B is for Brucey Bonus - INGAP Aviogetti

Can't remember if we've had these or not, but looking for something to throw up here quickly, they'll do!

French at the top, British and American in the middle, a Soviet at the bottom, there is at least one other set with another four, and a larger card with five or seven (?) airliners. That's it - Italian, carded rack-toy, 1950's or early 1960's, polystyrene, war-planes with paper sticker, national roundels.

It struck me that the French put large targets on their 'planes so any old baddie can have a pop at 'putting a cap in their ass', we put small ones on ours, so only worthily accurate enemies need apply!

News, Views etc...Plastic Warrior 2016

So PW 161 dropped through the letter box this morning (yesterday morning, it's that late an hour now!), and with it - for those who don't subscribe yet (?) - was the flyer for the forthcoming 31st show!

Those links in HTML:

Blog: Plastic Warrior
Email: pw.editor@ntlworld.com

Reminders nearer the time!

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I also found a bunch of old links in a completely different bookmarks file on CAD stuff!

Ye Old Site of Curiosities - This is a nice blog I've been meaning to follow for ages, Jan posts an eclectic range of things on various topics and scales including the less popular sizes, and lots of Pirate goodies, which as I totally forgot talk-like-a-pirate-day this year is a very good thing!

Toy Memories - I think I did publish a link to them in a Blog-post once, they had a useful document pertaining to some waffle of mine, I tried to get hold of them on Facebook but 'no banana' as they say. The site is a bit old and bitty, with odd chunks of missing/corrupt coding leading to overlaps and dead links etc... But there's still some useful stuff there if you dig about.

1:32 Museum - 'Peter's' small private collection; not updated for a while, but some lovely images of mostly newer plastics.

Micro Machine Museum - One of two very useful resources on this range of diminutive models and their figures I've found, but I don't know what I did with the other link!

Ingap Italy - You'll have to make of this what you will, I don't even know how to describe it really, clearly Italian, clearly a collection of mostly tin-plate and die-cast, mostly Ingap, Gama and the like, but there is some really useful stuff there if you dig about, however navigation isn't easy and the earlier images are better annotated than latter ones. Worth a couple of hours surfing...or more!

This is just some crazy beard shit with toy soldiers.



Blogger's been playing-up tonight, there seem to have been changes to image up-loads, so I don't know if it's them or my Internet connection/broadband....lots of 'error occurred' messages and frozen upload type stuff?

[In the event the post never published - so another Vodafone fuck-up]

MPC is for Mini Ships - Part Two; Comparisons

So to comparisons between the MPC mini ships and other comparable vessels ancient and modern (of manufacture), to give an idea of what goes with what size-wise, as 'scale' is so clearly a moot point with these models.

Starting with the larger submarine, it's actually quite close to both the similar and almost as accurate (in outline) ballistic missile subs from Galoob's Micro Machine lines, the other three are really just toys.

I left the similar sized Crescent sub off the first image, so have squeezed it into both collages as a continuation shot, I also forgot the Lido one so I've placed that with both as an inset. It's quite interesting as it's an early Nuclear-sub design which keeps some of the lines of the old U-Boat styles, but for scale purposes, would have the size of the more modern ships.

These are all board-game playing pieces with the possible exception of the two grey ones nearest the Patrick Henry (dropped [or; lowered?] an aitch on the caption!), which may be war-game pieces, and the two aforementioned (Lido and Crescent) which were both 'carpet' toys.

Landing craft; The MPC WWII one flanked by the two modern ones from the Airfix HMS Fearless kit, and all lead by an unknown kit boat (LCA shape...'ish) which I think might be from one of the odd box-scale kits from Pyro or early Revell?

On the MPC vessel the spigot sticking out of the back may be for an unknown accessory, or just a bit of frame? Likewise the indentation forward of the wheelhouse may be a mounting hole for an unknown accessory, but I think it's just shrinkage.

Battleships - The larger size and by association smaller scale range of the MPC minis;  the INGAP and the penny-toys are quite similar, but the Hong Kong and Crescent boats are modelling smaller vessels, so are over-sized in comparison with the MPC ship.

When I say penny-toys, it's only because I don't have a name for them and they have 'cheap' decoration. They may be by a later a 'name', there were several smaller die-casters in the UK making toys in the 1950's-60's such as Benbros and Kemlow, these may be by either? They are also all slightly different and marked B1 through to B3.

[Now ID'd as Chad Valley, probably from a boxed set, 1950's?]

Intermediate or medium size, here using the Tramp Type steamer and an LST from MPC as comparison vehicles for food premiums from Manurba and Sanella and the Matchbox accessories from a large harbour play-set they did. Painted-up these would all look fine next to each other size-wise.

The smallies; the MB Games Axis & Allies ship in the centre is a much smaller scale, being a tramp steamer, and both the Montaplex vessels are military ships of larger scale size.

Back to the medium sized rage, for more naval vessels, the Lido set are all roughly the same size, but obviously one of them is a much scaled-down battleship, as is the MB Games Axis & Allies one.

03-09-2016 Unknown (bottom right, along with two pale grey subs above) is now known - Silvercorn

The ocean liners are all from the bigger end of the MPC stable and match the Rosenhain and Lipmann (R&L) for Kellogg's cereal premium pretty well. The kit is scaled by collectors at 1:3640 and is missing two very fine mast mouldings, I suspect it's a tad smaller than the MPC mini ships, being the larger vessel in real life?

Quaker also had a go at Ocean liners and their little set are scaled smaller that both the MPC ones and the Kellogg's import. A Direct comparison with two versions of Liberte (Europa for most of her eventful life) showing a lack of accuracy as well!

We looked at these Quaker liners here and there's more here.

Shades of blue above with three each from MPC, Quaker and Hong Kong above, the HK vessels being - I believe - copies of the old Triang Minic waterline series.

I forgot (or meant...) to label this shot, but the red one is Tina Onassis the only cargo-ship in the Quaker set and I've done a comparison with similar vessels, the HK one being a militarised version of the original Triang mail or packet steamer? The USS Eddy Country looking like a cargo vessel and the SS Varicella being a tanker.

The Hong Kong set were looked at before in the post linked to above with the Quaker and other smaller ones, but I've since got some more, so a new line-up of mouldings and colour variations is above with a look at the various tugs.

There are three tugs from Hong Kong, the one I've numbered '1', is a full hull model which I suspect goes with these from Lucky Toys, sort of confirmed by the unpainted pale one, going with the unpainted versions of the larger vessels in the linked post. The number 3 (two designs) goes with the similar blue-grey and sea-green copies of Triang Minic vessels, while the charcoal grey one I've numbered as '2' seems to be from a third source or even a kit, it has better detailing and a smaller superstructure.

The MPC version as a higher prow, and probably isn't a copy of the Triang one, this was a standard design of tug-boat and years ago the harbours of the world were full of them, indeed we've already seen MPC produced two, dated a few years apart, but they're all but identical.

S is for Ships (and other vessels); Part 1 - Lucky for some...

...but not the owner - who was gunned down in public by the Triad's after he failed to repay them some money he owed! Lucky Toys ('L' in a horseshoe and probably LP - Lucky Products), Laurie Toy (LT), Clifford (CT), et al. There was as much from this company as Blue Box, if not more and one of the variants of the logo is this E for Empire Toys...but I'm getting ahead of myself! Given that I am the grandson of an Admiral, the first C-in-C of the Indian Navy; Grandad! I know precious little about naval matters or ships, so the seven posts below are - you must understand - written by someone who barely knows a trawler from an oiler! However I have been following the games of Tim Gow and friends over at http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/ with some interest, not least because there seems to be an 'old school' casualness to it, just get some boats, paint them grey, give them names and away you go - all over the floor (they do need a roll of blue linoleum - I think!...but if none of them has a Volvo that's going to be problematical!), then they bomb the hell out of them with out-of-scale aircraft...it's how war-gaming should be...says a non-war gamer! Anyway the other day he (Mr Gow) was saying he'd found some ships on feeBay, wasn't sure what they were, but they looked like such-and-such so that's what they'd be in the next game and I got to thinking; "Yeah, there is a lot of this vessel-shaped stuff in the mixed junk lots at shows and toy fairs, in fact...I've got a box of it upstairs... E for Empire by Lucky, these are clearly meant for the bath as the bigger vessels have weighted hulls and they all have deep hulls, but it makes them hard to stand without taking a hacksaw to them! Another view of the same three vessels and a couple of close-ups of the missile cruiser [this is how little I know - should you use capitals? 'Cruiser'?], I think this may be a copy of an old kit by Pyro or Aurora, I'm sure they produced something with a ridiculous great missile on the deck! But it may just be 'based on'? Also while the rest of the range are vaguely in-scale, the missile vessel is huge. The smaller warships - the five destroyers - are all different and again may be based on or copied from Western or Japanese model kits. The medium-sized thing (corvette?) turns-up unmarked in all-silver but it's the only one I've encountered so far, I have a red-hulled version of one of the little ones, which is also unmarked, but somehow it didn't get photographed. Sizes; Missile Cruiser - 18cm (weighted hull) Carrier - 15cm (weighted hull) Missile Destroyer/Corvette? - 14cm Tramp Steamer (?) - 12cm (flatter bottom) Small vessels - all approximately 10cm These have flatter bottoms and can be used strait-to-floor! But they are all civil subjects...with a simple 'MADE IN HONG KONG' they may or may not be Empire/Lucky, I suspect a rival, but you don't know with HK stuff until you get marked packaging. Sizes on these and the lose ones below are between 12o (green and red one above) and 155mm (the two black & white ones below). The small black and white one is 130mm The upper shot shows three more with - is that? - the QEII at the back, a large steamer with cargo and passenger areas and a smaller liner which also comes in grey (inset left, 105mm). The shot bottom-right shows the grey one with a smaller compatriot (who may also appear in the coloured series, 80mm), both these have been put together very poorly with funnels all askew and glue all over the place. They have also been militarised with the addition of gun-turrets! The little ship sneaking away at the back is by the Italian from of Ingap and is 10cm long. everything in this post is polystyrene except the masts of the civil set. I've put the sizes in so that if you are a gamer you can work out if they are 'your' size, and any corrections or identifications will be most welcome, some of them must be based on real vessels, but apart from the cereal premiums in Part 7 below, none have their names on them. Also I've guessed scale for one or two but any help there would be appreciated too.

I is for Ingap

Now - We were labouring our way through vehicles last time we met, and had veered off to Italy by way of a break from US/UK Dime Store/Pocket Money toys, so lets stay there for a moment and look at Ingap... Industria Nationale Giocattoli Automatici Padua, making tinplate vehicles, dolls and general toys since 1922...gone now!

Funny little firm by the late 1950's - rather on its uppers, there is - it seems - quite a range of civil cars in an approximate Ho/1:86 scale, but there was also a small military range and a number of aircraft, boats and the like. This is the biggest military set, containing one each of the military vehicles. A small pick-up truck with van cab, an Austin Champ (probably a copy of the Morstone/Budgie or Britains Lilliput models), a spring-loaded launch-platform and the rocket to leave it, a generic M26/46-47 Pershing/Patton and a reasonable rendition of a 25lbr Field Gun.

What I call the medium set, again all 6 items, but this time on a card only, and mirrored by a set of six aircraft on the same sized card. Unusual (to a Brit) in having an Aeroflot example, we didn't have 'commie-shit' in Britian in the 1950/60's, but the attitude was clearly a little more relaxed and liberal closer to the Balkans where they would have been a far more common sight in the skies overhead. [I think it was quite late in the 70's before Airfix tackled post war 'Soviet' designs, but that may be a false memory caused by my Russkie-sheltered, service-life childhood!!! (Sorry Dimitry, but that was then and it was a very differnet world!).]

The 'Small' set, every set has the tank & 25lbr , but you then get either the two transport vehicles or the rocket assembly, this is constant, I've seen quite a few of these over the years.
[I could not get the background, flash, spot and cards to produce a well balanced image on this one? Cards are a fawn with red printing.]

Clockwise from bottom right; We have three boats, the off-shore power boat at the back and the lake-side cruiser in the foreground are both somewhere in the 'H0/00' realm, the tug is a much smaller ratio. The two colours the military sets are found in, two cars from a range better described on one of the 1:87 scale websites, and finally an 'Empire Made' copy, which would go on to be much copied over the years, particularly the 25lbr, which turns up in various forms/sets.

Do we have an Italian reader who could cast greater light on them?