COMMENT TIME V
9/05/10
Hasbro Army Figure
Here is another interesting figure I found recently. It is marked Hasbro copyrighted 1966 and made in Hong Kong. The figure is nicely detailed. As to how many other figures are in the series I do not know at this time, but we will keep looking.
Weston Toys WWII British
Steve Weston is showing on his web site six new WWII British which he will be showing at OTSN. The figures are all action poses and will sell for $20.00. You will get 12 figures in 6 different poses. You can see samples up his web site.
Interesting Figures
I love going through junk boxes. First it gives me a challenge to see if I can recoup my money if I buy the whole box. Second is what interesting figures I can find in the lot for myself. I am interested odd poses case in point the three figures above. The one on the far right I got last year at flea market for a quarter. Until this past week I had not seen any more of these figures until I bought a massive junk box. The two figures on the left were in the lot.. All three figures were made in China. The one on far left has a quiver on his back. The middle figure is walking with a axe behind his back, while the figure on his right is reaching for his dagger. The figure are 54mm and what is most interesting are their helmets. The helmets are construction hard hats. I figure the sculptor had no information on helmets and took a guess. I love to know what set these figures go to and it there are any more.
Chiller Theatre
Chiller Theatre which will be on October 29 to 31. The guest the have lined up are really exciting this year. They will have Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman and Bill Daly from I Dream of Jeanie, John Astin, Patty Duke, Debbie Reynolds, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray and many more. Our very good friend Marcus Boas will be back. We are planning on doing the show on Saturday so we Sunday open for Hackensack. Check out their web site at www.chillertheatre.com
Penny
Gloria Winters who played Penny Sky King's niece on the television show has passed away. She was 77 and had Alzheimer's.
18 Fun years
Today was Laurie and myself 18th wedding anniversary. It seems only yesterday that we were first getting started. It was a quiet day, the night before we went to our favorite restaurant in the area Olive Branch for some Mid-Eastern food. Today we ended up at another restaurant Clinton Diner after getting at a hassle waiting for a table at another restaurant. We were better off as the Clinton Dinner the food is good, price are very reasonable and you get so much we have leftovers. The dinner will be on the Food Network on a new program about Hamburgers. This show will air in November.
I had the day off and other than running to flea market to pick up items from a source we stayed in and relaxed due to the weather.
Can not win
As I mention above I went to pick up a load from a source. One of the items was a junk box which I love to go through as I find interesting items for myself and to sell. One item I found was seven camera men from a race set which I will put up as a lot on Ebay. In figures for myself I found two interesting hard plastic firemen and Tonka Green Beret figure. The only problem is it is the same pose I already have. I never saw the figure and in less four month it comes up twice.
Correction
We have to thank Thomas Blacquier that the Supreme WWII Russian Figures are copies of Italeri not Esci. I should have remember as I just sold some original Italeri Figures off.
Marx Museum
We have up pictures from the Marx Museum for you to enjoy you should take the time and see this interesting museum related to our hobby.
Supreme Figures a Review
I have gotten a chance to do my review of the new Supreme Figures. You can look at the review below.
Marx Museum 10th Anniversary
Francis Turner and Family
One of the other events we attended when we were in West Virginia last May was the tenth anniversary of the Marx museum in Glen Dale. This museum was put together by Francis and Jason Turner. The museum is nice showcase of the Marx heritage with various toys and playsets. The various rooms are augment with videos that tell the history of Marx. To celebrate the tenth anniversary the museum was open free for the special event. Also there was free food and sodas.
After cutting the cake everyone was directed to the one area where Francis and Jason showed various items including the mold for the Louis Marx and Davy Crockett Figures. After the show and tell Francis told of the special guest they had earlier this year Louis Marx JR. Francis got choke up and Jason had to take over with the bomb shell. Louis was interested in expanding the museum to promote his father's legacy. If everything comes to fruition this is will be a new era for the Marx Toy Museum. We wish them well and will keep you posted on what happens.
Nearly A month Away
OTSN is nearly a month away. People are still speculating on what new playset Barzso will be doing with no idea what it will be. They will just have to wait until the show. Cunningham Collectibles may or may not have its next offering of Civil War figures which will be Union figures out West which will be run in blue and gray. TSSD will be releasing set 17 which is dead cavalry with a laying firing pose and new officer pose. Paragon hoping to have another set of Apaches for September.
Besides the figures listed above there will be new foam pieces plus many old figures to look at the show. This will be the biggest concentration of old Marx playsets for sale. With this show you can also sit around with other collectors and swap stories.
Laurie and I will not be there. With the addition of the new dog plus our schedules it is not cost effective. We hope to do the show in the future.
Odds and Ends
I have finally got the Supreme Egyptians, Russian Napoleonic Infantry and the WWII Russian Infantry. I have taken pictures of the sets and will do a review this week as my schedule permits. We were out at the flea markets today and toy soldier wise it was a disappointment. I did find other items which I can use for Ebay so it a worthwhile day. No hints on the Barzo's playset for OTSN. The reissue of the undersea wreck that Hobby Bunker is selling is from the Marx Undersea Exploration Playset one of the last playsets done by Marx. The Lemax Halloween items are starting to show up at the AC More and Michael's. I have check Michaels and the selection was poor. I have not gotten to AC Moore. Check out Lemax on line there are some very interesting items. Another item I will try to get up are the pictures from the Marx Museum. I had to get a replacement power cord for the new camera last week. If I had gotten it from the manufacturer it would have been $24.99. I got the same power cord on Ebay for only $3.88! I also have in a new computer it is my first laptop which we will using to get more Ebay items up on web.
Quinn Update
We have now had Quinn for two weeks and he has gain two pounds and is twice his size. Percy and Quinn are playing with each other but Sparky is not sure of the new addition.
Das Awkscht Fescht A Show report
I got up around 5:30AM and was over at the correct location for toy town by 6:30. I found a spot to park outside the show and walked over. I later found that they had parking in the back which they were charging $2.00 per car to help out a Boy Scout Troop. I was glad that we had not found the show the previous day as Laurie would had problems walking over the rough stones and unevenness of the area. One other thing I did not like the area had rusty metal pieces laying around. I surveyed the area and felt there was only third of the dealers from years past.
Despite all the negatives I found the show worthwhile. As I started my walk I found a bag with a large Ideal Roy Rogers with some Marx pieces for 10 dollars. I then found a few Guts figures and nice knight item from Hong Kong. About half way in I found my friend John and Mike Russo from Stockade Miniatures stands. I look at Mike's items and found a few items I was interested in. I looked for Mike and John told me he was running around look for Revel Viking Ship box he need. Mike had the kit but not the box. John told me that Mike got a Marx Jim Hardy figure in the bag for $4.00! Annoyed that Mike was not there I went hunting for him.
I found Mike several rows over carrying Toy M-16 on his shoulder. I said you had some items I want to buy and moved him toward his stand. On the way we stopped at one stand where he bought a Superior Prehistoric set for the mountain. we next stopped at Steve Falken's stand as he always has great prices on items. I made a purchase there and said I would be back after I took care of Mike. I knew if I did not get Mike back to his stand he would be out buying again.
Once we got to Mike's stand I bought a number of items including some Atlantic Western and Britains Eyes Right figures. Once I was done with Mike. I went back to Steve Falken's table. Steve had been one of my old customer during the list days and Laurie and I attend his wedding. I was able to find a number of other items that he was putting including Airfix and Britains items. I ran into Tom Stein and bought some Marx 60mm cavalry. It was that kind of day everyone was finding items.
I stopped back at John's Stand and talked. He told me the field was opened yesterday and he had started selling as early as 11:00 AM. The one bad thing about the new location was the train tracks were right next to the field and the trains came through every hour waking you up. I bought a number of items from John's stand. Just as I was getting to leave a party that pop ups at the shows looking for items for resale came up. He mention that he heard two western towns sold the day before for $90.00. I reviewed my wallet and seeing that I had spent near my limit I decided to pass on the toy show at the school and headed home.
Das Awkscht Fescht Update
We have found out that we had been given some wrong information on the location of Toy Town. The show is not down Brookshire Road but is down Route 100. I apologize for the wrong information. Because of the distant from the Toy Town and Eyer Junior High School I have decide to pass on the school this year.
Quinn Update
As you can see from the pictures on the Index Page and Comment Time Percy and Sparky have different attitudes toward Quinn. Percy is starting to bond with Quinn and has played with Quinn a little. Sparky does not want anything to do with Quinn. It will take time.
Quinn is doing well and is enjoying his new home. For the moment he is too small to go out with his brothers for walks.
Three Mascots
Since I started this business our dogs have served as mascots for the company. The first was Cindy who was at the start. Then we had Jasmine who was with me when we were at our old location on Twelfth Street. With the passing Jasmine we added Spartacus or Sparky to the family. I always loved to tell the story how he conned Laurie into picking him. A year we add another mascot Percy. Laurie felt Sparky needed a buddy. They get along great. Well starting today Sparky and Percy have a new brother Quinn. Quinn is a Daschund puppy, we have adopt. Quinn has jaw problem a parrot mouth it is articulate like a human instead of dog. He needs exercise for his jaw like a teething ring. He weights 2.19 pounds and six weeks old. Right now the boys are getting use to him and will take awhile We hope to have pictures up soon.
Das Awkscht Fescht
The Toy town for the Das Awkscht Fescht is back.
Odds and Ends
Toy soldier news has picked up a bit. TSSD has announced they will have at OTSN their cavalry causalities figures which will included a prone cavalry firing and another officer. They also have a hint of their Sioux Indian casualties. They have several foam pieces coming out including Reno's hill for Custer scenes and Alamo foam pieces. Over on Steve Weston's website you can the upcoming AIP Zulus and 24th Foot figures. These figures are due out later this year.
Plastic Warrior Magazine has gone color. The addition of color has not ruin this great magazine. The latest issue has an article on an Italian company called Cane. This company made a great series of figures some were copies others like their pirates and musketeers were their own design. Another article deals with Australian plastic figures which a number are copies of Marx figures. One set of the Marx figures that was copied was Marx 54mm Robin Hood figures except for the Maid Marian figure. It looks like the company copied the Dom 54mm Indian Maiden for Maid Marian.
Tonka Toys
At the Marx Convention I got this figure. At first I thought it was a Russian figure and only picked up the one figure. I did not get a chance to look at it until I got home and realized that it was by Tonka Toys. The figure is 60mm and there were other figures in the group. Does any know when the figure was made and what for? I would like to get more of them. Why I did not look at the other figures I was looking at other items on the table and got distracted. Also this dealer was on the second floor and the only thing I hate about the second floor it is too dark .
Marx Convention 2010
I have gotten the article on the Marx Convention done you can read at the spot below
Odds and Ends
Sorry that our report on the Marx convention has taken so long to report, but I have been back up with Ebay and other work. I hope to have it done at the end of next week. The picture above is of Norm who reports in the Marx group of his finds at Thrift Stores. The bucket he is holding was loaded with Nickel figures to go through lots of fun.
I will also have a report on the Marx Museum's 10th anniversary. They had some exciting news which will take the museum in a different direction.
Also we got some great we got some great shots of the Marx Museum. You should make it to your to do list to visit this and the Kruger Toy Museum as well.
Second Childhood Nostalgia Convention
In May, Laurie and I went to New York City to the Second Childhood Nostalgia Convention. Our very good friend Marcus Boas had told us about it and we decided to go see it. We parked in our usual spot in New York City and headed to the Holiday Inn where the show was held. As we entered 9th Ave we ran into a Food Festival which when lined the streets up to the hotel. we took our time and enjoy the sights and smells of the food stands. Laurie and I tried the several places before we got to the show. The show on one hand was a disappointment. The dealers area was joke with no one there. I picked up a few items for resale but was disappointed in the dealers area. We went over to the guest area and had a fun time. We first stop to say hello to our very good friend Marcus Boas and talk how he had done at Chiller. Then we went and met the various guests. The first one we stop at was Henry Darrow from High Chaparral. Henry was surprise to hear he was done as a figure in Spain. as I was telling him this his cousin had him sign an English Annual from the show. We talked about his career and what he was doing presently. He was enjoyment and a pleasure to speak with about his career. The next person we talk to was Will Hutchins who was a hoot and half. We talked about his show and a person while Laurie and I were there another person talked to him about Elvis Presley which he did a picture. I remarked to him about how I seen him in Allentown years ago at a toy show. He remembered the show and told how he had been picked up by the show the promoter in the rain. After the other toy show the dealer took him over to the Allentown Toy show. I still owe him a picture of Laurie's finger nails.
From Will Hutchins we stop at William Smith from Laredo and too many movies to mention. I talk to him about several things but time has not been kind to him so we just got his autograph. Also at the show was Zacherley the movie horror host. We had seen him at many Chiller shows and I finally got his autograph as he is 92. I remind him of my bad joke at a Chiller I told him of being married 18 centuries which got a slap on the arm from Laurie. Laurie talked to Anita Gillette who been in Moonstruck and Quincy. Laurie felt that Anita was jealous that she had met Richard Chamberlain. We were just about to leave when Joe Franklin showed up as I reported early got him to sign the second half of a photo I had. With that accomplished we said goodbye to our friend Marcus and head home.
Egg Soldier Cup
Another item that Peter Evans sent us was the Egg Soldier Cup. People have commented on this item, Peter found out some additional information of it. He had talked to designer and found that the uniforms are based on the Chinese army and not the Japanese army. Many people assumed it was a copy of the Britains Deetail WWII Japanese officer. It is not. Just another strange thing for the collection.
Combat Corks
Our very good friend Peter Evans sent us this item combat Corks for you wine bottles. At first I thought it was a lame idea until I looked at them closer each figure is holding a bottle. The grenade thrower is now throwing a bottle which in your stories could be Molotov cocktail. The figures are based on Matchbox figures.
7/05/10
Paragon Apaches and Cavalry
One item that I was able to pick up for myself at the Marx convention was the Paragon Apaches and Cavalry. I was able to purchase each set from Marxmen for $17.00 each. Each box has 12 figures in six poses. The figures are nicely detail and are 54mm. I like the Apache kneeling firing the rifle. He has bandolier of bullets hanging from his right arm, which is a very nice detail.
The cavalry are a good companion to the Apaches. Good action poses again my only minor quibble would be the leg stance on the cavalry standing firing looks awkward. I like the cavalry with the sword and pistol. These figures will work well with your Britain Deetail cavalry and Apaches, Britains Herald Cavalry and your Airfix cavalry. I can not wait to see his mounted figures.
New Supreme Figures
Our Friend Brian Johnson clued us in on three new sets from Supreme. They are 1800s Russian Napoleonic, Ancient Egyptians and WWII Russians. The Russians are copies of Esci figures. Classic Toy Soldiers has them and I will check my AC Moore for them as well.
Dedication
In this day and age many of us do not realize for some people that it can be a real hassle to get some of the shows. We get into a car and drive to the show. Not everyone drives for various reasons. Cast in point Bob Mulero. Bob lives in New York City where it makes sense not to own a car due to cost . This lack of a car has not stopped Bob from going to the Marx Convention in Wheeling West Virginia.
Wheeling does not have a major airport the closest airport is Pittsburgh. There is no train service. Bob had to use bus service. He had to go from New York to Pittsburgh which was a 12 hour bus ride. He first went to Philadelphia where he had to get a bus to Pittsburgh. There he was bother by a pan handler. Then from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh with no sleep and passenger getting into an altercation with bus driver over their luggage. From Pittsburgh Bob then had to take a local bus to Wheeling finally arriving at the show. We took care of seeing that Bob got over to Moundsville and back to the hotel.
Bob collects Disneykins and was find a few to fill some shadow boxes he has. This was second time Bob has been to Wheeling West Virginia. Previous trip was a worse horror story which amazed me he would try again. The sad thing was Bob had to go back that way as well.
The picture of Bob is in front of the Christmas Tree at the Marx Museum which is decorated with plastic figures.
Fun Time
Laurie and I just got back from a great weekend in Wheeling WV at the Marx Convention. The show put on by Alan Miller was a fun time. We found a number of items for Ebay plus some items for the collection. One of the items we got for the collection were the Paragon Apaches and Cavalry figures. Short review for now is they are nice. We also went over to the Marx Museum for their 10th anniversary. Francis Turner shared some exciting news about the museum's future that we will be reporting in a few days. We had great meals on our trip except for one spot which I will talk about. We will be doing our report in a few days once I get a breath from the mounds of work. The report will include one collector who because he does not drive took the bus on a 12 hour trip to be at the show. So stay tune.
Plastic Warrior show 2010
Click on the Link below to go to our report on the Plastic Warrior show 2010
Marx Convention
If everything holds right Laurie and I will be at the Marx Convention. We had a great time last year, we decided to do it again. The show is lots of fun besides the dealers there is the various entertainments. We will not have a table at the show, but we will be walking around. Our pictures are all over the this web site also I will carrying pouch 2. I have used small army pouch for over 30 plus years. The army pouch is used to carry the cameras and goodies. I started using one back in my boy scout patch trading days. Pouch One has been in retirement and I am using a similar pouch that our very good friend Gerry Watts gave me few years back. The pouch has been with me to all the major shows.
Hope to see you there.
Marx Napoleon, Churchill and Moses Reissued.
Going on Ebay the other night I discovered that reissues of the Marx 60mm figures of Moses, Churchill and Napoleon were being offered for resale. The dealer that had them Allan Ford and I have done business over the years and I knew he is reliable. I ordered the figures and received them today. The figures are from the original Marx molds as I was able to compare the Churchill and Napoleon figure to originals. Also a giveaway on Napoleon and Moses is a marking on the bottom of the base VIP Corp copyrighted 1989. This slug was done for the Jackie Gleason figures that Stad's marketed at that time.
These three figures are welcome additions to your collection. The Napoleon is suppose to be Louie Marx. Louie had done himself in various costumes in both large and small figures. These figures were given away to friends. Recently a large size Napoleon figure of Louie Marx was sold on the English Ebay site for under $600.00. The 60mm Napoleon figure rarely comes up to the market and goes for high prices. Likewise the Moses figure is a hard one to find. The figure goes for high prices. Years ago I sold the Moses I had for $300.00 despite having a damage hand. The Churchill part of the English Royal Family group goes for around $25.00 last I saw.
You will be able to tell the reissued figures from the originals two ways beside the slug on the bottom already mentioned. First the color of the new figures is wrong the ones we have seen have been done in Light blue silver and bronze. Second is weight as the the reissue figures are lighter being soft plastic while the originals were in hard plastic.
We will post more details as we get them. Meantime let your fellow collectors know of this new development in our hobby. If you are interested in the figures Allan has them for sale on Ebay for $13.99 free shipping. He also has for sale Reamsa reissues and various Marx pieces, His dealer code is 610allanf.
What Do I collect
People wonder what do I collect? Many people think that I have many rare and expansive figures that I keep for myself. The truth is most of those figures go for resale. I had picked two expensive figures at Plastic Warrior that at first I was going to keep for myself, but I decided to offer to other collectors. The figures I usually keep are ones that like usually for the pose. This goes back to when I did a my stories as a child. The figure above is example of that. He is a western figure possible a bandit because he does not have a bandanna he could be use as a good guy. I like the animation of the figure, the way his legs are spread. He has non-cowboy hat which is more realistic as the people in the west did not all wear cowboy hats. Someone painted him gray which shows his details better. At the moment I do not know who made him.
The other figure is a Starlux knight. I picked him because of the Prince Valiant hair cut and helmet. I do have other Starlux knights but this is the first time I have seen this one. I do not worry about completing series as the pose is more interest to me. I am not worried about the figures increasing in value as I am not in it for investment. These figures are for enjoyment. The figures did not cost me more than $4.00 each and they are just as much enjoyment for me as a $100.00 figure.
Here is one of the new Sets that Peter Cole has done. I think they are finest work he has done so far. More on these figures real soon.
11th Annual Marx Toy and Train Convention
The 11th Annual Marx Toy and Train Convention is coming up on June 18 to 19. This is a great show you have tables to look and great talks to listen to. You have two Marx museums in the area plus much more. For details go to http://www.toyandtrain.com/convention.htm.
Odds and Ends
We should have our article on Plastic Warrior Show in a few days. We had a great time at the Plastic Warrior show seeing our friends and finding new items for our collection and resale. I was able to get Laurie's her Indian food fix. We do not have a Indian restaurant locally to enjoy. Now we are getting ready for the Marx Toy and Train Convention. We have done the show several times and enjoyed each time we have gone to this show. I will not have a table at the show. If you would like to meet Laurie and me just asked Alan Miller the show promoter as he will know if we are in. The show is great fun. I have been busy putting items up on Ebay. We finding great items check our store stadsstuff.
Timpo Parts
From time to time people asked me for Timpo parts. Usually I can not help them in their needs. Now I can as our very good friend Michael Smith has set up a Ebay store where you can get original and reissue Timpo parts including Viking Shields. Michael's store is timpomodeltoys. Just put his store name in Ebay search and it will bring up his listings. If you need Timpo parts this will be the place to go.
A New era in Photos
The picture above is from our new camera we just got in. As you can see it is really an improving over the quality of our pictures. We have been wanting to get a new camera but we were debating if we wanted to change the system already set up. Just as we were going to go to a new system, Laurie spotted on QVC a Kodak Z950 camera with 10X zoom. She quickly came into the computer room to show me. I saw right away it could be the solution I have been looking for to improve our photos. The camera came in yesterday and I got a chance to play with it today before work. I was stunned on the quality of the pictures. Laurie saw the photos tonight now we use it to enhance the work here and on Ebay.
New Marx Figure Uncovered
It is surprising how you find a new figure very few people are aware of. Over the many years I have have discovered a number of new figures both from Marx and other companies. I usually have found my discoveries in the purchasing of large lot of figures and discovering a hidden treasure in amongst the figures. Then time to I get a figure as a gift in the case of the army jeep driver.
At the Plastic Warrior show I was buying figures from our good friend Barrie Blood. Barrie is considered by many people as having the largest collection of different plastic figures in the world. Barrie had decided to sell off some of his extra figures from the collection and I bought some of the figures for the collection and resale. I had just finished buying some figures from him when I spotted a box that had some Marx pieces. In it was the Tricky Action Jeep. I asked Barrie how much and he said you have it. I thanked him and opened the box. In there was the battery operated jeep but more of a surprise was a hard plastic jeep driver in 60mm. The figure is set up for a slot to sit on the seat. The set was done in Hong Kong and it very likely from the 60's. The box has British Crown Colony Hong Kong. It will be a welcome addition to the collection.
Now that I have listed it I am waiting to see how many people have it. I do not consider it a rare piece right now just an unusual piece. It is amazing how one week an item can be rare and next week 5 more show up. I was told that the Cherilea Baronial Knight that graces our home page show up at the PW show for one hundred forty five pounds ($232.00). Even though it was repainted it quickly sold. This is the six or seventh one to show up yet no one has the separate helmet which we are missing as well. In the next week we will be photographing an armored stagecoach with Gatling gun and two 90mm figures. Both my source and myself have not seen it so stay tune.
Kier and Joe Franklin
The above photo is of Mr. Kier and Joe Franklin. Mr. Kier was a gentleman who I used to buy movie photos from when my family & I went to New York City. He was a very interesting person who had his store on sixth avenue, which was piled with movie stills that were of great quality. My father and Mr. Kier hit it off the first time that they met and over the years Mr. Kier helped my family with suggestions of some good restaurants and access to a wholesale business so my mother could buy prizes for her card party.
Mr. Kier appeared once on the Joe Franklin show back on October 25, 1966. The Franklin show was a local talk show on channel nine in New York City. Joe Franklin had the various interesting people on his talk show including Mr. Kier. A photo was taken of the two men on the show and Kier had copies made. I got the photo shortly after the show, which Mr. Kier autographed to me.
Kier's store closed sometime in the 1970's. The above photo was a memory of a very pleasant time. I had the photo in one of my photo books when I found it about three months ago. I had decided that this photo would stay in the collection. When we went to Chiller last month, our very good friend Marcus Boas told us about a collectible show in May in New York City. The show would have various guests including Will Hutchins, William Smith and Henry Darrow. The big surprise was that one of the guests would be Joe Franklin. I was surprised to hear he would be there as I thought he had passed away or retired to Florida. I decided to complete the picture and have Joe Franklin sign it as well. We got to the show and had a great time (more on that another time including how Will Hutchins wanted a picture of Laurie's nails). Joe Franklin was there and I showed him the photo. I explained to him briefly who Mr. Kier was but he could not remember the show. I cannot blame him not remembering it because this particular show was almost 44 years ago. Joe was happy to sign the photo only asking for a Xerox copy of the photo. I replied that I was happy to do that for him. The photo will go back into the collection as a remembrance of a time long ago.
Friar Tuck
One of our interesting finds of the trip was the figure on the right. We did a toy show on Sunday at Kempton Park. On one of the walks through the show Laurie spotted a large size Robin Hood and right next to it a large Friar Tuck. According to Matthew Thair, the large figures were done for the tourist trade in Nottingham, England. The figures were done around the 1960's. In the guide that Matthew did on Robin Hood for Plastic Warrior, he found Robin Hood and Maid Marian but thought that there may be other figures as well. This may be the first of the Friar Tuck's to show up. The figure on the right is supposed to have a staff in his outstretched right hand, which I can make for him. The interesting thing is that it confirms the figure that I got a few years ago, on the left, was originally a Friar Tuck, but was used as an advertising piece with a beer mug in his right hand instead of a staff. The only other difference is the shade of the robe.
Answer to A Question
Some of you may be wondering why I was not at MFCA. It was not that I had to work, I have Fridays and Saturdays off. The answer is Laurie and I were over in England for the 25th anniversary of the Plastic Warrior show. This year has been a real battle to get over for the show due to many factors. We wanted to go over to the show first for the show and second because my first English friend, Paul Morehead, was stepping down as editor of Plastic Warrior. First we had to get a decent priced airfare and hotel accommodations. This took Laurie months to find an airfare and a hotel in our budget. She found these and then had to deal with the volcanic ash which shut down the airports in England and various places in Europe. We did make it and we had a great time seeing old friends and finding some great items for the collection. In the coming days and weeks we will be giving you our report on the show, plus the discovery of a new Marx figure and some other interesting information.
Renwal Cannon Set In England
One of the the surprises of the Plastic Warrior show was this English version of the Renwal Caisson and Cannon. This was done by Triang and looks complete. As you can see the figures and horses are in a gray. Previous to this figures had turned up in brown in England about seven years ago. This is the first one I have seen complete since I discovered the partial one at Renningers Market in Adamstown, Pennsylvania 15 years ago. The partial we found gave us the true name of the figures not the mistaken name that was listed in an outdated US guide. I did not get the name of the set or the selling price this vendor was asking. I think I was afraid Laurie would have said "where are we going to put this in the suitcase?" as we can only have one piece of luggage per person anymore per the airlines.
Weston Toys New Figures
Steve Weston has unveiled on his web site his next figure offering, Trail Drive. The set contains four mounted cowboys with horses and six long horn steers in different poses. In the mounted poses you have a trail boss looking back at the herd, dude riding point, flank or swing rider and the drag rider to follow behind the herd. The figures were sculpted by Mike Broadbent, who has done other figures for Weston Toys. The set which is limited to 500 sets sells for 26 British pounds sterling. You can see the figures at www.plasticsoldiers.co.uk .
4/21/10
Figures From Turkey Identified
Over the past few years, I have been picking up these figures from Turkey. The figures are a copy of a Peco figure. The figures show up painted with different helmets. I have been trying to get a name of who made them, with no luck. Finally this month, a collector from Turkey, Karanlik, has given a name of Esin Plastik. This company was in business from 1970 to 1990. The figures could have been made by other companies as well. We will keep searching.
I Don't when
With this new schedule I can go to yard sales on Saturdays. I usually do ones close by as the trip is not worth what I find. I had a surprise at a yard sale last week when I actually found a figure for the collection. A couple of families several blocks away had a yard sale. I was able to find a few items for Ebay and a book on The Beatles for Laurie. On the next table I spotted a Britains mounted knight with axe. This was the the last version which I did not have. I asked the person the price and was told ten cents. I quickly paid for it and asked if they had anymore. Unfortunately, that was the only one. Still it was nice to find a figure for myself.
Shows
The next few weeks will see a number of toy soldier shows around the country. Next week there will be a show in Indianapolis, Indiana and one in Burlington, Massachusetts. Also a non soldier show, Chiller, will be from April 16 to 18. We will be going to that one as Laurie wants to meet Richard Chamberlain. It is the first time we are going on Saturday. I will go see our very good friend Marcus Boas as well. Then the weekend after that will be a show in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This will be followed by MFCA in Valley Forge on May 7 and 8. Also on that weekend on May 8 is the Plastic Warrior show in London.
With the exception of Chiller, the only show we are hoping to do is Plastic Warrior. We are still fighting airfares and other plans to see if we can go.
Pete Evans' Finds
Our very good friend from England, Peter Evans, is always sending us some interesting items he has found in various Pound and other shops in the London area. Usually he finds army figures but here and there a surprise appears. In his recent package were a series of five inch figures sold under the heading of Wild West.
The mounted figure is called Sitting Bull, which is inaccurate as Sioux Bull never dressed like that. The mounted figure is battery operated. The series has a mounted cowboy which is labeled Buffalo Bill and in no way looks like him. Peter also sent three foot figures. As you can see in the picture above, the one is a Mexican bandit. I wonder if there would be protests over this figure in the states.
Odds and Ends
It has been really quiet out there. The German Plastic show went well from first reports and had over 500 people go through the door. The King and Country show was held on March 27 and the reports on the show have the show as slow. I get annoyed with one forum when all the people do is take pictures of the new releases. I like to see a picture or two of the show itself. Next up is Indianapolis in April. We will not be there nor MFCA because we are still working on going to the PW show. Right now we are fighting airfares so that is still in a waiting stage. We have done a few flea markets, but they have been disappointing so far.
I have gotten little time to work on the web site as I have been busy with Ebay and the human job. I have the following items planned: an article on the New Ray Amish, an article from Whit Knight and a report on theTimpo Reunion that was held in March, from Axel Sohnius. One interesting thing Axel mentioned was that Norman Tooth, the designer of the Timpo figures, remembered me from a PW show. I surprised when I heard this and asked Axel if he had asked Norman why he remembered me. His response was that Norman Tooth was amazed that I traveled so far to buy the toys he had made. I think Norman is amazed how much his toy figures are selling for. The Legends of Stad has been put on hold with work overload, but I want to get it started as I think it will give you an insight into the hobby. For one of the articles I have found a photo of Mr. Kier who ran Kier's Movie Photos in New York. The photo is when he was on the Joe Franklin show. Kier's was where I bought my movie photos I collected for many years. I was able to get high quality photos from him as he was able to purchase from the source that had the negatives. I bought from him from the 60's to the late 70's when he retired. He was an interesting person who besides selling photos gave my family tips on places to eat and arranged for my mother to get into a wholesale place to buy items for her card party prizes. I enjoyed these photos for many years, but I am now concentrating on the figures so I have put them up for sale on Ebay.
NEXT AIP SETS
Steve Weston showed at the King and Country shows samples of the next two AIP sets. The two sets are British Naval Party with Gatling Gun and British Mountain Gun with crew. You can see pictures of the sets up on his web site.
Prince Valiant 54mm or 60mm
Floyd Wilson and I have been having a discussion on whether Prince Valiant is 54mm or 60mm? I say he is 54mm Floyd feels he is 60mm. Let me hear your thoughts.
3/17/10
EBay Application for Blackberry
If you are using a blackberry and have internet service you can download a free application for Ebay. The application is designed for buying only, but is good when you are out in the field and need to check a price. So check it out and see if you can use it. Also check out the Blackberry App World for other great programs.
Allentown Toy Show
I got the chance on last Saturday to get to the toy show at Merchants Square in Allentown. In years past I had to work on Saturday so I passed on this show. With my days off now Friday and Saturday I decided to give it a look. The show had the 150 tables as advertised and there was a nice mix of toys. For plastic figure collectors there was a nice mix of plastic figure to select from. Some of the items were high priced, but there were bargains here and there. I was able to get a bag of Gilbert James Bond figures and another bag having two Ideal Eskimo Dogs and a Polar Queen Polar Bear. One dealer had some loose bags of the Play along Lord of the Rings figures which my Friend John and I bought. I saw a Flintstone playset for $350.00. Another dealer had a Battleground playset for $175.00. A collector bought a Marx western town two story front, missing roofs and walls for $65.00. Another collector got a Rel Civil War Set. Outside John had bought some items and I was able to purchase a few items for resale.
More Soldiers of the World Information
Michael Purchase has informed us the Soldiers of the World figures showed up in Kellogg's cereal box in Canada in the 60's. Mike said the figures were in gold.
Soldiers of the World
My favorite plastic figure magazine is Plastic Warrior. It is because they get interesting articles with information and figures I have never seen. Case in point are issues 135 and 136 which had information on the Soldiers of the World. We got them here from a company called Rubenstein. As I have mentioned before, Rubenstein was a company that did bags of different plastic figures. These bags were done from already existing molds. Rubenstein did make the Soldiers of World. This mold was done first in England as a cereal giveaway for Kellogg's. These figures were also available in Australia, Finland and Spain. One other thing that was found was that they were never sold as Warriors of the World. Each issue of Plastic Warrior Magazine is loaded with great information.
2/28/10
Allentown Train Show
I did my first show under my new schedule, the Allentown Train show. This is a show I do not count on getting many items due to a lot of competition. I still went to see if I would find anything and get over the cabin fever from all of the snow we had this winter. I arrived at the show an hour after it opened and as soon as I got in I ran into Bill Lango of Vintage Castings. We talked a little bit and then I went into the main room to see what I could find. I checked one seller where I had purchased one good item two years ago and found nothing. I then headed down the aisles and stopped at a dealer who had trays of pieces. The $1.00 figure box had been picked over, but I still found two early French figures for the collection and some items I can use for the list and Ebay. I then went down the aisle looking for more items. I did not find anything that I could really use. One dealer had some bags of Marx but they were over priced. I was just about to leave when I ran into Mike Merwine. I had not seen Mike in about 10 years. Mike had gone into the souvenir business in 1999 of making models of famous worldwide buildings and has developed that into a thriving business. He does lead free pewter replicas of various buildings around the world. He did one of Hess's Department Store which is really great. You can look at his products at http://www.infocustech.com/iftstore/default.asp
After talking with Mike I headed back to one stand where I had seen the New Ray Amish sets for sale. I mentioned that I was looking for these sets in an article I had done for PW. A collector had sent me a picture earlier in the year, but I had accidently deleted it. (Please contact me so I can give you credit.) While I was picking up the two sets for my collection I noticed two things. One was that New Ray is doing their western figures in a series called Life on the Frontier. Also the dealer had two Preiser Elastolin Medieval Cannons for sale which I purchased. So I was pleased with what I had found and headed to the Farmers Market that was across from the show. Who do I run into but Laurie, who was out shopping.
Next week I will do a couple of indoor flea markets if the weather is nice.
Belated Congratulations
Beau and his wife of their addition of a son on February 8. The boy's name is Thomas Wayne Cunnyngham.
Congratulations
Whit Knight has informed us he will have an article in an upcoming issue of Prehistoric Times. Whit had seen the article we had done on Dinosaur Collectibles. Whit got in touch with Mike Fredericks who does Prehistoric Times, a great magazine on dinosaurs and dinosaur collectibles. One thing lead to another and Whit ended up doing an article for the magazine.
MPC Dinosaur Color
Speaking of Prehistoric Times, the latest issue 92 gives us insight to the different colors that the MPC dinosaurs were done. According to the caption under a photo of MPC dinosaur in Collector's Corner when the figures were offered by Nabisco Wheat and Rice Honey in the 60's they were done in purple and orange. There was an offer on the side of the box. When the person got the extra dinosaurs they were done in yellow, green and blue. The author of this caption states that the colors including shade of blue were not sold in stores.
Also issue 92 has part three on Marx playsets looking at the sets sold between 1975 to 1978.
Odds and Ends
The last few weeks have been quiet due to the weather around here. We had two snow storms which left 24 inches of snow. Laurie missed the second one due winning a trip to Las Vegas. She got to check out a new hotel and try different restaurants. One morning for breakfast her group was surprised with a special appearance of Wayne Newton. Meanwhile I was digging out the cars and the pavements.
Because of the weather I have held back on going out. I will start my new schedule on Sunday and will do a train show and indoor market on my first Saturday off. It will be interesting who you will met on your team. Last team I had a person that was a professional cage fighter for years. I will be going to some my outdoor flea market hunts in two weeks or so.
The hobby itself has been quiet. I hoping to hear some interesting news from Atlanta and the West Coaster. People at the Western coaster will be able to get the new TSSD mounted Sioux. The photos look like some interesting poses for you western buffs. Speaking of show there is a great Western Festival south Memphis. It is the Gathering of Guns 2 which has an impressive line up of Hugh O'Brian, Clint Walker, Ty Hardin, Will Hutchins, Robert Fuller, William Smith and many more. The show is June 3 to 5 and you can find out more at www.westernclippings.com.
Chiller has announced some of their line up of stars for the show they are holding on April 16 to 18. Besides our very good friend Marcus Boas famous artist two names that stand out are Caroline Munro and Martine Beswicke. Chiller will be adding more names to the list in the days to come I am sure.
We will not be going to the show up in New Jersey on March 7. It is a pain to drive to it and I do not do well in buying at that show. I will be saving my time off for Plastic Warrior which is May.
I am back up with work and I have not gotten a chance to get various items up from people which I apologize. I hope with the new schedule to spend one day updating the web site.
Attention Toy Show and Flea Market Competition
Effective February 21 I will be starting a new schedule. I am taking a Monday through Thursday with Friday and Saturday. I took a middle shift which is the first in 5 years to follow my supervisor. Also the middle shift will allow me to get to flea markets on Sunday and Wednesday before work. I am curious to see what will turn up. Recently Laurie and I did the Wednesday market in cold weather. Despite the cold there were over 30 dealers on the outside which I found some items one was this kit Sky Wave Torpedo Boats which has already found a home.
Hong Copy Surprises
It amazes me what Hong Kong copied over the years. In the picture above are three bicyclists. They had been done in 1962 until 1965 according Peter Cole's "An Unauthorized History of Herald and Britains Plastic". For some reason a Hong Kong Company did them possible as a cake decoration. The stands on the two figures is not very good.
Unknown Horses
Here are two horses I got recently. The one on the left was mix with some Michel but is a soft plastic. The other was in a junk lot where I was able to find it. I believe it is for 30mm figure. If you have any idea let me know.
TSSD CAVALRY AND PLASTIC INSERT
This past week Laurie and I stopped at a hobby store where I picked up the TSSD Union Cavalry. Right now I am behind in my purchases of new items which I hope to catch up when I get to various shows. The TSSD cavalry are nice and are worthwhile addition to any Civil War collection. Each horse has a plastic insert to hold the horse up. I was starting to place the inset in the recycle bin when it hit me. You could paint the insert gray and use as small rocks. Some sides you might need some covering of moss because it does not look like rock. I will not get time to paint the inserts so let me what someone else thinks of the idea.
Scene Rama Dinosaurs
Here is a nice set of dinosaurs done by Scene Rama that I bought for Laurie. They are not very big the figures are sold for school children to do dioramas. The company also does 30mm Civil War and Indians a nice set of figures for children do their school projects.
Silly Prices
I was looking at a forum and they were complaining about a dealer's prices on the new Hat Napoleonics. This dealer is selling a box of Hat Napoleonic figures for $38.00 which other dealers sell for around $15.00. The people were complaining that this party was charging so high, I just laughed. I have known this dealer for years and know that his attitude is someone will pay my price. At a show many years ago in New Jersey he came up to me and said he could not buy from me as my prices were too high. I laughed so much I went for the floor. Years after that he introduce me to his young daughter. As I was shaking her hand I said I sell toys cheaper than your father. Everyone laughed.
The truth of the matter is most collectors will not buy from this dealer as they know the true prices of items. It one of the secrets of the hobby when you are buying any item is to know what it is worth. I go into a show or auction I know what item is worth and I do not let myself get caught in that trap. Sadly there are many collectors who do not know.
Checking In
Hope the year has started good for you. I have been busy with Ebay sales and the human job. This workload has kept me from the web site. We had hoped to do a show this month in Putty Hill but I was unable to get the time off. I did get the the next day off and I found some items at a monthly Garage sale. I have also was able to buy some items this week which will go up on Ebay.
The Legends of Stad should have its first piece next month. This section will be a look at our hobby over the years. It seems only yesterday that I started in this hobby, but it is over 32 years. I have been involved and observed many things in relation with our hobby. Laurie gets a kick when someone mentions from my list or how I got them started in the hobby. I will give you some insight on the hobby like Marx Reissue got started and much more. It should be interesting.
Plastic Warrior Show
The Plastic Warrior Show is only four months away. It will be held on May 8 at the Queen Charlotte Hall in Richmond a suburb of London England. The show is easy to get both the train and the underground run to Richmond. You get off at the station go up the steps cross the street go through walkway to the next street turn right you go down the street. The show has only 60 tables, but it is pure plastic soldier heaven. Prices range from very reasonable to Are they serious. There are figures for everyone's budget. You will have figures from around the world. last year I bought a Polish Zorro figure. The dealers will be from England, Germany, France, Portugal ETC. Slated to show this year is our good friend Juan Hermida who will be there with his book Historia del Soldaito de Plastico Espanol (History of Spanish Plastic soldiers) This is a fantastic book which just amazes you on how many figure that Spain produced. Besides the show there is a pub which has great food. This one show we are at from beginning to end as we are always finding treasures no matter how many times we go around. It is just a fun time.
1/8/10
Shooting the Rapids
One of the items Laurie recently photographed was the above card. This card was used to sell some hard plastic Indian canoes by Thomas Toys. The canoes were only about two inches long and contain one Indian paddling per canoe. I had some as a child and the figure either was out of the canoe or the paddle was broken. I did not like the figure as it was small in relation to my other figures and was never used in my stories. This card was acquired sometime go and it had the figures at the time but the rubber band deteriorate. I will have to go into the collection and see if I have any of the figures
Update Paragon's Cavalry and Apache
Gene Abravaya of Paragon Scenics and Miniatures now has a designated web site where you see the new cavalry and Apache he is doing Gene has a large plate of new figures coming out this year and next year. You should take a look at some nice figures coming out.
Playset Magazine Index
Eric John has placed on his great web site an index of all 48 issues of Playset magazines. Eric Johns has put a lot of effort into this endeavor. If you look for an item in the magazine then Eric's index is place to go.
Presidential Figures and More
How many times you wish that someone finish off the Marx President Set. Well someone has done. You can get the missing presidents to complete the set plus much more. You can get presidential candidates, Supreme Court judges plus much more. The figures are in the style of Marx Presidents and are painted. They do the presidents also unpainted. The figures are not cheap the figures range from $15.00 to $30.00. Check them out.
1/01/2010
A Look Back and A Look Forward
The year 2009 has been a rough year for most collectors and dealers. The economic downturn forced many collectors to cut back on their purchases or sell part of their collection to pay bills. Those collectors who were able to go out in the field found less items than years before. The new items were fewer and higher in price.
For dealers the economic downturn found them fighting hard for the remaining money out there in the market. The dealers found the shows had lower attendance than in years past. Dealers were traveling hundreds of miles to find people to sell their product. Dealers were competing more and more with the web which forced them to either join it or drop out. Several makers Conte Collectibles, Pegasus and Weston toys put plans for new items on hold for the year due to various reasons. We did see a new company Cunnyham Collectibles put out a new series of Confederate figures with a set of Union figures planned for next year. Several companies such as Armies in Plastic and Hat came out with new figures for the collector. Italeri came out with new pieces but at higher prices and smaller figure count. Near the end of the year saw the reissue of several of the Airfix 1/32 scale set in harder plastic from India. Next year we will see more Airfix reissue with comment of a new 1/72 scale which will have collectors hoping for a new 1/32 scale set.
On the playset front we had three new playsets from Barzso Collectibles, Replicants and Toy Soldiers of San Diego. The Barzso set was a Zorro playset which was in the tradition of the Marx playset. The playset besides containing Zorro and Mexican soldiers included a movie camera crew which some people loved and other people hated. The Replicants' playset was Harpers Ferry which had old and new figures. TSSD playset was Little Bighorn which was an amalgamation of old and new figures.
What does the new year hold for collectors? The economy has been improving and the market for plastic should be very interesting. In 2010 we get a new company Paragon Scenics and Miniatures who will be doing Cavalry and Apaches. He is hoping to have figures out for the Texas show in May. We will have a new web address up for Paragon in a few days. Conte Collectibles is touting a new Foreign Legion playset and several figures have been shown on their web site. They are planning on having their Immortals as companions for the Spartans out in the summer. Barzso Collectibles will have a new playset, which will be a surprise for most until OTSN. TSSD is supposed to have mounted Sioux Indians in February. They have mentioned on their web site dead cavalry and Indian figures. They are planning on doing foam pieces for the Alamo. It will be interesting to see if they do a playset this year and whether it will be a similar theme of the 2009 playset or something new.
The year 2009 for us has been a year of rebirth and gaining a sense of direction. The first few months of this year we were in a quandary on how to proceed due to the economy. I found our niche with our Ebay store Stadsstuff. It pulled up our second half of the year and has shown us the path to further success. This success has come at a price for this year between work and Ebay we have had to let our online list suffer. In the first quarter of 2010 we will get that aspect up and running again.
For 2010 we will see the expansion of our Ebay store to new heights with lots of different items. The main focus will be soldiers, but we will be carrying jewelry, movie items, books and much more. The web site will also be getting several news items. First we will have a page for our very good friend Marcus Boas who we saw at Chiller. This page will be to help Marcus in getting more work plus show his work.
The second new section we will be doing is a section called the Legends of Stad. This section will contain articles about my many experiences in this hobby. Some of the articles will be on my experience in the hobby such as the first Plastic Warrior show. I hope to find some of the pictures I took. Other articles will be on items I have found over the years such as the Cherilea Baronial Knight and the Speedwell armored car on fire. We will also look at some of the people of the hobby who I have met like Peter Fritz.
I have plans of finally setting up the plastic figure museum. This is something I have wanted to do for years. The articles here will be on figures new and old, United States and foreign. The information I think you will find informative and interesting as I will include personal experiences I have had with the figures. One additional thing is that the figure museum will not be used as a sales tool. It is going to be a source for information.
Laurie and I will also finally start our comedy and will be recording for You Tube. It should be fun and I want to have some items up by March at the latest. We will also be putting them up on this web site as well. My sword and sorcery book is just about done. I'm hoping to start the final rewrite this month.
We wish you a Happy New Year and hope you have a good year.
12/18/09
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
I got out early again this week and used the time to do some Christmas shopping. My Christmas shopping list is small as Laurie only wants green (money) and the dogs are already taken care of. I will get Laurie some dinosaurs as well. I got some Papo figures for myself. I have a quirk to get some toy soldiers for Christmas. It goes back to a Christmas long ago. All my parents bought me were clothes and I was heart broken. I took my Christmas money and went out and got some figures. Since then I buy myself toy soldiers so I don't get depressed. Besides the Papo I got two playsets. The first is the David and Goliath Playset. This set came out several years ago and I was unable to find it locally. I have found some figures over the years, but not the full playset. Someone put the playset up for $.99 and I won it for that price. The other playset I am getting is a New Ray Western Playset that J C Penny is selling. The set contains a building, stage coach, covered wagon, figures and animals. The set sells in the catalog for $29.97. Then I found out that the playset was being discounted to $9.97 so I got it. I had been wanting to get the building and the wagons for some time. So I will have a nice Christmas on the toy soldier front.
Sinclair Dinosaurs
12/09/09
I finally got a chance to put do a picture of the Bronze Sinclair Dinosaurs that we got last summer from our good friend Gerri Watts. We have the Brontosaurus in green which we got from our friend John several years ago. He picked them up at the Marx meet. Looking at them I wondered why the dinosaurs were not easy to find so I went to my copy of Dinosaur Collectibles by Dana Cain and Mike Fredericks to find out more on these figures. In their book on pages186 to 187 I found out that they were a promotion at the New York Worlds Fair. they were done in various colors. There is a set of six figures. They are Ankylosarus, Stegosaurus, Trachodon, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and Brontosaurus. They were sold in bags. I have no memory of seeing the dinosaurs even though I was at the Worlds Fair several times. I did get one of the hollow blow mold brontosaurus which I still have and is now part of Laurie's dinosaur collection. These are interesting pieces and different from the Marx. If you are into dinosaurs then you need to get the Dinosaur Collectibles book.
Roaming
At this time of the year we try to check out the thrift and dollar stores. I was able to get out early today and Laurie had off so we hit the road. We checked out several sources and found some items for Ebay and us. Not all of the items are toy soldier related as I have gotten a number of other items that have sold well for me. One of our stops is one of the last independent five and dime stores still in existence: Sine's. They nearly went out of business a few years ago and they are a shadow of their former glory. They had a number figure bags, but the figures were ones I already had or were too common. I saw the Mexicans that BMC originally did and are now sold by Americana and are in a dark blue. We found a few items in there and will be listing them in the future.
Robin Hood
This is an interesting Robin Hood Figure we have recently acquired. The figure is about 4 inches high and has Robin Hood on the base. The figure comes with a little card that has GW on the outside and gives the history of Robin Hood. There is no mark on the figure.
The figure looked familiar and I checked in the Plastic Warrior Special Men in Tights Robin Hood Special. The wonderful work by Matthew Thair has listings of Plastic Robin Hood Figures. In the book I found the figure listed under Large Format. My figure is a little different from that one. The shirt is painted a different color and has a different label. The figure has a bow string which Thair's figure does not. The figure in the book is on a two tier base where my figure is one tier. There is a possibility that the bottom base was pulled off. Still this is an interesting figure. If you are interested in Robin Hood and Ivanhoe figures you should get the Plastic Warrior Special.
11/30/09
Odds and End
Since the East Coast show there have been three more shows. The first show was the Allentown Toy Show, which is my closet show to the house, but I decided not to go. I did not get the day off as I had plans for another show later in the month. The reports I got on the show were disappointing and the number of dealers were down. The number of people who came through the door was also down. One party reported some dealers with quality items and did not sell anything. The next show was the Bucks County Toy soldier Show. One party on a forum tried to put a positive spin on the show, but we have heard from other sources that sales were poor. Today we did the York Toy Show and had a great time. The line was like what Allentown used to get. We found a number of items for resale and for the collection. We saw a number of people including Gary Dutko. Gary is doing various conversions of TSSD cavalry which you can see on Ebay. We got two especially interesting items. One was a 90mm Robin Hood on a wooden base. The other items are Marx second version knights in hard plastic and painted! The figures are actually the Italian version which were done in Italy. I will be doing pictures of the items on the web site in the next few days work permitting.
I hope you had a good holiday. I will be putting a large number of items up on Ebay in the next month. I hope to get the list up to date in that time as well. As always do not forget in this time of the year to give to Toy for Tots and help the little ones.
Some Interesting Figures
Here are two interesting figures I got at Hackensack. The Indian on the right is from East Germany. I have no idea who made the cowboy.
East Coast Toy Soldier Show
My report on the East Coast Toy Soldier Show is finally up. I hope you enjoy it;
Odds and Ends
Sorry we have not gotten the East Coast Toy Soldier Show report up. The workload has been very heavy this past week at work. I have been dealing with back to back calls which tire me out. Then I had to direct my attention to Ebay to get that taken care of.. The report has more than 26 photos plus the review of what was a great show. There were lots of plastic to look at and buy including some rare pieces.
New Plastic Maker
It has been reported on various website of a new maker of plastic figures. The company is Paragon Scenics and Miniatures. They are going to do a series of cavalry and Apache Figures. Two of the figures were previously previewed on the TSSD web site. They will be previewing their figures at West Coaster and then the first two sets will debut at the Texas show. The company has ambitious plans of having two more foot sets out in September and December of next year with mounted figures following in 2011. If you want to see pictures of the prototypes go to the web site below.
http://web.me.
Handcart Pioneers
At the East Coast Toy Soldier Show last week we came up with these interesting figures: the Handcart Pioneers. Our good friend Chris Salomon had seen these figures at Stockade Miniatures' tables and asked our opinion. We went over to Stockade's table and took at a look at the figures. I recognized these figures being related to the Mormons exodus from the east to the promised land which was Utah. Many of the Mormons could not afford to buy wagons and carried their goods on handcarts. The set is a tribute to those people. The set has four figures three which have two people in the group. The set consists of a man pulling a handcart, a mother with a baby, two children walking hand in hand and a father with a child on his back. The men are 60mm, the woman is 54mm and the two children seem to be in scale with mother. These figures will work well in a western scene.
We asked Mike Rosso of Stockade Miniatures on how he had found these figures. Mike told us he and his wife had taken a trip to the Western part of the United States and found these figures when they visited Salt Lake City, Utah.
The figures are made in China for a company call Lehi Enterprises. The company also has two other things made that might be of interested to collectors. The first is a series figures based on people in the book of Mormon. These figures are three inches high and may not be suitable for your needs. It is a shame they are not in the scale Handcart Pioneers and many of the figures would be adaptable to ancient armies. The second item is a vacuum formed Aztec/ Mayan temple. This is out of scale to the three inch figures, but would be very good to use in 25mm and 30mm war gaming.
Stockade carries the Handcart Pioneers for $10.00 and the temple for $22.00. If you further information contact Stockade miniatures at either (570) 424-8507 or go to their website www.stockade-miniatures.com to send them an email.
Checking In
Laurie and I had a great time at the East Coast Toy Soldier Show. We got to see many old friends including one or two I had not seen in years. I was able to get some interesting items for the collection and resale. I hope to have my report up in a week or so. I have been back up with work both the human job and Ebay.
10/28/09
Hackensack
Laurie and I will be at Hackensack next Sunday. We will not have a table. We should be in around 9:00AM. We will only be there for a few hours as we will also be doing Chiller that day. Laurie likes to see the stars and one of great friends from the comic book days Marcus Boas will be displaying his painting there for the first time. We enjoy Chiller as it is a chance to meet the some of the people who we have enjoyed seeing in movies or on television. We hope to see you there.
I will not be attending Allentown Toy show again this year.
Wackiest Ship in the Army with Candy
Our very good Friend Peter Evans send us with items he finds in the boot sales or in shops. These items are great to see as most of them never show over here. Some of the items you wonder what they were thinking. Case in point is the above item with candy. It reminded me of the movie and television show Wackiest Ship in the Army.
The ship came with 8 figures in 6 poses. The separate figures are about 35mm. The boat has a two man crew besides its candy cargo. The front end of the ship has a rocket launcher.
More Peter Evan Finds
The above figures are in a set called Western Rider. The figures are 90mm pull apart at the waist.
The Next group are set of modern troops done in China. The poses are 54mm. There are nine different poses.
I believe that these are two cricket players. The figures are 54mm and would be good figures for conversion.
Interesting Arab Figure
This interesting Figure I got off our very good friend Geri Watts. It is a mounted Figure with a swivel waist. It is not Payton as the pose it different and they did not do swivel waist figure. I will see if it is foreign. The figure is about three inches high.
Color Variation On Payton Army Figures
Over the years I have seen many Payton Army Figures. When I have seen them they have been in some shade of green. That change last week when I hit one of my flea markets last week. A dealer had a bunch of figures which included the three silver Payton figures shown above. The question now is where were they sold. Were they part of a set or cereal giveaway as the other items I had bought were cereal giveaways. We will have to wait and see.
10/16/09
Victrix 54mmNapoleonic Figures Are Released
The first 54mm Figures from Victrix have been release. This company has been noted for their 25mm figures and has decide to venture into 54mm. Their first release is British Peninsular Flank Companies. The figures are a multi pose which means you will have put them together. The set will do 16 figures in eight poses. This first set was slated for release on October 5. They are planning on a accessory pack heads, arms and other accessories to make interesting figures. If these figures are successful they will issue other of the 28mm Napoleonic line in 54mm scale.
You can check them out here http://www.victrixlimited.com/new_releases.php
10/08/09
Roy Rogers Museum to Close
We just got a report that the Roy Rogers Museum in Branson Missouri is closing in December. It is closing due to declining attendance and revenue. It had been original in Victorville CA then moved to Branson in 2003. Laurie and I stopped at the museum when it was at Victorville. Most of the contents of the museum will be sold at auction.
Marx Reissues
Hobby Bunker had at OTSN a bunch of new reissues. While several were items that have been out before the Boonesborough pioneers, marines and Japanese, there is one new significance item. That item is the rare four 60mm chubby mounted cowboys that were in one playset. The original figures rarely show up and sell for hundreds of dollars. This a chance to own these figures at a reasonable price and in decent plastic.
Congratulations
Over on his web site Beau Cunnyngham of Cunnyngham Collectibles stated that his wife is pregnant and due next year. I may miss an earlier announcement but we want congratulate him on the coming event which will be next year.
Liptor
You know when you see an advertisement for some medicine and they say it is a real person you wonder if it is well in some cases it is. We were watch CSI the past week when a commercial for the drug Liptor came on. Both Laurie and myself took notice as we recognized the person as Dean a toy dealer we know from doing various shows. Dean had a heart attack cleaning out a toy and collectibles warehouse in 2005. It was awake up call and he change his diet and a course is taking Liptor. I know what he means in lifestyle changes I have seen my diet change too. My lunch at work is a salad, raw broccoli, radish and a granola bar. We are eating more chicken trying to watch what we eat. We all have to be careful as we are not getting any younger.
OTSN Overview
OTSN was very subdue this year. The reports we are getting said sales were down from previous years. Saturday which is usually the best day of the room trading was off. The show had the release of the new Barzso Collectibles Zorro Playset, TSSD Custer playset, Replicants Harpers Ferry Playset and Cunnyngham Collectibles Confederates. The Barzso Collectibles continued its tradition of a playset and an large add on relate to the set. From the pictures of the Barzso Collectibles Zorro playset the set looks nice, but for some reason they put in a movie crew! For me the film crew is a major turn off. I would have rather had other figures related to the playset instead of the film crew. The figures in the playset are typical to Barzso's standard. I hope that he does an add on to expand the fort and walls around Zorro's hacienda.
TSSD as we all know for the past months did a Custer playset. I hear reports some people were backing off from the playset as they had the figures. The set is nice with its hill and various figures. One thing not confirmed was if the character figures of Custer and Crazy Horse are in plastic or resin. Some of the new cavalry poses have odd leg poses which I want to see up close.
The Replicants Harpers Ferry playset we have not had reports on how well it sold. There playset have a cardboard building which some people don't like. The figures are mix of old and new Replicants figures and are typical to the Replicant's standard. One other thing people did not like that they did not use the uniforms for this period for the Union Marines.
The show on Sunday was very better, but overall it was down. We can attribute this to the economy. With unemployment over 9 percent and higher collectors are having to restrict or not buy at all. Some dealers did great at the show has they had items or clientele that made the show worthwhile. Still the feeling was a negative one and it hope once the economy picks up sales will pick up as well.
9/29/09
Chiller Update
Chiller has added several guests to their line up. Besides the ones we have mention earlier they have added Patrick Stewart, Davey Jones and Richard Dreyfuss. Another person added to the show is one of my old friends from my comic book days Marcus Boas. Marcus has done covers for National Lampoon and other magazines. I got to know Marcus while attending the comic book conventions in the 70's. Marcus artwork is great and he will display many of his pieces which will be for sale.
9/26/09
OTSN Part Two
More reports have come in. The sales seem slower than last year. Rick Eber has sold both of the Johnny Ringo playsets that he had for sale. Rick also sold an Marx Revolutionary War playset as well. There is a lot of plastic figures and to go through, but most dealers have been careful on their purchases. The Barzso Zorro playset is selling well, but no prices yet or why we have a film crew in it. One source felt the number of dealers were down and it was the least he has spent at the show. He was hoping to find some goodies at the show tomorrow. Most of dealers closed early to get ready for the show on Sunday. The Cunnyngham Collectibles were getting praise and selling well. Likewise people were looking at the Plastic Underground figures that Ed Borris was selling to add to their Custer playset. We have not heard how the TSSD Custer set was doing, but should hear more later in the week.
As we get more news we will keep you posted.
9/25/09
OTSN Update
Photos are finally up for the Barzso Zorro Playset and the TSSD Custer playset. The first impression on the Barzso playset is nice, but do we really need to have a film crew with it? Sergeant Garcia has his sword out. Seeing the box of the playset I see that it is copyrighted Zorro productions and not Disney so I have corrected it my other posting. The hacienda is nice and a worthy addition to any scene. The hacienda can be incorporate with the fort. I hope Ron is doing add on walls so you can make the fort bigger.
TSSD Custer playset is nice and if you are a Custer buff may want to look at it. Rick Eber has two Johnny Ringo Playsets (one of which sold) and a Gunsmoke Playset at the show. We will try to contact people today around our schedule to get more impressions of the show.
I have posted the link below for the photos if it does not work paste it in your search engine or go to playset magazine.
http://www.playsetmagazine.com/OTSN200/Pa...otsn_2009a.html
9/24/09
Barzso Zorro Playset
The Zorro playset is copyrighted by Zorro productions. According to one report the playset has Zorro dueling with Commandate while Bernardo and Sergeant Garcia look on. The playset comes with a hacienda and playmat. Also to give Zorro problems are about 36 Presidio Lancers. No note on how many different poses for the lancers. The extra set is a Spanish fort. So far no one has posted any pictures of this playset. We will keep you posted.
It looks like the secret is out
We are waiting for what the next Barzso playset and it looks like it is Zorro. One of our readers spotted this up at www.fortressfigures.com. This is the company that does the resin figures for Ron and as you can see they are noting the figure will be used in playset that will premier at OTSN. Now we waiting for the details. Check out below.
http://www.fortressfigures.
9/22/09
OTSN
OTSN is only a few days away and like last year we will be observing and calling people to get dates on the show. (It is great when you have lots of minutes to use.) The big thing is to see if what Barzso's new playset. There has been lots of speculation so we have a few days to wait and see. We will keep you posted.
9/10/09
Odds and Ends
Beside the OTSN show there is also a WWII Days in Rockford Illinois that same weekend. The show will have reenactors with vehicles. It is only an hour west of of the show and could be an interesting diversion. TSSD is showing their second set of Sioux Indians. The poses look like nice. One thing I like is not all of the Indians have Winchesters so it make for a nice diversity of figures. Their mounted Sioux Indians figures will be out in 2010. They are waiting for their foam painted pieces for the playsets. Still no word on what Barzso is doing for this year. Lots of speculation so we will have to wait until the show.
The History of Spanish Plastic has sold 316 books and there are only a few more days before it will be published. It is not a cheap book, but if you are into foreign plastic this book will be a major reference source for years to come. We just help a collector find out his figure was made in Egypt! That's right Egypt, our very good friend Peter Evans help in indentifying two six inch cowboys. It is amazing how many figures have been made in plastic. I am estimating that I have seen 15,000 to 20,000 different figures and I know there is more to see. Just recently I saw some PVC figures from Australia that included a nurse figure.
We have been busy with our projects. The first phase of my book project is nearly done. I have been writing a sword and sorcery book the last few years. I get to write on only at night usually, but it has been fun with the things I have had to come up. I am hoping to have the final draft done this January baring any delays. One of the delays so far I had with this project was a writer's block which lead me to write a side story relate to two characters in book which end up 57 pages! I will tell you more once it is done.
Another project we are working is our Ebay store. If you have watch the store you have seen we are adding lots of items from movie stills to figures. As I telling people I am dealing with a massive collection of items I don't know what will turn up. I open one box recently and found figures I had not seen in five years. Because Laurie has been helping me we have moved the photo area upstairs. For now it has been a temporary set up, which soon will get a permanent spot once I clean out an area. Once that regular area is up we can add new items to the list.
Since starting the new shift I have gotten back to the flea market I use to do on a Wednesday. The first Wednesday was great I found a ceramic dinosaur for Laurie and I found figures. One person had three Marx pirates a reissue 3 inch Marx fireman and some Hong Kong figures for $2.00! This week I got only a Munster book, the market has a great buy on food products so it was worthwhile. Next week I will try a different market and hope to find a few items there.
End of Summer
We ended our summer hunt last week as I started new shift which does not have Sunday off. I will pick up my Wednesday market again. I have already block out the Sundays I need so I will be at the Hackensack plus we will be doing the Chiller Theatre show the same day.
The summer was good and bad this year. I found the main source in the past Renningers a disappointment with one exception. The exception was our very good friend Gerry Watts. Those who get to shows where Gerry sets up know he is a legend for the items he finds. I was able to get a nice array of items for resale and a few items for myself including a MPC figure I had not seen before. I found very little else there. We also did Lambertville in New Jersey as Laurie has started to deal in jewelry which you will find up on our store at Ebay. I did find a few items there including a 6 inch Napoleon and Marx Fort Apache playset for $10.00. The best show was the Marx Convention which we did for the third time. The material that showed up was great and I even found a few foreign figures for the collection. We will be back next year.
OTSN
OTSN is less than a month away. We know that TSSD will have its Custer Playset, Weston Toys will have the new Replicants Harpers Ferry and Cunnyngham Collectibles may have some of their new Confederates for the show. The mystery will be what Barzso's Collectibles will do this year? We will have to wait and see. As I mention before we will not be their due to work and some projects we are doing. We will be watching and getting reports and we will be passing them along.
8/27/09
Chiller Theater
Chiller Theater is the same weekend as Hackensack. This is a great show to meet stars from our childhood. The line up so includes Stefanie Powers, Ann Margret, Mickey Rooney (Friday and Saturday only), Roger Smith and Peter Fonda amongst others. Check their web site for more details.
8/17/09
Spanish Plastic Figure Book Finally to be Published
The long awaited Spanish Plastic book from Juan Hermida is finally coming out. The book is over 540 pages and will contain history and photos of the various Spanish plastic companies. It will also contain a DVD of commercials for Jescan. The book will be available for a very limited time. International buyers the price for the book will be 104 Euros with postage charge of 18.60 Euros for the postage to the United States ( Cost in U.S. dollars is around $175.00). This is not a cheap book, but if you collect Spanish plastic this will be the definitive book on this subject for years to come. If you have more questions go to http://spanishtoysoldiers.blogspot.com The information is in Spanish exception for the information on international sales. You can see pictures of sample pages. If you have questions for Juan you can write him at juan_hermida@hotmail.com
Replicants Next Playset
Steve Weston of Weston Toys has announced the next playset from Replicants. It is Harpers Ferry recreating the attack by John Brown and his men at Harpers Ferry to capture the federal armory. Brown's plan was to arm the slaves and start a rebellion. This plan failed miserable.
The playset will recreate this important moment in the history. The set will contain all new marines and John Brown Raiders and existing Replicants in new colors for civilians and militia. The set will have two character figures one will be John Brown no mention of what the other character figure will be. Also in the set will be a form board Engine House where Brown made his defense. The price will be around prices of the previous Replicants sets.
The Next Plastic Warrior Show
The next Plastic Warrior Show will be May 8, 2010 in Richmond a suburb of London. I can not say enough of this great show. Put together every year by Paul Morehead the show is a diversity of plastic for collectors in every price range. You can find rare English plastic figures or cheap figures to do conversions. There are figures from around the world one table may have figures from Portugal next to a table with figures from Germany. The show is always full of surprises. So mark your calendar and plan to be there you will have a great time.
Shows
We have heard reports that some of the shows that have been held this month have not been good. The Macungie show was disappointing and one person who had money to spent for resale and found very little. The Michigan summer show was on a different day than before and people did not come out. One dealer on his web site thank anyone who came and bought. Likewise the show in Gettysburg had poor attendance and the dealers complained that no one was there. Hopefully this was a temporary glitch and the shows will be back to their old self. We will know more after OTSN. Laurie and I will not be there as we have to work and can not get the time off and have other projects that are filling our free time. We will be watching reports from various source on seeing what is going on.
8/04/09
Marx Toy Kings Book
Rusty Kern has written a series of four books on Marx Toys. The first one up is Marx Men the history of Marx from 1919 to 1946. The book will be loaded with information from Louis Marx's own scrap books. The next one will be on playsets. For more details you should go to
http://www.playsetmagazine.com/MarxToyKings.html
Comic-Con
The Comic-Con as just ended. This is the convention gets 126,000 people through it for the 4 days and has a wide selection of items for the collectors and fans. Hollywood has discovered the importance of the show for promoting their shows and brings in many of the stars. You should check the various for your favorite show or movie. If you are a fan of Iron Man I can tell War Machine is in the next one as well as Whiplash and Black Widow. One television series that got little notice was Spartacus Blood and Sand. The show is being produced by Sam Raimi who did Hercules and Xena. Speaking of Xena, Lucy Lawless is in the show as Lucretia. The trailer is up on www.imdb.com. The trailer is bloody and gory as it looks they are trying to go for the Gladiator style. It is being made for the Starz network. Check it out.