About Me

My photo
No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

T is for Ten-more from Toyway . . . and a Farm!

Continuing to look at the sets of ten, rather casually posed, but likeable and well sized, separate-base imports from Toyway today. I think this may be it as far as my collection goes - to date. We've had the Romans and Greeks and a few of the medics, I'm not sure what else I've got, or what else there was!

01462 672 132; 01462 672 509; Ancient Egyptian Figures; Cherilea 60mm Soldiers; Cherilea Egyptian Model Figures; Cherilea Plastic Soldiers; Cherilea Toy Figures; Cleopatra; Contents: 23 Pieces; Egyptian Model Figures; Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Farm Favourites; Great Britain; Herts; Hong Kong Farm Animals; Hong Kong MIB; Hong Kong Plastic Toy; Hong Kong Toy Soldiers; Jecsan Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Jubilee Tradeing Centre; Letchworth; Made in China; Made in Hong Kong; Marx Egyptian Model Figures; Marx Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Richard Morris; SG6 1SP; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Toyway; Toyway Egyptians; Toyway Farm Favourites; Toyway TM; Unit 20; Unit 20 Jubilee Trade Centre;
A group shot, down by the banks of the Nile as they wait for the Royal Barge to tie-up and start issuing orders. As with the other two sets, you get ten figures, but here each is in a different 'uniform' and there are a wide array of bronze-age battle-implements on display, even if some of them are painted 'iron-age'!

01462 672 132; 01462 672 509; Ancient Egyptian Figures; Cherilea 60mm Soldiers; Cherilea Egyptian Model Figures; Cherilea Plastic Soldiers; Cherilea Toy Figures; Cleopatra; Contents: 23 Pieces; Egyptian Model Figures; Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Farm Favourites; Great Britain; Herts; Hong Kong Farm Animals; Hong Kong MIB; Hong Kong Plastic Toy; Hong Kong Toy Soldiers; Jecsan Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Jubilee Tradeing Centre; Letchworth; Made in China; Made in Hong Kong; Marx Egyptian Model Figures; Marx Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Richard Morris; SG6 1SP; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Toyway; Toyway Egyptians; Toyway Farm Favourites; Toyway TM; Unit 20; Unit 20 Jubilee Trade Centre;
Detail shot of the figures from both sides, the chap in a cloak may represent a priest of some kind, while only one of them is equipped with a shield. Another has a sectional armour 'bodice' and they are quite colourful, albeit - not in a hurry to do anything energetic! They'd probably go well in Atlantic chariots though, sans bases?

01462 672 132; 01462 672 509; Ancient Egyptian Figures; Cherilea 60mm Soldiers; Cherilea Egyptian Model Figures; Cherilea Plastic Soldiers; Cherilea Toy Figures; Cleopatra; Contents: 23 Pieces; Egyptian Model Figures; Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Farm Favourites; Great Britain; Herts; Hong Kong Farm Animals; Hong Kong MIB; Hong Kong Plastic Toy; Hong Kong Toy Soldiers; Jecsan Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Jubilee Tradeing Centre; Letchworth; Made in China; Made in Hong Kong; Marx Egyptian Model Figures; Marx Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Richard Morris; SG6 1SP; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Toyway; Toyway Egyptians; Toyway Farm Favourites; Toyway TM; Unit 20; Unit 20 Jubilee Trade Centre;
Quick comparison with various other older figures, although - as you can see - some have been re-issued in recent times with the bottom row being two old and two new Cherilea with two Marx (original on the left and Mexican (?) reissue on the right) flanking a Jecsan (late, polyethylene - so I know it!).

01462 672 132; 01462 672 509; Ancient Egyptian Figures; Cherilea 60mm Soldiers; Cherilea Egyptian Model Figures; Cherilea Plastic Soldiers; Cherilea Toy Figures; Cleopatra; Contents: 23 Pieces; Egyptian Model Figures; Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Farm Favourites; Great Britain; Herts; Hong Kong Farm Animals; Hong Kong MIB; Hong Kong Plastic Toy; Hong Kong Toy Soldiers; Jecsan Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Jubilee Tradeing Centre; Letchworth; Made in China; Made in Hong Kong; Marx Egyptian Model Figures; Marx Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Richard Morris; SG6 1SP; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Toyway; Toyway Egyptians; Toyway Farm Favourites; Toyway TM; Unit 20; Unit 20 Jubilee Trade Centre;
Old evilBay shot - cleaned-up

A very odd conversation elsewhere (you can guess where; False Information Central) the other day when several people (some of whom should know better) seemed to be trying to discount some of Toyway's oeuvre; almost willing them not to be, err . . . because they didn't like the logo!

Richard Morris' Letchworth, Hertfordshire-based import 'jobber', Toyway, predated its involvement with; or purchase of moulds from; Timpo, and this set of imported sub-Blue Box farm 'generics' carries the same logo as the space set welooked at ages ago;  believe, people - believe!

01462 672 132; 01462 672 509; Ancient Egyptian Figures; Cherilea 60mm Soldiers; Cherilea Egyptian Model Figures; Cherilea Plastic Soldiers; Cherilea Toy Figures; Cleopatra; Contents: 23 Pieces; Egyptian Model Figures; Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Farm Favourites; Great Britain; Herts; Hong Kong Farm Animals; Hong Kong MIB; Hong Kong Plastic Toy; Hong Kong Toy Soldiers; Jecsan Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Jubilee Tradeing Centre; Letchworth; Made in China; Made in Hong Kong; Marx Egyptian Model Figures; Marx Egyptian Toy Soldiers; Richard Morris; SG6 1SP; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Toyway; Toyway Egyptians; Toyway Farm Favourites; Toyway TM; Unit 20; Unit 20 Jubilee Trade Centre;
Current Bachmann/Pocketbond logotypes/brand marks for Toyway

'50' is for Space Hopper

During the posting of intermediate-scale Atlantic 'space' sets a while back, I know what you were thinking, you were thinking "Did he do three posts, or only two?", well, do you know what; in all the excitement I clean forgot to count!

No! . . . Actually I held the Space Hopper back for the Marty Toys 'crawler' to turn up in the garage which I thought was of similar or pirated-from-the-Atlantic design but actually it isn't! Now that the numpty TJF has done his dust-sitting, follow-up and 'added data', I thought I'd better do likewise if only to show that two can play at that game, and one can play it better!

40mm Figures; 50 Space Hopper; Atlantic 50; Atlantic Astronauts; Atlantic Combattantes De L'Espace; Atlantic Intruzioni Di Montaggio; Atlantic Legionari Spaziali; Atlantic Set; Atlantic Space Hopper; Atlantic Spacemen; Atlantic Toys; Boxed Toy; Boxed Toy Space Tank; Boxed Toy Spaceship; Combattantes De L'Espace; Legionari Spaziali; Plastic Toy Astronauts; Plastic Toy Space Vehicle; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Hopper; Space-hopper;
In the bag! It's a few crude lumps of a hard polyethylene or polypropylene, unlike anything else in the Atlantic stable, which TJF might have pointed out to 'add data' but didn't? Placed in a 'bread' bag, or what the toy trade/packaging industry call a bottle-bag, which is gathered closed and stapled; that's that! Moving swiftly on . . .

40mm Figures; 50 Space Hopper; Atlantic 50; Atlantic Astronauts; Atlantic Combattantes De L'Espace; Atlantic Intruzioni Di Montaggio; Atlantic Legionari Spaziali; Atlantic Set; Atlantic Space Hopper; Atlantic Spacemen; Atlantic Toys; Boxed Toy; Boxed Toy Space Tank; Boxed Toy Spaceship; Combattantes De L'Espace; Legionari Spaziali; Plastic Toy Astronauts; Plastic Toy Space Vehicle; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Hopper; Space-hopper;
. . . and TJF could have 'added data' by pointing out it assembles into a polymer hideousness of epic, or monumental . . . well proportions just isn't the correct word! But he didn't. Ladies and Gentlemen; this makes the modern AFV's from Atlantic look like museum-grade connoisseur models . . . and that's saying something.

TJF might have noted that the finished model looks nothing like the artwork, but he didn't. And - let's be honest; if either of the vehicles in the artwork were within the box, most purchasers' would have been happy! This points to the third or fourth reason for Atlantic's demise, hinted at here at Small Scale World over the last ten years - shit production!

In no particular order; the nose is too blunt for the nicely coned one in the artwork, the rear lacks the more graceful curve of the artwork, the radar/comm's pole is too high and too chunky, the tracks are set back too far, but not proportionally high-enough, the wheels are obviously ugly and the exhaust pipes of the artwork have been replaced with half a cathedral's organ on the model!

And - call me churlish - the artist appears to have been the MD's five-year old, although he undoubtedly had more talent that the model's sculptor! But then, given a decent tin of Caran D'Ache nearly anyone can turn-out a half-decent watercolour!

40mm Figures; 50 Space Hopper; Atlantic 50; Atlantic Astronauts; Atlantic Combattantes De L'Espace; Atlantic Intruzioni Di Montaggio; Atlantic Legionari Spaziali; Atlantic Set; Atlantic Space Hopper; Atlantic Spacemen; Atlantic Toys; Boxed Toy; Boxed Toy Space Tank; Boxed Toy Spaceship; Combattantes De L'Espace; Legionari Spaziali; Plastic Toy Astronauts; Plastic Toy Space Vehicle; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Hopper; Space-hopper;
There are alternate parts for a 'flying' version and while the wheels are still supposed to be fitted, they don't do any meaningful job (vis-à-vis carpets) as they are no larger [in maximum diameter] than the outer dimensions of the 'jet-feet'. Having two pairs of wheels, each of a different colour is also annoying.

40mm Figures; 50 Space Hopper; Atlantic 50; Atlantic Astronauts; Atlantic Combattantes De L'Espace; Atlantic Intruzioni Di Montaggio; Atlantic Legionari Spaziali; Atlantic Set; Atlantic Space Hopper; Atlantic Spacemen; Atlantic Toys; Boxed Toy; Boxed Toy Space Tank; Boxed Toy Spaceship; Combattantes De L'Espace; Legionari Spaziali; Plastic Toy Astronauts; Plastic Toy Space Vehicle; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Hopper; Space-hopper;
Alternate configuration . . . TJF also neglected to point out that the sample he showed was incomplete, not that the cab improves the lines a whole great deal!

The real reason for fitting 'useless' wheels to this set-up is also obvious here; they hide the mile of spare locating-rod/axle!

40mm Figures; 50 Space Hopper; Atlantic 50; Atlantic Astronauts; Atlantic Combattantes De L'Espace; Atlantic Intruzioni Di Montaggio; Atlantic Legionari Spaziali; Atlantic Set; Atlantic Space Hopper; Atlantic Spacemen; Atlantic Toys; Boxed Toy; Boxed Toy Space Tank; Boxed Toy Spaceship; Combattantes De L'Espace; Legionari Spaziali; Plastic Toy Astronauts; Plastic Toy Space Vehicle; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Hopper; Space-hopper;
Yeah . . . well . . . familiarity doesn't really improve the view, from any angle!

40mm Figures; 50 Space Hopper; Atlantic 50; Atlantic Astronauts; Atlantic Combattantes De L'Espace; Atlantic Intruzioni Di Montaggio; Atlantic Legionari Spaziali; Atlantic Set; Atlantic Space Hopper; Atlantic Spacemen; Atlantic Toys; Boxed Toy; Boxed Toy Space Tank; Boxed Toy Spaceship; Combattantes De L'Espace; Legionari Spaziali; Plastic Toy Astronauts; Plastic Toy Space Vehicle; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Hopper; Space-hopper;
It's not an understatement to say that the crude, single-moulding, with clip-in, hidden, carpet-wheels from Marty Toys, IS the better toy! Although I hope you'll agree with me that the Atlantic machine is improved greatly by having its track-units reversed? And neither of them are much cop!

I don't know why the artwork and the finished model are so far apart, but that the final item was clearly rushed to market, seems to be in no doubt; from the admittedly only circumstantial evidence. Not so much compromise as panic seems to be behind the birth of this ugly duckling!

Indeed one wonders if - although numbered in sequence with the spacemen/aliens box (49), it may have been a failed element originally intended to be of/from the larger scale lines. And it's certainly over-scale for the other two sets in the number-line.

Previously on Small Scale World

Meanwhile;

Monday, August 5, 2019

L is for Let's parlez Franglaise avec la Madame Pompidou! Non-non-non! Zoot-allors; je swi toot-mere-light, nous parlex avec la Madame Pardeilhan - pour elle es't la!

AFD; Breizh44; Erwin Sell; Forumgratuite; GTO; Make It Up; Mathias Berthoux; Pardeilhan; PSTSM; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Stadinger; Stads Stuff; Stadsshite; Stadsstuf; Stadswatch; TJF; Vichy France;
Le quote pour la 'eroine . . . non-non, nes le poppy-juice pas, le fine upstanding mademoiselle du France, no less!

"Pardeilhan

--- la collectionnite est une maladie parfaitement avérée ; bénigne chez la plupart, elle atteint chez d'autres des degrés très élevés de crétinisme.

Je ne connais aucun des membres de ce forum mais j'ai, au fil des sujets, pu lire les propos et même croiser les photos de certains d'entre eux ; ils me paraissent tous relativement sains.

En revanche, je fus il y a une bonne vingtaine d'années un collectionneur très investi (de miniatures automobiles, BDs, Vinyles etc.) et il m'arrivait de tomber dans des bourses d'échange sur de pahtétiques individus qui présentaient des troubles psychologiques certains.
Allait avec leur personnalité un physique généralement plutôt ingrat, un vestiaire triste, étriqué, limite élimé et un comportement à la fois fouinard, dédaigneux et hautain.

Une anecdote pour finir : j'ai un jour pris un de ces phénomènes en visite à mon domicile par la peau du cou et par les fesses et je l'ai littéralement jeté dehors (oui, exactement comme dans les westerns quand le gars se fait éjecter du saloon et se vautre dans la poussière quelques marches plus bas).
... et un jour, sans aucun amour propre, il est même revenu !

Je hais ces individus imbus de leurs hautes connaissances dans des matières dérisoires."

***********************
 
A Google-translation later  . . . I loved Bablefish;
but it failed to keep up!
 
***********************

--- (three dashes? Look out people; something vital to the sum-total of human-knowledge is about to be defecated, by an expert (defecator), I fear) collecting is a perfectly proven disease (really? Empirically? Where are the scientific papers?); Benign in most, it reaches in others very high degrees of cretinism. You're not wrong Madame Doctor - heal thyself!

I do not know any of the members of this forum (bit of a loner then?) but I have, over the course of the topics, read the words (she reads!) and even cross the photos of some of them (her eyes work!); they seem to me all relatively healthy. The members, the words or the photos?

However, I was a good twenty years ago a very invested collector (miniature cars, comics, vinyls etc ..) And I happened to fall in exchange scholarships on pathetic individuals who had some psychological disorders. Individuals (with an 's'); sounds like she's a serial poor judge of character?

With their personality went a generally rather ungrateful physique, a sad wardrobe, narrow, limit removed and a behavior at the same time tinkering, disdainful and haughty. Unlike Mdm. Pardeilhan and her - underlined - arch-modesty!

Those of you who know me will admit (I hope!) that I'm hardly ugly, not too scruffy, albeit a tad too 'casual' sometimes (!) and happy to help without forcing myself on anyone, we all know the annoying geeks and I like to think I'm not one, although I'm patient and polite- enough with them when they collar and start lecturing me at shows!

An anecdote to finish: I once took one of these phenomena visiting my home by the skin of the neck and by the buttocks and I literally threw it out (can you picture it, readers? Well; just in case you can't -) (yes, exactly like in the westerns when the guy is done eject saloon and wallow in the dust a few steps down).
... and one day, without any self-esteem, he even came back!

Try it . . . try grabbing - and holding the skin at the back of your neck? Can't, can you? Pull your head forward an inch! And those of us with siblings all remember the day one could no longer pick the other up by the waist/belt, due to the twin forces of growth and gravity! The lady is a fantasist, and in case we don't get the fantasy; she explains that it's just like [the trained stuntmen] in the movies; western movies, mind!

I hate (hate will eat her up) these individuals imbued with their high knowledge in derisory matters. Err . . . she's saying all this on a site expressly dedicated to infant's toys! Is she happily claiming 'low-knowledge' for herself, in an act of supreme modesty? In which case why does she think we want her opinions on anything? Perhaps she should switch to a site/hobby dealing with less derisory matters!

Now some of the above will be distorted slightly, due to translation, but I think we get the gist of it? A potentially ugly, possibly smelly, likely scruffy, seeming (self-proclaimed) loner, is calling me an ugly, smelly, scruffy loner!

Having never met me, not knowing me from Adam, and for no particular reason, other than she feels the mob-thing to do is side with TJF and his crew, the Vichy, the three idiot Aussies and the AFD.

She also seems to be calling me a know-it-all, which is ironic as TJF has spent over two-years going to some effort, trying to convince the rest of you I don't know anything! And doubly ironic as it's TJF who bangs on about his working knowledge and legend, I've never made any claims for myself.

Human nature; that mob-mentality, the ostracizing of the 'other', the tribal bullying and internecine strife of small, single-issue groups, the petty jealousies and rivalries of people involved in "derisory matters" dictates that the more of these inadequate, slightly thick, chip-carrying, self-aggrandisers there are affiliated to the PTSM; the more who decide to get off the fence and join Paul Standinger's war against me; the more fuckwits that attack the site here at Small Scale World; the more personal-insults flung at me without aim or reason by envious little tick-turds; the more plagiarising of this site and its imagery; the more following-up of this site's posts with similar posts or posts of the same subject/material - the more sure you can be, that I'm doing something very, very right . . . right-here! Right?

And the fact that around seven-hundred and fifty of you pop-in here, most days, to see exactly what I am doing, would appear to be only further proof of that?
 
***********************

AFD; Breizh44; Erwin Sell; Forumgratuite; GTO; Make It Up; Mathias Berthoux; Pardeilhan; PSTSM; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Stadinger; Stads Stuff; Stadsshite; Stadsstuf; Stadswatch; TJF; Vichy France;
The quote above appeared after I had passed on the news of the Vichy's shutdown over Easter in News, Views, Etc . . . Forthcoming Events Friday 19th - Friday 26th April 2019; it appears they don't like being the news, how childish!

Now I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that a lot of the players in this war of TJF's are not only very stupid, but also almost totally lacking in a sense of humour? It's odd but the whole point of 'News, Views Etc...' is to cover items that might be considered newsworthy to some or all the rest of you (900-odd) readers, so when someone/something in the hobby becomes newsworthy, I'll try to make it news!

The closing of a Toy Soldier site, even a shitty, locked one, because the members have fallen-out with each other, IS newsworthy . . . however, it was also humorous, I should [would normally] say (pushing modesty to the fore) 'supposed to be' humorous, but . . . as I'm being accused of suffering from the 'cretinism' of 'high knowledge'; I'll say it WAS humorous.

I'll be the first to admit that the French may not be familiar with the long-running Let's parlez Franglaise thread in Private Eye magazine (but there is always Google!) or its modern EU'phemisms descendent, but then again; if you don't 'get' something on a foreign-language site; ignore it! But, as it (the 'NEWS' item) pertained to a French site - it was funny. Let-down/l'et downe - it's funny; they love their apostrophes and add 'e's to everything! A 'contretemps' is what Brit's say when referring to a hissy-pissy handbag-fight!

Mathias Berthoux is not 44 years old, nor was he born in 1944, yet he uses the handle 'Breizh44' on Vichy (where he is Glorious Leader*) which looks silly and pretentious to me; so there's about four jokes in one line there, while 'makeitup's-man' is a reference to he who makes it up as he goes along, channeling shaky-hands man . . . from Banzai, another cultural reference.

*Another joke!

I'm not going to explain all of them but the alliterative list of other places beginning with 'N' seem to have particularly exercised their bile; again - a lack of a sense of humour! And - worryingly - a lack of an ability to work it out for themselves.

While the final point is valid, PSR and HäT's ETS are 'where it's at', no-one could give a stuffed-fig for Small Scale World, nor Stadsshite, and especially not the locked-down, plagiarist, talking-shop that is Vichy, Treefrog for instance; ignored the newsworthy event!

But the Vichy still got on their high-horses and spewed-forth bilious crap, like little bitches on heat, rubbing their dribbling-arses on their own bed! The irony of these dullards getting hysterical over things which have clearly flown over their heads like an aeroplane! The hypocrisy of accusing me of uppityness while declaring their own 'investment'?

To be honest, I'm getting very bored with these very stupid men; the three or four AFD (Germans), the - now - three Australians, the Vichy French and the idiot-force in Pennsylvania, they have no real case, any beef they've got is as a result of what I've said in response to their idiocy, and they are going to have to get up very early to 'pin one' on me.

But then they are also lazy types (as well as both stupid and humourless), which is why they have these chips on their shoulders and also why they plagiarise and/or sit in other people's dust, but then get further upset when that's pointed-out to them! And they've all backed the loser, and they know it.

***********************

As to her first "...collecting is a perfectly proven disease" point; as I understand it, all the leading scientific evidence is that primarily, collecting is an expression of our primeval desires as hunter-gatherers, we having spent 800,000-years looking for 'vital' stuff, and only 10,000-odd living in communes, calling ourselves sapiens and behaving as anything but!

A second 'strongish' theory concerns our questing minds and desire to annotate and classify 'new' things . . . even if they are old! To stamp our authority on the world around us, and the things in it, control-freak'ery on a sub-conscious, but supra-species level - if you like.

There is further, minor - psychological - evidence that it is a method employed by 'inadequate' people, to prove themselves capable of achievement to a percived 'peer group' or parent/s, but I don't consider myself inadequate, and there is far less evidence-for or agreement-of that theory, than for the hunter-gatherer/questing ones.

If you are in the hobby and don't consider yourself an inadequate loser, you are probably on my side whether you recognise or like the fact, or not! As that is the level of idiocy I am dealing with after Stadinger's decision to start a war.

The unutterably stupid, ill-thought-out insults of idiot-men, shouting; not at me, but at the whole world. We are all collectors, and we collect for all sorts of reasons, and should be free to so without fear of competitive, belligerent shadowing, plagiarism or the jibes of the jealous hypocrites - who probably are inadequate, for reasons that have little to do with their collecting 'habit'!

E is for Epixx . . . Fantasy Knight

Credited to both Revell and Blue Box/BBI, I picked this up (TKMaxx, Basingrad, April) purely because it was clearly cheap as chips, well . . . cheaper than chips, unless you limit yourself to a child's portion (as I do!) in which case chips are cheaper, but only just - 80p!

100mm Knight Figurine; BBI Epixx; Blue Box Epixx; Blue Box Revell; Epixx; Epixx BBI; Epixx Blue Box; Epixx Fantasy Knight; Epixx Revell; Fantasy Figure; Fantasy Model; Fantasy Toy; Medieval Figure; Medieval Toy Figure; Papo Compatible; Revell BBI; Revell Epixx; Schleich Compatible; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
Now, the first thing to notice is that apart from the shield-art, there's little to suggest fantasy really, his flaming sword looks like/can double-for a flaming-brand and the fact that he's wearing his jousting finery is not that remarkable, the aristocracy tend to the same vanities and social climbing as any other pink-monkeys, and I'm sure some did go into battle 'over-dressed' in their 'best-kit'!

But the other thing that leaps-out is that he's covered in dust and fluff?

100mm Knight Figurine; BBI Epixx; Blue Box Epixx; Blue Box Revell; Epixx; Epixx BBI; Epixx Blue Box; Epixx Fantasy Knight; Epixx Revell; Fantasy Figure; Fantasy Model; Fantasy Toy; Medieval Figure; Medieval Toy Figure; Papo Compatible; Revell BBI; Revell Epixx; Schleich Compatible; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
It would appear (the figure is dated 2007) that it fell down the back of a storage shelf (probably in the same branch) and sat there for the best part of the last decade! There were signs of the card having been given a clean - a column of dust with finger-marks either side of it down the card immediately behind his back - but the figure itself hadn't been cleaned.

100mm Knight Figurine; BBI Epixx; Blue Box Epixx; Blue Box Revell; Epixx; Epixx BBI; Epixx Blue Box; Epixx Fantasy Knight; Epixx Revell; Fantasy Figure; Fantasy Model; Fantasy Toy; Medieval Figure; Medieval Toy Figure; Papo Compatible; Revell BBI; Revell Epixx; Schleich Compatible; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
The usual OTT packaging on these types of toys and the info-panel on the bottom of the box; assuming a year's retail, a few months in storage, clearance to TKMaxx, distribution to Basingrad and what; four weeks on display? This has been hidden from view since at least 2009 sometime!

100mm Knight Figurine; BBI Epixx; Blue Box Epixx; Blue Box Revell; Epixx; Epixx BBI; Epixx Blue Box; Epixx Fantasy Knight; Epixx Revell; Fantasy Figure; Fantasy Model; Fantasy Toy; Medieval Figure; Medieval Toy Figure; Papo Compatible; Revell BBI; Revell Epixx; Schleich Compatible; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com;
Cleaned-up with cotton-buds (paper stem only!) he's a fine chap, rather channeling one of the better Herald - Hong Kong - figures (pole-arm), the flaming brand needs to go though, it's about to set his headdress on fire!

Removal of the jerkin design and a repaint of the shield with an eagle's head or similar motif and he'll be just another medieval, if a little on the large size, but with Schleich, Papo and ELC increasingly appearing in the collection, he's not that out of place and we'll be looking at some even larger medievals soon here at Small Scale World.

B is for Bonus Beefeaters!

When I did a round-up of Beefeaters the other day, well; earlier this year (I don't know where the time goes!), I meant to add the last pair of shots from this post, but in my usual disorganised fashion managed to forget them! Anyway, they would have rotted in Picacsa for another year or two (I took them in 2016!) if I hadn't spotted the first item in today's post the other day, and literally the other day, it arrived the day before the May-eleventh PW show.

AH; Beefeater Novelty Figurines; Beefeater's Money Bank; Beefeater's Pen Stand; Beefeaters; Britains Guards; Britains Hollow-Cast; Britains Yeoman; HA; HCF; Hollow-Cast; Hong Kong; Made in Hong Kong; Money Bank; Money Box; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Figurines; Novelty Money Bank; Novelty Money Box; Novelty Pen Stand; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Wend Al; Wend-Al; Wendal; Yeoman of the Guard; Yeoman Warders;
How cool is this desktop pen holder? Not-very I know . . . it's a Hong Kong cheapie and the three pen-holders aren't even glued in-line and facing the same way! But the figure is nice, although a larger-scaled novelty which will only interest the more eclectic collectors, but then; I am one, and I snapped it up as soon as I saw it.

AH; Beefeater Novelty Figurines; Beefeater's Money Bank; Beefeater's Pen Stand; Beefeaters; Britains Guards; Britains Hollow-Cast; Britains Yeoman; HA; HCF; Hollow-Cast; Hong Kong; Made in Hong Kong; Money Bank; Money Box; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Figurines; Novelty Money Bank; Novelty Money Box; Novelty Pen Stand; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Wend Al; Wend-Al; Wendal; Yeoman of the Guard; Yeoman Warders;
Box is a bit water-damaged, and as well as carrying the HCF mark of novelty tat (becoming a regular here at SSW), it also carries the originator's mark (AH or HA) on the end flaps, although not sadly in the catalogue Bill B recently posted online, but then it looks to be a 1970's item.

AH; Beefeater Novelty Figurines; Beefeater's Money Bank; Beefeater's Pen Stand; Beefeaters; Britains Guards; Britains Hollow-Cast; Britains Yeoman; HA; HCF; Hollow-Cast; Hong Kong; Made in Hong Kong; Money Bank; Money Box; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Figurines; Novelty Money Bank; Novelty Money Box; Novelty Pen Stand; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Wend Al; Wend-Al; Wendal; Yeoman of the Guard; Yeoman Warders;
You can see from a comparison with the smaller Chris/Adrian figure - from the previous post - that he's around the 90mm mark, and he has a separate, soft polyethylene plug-in hat and a similar staff finial which is not the correct design for a Yeoman Warder's 'Partisan', yet neither is it the white tower or an obvious axe, nor does it resemble the halberds of the Gentlemen At Arms or anything from the ceremonial elements of the HAC, Artists Rifles and /or Loyal Archers (or whatever they're all called), so a bit of artistic licence there, I feel?

AH; Beefeater Novelty Figurines; Beefeater's Money Bank; Beefeater's Pen Stand; Beefeaters; Britains Guards; Britains Hollow-Cast; Britains Yeoman; HA; HCF; Hollow-Cast; Hong Kong; Made in Hong Kong; Money Bank; Money Box; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Figurines; Novelty Money Bank; Novelty Money Box; Novelty Pen Stand; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Wend Al; Wend-Al; Wendal; Yeoman of the Guard; Yeoman Warders;
The left-off-the-last-post shots; a bit of vintage metal, with two hollow-cast Britains yeomen on the right and a Wendal figure in aluminium to the left. The latter having a slip-in wire partisan, the weapon's head being also cast in aluminium, with alternate base styles in the second image, while I think the sandy-coloured base is the earlier of the Britains pair.

Due to the tourism nature of their market, I don't think either are particularly rare examples of their maker's figures.
 
December 2024 - The smaller plastic figures are now known to be from a larger range by KT of Hong Kong, so it must have been copied by the other brands/brand-marks mentioned above, it's unlikely to have been copied the other way - from the larger one - as subsequent research has given the KT ones more age I feel?

Sunday, August 4, 2019

F is for Follow-up - Sheds for Sentries

A bonus post this afternoon as I had to deal with a couple of things and make a .gif which proved problematical!

I sort of knew I'd jumped the gun with last-week's post, but I get a bee in my bonnet and then I'm off on one! Went to look for any other's and didn't find them, but them found the little lead ones looking for something else, thought I might as well shoot the Hong Kong for Cavendish one in passing and then realised the origin of the yellow HK one was under my nose all the time, so; enough for a follow-up, methinks!


1:72nd; 1:76th; 1:76th Scale Figures; Airfix; Attack Force Box; Battlalion Force; Cavendish; Cavendish Guards; Cavendish Miniatures; Cavendish Novelties; Cavendish Sentry Box; French Figures; French Made Toy Soldiers; Great War Boxed Set; Great War Boxed Set Great War; Guard Boxes; Guard House; Guards Colour Party; Guardsmen; Houds Of Hell; M-Toys; Marty Toys; Sentry Boxes; Sentry Coop; Sentry House; Sentry Shed; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; St Cyr; The Great War;
So these are the little 1:76th scale lead soldiers, presumably [at least] half-aimed at HO/OO model railways? Not sure on the nationality, either of the figures - as depicted - or the maker . . . are they French Cadet Academy; something Italian?

Of course this only reminds me I have a proper 'Nuremburg' flat (these are demi-ronde, verging on full solids) sentry-box somewhere, which will have to be for another day!

1:72nd; 1:76th; 1:76th Scale Figures; Airfix; Attack Force Box; Battlalion Force; Cavendish; Cavendish Guards; Cavendish Miniatures; Cavendish Novelties; Cavendish Sentry Box; French Figures; French Made Toy Soldiers; Great War Boxed Set; Great War Boxed Set Great War; Guard Boxes; Guard House; Guards Colour Party; Guardsmen; Houds Of Hell; M-Toys; Marty Toys; Sentry Boxes; Sentry Coop; Sentry House; Sentry Shed; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; St Cyr; The Great War;
As you can see they are perfectly scaled to go with the old Airfix Guards, who with head swaps could provide a band for the lead figures, but one suspects there will be (or was) a band available?

As I mentioned last time, these were originally posted on ETS in a thread about the Scottish penguin who's Colonel in Chief of some Danish regiment or something; it's one of those stories you can't make up and only crazy pink-monkeys can end-up with!

In the course of that discussion someone did ID them I seem to recall, if only tentatively, but I can't remember what the possibility was and if I noted it at the time I don't know where the note is now?

1:72nd; 1:76th; 1:76th Scale Figures; Airfix; Attack Force Box; Battlalion Force; Cavendish; Cavendish Guards; Cavendish Miniatures; Cavendish Novelties; Cavendish Sentry Box; French Figures; French Made Toy Soldiers; Great War Boxed Set; Great War Boxed Set Great War; Guard Boxes; Guard House; Guards Colour Party; Guardsmen; Houds Of Hell; M-Toys; Marty Toys; Sentry Boxes; Sentry Coop; Sentry House; Sentry Shed; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; St Cyr; The Great War;
Meanwhile the answer to the yellow Hong Kong marked hidey-hut was under my nose (courtesy of Bill B) all the time; it's a Marty Toys (M-Toys) piece, and was chucked in various sets with no recourse to realism!

Note the Happy Farm set; a copy of a Blue Box copy of Britains/Corgi!

And note also - following the latest idiocy on TJF's Shitestuff, courtesy of Erwin Sell (they make it up as they go along) - they are NOT Star. Star copied the Britains Swoppet figures with PVC-rubber packs/webbing, M-Toys are all ethylene and Airfix/Timpo/Marx piracies, albeit with the Britains stretcher-team/casualty, sans rubber-webbing.

So someone need to have a word with Marc Postelman and explain to him his set (or is it Vectis's set!) isn’t Star or Wello, but a generic from Marty Toys pretending to be Blue Box, meanwhile someone else needs to beef-up the output of Shitestuff or in may get a reputation for being inaccurate shite?

I also think my thoughts of having another in creamy/dirty-white plastic - given I haven't found them, after a look - may have been a false memory triggered by the other one I mentioned on Friday . . .

1:72nd; 1:76th; 1:76th Scale Figures; Airfix; Attack Force Box; Battlalion Force; Cavendish; Cavendish Guards; Cavendish Miniatures; Cavendish Novelties; Cavendish Sentry Box; French Figures; French Made Toy Soldiers; Great War Boxed Set; Great War Boxed Set Great War; Guard Boxes; Guard House; Guards Colour Party; Guardsmen; Houds Of Hell; M-Toys; Marty Toys; Sentry Boxes; Sentry Coop; Sentry House; Sentry Shed; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; St Cyr; The Great War;
. . . .also from Hong Kong [and sometimes] for Cavendish. Marked in three little letter 'blocks'; MADEIN, HONG and KONG with a cavity number, here a 2 on one and a 4 on the other.