K is for Kinder Katch-up . . . Follow-up, News, Views, Bits & Bobs and Contributions

Or better late than never!

So, it's back to Kinder, with all sorts of stuff to cover, some of it covered the other day elsewhere, but as I pointed out earlier in the year; the more they try to be me, the more you all are the winners, and the picture is more complicated than their 'news, views'!

To the news from El Cheeto 'the orange Brillo-pad's' America that Kinder will be allowed, but only, apparently; Kinder Joy, although that's only as far as capsule toys are concerned, the edible-only's are also available as this American price list shows.

A price list which has Americans paying up-to - or more than - four-times what we pay for them? Given the amount the average American has been [not] paying for Levi jeans and petrol this past fifty years, they will forgive me for having little sympathy; they should've saved enough by now to pay through the nose for these plastic novelties!

The third image is of one of the still 'illegal', or 'still not allowed' original Kinder Eggs, which was bought in the same US store, literally (I am led to believe) from under the counter! Well, if you are dealing with say; a Canadian firm, and he has a plentiful supply of the eggs - legal in the more enlightened market north of the boarder - you may be tempted to have a few cartons tacked-on to the 'for retail display' portion of the order, for to err . . . not display!

The supplier of these images of FDA contraband must remain anonymous to save him from the gulag's of the rust-belt coal-seams El Cheeto is so determined to mine-out before the climate kills us all.

However - it shows the nonsense of a 'policy' being made on the hoof, with more of a nod to what's being said on the Wikipedia page than any real commercial pressures. We have this year and last looked at two products with no real, practical, or "Health & Safety" difference to a Kinder Egg, feely available in the 'States, with connections to Turkey and Mexico, so whatever the continuing problem with Kinder's flagship-product are . . .they are not the Health and safety reasons given by Federal spokesmen! Sorry; it's 'spokespersons' these days isn't it!

Meanwhile a certain Mr Berke of New York, contributor to this parish, legitimately bought some Barbie figurine Kinder Joys for his Beryl the Peril to worry, how cool is that Beryl?! To the right, another Barbie, this one sent to the Blog by Peter Evans the other day.

The toy has four parts and a sticker sheet which you are supposed to use to decorate the model's shirt, bag and base; frankly - they are best left on the sheet! The larger sticker is for wherever!

Here she is in all her glory, they are nice little toys, and now that Kinder Joy and Kinder eggs seem to be having a convergence of offered toys, they will not be rare, as there will be hundreds of thousands of them, if not millions!

The insert shows the set of eight to find in the current range, and they were first reported in Plastic Warrior magazine (issue 168) where Les White showed previous waves that are out there to be collected, and which have slightly different (Barbie 'B') bases, this one too is the 65mm of the figures Les showed.

Having mentioned Kinder Joy and the apparent convergence of toy contents between the two ranges, these were Joy-only as far as I know, and this little lot were part of a larger charity Shop purchase the other day . . . well a couple of months ago now!

They seem to be pulling from all angles of popular culture, with nods to custom 'art' figures, traditional monsters, anime/manga art, smiley-faces (now emoticons!) and real-life animals (in the monkey-face), even native-American/Polynesian tribal iconography; my favourite is the rather laconic-looking (or spaced-out!) triclops!

Francesco Ferretti sent this fantastic shot to the Blog, being an impressive collection of Res Plastic's robots made for Kinder back in the 1990's; the 'golden age' of steckfiguren as the Germans call them - and the best way to find them on European evilBay sites.

On the left we have a Kinder-like Minion, which I think IS Kinder (they had some minion-branded/tie-in stuff a while back), but there were/are other Minion things out there (the big plastic eggs), but I don't know for certain where he comes from.

To his right are a pair of . . . err . . . fairy-butterfly-teddies! Peter E also sent these, with the news that they were imported via Turkey or a Turkish wholesaler. Now; Turkey is behind a lot of capsule-toy chocolate eggs (and bears!) including some of those previously seen here at Small Scale World . . . being retailed in the New World.

And as we become an ever more global community (against the best efforts of the trumpundbrexitt 'iers), this sort of thing will become more common as smaller importers search around for the cheapest deal, or businesses run by immigrants go to/through their relatives 'back home' or contacts in the country of origin.

I don't have  a problem with this, anything which by-passes the big-boys and may increase my choice is all right by me, I disagree with the Orange Wonder on this point, and his walls will only prevent US citizens - living abroad - from facilitating reverse traffic. Ooh! A tad-more policticticticing there; but relevant, and pertinent - if your world-horizons extend beyond the Deleware.

A couple of inserts from Peter, we will look at the parrot below, and it seems Peter sent the Blog 2/3rds of the whole set of fairy-butterfly-teddies!

Lidl's in-house Mister Choc branding - who we've seen here before - have had a makeover in the packaging department with an animal-related junglie-scene, a theme sadly not carried-through to the contents!

Some of the above mentioned contents, a novelty windmill and a deux-chevaux with cam-operated jumping bonnet (hood) and a set of stickers which I haven't applied. Note that Mister Choc's inserts are sub-branded to Lotto, while rival Poundland's are called Toto? Toto-Lotto was the old German lottery, plastered on newsagents hoardings.

Even as I was starting to edit the folder for this post, I bought two generic Kinder Eggs (no Boy/Girl, Disney, Star Wars or/&etc graphics, just a tray of 'basic' eggs), and got lucky with these little slightly-cartoony animals, both with a minor kit-element; the whole 'egg-magic'!

The Bobcat is the more realistic of the two toys, the Bears having googlie-eyes!

There's a Black Panther! Both sets are Katoons (geddit? K for Kinder!), but the upper set is clearly aiming at a level of realism the lower set isn't? And I wonder how may sets there are in the total line? I suspect also different sources for the two sets as one had a separate consumer info. chitty, the other had the toy instructions and consumer panels printed on the one sheet.

With the Superheroes (we looked at the other day), various Barbie waves and these, there is clearly a move from Kinder toward stuff we haven't seen in numbers since the change in gift-management back in the late 1990's, and I think more chocolate will be on my menu in 2018!

Among the lot Peter Evans sent to the Blog was this loose, novelty ring, which has a flying fairy, she goes round and round and round and round and round and round  . . . . and round and round and round until she begs for death!

And while she's very small, she's neither my smallest figures overall - Preiser Airliner figures in 1:500th scale, nor my smallest Kinder (1990's-issued lighthouse keeper and safari guide).

Also coming in an odd lot was this handless Sylvester with both eye stickers, so he will donate vision to a more complete one in storage! Peter also sent a scale-down of the old pull-action UFO launcher and the parrot, who is supposed to be a finger brush, but - fortunately - for those of us with larger fingers than your average infant; he fits on pens and pencils!

It also reminds me that the last time I saw this kind of paper paint-pallet, it was as a child, at Christmas, when our Rupert The Bear annuals often had these pages which looked like rather dull cartoons in various dark pastel shades, but when you wet them with a watery brush, the encapsulated paint in the dots of the cartoon-colouring blossomed into bright colours and you then had to fill-in to the black lines without going over!

While these are the contents of a 3-pack of Toto's from Poundland (upper shot) and the Mister Choc from Lidl (below) with very different capsules, although I think we've seen them here at Small Scale World before?

The nodding head (and tail!) triceratops is fun (and figural!); the others are only plastic tat!

Finally Francesco also sent this shot of one of the shelves from his RP collection's display, these are all classic 1980's or early 1990's Kinder toys and hopefully we will see more in the future when Francesco gets some more images to me, but I'm proving a problem in the receiving of them with my luddite eMail-based ways of doing things in the cloud-age! My Bad!

Thanks to Brian Berke, Francesco Ferretti, Peter Evans and the will-remain-unknown; purchaser of smuggled, Canadian-contraband, eggs; for their contributions to this post and/or donations to the Blog.

From Wikipedia:

"Semi-legalization in the United States

In May 2017, Ferrero announced that the Kinder Joy (a variation of the Kinder Surprise) will be available in the USA starting January 2018. They will be partially released, exclusively at Walmart stores for 30 days after the official release nationwide, starting Black Friday."

So - even the Kinder Joys were technically 'contraband' when photographed! And the Mexican/Turkish Emoji and Star Wars eggs Brian has sent in the past are both still technically illegal?

O is for Other Edibles

We leave the string of bendies - for a while - but stick with edibles for another day with a post that's been over a year in the cooking . . . or should that be fermenting?

We'll start with a whingey-rant or a paean against modernity as exemplified by the Thatcherite-Raganomic free marketers!

On the left is the wrapping from a Terry's Chocolate Orange, circa 1980-something, possibly 1970-something, it matters not; on the right is the current design. The earlier version is making a good attempt at trying to look like a navel-orange with shading toward the bottom (edge of the wrapper) and the little plant-jiggit at the top (centre), while the one on the right is a random stamping from a continuous sheet and resembles one of those awful deep-pile carpet, fire-hazards in 1960's flats.

For a cost saving of nought-point-zero-zero-something per unit, quality is thrown to the wolves; progress may be progress, but it's not necessarily an improvement on what went before, and as such a failure to strive for excellence is a common thread through the modern world, it bodes ill for the future of everything!

Brain Berke sent these Coris Whistle Candy images to the Blog back in the spring, and while it's not of much interest to the toy soldier purists, it is of interest to the wider study of toys, or student of novelty items!

Obviously the pirate attracted Brain, who had one eye on TLAPD, unfortunately, the operative word is treasure, unlike the Choco/Candy Treasure we saw yesterday, this pirate being only atmospheric 'window dressing'!

The treasure actually being a transparent, doll's-house size, cooking pot! The size of the box however suggests that like Christmas cracker gifts or gum-ball capsule prizes; the novelties vary considerably in size, and if you were a young girl, with a doll's house . . . or doll; you'd be as happy with this treasure, as I might with a toy figure, or Captain Scarlet knock-off!

Imported by Hadson (Toko) Trading Co. Ltd., of New York, the whistling Polo-clones are apparently Cola flavoured . . . nom-nom-nomnivore!

The reason this post is titled 'edibles' rather than capsule toys! We saw an empty one in the Christmas novelty-fest a few years ago, now here’s a full one, common in the gutters of Britain's high streets where they skitter down the drains and try to find their way out to the sea, a sea they don't belong in, and damage by their presence!

We had some shelfies of this chap from Brian Berke  a while ago, he then sent a sample to the Blog and these are the constituent parts in close-up; he's in a rigid PVC.

Four views; I used to have a 70's or early 80's Kenner Imperial Stormtrooper, not a rare one, just the 'army-builder' and while I'm not sure if I still have him, or where he is, I think there's a fair chance you could produce a decent cut'n'shut with the Kenner legs and this torso, for a new pose . . . size wise?

Just in case you've never assembled a four-part, action-figure sized, Star Wars, model Stormtrooper Galerie provide clear and easy to follow illustrated instructions! Six to collect. 

I keep trying these plastic BIP (or Bon-Bon Buddies) eggs with their dire candies, in the hope of finding something worth adding to the collection, and keep being disappointed! There are several new ones around at the moment including Paw Patrol and Pepper Pig (all the 'P's!), I buy this shite so you don't have to!

Mentioned in passing yesterday, these Toto's from Turkey used to be a 99p Stores standard, since the Poundland takeover they have appeared sporadically in the new owner's shops, but they also have a Kinder thing going on at the same time. These were actually in Poundworld Plus, and are firmly piggy-backing the Emoji movie!

Eggs do rather lend themselves to Emoji-related graphics! Unlike yesterdays who have the same two-headed (two-emoji'ed?!!) wrapping, these all have a single-Emoji, foil wrapper.

The three toys; not one of which is Emoji-related. I can't work out the cat/bear 'Hello Miffy' thing at all, it has two red sprung-loaded widgets which may be feet, may be a collar, don't move far or with any good reason that I can tell . . . perplexing!

The mini-transformer is fun, a sort of rocket-firing/bin-lorry/Jeep-thing that unfolds into the least convincing wo'manzinger-tron you ever saw! Finally a Thunderbirds knock-off/clone of the Mole, but a cabriolet-mole! Take strong goggles, a titanium helmet and keep your shoulders low in the seat s'my advice to you Mr. Tracy!

G is for Gift Egg Updates - 4 - Balaban 'Toto'

Toto has become one of those 'Eurowords' that sort of means 'play' somewhere; 'playing' somewhere else, here - I think - 'plaything'? And these were the 'house' eggs of choice for the recently demised 99p Stores.

Only sold in packs of three; the same as Kinder are retailed as in larger stores, or - a little cheaper - in Lidl and Aldi. Following the merger they were cleared through Poundland for a few weeks but seem to have vanished now?

A pound (or 99p) for three eggs is considerably cheaper than the best price you'll find Kinder at, and at least a  third (per egg) than any of the rivals, you might expect the toys to be crap, given the Bonbon Buddies and Dracco contents, but actually these Turkish Balaban eggs have comparable contents to Kinder.

Here two decent mini goods-wagons and two (of four) small boats, a 'pirate' raft and a little jolly-boat, with Airfix sizer!

Compared to other rail-stock from Kinder, if anything the Balaban are better models?

G is for Gift Eggs and Capsule Toys - Part I - Last year or so...

Like gift horses...they sometimes have figures in, but won't sack your city or put everyone to the sword!

This one is very disappointing, unless you like stickers, fridge-magnets or jelly-beans...I like jelly beans so I was a third there, perusal of the sheet revealed that no matter how many you bought you would only have got a fridge magnet and a sticker! Which is why I only ever by one if the contents are unknown. This was from an independent sweet shop last Christmas, and they are probably still available from the Great Character Candy Company.

These packs of three are from the 99p Store chain, following the pattern of the original Kinder, they have the bonus of no sickly white-chocolate layer, made by Balaban Guida and imported into the UK by Gateway Sourcing, toys are a bit hit-and-miss, much like Kinder really!

Similar but not the same container as the Star Wars one, this was a bigger disappointment, a strange biscottii type thing, lenticular card and a basic rubber-disc pencil-topper! From Uno-Foods and/or Candy Planet out of Poland.

This was given to me at Plastic Warrior's 30th show in Richmond back in May by Peter Evans, he may have had it for a year or so, and it's from the Zaini family of chocolate eggs we've looked at before here somewhere. This is lovely, a dynamic pose being achieved by skirting the undercut problem with multiple clip-together parts. There are three other stand alone figures in the set and five looped for use as danglers, key-rings or charms.

They (Zàini) are currently doing a set of Frozen characters - see next post (below).