I is for International Brigade!

You know that Paris - France / Paris - Texas thing right? Well today's post is a bit Texas - Italy or even Texas - International . . . it's Texas anyway and another treat to host, almost all from other people, mostly Angelo, who sent the bulk of these a week or two ago, since when I've added the first image, gone back and muddled a couple more and then Theo managed to tack-on the last image by accident!

My Texas sample was looking a bit poor with only two natives and seven cowboys, but I could remember showing the bronze one in a show repot or something a few years ago, so I dug that picture out, only to find him in the attic a couple of nights ago along with the eagle dancer (Crescent pose below), but he (the dancer) was a bit tatty , thus; I didn't re-shoot the pair!

So, let's look at Angelo's instead, 'cos he's got most of them and shot them beautifully. I've collaged them down to a few larger images (which has led to them appearing to be harshly cropped, that tends to happen with larger collages, or collages of collages - which the next five images are) as I can't produce blurb for 52 shots, or even 26 collages! If you're using Mozilla though, they should blow-up nicely. AND - I've kept the bare images, so they can always appear again in a different format, or in rows on the A-Z?

As you will have noticed they are all copies or derivative of other makes figures, with Crescent and Britains predominating, but Elastolin, Koho and others (French?) are there too, all made in a softish polyethylene, and plugging-in to an offset hole with a locating stud or prong on one foot . . . or a knee - in the case of the stalking Indian.

Also; the paler-base above appears to be a clear variation with much smoother walls?

I hope Angelo won't be offended by the next comment; but it seems that some Italian makers liked to use prone (and mounted) figures as foot figures, when making up these derivative sets; back at the start of the blog we saw Baravelli's 1:76 Airfix copies, with just such 'conversions' both of the mounted Indians and crawling cowboy. I guess the one above is shooting that sneaky-guy who's always behind the clock-tower with a bead on the hero!

Red Indians! On coloured bases, we have three Crescent poses here and two others which look familiar but I can't place them this instant. The Pow-Wow guy has lost his spear and believe me; my eagle-dance guy doesn't look anything like Angelo's . . . I think a mouse may have got to my guy's extremities - outch!

Red and Yellow with darker bases; the distinctive Koho pose (bottom left) has had his more Peruvian look westernised with a new wardrobe, but you can't mistake that headdress. In the two images, there's one foot Indian missing (there are twelve of each); a running brave with tomahawk.

The mounted figures; I think there are at least three of each to find, certainly I've seen a mounted Indian bowman and a chap with full war-bonnet, and a cowboy with lasso, but I haven't seen a third mounted cowboy yet?

There is a mounted wagon-team outrider, with whip, but he has a separate hat - in fact the Texas wagons (link in a mo') are the basis for those Hong Kong oneswe've looked at here a couple of times now.

The horse is the donor for the small scale, hollow-bodied horse coming out of Hong Kong and which I've always referred to as 'Mexican &/or Mexican Small' not knowing any better! I'll have to go through my unsorted wild-west and see if I have any full sized/Texas originals lying about unloved and un-attributed?

Marked clearly on the upper surface of the base with a Texas, they are sometimes less clearly marked 'Made Italy' on the underside, but it's usually still readable. The Wild West bases are shared with the GI's (unlike the two GI's I have with Hong Kong shite on their feet!), other lines had their own base designs.

However my bronze Indian (which I've never seen ascribed or attributed to Texas per se) has had both marks deliberately obscured on the tool with puddles of weald (or soft-solder?) leaving slightly raised blisters where the mark should be. As far as I can tell both figure and base are in every other respect the Texas mouldings, so I guess a premium or contract of some kind supplied by APS or Politoys - the respective parents?

To the right are a horse team from Dario which may be Texas, but look to be more like the French premiums mentioned before (Brian's two wagons), and with foot figures being copied by several other marques, Paul Plastix is one, another out of Monaco I think, both the horse team and the bronze figure must remain question-marks.

While the above was going on, Theo van der Weerden had sent me this and asked if I knew who made it - in part triggered by the Bonux sleigh post. I didn't know it, but remembering Kent Sprecher had both the Marx arctic set and another on his site, and thinking it looked a bit Thomas-like, suggested Theo ask Kent. Kent tried but couldn't find it either, so it came back here for a Q is for Question Time post, but looking at it again and thinking it was both a bit Poplar/Tudor Rose toy-like and a bit backwoodsman'y, I wondered if it might be one of the (French premium-) Texas copyists, so gave it a damn good Googling on Wednesday and found this . . .

https://soldatini-ado.blogspot.com/2012/12/quelli-del-tide.htm

What a brilliant blog! I don't know how I've missed it, but I suspect the language thing - there were a couple of good French blogs I added last year that had both been going for some time. Also no one else seems to be linked to him, I now will be. I wonder what other good blogs are missing from other-people's and/or my links-lists?

Suffice to say Theo's chap is Texas too! He seems to have had the plug for a bobble hat/beanie-hat trimmed-off and needs a sledge, but he's Texas alright, so that's him cleared-up to finish! And another Indian turned-up on Sunday, so I have five now!

Thanks to Angelo (Italy) for the photo's of his collection, Dario (Italy) for the donation, Theo (Holland) for the puzzle and Kent (USA) for the effort, this is the UK signing-off!

News, View Etc . . . LinkedIn

Does anyone know where the Fuck-off-and-never-darken-my-door-with-your-shadow-again-you-money-grubbing-two-faced-capitalist-pig-dog-mother-fucking-stalker button is on LinkedIn, I can't find it?

Or someone have a word with Mr. Braun!

H is for How They Come In - Fourteen Flexible Fellows!

The 'polymer gang' which came from Peter Evans last week; seems to be a mix of escapees from the bigger parcel the other week, another footballer and some very useful Charbens Indians . . .

. . . starting with the footballer and working clockwise in a snail-twist; It's another of the Cereal premiums from Crocco, this one is Jamie Redknapp and further marked B6 and only my second, the first also coming from Peter I think (Alan Shearer) at the last Plastic Warrior show.

Next to him is an early New Ray farmer lacking his hand-tool, then a couple of the escapees being another Britains' and Lone Star Indian copies in the same glossy polyethylene as the ones we saw last time.

A small road-worker in the corner leads us to a Timpo Lion (tail slightly chewed) while the other corner has a real weirdness, he wearing a semi-Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper uniform, with fluffy, feathered, solder-boards! He's also got chicken feet . . . four of them, all holding Ninja throwing-stars? He has a tuft or wattle at the back of his head and is missing a set of actual wings or a backpack of some kind. Marked HT and Bandai, he'll be from some Manga or Anime madness!

Finally; four more escapees from the last lot I think, although they are increasingly in general lots now and the three Charbens Native Americans. I do have some somewhere, but I'm not sure I have kneeling legs, or even the green trousers, and I know some of mine are scruffy, so these will pep the sample up with a bit of 'swoppeting'.

Thank you very much Mr. Evans!

S is for Same Seasonal Santons

Except I think they were Italian so technically Precepi, but in the style of the Santons over the border in France! I haven't a clue . . . actually I have a clue how I missed these last year, they must been in a row I missed below the bottom of the screen when I highlighted the rest and moved them to a new folder for blurb and publication a year ago!

Sent by Brian Berke, where he had seen them in a store there in the Big Apple, and representing for the most part, the 'everyday' rural crafters and trades which are collected to add round a nativity scene - not strickly modern, but not biblical either, rather sort of generic mid-last-millennium!

Given the last comment, this lad is a bit of an exception being in rural garb of the last few hundred years, but carrying a tray of amphora, for sale; these being ancient (Biblical era) vessels - and, by dint of having not been decorated - revealing the terracotta all these are made from.

The butcher with half a carcase and the stick-collector seem to be adults of another scale, while the smaller figure (through the gap) is a child in the commoner scale on show.

Standing behind the lady with the embroidered pinafore is an actual nativity character with the full Arabian/Biblical 'nativity' garb, but I think there was a better shot of him last year from a different angle?.

Thanks again to Brian for sending these (quite some time ago now?), and my apologies for leaving them off last year's post. Only just over three weeks 'till the big day!

F is for Festive Flying Father From Festival

Just a quick one in case I don't get anything else up over the weekend (if it's raining I'll post Saturday, if it's dry I'm in the garden and may post something else this afternoon?) [Actually found a Santon post to follow this now!], and another Festival (and festive) box-ticker to add to those posted here a year ago.

Three Santa Clauses', two from festival on the left/middle and a Hong Kong copy (the 'inevitable' HK copy!) on the right. Festival's are soft polyethylene, the clone is in polystyrene.

I have another one with two chewed fingers, who far from looking damaged, looks like he's giving a victory/peace sign!

"Cool-off daddy'o; don't go hitting me with your negative waves - Rudolf, what's the beef with the mileage man? It's one day a year, chill out dude, wow - you deer are so square, loosen your screws and practice peace and love man, you dig it! Ho! Ho! Ho!"

CBG c'est la Cuisine de le Barracks pour le Grognardes!

I shot two! This one is even better, it is one of the theatrical stage-set boxes and is quite sublime, but you feel the removal of the figures would somehow be a crime, leaving it more as an ornament than a set of 'toy' soldiers!

Box lid; set 587 Cuisine . . . aaaaand - that about covers the box lid, so moving swiftly along now, mind your heads . . .

. . . isn't it lovely? I wonder if this has a liitle more age than the previous post's set, if only because the guy swabbing here has a far more realistic mop than the chap in yesterday's group, who's mop looked like I made it! maybe they were done by out-workes and some have err . . .  better technique than others!

Eyes left; and it seems Minot went into vin ordinaire as well! Who's ever seen advertising hoardings - real or imagined - in a military facility? That aside; the oven is superb (see below) and the whole set oozes charm.

Eyes right; one of the carrying poses from yesterday's set and a bit of sharp-knife action! Lovin' the carrots and the pig looks all too realistic! Thanks again to Adrian Little (Mercator Trading) for letting me shoot the two sets, a real treat!

This Victorian (or possibly Georgian, it may be later, Edwardian; it's all in the crown?) combined range/oven/open-hearth fire was still extant in Fort Tourgis on Alderney in the Channel Islands back in 2007 when I shot this. I don't know if they are still there, there was a plan to clean them up for the incomer-workers on the internet gambling sites (which I think have moved-on) and another plan to turn it into a hotel (which has been tried before), and there may have been initial work which finally did for these old fittings?

I think BO is for British Ordnance? And the old government-arrow is a nice touch, as if you could slip it done your trousers and wander-off with it; it's survived generations of squaddies, German occupiers, Italian immigrants after the war, several building plans and 70-years of vandals and neglect! But then it was built when the whole world came to us for railway locomotives, ships and cranes, now, we go to them, but the Brwreakshiteers haven't worked it out for themselves yet? Without Europe behind us; we'll pay more, not less.

The Germans heavily fortified Tourgis in the war with large emplacements and bunkers built-into the lower ramparts, while A/T guns and FlaK were stuck up on the walls and roofs, both covering Platt Saline beach against invasion and providing AA-support for the big gun-position 'Blücher' behind the beach, so maybe a billeted German used this, as his Waterloo allies might have 120-years earlier?

HMS Rodney took out the big emplacement (remains above photographed earlier this year) after D-Day to stop it firing on US troops advancing out of the beachhead. The ruins make you realise how much the Airfix ones' walls need to be thickened-by!

I'm not sure how I got from colonial barracks to long-range naval artillery but there you are, never a dull moment! 

C is for Catch-up - Sandown Park - November

And so to the most recent show, about a month ago, I was actually trying to be frugal (Christmas is coming and I knew I had parcels to post (all done now - phew!)), but managed to grab a big bag for a fiver at clearing-up time from one of the die-cast guys.

The bag's top right and explored below, but among the other things was another Tula Cartridge Works AFV, a BTR152 (I think?) 6x6 wheeled carrier, a boat-trailer which looks very Thomas/Poplar but still needs to be checked against the tractors and their equipment to see if any of the wheels match, I'll also have to find the right boat and a tower! I also picked-up a small VW-Beetle type from Hong Kong which may be Blue Box, or may be one of several imitators - although they were all copying Matchbox or similar. Then there's the WHS's I've already Blogged as a follow-up.

There were also a few Blue Box small scale Wild West including a wagon, less one horse, Magic Roundabout Ermentrude and Gladiator premiums, Marx HK lifeguard, the composition Guards and a few other things. I got the Cherilea Sheikh from Steve Vickers, I always have a look at his table as he always has such lovely stuff, but it's often a bit beyond my budget (high-end plastic, quality hollow-cast and the odd bit of European composition), so I was well-pleased to find something.

My big mistake was the Xandria Holland key-ring, the seller had at least five (and they weren't cheap!); I instantly recognised Brains clutching his model spaceship and Lady Penelope with her mauve costume-jewellery, there was a Parker (I think - don't remember seeing the mafia violin-case) and a darker blue Tracy boy I thought I had, but I couldn't remember any of mine having a radio, so thought I'd found a sixth pose and bought this one. needless to say I do have it and then imagined I'd seen three Tracy's and left the 'wrong' one, but I think that's wishful thinking, and the seller had the same group as me? So this one is available with a straight swap for an equally interesting thing, if anyone wants him!

The thing second-down from the left is a blow-moulded chicken with tin-legs, and why not!

I bought the bag of Wild West for these chaps; dead common in oxide brown or an off white (the two at the bottom), but less common in these bright colours. They are good quality Hong Kong copies of the Jean figures from Germany and I rather like them!

The bag also contained a mix of British plastic and Hong Kong figures, and in each shot the upper row were 'keeps', the lower row was in the recycling by midday on the Sunday! Except the Timpo Indians, where I decided to keep the two middle figures, until I've checked them against my box of bits, where I may or may not have them, if I need them I'll glue them.

I know - I've already posted a bigger shot! But Adrian had put these to one side for me, and it was in the collageing of these, here, that I got the idea for the other 'eye-candy' shot! All W. Germany-marked, four with integral wheels and five with separate wheels and . . . I can't get enough of them!

Adrian had also put the chariot aside for me, we have looked at one, which I debagged due to its having already broken-free, but this bag looks to be holding-up well, so will remain as a 'minter' although the bag is getting the fogging of a million micro-folds!

John Begg (PTS52 on eBay) managed to find me the WWII leaders, not in time for the posts earlier this year, but that was only because I'm an impatient git, there is another post on the Monogram legacy, on the way at some point, and I'll do these closer then.

Finally and for something completely different, with the Earth dying an'all that pink-monkey related shit, it was nice to see the plastic cutlery being replaced by wooden alternatives - I can report that the knife was bloody good and dealt with proper bacon - no problem - but the fork was a bit less successful and split after the first prod! It's probably steam-shaped and that weakens the grain?

Also - a big thanks to the management at Sandown Park for getting back to a full breakfast with drink (tea or coffee) for a fiver, it's been creeping up to seven or eight quid plus for the two this last year or so, and I began to wonder if the 'Saturday crew' knew what they were doing, let's hope it now stays back at a fiver-with-drink for a while?

So four shows, four posts, filled a weekend if nothing else! Some of it we've already seen in close-up, some of it we won't see again for years, like that trailer, for instance - I really will have to find the boat and the towing vehicle before it can be Blogged properly; right now I don't now whether to put it with the unknown boats & ships, or with the 'Car Ferry' farm sets!

It's all grist to the mill - more tomorrow, if I remember!

C is for Catch-up - Sandown Park - August

Same MO as yesterday, same pack-drill, but we move to August's show, and wot I did get dere in'it. Actually it was another quite restrained hoovering of stuff, budget tight, other pressures, yada, yada . . . but some interesting things nevertheless!

The plunder pile; Apart from the bits we'll be looking at in a minute highlights include an ivory camel (Chinese or Indian?), a blow-moulded buffalo/bison (probably Japanese), some Crescent hollow-cast, some HK circus gap-fillers, some railway figures in metal and plastic from several makers and a Tudor Rose jeep. Bags of animals include Airfix HO-OO copies, nice unpainted Hong Kong and more Olá ice cream premiums.

Yeah! The problem of having an unwieldy queue of articles and part-articles, is that by the time you Blog something you've shot, you've already Blogged it with newer shots! But he's in 'closer-up' this time, a weighted, blow-molded, novelty diver around 30/35mm.

What on earth to say about this? I am assuming, one of the recent Corgi-branded, ready-made, die-cast aircraft, of which there have been hundred in the last decade or so? I initially wondered if he might be from the old '80 Days' balloon kit by . . . whoever it was by -  Pyro, Monogram, Revell? But it appears to be factory-painted and the ladder - at least - is in a nylon or PP, harder to tell of the pilot, as he's covered in paint!

Anyone recognise the figure? Many thanks to Adrian Little for finding him for me, but what to do with him; there is no 'Figures above or below aircraft - Unknown' zone, in the collection!

All the space or sci-fi elements, the - probably - Argentinian monster from Godzilla or Atom Boy or whatever Japanese 1950's anime he comes from, has been seen here before, but after he'd been out for quite a number of shows I convinced Adrian I could give him the best home!

The rocket is actually Hong Kong, but a cut above the usual two-part-with-cap-firer affair; having semi-flat or relief astronaut-sculpts appliquéd to the hull, a more ornate than usual engines-skirt, and a heavy nose with plastic cover for external fitting of the caps.

The two smaller figures may be Cracker prizes (but not the set mentioned in PW magazine which are different sculpts and a little taller. In metallic blue and green polystyrene, they could be US Dimestore, the aforementioned Christmas cracker fare, or French copies? And may be based on the Cherilea hollow-cast downscales of Archer's biggies?

While the truck is marked, but I didn't note the marking (might have been Ideal?), and have now put it away, so we'll have to get the maker when I blog a bunch of them together one day. Looks like it came from a space-port type play-set, but was probably also sold singly as a dimestore stand-alone, and was a find from the 'temporary market' on the terrace before the doors opened.

This is rather nice, but I can't get a maker for it, it's a bit Jean-like, and is in soft polyethylene, but I just couldn't get it to stick with any ideas I had. Similar - in some respects - to the Vitacup figurines, it's well sculpted and the antlers have survived; so not brittle. It's quite Linde premium-like, and you can find it passed-off as such, but it's not listed on STS and lacks the Linde mark, it's nice anyway . . . any ideas?

 

2022 - now known to be Siku, soft ethylene versions of the Vitacup, with some different poses (the unknowns in one of the Vitacup posts!) More work needed to work out which is which, pose wise, but material wise soft = Siku, hard = Vitacup which Siku must have supplied?

Floor sweepings; the erzgebirge tree was nice, and does anyone recognise the glue-in (but possibly factory painted) feathers for a native American's headdress? Two light-sabre's; one Lego, the other from an action figure, a possibly early Meccano crane block/hook and a ball puzzle were also worth the reach down to the floor!

CBG is for Cracking Barracks Get-up!

Also at the May Sandown Park show I shot two lovely Minot sets on Adrian's table, this is one of them, it's a modern one, but in the same style used by the company since the 'off', and it is a thing of joy.

The box lid is pretty enough without even knowing what's inside! Set INF 121 Hommes de Corvee, which I assume translates roughly as 'men on fatigues' or men in barracks, but enough of the lid . . .

. . . look at these! I particularly like the guy forth from the left on the top row, I don't know if he's supposed to be cleaning his room, whitewashing stones, hoeing the commandant's rose-bed, or helping with the pig carcase, but he's carrying the most vicious domestic tool I've ever seen!

The rifle rack (contents of small bag) is also a nice touch, the Prussians aren’t going to catch them knapping! Seven poses for a vignette type set with all the playability of a bunch of Swoppet khaki infantry, just no shooting, but rather arguments about who's doing what where, only don't argue with that forth bloke on the top row! Manny thanks to Mr. Little.

C is for Catch-up - Sandown Park - May

After the relative frugality of March's show the May show at Sandown park was a bit of a boot-filler, and that despite the fact that Wilton (Plastic Warrior show) had been a polymer-fest two weeks earlier!

Where to start! Top left to bottom right? One of the 'home cast' guards, a French hollow-cast of an Indian army soldier, two Zang, a Dinky mechanic and some bits; the die-cast 'plane will be from a board game, worker is Wardie Mastermodels, part of a Kellogg's puzzle jeep and a baby!

The aluminium flats have been looked at now, the corn stook is Speedwell, two - probably board game - motorcycle flats (one lead the other possibly die-cast) and a bunch of WHW's also now properly dealt with (and follow-upped on!). The above were all saved for me by, or came from the stall of Adrian Little.

Also from Adrian the two upper rows; I Blogged the Coma copies soon after retiuning to the Blog afetr Dad's passing, the Romans have been covered before, both PVC and ethylene and the chariot, plus copy, but they still need to be all brought together.

Bottom row may have been Adrian as well, I can't remember, but they are I think generic Hong Kong copies of Monograme, rather than the thicker-based ones Kent Sprecher has ascribed to one of the Marx HK factories.

Seen them a while ago - these were part of a big 'score' of rack-toys I managed to secure in mid-afternoon, long after everyone else had been past or over the guy's stall so I hate to think what I missed!

Came from all over; Smoky the Bear tourist trophy and flat sheep, followed by the robot and two aliens from Wilton, Mr Men and another of the rack-toy stash - all covered in the last few months and the floor sweepings were a bit poor, with a Space Marine back-pack and an F1 aerofoil!

Again from the rack-toy stall, and again, I think we've seen most of them now. I think the basket-ball players may be cake-decorations, but they could be from a board game? I've already fixed the hand!

I think there were 17 sets in all, and we've seen about a third of them since July, the rest will come, over time as time allows or posts require. I anonymised them in this shot as I intended to publish this back at the time, but as you know I took some time off and they are now broken-up and put-away.

The May show was going to be two posts, but with stuff that's already published and so on, I threw this bitty video together, god knows what the Youtube regulars will make of it, but it's the only way of getting it up here, so there it is!

A couple of things I shot on Adrian's stand, the lovely privet-hedge horse and a long shot of the selling which takes place in the hour between the gates opening to the car park and the doors opening to the hall. And yes; malleable has two 'L's!

That last shot on the slide-show/video thingy; it is interesting for showing the two strides of the Malleable Mouldings marines, with the third guy at full stride, the other two taking shorter steps.

Note also that these must have come from an out-painter, as she (they were almost all female) has given-up painting the first figure mid-way through the white with the red, black and silver still to come, yet has added the gold to the helmet, over the [unfinished] white?

C is for Catch-up - Sandown Park - March

And H is for How They Come In . . . I've been a bit lax at getting the show reports out this year, well, I only do the five main ones these days and I've covered 20% of them already! This is going back to March's show at Sandown Park and a quick look at the plunder.

I think we've looked at the Fontanini dancers already, and I think the magnetic dancer was also levered into a post back in the summer, the tank too has been seen and will be seen again in a minute. The action figure-sized, non-action figure is - I suspect - a Dr. Who character figure?

While the three aircraft will be married-up with the growing piles of like craft for future posts, and the large black oblong is a horse riding ornament of which I have a better one somewhere, so we'll look at it another day.

The pirate is from Torgano and missing a base, but he's my only one so he stays! The two mocherettes are among the harder to find so come in useful for the forthcoming page on such things.

A couple of Blue Box diecast Romans were procured, the seller had hundreds of them but only the two poses, so I grabbed one of each as it had been a slow day, and I was watching the pennies.

The figures were piled in an old box, so had suffered a lot of scrapes and stuff, but worse, most of the pilums were broken or very bent and while I carefully found two which were OK, they weren't brilliant and need a bit of hot water and TLC.

As with most of the stuff we collect, and at the cost of repeating myself for the umpteenth time; these aren't rare, and we have seen them here before in a boxed set, while I already had an AEC armoured car, but these two were cheap (the seller had to ring his dad to get the price!) and that was after I told the chap they were Crescent, but with an odd scale and broken T34 gun-barrel I think he was glad to find a buyer?

Bibendum; the Michelin Man turned out to be a duplicate, and I think I bought him from the same seller as my previous 'find' (he's got a box full!), but you can't always remember everything you have in the heightened atmosphere of a show, and sometimes a split decision is the wrong call - I did the same thing a few weeks ago at the November show, with a Thunderbird figure from Xandria Holland key-rings!

While Adrian chucked me the Britains lion-cub painted as a tiger!

Loving these two, the capsule-toy type truck looks like a Mercedes Unimog, but is probably a Japanese or Chinese light-truck from the 1970's? The house is a solid lump of lead-flat, and with some age I suspect, but very much like similar stuff which would later be produced as margarine or similar premiums and the spirit-paint colour on the roof is  . . . err . . . delicious?

The floor is often a generous soul, and at the March show I did quite well with my end-of day sweep, a complete Airfix telegraph pole, British soldiers from Esci and Hong Kong, a Matchbox Super-King wheel, a train wheel and the power transfer clip from Hornby/Tri-Ang equipment made-up a useful harvest.