O is for Older Charity Shop Stuff

These were procured between January and October 2022, and are from a larger folder we will dip into a couple more times to empty, and there's a run-up to Christmas post on Charity Shop purchases coming too.

We're going from the sublime to the ridiculous in this post, and while not ridiculous, this little set from Red Deer hasn't turned-up in either of the Red Deer haunts Peter Evans or me have been sourcing Red Deer from! But it turned-up in a charity shop for less than a quid? Mini-vinyls!

 

This and the next one, were real finds, they were a few quid each, can't remember how much but not enough, maybe £3.50p each, something like that. They are almost certainly ivory, and not bone, they are too fine a texture, and a few years ago they would have been worth a lot at auction, if not thousands, certainly hundreds, especially for this one, as it's a recognisable character figurine of The Mahatma Gandi?

 

But I'm not so sure now, selling ivory without provenance is hard (I've kept the receipts to establish provenance for futures sale), but they are both 'clean' enough to be illegal, modern pieces, which is what the legislation is designed to clamp-down on?

 

This one is possibly a goddess, or priestess, and with a slight patina, could be a little older, I have a fair bit of ivory in the collection from teeny little Indian cracker-toys, and bracelet charms, from before the last war, to Japanese pieces better than these.

 

But it is all a bit of a liability now, it's fine to own the stuff, but selling it and/or buying it can be problematical, so one day it will probably all go to a Museum, but not until I've put them all on an 'Ivory' page in the A-Z's, or here?

 

Santa is a cat person! Hey, it's not the 6th yet, but three folders of crackers, baubles and cake decorations have now joined Brian's nativity shots for an eleven-month sleep! And I can't remember if the Tortoise was resin or PVC, but I thought it was worth a punt?

This was another real find, a cold-painted 'Vienna bronze', probably German and despite the chipping, a really nice piece of antique novelty figurine, and again eminently saleable in the hundreds, so one day I will part with it, to finance a gap-filler/grail piece, but for now I rather like them and they stay!

F is for Five, Four, Three, Two, One . . . Thunderbirds are Mini!

I had a little tub of sub-scale Thunderbird models, which I shot back in 2018, but never got round to posting, and while they've been sorted into the stuff which was in storage and gone back to storage, I've four more smallies come-in since, so a quick but not very informative overview of small and very small Thunderbirds now.

So this is what was in the tub, it's an eclectic mix of odd-scale and mostly 'micro' vehicles, the majority taken from the old TV series, but there's at least one hideousity from the remake movie, which seems to have sink with minimal trace, as it deserved to!

 

From the left, we have a small vinyl FAB1, of which there were two in the tub, and I vaguely recall my Brother and I, having one each, many years ago, so they might have been counter-top cheapies?

The left-hand Thunderbird 4 a big thing I don't know much about, a Carlton jobbie, from recent years, I suspect? While the die-cast (bottom right) is from the reissue T2? The little one at the back is from the original Dinky Toy Thunderbird 2, and we had the proper green one, not the weird 2nd issue in metallic blue?

The orange thing is probably from the same source as the previous Thunderbird 4, and presumably another pod-vehicle for T2 to fly about the place with? I have no idea on the teeny T3, which may be a cracker/gumball thing.

 

While the multicoloured Thunderbird 3 is from that set of PVC-alikes with the Colorforms copies, and while I have the whole set in storage, with the other vehicles, this one was in the tub.

The  new-shape Thunderboird 2 on the other-hand, is just nasty, isn't it? Just phuqing nasty, blerraach!

Two cereal premiums from Kellogg's Sugar Smacks if I recall correctly? And the diminutive little Thunderbird 1 is the 'scale-model' being carried by Bones on the Xandria key-ring from Holland.

 

We have looked at these before, and I still need a T3 and Maximum Security Vehicle, but here's a quick shot as a reminder, I've since ID'd a couple of variations worth a quick note . . . 

 

The T1 comes in different shades of blue, suggesting at least two production runs, and the T2 likewise, although the difference isn't so marked and my paler one is missing its engine nacells.

 

To which (above) I've added these in recent moths, there are two larger models from Bandai, the Carlton-licenced cereal giveaway from Captain Scarlet and I've included three figures which have also come in.

The blue chap with the glue-stain, is probably from a plastic model kit out of Japan, I don't know which, and he may not even be Anderson-related, but he looks the part of a Troy Tenpest! The seated guy is from one of the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (SPV) reissue's but whether Carlton, Dinky or Vivid I can't remember, while the other guy is like Micromachines, but 'Action Fleet' size, and probably a Carlton thing?

Returning to Thunderbirds first - the two Bandai's are pull-back motor equipped for whizzing about the [smooth] floor, and both are slightly 'deform' in the fashion of a lot of Japanese toys these days, and dated China 1982, which is recent in Toy terms?

 

The SPV from Captain Scarlet was one of two I needed to complete my cereal premium sample, and I've managed it, but can't bring myself to break out the Spectrum Patrol Car (red thing) yet; I'll probably wait for a loose sample?

 

I think we've seen the figures loose before, but I now have all but one bagged as well, these are not rare, and somewhere like Sandown Park will always have a few somewhere. Captain Blue, Captain Scarlet, Destiny Angel and Captain Black.

V is for Vikings

Funny isn't it, you think you'll never mention Harry Reynolds again (HR Production), then you mention them twice in three days!

At November 2021's Sandown Park show, I raided Adrian's cheapie-tray of lead, and managed three different scarecrows, an anvil, and a nice Greek, along with an unknown - probably German - firefighter in composition, but by far the nicest piece was a Reynolds Viking, and as it's less likely I'll find one in the rarer plastic, a metal one was a decent substitute.

Here's all five poses, courtesy of an old Bonham's auction shot, the boot lacing is tighter on these, so mine might be a 'Friday afternoon' paint job! Note how they've tried to hide the broken axe, it won't fool in-the-room viewers, but might help garner higher Internet or 'phone bids!

P is for Pushy Polymer Pack of Paparazzi Press!

Back to Archie McPhee/Accoutrements for another box-tick of their slightly oversized, relatively recent, novelty figure sets, and this is basically the same set, but marketed twice as a set of paparazzi and as a set of reporters/fans for irritating influencers!

The smaller set of 'You're the Star' figures, you get five peeps who are supposedly hanging-around near the red carpet you've placed your narcissistic self on, and they seek posey-shots and word of wisdom to quote in the Fanzines!

 

The inner liner will almost certainly make a reappearance here at Small Scale World, if only when I do the planned 'battle of the bands' with the Mattel CUTIES, Gemodels 'Beatles' and other musical types of the pop-genre!

 

I believe this larger set was actually offered first, but it came-in second, got shot and collaged second and can go second on the page. We have another four poses in this Paparazzi Play Set, and while the five are duplicates, or duplicated in the You're the Star set, some colours are quite different.

The little Japanese (?) reporter is not that different, but the kneeling guy with the 'safari' equipment vest is quite different, as is the red-headed girl, who remains a redhead, but is otherwise a different colourway entirely. That's it, that's them - box ticked.

D is for Dyna Model Products Co., or 'Dyna-Mo'

Continuing the rather haphazard look at model Railway figures and ephemera, which was going to be about five or six companies in the run-up to Christmas but which will now extend to the end if Feb at this rate of a one post every few days, and cover . . . 30-odd makers, maybe more?

Brain Berke sent us his Dyna-Mo, I've actually cropped one out of a larger picture, which will reappear in a round-up at the end, with links to all the relevant posts! His set of HO '4 seated figures and bench', is clearly HO, or OO-gauge compatible, unlike my example . . . 

 

Which is supposed to be the same (we've seen it, and the box end before), yet the alpine climber clearly shows it to be more like N-gauge? You could use it in the background to help force perspective, but I think 'box scale' is more accurate!

 

Walther's entries for 1998 (above) and 2000 (below), they may still be around, just, but someone on an old Google group isn't sure, and Scalemates are no help at all! Last known as being operated out of Sangervill, Maine (USA), by a Tom Kemp, mostly concentrating on the old-fashioned car kits?

 

But in their heyday, they were pretty prolific, and the above is only a hint of their products, with a four-page flyer, and several old magazine advertisements, probably from Model Railroader magazine?

 

Back in the 1940/50's they also did model aircraft, a line which, I would imagine, was killed dead by the plastic kit revolution! I looked for them in Ron Smith's 'Collecting Toy Airplanes' but they are not there, he tended to concentrate on ready-to-play commercial models though. Likewise, the Richardson's book only has Dynaflytes (Zylmex I think), which are both commercially finished and a smaller scale.

 

If you've read this far, you may appreciate the more wordy ephemera! We did also look at a post-card marketing/mail-shot they did in a past post, use the Tag, where you will also find the box-end for the forklift-truck!

R is for Renolds' Radical Rayguns!

Famous last words - "Hey, if I live for another 40 years I may never have cause to mention HR again on the Blog so I might as well tare the arse out of the imagery this time!", because, here I am, a mere 7 years later, mentioning them again!

 

HR Production (no 's') again, the Atomatic - see what they did there! And little known beyond the fact that they are water-pistols, in a non-stable polystyrene, which has warped slightly over time, but with a quite robust system, let down by a weak trigger which has gone for a Burton's on both examples, as it has on another, HR design I've seen. 

 

But the plungers both work (they'd make your finger sore), and the brass nozzle will be good, it's whether the tube is still performing full-suction that stands between victory or defeat at the hand of some dreaded Mekon from the next street! And note, the foresight is a space-ship!

Funny, despite posting some rayguns before, I don't seem to have Rayguns, or Water Pistols in the tag list? I best get them tagged up huh? Start collecting those dozens, nay, millions of hits from Google, I mean, it must be millions, to be worth falling-out after 15-years?

V is for Von Braun's Vergeltungsparschwein!

Half WWII German A4/V2, half Tin-Tin, and all piggy-wiggy-bank! I would have sent it to someone else, as a bit outside my remit, but they eschewed my input with their own actions, and my remit has changed, so we will see more of this stuff and other things beside, so much to catch-up on!

Shelfie taken in TKMaxx just before the main Christmas decoration display went-in, mid-November, at which point they were displaced, but may be back there now, they weren't cheap though, or I would have taken the silver one, paint on the other was a bit hit-and-miss!

F is for Follow-up - John Piper Railway Figures

Well, thanks to Jon Attwood we have more on John Piper, both clues as to who/what and more figures to look at! Jon sensibly turned to Garratt's encyclopedia, which I hadn't even considered, and we get, under M.A. Model Accessories, the following;

 

"M.A. Model Accessories (John Piper), Kingston-upon-Thames (1977-80). Metal AFV's and diorama accessories. Taken over in 1980 by Miltra."

Which, given Miltra left a similar history, is not much of a help, but it does suggest that all those glossy Ad's didn't prevent a rapid decline, and explains the paucity of stuff, however, it was out there once and Jon has managed to track-down three sets which he was offering to open for us, but I've as good as begged him not too, they are more valuable fiscally, to him, AND historically, to the hobby, if left whole!

I have enhanced these shots in Picasa, the cards may be a tad more fawn or beige ('manilla') than they appear here, I brightened and whitened them a bit!

Now, I do recognise the spikes, or rods, under the figures which means I have got some - probably - loose ones somewhere, so we will return to them again, someday, for sure!

The spikes are for locating the figures in your diorama, by drilling into your plastic platform or porch, wooden baseboard or chicken wire & papier-mâché, or foam/foam-board/soft-board scenery, so you can glue the figure exactly where you want it, and slight dinks while operating the system won't knock them over. You wonder why more model-railway accessories don't come like that! Many thanks to Jon for all this.

Tim Gow obtained one of the Miltra  for MOD sets a few years ago (a few? Nine! Nine years ago, where the hell did that all go?), and these may therefore be the John Piper sculpts;

http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/2015/06/great-crate.html

 

Sadly, there were no figures in the set, so my own question mark (in the archives) over whether the figures were resin (reported in Military Modelling I think) or 'plastic' as Garratt reports, still awaits a definite answer! Can you help us with more on either John Piper/MA Model Accessories or Miltra?

Z is for Zàini

First post of 2024, let's hope it's a better year than the last four, because people have literally given-up on the funny-how-awful-this-year-is memes, as they get steadily worse, you don't want to tempt fate!

So, I bought these in Lidl while purchasing mini-stollen before Christmas, and thought to eat them and photograph them while I listened to the few fireworks, if New Year's 'Moment' said anything about the coming year, it's that poverty will bite, as hardly anyone bought fireworks this year . . . no bad thing for pets and the environment, but, Tory-sponsored hunger and evictions hover.

They had two choices, I can't remember what the other one was, but it was 1-in-3 of something 'girly', so I chose the Scoobie-Doo one as I've always been a fan of Scoobie, although you have my permission to turn Scrappy into lion-meat.

It's the same with Tom & Jerry; who's the stupid kitten, who's the idiot different-coloured mouse in a nappy? Phuq-em off, out of it, we want the old characters doing what they do, to each-other, over and over, and over again, we don't want mawkish juveniles intervening after some focus group's been talked round to liking some new characters!

 

I was on a focus group once . . . not only did they try to convince us to 'choose A', but went with A after we'd explained why it was a bad idea, and then disappeared without a trace. A toy soldier thing, I'll have all the bumf in the archive somewhere, they paid attendance for the day, London-parking and mileage, coffee and biscuits, there may even have been a buffet lunch, I can't remember, but, still, it was a good breeze!

So, we've got the cam-snail, an old novelty, which Kinder have done a bigger version of, over the years, an over-moulded pencil-clinger and a figure in 40mm polystyrene from the Train Your Dragon franchise, which was (with the exception of the figure) a bit disappointing!

 

The guide says not all surprises are shown, so while there are more figures, there are also more lame pencil decorations, but the Zàini (apparently founded in 1919) are less than half the price of Kinder, so luck dictates that if you buy enough, you should get what you are looking for.

It's the same with the Scooby-Doo stuff, the inner sheet has two 'Mr. Saunders' dressed-up as haunting monsters, so the range is worth the collecting, if you've got kids, I'll look for complete sets on evilBay in a year or two!