About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

H is for Hood - Robin Hood

Dulcop were another foreign maker to have a stab at the iconic British hero Robin Hood. And as these figures were still available a few years ago are relatively easy to find, although I don't think I have a full set and with my Plastic Warrior check list/guide (authored by; Matt Thier) in storage, perhaps some kind Italian reader could let us know what's missing here...

From the left I'm assuming these are Robin himself, Little John (who needs to be taller!) and Will Scarlet, they are not particularly nice figures, being a little wooden or stilted, however the sculpting - in itself - is quite detailed.

Much the Miller's Son (?) facing-up to the Sheriff? This second, mounted figure is styled in a more European fashion and would maybe make a better El Cid or someone like that, indeed- he may very well be meant to be such a character?

Their 'enemy' are a bunch of knights in armour from a much latter period, and with only 5 poses in my sample/the photograph; I'm assuming again that there is at least one more to find?

Mounted figures from the same set, again I have no idea whether this is it or there were several more to collect, Dulcop are strangely under represented on the Internet!

2 comments:

johnpreece said...

If I had a second life I would definitely use it to collect 54mm plastic toy soldiers. As it is I dare not do more than admire from a distance.

The continemtal makers do seem to be rather neglected. My own favourite is Reamsa which only ever seem to appear in the remoulds.

Thanks for these they are a pleasure to look at.

John

Hugh Walter said...

John - thank you for the kind words;

I was in fact - for the first 35-odd years! - primarily a small scale plastics collector, but as I got involved with Paul and Co. over at Plastic Warrior there was a tendancy to creep up to 45/50mm as no one else was logging them.

Small scale metal had come incedentally as bi-catch with mixed lots and junk lots of plastics (low income/blue collar has led to a frugal model of collecting!!) and deliberately as an ajunct to specific makers ie; Spencer Smith/Eriksson/SAE.

However in the last few years it became obvious that the larger scales were intergral to the 'whole picture' thing, especially with regard to fellows like the aformentioned Eriksson (Comet/Authenticast), so I started collecting the larger scales three years ago (give or take a week or two) and with one collection purchase, and a couple of splurges at Richmond and the last Birmingham show, now have the basics of a collection from the larger scales with some rare'ish early British and various bits and bobs from futher afield.

Life being ever the bitch, I've had to put the bulk of it all into storage again, so can only hit it in lumps as-and-when, at the moment we are doing the Robin Hood and UK Medievals box but Dulcop and Marx were in there by dint of Robin!

Anyway...it's nice that people like what I post and there will be more!

Thanks again

Hugh