M is for Merry Mass of Malleable Model Mayhem! 1 - Introduction

Oh . . . it'll do! It's a question of coming up with something fresh that isn't Chris's this or H is for that, and the two I initially came up with were a C and an S and we have plenty of them, but not so many M's, and there will be a few posts because Chris Smith's Christmas Cracker (yeah, you can see where one of them was going!), was stuffed like a trussed-turkey . . . shall I see how many seasonal puns I can squeeze into these posts! I'll try not to, it'd annoy me as much as you!

 

I've sorted the plunder into about ten folders, but some may get combined as I go, in the meantime these were the 'everything else' which I left in the original folder, and I don't know what to do with half of them, so I'll heave them up here in a lump, and blurb them as I work down the page!

 

Obviously the above is first impression, move the bags out of the way, and there's a very interesting diver, just sitting there, all "Look at me first", and possibly the best thing in the box, but you'll know as well as anyone now, Chris's boxes always have a few 'best things', so keep an eye out, these will be interspersed with Christmas posts, model railway posts, and anything else I can find, over the next week or two?

Had a bit of a dig, I think - taken a few choice pieces out, including the diver! More room for more rummaging! I've said before, the big bag/s of Hong Kong stuff get put to one side and will all be properly sorted/Blogged on the Giant site at some point.

 

If I recall rightly, it was a few weeks ago now, I had to shoot off and do something else that afternoon, so I emailed/messaged Chris my joy and gratitude (he hadn't told me it was in the post) and later I did the sort, while messaging him in Faceplant as I found everything else! I haven't labelled them, but you should get a flavour of each pile's theme, if you open the image.

 

Briefly, it's Medieval-Wild West-Historical/ceremonial up top, Civilian-Mad Figure-Vehicles down the bottom, with Ancient-Gwitarwrist-Odds-TV/Cartoon in the middle.

While this is Paratroopers-Animals-Buildings/Defence Works across the top, Military-Ethnic/National Dress/Pirates in the middle and Aeroplanes-Vessels-Sci Fi/Fantasy down the bottom, and that's literally the first layer of sorting, then animals say, become farm, zoo/wild, at the second level then insects, sea-life, arctic etc . . . at the third!

Can't have a Chris intro-post without the Paratrooper shot, not least because it's often a seen elsewhere shot, and this is a good lot, the big blow-mould is in army green, where they are often bright-coloured, and that Lion brand 'shooter' (second from the left) still has his parachute . . . funny how that 'file' has grown from a loose figure, through the catalogue scan, then a set with the trigger-poles missing, then some loose but complete, to this complete with parachute, over several years and several posts! And both Chris and Peter Evans have helped that journey, I think?

Oh lord! What am I supposed to do with this? I'm supposed to pray one of you knows the answer, that what I'm supposed to do! As I explained elsewhere on the day, he's in dense PVC-alike, about 65mm, modern'ish I guess? And I really can't tell if he's meant to be a cowboy, firefighter, circus performer, or Zombie-hunter!

Chris himself wondered if he might be a dinosaur wrangler or a modern day "child catcher"? Any help from the loyal readers with this one greatly appreciated, I suspect the sort of flat, big-box play-set A-Z/Paggett's might have imported? But farm, dinosaur or circus? Wild West or fire-crew?

 

Odds and sods, the soft plastic (silicon rubber soft) 'mine' has turned up a few times recently, and may, like that red-foam ball the other day be part of some larger game or craze? the Musketeers uniform is from a Kinder toy, the TV we will look at again in the Wild West post (it's fun!) and the [football?] cup, is interesting, and probably has some age, like 100-odd years? It's a very stiff foil, rater than plate, and could be for dolls houses, or home-theatres? Even a sample of some kind - very unusual?

 

I like the vehicle load too (the larger one, the small one, hard to see is from the Matchbox safari Land Rover), looks modern'ish, and from its squareness, not railway, so a pick-up of some kind, maybe a Model-T type thing in 1:24th? While the - homemade (?) - flags are just charming, and there's a whole unknown flag-zone they can go to.

Structural elements include the yellow 'roof' which I think might be a Kinder frog's umbrella! The sentry-box could be home-made, but it's so polished I suspect a hollow-caster's commercial piece, from a boxed/gift set?

 

The card portcullis will go in the tub of such oddments somewhere, the HK bridge is missing it's centre section, but there's a bag of bits for them somewhere too, and the benches are exquisitely home-made, carved, sanded, and varnished in an age where you had to do it all yourself, O-guage I think? The brown hexagon is from Atlantic's Abaline City.

This is all Kinder which would - otherwise - have been broken down into the various other pages, and I think one or two were re-shot for those posts, but here they all are together, except the paper Musketeer's outfit . . . and the frog's umbrella . . . and probably something else we'll see in a day or two - Doh!

The blue & orange monster is the last head type, missing from the post we had here at Small Scale World, not that long-ago, often how it works! The cartoon mini-Indian was one of very few victims of the Post Office's art, but I found the feather so it can be glued back on?

And the parts for the green hockey-player and the stickers for the red one are all both there (both-all?), while the pirate may be missing a hat, but has a spare pair of trousers - bargain! And I'm loving the red & blue medieval man-at-arms in the centre, my first.

I love this, I mean it's entirely homemade, crushed (post office again?) and seems to consist of the best half of an exercise-book cover, circa 1971 (I think History had the purply-grey in my school!*), but how charming, and what a survivor, only needs some reinforcing on the inside and it can go again!

While these could be military, historical or footballers? Anyone recognise any of the individuals, or are they generic after-market heads for probably WWII figures? I thought, Roman, Roman, Footballer, Rommel!

Many thanks to Chris for all this, only the intro, and we've all sorts of interesting things added to the pile!

* Maths was always red or pink, chemistry was yellow or buff, green was for geography, orange biology, what was blue? English? Lang or Lit? Latin was dark-grey in my first school, what colour was French, physics? More than 40-years ago was the last time I took mine out of the cupboard! What was your colour code?

C is for Cracker Crustaceans and Other Novelty Flats

I stated writing this last night, but realised I could barely keep my eyes open, and went to bed after the title (which isn't very good, but meah!), anyhoo's, here now and fit to go, more of a follow-up to the cracker posts, of a couple of days ago, and a fun thing for the Crimbo' season!

The rump of the late and still sorely missed Boysey-Boy studiously ignoring the goings-on, his equally missed mother would have been trying to stuff herself into that box, which is just too-small enough; perfect!

 

This is me sorting a bunch of 'cracker flats' into piles by colour, a few years ago, the duplicates to the left went to charity, god knows what they did with them! As you can see, there was a yellow for every animal, but shortages of green, white and red. Those on the right/lid stayed as a 'master sample'.

Aquatic critters

I don't know if it's by design or co-incidence, but the animals in the set break down neatly into four relatively distinct groups of four-each 'type', for a total pose-count of sixteen? You should recognise most, if not all of them, from your own childhood experiences with cheap cracker (the best, for this kind of thing), or from the many H is for How They Come in posts where one or two of these have featured!

The not-quite Insects

Who wants a tick in their Christmas cracker!

What struck me about both sets of full-sized crackers the other day, or indeed, the two mini-sets, and that whether the set with toys and puzzles or the other, there was no real duplication of boxes to tick, and for that to occur, I am imagining, there was a belt running through the packer's stations, where each packer has a bag of say, these insects, or rings, or curling prediction-fish, thimbles, wire-puzzles or whatever.

And with each operator (almost certainly women back in the day) practised to about the same speed of completing a cracker and putting it on the belt, you should with thirty-odd stations maybe, end up with a prefect mix of thirty different items travelling down the belt to the packers, within each 24-cracker group, arriving in line at the end?

Reptiles

I think the little-green is a gecko?

So, whether you have two, four or even six girls at the end of the line, and whether they can (with practice) pick 2, 3 or even four crackers per hand, as they pack the usually 10's or 12's, the chance of duplication is almost zero.

Where you do get duplication of contents, it's usually a 24 or more-crackers box, and then you find a different design/colour of insect, thimble, ring or whatever, there’s still an almost zero likelihood of a full duplication?

Proper insects

There WAS, often, duplication of hats and jokes, but that would be explained by the hats having a smaller variance, usually only five or six colours, sometime with different crown-cuts sometimes not. Bi-coloured crowns reduce full-duplication slightly?

 

While the jokes tend to be on sheets, and each packing-girl would need a bag, box, tote or stillage of cut jokes to grab one of, randomly, with each toy and crown, so A) she could, herself, put the same joke in two of her crackers, consecutively, and B) include the same joke, at the same time as one of her near neighbours, or anyone else on the line, which would be the same thing on a larger box of 18 or 24 crackers?

 

 Lobster and tick on evilBay

 

It's not that I lose sleep over this stuff (plenty of more important things to lose sleep over these days!), but I do like to know, or have an idea how it all works, because it's clever, isn't it?

Different sculpts

Probably newer, possibly a rubberised elastomer?

 

The ingenuity we show, and practice in ensuring there are no novelty/toy duplications in boxes of 8, 10, 12, 16, 18, 24 or 32 budget Christmas crackers, is clearly wasted on us if we can't sort out fair pay, fair taxation or the state of the State of Palestine/Israel?

 On the beach!

 

This is what's here, in the TBS (to be sorted) boxes, the black spider is clearly from another set, as is the smaller crab in a fetching mauve! The red spider seems to be an injector-head purge, or colour-changeover figure, rather than sunlight damage?

Upsidedown!

 

And while the two 'stags' are from the same source (as each other and the above set), the red spider is apparently a sub-piracy by another maker. Like Airfix 'army men', parachute toys or Britains farm/zoo animals, there was a lot of copying of copies, of copies going on in the former Crown Colony! Although not the same level of variance as you find with the cat, Scottie-dog or elephant charms.

H is for Hedgepigs

I suspect we've had that title before! This is going to be my fourth Christmas without a tree, and I love having the tree up, but needs must when the state, the market and recalcitrant relatives drive! Yet I have've given up looking for nice things to add as it's been the tradition every year, to add a few, if only to make good cat-loses!

 

And, to that end, I have had a lot of luck in Charity shops, who don't seem to have as many decorations as in some years (less people 'having a change'?), but have nevertheless managed to furnish me with three hedgehogs!

I actually bought the one holding a seed-case (right-hand of the pair on the dark-green background), new, and sort of regretted it as he's a bit big compared to the others, but then the tagless one (bottom left) came in last for 10p, and he's a big'un too, so there will be balance . . . Ohmmmmmm!

I'm best-pleased with the blown glass one, as I'm pretty sure I didn't buy it, for being too expensive, in the big John Lewis in Basingrad a few years ago, now it's mine for 50p!

 

All four together, they will be joining the existing four, yes, I doubled the hedgehog inventory in one season! The little one on the right is a duplicate I think, see below, but the way I tackle the tree, like planning for D-Day, they will be on opposite sides, so as it gets turned (twice daily so you get three clearly viewable thirds), the order will be perfect!

 

I've cropped these out of old images, as I think they have had a collective here, when the fourth was purchased a few years ago, but these are the existing crew, and with the new ones that makes eight, or two per quarter tree! Hedgepigs . . . brilliant!

V is for Vertunni

Having raised the level of the blog (while lowering the tone!) with a fragment of Cellose earlier, I thought I'd carry it on with some Vertunni!

 

Joan of Arc

Originally an Italian wood-carver, working in France who immigrated to the USA, his wife was the only person allowed to paint the figures, which are mostly of French subjects, although a number of others are listed, including a few Brit's, mostly royalty through the ages, particularly those who 'interacted' with the French . . . throws up two fingers to show he can still use a bow!

L'emperor, in various dress, his wife & marshals (and mistress?), shot on Mercator Trading's table (thanks to Adrian), these are something I know of, but will probably never own a sample of! They are really nice, lead, or high-lead-content whitemetal, the painting by Madame Vertunni is exquisite, especially the patterns on the coronation robes.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ephemera - after the original Corr's leaflet are various cuttings which will be from - in no particular order, because I don't know - Polk's, Bob Bard and either Americana, or [American] Moulded Miniatures? One is clearly dated to just after Vertunni's death (1955) the others will be (from the lower numbers) earlier?

Which - reading from the bottom of the page - would make this Americana or Polk's?

 No, it's the Corr's general catalogue!

These two are probably from Bob Bard's list?

 

I think these two might be from a Moulded Miniatures catalogue?

F is for Follow-up - Funny French Fellow!

Shot this at Sandown Park on Saturday-gone, outside my budget, but a fun follow-up to the Nappy post the other day . . . other week! How time flies! Serves to wind-up my Vichy 'eemies' and get Cellose in the Tag list!

Not one of my best shots, but lighting in that corner of the room is a bit poor, chalkware from France, better known for their dolls, they did a range of these 80mm+ figures which i think are pinned to wooden-disc bases?

T is for Two - Full Size Christmas Crackers

Just a quickie, it's been a funny-old day, today!

We're looking at two complete sets today, both shot a few years ago, and both obtained for pennies, or I couldn't justify the philistinism of destroying them, although both are from the tail-end of the 1970's or - more probably - the 1980's, and both are budget types, so not exactly rare or valuable.

 

This one is a total generic with no identifying features or information. the photo-art on the box makes it recent in the history of crackers, but not ultra-modern, so the 70's seems likely, and there are 12 crackers in crepe-paper with metallic 'collars' - I'm sure all these things have their own piece of specific lingo within cracker-making circles!

Clockwise from top left we have a hair-clip, micro vanity-case/doll's accessory, motorcycle, cocktail ornamental-monkey, relief-flat spider, magnifying-glass key, elephant charm, moustache, two-part ring, fake fingertip, flat car (after a French original) and a baby's/doll's rattle.

 

Contents tick most of the boxes, there's no obvious puzzles or games? The cocktail-glass monkey was originally a design credited to Nosco in the 'States, but early plastics firms over here carried similar products - this one though will be Hong Kong.

The other set, equally cheap types, but in all-stiffer paper, and very 1980's is credited to a Napier Industries, who claim to be manufacturing over here, but using part-foreign pieces, we should get them on a boat to Rwanda!

Clockwise again - ballbearing dexterity game, hair-clip and trick rubber-pencil, Ultraman pencil-top, water squirter, magic maths puzzle, novelty curling-fish, metal puzzle, moustache, motorbike, rubber-spider and elephant charm.

 

Contents again ticking most of the boxes, but with the puzzles and magic tricks, which were missing in the previous set, note also, the motorcycle is a different design, I have bags of both, as with the elephant, but like the similar cats and Scottie-dogs there are many variants of them! Also we get a bi-coloured crown, but in the same easy-rip tissue paper!

 

Some of the LRG collectors get a bit excised over the Ultraman pencil-tops, not realising there were tens of thousands of them in British/Commonwealth crackers, and that they are ephemeral cheepies really!

Both boxes have a 'cut-out-and-keep' (or 'use') feature, for enhanced value-for-money, in a number of place-mat nameplates, which could equally be used as parcel gift-tags.

F is for Follow-up - Märklin

Using only the sheer power of the Overnight-Interwebby-Thing, Jon Attwood has sent the Märklin 0203 set, and in the course of sorting it through the pending railway posts, I found another image he sent for the original post, and because there's lots more to come from other railway brands, I thought "Best get this up here now!"

First his loose figures; better paint than mine (one of mine, you may have noticed, is repainted), but several of his are suffering from what looks like zinc pest (zinc-rot or zamak/mazac-rot), so they may well be die-cast after all, see my note on the previous post - click the Märklin Tag to get them all up.

And 0203, with the correct label, I'll make a mental note to do a comparison shot with the Hong Kong ones arranged the same one way, one day, but for now, thank you, Jon (he's sent lots of stuff!), and another box ticked!

H is for How They Come In - Sandown Park, November, 2 of 2

It's not that I'm trying to beat 2017's post total, that's an imposable target, this late in the year, but we’ve had a few wet days here, which I've used to get some of these folder's cleared-off the PC! Second half of the plunder from the last Sandown show now.

 

A Speedwell Japanese soldier, who had lost his head in all the excitement, already glued back-on, it's not a good job, and as the rifle and hat have been re-painted, I will probably strip him right back, re-do the head with pinning and repaint him more realistically, as a spare, someday.

A Timpo Indian from the earlier solids, taken from hollow-cast moulds I think, and a probably home-cast, probably modern ACW in whitemetal, but he's pretty enough and was in a bag with other stuff!

 

Hong Kong diver, resin anthropomorphic pig, a horse which I think is a bit of Dom-for-Heinerle and a driver sitting on an unrelated crate of bottles in a dense vinyl. The figure itself is polystyrene, and may go with that grey one which keeps turning up?

 

Three odd little aliens I know nothing about, might be Kinder and one has a plug on his foot, along with a Heimo-Bully Dalton brother (Averell or Jack?) from France's Lucky Luke comic strip.

Horton-Trix-Briains Lilliput station staff and passengers,

along with a hotel porter (red jacket)

Acédo Jungle plastic from France

Mostly Marty-M Toy (May Moon) WWII, but the driver is another colour and may be from a different maker, while the chap down the bottom with the marbled Lido knock-off, is taken from the Swoppet mortar man and will be from a third producer.

 

Other figures with the driver include a modern pirate, Manurba swivel-waist, modern cop and - probably - French bazaar cyclist, although he may be a board-game piece or cracker-toy?

 

From the sublime, to the ridiculous, is unfair, but exactly the sort of occasion for that phrase! Lone Star's swivel/jointed-limb farm animals above, we looked at a complete with tab cow here, and, Kinder wildlife below.