W is for What Was All the Fuss About?

I'm so pleased with my efforts yesterday I'm going to force you to look, but first the annual round-up of my edible Advent Calendar, which is the same every year, so rather than the figurals, you're getting all 25, and I think they've loaded in reading order, top left to bottom right, 1st - 25th!

 On the 8th we got a double-sized one which rather knackers the whole collaging matching squares thing! 

 

Look wot I done did!

 

I ran out of space on the big plate, so I quickly warmed a smaller one in the microwave for the meat, transferred the pigs and stuffing balls, and put the roasties (which I'd forgotten were in with the meat, when arranging all the other veg', with a small gap for the meat) on the 'veg' plate . . . how decadent was that! 11 veg', if you count the onions as different, and the roast beetroot was this year's experiment, and I can recommend. No Yorkshire pudding, because that's not decadent, that's apostate!

 

I didn't finish it! No point in forcing yourself to get those last lukewarm bits down, and I would have had to cut more meat! It all made a really nice Bubble & Squeak omelette this morning, though, and we go again, this evening!

 

I wore the purple hat for the meal, and 'got' the metal puzzle! All now suitably bagged, labelled (Sainsbury's small) and in the stash, with the ones we saw at the start of the month! Not impressed by the fake moustache, which is printed-card, and while I get the eco-sentiment, and it will enhance a future post on such things, it seems to have hygiene issues in my eyes?

 

And I've realised (maths was never my strong suit) that the month record should fall today or tomorrow, depending on how lazy I am, while the 'beat 2017' target is quite doable now! Onwards and upwards!

S is for Seen Elsewhere - Sentinel Searching Spacefarers!

So, I've been at this malarkey for two hours, and it's going to be at least another hour, probably an hour-and-a-half, so I'm having a couple of stollen-bites with my coffee! And I forgot peas, what a phuqwitt! So it's tinned sweetcorn, which is all a bit American! But I've mixed them with the broad beans and put spinach with the sprouts, so I'm good on the greenery, and I thought the white onion is like a fat leek, isn't it? And that means the red onion can be the official Christmas onion?

 

Marx 54mm polyethylene astronauts of the NASA variety, they're approximately 54mm, and soft plastic spacemen, they might be re-issues? And err . . . that's it. I'll go and check on the roasties!

Q is for Question Time - Seasonal Subjects?

Right! So that's the Bird in, with a carrot and a parsnip and a red onion, it's had half-an-hour on 190° to soften everything, I've basted it, covered it and put it back for another half at 200°, then I'll get it out for a bit while I do the spuds, which I'll squeeze a white onion in with 'cos I ran out of room!

 

Tray prepped with pigs-in-blankets and some very posh stuffing balls because I nearly forgot them, and all they had were rather smart ones with rosemary and a cranberry crown wrapped in bacon! And I've added a beetroot to roast with them, while I sort the rest of the veg out! No leeks, I forgot leeks!

In the meantime, and assuming you've consumed the previous post in full (there's been two hits in half-an-hour - everyone who ate early is asleep in front of the fire!), here's a quick question mark . . . 

 

We may have seen these before in various posts, and at least one is probably from Chris Smith? Plastic on the left, Hong Kong, composition in the middle (with a wood-slice base) and an all-wood, erzgebirge on the right, but who, what, when, where and why?

 

The Hong Kong one (approximately 75mm) is holding a key, which here in the UK might make him a 21st birthday-cake decoration, but normally that's just a key, set in the icing, and he's more of a wizard or even a Santa'? The one in the middle is probably a Noah, but he looks a bit prophet-like as well, St Peter? And the lady on the right is probably Mrs. Noah, so it's the one on the left I'm really keen on more info' for? Any ideas, as you digest your Crimbo' feast?

H is for How They Come In - London, December

The last show report of the year, and I've sort of caught-up, although there's a lot of older stuff still in the long-queue to be cleared, one day/some day. I've done them as one post, so there's a lot to get through, including two of the most interesting figures to come in this year, or any year, and they were both given to me.

 

Also, and genuinely without trying, I see that both the 2017 target of 468-posts and the best month (which I think was 81-posts a few years ago) are within my grasp, if I can get about 17 posts out in the next 7-days, so apologies if I post some crap to get there, but I'll have a go, although I am working five of them, so it's a tall order I may fall short on!

So, it's just gone 2pm, and as soon as I've blurbed this up, I've a Crimbo-dinner to cook, so let's get on, you often see these in this pinky-red, good ones are actually very red, but it's an unstable dye in the plastic which fades with ultra-violet light action.

 

Reisler, and I assume they did the whole set, although I've never seen the motorcycle or female soldier in this scheme, which could be a take on some African peacekeeper thing from the 1960's, the figures are always finished in an Afro-Caribbean skin-tone, as well as the loud uniforms? Anyone got any ideas?

My third (? I think?) Cavendish on the left, and not as explosive as the previously mentioned pair! Sadly, when Cavendish inherited the Britains Eyes Right stuff, they seemed to drop these, but they are lovely in their own right.

 

On the right a French premium, but in the middle a very interesting figure of an American Indian warrior with a swivel head? He might be Hong Kong, but isn't marked, he could be Argentine, but isn't marked, might he be Polish or Hungarian? Or even French bazaar?

Steve Vicker's gave me this, because he'd forgotten he had it and didn't know what it was, and while I did briefly discuss it with him, in case he wanted to change his mind and ask for some shekels, he was happy I have it, and it wasn't until I got it home and had a proper look at it that I realised it's very interesting indeed.

 

Obviously, it's a copy of an Elastolin Landsknecht gunner, but 1) it's in the same hard, dense PVC of the Azur-Culpitt-Injectaplastic-JSP (Jouets Super Plastic)-Prior-Rena family of PVC output, and B) it is carrying a base identical to the late Britains Herald Hong Kong production of Trojans and the Roman charioteer, when he - as over-production - was given a base and sold out of shop stock boxes with the Greeks.

We looked at them last here, and you can see this one has a 'NO 514' on the slightly smaller base (I suspect the figures is a straight lift from the 40-mil'), while they are randomly -618 or -619? But it raises the possibility that the/a factory in Hong Kong, being used by, or even owned by Britains, possibly the - previously mentioned here in passing - Herald Metal & Plastic of Kowloon, are going to link all the above together, and may also have been responsible for some of those generic antiqued pencil sharpeners, copied from the Spanish, and from which (one of the cannons) this chap probably came, with another pose/figure?

 

It's not that clear-cut, as we know some of the above were credited to Macau, and two or more factories could obtain the same dense pink vinyl I'm sure, but it opens up new possibilities for avenues of inquiry, and I'm very grateful to Steve for giving it to me, to share with you, to extend the conversation, as it were?

I was a bit disappointed with these, they looked lovely in the bag, but when I got them home they were just repaints with a replacement stretcher, but I think I have a spare stretcher somewhere, so I'll make good on the investment at some point, late'ish Tim-Mee, and nothing to get too excited about without the dog, but I think I have him too, somewhere!

 

Gareth Morgan also gave me an early Christmas present in this Hong Kong copy stagecoach, it's got a little bit of damage to the luggage-rail, but I know I have a battered one in the spares, and I think a careful mend with have it back to parade-finish, they are clean-breaks at either end, and I have the driver, because we saw him here, not that long ago! While the catapult-plane is missing all its flying surfaces, but is a first example, and was from a cheapie rummage tray!

 

These two were from Mercator's cheapie tray, and I got them as the Frenchman is quite unusual, and the 'Afrika Korps' finished German even more so, I think they were marked, or one of them was, but I haven't got time to look for them now, so they can come round again, or I'll look them-up this evening and add something here?

 

Frenchie is marked Durso, a Belgian producer of composition figures, while the DAK chappie is unmarked and appears to be chalkware which could make him Belgian also, or French?

 

Also from the cheapie trays, were a few more hollow-cast lead 'Khaki Infantry', again, we'll return to them another day, but if you follow the Blog, you'll know I've had several lots like this in recent years, and am getting a half-decent sample of these types, whether originals or copies - as per one of the pair in the middle?!!

 

Well, this is getting silly now! A forth Argentine copy of the Timpo Hopalong Cassidy, but this one in more realistic decoration/plastic colours than the previous three! Along with two Lone Star because they were clean and unbroken!

 

And . . . having had the lovely Landsknecht gunner from Steve, Adrian Little gave me the figure in the middle, who looks to be composition, but is a crude plastic figure! And again he gave it to me because he didn't know what it was, I guess we both hope one of you do, Loyal Readers! I guess some Tourist thing, but where from? Lancers in black with New York cop hats? South America, smaller European state? Mystery figure, the second in one show! And unusual to be holding the lance in the left-hand?

 

To either side of him are a nice marbled Hilco infantryman and a dog with two locating-studs who is technically as interesting as anything else unknown, but I know he won't be rated the same as the Landsknecht or lancer by most of you!

 

Three clean ceremonials, with - from the left - Hilco, Charbens and believed to be Trojan, I don't think I had the Hilco previously, and the Charbens soldiery seem harder to find than their Bandsmen, who are very common?

 

Is it a Tresco? I don't know, but it's about the fifth in the collection and we've seen a couple of others from Brian B or on evilBay, so there are many variants of the Tresco original to track-down! It must have been one of the most widely used novelty items of childhood, ever, and you can still find new issues/piracies now, forty or fifty years after anyone wore something like that underwater!

 

And a little whitemetal bicycle?

The Gopher/Groundhog actually has a damaged (missing!) tail, but is unknown to me, so came into the stash as a first sample, while the Totem Pole was a speculative purchase against my not knowing in the moment what I had, but I think I do have one in this colour-way, with this base, as well-preserved, so one day I'll have to move one on!

 

In the bag with the gopher were a 'Funimal', an Aristocat premium and the two Kinder solids between them.

 

I'm not sure on the Pirate, he's sort of half Ideal, half Hing Fat, and I have half-an-idea I should half-know him, so I guess he'll be returning, when I remember! The Timpo copy obviously went with the Tim-Mee's above but was in a seperate rummage tray, while the ABC copy of Herald's ACW had good paint!

 

Blue Box doll's house lady, the 'atomic family's' stay-at-home housewife, all dressed up to do dinner after receiving her new Hoover from under the tree - no, she really, really wanted it! And a space-man rider/driver, I don't recall seeing before? He/she/it has a plug-in polyethylene or nylon ariel thingy, but is otherwise polystyrene and of a crudity that points to Hong Kong.

Hopefully, like with the recent Lady Penelope Chitty Chitty Bang Bang figure, the two Paul's will find and post the correct figure for their self-awarded brownie-points soon, and I can add a note here, and we'll all know!

Couple of make weights, a Gemodels/Festival I don't think I had, or if I do, in a different coloured coat maybe? And another of the now confirmed Blue Box firefighters, loose.

 

The organisers of the show, Guideline Publications, were giving these to anyone who wanted one, upon entry, and there are supposed to be instructions on their website, but I'm damned if I can find them, so? However, it should be easy enough to put together, one day, looks to be about 1:24th, and possibly a Model-T?

 

So less than 50-items in total, barely a cupped-handful, probably my least show-plunder ever, but I was being careful, and it's full of interesting things, Thanks to Adrian, Gareth, Guideline and Steve for the freebies!

Right! It's nearly four-o'clok, I must start cooking or |I'll be eating at midnight! Happy Christmas all!

C is for Crimbo' Treat!

Happy Christmas all, for the purists among you, I present a real treat, not mine, and dodgy scans of old photographs in the archive, I think I know where they came from, but I'm not sure, there were five images in total, but these are the two best aspects.

 

One of only three poses, so far found, worldwide, from a total of about 8 figures, four of which are this pose I believe? The Lone Star musketeers, or at least that is what they are looking like they are, with several linked to specific characters in a movie or TV series I think, you'd have to be a subscriber to Plastic Warrior magazine to get the whole story, as it's all been revealed there.

B is for Books We Have Known

Bit of a nostalgia hit here, sorting the stuff to throw forward to 2024, which has joined the queue in 2023 (and 2022), but not been published, nor been thrown back to 2004, or a specific zone (I have a system, it may be chaotic, but it makes sense!), I found a few books worth half a mention . . . 

While I was clearing out the Natural History bookcase, next to the fireplace in the front room over a year ago, I found, behind the larger volumes, a small stack of the childhood Observer books! I actually still have two of mine out, here, an earlier and a later version of 'Flags', and I do also have my own adult collection of them in storage,

 

So I'm looking forward to unifying the three lots (the above have also gone to storage), and perhaps making a single box shelf for them, which while high enough for a leveraging finger, and deep enough, will be much-longer than needed, so I can collect a few more!

 

I'm looking forward to reading this, it's relatively well known, and you won't be surprised to learn it was published in 1930! Some things were quite prescient, some not so, as with all futurism, the timescales of when we (humanity) will achieve what, are greatly exaggerated, in the shortening of time-passed, for more;

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_in_2030

 

The sweet Boysy-boy investigating! These were four of my late Mother's volumes in the Pleasures and Treasures series of collectables titles, by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, published through the 1960's, some were later republished by Octopus, in the early 1970's. I already had a few, including both versions of Henry Harris's 'Model Soldiers', so I now have 13 plus the Octopus duplicate, and like the Observers, there are more to find.

 

This seems to have been a Christmas present from my late Uncle to Mum, he died in a hooked-up missile incident flying out of what was then HMS Fulmar (ex-RAF Lossiemouth), and she never really got over his death, so this must have been a real treasure for her, especially as it must have been found among his 'things' as the euphemism goes, he died in June of that year?

 

We loved it as kids, without perhaps realising the significance of the note, as Max (quite famous back then, there are other volumes), is a totally textless Everyman, the idiot in all of us, and was very relatable, even to 5/6-year-olds!

 

I don't know quite where the rest of these are, I know we had several, including a space one, I can't remember if it was the solar system, the universe, or something more esoteric like space exploration, but if it turns-up I'll be sure to blog every page, just to get it in the tag list, what do you think readers! And there was a dinosaur one, another on butterflies I think? Several anyway! They may have gone to storage with me not really paying attention, as some books were in boxes already.

From the childhood section I've inherited all these, really nice editions of mostly classics, although some which were 'classics' in the age of Empire, have now fallen from favour, but I will enjoy re-reading them all. Mum read most of them to us as kids, and the Wind In the Willows is a later imprint from the 1970's. The family Bible is on its side above, and I will re-read that too, it's worth being familier with what you're arguing against!

And these are real treasures - four of the 'coloured' fairy books. Beautiful stories, wonderfully told, and the books themselves are tangible treats! The books are 'fairy tales' rather than just 'fairy' tales, although there are a lot of fairies in them! And they were gathered from all-over what was then (the turn of the last century) the whole developed world.

G is for Green Scene

 Well, I tried to mix it up, but now we're going to have back-to-back railway stuff, and this wasn't even in the queue half-an-hour ago, but while I was listening to the Midnight Mass, I scanned the flyer from the archive, and thought I'd see if the company was still going, and they are, so you can go and buy most of this from;

https://www.green-scenes.co.uk/

And I haven't been paid for this advertisement - worse luck!

So this was what I found in the files, it's obviously an early edition, the 'Little People' range on the Green Scene website goes up to 30-something now, and the Poss. Resin note is not in my handwriting, so the fact they are whitemetal doesn't blot my copybook!

 

From their website, one of the figures mentioned above, but the rest are there, with a couple of low numbers and a couple of 20-somthings dropped, or not currently available, so if you fancy a whole sample, you'll still need evilBay for one or two?