News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events

Run-of-the-mill week really but there's a couple of Lego-themed 'half-term' bits going on in London this week if you're passing, or looking for something for the kids or grandkids and which have been added below the 'Auctions' section.

At time of writing I haven't the faintest what, if anything, I'm posting between now and Monday, but I dare say I'll get something knocked-out tonight (Thursday) for posting tomorrow!

Brwreakshit . . . sorry; the UK's trouble-free and incredibly ordered exit from the European Union is - after yesterdays shenanigans in Parliament - now so close to economic Armageddon I wouldn't put money on either of them happening first, still, Liam Fox says we're almost ready to sign a trade deal with Vanuatu, so it'll all going to be fine!

Buy toys; that's my advice - go out and buy toys and pretend our elected representatives know exactly what they're doing. I think we should have a referendum on whether bread should be free at the point of collection, with death to bakers' who want money for their efforts, 'cos there's nothing like trusting the country's future to the opinions of the people!

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Toy Fairs

Friday 15th February 2019 (reminder - today)

Alfreton - Toy and Train Fairs (Malcolm Townsend) - Evening fair

The Leisure Centre, Church Street, Alfreton, DE55 7BD

Web. - www.tttf.co.uk

Mob. - 07951 072 790

19:00 - 21:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

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Saturday 16th February 2019

Beconsfield - Toy & Train Fairs (Peter Levinson)

Beconsfield School, Wattleton Road, Buckinghamshire, HP9 1SJ

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01282 051 518 (Peter or Diane)

10:30 - 14:30hrs

Admission charge unknown

Crewe - Crewe Model Engineering Society - 'Toy & Train Collectors Fair'

Crewe Heritage Centre, Vernon Way, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 2DB (venue)

CMES, 93 Merlin Way, Crewe, CW1 3YP (bookings)

Internet presence unknown

Tel. - 01270 505 781 (Mon-Fri, before 20:00hrs, not weekends)

10:30 - 15:30hrs

Admission unknown, dealers; £18 per six-foot table

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Sunday 17th February 2019

Catterick Garison - Jim Corr - Toy, Train & Sci-fi Fair

Catterick Garrison Leisure Centre, Gough Road, Catterick DL9 3EL

eMail - jim_corr73@hotmail.co.uk

Mob. - 07504 035 955

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission £3, child/seniors £2, early bird £5

Free Parking

Café

Exhibition layouts

Exeter 'Westpoint' - Bulldog Fairs

Westpoint Arena, Clyst St. Mary, Exeter, EX5 1DJ

Web. - www.bulldogfairs.com

eMail - bulldogfairs@aol.com

Tel. - 01373 452 857

Mob. - 07917 125 641

10:30 - 14:30hrs

Admission £4, each under-16 free with adult, 'Early Bird' £10 from 08:30hrs

Orpington - SRP Toyfairs

Crofton Halls, Orpington, Kent, BR6 8PR

Web. - www.srptoyfairs1.co.uk

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

10:00 - 14:00hrs

Admission charge unknown

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Auctions

Monday 18th February 2019

Ledsham - UK Toy & Model Auctions Ltd.

Craxton Wood Hotel, Parkgate Road, Ledsham, Near Chester, Cheshire, CH66 9PB (venue)

46 Wirrel Gardens, Bebington, Wirrel, Merseyside, Cheshire, CH63 3BH (offices)

Web. - www.uktoyauctions.com

Tel. - 01513 343 362 (Barry Stockton)

Tel. - 01270 652 773 (Tony Oaks)

Catalogues £3.50p from office address

Die-cast, trains and toy soldiers

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Friday 22nd February 2019

Chippenham - Wessex Auctions

Wessex Auction Rooms, Westbrook Farm, Draycot Cerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 5LH

Web. - www.wessexauctionrooms.co.uk

eMail - enquiries@wessexauctionrooms.co.uk

Tel. - 01249 720 888

Viewing - Thursday 6th 10:00 - 19:00hrs, from 09:00hrs on sale day

10:30 - Finish

On-line catalogue, general toy sale

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

01642 750 616

Specialist model train sale

"The Model Train sale to be held on the 22nd of February features OO Gauge British Outline, HO USA & Continental Outline, N and Z Gauge plus Hornby Dublo 2-and 3-rail, and Acho. Other items include Triang, Wrenn Railways and OO Gauge Kit/Kitbuilt, Gauge 1 & Larger and LGB G Gauge. There are two private owner collections, The Broos Lifetime Collection - Part 10 and Garden Railway Centres Limited Ex Shop Stock LGB & G Gauge Locomotives, Rolling Stock & Accessories - Part 2. The sale continues with Hornby and other O Gauge, Darstaed & Other Modern O Gauge plus Finescale; Meccano & Other Constructional Toys, Books, Magazines, Catalogues, and our usual good selection of General Trains."

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Other Events

Saturday 16th - Sunday 24th February 2019

London - Knight School - Historic Royal Palaces

Tower of London

Web. - https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/explore/knight-school/#gs.tRsUgn9v (all other info.)

Admission fee unknown (HRP members go free)

Learn to be a knight - ages 5-11 plus families

Monday 18th - Sunday 24th February 2019

London - Bricks in the Sky - ArcelorMittal Orbit (formally; London Orbit)

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, East London/Docklands

Web. - arcelormittalorbit.com (all other info.)

10:00 - 18:00hrs daily

Admission fee unknown

Warren Elsmore's Lego models, build-your-own

Tuesday 19th - Friday 22nd February 2019

London - UK Film Pop-up Event

The gallery, 15 Bateman Street, Soho, London

Web. - launchingfilms.com/live-experiences (all other info.)

Social - #launchingfilms

Opening times vary

Admission fee unknown

Lego cinema, Soft-Lego play-area, VR, selfies, Lego play area

Free face-painting 20th only

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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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Sorting dinosaurs: "Well, if they're not be needing this box . . . tea break!"

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P is for Pressman's Pooch and 'Pesky Kids'

A quick box-ticker; it's  been a while since we looked at a board-game (although - we looked at one the other day without knowing it! More on that monkey-business later) so here's one from the archive.

US Company Pressman Toy Corp's board game 'Scoobie-Doo Cyber Chase'; as there are only five main characters (or at least; there were before the execrable 'Scrappy' turned-up to mawkishly lower the tone of the thing!) I'm assuming there are only five main players for these five plastic figurines, but there may have been a sixth 'banker' in charge of a bad guy or several bad-guys, who - if they existed - may have been card flats with slot-on bases, or just head-cards? I don't know . . . and I would have got away with it if it hadn't been for you pesky kids!

Velma Dinkley - now it's a fine post!

R is for Rasnoexport's Russian Renegades!

I believe I actually bought my loose set of these from Blog contributor Chris Smith about 12, maybe 14 years ago? Something like that! The bagged set came from JB, as I had started collecting larger-scale flats long before I went over to large-scale everything, and hoovered-up his ex-soviet stuff  in the 2000's.

The graphics printed on the bag are of those blow-moulded cartoon animals any of you who have searched for ex-Soviet figures on feebleBay will have encountered in the search results. Note also how the bag is simply sealed with a vicious little tin-plate stamping which grabs the folded bag!

While the packing slip translates as;

All-[Soviet]-union

Export-Import-

Corporation (or; 'Unit'?)

"Rasnoexport"

           Moscow

                 B-140, 15 Krasnosels'kaya Street

__________________________________________

Pirates

Article no: 3207 (or; 'Item)

Control

               OTK

                51 (stamp)

Date 1-80 (handwritten) [January 1980?]

Made in USSR

Where OTK = QA/QC (quality assurance/control) and thanks to Mimi for the translation. They may be from another factory though, this mob seems to be a 'Party' mechanism for soft power with a shipper/jobber office in central Moscow, rather than one of the actual manufacturers, and with some dodgy history and several lost law-suits in Western commercial courts!

I have no idea why they are called pirates when they are clearly Russian naval personnel, but suspect it has something to do with the politics surrounding the 1917 Revolution; maybe the Navy went-over to the Bolsheviks or People's Parliament first and earned the ire of the eventually all-conquering communists? Or is it a proud nickname for the Potemkin's crew? Mutineer and pirate probably translate the same.

Only four figures, semi-flat-to-flatish and quite big at around 65mm, and the same four poses in both my samples, a marine infantry or naval landing party, not sure they had automatic SMG's in 1917, so better for WWII, but that only re-raises the 'Pirates' question-mark. I like the stripy-shirt on the rifleman, and there's a hint of Tom in those tight-waist, bell-bottomed trousers!

Ghosts in the machine!

J is for Japanese TV Characters

As with the previous post I've lost the full note (or source) for these, but they are pretty self-explanatory and it's a short post of half a set, most of whom are damaged, so it's really just a bit of a box-ticker! We'll return to them if the rest ever turn-up!

Branded to Justen Products (of Itasca, Illinois (?)) they were further credited to a Division Sales and/or/of/for Marks International, they seem to be called 'Iron Troops' and there should be six poses in the set.

Both the standing ones have lost weapons from their hands, I don't know if that is due to play, age, or something more deliberate.

They look to be Japanese TV serial characters along the lines of Ultraman, Atomic Boy, Zone Fighter, VR (?) or those early Superheroes who fight some of the Godzilla monsters - I don't know enough about the Japanese end-of-things! It's not clear either (in part due to the faces being similar to other characters) whether they are robots or androids or something.

Manufactured in a dense black PVC or vulcanised-rubber, with good moulding/detail and an overall, overspray with a flat or silk aluminium colour, the kneeling one is wearing a different outfit to the other two (who both look a bit female?) and it may be that the full set is three each of two 'sides'?

P is for Polistil's Plagiarised People

Mixing it up here at Small Scale World today, from Chinasaur-Dinorasers to die-cast 40mm vehicle accessories, with futuristic space warriors to come! I do know what these came with, but can't find the reference, it was something like re-badged/re-boxed Solido, or 'something like that' so don't quote me, it'll be right on the A-Z entry; one day!

Whatever the actual nature of the Polistil vehicles/AFV's they each got a small set of figures, which are manufactured in die-cast alloy (mazac/zamak), but which happen to look mightily familiar!

In this case the figures are ex-Britains Deetail German mortar crew! The mortar being copied nearer to the original size - seemingly in order to also take the same firing-mechanism! The figures reduced by about a half to an approximate 40mm/1:43/48th scale . . . ish - I think the range were nominally 1:50th?

The method of mounting the mortar tube and legs is also copied from Britains and a paint variation in sun-bleached stone seem to have existed, although I olny have a mortar in the other colour, no figures.

Other (European theatre paint-finish) vehicles got a set of scaled-down Airfix 1:32nd Commando clones, with a green wash (the 'Afrika Korps' are properly painted with a thick coat) and I think the short muzzles are down to poor copying/moulding rather than damage - but stand to be corrected - as I do on most aspects of these, given the loss of notes!

These (the Commandos) were intermingled with a set of Russian sculpts, again -  three items (kneeling firing  is missing) - taken from Airfix, but the stance of the running guy suggests the donors were the already pirated/licensed Esci kit-figures, Esci being connected to Polytoys/Polistil through previous mould-sharing, which would mean he was scaled up for the Polistil clone!

R is for Return-to - Chinasaur Dinorasers

I know I've said it before but it is interesting how quickly things catch-up and indeed; pile up, even after you think you've covered 'for a while' what you think of as an ephemeral side-bar to the main business, it happens here with motorcycles and paratroopers, bendies and dinosaurs . . . insects, fish and these chaps - 'Dinorasers'!

We have looked at this in passing once I think, we'd already had them in a small container from The Works, when I saw them carded for the same pound, but with two duplicate poses for a six-count in Poundland back in the autumn . . . I got one!

These two are unmarked, but look to have a degree of vintage about them, found in the bottom of Peter Evan's January donations-to-the-blog bag; they are a good colour for dinosaurs, but possibly not for selling to little-ones as pencil rubbers? They are an older, solid/heavy 'rubbery' rubber too!

I liked them so much I shot them twice but didn't find this earlier shot until after I'd done the previous one! It's a better shot too, gets the texture of the animals very well. Cheers Peter!

This [the above] post was going to be it . . . a third - short - post of the day, and a bit thin on blurb; but there's not much to add to eraser dinosaurs when you're visiting them for the umpteenth time, then, this afternoon (Tuesday) I dug some more out of the garage . . .

. . . where they've been sitting, hiding, since their release from storage. I didn't actually have many dino's of any kind in storage, mostly mini-types, but I'd got these while searching for Diener'saurs! Geddit? Diener Industries . . . ohh, never mind!

The 'T-Rex' (which from my limited knowledge of skulls is more like an Allosaur) has lost his tail's tip and need to be replaced one day. They are marked CHINA in largish letter stamps, they weren't Diener (but are similar-to and based-on) and stayed as some of my larger dino's for some time, not in the Dinoraser zone, there wasn't one . . . but there is now!

Colour study of the sauropods; are they dip'ies or bront'ies?

The reason I've grown this collection so fast (other than the likes of Brian Berke sending us mini-micro ones!) is that there is a very real charm to them, which hits the nostalgia button in several ways, and in less than three years we've gone from these - hiding in storage - to a whole box of multicoloured, multi-specie prehistoric animals, in mostly bright, primary or 'neon' colours, reminding us of the sort of stuff we used to get in our stockings on Christmas morning, or as a treat on the way home from the dentist, or sellotape'd to our favourite comic!

I wasn't only seekeing Diener'saurs, I was (still am) also looking for the dino's given away by a petrol company (Esso I think) in the 1970's which weren’t really erasers, being made of a silicon-rubber, but they were simplified sculpts and slightly cartoonish, so look a lot like these Dinorasers, in the course of which I picked up this chap (left, blue) who is a copy of the previous set, or for another contract (but his trunk's much heavier-moulded).

 

The yellow spiny 'kerthunkersaur' came in recently (Jim or Chris Smith - thanks to both!), and may or may not have been seen here, or was waiting for a follow-up but got missed when I wrote the short version above!

Luckily I found him while marrying all the others up in the new box and he has the same block 'CHINA' mark. This new pose suggests a set of ten in either set? So I'm still looking . . .

News, Views Etc . . . Passing through . . . gone!

Timpo
Barney has an update, lots of ACW and Wild West from Timpo just come-in....

Herald Toys & Models

"This week we have for sale a collection of early plastic (solid and swoppet-type) Timpo American Civil War and Wild West figures, including some mounted Civil War officers and a Wild West bank robber."

The Toysaurus Lives! Maybe!
They probably got some DNA out of amber? Will Jeff Goldblum play your dad? "Err . . . miss . . . please . . .  scuse-me, err . . how much are . . . humm . . . these toy soldiers please, err, I can't err, seem to find  . . . hur-hum. . . . the label?"



Thought for the day . . .

Maybe - Maybe Not
Ms May asked Parliament for some time yesterday, may I suggest; eight-years, no parole? Six weeks 'till we become Portugal-minus-minus! Minus the sun, minus the smiles! Even Luxembourg will be able to laugh at us . . .and they're just a  truck-stop on the way to somewhere else!

T is for Toy Fair 2019 Reports - Amerang - NJCroce Bendables

I think there will be four Amerang posts before the season's done, but as we haven't looked at NJCroce's bendable figures for a while (and they were becoming a regular here!), I thought I'd kick-off with a quick overview of what Amerang's shipping in from the 'States at the moment.

Top left is the 'original' (actually second [TV]) Batman who was also the Blog's introduction to NJCroce when Brain Berke donated him over a couple of years ago (nearly a 'few' years ago!), he's still available, but now as a key-ring.

Next to him is the TV-version four-inch Joker. Far left gives us a box set of the 'Classic TV Series' figures with card variations on the self in front of them and a little Batmobile I got no details on!

Animated Series Joker and a Green lantern also on the pegs, but the star of this year's line is an 80th Anniversary original comic Batman in five-inch, bendy-form!

Down the bottom are a set of 'deforms' including a generic 'Armyman' I'll look out for!

I think this is the one I shelfied in TKMaxx just before Christmas, it's a static vehicle (wheels are fixed) aimed at adult collectors who - presumably - have been found (by some focus group?) to only want to display mint-boxed! You can just see a TV version behind it.

This is one of the Movie beasts and again a static display model but the bendy is sculpted to a high standard. Obviously these NJCroce items will appear in TKMaxx through the year, but Amerang - as agents - will be looking for other buyers and so they should also be found in other places?

Q is for Question Time - Horses

Three of 'em, not big questions as they all have the brand . . . err . . . 'branded' on them, but I think they are probably all die-cast (or plastic) vehicle accessories and it would be nice to track down the sets' numbers or titles.

Relatively common, certainly common-enough for an over-priced buy-it-know example to have been sitting on evilBay for several years now! Tai Sang's subsidiary Red Box produced this 54mm/1:32nd-scale  mare in several colours, possibly for a plastic toy vehicle - farm lorry or horse-box, maybe issuing them in pairs of contrasting colours, although mine came seperately? Thanks to Jim for the black one.

The marking is a clear 'Redbox HONGKONG' and the reason I suspect a toy vehicle accessory rather than a bog-standard farm animal is that most Redbox farm and zoo have the same generic Hong Kong or Made in Hong Kong marks as their Blue-Box sister-stuff; the mark suggests a special purpose for this animal, the lack of similarly marked animals of other species suggests a unique role.

Seen here before I think, but more colours have turned-up! Marked 'J∙K' in a triangle frame the horse is smaller than the Redbox one (around 40mm-compatable) and the pose suggests several roles from circus performer (no other obviously 'circus stuff' similarly marked, has turned up), through rodeo set (similar criticism of a lack of matching stuff) to a horse-box load, or fence-leaner!

Mark is a standard HONG KONG with the J∙K in a small triangle and it could even be a cocktail-glass novelty if it wasn't for the paint, the upper bent knees are in line so suggesting it's designed to be looking over something, rather than rearing-up in the open? And I think Jim or Chris Smith are to thank for one of these!

The previous two were standard polyethylene and probably date from (or started life) in the 1960's, this one is in that dense 'Macau' type PVC and dated to 1972, marked Rae, it is the smallest (around 1:64th) and is almost certainly for a die-cast vehicle or - perhaps - mini-playset?

Photo was harder on shiny white PVC, so I've over-marked; it's not accurate (font wise), but a reasonable guide, anyone got any ideas on any of them?

 

15th Aug. 2021 - Continuing research finds some US evilBay sellers listing RAE - often as Rae - in conjunction with or alongside ARCO/Arco, with reference to to Noah's Ark sets. Which suggests that the same Arco petrol (gas) premium collection was previously or subsequently issued by this RAE/Rae, which would back-up another old contention of mine that Giant/PMC/Arco were jobbers, NOT manufacturers.

 

I've since also found a Hippopotamus who has the clear remains of a - removed from the tool -Rae mark, he seems to be the same as the Arco Hippo'. 

F is for Flying Tiger Goes to Space!

A theme obvious at the Toy Fair in London last month was space; not the all-singing, all-dancing, enemy alien, interplanetary warfare, 'deep-space', space-opera type space, but 50-years since a small step, NASA moon-shot 'near-space' space!

The same theme was also in evidence on my last visit to Tiger, or Flying Tiger as they are now, camera was forthcoming, shelfies were taken and that's what we're looking at here!

Large astronaut erasers and I mean big; biggly-big, biggerer than a big-thing that's gone to university and had itself elected head of the Department of Bigness! Candy pink or a sort of dark ultramarine were on display, but I know that with the similar animals they've had the last few years, other colours tend to turn-up with re-stocks, so that may be the case with these, you can see they've obviously emptied a stock-box of pink and topped-up with blue!

Various novelty ball-point pens included an astronaut, I didn't buy one as it wouldn't make a stand-alone figure like the regency lady (courtesy of Peter Evans) I converted a year or two ago, due to the visible shaft between his legs . . . Matron! But if you are a novelty-pen collector, rather than a 'figurine' purist; there are three colours to find (that I know of), along with the alien (?) or fish in a bowl and Japanese ladies also visible.

To hold your novelty pen is this rocket pencil-case with a hinged hatch, it looks more like a booster rocket/fuel-tank than a proper Apollo series launch-vehicle, but the homage is there!

More space-related novelties including glow-in-the-dark ceiling decorations of planets with small stars or a packet of larger stars and a slime-filled rocket of more 1950's 'pulp' lines, in fact it looks a bit like the head section of Fireball XL5 - there's a project there for someone!

Plastic money-boxes of rather blunt rockets and weird space-alien monsters, I wasn't taken by these at all; the production values are fine, but the designs (and colours) are beyond kitsch and heading toward horrid, in my opinion!

Next to them were space-themed book-ends (which don't look heavy-enough to do their job) and a nice corner shelf in the shape of a rocket which does temp me - to make my own!

Finally and of no real interest to loyal readers, but photographed because they were there and covered in space imagery was one of those block-things which keep folding or unfolding into different pictures, they work like a Jacob's ladder . . . a bit!

Expect more and more space-stuff this year, both in the shops and on the Blog as we head toward the actual date, and I dare say the telly will be knee-deep it it.

1969 - increasingly looking like the high-point of human civilization, still striving for post-war liberal-democracy, striving for the stars, striving for peace, raising living standards . . . but Vietnam was grinding-on in the background, then came Thatcher, Regan, neocon 'Libertarian' psudo-economics, Afghanistan 1 (and 2) The Falklands, Nicaragua, big-hair and the Spice Girls, 9-11, four Gulf-wars, Internet porn and the Tellytubbies . . . I blame the Tellytubbies, horrid little monkey-faced Brwreakshitieers . . . Eh-ohh! A Mars-bar was 3d!