Timpo Time#12 'The Crusades'

So this is it; finally we come to the end of this terribly self indulgent trip down memory lane.  I thank you for all for your patience and the comments along the way, it is clear to me that these brightly coloured pieces of plastic still have a place in all our hearts, even today.  Something about the range still strikes me as being wonderfully politically incorrect; the company seemed intrinsically understand exactly what its we   wanted and delivered accordingly.  

The final post of the collection has to be the Timpo Crusader Knights, refreshingly simple but sadly with no obvious rival combatants.  That said, with a little imagination, the Timpo 'Desert Fighters' could represent Saladin's Saracens; just remove their muskets and replace with scimitars.  This range also contains one of the most unusual model toys; look at the chap in green, he is actually holding a large boulder - genius!

And there we have it, all destined for another spell in the loft but I'm sure they will resurface from time to time.  There were so many other models that I missed out on; I would love to have had some of the 'Great Helm' knights and I have vague memories of a two man submarine from the WWII range, sadly they will have to remain memories as the chances of getting any more Timpo past the good lady wife are slim to no existent.  Now I must find out where I left my paintbrush and get back to work!

Timpo Time#11 'The Frozen North'

A slightly unusual departure for Timpo, the Frozen North Series sees us travelling through snow and ice to witness the everyday life of the Eskimos or Inuits.  The sets would include more bright coloured heroes this time wearing fur lined jackets and snow shoes.  The Igloo comes complete with a nifty ice window and is the perfect respite from the howling winds.  A kayak was included but care would be needed to navigate around the ice flows in search of seals and walruses. 

Nothing, however, was more dangerous or terrifying than a polar bear attack!

Timpo Time#10 'Messing about on the water'

What on earth could these two heavily moustachioed gentlemen be up to? Well clearly anything is possible in the Timpo universe, but in this case they are travelling down stream in a hastily created raft of planks and barrels.

Perhaps they were trying to evade capture from these chaps or even ...

the mighty Timpo four man war canoe.  Of course not everyone was in fear of the Indian, some managed to coexist peacefully, even trade with them provided of course you wore the obligatory racoon headwear.

Mind you not everyone was lucky enough to have a canoe and these gentlemen have had to resort to an alternative mode of transport - the log!  Nearly all the Timpo waterborne transport came with a metal keel that enabled the craft to sit well in the water without rolling over.

Timpo Time#9 'The Long Arm of the Law'

It was a tough place the 'Old West' where disagreements would often spill over into the lives of the good honest folk.  Towns sprang up and to enforce the law sheriffs had to be fast on the draw.  The Timpo world of Clay County was no exception with our illustrious marshall and his plug in star breaking up this disturbance.  The 'bad guy's' bag actually says, "US Bank".  The chap with the knife is a Timpo third series cowboys released in 1972. 

Fortunately for the sheriff he could pack off his nefarious outlaws in the Timpo jail Wagon and rest easy for the evening; or could he ...

Trouble was never far away, the outlaws becoming more and more adept at evading the 'Long Arm of the Law'.

Timpo Time#8 'The Iron Horse'

Of course it was only a matter of time before the stagecoach was superseded by something altogether more reliable and faster, in this case the 'Iron Horse'.  This one was the Timpo 'Prairie Rocket' and needs a bit of tender loving care to restore it to its form glory.  It has a tender but sadly a battery has leaked in there at some point in the past.  I managed to reunite this one with its crew and guard but at the moment they have come under attack from a roving band of Apaches, clearly not best pleased at the White Mans' shameless acquisition of their land.

Just when the crew and guard of the 'Prairie Rocket' feel they have got the upper hand, additional support arrives for the Timpo Apache Indians, summoned by smoke signal and a quick prayer to the Gods of war.

Finally got it to smoke!

Timpo Time#7 'The Stagecoach'

Sadly the Awdry pocket money didn't stretch to the luxury Timpo 'Overland Stagecoach' but this is rather nice example of their simpler version available from the late sixties.  The companies name clearly visible, Wells Fargo,  above the windows.  Stagecoaches employed for use in the 'Butterfield Overland Mail' would travel  across the United States continuously for up to twenty two days, whenever possible traveling at night.  The passengers would be crowded into the coaches and at the mercy of the elements and other possible dangers.  These conditions prompted Wells Fargo to post the following rules as guidance  passenger behaviour:

• Abstinence from liquor is requested, but if you must drink share the bottle. To do otherwise makes you appear selfish and unneighborly.
• If ladies are present, gentlemen are urged to forego smoking cigars and pipes as the odor of same is repugnant to the gentler sex. Chewing tobacco is permitted, but spit with the wind, not against it.
• Gentlemen must refrain from the use of rough language in the presence of ladies and children.
• Buffalo robes are provided for your comfort in cold weather. Hogging robes will not be tolerated and the offender will be made to ride with the driver.
• Don't snore loudly while sleeping or use your fellow passenger's shoulder for a pillow; he or she may not understand and friction may result.
• Firearms may be kept on your person for use in emergencies. Do not fire them for pleasure or shoot at wild animals as the sound riles the horses.
• In the event of runaway horses remain calm. Leaping from the coach in panic will leave you injured, at the mercy of the elements, hostile Indians and hungry coyotes.
• Forbidden topics of conversation are: stagecoach robberies and Indian uprisings.
• Gents guilty of unchivalrous behavior toward lady passengers will be put off the stage. It's a long walk back. A word to the wise is sufficient.

Perhaps our local Rail Networks would benefit from publishing something similar on their trains.

Faster than a speeding bullet.

So why was it that the Stagecoach would continue its relents pace across the states?  Well one of the reasons would be for fear of a hold up; perhaps from this bunch of colourfully clothed chaps.  The Mexicans or Mexican Bandits as they were later known, were Timpo's longest running unchanged range, available again from the late sixties.  They were distinctive in that their heads had a plug on top that would fit snugly into the sombrero.  I am very fortunate to have managed to have picked up a copy of shy, retiring types who feel the need to cover their faces with their neckerchiefs.  

Timpo Time# 6 'The First Casualty of War'

Of course at the end of every battle the wounded need to be cared for.  Here one of the fortunate is transported back to the camp.  The 1974 Timpo Cavalry Medical Orderly utilises a running cavalry trooper leading a mustang in turn dragging a travois with our wounded hero represented by a bloodied and bandaged head.

Look closely at the Trooper in the background; also in need of medical attention as he has an arrow stuck in his side!

Timpo Time#5 'Unleash Hell!'

Nothing can be more daunting than marching towards the fortified position of a battery of artillery.  The 1971 Timpo Civil War cannon evokes such childhood memories of massed ranks been decimated by matchsticks launched indiscriminately across the bedroom carpet.  Never try this with a lighted match!

A little bit of conversion work here with the torso of a fourth series cowboy used as the artilleryman, his lasso exchanged for an artillery sponge.

But wait, as the smoke begins to clear, who is this young Cavalry Officer?  Perhaps destined for greatness?  More conversion work with the bandaged head used to create a walking wounded; the joy of 'swoppets'.

Not enough to flatten the troops with cannon, the dastardly Blues wheel out their latest super weapon, the Timpo gatling gun!  If you turn the handle at the back it actually makes a realistic battle sound; well it clicks anyway! 

Timpo Time#4 'The Civil War'

I thank you all for sticking with this somewhat self indulgent nonsense but it is rather nice seeing them up on the screen in all their glory.  Next up the boys in blue; the Timpo U.S. 7th Cavalry.  Well I say that but of course with the later issue of the chaps, some of which with their plug in kepi, they become suitable opposition for the Confederate Soldiers.  Here is one of the rare occurrences when Timpo actually used the exact same models but just changed the colours of the plastics to create a new series.

Ist, 2nd and 3rd series cavalry on show

The Confederate Soldiers do not seem to have fared well, many having to find alternative headgear and all seemed to have sadly misplaced their blue neckerchiefs. 

That said I was able to swell their ranks  with the sneaky addition of these wonderful Britain's Deetail figures.  This is pretty much all I had of these iconic soldiers; it was simply cheaper to by bucket loads of Airfix.  Quality will out especially when you compare the dynamic poses to that of their earlier Timpo cousins.

Timpo Time#3 'Fire! Fire!'

The Timpo world of 'Clay County' was fortunate to have its own Fire Service, first seen in 1972 and comes with a host of extras including ladder, bucket, fire axe and opening boiler doors.  The driver also has his own white fireman's helmet; what more could you want?

There is no smoke without fire!

Timpo Time#2 'All Work and No Play?'

It's not enough that you have to work all day, struggle home with the week's shop and clean out the tepee but then you find that the other half has invited round the boys for a rant and a smoke.  

Timpo Indian Travois

seated variants

Timpo Time#1 'Out on the range'

As promised I have been slaving away, editing the fruits of my labours and the first are now ready to publish.  I suppose the only place to start is with the iconic Timpo cowboys, here showing off their rope work and branding skills - ouch!  Mostly second series cowboys on show here with their neckechifs and moulded gun belts, available in the late sixties and still my favourites.  The cowboy branding calf mini diorama wasn't available until 1976.  Those eagle-eyed purveyors of plastic with have noticed that the chuck wagon, complete with drop down back and cooking utensils, is replaced with a buck board in the later photographs.

Yee-Haw!

Time Travelling Timpo

Timpo Viking Circa 1975

There was a recent thread over at the Gentlemens Wargames Parlour referring to the toys of our youth, which got me to reminiscing.  Like many children of the seventies my formative years were accompanied by a fuzzy-headed, scar-faced, eagle-eyed Action Man, later he was to make way for the somewhat smaller but equally addictive characters from the Star Wars universe.  There were however other favourites that helped to prick the imagination of the young Awdry as he gambolled through these early years.  When I wasn't sticking my fingers together whilst assembling an Airfix model plane or building the latest 'carbuncle' from Lego, I was amassing great armies of plastic soldiers on the bedroom floor.  However these monochromatic warriors were to pale into insignificance when compared to those of my Grandmother and here by hangs a tale.  Whenever we visited Granny, provided that I had been a good boy, (we are groomed to accept performance related pay at such an early age!) I was allowed to have some quality time with a dusty carrier bag full of the most fabulously colourful plastic cowboys & indians, knights, wagons and even artillery pieces.  I have such fond memories of been allowed to spread them over the dining room table, rearranging figures, even swopping heads or weapons.  As with all good things it came to an end but on a relatively recent visit to the family estate I came across the same bag in the attic but sadly it had fallen prey to the ravages of time; countless causalities, many chewed beyond all recognition.  So it was that I vowed to restore the collection to its former glory and set about investigating the figures on the mighty infoweb.  

As many of you will have already realised the figures in question were made by an English company, Timpo Toys and were produced between 1960 to 1979.  Like so many hobby related subjects, a whole community of collectors appeared to exist out there in cyberspace and it wasn't long before I found myself furiously bidding on 'fleabay'.  I think it is safe to say that the collection is once again looking as it should (if I'm honest I may have overstepped the original brief - whoops!) but why mention all this here?  Well, during the recent 'Battle of the Dining Room Table', which saw my recently completed Dragoons run amok across our furniture, I was suddenly struck with the spectacular thought that this would be an ideal opportunity to dig out the old collection and photograph it.   I decided that I would only focus on one or two cherished, favourite pieces but as you can see from the photographs of the resulting scrum it very nearly caused the good Mrs. Awdry to smash the 'World's Greatest Husband' mug (just visible on the right hand side of the Photograph) over my follically challenged bonce!  Still at least I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon that was akin to being transported back in time to Granny's house in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire all those years ago.  

It is my intention, that once edited, the collection can have one more 'hurrah!' here at '28mm Victorian Warfare', after all what is the point in having a Blog if you can't be shamelessly self-indulgient once in a while?

  

Interesting Fact: 'Bonce' was originally a Nineteenth Century term for a type of large playing marble.