About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.
Showing posts with label 'New Metal'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 'New Metal'. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

NZNAM is for New Zealand's National Army Museum - Gift Shop Figures

Reinforcing the figures in the museum's display cabinets are a small number of figures for sale, for which I have no details as to manufacturer if any NZ reader happens to know? Seem to be modern 54mm (that is closer to 60!), 'new metal'  to match K&C, Figarti, Gunn, Atkinns & co.?

Anzac Day; ANZAC Forces; ANZAC Troops; BEF; Colonial Defence Force; Gift Shop Novelty; Māori Soldiers; Māori Warriors; Maori Wars; Mesopotamian Expedition; Metal 54mm Figures; Metal Toy Soldiers; New Zealand National Army Museum; New Zealand Toy Soldiers; NZ Army Memorial Museum Trust; NZ Toy Soldiers; NZNAM; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soldiers Through the Ages; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Souvenier; Tourist Souvenir; WWI Toy Soldiers; WWII Toy Soldiers;
WWI ANZAC's; interestingly, after the end of the previous post; the officer seems to be wearing a slouch hat, but un-pinned, the troops sport a slightly shorter 'spike' more like a Mounties, while - and it's not clear - the pack-mule handler, half-out of frame to the right, seems to have the standard 'British' service-cap?

Anzac Day; ANZAC Forces; ANZAC Troops; BEF; Colonial Defence Force; Gift Shop Novelty; Māori Soldiers; Māori Warriors; Maori Wars; Mesopotamian Expedition; Metal 54mm Figures; Metal Toy Soldiers; New Zealand National Army Museum; New Zealand Toy Soldiers; NZ Army Memorial Museum Trust; NZ Toy Soldiers; NZNAM; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Soldiers Through the Ages; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Souvenier; Tourist Souvenir; WWI Toy Soldiers; WWII Toy Soldiers;
A nice group of resisting Moari and two figures (also in service caps) who I suspect are not WWII, but - from the blue-ish shirts - WWI Mesopotamia or Gallipoli? There seems to be a WWII figure advancing out of the frame, to the right.

Many-thanks again to Brian for the images, he explained that they are all shot from the rear as the reflection on the glass-fronts of the cabinets was too bright for photography. Has anyone got some at home they can shoot for us?

Sunday, February 10, 2019

B is for Beefeater

I hope I had Y is for Yeoman of the Guard last time, 'cos if I've used B twice I wasted an opportunity to get a Y in the tags! Since looking at one before Christmas, I've combined the various odds on this subject and shot the Charbens' one while I was at it!

Beefeater Novelty Figurines; Britains New Metal; Charbens 50mm Troops; Charbens 54mm Troops; Charbens Highlanders; Charbens Toy Soldiers; Costume Doll Figures; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Toy; Pop-up Toys; Resin Statuette; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tower of London; Toy Doll; White Tower Guards; Yeoman Warders; Yeomen Of The Guard;
The 'odds' first and from the left; The Doll which came in a Charity shop purchase just before Christmas, only because I'd got the same doll in a household cavalry uniform a few weeks earlier, but I have no good excuse for that prior purchase! Next to him on the plinth is a wooden pop-up, which was from Wilkinson's (Wilco) I think, I also think we've seen it before?

The third figure is [more!] resin, and only joined the team a couple of weeks ago, Peter Evans gave him to me in London the other day, he's presumably a current or recent Tourist thing, but - interestingly - is in the uniform of the old Elizabethan tower-guards, although at that time they would have been guarding the city gates, Bishops' palaces and Windsor castle as well - I imagine?

The fourth was among the first of Britains 'New Metal' figures back when my brother and I were just getting out of toys in favour of hard rock, beer and cigarettes! He has a small square base in a Deetail style, but is himself all-metal with a plastic partisan that seems impossible to replace.

Then the Hong Kong one we saw recently and lastly a little PVC/vinyl-rubber key-ring tourist keepsake (his loop's been removed - it arched over the top of his headdress) I picked-up years ago as a small scale curiosity.

Beefeater Novelty Figurines; Britains New Metal; Charbens 50mm Troops; Charbens 54mm Troops; Charbens Highlanders; Charbens Toy Soldiers; Costume Doll Figures; Novelty Figurine; Novelty Toy; Pop-up Toys; Resin Statuette; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tower of London; Toy Doll; White Tower Guards; Yeoman Warders; Yeomen Of The Guard;
The Charbens one is an odd cove, he has the sort of googly-bug-eyes you might expect to find on Hong Kong sub-piracies, not home-grown figures, but there you go! The unpainted figure is a re-issue and the one on the far right seems to be an attempt to re-ignite the spark of tourist trinkets inherent is the figure, using the recent re-issues, but may just be a gloss home-paint in the Hollow-cast 'Toy Soldier' style.

The group together make a nice sample of different treatments, which I've lined-up in what might be the age order, with earlier, better painted to the left and latter re-issues to the right?