Updates Information Fun Other Things July 2017 I am back with some updates. We have some update information on the Britains swoppet mounted cowboy. next Roman from Russia on an update on the Urfin Jus WWI Russian soldiers. Finally I reflect on flea markets.
Updates Information Fun Other Things July 2017 Britains Swoppet Cowboy
In a previous post I showed this horse that I had purchased at a flea market. The horse was only available for two years. I checked with my friend Peter Evans to see if he could give more insight. Peter said that the horse was used with either the cowboy prisoner or the cowboy with rifle across his waist. It should never have been with the above figure. This brings back the question was it with those figures. I know only that all the mounted figures I got were from first series. If the person had second version foot figures they might have change the figure. It is a answer we will never know.
Updates Information Fun Other Things July 2017 Urfin Jus
Roman from Russia has informed us that Urfin Jus has released the last two figures in their WWI Russian figure set
The two new poses are Russian soldier standing firing rifle and Russian charging with bayonet rifle.
Here is the complete five poses of the Russian World I soldiers. As we get a price we will pose it.
Updates Information Fun Other Things July 2017 A Fun Thing
This year is the 50th year of me doing flea markets. I have seen flea markets rise and fall. To me a flea market can be big or small. Sometimes my best scores have been at a small dingy flea market. My first flea markets were with my parents. Dad enjoyed them especially Englishtown in the town of the same name. Later Laurie joined me in going to the flea markets. One flea market type I like is one associated with a farmers market. If you can not find anything you might get some good food to take home or eat there. They are an interesting part of our heritage.
I wish I had some good flea markets in my city. The ones we have here specialize in cheap imported junk merchandise, old furniture and tools and clothes, 80s VHS cassettes, McDonalds toys and knockoff perfumes and vitamin supplements.
When I was a teenager in Canada in the early 80s, my mother and my older sister and my little nephew and I would go to the Stittsville Flea Market near Ottawa. I remember one time I got a full set of Herald Trojans and a couple of Starlux European barbarians for $3.00. The man selling them scornfully told me “They’re just PLASTIC.” Once I brought my friend along and he found an incredible 1/72 diorama kit of a secret German base hidden in a hilltop. I got a lot of other cool stuff there, too. A Canadian WW2 vintage helmet, my first pocket knife and tons and tons of old Sword & Sorcery paperbacks. I almost got a near complete Johnny Seven One Man Army gun there but my sister laughed at me so I put it down.
I think the flea markets in the Northeast and Canada have a much better selection than the ones in the Southwest. I’ve been to flea markets in many cities in Texas and New Mexico and most of the stuff is worthless. Not sure why this is.
The markets are not as good as they once were here in my area. I have heavier competition and amount of material showing up is dwindling. I look at other areas other than figures these days. One flea market I did I got just two Marx rocks. I look at market as an exercise walking around. If I get anything that is great.
I’ve had some great luck this year at the flea market. I’ll try to get something together when I have the time.
Admin,
Regarding your swoppett mounted cowboy. If you go strictly by the catalogue image
http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Catalogue-BRITAINS-MODELS-1966-Toy-figurine-soldier-soldat-Herald-Swoppets-RARE-/391598676166
see third picture as you scroll down. The pose you have does not come on that horse.
The resting cowboy, cowboy on guard and cowboy prisoner are the poses shown.
This is of course only the ‘official’ catalogue page and as we know many things change when filling boxed sets with available product. So I don’t think it could be definitively said that your pose was NEVER offered on that horse, however I haven’t found a pic on it’s own or as part of a boxed set of that pose on a static horse.
The horse pose was available during the period when both 1st and 2nd series swoppett cowboys were produced.
I pass this information on for what it is worth.
Best Regards,
Les
Les
I am not disagree that it might be the figure on it. As I said before the original owner could have changed it. Or it came that way. It is something we will never know. I am keeping it as it is the first time I have seen this horse in my wonderings.
This horse was used as “Black Beauty” as a Yie in for the popular[in the UK] TV series!
The ‘Black Beauty’ horse was altered to have a lug coming out of it’s back to have the rider plug onto it. This horse has the two indents in the sides to accommodate the plug sticking out of the riders legs.
I know it has been my chronic complaint (apologies) on how lame the flee markets are in my neck of the woods. We have one that never was even good for toy soldiers or anything but had some other interesting stuff. Now it’s pretty much what Mark described. No point.
My wife and oldest son and his wife love going to estate sales = I’ve never really seen anything of interest to me at any of them or flea markets though they’ve gotten some bargains on some stuff ; but at estate sales I always feel kind of ghoulish, like I’m picking at someone else’s bones…
So I’m thankful for the net.
Wayne, My wife and I went to an estate sale in Dallas a few years ago and while there were some very nice things there, (books, art, outdoors equipment and militaria) I just couldn’t bring myself to buy anything. I felt really sad about being in this deceased person’s home, picking through their once-cherished possessions. I know exactly what you mean. It just doesn’t feel at all pleasant. I never bothered to go to another estate sale.
On a more cheerful note, I just got a quart-sized bag of very nice Playmobil trees for $3.00 at a Goodwill store today! EBay is great and you can get almost anything, but it sure feels nice to find a treasure in person once in a while.
Yes Mark, there’s nothing like the small thrill of buying something on the spot and being able to take it home the same day and playing with it. Of course, the fun from our childhood of checking the mail everyday we’ve spoken of elsewhere has its charm, but the idea of immediate gratification…
For me, it takes getting to the occasional show (most over a thousand miles away) to get that. But I think even if I did find that Holy Grail of a complete Marx Playset from back in the day or something like it at an estate sale I believe the excitement would be somewhat diminished. Glad to hear it’s not just me.
I think eBay has pretty much made flea markets obsolete – same reason you don’t see too many, if any at all, pay phones any more. People have cell phones now. Big flea markets in CT and even Brimfield, MA selling dirty, rusty, high priced crap by non-computer people. OK to walk for nostalgia, but not the path for serious collectors. If YOUR area is good for finds and deals, GREAT! But, for me in CT, it’s over.
Andy, I think that it depends where you look.
If I were in your shoes, I would look at the towns and developments that sprung up during the 60’s housing boom, and look for flea markets, church sales and the like.
I’ll give you a valuable tip.
Check the local phone books for companies that do house clean outs.
Go visit the place and bring business cards, that you can print on your computer. Talk to the manager and make it worth his while to call you when a collection of toys come in. Give cards to all the employees. Leave extras for the employees who where not there at the time you were. Also, explain that you will pay a finders fee if they call you about a lead. Sometimes they see items, but they don’t get the job.
BRING a sample tin cabin and some figures to show them what it is your looking for.
If you get a call…….GO.
The first time you interact, buy whatever it is that they called about.
Be generous. Even if you throw it away on your way home. It sets the hook. Think of it as an investment.
You’ve seen my collection here. Most of it came from markets and tips from vendors.
It’s worked for me.
I sent an email to Paul explaining that I’ll post pix later tonight or tomorrow, but I just got back from the market with 5 Marx sets.
3 of them in boxes.
Loose pieces included Zorro Tin and 2 Characters, an Alamo with tin & figures and about 300 loose figures from the playset era.
But the kicker is, a spectacular Tom Corbett Space Academy, with absolute mint pieces, including the clear helmets!!
Every piece is here as far as I can tell, including the BAGS!!
All the tin, all the accs and all the figures have never been played with. They are factory fresh.
Unfortunately no box, and the instruction sheet is falling to pieces, but man, am I stoked.
Last week I came home empty handed.
It’s still out there, Andy.
That horse is superb. It looks like a real horse. It looks hand painted by a very decent painter. If it came like that originally, they shouldn’t have stopped making them. I typically like rearing horses the best, but that one because of its realism, is a beaut.