O is for Old Fashioned Cars

I finally tricked myself into getting six posts off Picasa, I can't tell you how long these have been ready for publishing, but while needing Blurb, the images have been edited and/collaged for about four+ years!

I announced they were due on a post on Moonbase Central about three years ago, since when they've done them again, twice, I think (I'll try to find the links) and Ed Berg has posted some too. While the article folders have been on the desktop 'ready to go' several times and quietly put back in 'My Pictures'!

But under the most tenuous of links with the previous post, we're kicking off with these Huilor premiums. Huilor is a manufacturer/seller of cooking oil, and issued various premiums back in the day. These were made for them by Cle, Del and Injectaplastic, with one or two still debatable, but the similarity between the vehicles, suggests co-operation of some kind between the three makers/lines, who are all, also, connected to other 'novelty' stuff.

Fully marked on the undersides of the chassis (another connection between them all), and with me not knowing much else, further blurb would be superfluous, and strained, so I've just annotated the images with the base markings . . .

 

Early racing car

 

Paris-Vienna Rally car

 

This is the only Injectaplastic in my sample.

That tenuous link!

 

People will say they are copies of this, that or the other die-cast (Brum, Rio or Matchbox 'Yesteryears') but the fact is these were very popular when I was a kid, along with pictures, posters, printed tiles, crockery & mugs, matchbox/matchbook labels, place-mats, beer-mats and coasters, 3D wall plaques, pipe-rack, ash-try or pen & ink stand ornaments and etc . . . and they were all of real vehicles, so some similarity is always going to ensue!

Not there wasn't a lot of copying, we'll see some in the subsequent posts! I'm not sure if they came assembled or as kits? Another connection all these have is being polystyrene rather than the Polyethylene of some others, or the die-casts just mentioned (which we won't be looking at). And the French for 'Old Fashioned Cars' is Vieux Tacots (old clunkers) . . . Bonux next!

N is for Not Jean, But Injectaplastic!

If you recall this post, I saved the two armoured cars for toward the end of the post and pointed out that they didn't 'follow the rules' as evidenced by the rest of the set, namely different wheels and no white wheels seen by me?

Now I'd been told by members of the 'old guard' in Germany (now supporting the PSTSM) that they were all Jean Höfleur production, so I make no apologies for miss-identifying them, while remaining pleased I highlighted a nagging query about them!

You will still find them described as Jean (or Manurba) on fleaBay, but equally if you search under Injectaplastic, you will find French and Portuguese sellers who knew - all along - what they were!

Here's the M20 (cheers Andy B!), as its component parts (with a deformed wheel/axle assembly caused by a stuck pin in the tool allowing product up the cavity/shaft) and assembled, note how the MG folds over using the ammo-belt as a hinge. I cut the protuding axle back after takinng the pictures.

While here it's pulling a rather large canon/howitzer which mirrors the larger piece in the Jean inventory! Non-firing, it's held together by a muzzle-ring and the mounting brackets. The gun-position was made by me as a kid from carpenter's dowels and a 'log' from a Majorette logging-truck!

Seen before, now known to be Injectaplastic, although Portuguese, there are strong connections with the French market through JSP (Jouets Super Plastic), Cle and Del, more on that in the next post. And . . . is it Portuguese? More and more stuff the 'old guard' stated as 'fact', has to be corrected these days, as catalogues or packaging turn-up, so Injectatplastic are Portuguese - as far as I know!

All new Kubelwagen, and it's the WWII one, not the 1970's hippy one! The gun is pretty fictional (and closest - as a donor - to some Hong Kong rack-toy ones), here sitting behind a piece of Bellona scenery, and the spare-wheel on the bonnet (hood) is more hinted-at than present!

Still quite ubiquitous with several NATO users when we were visiting Dad in Bavaria in the late 1970's, the Auto-Union DKW 'Munga', was a Jeep-like light-utility vehicle and here has the Jeep trailer of WWII vintage fitted, although the trailer went-on to be towed by M38A1's and the later M151 'MUTT's, so it's reasonable to assume it might have ended-up behind a Munga at some point! And all the towed items can be swapped around to give the trailer to the M20! Note also; the fold-up spare wheel/tyre and 'Jerry-can'.

The last time we had a 'Not Jean' post, it was the trucks (Noreda) we were sorting out, but so far I haven't found a truck, or a US jeep for that matter, in this range, but neither have I found a carded example yet, so they may turn up!

Scale between these is further-off than either the Jean or Noreda sets, from an HO armoured-car to a ear 1:32 Kubel', but build-quality is between the two, and if you threatened to torture me I'd say Noreda came first, these followed and the Jean came after, but as they are all following the hard-platics of Banner/Lido/Pyro/Tudor Rose's 'dime-store' stuff of a decade or two earlier, it's all a bit academic!

An old eBay lot tying them in to another brand; 'Plaggon Plast', but it's a tenuous link, the wheels on the six Armoured Car's are plug-on and sculpting is crude, so clearly piracies, although ironically, the wheels of the big 'beach-toy' truck are white, which brings us full circle!

There is another set of these post-war, ready-made, AFV's, can't remember now if they are a Belgian or Dutch maker, but I've seen them on evilBay a few times for silly money - dark, Buckingham green, and mostly British outline (as the railway collectors' put it!) on the AFV's, when I see some cheap ones, we'll get them up here to tick that box, for now; Injectaplastic - ticked!

T is for Two - Teutonic Toy Soldiers

A quick box-ticker tonight, looking at two sets of Jean Höfler's output, nothing exciting, but a bit of an overview, although it's really T is for Three, as the Confederate insurgents definitely weren’t the Federal Unionists!

Union above, Rebels below; the Unionists are all painted bar the last one on the right, the Confederates are all unpainted. Note; there are three guys resorting to their sabre's, but I am missing one of each, luckily-enough a different one, so the Federal on the far right and the Confederate on the far left are different sculpts/poses.

Painted and unpainted of the same Government pose, with a mounted Rebel and foot figure for comparison, apart from one or two duplicates this is it for my sample, although I will grab some more mounted if I see them going cheap and try to get the missing poses on either side!

Meanwhile a few centuries earlier, or a couple of lines across the Jean factory floor, we find the medievals; seven of eight foot poses and a couple of mounted, all silver, although my first black one (mounted) came-in the other day, via Theo van der Werden, which will have to wait for the 'H is for . . .' post! With the Blue Box copies though, I think I have all the poses!

Further to some of the musings in this post, I have one as good as Jean's but without a mark, there is a slight angle change to the head, but that could be accidental during removal from the mould-tool? It's also - obviously - unpainted.

And while we've previously seen Korona premiums and Blue Box copies here at Small Scale World, along with Hong Kong marked and Trioplast copies and 'maybe' Hong Kong from original moulds, while mentioning Imperial, here's a Nigrin shoe-polish premium horse to finish off, so T is for Three and a bit!

H is for How They Come In - Three from Peter

Peter Evans, roving reporter for PW, sent me three parcels over June-July of this year, a big one full of loose figures and two 'top-up's, one of figures the other rack toys, which were destined for RTM, but only one made it in time, so . . . another day!

Army men first! We've got the Andy Guard or similar GI's with their silver accessories (top left), and I think these are originals, I have various other somewhere including the common Hong Kong marked copies and we will do a post comparing them all one day.

Clockwise from them are some Airfix copies with slight changes to some of the poses, like the MTC marked ones we saw here a few years ago, but not quite the same. Below them is a handful of MPC smaller size, and I think I've said before that with colour variations and a decent pose-count there's always another to find!

With them is a Homie character I think, and he looks like he's not to me messed with, while the last shot is more of those Monogram copies, which I know I've pointed out have so many variations, I happily take all I can find, to get the 'whole' story on them!

More modern stuff top left and right, with an interesting Airfix original bottom left, he really is that bleached 8th Army colour! Gun is from the Matchbox Battle Kings K116 Artillery Truck set, while on the right another parachute-toy paratrooper figure and two piles of what I think are Ri-Toys originals.

Civilian stuff . . . and a Dalek! The two horses in the same pose (bottom left) look like scale-ups of the Hornby animal carrier, but I found them on Barney's site, they're Barratt, however I can't find the horse in the top left image, who I don't think I've seen before? He's Gem-like, if anything?

The oversized chap is . . . someone like New Ray, but not them, some hunting sets which came out a few years ago and were in Plastic Warrior magazine I think? While the chap next to him was a novelty a few Christmases ago, there should be two; 'racing', there were Nuns and Grannies in wheelchairs too!

A Hilco swan (?) and some interesting smaller animals make up this lot . . . and a Dalek!

Nice Dutch boy keyring, sans chain (just had a load of them arrive [Dutch keyrings], more in a future post!), old school Ork and a PVC wizard who's new to me, along with one of the larger 'small scale' copies of Airfix, possibly Majorette.

To the right; a ring-hand mechanic, sans tool and another PVC firefighter, both new to me, a generic GI and equally generic palm tree, below them is how they arrived, and you can see I didn't shoot everything (Tiger and Noah, fence and elephant . . . more, I suspect?), while the final frame shows kit-figure bits and a mini cracker coyboy.

A week or so after the above this little lot turned-up and we have some nice mini-dino's, the pile in the bottom corner are PVC figures from a BBC cartoon called Strange Hill High, which I've missed completely, but they will go quite well with the Homies and that odd one I still need to find-out more about!

The chap from Frozen (top, middle) is a lesser-make capsule toy, below him a more common Kinder, the small-scale policeman is new to me, as is the Phidal-looking Lava-man? And two stragglers from the German infantry seen above . . . all good stuff!

Then these arrived not long before Rack Toy Month, and I shot them all separately, but we only managed to see the Super Dino Army one - he says as if it's not his fault the other are still in the queue, but I can't be accused of slack in August! All three imported from Chinna by BJ Toys.

The truck with the rockets is similar to one we’ve seen before from the discount stores (the late 99p Stores or Poundland), but this one has working wheels, the previously seen version had them moulded-in. Interesting mix of Supreme and Matchbox piracies, while the left hand set also has Matchbox sculpts with other newer 'army men'.

Many thanks to Peter for all these, most will be revisited in future group-shots, thematic round-ups or on the A-Z Blogs - when I get them properly organised!

S is for Shop-full of Shelfies!

I've been building up a small stash of shelfies, with lots of help! And while they should have gone-up in August, there's no hard and fast rules here at Small Scale World, so we'll have a quick look now.

These are in Poundland at the moment . . . not unsurprisingly for a pa'nd! Three versions of Buddha on the left, a piratey type, a gardener who had nearly sold out and some white blob at the back which looks a bit Thai!

On the right a new collectable? She's probably already sold-out, more pirates and three ger'nomes, two are off to Pride, the third is a mermaid . . . how long before we have a limited-edition, chrome-plated, super-deform, angry-bird, Star Wars, gay-pride, Funko-mini mermaid-gnome with troll hair Tamagotchi? It's only a matter of time peeps!

Redbox under their Motor Max label, ID'ing a few of the many mechanics out there, this was in TKMaxx a while ago now, so will have gone, but it'll be out there somewhere if you need it, I'll wait for the loose figures to turn-up . . . thinks; might have a few already?

Couple more from TKMaxx, the Siku 8x8 swamp-hog is about 25/28mm compatible, and would seem to need a matt khaki re-spray and a recoilless rifle or ATGM mounting! The other Redbox has no figures either, but was interesting for being credited to the French Motormax Toy 'Factory' in Villepinte (my qoutes), via the 200 Horton Road, Middlesex office (UK) but 'manufactured' by RBI (Redbox International) in Rialto, California, yet "MADE IN CHINA"! Ultimately it's all Tai Sang!

These came from Brian Berke, our roving reporter in New York, rather at the infant end of the spectrum, the one on the left though has nice, realistic fire appliances (quite collectable) with deformed mini-vehicles you think must be from another line! While I'm strangely drawn to the three slightly deformed mini-AFV's on the otherwise aircraft card - just the sort of stuff which turns-up in mixed lots at car-boot sales or charity-shops!

Also from Brian came this Mexican, traditional style bagged rack-toy with header card and a collection of Marx 3" copy figures and various (non-Marx?) accessories. It might have a bit of age, but a lot of that Mexican stuff turns-up on evilBay, issued by KiKo or Ki-Ko (aren't they the people who did the licensed version of Arfix's Robin Hood play-set in the 1980's?). There's a yellow canoe in the Tee-Pee, which will return to the Blog soon . . . 'ish . . . I hope! It's my bad!

Peter Evans sent us this one at the beginning of September (where did that month go?), via Faceplant messages, so it would have missed RTM ayway, shot at the Gift and Promotional show in Birmingham the other month. A mix of stuff, some of which we've seen before.

Nothing special, but the stone towers with their industrial-looking doors might make a useful sci-fi accessory, suitably repainted, and there is a couple of new trucks and some M60's with ERA if I'm not mistaken? I don't know who's carrying it, but at two quid wholesale, it shouldn't be more than £3.50/£3.99 when you find it?

Thanks to both Brian and Peter for the contributions, shelfies sorted, still out there now!

F is for Follow-up - THK 'Aliens'

T is for Two - Tiny Forts!

A real picasa clearer this one, but it all has to go here eventually, so let's get the box ticked and move on - unlike a policed traffic accident - there's always "Plenty more to see here"!

I bought this 'Rescue Knights' set, with a PVC dragon and no knights, while I was in a supermarket a while ago (checks image - no, there's no date!)  . . . photo says this-last May? I thought it was earlier than that!

The mag' is credited to Viacom (owner of the Paw Patrol property) and Spin Master, who might be responsible for the toys, while the toy's card is actually credited to Story House Egmont Ltd.?

It's a bit of fun, and you can see there's provision for up to three placings of the flag (the only connection with Paw Patrol being the sticker), or up to three flags. Quite sure this is bought in by Egmont from an anonymous factory in Guangdong or Szechwan and has no connection with Spin Master! Equally sure it appears on other-branded kid's magazine elsewhere in the world with other flag-stickers, and maybe toys other than a dragon?

Puppies, kittens, foals and piglets all being popular, if my non-scientific, and erratically occasional surveying of the kid's magazine-rack in supermarkets or newsagents is anything to go by! Indeed, the provided dragon doesn't fit in the locker behind the folding walls (the door is non-functional detailing), but other figures/accessories would?

Similar to a small fort made by Lido in the US, but unmarked and with different joints - slot & tab rather than Lido's opposing studs - but also sourced in the 'States, is this rather too-bright to photograph little fort. Sheet polyethylene, about 5-inches on a side with another non-working door sculpted in one of the sides; can anyone put a name to it?

S is for Seen Elsewhere - Ancients and Medievals

Although we're starting with part of a fantasy vignette, which sort of covers both periods while actually being of neither! It's a odd genre, fantasy, sort of mythology without the real people or places, yet always with the extraordinary odds, but mostly a more medieval setting, with lots of iron and steel dragging it away from the Ancient period, which is technically set in the Bronze Age?

McFarlane Toys have a series of Lego-likey sets pertaining to the recent phenomena known as Game of Thrones, and each of the sets, alongside all the standard and shaped bricks, have a number of PVC vinyl figures, this is the  . . . can't remember and it's in storage now, black throne, iron throne, throne of steel . . . as you can tell I haven't followed it at all! There's a dragon I think, and some snow-yetis who live in a wall, and a 'babe' who keeps getting her 'tits out for the lads'?

Although they look like action figures, they are more like the stuff we've bee seeing from 3D/4D/4M; plug/slot together, soft polymer 'kits', and while the standing chap (character or generic guard?) has slight movement in his helmet and a separate sword (which keeps falling off!), he's no more sophisticated than a swoppet, just better detailed, but with little interchangeability.

The semi-dead, skinny-cadaver bloke on the throne is a 'site specific' sculpt and just sits there looking bloody miserable and a bit evil. But they are nice figures; about 55/60mm, they'll fit-in with all sorts of other stuff.

Ooh, these are nice! Proper 'Ancients'; they're Greek Greeks . . . from Greece! Sculpting is similar to the Crio premiums, but they are 120-odd mm, I have one somewhere, but this quadripartite squad are 54mm and while they may share a sculptor, and could be another Crio issue, I suspect from the colours and single pose (I bought them individually, but from the same seller) that they may be from a local (to Greece) board-game? Help appreciated on this one!

Fun shot - there are several sets of Hong Kong Romans, taken from various sources, but these conversations (mostly paint) from Crescent knights are the most fun, Peter Evans gave me two or all three of the small scale (25mm) ones, and I think the 54mm's may have come from Chris Smith - cheers both!

These two are the larger figures from the Design Eye books which we looked at on Small Scale World a while ago, but I also shot them both for another place - Horus and a generic royal who could be one of Eleanor's brood; Richard I or John?

Ultimate Explorers - Ancient Egypt
Ultimate Explorers - Castle

Taking us nicely from Ancient to Medieval;

These are Acédo, late soft polyethylene production (I think I have some hard 'styrene, earlier ones somewhere, but the chocolate/maroon bases and colour schemes are the same I think), and rather nice, there's a late Norman look to them and a clear French'ness, I feel, to the sculpts?

I wasn't sure about this chap as he was hard plastic, but came with the above, however I was assured he was another Acedo, so he'll do! He needs a sword, but I have a bag full of old swords including broken ones, so I'll have a look and see if there's something suitable for a blob of glue!

I scored these at the Spring Sandown Park show I think, and they may have been on the blog - checks; yes they were, and so were yesterday's Elastolin aliens, but that's the nature of these posts! Compare this catapult with the probably Ougan one in the above Design Eye castle-post link, a much nicer finished item altogether!

The maneuverable mantlet shields and blacksmith, back with his wheel! As we have seen them before I can't add much, but they were a nice group of lesser-common siege accessories and crew in the smaller 40mm range, happy to have them!