E is for Easter Bunnies

 

 

 The gathering of the Clan!

H is for How They Come In - Charity Shops

Just a quickie, there is a ton of Charity Shop posts going back to Lockdown somewhere in the heap of half-lost stuff in the 'User' folder, which isn't a user folder! But these are some of this year's more recent purchases!

The fourth of January, I ventured out to get essentials between Christmas and the New Year, only to find M&S were selling-off their mini Christmas puddings for 50p, so I filled my boots (I still have one, which is pencilled-in for my birthday treat!). At the same time I picked-up the three figures on the left, I think they are all from the current Fortnight craze, two key-rings and a stamper, all about 54mm.

To their right are the following Wednesday's ( the best day for toys in one of the charity shops) finds.

Which consisted of four apes in three sculpts, one is branded I think, but in the chaos of the moment I didn't note it at the time and they are away for now, but one day we'll look at them all again!

 

Not sure if these are more Fortnight, Laura Croft or some Barbie thing, but three TV/Movie (or gaming!) type babes in a vinyl-like soft polymer, looks like they should have separate weapons/accessories? Anyone recognise them?

 

Normally with these ceramics/fairings, I'll buy cats or the odd dog, elephants (see below!), and some branded stuff like Wade, but this caught my eye as it looks like Peter Rabbit. However, there was no branding and the colours are a bit off, so I suspect an unlicensed knock-off.

 

Nice PVC or similar bear, keyring, some age maybe, 1970's? Not much else I can add, if it was marked the above note about a lack of note-taking applies!

 

Small china elephants, probably from China! Consisting of a family group with matching graphics, in incrementally smaller size. They can be arranged to touch the tail of the one in front, with the tip of their trunks, along with one outlier who has different graphics and may have lost a similarly incrementally-sized family? He looks sad with his trunk down . . .

B is for Book-full of Bunnies!

It only seems like the other day I cleared the Phidal out of the queue, but actually it was January, with a quick touch in April, both a while ago, and while I was bemoaning the apparent dropping of them by TKMaxx (my main source), they had two sets in stock the other day and I grabbed both.

This was actually the second, I was only there to sort out a car battery nearby, and popped in to have a look, purchasing the one we'll look at next, and wondering if this was the one I already had. So I memorised the figures and went home to check the set already published here, they were different and as I'd known I'd be back on the battery, got this at the same time a couple of days later!

We have all the rabbits again, Peter (left), Benjamin Bunny (right) with Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail (I have no idea if they are in name order and there are no clues on the figures or in the text!

Benjamin is wearing his Tam-o'-shanter . . . when we were kids we had the wooden Victory puzzle of that original painting by Beatrix Potter, and because in one of the stories Mr. McGregor throws a marrow at one of the rabbits, I thought, for years; he was wearing a marrow on his head!

Only ten figures again; which seems to be the trend now (cost of living crisis etc . . . ), but if it keeps them at 5.99 (an eminently acceptable 'rack-toy' price), I'm not going to whinge too loudly!

Tom Kitten replaces the three missing figures of the odd cockerel, Brock and Pigling Bland seen in the first set, with the other four - Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddleduck, Mr Tod (The Sandy Whiskered Gentleman) and Mrs. Tiggywinkle - getting a reprise. I would had that the Nutkin is quite a realistic sculpt, but he was one of the less anthropomorphised originally, and I thought the Mr. Tod character sculpt was a poor sculpt.

B is for Brief Board-game Bonanza!

Another box which got shifted from the garage back to storage was this one, but it was jammed at the bottom, and while I like to carry-on like I'm still 25, the simple fact is - I'm not! So I had to break the tape and temporarily empty-out the horizontal games laying on the top, to make it light enough to jiggle about while lifting, 'cos it's a big box; it had a boiler in originally!

A mixed bunch, the Star Trek only has large 54/60mm card flats, and I think I picked-up a lose set a while ago, so this will probably go at some point, but there's a few treasures in here too, we saw the Formula 1 game ages ago, and the Belagerung with Marx figures (I can't remember if it was here or One Inch Warrior magazine though?) and we've seen the 3M Feudal figures, loose.

Tri-Tactics (Gibsons) is also card flats; beautiful old litho'd ones, we've seen the Show Jumping plastic flats once or twice I think and the Keys to the Kingdom figures? While there's so much on Axis and Allies now on-line I may never bother with a full post, but they're there for comparison shots and the A-Z!

I photographed the contents of the other box back in the summer of 2020, and a couple of those posts are still in the queue (although I don't think Shogun has turned up yet?), but I'm going to quickly look at three of these, which have already been sealed back-up again and gone-on to the store.

Waddington's Camelot, we have seen the pieces here already, they have been in one or two mixed lots, but we may return to them here, to compare with some black & white ones I think I have somewhere.

Dean's second - bi-lingual - version of the Peter Rabbit Race Game, original sets had hollow-cast lead figures, fully painted and supplied by Timpo, the tool for which these polyethylene plastic ones were moulded from, a third 'heritage' version was issued a few years ago with 'antiqued' chrome-finished mazak-alloy pieces. I think the lead ones have been seen here? Squirrel Nutkin is the odd one out, with a full/all-over coat of paint, on cream-white plastic.

This came from Matt Thier of White Tower Miniatures, who saw it and saved it for me nearly 20 years ago, and he let me have it at his cost, which was car-booty pennies I seem to recall, so many thanks to Matt, for that!

An Italian-language (Noris toys or games) one or two-player game, you are Ivanhoe (or Roger Moore; even if he looks like Tony Curtis!), fighting the baddies of King Prince John!

Figures are semi-flat, in the European premium style, about 25mm and hard polystyrene. The TV series was actually an early ITV joint UK/US co-production and Roger Moore hated doing it apparently!

B is for Beatrix Potter's Sniper's Nest!

Now there's a title you wouldn't have expected to see on Small Scale World if someone had asked you yesterday!

So I've had a few days off - Crimbo stuff to do - and the world doesn't seem to have changed greatly, Mark-of-men-of-tin' seems to have invented a new country, which is fun! And I've got a few bits to schedule today for the next few days, but I'm easing off for Christmas, now I can see I won't manage 600+ on the posting total!

Picked this up the other day for reasons that will become obvious and it may still be findable if you fancy one, however - I can't remember what the title of the publication was?

One of those carded novelty sets taped to a kid's magazine, you get an Iwako style ladybird, two of the two-part polystyrene figures common on these mag's and a hiding tree, all credited to Kennedy Enterprises of Avon. I think it was a CeeBeebies mag, but it went in a bin so quickly I didn't register it!

Peter Rabbit and Mr. Todd, the Sandy-Whiskered Gentleman! If nothing else they will join the Phidal and Timpo figures in a future Beatrix Potter figures' round-up.

But this is what decided me on an impulse purchase which had me buying a five-year-old's publication on the way back from town the other day and dumping it unread in the bin outside McColl's . . . a 'hiding tree', which while being an amusing novelty plaything for five-year olds, also looks like . . .

. . . the sort of thing both sides would hide near their trenches under cover of artillery barrages in World War One. Here posed with a South American copy of an Elastolin composition figure, you can see it would look better - or just as good - with a 54m figure!

P is for Peter

There's only one, and while I was worried when I heard the American's were getting their hands on him (visions of Pooh Bear getting a Mickey-Mouse nose flashed in front of my retinas), I'm pleased to say while the scriptwriters' DID shoe-horn a transatlantic character in, mercifully it wasn't a bunny!

Indeed, it (a cockerel) further; A) didn't get any clothes, so stays well out of the BP EU*, and B) was as good as stolen (as an idea) from the movie Chicken Run!

* Beatrix Potter Expanded Universe!

Also it's clear that the rights-holder F Warne (or their agents) kept a close eye on (and decision-making role in-) the film. As I haven't seen it yet I can't say whether the cockerel ruins it or not, but the stills I have seen (mostly in this Phidal set!) look very good and the figurines here, are lovely.

From the left; Peter, Benjamin, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail! The figures are slightly more realistic than Ms. Potter's original watercolours, more in keeping with the 'live action' (CGI'ed) movie.

Other characters include Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddleduck, Pigling Bland and Mrs. Tiggywinkle, although I think Pigling should have been a bit smaller and Mrs T a tad larger perhaps, especially when you see the next two - below.

There's no real scale in the books as each is a self-contained story, but the Tale of Peter Rabbit, does have a human in it, and that human is to scale with the rabbits, so I guess the movie had to tip a nod to that by making them more equivalent to each other in real life, but then . . .

. . . that doesn't account for the small [-er] size of Mr Brock or the Sandy Whiskered Gentleman (an eggcellent babysitter . . . not!)? Nor the relatively vast size of the international interloper!

News, Views Etc . . . S is for Seasonal Stuff

Part two-of-two looks at the Easter half-term stuff, a few recent minor purchases and a couple of other bits.

Movies

Films likely to have an effect on toy production, coming to a cinema near you in the next few weeks (or days) include a Smurfs cartoon; The Lost Village, a live action Power Rangers movie and (fancy that - with all the other news stories surrounding the brand recently?) a Pepper Pig feature 'My First Cinema Experience' is in cinemas from the 7th April; a hour's collection of 5-minute cartoons stitched together with sing-along sections. For older kids the Japanese manga-made-flesh Ghost in the Shell looks likely to produce merchandise - if it takes off?

Easter Events in the UK

Kew Gardens are running a Moomin Adventures 'Fun for all the family' thing from the 1st to the 17th April.

Moomins are also to be found staring in the Southbank Centre's Adventures in Moominland, now extended to August 2017

Also on London's South Bank is an exhibition run by artofthebrick on DC Superheroes . . . modelled in Lego.

The Acton Depot Museum of Transport for London (TfL) are having a double open day on April 22nd/23rd with rides on a live-steam garden railway.

Sticking with railways; the Epping Ongar Railway have an egg hunt on their full-size, steam line with Bertie Bunny putting in an appearance!

Kenwood House (Hampstead Heath) are also running an EasterEgg Hunt, with kings, Butlers and Roman Centurions helping kids solve the clues.

While the Wetlands Centre in Barnes have an Easter Giant Duck Hunt, staring Dusty Duck - also 1st-17th April, with an additional Celebrity Dusty Duck Trail from 1st April until the 21st May; Michaela Strachan seems to be involved too, so I may go myself!

Further afield Willows Activity Farm in Hertfordshire (St Albans) are running an Easter Eggstravaganza event from 1st-17th with a Peter Rabbit theme.

Other egg-hunts are being held at London Bridge (Saturday) and in Battersea Park

Museums

Rachel Whitread (the first female Turner Prize winner back in 1993) has revealed a permanent exhibition called 'Place (Village)' in the V&A's Museum of Childhood. In situ since the 25th march, it consists of 150+ vintage doll's houses, all lit from within, but empty "...evoking haunting memories and melancholy", arranged on a bank of shelving like a hill-side village.

Notting Hill's Museum of Brands (Ladbrooke Grove) is also holding an egg hunt over the half term holiday.

The Tower of London is also gearing-up for an event; the 'Go Medieval at the Tower' festival, which will be running over the bank-holiday weekend - 29th April/1st May - with knights sword fighting, archery with crossbows and other attractions recreating the world of warfare from 1445.

The National Army Museum in Chelsea (the old Duke of York's barracks) is re-opening after a three-year refurbishment/upgrade.

Recent Minor Purchases

Charity Shops

This was a 50p bag in a charity shop in Basingrad the other week, nothing exceptional and we've looked at the Cherilea chickens already, but a full set of 4 Corgi calves and rather tatty B&S (Barratt & Sons) giraffe were worth 50p - each!

The yellow camel is another of those tinny, dense, propylene-like versions we looked at when I did the premium animals (seven or eight years ago?) so there are definitely at least four origins of them including the US originals. The green one is a Kellogg's bog-standard one and by comparing the forelimbs it's easy to see that the harder ones are copies, not the same moulds being re-used.

Another Torres bull - joined by Matchbox bulls and Blue Box mini-cattle - I have a whole stadium of them now! The set of three HK rabbits have good paint and the Britains medieval charger must be worth another 50p? As - indeed - should be the Timpo farm's heavy-horse.

The two vinyl bears are modern 'CHINA' marked in the same vein as the Henbrandt we've been looking at. The goat's nice but the two HK sheep look to contain bee's DNA! The rest's mostly damaged shrapnel, or common/HK shite, but for 50p you can't fault it!

These were from the Animal Charity shop also in Basingrad a couple of months ago now; the smiley is also a bendy toy (yes! Another one!), but he's so small he's a bit stiff and I could only bend him forward a bit and slightly move his arms up.

The Bear's resin, but more anthropomorphic that the 'teddy' designs of the other resin bears we looked at last year, so she will go with similar stuff in storage eventually, unless I can put a brand to her.

Capsule Toys

As we're looking at smiley's; these blobs were 20p 'gum-ball' capsules from a corner shop on Friday last, same machine but different eggs/packages, the pale one with the cruder face being branded to CBG Bv. (Brabo) of the Netherlands, the other one to FIAM of Turin, Italy. I'm sure they both come from the same Chinese factory, just different contracts/different batches, I'm equally sure they also conform to the previous versions seen here at Smallscaleworld, I'll try not to test them to destruction!

What also set these two apart from the other 2 or 3 we've looked at in the past few years and which links them together, is that while carrying different branding, they have both been in the machine for so long they have 'stuck like that', failing to spring back to their original shape as the others did when released from their capsules, a situation which prevailed after 'hot-water' treatment was tried.

Don't Forget

Details available from;

Facebook

Blogger

eMail; pw.editor@ntlworld.com

And they are on Paypal.

The old website is to be run-down/retired. And also don't forget that table prices have been reduced this year.

Finally

Peter Rabbit is being given a starring role on the new 50p piece. Designed by Emma Nobel there are full-colour enamelled limited edition type things available from the Royal Fail website and plain stamped metal ones, due for general release, but these 'specials' rarely seem to make it into your small change! Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten and Benjamin Bunny will follow quarterly through the year.

N is for New Arrivals Part II - Animals

Having had a dinosaur post a while ago, then another in Rack Toy Month, I can't believe we're having a third so soon, but that's how the stuff comes in!

Monochromatic erasers from WH Smith, 2-quid isn't going to break the bank and they are bigger than the Paperchase ones although the 'kerthunkersaurus' is a poor sculpt.

These are also Smith's, at 3 for 2 and seven or eight sculpts, I chose three contrasting ones including a much better kerthunkersaurus - I must get the proper name of the poor thing! Here credited to Keycraft, these have been in boxed-sets of several animals in The Works for a year or so now under HGL (Grossman)'s moniker I think? But in such presentation - well outside my budget.

[Note - loading this just know (last Wednesday morning) I'm also downloading Target set images from Brian Berke which look like they might contain the same sculpts, will check at home!]

The Toysuarus was offering these at 79p each, well it would have been rude not to, so I got one of each! The Beetles are the ones we've already seen in two packagings at the beginning of Rack Toy Month (or even a few days before?), the Dinosaurs are yet another set of smallies, and I'm going to get them all back-out and compare soon, just for the hell of it, so they stayed in the bag for now, which left the frogs.

I was going to Blog them with the MTC set the other day, but they are in fact different sculpts, being three poses in various colours while the MTC's are all the same [four-ridged back] design.

The reason I went to the Toysaurus was to get these (also 79p), as I'd said they were the ones above when we looked at them last time, but they weren't! A nice lesson in false memory - hours after the event, because I'd forgotten the other set and conflated the two when posting the others, and mentioning I'd seen them in glow-in-the-Dark plastic in Toys R Us!

In fact, the Toysaurus had the normal ones in the party bags, and these from Grossman are actually new sculpts. This is why one should try to use maybe, probably or possibly if the stuff isn't actually on the table in front of you...I think?!

The ladybird is very similar, and while I'm sure standard painted versions exist somewhere, the spots on this one are textured within the sculpt, rather than reliant on paint.

Look! Charity Shop! 50p! Invicta Plastics megasaurus for the British Museum. Herein lies a funny story, well; it might only be ironic?

When I was a small-scale only collector (and a limo-driver), I used to have early-morning runs out to Gatwick or Heathrow on a Sunday; exec's going off to the 'States or wherever for Monday meetings, and I would do the car Boot sales on the way back*, sometimes hitting them as the traders were setting-up - still had to pick up the crumbs left by earlier early-birds like Collectakit's Pat Lewarne though!

Anyway, if there was large-scale stuff, cheap enough, I'd drop it round a mates house and he was always giving me small-scale lots so fair was fair (and he's given me far more over the years - JB for those who know), one day I got the Invicta set in full, in a BM box (lovely set, lovely sculpts, lovely colours), about 15? Maybe 16 in the set, there might have been one missing, but I remember making it up from spares on JB's lawn in the sun.

Fast forward 20 years, finds I'm buying them one at a time...and I had the whole lot in my hands! Still; it's more fun this way and I have got a couple of the smaller ones already in storage!

*It was a Mercedes V-Class, not a stretch - try parking one of those at a car-boot sale! Although I did drive Stretched-limos for a while too, horrible things, horrible customers - except the couple on a Wedding Anniversary who got me stage-side at Robby Williams and gave me £20 for a fish-supper and coke!

These were also a charity shop buy, 50p the lot, they're very small and each has its name on the belly, a definite irony as there is a kerthunkersurus here, but I didn't take note of it and they're in the attic now . . . what am I like!

It was a toss-up between ' I - Figures' or 'II - Animals' for this one, but 'figures' already had 8 images so Peter goes here! Paul Lamond Games, Charity Shop, 99p and it's been a while since we had some paper/card flats on the Blog, I must remedy that properly - he says cryptically!

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Apropos the date: Don't forget its Sandown Park toy fair tomorrow - if you're at a loose-end? 400-odd tables of other people's old playthings . . . I'm on the lookout for a motor for an HO-gauge Tri-Ang LT tube train!