C is for Chris's Autumn Parcel - Combat Types

The 20th Century, all boring and Khaki, but where most of our Toy Soldiers, or an awful lot of them, are set! And as has become the tradition here with both Chris's and some of Peter's donations, we start with the parachute toys!

Paratroopers; to those who don't get excited by these they probably all - from post to post - look similar, but there are so many poses, so many issuers and so many variations of each that there's always something new in a lot like this, and as I see them go through evilBay, I slowly get to ID . . . some of them!

These are a bit of a mystery, they are very similar to some of the Domplastik (Heinerle/Manurba) stuff, but their's was all post-war fatigues or NATO, while this pair are apparently WWII Germans, and while there's an outside chance they could be Franco-era Spanish fascists, the belt-order equipment is very German, I wonder if they could be accessories for a large 'beach-toy' type vehicle/big-box set?

A nice group of odd's and sod's here with, reading from the top left; kit figure (quite small so may be from a Revell 1:48th AVF, two of the smaller Arco Rambo set figures and a vintage Airfix piracy from Hong Kong, followed by three Supreme's and a Polistil die-cast Russian, also taken from Airfix - his green wash has mostly washed-off!

Two larger figures, one older, on the left, a 2d generation piracy of one of Blue Box's 5" figures I think, we saw a Blue Box painted radio operator a while back I think, the other a modern GI, seen often in smaller sizes.

Like the paratroopers and the civilian equivalent of this line-up, what 'junk lot' would be complete without a bunch of vehicle drivers, motorcycle riders and passengers of various types!

The most numerous type here come from all those makers who've had a go at the truck we looked at here, and quite apart from the fact that I've still to sort them all out properly, the crew will all need to be matched-up one day too!

While the other three will be from similar vehicles, the painted one in the middle may be from those Hog Kong 'Cricket' rocket launchers, the pale-face is polystyrene and could be from a kit, the smaller chap is definitely new to me, and obviously slots into his seat with the lug on his bum!

Rather taken with these, I have a lot of these Hong Kong-produced Airfix 8th Army clones, but none with these bases, and as they are unmarked, they could - again - be from a generic 'big-box' play-set . . . which might have carried a Western branding or two? New to Blog anyway!

Four Cromoplasto figures in three poses and two paint schemes, I actually bought these from fleaBay only for it to be Chris who was the seller, so they came in the same parcel and can go here! They tend to be a love/hate thing with collectors, being semi-flat'ish and a odd vulcanised rubber, usually this brown or black, but the space figures were a silver grey, I quite like them (but what don't I like!), some are not so keen!

We've looked at these, but the bulk of my sample is from one source/batch, while there are many shades and several types, so this selection where hardly any are the same colour will definitely enhance the 'master collection'!

The smallies, various branded types in PVC-alike from Kentoy [HK] (top left), Galoob - four figures from three lines plus a civi' mechanic and Redbox's Motormax clones of Matchbox figures, with two newer Americans in polystyrene which I think might be Valiant - terrible helmets, they look like Volg's!

Finally; a pale grey polyethylene Matchbox copy and another of those Airfix 1st type piracies. Many thanks as always to Chris Smith for letting me share these with you all, off to a good start, I think!

News, Views Etc . . . Airfix Blog - Space Warriors Page Update

Continuing today's space theme; I've added a bunch of comparison shots between the Airfix Space Warriors and various other sci-fi figures, these are to be the first of many, so 'watch this space'!

Looking today at various Hong Kong/Hing Fat sets, Cromoplasto and Torgano from Italy, LB (Lik Be), Thomas/Poplar and a couple of Timpo's Captain Scarlet figures.

C is for Chromoplasts from the Landi of Xilo!

Like the earlier Morestone post - no more than a box-ticker, but relatively uncommon. I believe these are actually Cromoplasto (no 'h') from the Landi stable, but I don't think they ever got the later plug-in/separate-based Xiloplasto re-issue as the combat infantry did?

Really fanciful 'Ming The Merciless' type 1940/50's pulp figures these; with a bit of the Lido bird-men about them (The Reamsa ones would have been contemporary?) and garishly painted in metallic-red and blue with a flat, gloss yellow on silver PVC.

I know of two other poses (same painting), and there may well be more out there? These are flat'ish - not so flat they could be considered semi-flats, but they lack a depth and are sculpted very-much in one plane if you know what I mean . . . I like them!

C est por Cavallo Del Cromoplasto Lucca

A box-ticker and no mistake! Fury - Horse of the West as he was known in the 'States; licensed to ATV in London and sub-licensed from them to Cromoplasto as a tie-in to the series on Prima TV; an Italian (Free) TV station.

It's a horse . . . 60mm . . . 'ish? Ethylene?

From Wikipedia: "Fury, known in Italy as Fury and later as Furia horse of the West, is an American television series broadcast ... from 1955 to 1960 The Italian title comes from the words of the acronym, in the USA the series was renamed "Brave Stallion" in subsequent editions."

Furia? He was absolutely Lividia!

What was it about the 1950's and early '60's we had at least three dogs, a kangaro, a dolphin, a lion with glasses, a monkey or two, Black Beauty and 'Furia' - "What's that, today's talking animal? Little Billy's trapped down the old mine shaft?" and if it wasn't talking animals it was those nausiating kids getting in the way- in Wild West gun-towns, helicopter doctors, Foreign Legion forts, fire-stations,
buggering about with railways . . . but then she went walkabout and got her kit-off . . . Result!

P is for Pirates - Part II; Other Makes

So to the non-US makers, surprisingly not that many, which may be because I haven't tracked down many examples in these larger sizes yet, but seems to be a more due to a general lack of interest on the part of the manufacturers.

Starlux did do some, in different sizes, and Merten might have made some figures that would pass for Pirates, but generally they seem to be more an American thing, possibly because we have a greater range of historical subject to chose from? But the US was responsible for lots of ancient, medieval and Robin Hood sets so the argument fails as soon as it's proffered! It's more likely linked to Hollywood being responsible for the majority of films on the subject?

The top shot shows the Charbens Pirates, I'm not sure how many were in the full set but it will likely be 6 or 8, so; one or three to find...see mystery below! The other shot shows the Hong Kong pirates of recent years, first issued in Hing Fat packaging, they have since appeared elsewhere under other monikers, sometimes as sub-piracies in a poorer quality, these are HF originals and are one of each pose as far as I'm aware.

19-09-18 - I was told (by a  large-scale collector) they were Hing Fat, when I posted this (a couple of years into large-scale collecting myself); I now think they are the donors for Hing Fat's lesser copies.

So to the mystery, the three poses above were thought by me to be Charbens...but the Charbens set turned-up looking very different, the one on the left has a markedly different base, while the one on the right is much smaller than the other two. Meanwhile the creamy-white and black paint seems pretty consistent on all three.

Then you get the grey remould in the lower image (Probably Dorset or Marlborough?), but only of the guy with the different base, and it's quite a common figure in the rummage boxes at shows so must have been produced in large numbers?

Now I'm pretty sure the middle figure is actually a 'Nelsonesque' figure from the Charbens set of sailors we looked at one Trafalgar day a couple of years ago on the blog Here and we find the same remoulds there too (but in white), so presuming the three here are the historical element of that set, that would give us 8 poses, but they all (the sailors in the old post) have bases like the 2nd two above which leaves me thinking the one on the left may still be something else? Indeed - if the middle one is the only one from the sailors set, could the small one be the 'missing' ships-captain pose from the otherwise pink set of Charbens pirates giving two sets of six poses and the odd figure?

It has shades of Cavendish about it and they did commission, carry or copy all manor of stuff, so...can anybody help with placing all three, or confirming that they are in fact Charbens sailors and in this post under false pretence?!

The last - green - one is an Italian figure by Cane or Cromoplasto, I don't know for sure, neither do I know how many other poses were in the set, nor whether he is a meant to be a pirate or just a Renaissance 'Dandy'? I do know the sculptor is the same chap who did the ceremonial figures later issued by Heller, and he was also responsible for a lot of Atlantic's figure-sculpts. [Of course he's meant to be a Pirate; in Picasa he enlarges to reveal a skull & Crossed-bones on his hat!]