M is for More; Russian Rack Toys

Except I suspect most of them aren't actually Russian, and they may nearly all be actually from satellite countries, but they are from the Soviet 'collective' era, so; you know what I mean!

Chris Smith sent me a few shots as a follow-up to something posted here about a year and a half ago (the Russian/Soviet mini-season?), and I never got round top posting them at the time, in part because I'd had a thought on them. Some of the shots he sent are still waiting for another day, and a full follow-up on something-esle, but these were the others.

Now, it happens that maybe none of them are actually Russian, the four red ones have the look of Progress's flats about them which could make them Bulgarian or East German, who both had a Progress factory, but who either copied the Russian originals (Bulgarian factory's October Revolution cavalry flats, seen here passim) or made original designs (E. German factory's AFV's)?

While the two MG-gunners, have the same bases as Wild West and ancient Roman flats attributed to an - as yet - unknown Hungarian manufacturer, those distinctive 'Zulu shield' bases having been linked to Hungary by several commentators in the hobby, and most commonly found in the stock of Hungarian ebayer's? Although a Latvian seller on feeBay often has the same pointy-based figures? I think - size wise - these tie-in with the blue sailor set we've seen here from Rasnoexport at around 65mm, which would make them Russian.

So, the above could all be non-Russian production, in the meantime the thought I'd had on them was that "I've got some of those red ones somewhere?" . . .

. . . . except that when I'd dug them out a few weeks later, they (my sample, here) were clearly different, and while they can be called WWII Russian Infantry, have some of the signatures of Polish production; heavy bases and a more demi-ronde than flat sculpting, so may not be Russian at all!

At the time of writing (August 2020) there are two sets of these on feebleBay, both in a lovely shade best described as 'pastel heliotrope' or 'raspberry yogurt' , and both lot's consisting of the same four poses, so this may be a complete set? They are also both rather pricey, so clearly this would appear to be a 'rated' set back in the former USSR? 

Which leaves the silver guy we've seen before who happened to be left in Picasa for some reason . . . his flag reads 3rd October Revolution (I think?), and some have attributed his whole set to Poland, but they do fit the same 8-figure carriers as the Russian Napoleonics, which we know are Russian because the have the prices in kopeks and rubles marked on them in Cyrillic script! So he may be the only Russian in the post!

A size comparison with my may-be-Polish and a close-up of Chris's probably-Hungarian machine-gunner finish this brief look at a regular here - 'Soviet era' flats and semi-flats! To be fair, I really suspect the two MG's of being Hungarien, the rest probably are Russian in Origin!

A few days later - many thanks to Theo van der Weerden's wife for translating the flag, it actually reads -

"за власть советовъ" = 'For the power of the Soviets'. 

R is for Russki Rack-toys of Red Russians from Russ!

Arriving just before I lost Internet, but in time for Rack Toy Month, are these fine examples of the oeuvre from Russia's Biplant, a newish company who have taken Hong Kong's baton of piracy and run with it!

With all the hideously expensive figures coming out of that part of the world, these ship anywhere in the world - with postage - for less than 20-quid (they were £7-something, all-in to me I think, as $6 plus post) and were here about two weeks earlier than the estimate!

You get eight figures and two scenic accessories, the later being two sprigs of synthetic fish-tank pond weed with separate bases, while the former consist of five figures clearly copied from Airfix's Afrika Korps!

Stripping off the personal equipment, adding jackboots and converting the helmet to one of more Russian lines hasn't worked terribly well, as the Mauser rifles haven't been touched and the split-tailed jackets aren't terribly Soviet-looking!

With five of the figures being poorish copies, one had to assume these too would be from someone else, possibly King & Country or Del Prado, but in fact they are direct copies of otherwise expensive figures from Pervublivus (or whatever they're called these days!), and plastic versions of metal (or overpriced plastic) figures are a boon to our collections, not that one should encourage piracy . . . but once it's happened . . . !

Winter troops (against the 'summer' kit of the other five) we have a chap in a quilted jacket, and officer (who is a bit Starlux-like?) and another soldier in the loose snow-suit. Other sets have the figures in reversed plastic colours from this set.

All together; I like these! They are proper rack-toys, proper 'toy' soldiers! They tick all the boxes - cheap, copies, two colours, naff accessories, header-carded bottle-bag . . . I hope we see more from Biplant in a similar vein - I know of knights and a set of more modern Speznaz / internal security types from the same maker, also eight figures but all one colour with three bits of pond weed!

News, Views Etc . . . Vectis - Late August

Late August? That's it peep's, half a year in lockdown and the worlds two greatest democracies are struggling, while New Zealand shows us how it should be done!

This week's Vectis Press Release is out, today's sale was flagged-up last week, but there's a precie here if you're not already following it, and  there is a problem with the systems which should be noted for the next three sales at least

Please note there is currently NO AUDIO or VIDEO on the VECTIS PLATFORM due to an issue with the software.

The auctions will still go ahead as normal and you will be able to follow the prompts on the screen.

You can still watch and listen to the sales via the Invaluable website. Please click on the link on our News Desk to do this. 

(We would suggest listening to the audio on a separate tab if possible and following the prompts on the Vectis website to bid)

PLEASE NOTE - If you bid on the Invaluable platform the commission rates are higher than the Vectis site. 

We hope to have this resolved soon.

Many Thanks for your understanding

Other details are;

Lot 3255

TV & Film Related Sale (day one) - Wednesday 19th August 2020 (that's today!)

Sale started 10:00am

"The TV and Film related sale to be held on the 19th of August features a large collection of graded and ungraded carded, loose and boxed figures. Carded figures include Clash of The Titans, Masters of The Universe, Buck Rogers, A-Team, Defenders of the Earth, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Rambo and Over the Top, Thundercats, Marvel Superheroes and DC Comics, plus many more. Boxed figures include DC Collectables, Thundercats, GI Joe Sigma, Shogun Warriors and more, plus Lego Brick Headz, Matchbox Harmony Gold Robotech and a selection of Star Wars carded, loose and graded figures, displays and collectors' cases."

Online and Download of Catalogue

Lot 4290

TV & Film Related Sale (day two) - Thursday 20th August 2020

Sale starts 10:00am

"The second TV and Film related sale, will be held on the 20th of August, this sale features a large collection of vintage Star Wars figures, accessories, vehicles and weapons, plus model kits, posters and memorabilia, Captain Phasma collectors' tins, Darth Vader lunch boxes and other collectables. Further items include Robin Hood Prince of Thieves figures, Palitoy Action Man, Batman collectables, M.A.S.K boxed vehicles, Transformers, Master of the Universe, Captain Scarlett, James Bond and a large collection of Dr Who figures, playsets, DVDs, VHS, books, audio books, and collectables. The sale will also include video games, vintage comics, magazines, board games, film posters, lobby cards, programmes and advertising ephemera."

Online and Download of Catalogue

Lot 5623

Toy & Model Train & Railway Sale - Friday 21st August 2020

Sale starts 10:00am

"The Model Train sale to be held on the 21st of August starts with Part 3 of the St Martins Bay Collection, 42 lots of OO Gauge British Outline, followed by a further 108 lots in a second Single Owner Collection. The sale continues with HO American & Continental Outline, Hornby Dublo 2-rail, 3-rail and Acho, plus a selection of Hornby Dublo/Meccano Product Catalogues. The sale will also feature N Gauge, Wrenn, Triang, OO Gauge Kit/Kitbuilt, Meccano & Other Constructional Toys; plus, Gauge 1 & Larger, O Gauge and O Gauge Finescale plus books, magazines, product catalogues, DVDs, pictures & prints, and our usual good selection of General Trains."

Online and Download of Catalogue

All -

Bids can be placed online, prior to, or live during the auction, via telephone or commission.

There are no additional charges for using the Vectis platform to bid. (Invaluable bidders incur an additional charge of 5% from Invaluable).

Due to the ongoing situation these dates may be subject to change.

Please keep visiting the website and social media pages for updates.

Contacts

Vectis Auctions Ltd.

Fleck Way,

Teesside Industrial. Estate.

Thornaby,

Stockton on Tees,

TS17 9JZ

Tel: +44 (0) 1642 750616

Fax: +44 (0) 1642 769478

Unit 5A

West End Industrial Estate

Witney, Oxfordshire

OX28 1UB

Tel: +44 (0)1993 709 424

Email: admin@vectis.co.uk

News, Views Etc . . . Meah!

I seem to have spent this fortnight's Internet funds on groceries . . . and some Marx Warriors of the World off of that evilBay! So I thought I was disappearing yesterday, but actually I've still got an hour's credit . . . hay-ho, back next Wednesday, probably; it might work out OK, as RTM was looking a bit of a wash-out this year anyway, but the weather's due to break and I should spend the absence getting a few articles in the bag.

In the meantime, if you're anywhere near Denver, Colorado;

• Two years after losing their home due to raising rent prices, the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys is finally re-opening at their new location in Lakewood on Thursday, Aug. 13. The museum, which was founded in 1981, has a collection of over 20,000 objects that they utilize to stage four major exhibits each year. The exhibits range from vintage Star Wars toys to artisan dollhouses and from antique dolls to well-loved toy soldiers. Objects collected from generations of Coloradans serve as a stepping stone into both art and history. Due to COVID-19, online advance purchase of tickets is required, and the number of people in the gallery at any one time will be restricted. Face masks are also required.

Or looking for more modern toys;

• Shaun Hite has flagged-up  an On-Line toy auction on the 15th (Saturday) being held here; https://www.facebook.com/groups - Priest's Monsters, Aliens & Superheroes, which is likely to be an Action Figure and 1980/90's toy-heavy sale, but might be worth stopping-by for?

Outtahere!

C is for Creative Converting

Of Clintonville, Wisconsin and Bournemouth, Dorset! No Unicorns here, but if you didn't fancy this morning's offering of eight garishly coloured Unicorns, here eight garishly coloured horsey-pony types!

Of the four Clintonville's listed in Wikiwattsit, this is the second biggest, but at a 4,000+ population somewhat behind Bornemouth in the development stakes! Part of the Hoffmaster Group, they are currently offering 11 catalogues which are mostly party table-ware, so these were probably bought in from China, for a single season, or left to the Bournemouth arm (Creative Party (also UK arm of Anniversary House)) to organise independently - there's nothing like this on their Amazon account either?

Well, without the header-card I only would have had one picture, which still gets the box ticked, but would have been a bit meah! I could have done a T is for Two... with the Unicorns but then I would have been looking for a 'Horsey-Likey' title, despite some of them being actual horses . . . so, having over-thought it to the N^th degree, it had to be two posts!

Courtesy of Peter Evans who picked these up in the Smoke somewhere I think, these are a realistic alternative to fantasy foals, and are of similar size, as with a lot of model animals the scale comparability depends on the age you want to depict, 25mm adults or 50-mil juveniles!

That's them, Creative Converting (et al), available now, out there somewhere and probably also to be found in other packaging - they are similar to stuff by both Henbrandt and D&D I think? Cheers Peter!

U is for [not so] Unique Unicorns

A classic bit of rack-toy tat here, Unique party favours have starred here in the past and so too have the contents but under different circumstances, and we still only have three sculpts in a four-pose count!

As they come; currently in Hobbycraft (Farnborough) for next-to-no-money (a quid I think?), these eight party favors are basically the same figures we saw here in an overview and here in more detail.

Where they were labelled to Top That Publishing/Tide Mill Media and possibly copies of the Breyer 'Horse Crazy Surprise Horse Painting Kits' sculpts with horns added by the pirating body?

They are still 35mm to the shoulder and 50-odd to the crown, the only differences being that A) they are now factory painted in a 'bright' pastels scheme and B) there are eight not four, although we still have the anomaly of one duplicate (the same pose as last time) among the three sculpts, so four of one pose, four of the other two! Therefore the evidence would appear to dictate that the duplication was in the tool.

Rack Toy! Out there now!

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

News, Views Etc . . . Vectis for August 2020

The blurbs have come through for this coming weeks auctions, and the following weeks dates - we covered the TV Movie collection on the 19th the other day, but it's a two day extravaganza continuing on Thursday the 20th.

Vectis - August 2020 Auction Dates

Thursday 13th - Specialist Die-cast Sale

Friday 14th - Specialist Die-cast Sale

Tuesday 18th - General Toy Sale

Wednesday 19th - TV and Film Related Sale

Thursday 20th - TV and Film Related Sale

Friday 21st - Model Train & Railway Sale

Lot 572

Specialist Die-cast Sale - Thursday 13th August 2020 Starting: 10:00am

"The Specialist sale to be held on the 13th of August starts with The Southern Collection, 218 lots of boxed and unboxed Dinky vehicles including tankers, wagons, trucks, road and racing cars, commercials and military, plus other items include French Dinky, Corgi, Schuco, Triang Minic and others. The West Yorkshire Collection includes Corgi cars, gift sets, and TV and film related, plus Matchbox, Dinky Pre-war, French Dinky and Dinky trucks and wagons. A further Private Owner Collection features Dinky (Code 2) John Gay Promotional Bedford vans and other promotional issues, plus later Dinky issues; Corgi kits, Juniors and Rockets; Triang Spot-on, "Tommy Spot" figures, Schuco and Matchbox. Further items in the sale include Tekno, Hornby Series Accessories, Dinky figure sets, pre war aircraft, Taylor & Barrett, Timpo product sets and much more."

Catalogue and download here

Lot 1397

Specialist & Tinplate Toy Sale - Friday 14th August 2020 Starting: 10:00am

"The Specialist and Tinplate toy sale to be held on the 14th August features over 200 lots of tinplate and plastic toys from British, European, and Continental manufacturers. Lots include pre and post war vehicles from Triang Minic; cars, boats, space and novelty toys, aircraft, buses, trains and train sets including, clockwork, battery operated, and friction drive from Schuco, Timpo, Wells Brimtoy, Marx toys and many more. The Coventry Collection features boxed groups from Revell, Kyosho, Bburago, Franklin mint, Polistil, Vanguards and others; and The Dr Cornel Fleming Collection includes over 170 lots of military, space vehicles, and aircraft including plastic, white metal, and diecast from Corgi, Britains, Matchbox, and others. Further items in the sale include Mattel Hot wheels Rumblers, Lansdowne, Tudor Rose, books, games, vintage literature, displays and posters and much more."

Catalogue and download here

Lot 2221

General Toy Sale - Tuesday 18th August 2020 Starting: 10:00am

"The General Toy sale to be held on the 18th of August features a range of boxed and unboxed groups from Dinky, Corgi, Matchbox, Hot wheels, Bburago, Eaglemoss Collections, Oxford Diecast, EFE, including trade boxes, Lledo and more. The sale will also include Corgi Aviation Archive, Triang ships, Lilliput Lane boxed groups, Britains hospital; Farm groups from Britains, Siku and others, Sun Star boxed Routemaster buses and coaches, and construction vehicles. Plus, vintage video game consoles, games and VHS and our usual good selection of general toys and display cabinets."

Catalogue and download here

All -

Bids can be placed online, prior to, or live during the auction, via telephone or commission.

There are no additional charges for using the Vectis platform to bid. (Invaluable bidders incur an additional charge of 5% from Invaluable).

Due to the ongoing situation these dates may be subject to change.

Please keep visiting the website and social media pages for updates.

Contacts

Vectis Auctions Ltd.

Fleck Way,

Teesside Industrial. Estate.

Thornaby,

Stockton on Tees,

TS17 9JZ

Tel: +44 (0) 1642 750616

Fax: +44 (0) 1642 769478

Unit 5A

West End Industrial Estate

Witney, Oxfordshire

OX28 1UB

Tel: +44 (0)1993 709 424

Email: admin@vectis.co.uk

S is for Swings & Roundabouts

An odd one here, and definitely from that 'We buy this shite so you don't have to' department, which has brought you so much quality tat over the years, I literally bought these knowing I was likely to be disappointed, but as they were so cheap, willing to take the hit if I got a Blog post out of them . . . this is a Blog post, but I was a bit disappointed; so - swings and roundabouts!

How they arrived, five novelty pens of Egyptian gods, in a fetching gold sprayed hard-placky, probably a cheap 'styrene, but I'll chuck ABS in the tags to cover my arse! 

There were branded to Toyvian but came [unbranded] from an Amazon warehouse so technically a  'generic' in phantom branding, and the photo's on the listing showed five different gods, but then stated they would be sent as a "random pattern", so a classic flagging of likely shite'ness in the 'small print' there!

Has it happens, getting two Bastets (insert your own joke about Amazon here), or two anything's is not so bad if you want to pair them-up either side of a doorway or something, but just annoying when you know there are other sculpts, and in fact three of the sculpts from the listing are missing!

Not strictly rack-toys, but priced in the same pocket-money / novelty brackets. And with both Anubis (jackal) and Bastet (cat) missing from the sales ads', I really can't bitch as much as I already have - here and elsewhere! A Pharaoh and Ra make up the four different ones I got, but that only brings us to problem number two.

The Pharaoh was broken! How? How do you break one (sealed) out of five (sealed together) and not the others? Probably because it was broken in the automated assembly and bagging process of a Chinese factory thousands of miles, and many months away from the ultimate delivery to my door, is how!

So, if we take the duplicate and the broken one out of the equation, only one of the five illustrated survives, with two newcomers! Suddenly seven-quid something starts to look pricy . . . we buy this shite so you don't have to!

From the back. If I wanted to use them as pens, obviously the Pharaoh's innards could be transferred to one of the others to extend their life, after they and run out, but pens, or 'more pens' is the last thing I need and they were purchased as novelty statuettes with a view to war-gaming scenery and that's where, hopefully you can see their potential . . .

. . . as here, where Atlantic's Pharaoh 'Ramses' is waved through the starg... err . . . portal to his throne room! Swings and roundabouts, init? They are what they are, and with a sand wash and matt repaint might be useful to someone! They do free-stand, without extra work, after the barrel and gubins are removed, but you'd need to fill the hole at the top.

E is for Egyptians (Mummies not included!)

But most of the other tropes are covered by these two sets, and there is a mummified cat! These were sent to the Blog by Peter Evans of Plastic Warrior back at the start of Lockdown, so many thanks to him, and let's have a quick look at these modern 'rack toys' to try and get some momentum behind a slow start to August here at Small Scale World!

Safari 'Toob' on the left and the K&M 'Wild Republic' header-card/bagged set on the right, the latter is the smaller offering, and may be the less expensive as a result, while the Safari's contents' are more expansive, the figures are almost the same.

I tell a lie actually; Peter sent the bagged K&M set along with the two pyramids from a larger Wild Republic tub/bucket play-set (which we looked at here) which also has palm trees and the like, while I quickly sent off for the Safari set from that there Amazon dot com, to do a comparison. And interestingly, the Egyptian set was cheaper than some of the other sets they do.

These are the Safari sculpts less the two in the next pic' and you can see they are aimed at museum gift shops and sort of 'middle school' learners (as opposed to early learning if you know what I mean); gods, grave-goods and other common tropes, which can be dissected in a  school project!

Gold plastic and muted colours would benefit from a heavy weathering with sand washes and dry-brushing, to make them more realistic as war-game scenery?

The small sphinx is lovely; here scaled with Atlantic 1:72-scle figures, but the 'Great' pyramids of Giza trio are somewhat of a disappointment! They have both been given a sand dry-brush in the factory and take the toob's content-count to 12 items.

The Wild Republic set is one of several they have in their itenery at the momenet, a large bucket and a set of ten items closer to Safari's being the notable others. This set has 8 pieces making seven items (Maat's wings are glued-on, but came loose with my sample), and the subjects are similar to the Safari set, with several 'duplicate' sculpts.

Also similar is the shade of polymer used. but over-paint colours are brighter and limited to one per figure, and not all sculpts.

All together; the similarities between some of the gods mean that a modeller/scratch builder or converter/painter could easily produce eight different gods from the line up and together they make a nice addition to the collection.

Safari - Toyway - K&M comparison, not much in it, and the Toyway gets an inch on the others only by dint of having a deeper base! The Wild Republic set are slightly simpler or 2D sculpts and Toyway went with a more traditional, multi-colour paint job, but all three sets post-date the 'golden age' of toy soldiers, so it's fitting that they match each-other as well as they do

The seven standing deity poses from behind/the other side. I guess the K&M's are slightly smaller overall.

Rack-toys, out there now, with the additional toob set from Wild Republic to be found - which does include a proper 'mummy'.

News, Views Etc . . . Toy Soldier Show

There's a toy soldier show in South Carolina tomorrow, now, you should know/have worked-out my views on the subject by now -  I think they are being at best over-optimistic and at worst not a little irresponsible; we are no way clear of Covid-19 yet, by any means, and from what I've seen and read about mask-wearing in the US, any gathering is a risk, but I wish the event well and the details can be extracted from this link;

https://www.thecolumbiastar.com/articles/s-c-military-miniature-society-show-to-be-held-saturday/

Please - if you manage to attend, wear a mask, give space, take your own bags and a small bottle of hand-sanitizer, it's not rocket science, it's basic hygiene in a killer-pandemic!

P is for Press Release - Action figures expected to be sold for £130,000

Louise Harker at vectis has sent me this on the forthcoming sale of a signature Action Figure collection, not my scene at all really, but I know from following LRG's, the Plaid Stallion, Faceplant groups and evilBay, that this is where the money is currently, this is where the excitement is currently, so this is where the news is!

 "A collection of modern, plastic toys to be sold at Vectis Auction House this month is expected to sell in excess of £130,000!

The extensive collection is the best of its type ever to be sold in the UK, if not the world. Mainly made up of small-scale action figures many people will remember from the 1980s – 1990s including Masters of the Universe, Thundercat’s, Tron, Buck Rogers, Clash of the Titans, Flash Gordon and many more. The majority of the collection are graded and display sealed (to prevent wear or deterioration).

Nick Dykes, TV & Film Specialist at Vectis said “Vectis has recently experienced an increasing demand for more modern toys, especially in excellent condition. These are toys that typically would not have cost a fortune to buy originally but are now commanding high prices. Star Wars collectables, particularly vintage, has always attracted large figures, but now Vectis are regularly achieving four figure sums for He-Man, Masters of the Universe and similar. We recently sold a He- Man pack for £12,000 against a £800 estimate. We expect this sale to be particularly popular.”

Included are rare The Lord of the Rings carded figures from the 1978 cartoon version, estimated up to £500 per figure, plus more unusual TigerSharks and Blackstar action figures.

The Action Figure sale is the first of a two-day TV & Film sale. The second day follows with more rarities such as a Meccano Star Wars IG-88 Bounty Hunter figure estimated at £6,000. It is not just figures as there is a POCH PBP (Spanish) card only (no figure) with a pre-sale estimate of £700. If you have the toy for this packaging you would be looking at figures in excess of £30,000.

The sale will be live online as Vectis continues to focus on its online sales even in a post-Covid era. The auction house has experienced extremely strong prices across all areas of toy collecting, particularly in the past two months as people are choosing to invest in other, none traditional, areas.

A full pictorial catalogue is online now at www.vectis.co.uk

For more information please contact Jo McDonald jo.mcdonald@vectis.co.uk or +44 (0) 1642 750616"

Please note this press release pertains to the sale on Wednesday 19th August 2020 (starting 10:00hrs) not those sales next week which will get a normal 'News, Views . . . ' in due course, if I get the eMail in time!