R is for Rocket . . . USA!

That rocket I posted from Terranova the other month, which I thought might be MP for Mars Patrol . . . it was MP for Mars Patrol!

I based my assumptive presumption of a guess on the fact that the tail logo seemed to graphically represent two similar planets orbiting a larger sun, at similar -but different - distances from it!

Turns out it is a modern reproduction of an original tin-plate toy, although reproduction isn't the correct phrase, it's a re-issue from the original Masudaya moulds, commissioned by Rocket USA who set themselves up to source the Japanese toys of the 1950's and 1960's, committed to issuing toys from . . .

"America's Space Age of Innocence: a time when space exploration and robotics were in the beginning stages and every man, woman and child was full of fanciful notions about robots, space travel and galaxies beyond."

My cursory search has also thrown up licensed toys with Futurama and The Day the Earth Stood Still themes.

I don't know if they are still going, gone bust or just don't have a website, however, you can still get the MP-1, but in a different box - here and they'll be watching the orange Mekon carefully for announcements of forthcoming tariffs, if they are!

The figures turned out to be TMNT castings from Dark Horse Miniatures 

S is for Silly-Season Search for Sci-fi Solids

So, while the Tories spent the summer eating each other alive over Brweakshit, Donald Small-hands loaded so many tariffs on China's (sorry; Chai-Nah!)'s components their trade-surplus with the 'States actually went up (because the US buyers had to pay the extra for the bits they needed!) and the BBC stooped ever lower in its desire to lick the arses of Fox and Sky, but not as low as the daily Wail (get your feed from TJF!), we here at Small Scale World had much better ways of seeing the silly season slide by with its record temperatures;

I got my collection out of storage, Brian B sent me lots of pictures and Gisby searched frantically for an ID on some figures, this post is the result!

Ages ago, like two years ago or more, Brian sent me an image of one of his displays which had this trio in the corner, and I asked him if he had a better shot or knew anything about them. He then sent the image I posted back at the beginning of July and I (being a lazy git) sat back and waited for Gisby to reveal all! Gisby, however; missed the hint and did a fantastic job of finding the Buck Rogers figures instead (for which link I've just looked and failed to find the follow-up! Then I remembered Gisby put the links in the comments)! I emailed him with the cry for help, and he was off!

'Racun' - Critter Commandos

He sort of drew a blank, but had checked Team Frog's 'Critter Commandos' (his first thought), as he suspected it might be the work of sculptor Steve Lortz, before he "checked Castle Creations and Lance & Laser, because he [Lortz] sculpted for them, but nope. I tried Archive and Stan Johannsen, because they make 'that type' of figure, even if a different style, but nope".

He then left a message on a vintage forum and got in touch with Paul Lidberg at Team Frog, who correctly ID'd them as being pretty poor sculpts! We all got a bit excited for a moment, thinking they might be quite uncommon, or a bit 'old school' and better images were called-for; which Mr. Berke duly provided . . .

. . . and I sent some on to Gisby, while planning this post around the rest of them, but RTM was bearing-down on me and I had a four-van logistics exercise to arrange! At this point however the story failed to develop into a full, epic quest as someone on the forum had ID'd them and that was - rather . . . that!

It turns out they are by Dark Horse Miniatures who produced these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sets based on their (Dark Horse's) own comics, the sculptor being Ian Lungold, and the foursome who'd caused all the excitement are titled set 178 - After The Bomb Mutants. But they are still nice 'old school' figures so let's have a closer look . . .

The thing is - while a modern maker rightly feels they are a bit poor, when I was a kid this was par for the course and there were dozens and dozens of these things in Military Modelling around '78-'80, and the pre-GW editions of White Dwarf. I used to buy things very much like this from Tangley Model Workshop in Guildford and if you put them lose in your pocket half the detail seemed to have rubbed-off by the time you got them home!

I'm guessing these were mid/late-1980's (at the time of writing I haven't followed the links myself yet!), but in the '80's lot of guys were sculpting this kind of thing in their bedrooms from Plasticine or candle-wax, casting them in Lego-dams or cuttlefish moulds, which is why I have the occasional unknown posts, I keep coming-across unknown metal!

My favourite, 'she' looks like she may be a she, which if they are dogs (mutant dogs) would make her a bitch, and if you encounter a mutant dog with an eye-patch and a big gun; 'Bitch' is the least of it, but the one word you wouldn't use! I think she's probably the leader of the gang as well?

I don't know what to make of this chap, there's some dog around the jowls, but the rest of him is more turtle-meets-mantis! What looked like an unreadable marking on the base equates to neither the maker or the sculptor, nor even the franchise; so just some fettling-marks or something?

Thanks to Brian for indulging me, thanks to Gisby for all his searching and thanks to Paul Lidberg and whoever put the name to the figures; I think they're great!

B is for Barbari! To Fight your Romani of Course!

Along with my single non-Co-Ma Roman I have a probably non-Co-Ma chap who is sometimes described as a Viking, but he is supposed to fight the Romans, and they had long-gone before Vikings were on the scene, also he has an animal's horns on his helmet which is not a Viking practice at all and - I'm sure you'll agree - pretty barbaric, so I guess when Co-Ma called them Barbari, they were right!

Here he is; he too has the helmet-in-the-mud thing going-on, but it's not as simple as it was with the Romans, he's also that softer plastic though, so probably a copy. Again, no markings, of any kind and he has a single horn like some unicorn-quiffed follower of Pan/Dionysus! Very Barbari!

Brian Berke also has one, but I suspect from the detailing of the helmet in the mud he is a Co-Ma original? Although the spike for a weapon is a bit suspect, but it may be the remains of a handle for an axe which has gone the way of all flesh? The level of detail is superb, and those horns could hurt someone! Very Barbari!

Brian's Berserker was at tea (and anyone who's read Asterix will know we Brits just don't fight Italians at tea-time!), so he sent a scaler with a couple of other Hong Kong/China-Troops, although I'd like to know where that Saracen knock-off got an American Civil War musket from? Presumably the bloke behind him! Anyway, my Berserker is now on the mantle-shelf now for just such occasions; although my money's on the Barbari; he's got longer arms and a shield!

R is for Romans! Co-Ma . . . et al!

Look what turned-up! Like the spare Frog Bloodhound-keeper I had no idea I had these, and they weren't in the Romans tubs, they were in the unknown military pre-1900 box! I do vaguely recall buying them as a set, in one of those boxes that 16 of the Ambassador's chocolates used to come in, at a Birmingham show, but whether it was the 2009, '10 or '11 show I can't remember.

A set of six, two are integral mouldings, four had ring-hands for a variety of weapons; I have a standard, two spears and a short-sword, although I don't suppose it would look that short sticking out of your Briton'ish clavicle!, but that is what they are called.

It is the separate weapons that supposedly tell us they are Co-Ma as ably demonstrated by TJF a year ago as he proceeded to contradict everything he and his self-abusing monkey-lizard had previously said about them, over the prior month or so!

Note; there are no remnants of spangle-helms in the mud of their bases.

With sword or spear; he's clearly been annoyed by someone or something, and is intending to take his frustration out on a soft, fleshy, target of non-Roman citizenship! Thus the pink-monkey's ever-were, and remain so to this day!

Again some alternate weaponry posing, with the kneeling guy, a spear works well for 'receiving the enemy', but it looks awkward in the hand of the standing guy; who seems to have been designed to take the standard. Sometimes the 'ring-hand' thing has more to do with sculpting and tooling vis-a-vis undercuts than any deliberate attempt at 'swoppet-ism'!

While the figure below and to the right is . . . I haven't the faintest idea! What I do know is that unlike the other six, I've had him for years (long before my short-stay RP figure) due to his sub-size, and that those other two f-witts don't know either!

Hell, he may even be the elusive Basa! But as last year's spat failed to provide a single figure they were sure was Basa, nor any empirical evidence that Basa ever 'did' the Romans, it's still up for grabs! And I got him in Europe, before the Internet was a 'Thing'.

My feeling is that he is an interim design - probably an Italian or French 'bazaar' toy - a piracy, coming between the Co-Ma originals and the RP (Res Plastics) figures, which may well be from his tool, but after it was cleaned-up and the RP moniker added. He DOES have a discarded helmet in his mud, and it's similar to RP's, but he has no marking at all. He also has a slight twist or turn-away compared to the older pose.

As we can see the RP one did here, against the donor! And again; the spangle-helm. Both the twists AND fallen-helmets suggesting RP's moulds WERE the cleaned-up tools of the silver-copy guy; they are - supposedly - the moulds which are now with DSG.

Now . . . IF and it's a big 'if''; Basa got the tools direct from Co-Ma, these main six above could ALL be Basa, they're clean enough to be later production (and not as sharp as Co-Ma original Barbarians or Astronauts), but I don't know - any more than those other two idiots did, once they were 'put on the spot' (just use the Basa tag for the whole sequence of Trumpundbrexidioscy a year ago) - so for now they remain labelled 'Co-Ma (probably)' in the box. What I do know is that my six aren't RP, aren't the poorer copies and probably aren't DSG.

The point I'm making here is that Erwin did use the RP figures on the Vichy site, claiming they were Basa, he then denied he's done so and with TJF's help (and possibly some self-vandalism involving a heated hex-driver bit) used a second set of figure shots to prove nothing other than their joint dishonesty, before they both managed to contradict themselves and each-other with the help of a Co-Ma original/figure matching mine!

Mine are currently commanded by a slightly over-scale Reamsa re-issue on a horse which I assume, presume, and guess is also a Marksmen-era, Reamsa re-issue mount, but I'm 100% sure - I'm not sure! Oops, did I just guess about Spanish toy sol... . . ? Have I just left mysel... . . ? Will TJF have a... . . ? Is he Jecs... . . ? Doh!

F is for Follow-up to Frog's Fissile Flyer Fellows

When I got those three Frog Bloodhound Missile crew a year or so ago [exactly a year ago - as he checks the link!], I said we'd seen the missing figure on the Blog (I don't think we had - I can't find him) and that it was a coincidence that the one not in the recent purchase was in storage.

Turns-out I had two in storage the missing one and a rather grubby 'look to the skies' dude who must have come from a rummage tray at that last Birmingham show judging by the state of him and the fact that I'd forgotten I had him!

They look like Warmington's finest; Captain Mainwaring and the others, in the village square looking up at the German pilot stuck on the clock tower! From the left Cpt. M himself, Sgt. 'Uncle Frank' Wilson, Frazier and Private 'Can I have the Tommy-gun now, it's my turn!?' Pike.

Anyway, it means that as well as these four I have a spare, if you need the grubby one (it's fine under the dirt!) and are planning on being at the Sandown Park toy fair next weekend, eMail me in the week with an offer of a suitable swap (figure/s, vehicle/s, scenics - whatever) to the [your] perceived value and it's yours without cash changing hands!

T is for ♫♫♪ There's a Girl With My Bucket . . . Dear Liza; Dear Liza! There's a Girl . . . ♪♪♫♪

This is not the post I was hoping to have here, but I ran out of time again this week and threw this up here so there'd be something for the weekend!

Left to right; Timpo over-mould/swivel-waist; a Hong Kong giantess and what I think is the Ohio Arts version of the Auburn Rubber farm girl - I'm going on Kent Sprecher's comparison shot and the little 'smile' of the apron's hem seems to indicate Ohio along with the cowl of her hat?

I don't think it's a bucket either, it's a basket of bread so what the hell's she doing in the same tub!

Same procedure; Timpo 'solid' from hollow-cast mould; Charbens - likewise but re-cut with a larger base; Crescent (with passing goose!) aaaaand . . . not 100% on this one (there's some mileage for TJF!), early British - for sure - she looks like Hilco? She's similar to the Charbens one, but that sculpt has a solid stool (upturned bucket or log/stump) while this is more like the Britains stool and looks similar to the Johillco lead version?

All Britains, the early one is almost certainly a re-paint, but well matched, colour-wise I think? The rest are later HK vinyl's, indeed the last one (with separate - hinged handle - bucket) may be a China-for-Racing Champions or Tomy effort? Actually one of these only has a basket . . . and that last one has both, I must have decided buckets and/or baskets for the tub; I'll let Ms. Ohio off!

I know I have some of the intermediate Herald stuff (from the Charity-shop bags last year/earlier this year) but I thought I had some with these, I suspect it's just because I sorted tons of them when I worked for a dealer a decade ago (where does the time go!); so we will return to them once they have all been sorted together.

Women with buckets [or baskets!] . . . there's more!

T is for Tony Tigers . . . They'rrre Grrrrrreat!

Obviously I've had the Kellogg's box out and while I was shooting the Magic Roundabout and knights I threw this together!

The badge is probably from the 1970's, but I don't know, the five Ashford Mouldings semi-flat Sports Tony's (there's a skier missing) were quite recent as was the Coach Tony; a larger box 'exclusive' from the 1st Monster Wrestlers in my Pocket promotion.

The one's I remember from our childhood were the little (probably R&L) model-kit Tony Tigers, but they are harder to find than most of the above!

K is for Kellogg's Knights; Knot Krescent!

These were issued in 1994 by Kellogg's, pretty much the last time anyone issued 'proper' figures in breakfast cereal, although they were a tad small at around 45mm.

The figures are all in pretty casual or 'at ease' poses, either waiting for the battle to hot-up, or for their turn at the joust, you got one per pack (whatever size/weight of box) and each came with a sheet of four stickers.

The sheet was the same for all of them so you could build a unit of six identical servants of one 'house', or end up with two duplicates if you used them all at least once!

Backs; the relaxed stance of the figures is probably also - in part - explained by the need to reduce undercuts and have simple, shallow moulds, producing simple product with a fast cycle, resulting in a minimal unit-cost. But - they will still paint-up nicely, and one day I may have a pop!

They're not rare!

These were on evilBay, not that long ago either, and you often find complete sets of six, the trick is getting the sticker-sheet, but you only need one-and-a-half of them for maximum effect! It's a box-ticker; box ticked!

News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events

It's dates day again; a busy day on Sunday with something for just about anyone in the UK or Eire, but there are a few on Saturday first including the autumn Central London Toy Soldier Show!

Toy Fairs

Saturday 8th September 2018

Beconsfield - Toy & Train Fairs

Beconsfield School, Wattleton Road, Buckinghamshire, HP9 1SJ

Tel. - 02082 051 518 (Peter Levinson or Diane)

10:30 - 14:30

London - Adrian Little on behalf of Norman Joplin - 'Old Toy Soldier & Figure Show' [sponsored by Old Toy Soldier Newsletter (OTSN)]

Holiday Inn London, Coram Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 1HT
eMail - mercatortradingltd@gmail.com

Tel. - 07887 802 932
Mob. - 07887 802 932

10:30 - 16:00hrs

Admission £5, (early-bird £15, from 07:30hrs)

Dateline Show - only toy figures or accessories made before 1980.

Rugby - Barry Potter / BP Fairs 'Rugby Vintage'

The Benn Hall, Newbold Road, Rugby, CV21 2LN

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £3.50 (early-bird £7, from 08:00hrs), OAP's £3, Children £1

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Sunday 9th September 2018

Ashington - David Parsons - Toy & Train Collectors Fair

Ashington Community Centre, Foster Lane, Ashington, West Sussex, RH20 3PG

eMail - madelcarmart@gmail.com

Tel. - 01424 846 676 (Pete)

Mob. - 07742 609 865 (David)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Buxton - Barry Potter / BP Fairs 'Rugby Vintage'

The Octagon Hall, Pavillion gardens, St. Johns Road, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6XN

Web. - www.bpfairs.com

Tel. - 01604 846 688

Mob. - 07966 527 177

10:30 - 15:00hrs

Admission £3.50 (early-bird £6, from 08:00hrs), OAP's £3, Children £1

Herne Bay - SRP Toyfairs

The Kings Hall, The Beacon Hill, Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 6BA

Web. - http://srptoyfairs1.co.uk/

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Spalding - J&J Fairs (J & J Webb)

Springfields Events & Conference Centre, Camelgate, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 6ET

Web. - www.j-jwebbtoyfairs.com

eMail - jandjfairs@virginmedia.com

Tel. - 01522 880 383

10:00 - 14:30hrs

Admission - Adult £2.50p, seniors £2, 1st child £1.50p

Wimborn - David Rees

Queen Elizabeth's Leisure Centre (Sports Hall), Blandford Raod, Wimborne Minster, Dorset BH21 4DT

Tel. - 01202 590 158

10:15 - 14:30hrs

Free parking and refreshments

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Tuesday 11th September 2018

Elsecar - Newcomen Fairs Ltd. - 35th Elsecar Toy & Train Fair (evening fair)

Elsecar Heritage Centre, Elsecar, Nr. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S74 8HJ

Web. - www.newcomenfairs.co.uk

eMail - sales@newcomenfairs.co.uk

Tel. - 01226 744 425

19:00 - 21:00hrs

Admission £1.50p, children 50p

Hook - Steven Clements Fairs - Hook Evening Fair

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

eMail: clementfairs@aol.com
Tel. - 01380 725 322

Mob. - 07958 101 891

18:30 - 21:30hrs

Free parking

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Thursday 13th September 2018

Theydon Bois - Joe Lock Fairs (evening fair)

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

Mob. - 07866 641 215

19:00-21:00hrs

Admission £1

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Auctions

Tuesday 11th September 2018

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis (day one of a 2-day sale)

Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9JZ

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

01642 750 616

Specialist Sale

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Wednesday 12th September 2018

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis (day two of a 2-day sale)

Fleck Way, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9JZ

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

01642 750 616

General Toy Sale

Wisborough Green - Bellmans Auctioneers and Valuers

Newpound, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, RH14 0AZ

Web. - www.bellmans.co.uk

eMail - sussex@bellmans.co.uk

Tel. - 01403 700 858

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Other Events

Saturday 8th September 2018

Chingford / Epping Forest - North London & Essex Transport Events - 50th Anniversary Rangers Road Bus Depot Closing

Royal Forest Hotel, Chingford, London, E4 7QH

eMail - nleevents@outlook.com

10:30 - 17:00hrs

Souvenir booklet, bus rides, bus and rail displays, 1940's - 1960's

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International Events

Sunday 9th September 2018

Dublin - Chris Dyer Fairs - Toy & Train Fair

The Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan Road, Dublin, Eire

Admission £4

Just off N11 trunk road

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If you are an event promoter/show curator/auctioneer and you want your toy, model, collectable or popular-/youth-culture type sale/exhibition/event listed here - FOR FREE - or linked to; please eMail me -

maverickatlarge[at]hotmail[dot]com

- stating the date/s of the event, address of event, contact details, opening/viewing times, admission pricing and any other relevant facts/details or features - parking, travel notes, disability access, availability of refreshments, event subject matter &etc.

And please mention any flyer-art or poster-/leaflet-scans but send by separate eMail, in case they go to the 'junk' folder, from where they can be recovered and marked safe, but only if I know they're there!

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There's a brilliant post on Akela's Kiosk today, well worth wrestling with Bable-fish or waiting for Google Translate!