H is for Holy Self-Signed Toy, Batman!

I bought this at Sandown Park, I won't tell you what it cost, but suffice to say it wasn't cheap as chips, and I was initially a little disappointed by it, suspecting a mug had been seen coming, a little buyer's remorse crept in, but, like last night's cartoon, that's something which often accompanies the post show sort-out!

 

Holy boxed battle-taxi, Batman!

First, it was sold to me as AHI (Azrak Hamway International) when it's not, it's the later Australian reissue from Len Hunter Trading, and dating from 1989 (AHI carried this in 1977), and that it was signed, which I quickly convinced myself was a bit dodgy? However, having seen the prices of a few unsigned ones, and enough samples of Adam West's signature to be slightly more convinced by its sloppiness, I'm much happier about the purchase now!

 

 Holy facsimile figurines, Batman!

 

The main body of the Batmobile is all-plastic, so it ticks one box, and has two figures, of The Batman and pesky Robin, The Boy Wonder, so it ticks another box there, and is clearly a scaled-up copy of the Corgi die-cast, where that was 1:43rd, this is closer to 1:35th/32nd scale.

 

Holy Batbath brum-brum, Batman!

 

The boat is the same, and while I initially though they were blow-moulds; so many of the bootlegs and knock-off's have been, it is actually a couple of lumps of polystyrene, the frangibility of which means they are far worse survivors, than the original Corgi die-casts.

 

Holy crime-fighting combination, Batman! 

 

I think the figures can be used in the Batboat, but the seats are closer together, so maybe only one at a time? I noticed, before purchase, the blister had been off at one point, and not replaced brilliantly, so there's an option to remove it again, in the future, photograph the combination in close-up, re-set the Batboat in it's trailer properly, and try resetting the blister a little better?

 

Does the fact that the autograph is 'To Robin' from Adam West, give it a little extra caché? And, as I said to the seller, with all its faults or potential faults, when was I going to see another one? Holy philosophical fuckwittery, Batman!

W is for Who Made Who!

Bit of a surprise when these turned-up, as they looked familiar, but, err . . . better! Obviously I knew of Minikins, they are in Garratt, where he both spelt them wrong, and was pretty disparaging! O'Brian gives them quite a write-up, but mentions he's omitted the HO set (singular), so these should be new to most and new to the Internet, but I think we did look at them briefly in a show report, so they're not new to Blog!

 

Minikin or Minikins as they are sometimes dubbed, also, really nice presentation boxes for a make better known for dowdy or 'transport' packaging, but they may have been given this packaging at their destination, International Models Inc., of New York?

 

As Minikins were known for copies and derivatives, these would appear to be piracies of BJ Ward's Wardie Mastermodels? Except, as we shall see, they are better, so a new question mark present's itself? One set of station-staff and line workers, the other of passengers, they are reasonably painted, but just far-cleaner castings than Mastermodels.

 

The thing is, I never knew of them, so I've never looked that closely at my Wardie's, and with quality, scale and base-style (among other details) differing across the Mastermodels output, I may well have a few Minikins in there already, but these are probably the only two sets, so we may have them all on view here?

Now, they are not all Mastermodels sculpts the three railway employees for instance, and the central pair on the bottom row are questionable, Wardie did a version of the lady, but she's not quite the same. However, neither are they Comet-Authenticast sculpts, which would be the obvious direction to go in if these were repackaged AHI (see below). They are closer to the Hornby Dublo actually, aren't they?

 

A couple of seated figures, are they Mastermodels sculpts, or cleaned up Comet? They don't seem to be either, which points to original sculpts, and if two are, the rest could be, especially with the question-mark over the station staff?

Obviously the tied-in ones are the Minikins and the three loose ones are Kemlows' finest, except that next to the Japanese production, they aren't that fine at all, are they?  Rougher finished, with huge release-pin marks, heavier tool-handles and a marginally greater 'woodeness'? It's as if the Ward stuff are the copies?

In the Brooke's book 'The Illustrated Kemlows Story' these marks are credited to AHI (note above), but I suspect that was because he was familiar with AHI imports, of which these bear a remarkable resemblance - to wit; being the same!

 

But AHI (Azrak-Hamway International) were a US jobber (importer), Minikin was a Japanese brand, and (through work on the Khaki Infantry, not my non-existent knowledge of most 'BMSS' subject-matter!) I've always thought the better AHI stuff may have been or had a cross-over with Minikins, so the first thing to suggest, is that AHI's imported 'HO' railway figures, were Minikins product. And it would make the correcting of me on the ACW stuff more problematic for the corrector, as AHI had to be getting them from somewhere!

While dates give us the next clue, and with Minikins operating in the late 1940's and Kemlow's helping Ward with Mastermodels after 1951, it has to be suggested that Wardie are the copier here?

 

Also, because we will be looking at other arms of this tree in the next few days, it would mean that those copies of the Merit driving-game figures (themselves copied from Wardie) which come out of Hong Kong with a petrol-pump (a'la Blue Box) may have come straight from these?

Anyway, it's all only thoughts on new evidence, and if anyone would like to throw their tuppence-worth into the mix they're welcome! I'm just asking who made who? And I'm not looking to denegrate Garratt, O'Brian or the Brook's, they are the sources I turn-to for the earlier work on the puzzle, before adding my own tuppence-worth!

F is for Follow-up - A Splash of Paint

A pair of rather colourful Astronauts now. This could equally be a 'T is for Two' post, but we have looked at one in detail, and covered the other in passing, in a roundabout sort of way!

 

So, first, the eraser Macro Nauts we looked at here, I have now found a painted one, which makes sense as they were made of that silicon rubber which makes crap erasers, just smudges the pencil and eventually splits down the weak-points, so, selling them as painted playthings would be an obvious step! I don't have anything on maker/brand or set yet, but I'll be looking!

While this guy is interesting because when we looked at the Kinder version, someone, elsewhere (of course), made a comment to the effect he 'thought' they were Azrak Hamway (AHI), but they weren't, although they are clearly copies, here's an AHI original, and he's about 75/80mm to the Kinder's 35/40mm!

T is for Two - Hollow-cast Wild West

Picasa clearer - shot at Sandown Park toy fair - I think - in 2014 and both interesting in the own way, they also illustrate how far we've come in toy soldier [figure] design.

Cowboys, no arguing with that, Made in Occupied Japan so probably aiming at the US market and possibly AHI or Shackman or someone like that? Copies of a Johillco foot cowboy - four of them! - and a mounted figure which bears a passing resemblance to a Hill figure too.

The contents of this set are arguably poorer, with more scenic accessories than figures and two guys surrendering! It's called Timpo Ranch Set . . . who do you need to surrender to on a ranch . . . big, bad, beef barons!

The set however has a thin veneer of fame, having previously been seen in Norman Joplin's Big Book of Hollow Cast - pp.241, fig.475. In which it is explained that the contents are a mixture of Stoddart and Timpo items although the mounted and armed poses also bear a marked resemblance to Hill's output.

Apologies are due - as I think we've seen it before here at Small Scale World; clearly I was so impressed by its provenance I photographed it both times I saw it!

U is for Unknown C18th Type Bods

A bit of a miserly post today with only two images of two makes and one of them is half known! So we'll look at the totally unknown ones first . . .

. . . and while unknown; I can say they are lovely! Small, but heavy, round sculptural bases with no mark, 20-23mm and fully compatible with Airfix (but immeasurably better sculpts!) can anyone put a name to them?

These - Eriksson/SAE copies - are problematic as while they are probably Minikin they could just as easily be AHI . When I posted some die-cast figures (which I had been lead to believe were Minikin, Brian corrected me to the effect he thought they were AHI, but if they were, then these which are lead, must be Minikin surely?

I mean - we can't label them all as one, whether lead or alloy, while denying the other any examples at all! So who knows which is which? Die-cast mazak or lead/white-metal, Minikin or AHI?

The above are lead/white-metal. Grey with green facings - Patriots or Hessian mercenaries?

While these - previously seen - are die-cast mazak. See also the forthcoming (Friday) post on ACW unknowns for another possible from this range?

I know AHI (Azrak Hamway International) a New York office'd importer marketed sets of 30mm Indians and Backwoodsmen along with 22mm (OO-gauge) railway figures, AWI goes better with Indians and Backwoodsmen, letting these be AHI would allow the ACW to be Minikin!

While Minikin did several sets of OO-gauge figures for model railways, imported by International Models Inc. (IMI) also New York based and owned by a Lou Barnett. Linemar (Marx subsidiary) also imported painted metal from Japan - among others, could these be neither AHI nor Minikins but another source altogether?

Garratt mentions plastics for AHI under their heading, then places them in Hong Kong for SAE, and credits IMI of being Canadian and EMI! I think - in the first instance he was getting AHI confused with AHM (Associated Hobby Manufacturers - a tax avoiding industry cartel) a later importer of plastics, die-casts and model kits? While in the second instance a typo seems to have 'become flesh'?

For the casual visitor:

ACW = American Civil War (Republicans versus Democrats!)

AHI = Azrak Hamway International (Jobber)

AHM = Associated Hobby Manufacturers (Industry funded 'Co-op')

AWI = American War of Independence (Successful armed insurgency)

T is for "Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape!"

Except that of course the message of the early films in an ultimately arse-ripped franchise (and the truth) is that we are the damn, dirty, filth. Apes are trying to live their lives as we eat them, plough-up their lands and burn their forests...oh yeah...AND try to beat them to death when they run from the flames...

Japanese company AHI's Doctor Zaius (pronounced Zeus) on a wind-up, clicky-clacky 'running' horse, he's missing his rifle which should be slung over his shoulder.

He knew we were the 'damn dirty' apes, and twisted his science and his religion in order to preserve the status quo...a very Human trait.