MPC is for Mint Plastic Corsairs . . . Ring-hand Reissues

Someone posted these on a Faceplant group a while ago, at the same time as mine were in the post! Someone is re-issuing the old MPC ring-hand pirates, and two or three evilBay sellers are shifting them, at reasonable rates in several colours, as complete runners, straight out of the moulding machine!

Four poses and 11 accessories making ten assemblies; the treasure chest is two parts. I bought the blue as I thought they'd photograph easier, but they have red, yellow and . . . black or grey?

The Captains got the treasure, his No.2 is taking the cat-o-nine-tails to some poor unfortunate, pirate 1 is definitely digging, and the ugly brute (first mate?) is spoiling for a fight! I suggested on the Faceplant thread that they were as clean as the originals, but I think - upon reflection - they are a bit flashier, but it's not so bad and can be easily removed with a sharp blade.

A good 60mm+, a bit big for some, but I have a 'day' to feed here, annually, so I'll take them whatever the size . . . or material!

An old one, cleaned-up and trying on the wardrobe! I think the 'club' is meant to be a marlin spike or 'fid' and should be more tapered, but I stand to be corrected, as I've said before I might be an Admiral's grandson, but nautical I 'aint!

R is for Remaining Resin Rowdy Released

Another search over is the missing Puckator pirate, although you may remember I found him a while ago (March 2019) sorting other stuff and when taking everything up to the storage unit a few months ago, I finally broke him free, to give me a full set, loose.

I don't know if you can remember when we looked at them in some depth (2012) but I was worried about how he would be buried in his block, with or without resin rope (as the box scan suggested), but he wasn't, and the anchor was quite a substantial piece, moulded against his shin, so - in the end - he's one of the least likely of the six to damage!

I made him a rope out of that thick thread people use to make little pictures; cross-stitch? Although I realised afterward I should have tried to match the blue shank wrapped round his torso? As I've found a whole box of those threads in hundreds of colours, I will do so sometime.

Going over old ground here I think; [checks old post] No, I described the water treatment, but showed the dry-digging which did more damage! Anyway; this is the gypsum block after removal of a shrink-wrapped sheet of polythene film.

As I said last time, stiff nail-brush, running water, work slowly so the plaster clears the u-bend! FIND THE BASE . . . once you know where the base is it's much easier to free the figure without damaging him.

And then find the back and work round the finer details, a toothbrush comes into its own at this point!

Puckator pirates . . . the full set, released from their - pretty crude - unprocessed gypsum-plaster graves! Smallish (35mm) but nice sculpts, and if you've followed ITLAPD here for any time you'll know there are plenty of similar sized figures in each scale, indeed - a few years from now, we'll maybe have so few new ones (or new old ones) to track down we may have an ITLAPD-year of size-posts!

F is for Finally Finished Finding Festering Feted Filibuster Fellows!

Another perennial on ITLAPD is the Supreme pirates, and while I've had no problems getting a decent sample of the living pirates, the undead were taking forever to track down, however in a big lot I finally tracked down the missing two poses.

And this is all six with duplicates (no I can't remember what I was thinking - maybe colour variations which were drowned-out by the flash?), I think the yellow one and the purple one are the elusive pair . . . I know I was up to four last time we looked at them!

While, as I say, the 'living' pirates are really quite common and appear in various paint-schemes, so I just keep adding them! If you hold a blunderbuss like that, you are going to burn you hand!

Knives; nasty wounds! Note the guy shading his eyes - lower pose has another dagger in his belt, these two are 'tooled-up'!

The other two; I think the ones with coloured bases must have come-out first (with the undead), and then when they dropped the undead (?), they just kept pushing out the normal ones?

D is for Die-Cast Desperadoes

Off to Spain now, where poor old Play Me churned out a family of reasonably classy, novelty, antiqued-finish, pencil-sharpeners for the tourist and stationary industries, unwittingly launching a thousand Hong Kong (now China) copies, clones and piracies . . . but not - as far as I know - actual pirates, however Play Me had given us two!

The standard seller was a small box with cannon only, but a larger window-box existed, rather in the style of Britains naval Gun, for which these two zamak/mazac figures were designed, at approximately 50mm, they are a tad small, but I'd imagine being small was a bonus on the cramped gun-decks of mid-millennia sailing vessels?

Here compared with one of those Hong Kong copies, the HK one is particularly clean and rather shiny! there's not much in it to be honest and I thought I'd shot more HK ones, I thought I'd shot the Britains ones and I know I have a scan I now just can't find [see below!], so we'll turn to these again at some point!

I have only the one Spanish cannon-ball (no HK's), but I imagine there were five-to-ten or even twelve in a mint set? Oh, how this stuff used to rattle-round a Hoover until the steel-curved brush-roots caught it, jammed, and the drive-band made that funny-smell and melted!

A comparison with two Lone Star 'Metallion' pirates (Long John [silver] and Captain Blood, issued by Hubley and others elsewhere, some as copies), which were in the same box, also die-casts, they have a silver-finish rather than the copper-effect of the Play Me chaps.

It was on the desktop - Doh! So all my searches in Picasa and the 'finished' & 'waiting' folders were a waste of time!

This is - I believe - the same Spencer we saw here; Spencer Gifts - and still going(Northern 'States and Canada), although someone affiliated to the PSTSM took my image (without asking - ten for one, that's the rule, m'K!) and has been telling everyone it's an 'English' company (not British mind, so I'd like to see his 'empirical' evidence!) for the last two or three years . . . despite the dollar prices! You can't make this stuff up, but I have other plans for him, another day.

Note - it's closer to the Britains cannon, but with a more complicated ratchet affair on the right-hand side of the body. Also, from the description, although as useless as the Britains ones at sharpening pencils, it fires percussion caps, which - back in the day - were hardened brass-alloy and made a real bang. Now you would use those red, yellow or gold plastic ones.

And speaking of the Britains cannon, I hadn't got round to shooting the loose examples (so a return is guaranteed), but this was in the folder with the Spencer scan, so we'll stick it here for the fun of it! I think I'm right in saying this is the less common of three variants, the ones with a white-block carriage being more common, but having two different barrels? Like I say we'll return to them with all the answers another day.

V is for Variations on a Theme!

The reason I didn't spend much time on the early group shot of Hing Fat (or pre-Hing Fat) in the Intro' post, was because we've looked at them before more than once, and because I had these come-in a while later;

These are very-much 'unknown' and possibly quite recent/contemporary, they are the 'Hing Fat' poses; eight, and both slightly smaller and manufactured from a PVC vinyl, or substitute of the same and - as you can see - factory-painted.

Now, it's lazy to mutter pantograph in this case, as soft rubberised polymers always shrink more than the harder polyethylenes/'styrenes, so they could be from the same tool, contracted from Hing Fat for a play-set or something - cake dec's?

Now, it seems to me that I should probably have another guy with purple trousers and one less (or one more) in green/yellow, to make a full set . . . at a 20 or 22-count; the rest is just too neat! But it could still be coincidence, so I will keep a look-out for them and see if a consistency becomes apparent after more have appeared?

P is for Plastoy's Polymer Pirates

The title says it all, here's three pics, next post . . . NO! I may be rattling through these easy ones but I can manage a bit of blurb! As well as two more for the small scale Papo, I got the whole set of Plastoy at some point . . . a while ago! Photo' says beginning of March?

Same tropes as the Safari set; skeleton- check! Pirate chick - check! Treasure chest - check! Ten pieces - Check! One wonders who came first . . . I suspect these Plastoy guys, they're hard to find now, while Safari are still retail? Slightly more playful sculpts and the skeleton could just be asleep!

Quick comparison with a couple of Fontanini who turned-up at some point, not much in it which can't be blamed on the bases of the Italians and they're all in the same semi-gloss, but the Fontanini are more serious looking!

My favorite, an African (or Afro-Caribbean?), one foot firmly planted on a plunder box, a determined look on his face and a parrot one suspects is trained to fly at anyone who so much as looks at the box!

F is for Follow-up - Disney Stores by Zizzle

This was - in part - originally included in the intro, post, but I then remembered I'd had some others come in which I hadn't shot, so I got them all out the other night and took some supplementary photographs and knocked-up this three-hander!

This guy is definitely new as he was waiting here after the rest went-up to the shipping container! I still haven't worked out what - if any - significance the little animal cartouches have, but I am pretty sure now that these were Disney Stores exclusives.

However, as you can see from the comparison-image; bottom left, of Jack Sparrow, that they are quite 'lumpy' compared to the general Zizzle line (and other Zizzle products), so it looks like Zizzle may have subcontracted them out to an as yet unknown factory, other than their own/their usual contractor? But by 'lumpy', don't think I'm being derogatory, I prefer these to the over-engineered 'collectables' of the standard range, these have a more traditional Toy Solder charm.

The line-up as it stands, there are starting to be duplicate characters in other poses, so this must have been a series of sets over a few years running alongside Zizzle's own-branded sets, now they're not rare (they're mass-produced, 21st century polymer, sold through one of the once-busiest (another closed the other day) chains in the developed world!), but they are hard to track-down and I am enjoying the slow-building of the 'gang'!

Two versions of Bill Turner, was he in two movies (- two lines in the rage) or one (= two sets in the same year)? Unfortunately, while there are PotC wiki's, they seem only to list Zizzle's branded sets, not the Disney Stores ones! We will return to these!

B is for Big Boxed Buccaneer's Black Boat!

There is another pirate ship in this year's ILAPD (going badley, it's now late Friday, I must go to bed and I'm only on this third post!), which I actually mentioned a few years ago, but it's still all over feeBay, and can be found on Amazon under phantom brands Jawseu, Gintdinpu and RAM among many others!

I got this one from Kandytoys, importers we've had here before now I think, the trick with these though is that the two crew come in pairs, fortunately the pairs are constant, but you need to make sure you know which - otherwise identical - set you're buying!

Mine come with figures not a little reminiscent of the Disney movies' Davy Jones crew, with a wild-bearded lobster-claw and rather dim-witted looking chap standing doing not much!

I'd already put the ship with the others in storage, so grabbed a couple of screen-shots yesterday (Thursday 16th) to A) give anyone who hasn't seen it in listings half-an-idea as to it's wherewithal, and B) show the other pair of figures, who are garbed to match the 'good-guys' from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise!

Then I found a better shot of them on Amazon, but the paint (and sculpting) is so crappy on these two, it may be that some of these are copies of the others! China huh? No honor among thieves . . . or pirates!

I is for It's all Happening Down at Pirate Cove!

So, ITLAPD last year was barely cold when these arrived in the eMail from Brian Berke in the 'States, and they are facinateing, although the link with pirates is tenuous, as their recorded activity occurred before the current stone fort was built, but it's (the diorama) redolent with pirate 'stuff'!

Brain has been building a diorama of an action involving the redcoats evicting some pirates from a lair based on Fort Matansas, which guards the rear-approach of the former Spanish city of St. Augustine, now in Florida (. . . now in America, it was always in Florida and isn't something you could move an inch as the British found out; twice!), and while I can't add much blurb, I've sorted it into planning, finished model and real fort - well, that's how they were sent to me!

Italics are Brian's words;

 

The background story is the Royal Navy decided to capture the Fort held by pirates by landing at dawn.

To the Marines dismay the pirate lookouts were alert enough to see their approach.

The fort's defenses cannot lower their swivel guns to the shore and the boat crew cannot fire until they have reloaded with grapeshot. If fast enough the doors may be blown before canon are brought into play.

Using the Revell pirate ship (recently re-issued as the Black Pearl) to plan the layout.

Starting to place the larger elements.

The display case from IKEA the diorama was planned to fit in turned out to be too small once the boat was assembled. It took a while to find another which for the moment will do to protect it.

I think there may be a basketball display case that would be better suited.

The . . [next three] . . pictures show the Marine officer leading the sailor with a barrel of gunpowder to blow the doors.

The brown dinghy on the shore to the left is an old Tri-ang item originally on a clockwork cabin cruiser back in the 50's. The three long boats at the galleon stern were from Revell's HMS Bounty and Endeavour which were the same model in different boxes also back in the 50's. They had been in a box of bits from my 50's railway. The Dory's are from the PYRO Schooner.

The two cannon on the shore outside the walls were RIPMAX, a company that made marine model accessories. They had a shop in Camden Town that I used to buy kits both plastic and Balsa at. I bought them to convert a Merit kit of a Chinese Junk into a pirate vessel back in the 50's.

In-situ, if only a temporary display-case.

On the stern is the Long John Silver figure with a green parrot on his shoulder.

The pirates are mostly Peter Pig. No idea where the others originated they were part of a bid on mixed metal figures of various scales on eBay many years back.

The actual Fort Matanzas; you can read-up on it here.

Cheers Brian, a brilliant idea, well-executed and thanks for sharing it with the rest of us!

ITLAPD is for I've Totally Lost the Administration of Pirate Day!

Aha! Me'arties! It be thaart toime'o yearrr again . . . it be talk loik a poirate day! Orrrrrr . . . if yer'appen to prefuurrrr; it be talk in a baaad West Cahnt'ree aaacent - in yer own 'ed - woilst do'win hous'old chorrrrs -day! Ahaarrrrrr . . . !

And . . . that's enough of that! If - and writing this, on Thursday night at ten-twenty-one PM, it's a big 'if' - I manage to get everything done by midnight on Sunday, this might be the best ITLAPD ever, and the last few were pretty good if I say so myself. But September has crept a little too suddenly into view, and onto the nineteenth?

I don't think I've even used any of the 40 or 50 RTM posts, I was going to carry into September, and have only half-emptied the odds-folder I started doing the other week, so I've got three days to write this all up, but I had my second jab today, so may feel shit tomorrow, and then there's an early start for an all-day Sandown Park (which I'd better go and do a quick news views on! So that's not a good start) on Saturday!

But If I get this done now, a few tomorrow, and maybe one on Saturday evening, I'll then plug-away on Sunday and try to get the rest done!

Last year it all went like clockwork, but this year's . . . while I had lots of articles shot, I've spent the last two days going through them (when I've had a few minutes here and there), re-shooting, or shooting supplementary shots, which has taken half the contents out of this intro., and into two new post, while a couple have been added as I went through the boxes - which had to come-back from storage!

It's madness really in'it! But we're here, and I've made a start, but I must just go and do a 'News, Views Etc . . .'  for Saturday!

So last year, this year's ITLAPD started to take shape on the 25th of September 2020! With the arrival of a mixed-lot from that-there feebleBay! Actually joined a few days later (tenth October?) by a Diorama, which winged its way across the Pond from Brain Berke and which will - hopefully - follow this post, shortly!

This is they, mostly odds or colour-variation duplicates and some Naval/Boxer-rebellion figurines (AIP? & Replicants), which obviously looked piratey to the seller! Already sorted away, the Charbens pirate is a new-issue one, the Hing Fat's are the earlier (probably not Hing Fat, likely Rado) colours, but no tied-hands prisoner!

Thanks to Quentin McClelland for ID'ing the cannon back in December: "It is from Imex set 711. It was also available in blue. The Italeri howitzer barrel is assembled from four parts, left, right and two dolphins. The Italeri trunion caps are also separate pieces.", there had been quite a discussion as to which set it was from!

All sorts of Odd's have come in over the last 12 months, and some have gone into separate posts, others are here, and we have in this above collage; five (top right) who were a single lot - I think, two enlarged to the left look like Haribo, Kinder or Onken type yogurt or chocolate capsule-egg premiums/prizes?

A vinyl pirate who's new to the stash and a pair of vinyl smallies who are marked MADE IN CHINA on Smart Toy style bases. Below them is a duplicate Saom who came in with something and he's holding the hand of one of the ones on the left - I don't even know what they are, I have bags of this shite . . . Zuru, Ty, Flair?

But five of them are piratey! And there are gold versions . . . Zomlings, Moshlings, X-something? About three years ago I was threatening to do a bunch of posts on these, but they got put back and put-back, they are NO priority and there's so much of this stuff . . . Go-Go's, Shopkins, Ugly Pet Shop, Grocery Gang, Super Zings . . . Teeny Mates (sportsmen from Brian B in the 'States!) We'll cover them all one day, just to tick the boxes!

Note the busy table with Russian plastic flats, Chinese ivory, Indian sub-continent brass votives and Pelican markers!

The two new ones compared to the older six (1980/90's) and the three Halsall/HTI copies, similar not the same, but in that 30-40mm grouping of flesh-coloured substrate! Can anyone put a brand o the new pair?

These came in as two sets of four, only the other week, and four have gone off to one of the Blog's contributors to try and pay back all the past kindnesses! Softish, modern PVC-substitute, and around 60mm like several other sets of these corner-shop, display-box, pocket-money types! Again - no brand or brand-mark.

My first large-size Papo pirate, he has a separate sword and looks a bit like the chap from the statue my mate Louise dragged back from Corsica!

Bottom right is a singly who came in with something, compared to one of those Zizzle Disney-store rarities (they were a bigger part of this post but now have their own if I get round to it) and no brand, he could be a game-piece or chess-set piece?

A week later - just found him in a recent (Volume 172) Plastic Warrior magazine, ID courtesy of Colin Penn; he's by Klutz and came with a card homecraft model of a pirate boat. There's a Harry Potter too, along with knight and Space Warrior figurines.

To the left is a comparison with the new Papo, two new 40mm Papo's and the stripy-shirt we saw a year or two ago. Top is the three new vinyls compared with two older ones (Wild Republic in red and a blue pocket-money generic).

I saw these going reasonably, earlier in the year and bought them, not Disney's PotC Davy Jones crew, oh no-no-no, absolutely not! Mars's Zombie Pirates, first time ever I've bought the 54mm version of 1:72^nd scale figures first!

They're nice-enough, but I found them a bit thin, but some of my other zombie figures are, and a semi-dehydrated undead cadaver dropping bits of itself about the place is likely to look 'well exercised'!! Compared with another Zizzle, this one new to Blog!

I saw these going cheap on evilBay and stole the shot, Jema Plast from Mexico with a copy of the old Hing Fat/Pressman ship and Ideal pirates, there's also a totem-pole in there with two 'jolly boats' . . . "I don' like these Jolly Boats Captain", says a certain look-out as he sinks for the umpteenth time!

Unimax FoV pirates, I have started adding these to the collection, there's not many, but they seem to duplicate in packaging, so it's going to be like the Zizzle non-Disney's, a few at a time while trying not to get too many duplicates!

Right me'arties! Thaats got us off and runnin' a'Haarrrh!

News, Views Etc . . . Sandown Park?

Well . . . Adrian Little (Mercator Trading), John Begg (ebay's PTS52) and myself, are going to give Sandown Park a go on Saturday, this doesn't mean a return to regular diary-date posts at this time of the week, as the science hasn't changed, vis-a-vis Sars-Cov2/Covid 19, and, indeed, the reason we're going is because it may be the only show this year!

Can't speak for the others (who will both be 'stalling out' as normal), but I just need a show, whatever the health-risk, and I am going to try and wear a mask all day! But, if you pop-in for an hour or two, a mask is doable, while those who don't/won't wear masks are slowly taking themselves out of the gene-pool and/or the democratic process!

When you learn that many of them are Trumpies, MAGA's, Brwreakshiteers, meatheads and gun-nuts, including six pro-Trump shock-jocks, three pro-Trump v'loggers, a pro-Trump granny and other assorted right-wing old-gits and bigots, that's no bad thing!

The question is, what will the show be like, there's a chance the foreign dealers (which has always made Sandown unique) won't turn up (although by now they might have dropped-out without Covid), and sadly there will be a few gaps among the older boys who've been there since forever, because, you know . . . Covid's killed 200,000-odd Brits now, so there will be gaps.

Anyway, something's what you make of it to a certain extent, and I for one am looking forward to a day surrounded by tables of old toys . . . see you there?