News, Views Etc . . . Forthcoming Events 27th July - 2nd August 2019

Well, such heat as might prove those hippies back in the '60's right, might prove the 90% of scientists who think we are suffering global climate change due entirely to human activity since the 1800's right, but don't worry peeps, some fatuous woman at the CityAM (Racheal Cunliffe - for it was she!) thinks capitalism (as practiced since 1979) will be the saving of us, more stuff! More production, more consumption, more digging in the dirt, more burning, melting, smelting, more cars . . . plane, trains and seagoing shit . . . poor some more concrete; that'll help lower temperatures and release greenhouse gasses . . . won't it?

Meanwhile . . . we have a new prime minister, nothing prime about him . . . actually, that's unfair; he's a prime clown! His cabinet seems to consist of people who have either been sacked in the past or forced to resign, people who have lied (including him) people who have breached protocol (including him), ex-leaders, failed leaders, ex-leadership bidders, failed leadership bidders and people who in any other age would have remained - slightly embarrassing to their own side - back-benchers, including him . . . oh, and Ester McVay, a woman who was unelected by her constituents, a lesson in democracy and 'the will of the people' totally ignored by the Tory Party!

How is this supposed to increase trust in parliament or parliamentarians? How is it designed to reduce division or increase unity? Never mind, with any luck the Iranians or Putin . . . or Trump will doubtless take our minds off the depressing truth of it all, any minute now!

In the meantime, there's toys to be sought and bought . . . if you can find the energy to leave the house in a car microwave-oven!

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Toy Fairs

Saturday 27th July 2019

Brentwood - J&J Fairs (John & Julie Webb)

International hall, Brentwood Centre, Doddinghurst Road, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 9NN

Web. - www.j-jwebbtoyfairs.com

eMail - jandjfairs@virginmedia.com

Tel. - 01522 880 383 (J & J Webb)

10:00 -14:30hrs (approximately)

Admission £3, seniors £2.50p, 1st child £2

Horsted Keynes  -  Joe Lock Fairs - Bluebell Railway Toy Fair

Horsted Keynes Station, Station Approach, Horsted Keynes , Haywards Heath, East Sussex, RH17 7BB

Web. - https://www.bluebell-railway.com/whats_on/toy-rail-collectors-fair/

Mob. - 07866 641 215

10:00-16:00hrs

Admission included A) with a train ticket or B) production of Bluebell Line membership card or C) by purchasing a platform ticket (remember them) if you don't want a trip down the line!

Nottingham - Townsend Toy & Train Fairs (Malcolm Townsend) - Nottingham Toy Fair

Bluecoat Academy, Nottingham, NG8 5GY

Web. - www.tttf.co.uk

Mob. - 07951 072 790

10:00-14:00hrs

Admission unknown, accompanied under-16's free

Light refreshments

Free Parking

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Sunday 28th July 2019

Minehead - Chris Dyer Fairs

Minehead Eye, Mart Road, Minehead, TA24 5BJ

Web. - www.chrisdyerfairs.co.uk

Tel. - 01643 702 757

Mob. - 07966 694 579

10.30-15.00hrs

Admission £2

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

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Tuesday 30th July 2019

Garstang - Janet Pearson - Garstang Evening Fair

Kirkland & Catterall Memorial Hall, PR3 0HR

Web-presence unknown

01282 439 009

18:00-Finnish

Admission fee unknown

Tonbridge - SRP Toyfairs (evening fair)

Angel Lane, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1SF

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

eMail: srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk

Tel. - 07739 998 012 (Paula or Gerry)

18:00-20:00hrs

Admission £1.50p, children Free

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Auctions

Tuesday 30th July 2019

Newbury - Special Auction Services (SAS)

81 Greenham Business Park, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG19 6HW

Web - www.specialauctionservices.com

eMail - mail@specialauctionservices.com

Tel. - 01635 580595

Fax. - 0871 714 6905

Stockton-on-Tees - Vectis Auctions

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

Web. - www.vectis.co.uk

eMail - admin@vectis.co.uk

Tel. - 01642 750 616

TV and Movie memorabilia sale

"Introducing…..Mike and Sulley, Monstropolis’s top scarers!

These life size models have set up in the corner of Vectis’ Auction rooms in Thornaby and are ready to give anyone who ventures in a fright, however they definitely live up to their characters and are much friendlier in person; we hope they fulfil their destiny and supply Monstropolis with energy from providing joy and laughter from their new owners.

The pair are also joined by two life size Jack Skellington’s from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, they are being offered at Vectis by the same vendor, who has reluctantly placed the lovable characters up for auction due to moving house and no longer having the room to keep them, and they have unfortunately been relegated to the garage – pictured, he tells the tale of how they came to be in his possession…."

"Sulley was purchased over 10 years ago ....I hired a van and along with my youngest daughter we drove to London, across the Dartford bridge to collect him from a garage overnight after buying him on eBay.....we brought him home to Forest Hall and he ended up in my collection - he has been the centrepiece of my collection for many years, moving with us and creating a stir wherever he has been.....sadly, the bungalow is just not big enough for the both of us......but he raised a smile even from our garage....Mikey came a year or so after Sulley and the pair were reunited!!...they’ve been together ever since.......Jack Skellington came from New York and travelled one Christmas, initially as hand luggage and then in the hold....he was a definite hit from the start, with many people wanting their photographs with him in the airport.... my kids were very excited about this....fellow passengers on the plane cheered when he arrived safely back in Newcastle airport.......again he needs to be displayed and I sadly don’t have the space..."

For further information on these Lots please don’t hesitate to contact Vectis, the vendor is happy to answer any further questions.

The vendor's collection also includes the vintage Raleigh Chopper bikes seen in some [previous Vectis announcement] of the photographs.

Thanks to Louise at Vectis for the promo-images.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Other Events

Now - Sunday 1st September 2019

Dartmouth - English Heritage - History at Dartmouth

Dartmouth castle, Dartmouth, Devon

Web. - https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dartmouth-castle/history/

Pirates, naval history, dressing-up, hands-on stuff . . .

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Friday-Saturday-Sunday 26th-28th July 2019

London (Olympia) - London Film & Comic Convention

Web. - www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com

Exhibitions, trade stalls, show exclusives, over 100 guest stars booked.

Welland - WSR - Welland Steam & Country Fair

Various locations & Woodside Farm Welland, Worcestershire

Web. - wellandsteamrally.com

Steam Fairground, Train Rides, Vintage Tractors, Engines, Model Village . . .

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Saturday 27th July - Sat 31st August 2019

Wantage - MC Events - Lego Expo 2019

Vale & Downland Museum, Church Street, Wantage, Oxfordshire,

Web. - valeanddownlandmuseum.org.uk

I'm getting bored with these now . . it IS a kid's toy and it WAS stolen from someone else! But great . . . for kids! I've also seen posters for the Lego event at Woburn Safari Park, previously mentioned here, it's still running - 'till the 1st of September.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Saturday 27th-Sunday 28th July 2019

Avebury - National Trust - Teddy Bear's picnic

Avebury Manor & Garden, Avebury, Wiltshire

Web. 1 - https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk (organiser)

Web. 2 - https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/events/514f3863-ae6c-402c-aa83-f5849ebbe94c/pages/details (event page)

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Sunday 28th july 2019

Lothian, Scotland - National Museums Scotland - Scotland's National Airshow

National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, Scotland

Web. - nms.ac.uk

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Overseas Events

Friday 26th  - Tuesday 30th July 2019

Hong Kong - Tung Tak Enterprise Limited - Ani-Com & Games HK (ACGHK)

Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition centre

Web. - https://www.ani-com.hk/2019ver/index.php

Download - English Language .pdf

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Sunday 28th July 2019

Kelowna (Canada) - Fun Promotions - Kelowna Collectibles Show

Sandman Hotel & Suites Kelowna, 2130 Harvey Avenue, Kelowna V1Y 6G8, British Columbia, Canada

Web. - https://fun-promo.com/upcoming-events/kelowna/

11:00-16:00hrs

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

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!

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

H is for How They Come In

An interesting week, I picked-up what I thought was an 11th Nano-Metal figure from the Halo set in The Works cleared from Jada, only to find that while it may be my 11th (of twelve?), I'd got one in the last few weeks, so . . . now I have two 'Spartan Vale's!

Something else came in this week but looking round the room I can't put my finger on it, so I must have sorted it away already, I do that sometimes, almost subconsciously!

Yesterday I picked up two bags, one for 50p - mostly duplicates (left hand image) and another for a £1 with mostly zomling/moshling/shopkin crap (right hand image), which I'll filter into the various posts on them which will - hopefully - all post on one day near christmas, when the diehards are more likely to forgive such indulgence!

I also picked up another of those Russimco-Ecotronic reto-games; The Amazing Magical Robot's, which [contents and packaging] all went the same way as the previous one, except for the robot which is in the image above. I'm going to leave him as-he-is and remove the pointing-wire from the previous (de-plinthed) one, with a bit of heat - and some pliers.

I literally found this in the street; it was damaged at both ends with torn tips to trunk and tail, and was leaking little beads from a tear in its throat, so I thought I'd investigate it for your amusement and our greater knowledge; as these are getting quite common now.

Consumer info' consisted of two lines

All New Material Rubber

Filling EPS Beads China

Turns-out that while they feel rather vile, even slightly sexual in a lady's hand-bag-sized, battery-operated, pleaser sort of way and rather cold or slimy, they are in fact not filled with a bead-gel, but just loose expanded-polystyrene (the EPS) beads, like their larger parcel packing brethren, but about 0.5mil. It'll all end up in landfill or the oceans where it will still be causing problems long after we've been pushed-off by mother-nature to the fields of the apocalypse and who can blame her!

The gel-feeling (which I'd associated with bead-gel via those equally weird/slightly-sexual continuous loop things which are transparent and clearly filled with a bead/gel soup!) coming just from the soft beads rubbing against each other and the silicon vinyl-like 'all new material rubber'!

The animal is filled from quite a large hole and then sealed with a shot of the same stuff, leaving a large scar under the head which was part-hidden by the over decoration and I've seen these things in The Works, Wilkinsons/Wilco, Poundland and [Flying] Tiger. You get wild animals, over-sized lizards, snakes and amphibians, Dinosaurs etc . . .

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Natural Small Scale World

Finally managed to shoot a White Admiral (, I'd seen one two years ago, been teased by several earlier in the year (early June I think?), but got this on my accidental walk from Odiahm to Fleet, don't ask; but I think it involves a world-famous pianist and his very kind friends!

Looking a lot like a female Purple Emperor, but with fuller or more 'rounded' wings, I think they are the same 'group' anyway?

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Couple of Other Bits

Shelfied, but I won't be giving it house-room! I thought Rowan Atkinson was very funny in Not The 9-O'clock News and superb in Blackadder, while the early Mr Bean sketches were fun, but it/he's more of a one-joke visual gag, and - in my opinion (which isn't everyone's!) -  it's been laboured to the Nth degree. From our bendy-friends at NJCroce via TKMaxx.

No doubt about who made this Spanish tourist-trinket donkey! The mark for Pech Hermanos (Peach Brothers) is 'branded' onto the saddle! Came in a while back, can't remember when . . . Sandown or a charity shop's mixed-bag? It's lost its cart!

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Link

Who knew he was a collector? "Williams created an alternative reality, spending hours on end commanding his collection of several thousand toy soldiers. “I had to use all these voices and sound effects with my standing army,” he said to PEOPLE in 1978". I wonder if he ever read SSW?

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Plasty is for Ri-Toys is for Rado Industrial Co.

I think we looked at the first set back at the start of the Blog, but it may have been earlier - and only in black & white - in Plastic Warrior's stable-mate One Inch Warrior? Anyway, we'll look at it again with the juxtaposition of the donors own-branded set!

This is the Plasty set; a resting foal or pony, three sheep in two poses, ex-Britains farmer (reduced to around 40mm) and a goat, along with piracies of Merit's fencing in white plastic with rustic artwork of a generic European nature, the hanging-card being more Franco-Spanish, the inner-liner having the look of Northern Europe or the Low Countries.

The horse replaced by a cow in the Ri-Toys original, these (the cow and horse) are better examples than some, but only equal in finish and decoration to the wider-found Blue Box mini farm sets they are - basically - pretending to be. There's also a third pose of sheep; a ram, all three based on Britains sculpts, as are the cow and pony/foal.

This is one of those posts that reveals the wheels-within-wheels that is the toy industry, with everyone seeking a slice of a small, finite pie which peters out earlier and earlier with each generation, they will happily get into bed with each-other for a shekel . . . as Airfix probably already owned Plasty by the time the upper set hit stores (the two sets aping the earlier sets by Blue Box, as supplied to Marx), yet they (Airfix) had their own small-scale farm set which Plasty could have used? With or without paint!

News, Views Etc . . . Airfix Blog - New Post; Space Warriors 1:32nd Scale/54mm Figures

Too hot for what was planned for today, likewise - it seems - tomorrow or the next few days, but I'll try to post something each day, now I'm back in the rhythm!

The title-bar says it all really, long-overdue and in the immortal words of someone (you know who!) following-up my 'swoppet' Hong Kong posts a fair few year's ago . . . Seems to be some interest in these!

http://airfixfigs.blogspot.com/2019/07/1981-sci-fi-space-warriors-51577-3-9.html

And their first follow-up is already in the bag, so hopefully - some time in the next few days!

B is for Believed to Be - More Zang; Horsa Glider

Following on from the naval stuff seen earlier today, and mirroring the aircraft in the first WHW post (we like a bit of symmetry on a thematic-day here at Small Scale World!), I also shot this on Adrian's table - at the recent PW show, and it's lucky I shot it first thing; as it sold quickly!

Thought to be another of the Zang (for Timpo?)* composition pieces, we've seen the Mosquito here before here and I think I've mentioned seeing a similar early Whittle/Gloucester single-seat jet (marked Timpo) so there must have been a set/range of them?

* There's something between an outside and equal chance it could have been made by Ridingberry (Rob Toys), V (Empire Forces) or Brent (Elastolene), but Zang looks the more likely. It also resembles some gliders in the old Airborne Forces Museum in Aldershot, but they may have been Zang too!

The tail is damaged, so I used the rudimentary 'retouch' tool in Picasa . . .

. . . to give you a better idea of the overall appearance of it!

The three now known are mid-/late-war designs, and the finish is better than either the figures or the Naval subject in the previous post, and - obviously - this example is wearing D-Day recognition stripes, so these probably are post-war production, or certainly later than some of the other stuff (which I've previously theorised as being wartime production), and after they 'got the hang' of producing playable toys in such a difficult material?

The zoo animals in Timpo boxes tend to better finish than the military figures, the mechanics/civilians (sold with Timpo slush-cast/hollow-cast sets) are also quite consistent and better finished; all are known post-war production.

B is for Believed to Be . . . Zang; Navy

Shot on Adrian Little's (Mercator Trading) stall last autumn, or - at least - removed to the sunlight outside and shot; these are believed to be previously unknown output from Zang - who would go on to work with Timpo and Britains (Herald) before being bought-out by the hollow-casting giant as their nascent plastics-arm.

A small fleet; including submarines, two sizes of warship, a carrier, a liner in use as a troop ship and a couple of bog-standard tramp-steamers. Writing in the past of my theory re- the 'Zang for Timpo' being wartime rather than post-war, I suspect the same is true of these, they seem to be early-war (or  pre-/inter-war) designs?

Close-ups of the large liner/troopship and aircraft carrier, a three-stack liner could be RMS Queen Mary or the ill-fated RMS Empress of Britain, while the distinctive twin-stack carrier with huge searchlight might be HMS Eagle, while the under-shots are liner to the left, carrier to the right.

The underside of the submarine (top left) shows the instantly recognisable mauve-grey of Zang's pumice-mix composition. Battleship is top-left and bottom-right, with the smaller warship in the centre. Finally the tramp-steamers . . . err . . . steaming along!

They're all quite crude and finish is poor with a khaki wash on most and a stab-and-hope paint scheme on the two prime vessels, these would have been pretty unsellable after the war finished, but in the high-austerity of wartime, if stuff like Forrest Toys was beyond your budget, these would have filled a niche at Christmas, and very patriotic!

Another shot of the carrier group, no German or Italian vessels were spotted in the editing of this post . . . see previous posts! Given the - one each of the two biggies and two each of everything else - vessel-count; possibly the contents of a full, single-set?

Q is for Question Time - WHW Navy?

First, let's get the most salient point out of the way first; I don't believe these are WHW, but they seem to be contemporaneous with the similar Wintershilfswerk stuff from the war years, we looked-at this morning. Although the title is now a bit redundant as what was a three-shot post has grown to a wider overview, with a/the second - better understood, definitely WHW - set's vessels also covered.

I don't believe they are WHW because they are too large, they are poorer quality than the better known DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) - German Red Cross set of winter '40-41 (Types of the German Armed Forces/German Forces Today, although, as we saw earlier; it had several titles) and because they seem to have been glued to something - making them, originally, even larger?

 Steaming out of port we have a rather non-descript pair of warships, one a small battleship or cruiser, the other a rather large frigate or corvette? Between them something which appears to be the ill-fated Aircraft Carrier KMS Graf Zeppelin? I say that while repeating previous admissions of not being an expert on these things (sorry Granddad!) but the huge stack and long, straight-ended, parallel-sided, flight-deck both seem to suggest the Zeppelin?

The other side of the island is a simple flat formed from the tip of the 'more' male half of a two-part mould, and the ship has two small protrusions at sea level to help it balance upright on a flat surface, yet it appears to have been glued to something!

The two warships from both sides, there is a vague Bismarck/Tirpitz look to the main tower, but it's fleeting and not matched by the other details, with both vessels being pretty generic. They also - both - have signs of glue on the undersides.

The smaller ship, flanked by two vessels from the known WHW set, they are both far more accurate or detailed models, both have a bow-wave, and wash running down the sides and are manufactured in two halves, glued together; really, the only similarity is the silvery-grey polystyrene they are all made from?

They could be from a board-game, even a Nazi board-game, from the occasional frequency they (Nazi board games, not these ships) turn-up at auction (and provide an excuse for paroxysms of outrage from the Tabloids) a fair few made their way here, either before the war (as generic playthings) or after the war as booty/'war trophies' from liberated Nazi Europe? The bomb 'Engerland' set being unlikely a pre-war import, but still turning up from time to time!

They could be unattributed Nazi-era toys? Maybe an early attempt by Wiking to move away from metal, but the lack of accuracy argues against them? Although the plastic type was used for early Wiking vehicles. Perhaps penny-toys, sold from the toy-shops, market stalls or street-vendors of pre-war Germany?

Or they might yet turn-out to be WHW/KHW/DRK tokens, yet there is no sign of a hanger-hole or broach-pin attachment, but - as I say - they seem to have been glued to something at some point? Might they have even been mementos of the Zeppelin's slipway launch?

However, I have also seen a larger, longer submarine (above, about 11 years ago) included with a sales-lot of the 1940/41 set (stated March '41), it would sit well with the three 'unknowns' and has no sculpted wash along the water-line?

In Plastic Warrior's issue No.84 as described earlier, two sets were shown, including all six warships from that set; and clearly the naval vessels all have the waterline 'seascapeing', and all are shorter than the three question-marks above (and the 'archive' submarine), apart from the - more recognisable - battleship (largest model) which just-about matches the unknown Sub.

Any ideas on the biggies?

My suspected Nazi navy from both sets, in full cry, heading out en masse to meet the subject of this afternoons post, on the high seas!

 

12-06-2023 - Turns out they are an early Marx thing! US Sea and Air Defense [sic], could this be wartime, pronbaly not, they were mostly paper of wooden flats from Marx and Hassenfelt (and pthers), but I bey it's close to the end of the war, and rather that the KMS Graf Zeppelin, probably representing an Essex Class 'Fleet Carrier'?

K-WHW Das DRK is for All Sorts of Things!

This set used to be so simple . . .

"Seen this before?"

"Yeah, WHW that is, dead-rare, the first plastic toys ever made..."

 . . . would say the wise cove from the 'old guard' over yer' young-pup's shoulder.

But actually, it's all more complicated than that, and several people seem to have done plastic toys or novelties before them (the Nazi's), not least Bergan Toys (Beton) in the US. But back to the title first; Kriegs-Wintershilfswerk für das Deutsche Rote Kreuz, or wartime winter-relief by the German Red Cross, it's all a bit of a mouthful, and - as we shall see - a moveable feast.

 We did look at these a while ago to almost the same level as this post (not quite a complete set . . . or sets!?), but I've got my Plastic Warrior magazine issue 84 (1995) out of storage, and it's worth having yours (if you've got one) to hand for this post; pp's-22/23.

It's also a late addition to today's line-up which was going to be the next two posts, only, but I picked-up two more ships and colour variant Panzer III's from Mr Little (Mercator Trading, who still has a few) at the recent PW show in Whitton/Twicker's*, so I've re-written the second post in order to simplify it, and will explain the multi-set stuff here.

*I picked up four more two weeks later and took some shots which are near the end of the post.

Paratrooper, field telephone, range-finder (or dodgy mortar sculpt?) and a 'panzer' grenadier! Some people think it's a mortar, due to the lack of a base-plate I suspect they are setting-up an artillery rangefinder, but the sculpt isn't clear, so it's the owner's call and today that means it's a range-finder!

I first came across the ID for these on-line where an apparently knowledgeable German site back in the day had them as definitely (or definitively) a 1941 issue, specifically: March 1941, where they were titled 'Darstellungen der Wehrmacht' which as a direct translation gives Representations of the Armed Forces, or more properly as Examples of the Armed Forces, and was a German Red Cross collection, the DRK having been Nazified in the same way all the non-governmental 'organs of state' in Iraq were Baath'ified.

Spandau MG42 on a low-recoil sustained-fire mounting, set low, a mounted wiring-party and a dispatch rider. The pair of animals and rider in the wiring party seem to have been based on the single figure (rather than the other way round, the lone get-up is a slightly better quality sculpt), with horse-leg perspective reversed. While the MG depicted seems to be the '42 model (then brand new), but with an anachronistic pipe for a water-cooled weapon; when both the MG38 and '42 were air-cooled with changeable barrel-housings.

In the PW magazine there were two sets shown, one submitted by Michael Mordant-Smith, and believed to be a shop/window display, was self-described Kriegs-WHW 1940/41 Tag der Deutschen Wehrmacht, which - later portion - translates directly as Day of The German Forces, or more fluidly as The German Forces Today (or 'now'). This suggests - from the dates - the set was available (or being 'hawked') through the whole winter.

But also in that issue; 84, was a presentation book/box with a  pull-ribbon which enabled several of the models to stand-up when the cover was open, submitted by Brian Shorthouse, it was dated to 1940 only and titled Kreigshilfswerk für das Deuschen Rote Kreuz (war relief from the German Red Cross).

So you can have Winter Relief, War Winter-relief or plain [honest] War Relief! It's all (the money) going to the Nazi's! But . . . is no different to our flag-days or sponsor a tank/Spitfire type single-village, school, factory or WI (&etc.) fund-raisers, nor any different to the US flat we saw a while back courtesy of Chris Smith. Incidentally; a polystyrene flat, dating from the same era!

The point I'm getting to is that this set, which in the past when I've posted it I've always referred to with the 'March '41' info., was clearly available over some time from 1940 to 1941, and seems to have had several issues, as possibly evidenced here by the difference in plastic colour between a near silver/bare-metal vehicle on the left, and a mid-grey tank on the right.

In the magazine the 1940/41 sample seems to be toward the grey, the book display looking toward the silver?

While I don't have all the Naval or Luftwaffe elements of the set/s (see below), I do have all the army elements now - I think? Not unsurprisingly, given the various dates, all the equipment shown - where service date is applicable - is early war stuff, when this set was issued Russia was still 'on board' and the French/Low Countries and Norway campaigns were fresh in the minds of the populace.

This also points to extra-issues; there were two versions of this little anti-tank gun, and there may well be solid versions of other two-part scupts turn-up?** Hard to know which came first, but as with the riders; there is slightly more finesse to the glued-together example, so I imagine it was the earlier version. The solid also carries a numeral '2', probably a mould-tool/cavity number? My 'kit' has a damaged barrel.

** They have, see late shots below.

Highlighted in the past posts on the subject, and also pointing to numerous issues, the '88 on the left in both shots is both a finer-detailed sculpt and over-painted flat or 'satin' silver on a black-plastic base material; another clue to multiple issues.

Heavies; I haven't researched the right-hand piece, but it looks a bit WWI to me! I guess it's a brigade or divisional level heavy howitzer for sieges or barrages . . . is it what was hidden in a Brumbar?! And; I'm not that sure about the left-hand one being an sFH.18, but it's similar!

My Navy; the original cause of this post! They definitely aren't to scale, and I seem to be missing four two of a possible seven. The one I'd like to find is the three-mast training/cadet vessel with 22 sheets to the wind, it's a fine little model of a clipper-ship, looking very much like later, post-war margarine premiums!

Titles are purely guesswork, but it seems to be two smaller warships and a pair of biggies, with the sub' (and the motor launch and sailing ship), but as you can see the largest model isn't the recognisable large ship to its right, also it (the left hand one) is a single shot moulding and seems too often have the slight cooling-distortion/bend in it seen here.

It should be noted that the largest vessel (top left) is subject to losing its front, upper tower (as mine has), it should sit on the little nipple at the back of the box behind the turret, and which gives it quite a different look; for some time I was looking for an eighth ship!

My air-force is also at half-strength***, with an absent ME109 (early version) and a twin-engined bomber/fighter-bomber also missing. The Messerschmitt is a single-piece moulding, while the others have glued-on propellers; my Henkel's weren't glued on very well and have been flung-off upon starting without damaging the locating shafts.

*** Now both presented below with damage.

Images courtesy of Mercator Trading

A further complication in trying to ascribe these to each of the known or reported issues is that there are as many as three variations of some (or all?) of the individual mouldings. This may be something as simple as several factories being required to handle the masters in order to manufacture separate tools, so that for the period of the 'promotion' the millions of products needed - in a short space of time - were ready.

But . . . it could also point to either simplification of manufacture (in which case the solid versions of the two-part sculpts would likely be the latter ones) to reduce costs/time to the manufacturer, or an austerity measure, sent down from central government, to reduce vital war material use (the plastic); in which case the hollow, two-part ones might be the later sculpts?

As far as the grenade-thrower above is concerned, the first scenario would leave all three versions contemporaneous, while in the case of the economic theories, the former would leave the left hand figure as probably the last to be issued, the latter might have the middle figure as the final version!

A graphic of the data to-date, from my examples, I hope it will change over time, does anyone else know of single-moulding versions of the two-part sculpts, or any other over-painted examples?

Of note is that the two sets shown by Plastic Warrior all those years ago manage to ignore the range-finder ['mortar'] and split the rest of the set between them; twelve-each and with one duplicate? Oh; and of all the WHW's out there, these are about the least-rare; another sign of multiple issues.

Late additions; The  'Corvette' (with heavy flash/gate-mark on the bow), the two missing 'planes (both with damaged propellers) and a silver-on-black plastic version of the field-telephone vignette (also with better etching than the unpainted issues).

I think I'm only looking for the motor boat and the sailing ship to complete the samples, but if I'm still looking for up to four versions of each (solid, two-part, two-part hollow, and finer, over-painted) - I have a long, long way to go yet!