270 652 773

Mob. - 07825 631 323

10:30 - 14:00hrs

Admission £2, free parking

Malcolm Townsend - Nottingham Toy Fair

Mob. - 07951 072 790

_....----==========<>==========----...._

Sunday 10th June 2018

Barry Potter / BP Fairs - 'Macron'

The Premier Suite, Macron Stadium, Bolton, Lancashire, BL6 6SF

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

Admission £3.50 (early-bird £7), OAP's £3, Children £1, free parking

Eastbourne Toy & Model Collectors Fair

East Dean Village Hall, East Dean, East Sussex, BN20 0DR

Tel. - 01323 899 879

Free Parking, refreshments, admission £1.50, under-12's free, just-off the main A259

SRP Toyfairs - Rayleigh

Sweyne Park School, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 9BZ

Web. - www.srptoyfairs1.co.uk

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Steven Clements Fairs - Devizes

Corn Exchange, Market Place, SN10 1HS

eMail: clementfairs@aol.com

Tel. - 01380 725 322

Mob. - 07958 101 891

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Free parking, café

International

Chris Dyer Fairs - Dublin Toy & Train Fair

(good venue for die-cast plunder I'm told)

The Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, Eire

Admission £4

Just off N11 trunk road

_....----==========<>==========----...._

Next week

Tuesday 12th June

Steven Clements Fairs - Hook Evening Fair

Hook Community Centre, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 9NN (Near Basingrad!)

Tel. - 01380 725 322

Mob. - 07958 101 891

eMail: clementfairs@aol.com

18:30 - 21:30hrs

New venue, free parking

_....----==========<>==========----...._

Thursday 14th June

Joe Lock - Theydon Bois Evening Fair

Village Hall, Coppice Row, Theydon Bois, Essex, CM16 7ER

Mob. - 07866 641 215

19:00-21:00hrs

Admission £1

Any show-promotors or venues wishing to be listed here or on a planned [near] future 'Show Dates' page should contact me on the eMail found down the left hand side of the homepage.

News, views Etc . . . Airfix Blog

I've added the above images to the relevant posts on the Airfix Blog in the last few days and they can be found here;

Early Bergan-Beton mounted mouldings (and dogs)

Airfix and/or similar flats

Airfix set S4 - HO-OO Farm

P is for Pop-Picking All Time Top Five Favorites of All Time Top Five Mates!

But sadly Lord Bachmann, the Right Honourable Turner or Noble Overdrive won't be putting-in an appearance! Being; my five fave' hits of this year's PW show, closing the show-reports/plunder-posts for now.

This sat on Adrian's stall until the hall was nearly empty, unloved and unwanted, now . . .  it is damaged and has a replacement spear . . . but it's already one of the top-ten figures in my entire collection - and bear in mind; I have all eight tiny Trojans - twice!

It’s a French-made Clairet Greek Hoplite and to be honest the replacement spear - for which the hand has been drilled - only enhances a superb sculpt, the undamaged original is furnished with some double-barbed stick which looks like it was borrowed from an Esquimaux who previously used it to catch seals! This one though, is about to ruin a Persian's afternoon - forever!

This is a beautiful figure . . . isn't it? Stunning! Best of show.

Who knows? A blow-moulded, semi-flat, celluloid Indian, clearly removed from a larger piece; possibly a decorative picture or mirror-frame? I think it may be pre- or between-the-wars rather than a post-war piece?

As well as the cut-mark/hole at the back of the stump where a backing was, he has also been removed from something below his feet, the hole being neatly covered-over with a couple of wafer-thin slices of ivory or bone, previously board-game counters or tiddlywinks, which only raises the question, why wasn't the damage behind similarly patched?

Nothing too exciting, an Elastolin figure for the neighbouring Austrian market, where the bought-out Tipple-Topple's brand-mark was retained for continuity, or to appease the locals - stop them starting another war! The seller had several poses, but I chose this as an iconic example.

Could be nothing, could be something? Wintershilfswerke (WHW) maybe, or 'from hollow-cast'? The white trousers rather rule out British? He's a glassy or brittle polystyrene, semi-flat, or - at least - somewhat sculpted in one plane and a ceremonial from somewhere? 50/52-mil? I like him!

Really pleased - but a bit gutted. I posted this along with a kneeling firer last year having shot them at the show. This year I managed to get this one, but the kneeling figure - seemingly - had already been bought by someone else! Although the kneeling one had a silly smile and a bent barrel, so I'm happy with this one really.  An Argentine (or 'believed to be Argentinian') copy in polyethylene of a Lineol composition-made, WWI late-type German Infantryman.

Smine . . . sorll'myne!

S is for Six of the Best

The bulk of the show plunder has been sorted and put away, and while some of it will be seen again - in closer detail - soon, some of it may not be seen again for years! While I was sorting it I photographed those things that perticularly cought my eye or imagination, later we'll look at a 'top five' figures, these both figural or not are the also-rans, or the other half of a top ten plus consolation!

I bought this early British bath toy from Steve Vickers (who I think trades under the same name on eBay), like divers or parachutists, these small submarines are becoming a 'side-bar' collection of their own, and as we've recently had a quick round-up/recap on them; if I don't show it now it might be ages before it's seen again.

Totally unmarked and with a semi-transparent upper hull/deck/conning-tower in what can only be called cherryaide-red, lower hull in a charcoal grey-brown and photographed on a mirror to take advantage of the flat bottom; I once saw the Indian Ocean - as far as the horizon - this still, flat and mirror-like.

Adrian Little had put this aside for me, it's about N-Gauge compatible (maybe a little bigger - 1:100th?), and is marked nicely 'Lemco No. ML 75', all wheels go round and I think Adrien thought it was Scandinavian (where there is a Lemeco copying larger die-casts), or might be? I can't find anything about a Lemco or a Lem Co., so it may be a tool-engravers typo? But isn't it a dinky little thing?

A bit of a cheat as three of them are extant (in the collection) from one or two years ago!

As I started saying on Tuesday, Mike Harding had sold me three, he thought last year, I think two years ago? Anyway, I was chatting with him toward the end of the show and saw he had some more, "You have some more Gem skateboarders!" I said, because there's nothing like stating the obvious! "Yes..." he said, "...you had a couple last year didn't you?" . . . "Three, I had three but wasn't it two years ago?..." I replied - yes; this anecdote is in danger of becoming wheels within wheels and disappearing up its own fundament!

"...But you've got new colours?" I continued, and began wracking my brains to remember which colours I already had, luckily I'd only looked at them a few weeks earlier when I had the box out for something else (footballers and over-moulding posts - proper discovery!), and I knew there were only two of the 'flame' colours and couldn't picture the yellow as clearly - in my mind - as the green so I took a punt on already having red, orange and green and I knew whichever 'flames' I had were in rainbow-sequence and yellow would lead to green which I knew couldn't be the case - Heay, this is how Aspergics work!

Which all turned out to be good guesstimation as he had the red, orange and green again, but I took the blue and yellow . . . phew! Then, when I got home and started sorting through the plunder;  I found Trevor Rudkin's bag had a very nice subdued fawn-coloured one which is an unusual polymer colour for either Gem or Culpitt - I think, the whole leading to the above squadron-in-line images!

This was in a little tub of stuff from Adrian I think, and what interests me about it is that it looks a lot like those US-Emenee-Transogram/UK-whoever Fairy Tale sets we looked at here.

Now having tentatively suggested there's still one set to be found (which should contain Jack & Jill), the 'rule' with those sets was 5/6 figures and an accessory or two. Jack and Jill are two, with bucket and a well; you still only have four items, could he be a play-value, make-weight from the missing set/s?

I'm not suggesting he is, his sculpting is poorer in my opinion, but he is the same 20mm lump of PVC and something went in the 8th set - if it existed . . . actually I AM suggesting it, I'm just not committing. Nice addition to the collection anyway!

We've looked at this before, but in green, it's the Raphael Lipkin ConquerorTank, but in red. I've never seen one in red before and presume it must be a 'Ruskie'-red one from a two-sides play-set of some kind, maybe Pippin Toys?

The green ones turn-up more often and I'm hoping to find an otherwise 'clean' one going dirt-cheap with a broken barrel so I can cannibalize the running-gear, which - missing on this example - led to it's also being very reasonably priced!

Presumably from a large vessel toy's deck, I'm tempted to remove the locating/mounting spigot, but I know that if I do I'll immediately see the parent toy on evilBay, missing it's deck-gun, going for a song, but equally; if I don't remove it, I'll probably never find the originator model! I have some large, deep plastic washers somewhere, if it needs displaying in can sit in one of them!

What I like about it is the throwback to early US pod-foot figures of the Barklay/Manoil type, where a guy (often smaller than his set-mates) is posed operating some huge artillery piece all by himself. I think It's an anti-Dalek ray-gun! Does anyone know offhand where it's from?

All good 'Stuff'!

News views etc . . . Auctions Forthcoming This Week

It's getting busy, we're well into the summer season! Four auctions coming-up; there are two this Friday - 8th June;

_....----==========<>==========----...._

John Goodwin are having a 500+ lot specialist sale of toys, railwayana and advertising ephemera at the Teme Hall, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR13 6NW (via yellow gate)

John Goodwin

3-7 New Street, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 2DX

Web. - John Goodwin Property

eMail - rupert@johngoodwin.co.uk

Catalogue - Collective-auction-sale-6-june-2018.pdf

Tel. - 07968 694 746 (7th and 8th June only)

Viewing - Thursday 7th June 15:00-19:00hrs and morning of sale from 08:00hrs

Sale starts 10:00hrs - finish.

_....----==========<>==========----...._

And the same day a  'Collector's Sale' auction is being held by Greenslade Taylor Hunt (gth) at the Octagon Salerooms, 113a East Reach, Taunton, TA1 3HL

gth

Web. -  www.gth.net

Auctions - http://www.gth.net/property-farm-livestock-antique-auctions

eMail -  antiques.saleroom@gth.net

Catalogue - Catalogue_08_06_18.pdf

Tel. - 01823 332 525

_....----==========<>==========----...._

Wallis and Wallis have a general toy sale on Monday 11th June at their showrooms; West Street Auction Galleries, Lewes, Sussex, BN7 2NJ

Wallis and Wallis

Web. - www.wallisandwallis.co.uk

eMail - toys@wallisandwallis.co.uk

Tel. - 01273 480 208

Fax. - 01273 476 562

_....----==========<>==========----...._

It was actually Bears and Dolls day at C&T Auctions on Wednesday-gone, but the important one is next week; Wednesday the 13th June, when they are holding their next Toy Soldier & Figure auction. The big story is all about a near-mint boxed set of Britains Disney hollow-cast figurines.

Viewing from 08:30hrs, the auction commences at 10am, The Spa Hotel (The Yorke Suite), Mount Ephraim, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN4 8XJ (Tel. - 01892 520 331)

C&T

Unit 4, High House Business Park, Kenardington, Kent, TN26 2LF

Web. - www.candtauctions.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk

Catalogue - http://www.candtauctions.co.uk/online-catalogue/

Tel. - 44 1233 510 050 (from abroad)

Tel. - 01233 510 050 (within the UK)

_....----==========<>==========----...._

Finaly Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers and Valuers have a collection of military and toy collectables and historic ephemera on Thursday 14th June at Ludlow Racecourse, Bromfield, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 2BT

Mullock's

Web. - www.mulletauctions.co.uk

eMail - reception@mullocks.co.uk

Tel. - 01694 771 771

Any Auctioneers wishing to be listed here or on a planned [near] future 'Auction Dates' page should contact me on the eMail found down the left hand side of the homepage.

T is for The Toy Project

One item missing from the Peter Evans Plunder post this morning was the below bag. Peter has been to visit the shop in London, making a purchase while he was there and it's a good excuse to plug a [toy related] worthy cause again!

It’s funny to see the Toy Boarders coming to the secondary market, but I guess it's a few years since they appeared here on a 'New Production News' tag! Along with a generic 'China Toy' mechanic around 35mm, a slight scale difference, but they are both civilians!

Both sides of the header-card, I'll post the relevant URL's again at the end as useable hot-links.

For those who missed the previous post The Toy Project is a charity that accepts donations from private individuals and works with the Industry, using various models of fund-raising to generate money and or Toys for children in need. They recently worked with the Grenfell Tower children - for instance.

Raising money for specific projects by selling either the second-hand donations like these, or new production donations from the industry, they also channel some of the industry donations straight to their projects, if suitable while more conventions fund raising like sponsorship, or coffee mornings are encouraged.

An A5 Flyer (also printable at A4 &etc.) was also present on the front desk at the show.

The TOY Project

WEB

Website: thetoyproject.co.uk

eMail: donations@thetoyproject.co.uk

TELEPHONE

+44 7590 256 530 (from abroad)

07590 256 530 (within UK)

SHOP

99 Junction Road, Archway, London, N19 5QX, UK

Opening Times

Mon–closed

Tues–Saturday 10am-6pm

Sunday–closed

FACEBOOK

Facebook Page

T is for Two - Dioramas

A quick second look at the two dioramas I found in Peter's plunder bags, as stated earlier; one was a home-made affair the other more commercial-looking/seeming, and we'll look at them in that order as that's how the photographs panned-out!

Four medieval types, two foot, receiving and two mounted in the charge, all in pretty full armour. Well-mounted on a piece of pretty inflexible Perspex or similar and not over-landscaped they are painted not in the super-realistic oils of competition flats but rather the black undercoat with flat colour and 'sausage-finger' highlighting (really only to the horses furniture) favoured by a lot of war gamers these days, and they look good for it.

I don't know if this is Mr. Evan's own work or something he picked-up 'out and about'? If I had a large house or museum I'd have found them shelf or cabinet space, but I don't, and having straitened damage to all the long thin bits and stood a figure back-up, the chances of further damage is too great to keep them like this, so they were removed carefully . . .

. . . and added to one of the foam-core storage sheets for miscellaneous metal flats! Two unpainted shiny new cuirassiers have rather collected all the flash as they charge at a lifeguard (I tried several camera angles/flash settings, but flats are flats and are easily distorted!) and I will now be tempted to paint the kingly knight (he has a coronet) with battle-axe, started by an unknown artist years ago, to join them.

To mount the new figures I had to move the rather chunky demi-ronde WWI ANZAC MG No.2 (or is he an Italian with that semi-bowler hat?), leaving an unsightly dink in the row above the them, the other dinks show how by using a couple of sheets for spares, they get tatty, when there are enough for a thematic, set or maker-sheet they can be lightly arranged until they look right and then pressed-in to a 'final' resting place!

Also evident is an ACW officer missing a sword and what looks to be an Eriksson or 'after-Eriksson' home casting, semi-flat WWII German paratrooper. The sheets are pre-cut with a new scalpel to about half-foam depth, a rulers-width apart. Sheets with small parts (like the artillery set we looked-at here a few years ago) get extra, short, cuts between the main lines to help enhance/balance the display.

The other diorama (really they are both small enough to be technically 'vignettes') was this one, which is a more commercial thing altogether, the rock painting with wet over-brush in 2nd [only] colour is very 'factory' in aspect as are the off-the shelf trees and barely decorated figure.

The real question is what was it for? I know some makers (Noch, Bush and in the past Faller?) have produced/are producing little pre-prepared vignettes to include in larger model railway layouts as 'instant detailing' or points of interest, but the heavy foam base - still heavy after an unknown quantity has been removed - suggests it may be more of a stand-alone thing?

Is it a tourist memento of an actual cave somewhere? Or could it be from a jewellery/trinket box, music box or something of that ilk? Collectable lid? A 'no need for watering' decorative terrarium? Fish-tank ornament - it'll float but he'll drown! The figure is so poor he may have been added to something which isn't supposed to have a figure at all?

The trees are unusual in being a soft PVC and the foliage is the more modern foamed fragments rather than the saw-dust clumps or flock of yesteryear and - although civilian - the seated figure looks much like the [Russian?] driver of Airfix's old SAM II Guidline Missile kit!

Whatever the origin, being more robust than the flats; this has been given its own little box and saved 'as is' for posterity - thanks again to Peter Evans for both.

P is for Plunder Posts - 4 - Two Bags from Peter Evans

At the risk of embarrassing him; I thanked Peter in January for staying firmly 'on the fence' in another matter, a course of action others have not chosen, it is a measure of the character of him as a man, a measure myself and the other party have failed to measure up to.

I'll thank him again, here, on the record and thank him for the two large bags of plunder he brought to the PW show for me, and for which - like last year - he demanded a pittance; it was infinitesimal for what was in the bags!

There was a small bag of small scale, but filled with nice things including these Galoob Micro-Machines, there were four obvious new variants (each highlighted), but I have since ID'd 12 that need to be added to the Galoob Page and while I have updated the photographs and screen-cap's I haven't got round to the task itself yet!

The obvious ones were an un-numbered early man-portable, Redeye AAGW operator (provisionally 10 in my page's numbering) in the Navy paint-scheme, two 33's with brown bases and an MP green variant (65) with flack-vest.

The rest of the bag's contents were (on the left) a useful mix of Galoob's other lines, Hasbro Action Man, Mattel Hot Wheels, Corgi and a Blue Box mechanic along with some Rado for Marksmen and the five on the top row who have been issued by Majorette, but also others.

To the right are the larger figures in the bag with a couple of 'China Toy' firefighters, the Mattel Cylon Raider (new to me) and Earth-searching Colonial Viper pilot's (strangely; the latter is far more common/numerous?) from Battlestar Galactica, another Corgi and some lovely semi-flats for model railways. I have some in storage and they are interesting in that they seem to be scaled-up, cartoon'ified (or caricatured?) copies of the Marklin lead flats. They could be European but I suspect early Hong Kong, anyway we will look at them all together in greater depth one day.

We've seen most of the stuff on the left here before - the superhero/wrestlers (thanks to Terranova) and the unicorn 'babies' (99p Stores?) but the non-Disney 'princesses' are lovely! There's some lead/whitemetal odds (2 Turkish Janissaries or Landschnechts with 'a' separate head and a chap in a top-hat!) and a Mattel CUTIE (bottom left).

While the motorbike is large, crude and seen here before (possibly also from Peter?), but is different enough to have already been comparison-shot with the previous one and added to a motorcycle round-up currently in the queue!

On the right a deliberately vague and long-shot, as a lot of this will get a spot in Rack Toy Month, or a Dinosaur round-up, or a 'lets make a tank-hunter' post etc . . . etc . . . I need to glue the petrol-pump without wreaking the packaging, or it would have been included with the Dinky set the other day, although I forgot the Tiger road signs (doh!), while the rubber eye is so bad it's oddly good, and means I may yet use the rather gruesome shots Terranova sent a couple of years ago!!

A bag of 'Armymen', a mixed bag of 'Little Rubber Guys' and cereal premiums and a bag of MPC Africans/hunters from both the 60mm and ring-hand series. Small bag of horses, a wagon which is the level of piracy below the ones we recently looked at, a nice Roman, resin but nice and some Greco-Romans (from a chess set?) marked Roxy, which may be the same Hong Kong Roxy (logo inset) branded to Lucky Toys style racing cars with the same (Lucky) figures?

The chalk-ware cottage is new to me I think and I have several, we will look at them when the rest come out of storage, probably as a Christmas post one year, while the Airfix war memorial in the same bag is probably actually Dapol in that plastic colour?

More rack-toy bits, boxed and unboxed, some of it will probably - in the fullness of time - go on to charity as being outside the scope of the collection, but not outside the scope of the blog, although the 'Smart Shoppers' Supermarket Set will need some thought! Maybe a generic 'Hong Kong' entry under H in the A-Z blogs, for all un-branded HK stuff?

Peter also passed these two my way, and they will get a full 'T is for Two . . . ' later today; the one on the left being a nice home-made vignette of medieval flats, the one on the right being more commercial looking - a hiker resting by a cave - possibly from a model railway range?

There was a bag of capsule-toy capsules which I haven't found time to fully investigate (after three weeks!) but did notice most of them were Balaban or Maraja, so very useful and with Terranova sending me a nice capsule toy just now, there will be a post forthcoming as there is one forming in the queue!

I've over-printed the scan on the right as I have no idea as to the copyright status of it, but I thought this was a nice take on the old play-mat principle; a puzzle which builds into a play-mat, presumably for a HK or - more likely 'China' - farm set from which it has been separated.

Everything else! Novelty Power Rangers pen-top, Wilton footballers and a sample of Spanish sobre envelops with what are called Cromaticos, in English; collector's cards and stickers, two still had a piece of gum attached and are now hors de combat while the Imperial Stormtrooper ^{®, TM & © George Lucas - Lucasfilms - Disney Corp.} toothbush is just what you need to keep your gnashers polished on the Kessle Run - too cool for dental college!

Cheers Peter and thank you!

P is for Plunder Posts - 3 - Themes This Year

As we've already seen today (and will see tomorrow) this year's plunder pile was very eclectic and unlike last year (when I was looking-out for Fontanini and Fonplast), this year I had no real agenda beyond the obvious constraints (or driving-forces) of RTM (Rack Toy Month) and Talk Like a Pirate Day (TLAPD), however, there is/are always a few patterns or trends revealed to be running-through the spoil-heap, once it's sorted and this year there were two manufacturer-based themes in evidence.

Gem, Gemodels, GeModels, Ge-Models call them what you like (they did!), these are mostly Culpitt's anyway! This was the primary synergy in the plunder this year and it raised several paragraphs worth of anecdotal stuff!

You may remember last year (or the year before) Mike Harding offered me three skateboarders, to which I said a hasty "Yes!", well he had some more this year, and there was one in Trevor's bag, so three of them for a start!

I'm hoping the pop-bandsmen are a different brown to the ones I already have, and while the drum-kit is missing a side-drum, it's otherwise complete and will be wholly-so when added to the rest.

The shrub is brittle and missing its 'top-knot' so future photo-background scenery only! But I noticed that the stuff Musgrave issued as Gem, with the base mark (shrub, cowboy and horse guard), are chalkier plastic than the ones Culpitt's had produced for them by a third party (from un-base-marked moulds supplied by George) which are much glossier.

The Santa in the bottom right-hand corner is Festival which are 'Musgrave' of some kind, while the upper-right pair with a set of skis (which fit both) are later HK sourced stuff of/from Culpitt's, probably also carried - in the 'States' - by Wilton. Skiing Bear . . . bear on skis - priceless!

The tennis players however - are driving me mad! There must be a trader at PW who got a job lot of these years ago, and over the years I've bought most of them from him, because; not being the brightest button in the box, every time I see them, I think "Are these the ones I need?", and buy a pair, but every time I get a sunburnt boy with painted base and a flesh-coloured girl with plain base, I need the opposite! Literally - I have three pairs here and another one or two in storage! Big Fat Doh!

I picked-up several more Gem/Culpitt items two weeks later at last weekend's Sandown Park toy fair; boxer's in European and Negro finish, another cricketer, nursery figures, more skis!

The other trend which revealed itself in the sorting stage was Blue Box, it's an annual thing - in part because I do look out for them, in part because they were successful, so the stuff is pretty common, and they had quite a wide range, branded to themselves.

This is both Blue Box and Blue Box-like, I'm not happy with the wheels on the hay-cart (I think they may have been taken from a Tudor Rose type beach-toy truck?), but I have a near mint one with card insert (which we've looked athere), so it can stay as a curiosity for now, while the blow-moulded hay-rick is very different in style and colour from the ones I already have.

The Noah family probably are Blue Box, but there are many Noah sets and at least five or six generations of figures associated with them, they were popular with both Bible or religious book shops, and mail-order 'openers' in Sunday supplements and cheap weeklies through the 1970-80's,  so for now they are Blue Box-like in the sorting, especially are they are all poor copies of the sublime Marx Miniature Masterpiece original!

The tailless 30mm horse has already gone to recycling, but his base stayed!