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.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

M is for Montaplex - Part I - Quadruple-bags

As you collect the Spanish 'Sobres' or 'Surprises' you realise that the companies (of whom Montaplex was only one - but the most prolific one) were very good at regurgitating the same few products in various ways or including them in various sets.

These four-vehicle bags being a case in point as they all contain things that had either been available singly, or that had already appeared in the figure sets, where a sprue was often thrown-in to give the set a bit more playability!

The car is quite nice, described as a Ford, it looks quite like a Rolls or other prestige mark to me, the two space items (UFO and NASA return-module) have been seen on Moonbase Central before now, the tanks are a bit lame but the 'planes are OK really, a bit crude and around 1:100, but not that bad.

The bag at the back contains the ship which is so brittle it's powdering in front of itself! It's also a very poor model and not worth putting together - even for a photograph. The scooter is closer to 54mm in scale/size.

Close-up of the astronaut in his capsule, he also mans a Wild West era fire-wagon! And the car on the sprue and with an Airfix 'Officer Type' to give an idea of the size - quick bit of paint, some dry-brushing and you've got yourself a staff-car!

2 comments:

Gog said...

wow! thanks for this entry! It brings me very good memories. I had many of those planes, but they were obtained from much newer sobres. Only with the logo, I can see these are older.

I had that car too (or a very similar one), but mine was bigger... it looks great with the Airfix figure, the scene reminds me of the car in which the archduke Franz Ferdinanda was assesinated in Sarajevo.

The UFO was also available many years before, and even you have photographed the gate below, the best and biggest detail is a small man (should be an alien) sitting inside of the UFO. Maybe this was a later add to the mould, I don't know, but I remember from all Montaplex toys, the UFO was between my favorites.

Hugh Walter said...

Hi Gog - I thought you'd like it after your comments the other day - I strive to please! Hugh