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.

Friday, January 18, 2013

S is for Swansea

Still haven't worked out why that post migrated the other day, which is a worry as I want to add some more content to the Airfix blog, and if it's unpublished preloaded pages are going to migrate when I set them live I'm going to lose the chronological order I set when I created the thing...doh! At which point I may just bring it all over here to join everything else?

In the meantime, here's a great favourite of mine, the Marx Noah's Ark from Swansea...

The granddaddy of all those Blue Box and other Hong Kong Arks - some of which (post Blue Box versions) were still available from Bible shops a few years ago? No, not really, the HK ones are mostly based on the Miniature Masterpiece version.

This differs from the small scale one and the wannabes by having a set of wheels hidden in recesses which become 'Feed' and 'Water' stores from the inside, a more ornate ramp (some of the HK ones don't even have a ramp!), sloping gable-ends to the roof and it lacks the sliding door of its diminutive brethren.

The animals are similar the the US 54mm set, but are not quite the same, having the same poses but a smoother finish. I really like these, they have a lot in common with the Kellogg's ones we looked at HERE, and when I first encountered these I though they were the unknown big-cats in that post, but again these are too smooth!

It's worth looking at THIS Merit post as well and comparing, as both are clearly the same beast; aimed at infants, lots of large colourful pieces, educational, biblical (still 'good' in the 1960/70's!) and tons of non-warlike play-value.

7 comments:

Scott B. Lesch said...

"Complete with animals" No Humans?

Hugh Walter said...

No, no people! But then the Merit one only has one figure, of Noah, none of the family you get in the small sets (and the Blue Box / HK sets).

H

Scott B. Lesch said...

Animals are cuter I guess. The sets might have been handy to teach the names of animals to kids that wouldn't see the real things.

Hugh Walter said...

Check! Although trying to explain to Junior in 1960-something why Mr. Lion and Mr. Lion were embarking together might have go you in hot-water with the local pastor!! Doh!

H

Unknown said...

hello guys,

where can i get a noah's ark like this one,i collect plastic monkeys(at 46 yrs old,hahaha)my email address is kevin@macrocosmgroup.co.za

thanks
Kev

Unknown said...

also if you have other plastic monkeys let me know

warmest regards

Kev

Hugh Walter said...

Hi Kevin

US eBay or dealers for the US versions of the figures, UK eBay for this version, but you might wait a long time, this is not that common a set?

Don't have any spare Monkeys (although I know an unemployed CADMonkey 'going spare'!!)

If you like animals - have you found the STS Animal forum...

http://sts-forum.forumieren.de/

Cheers
Hugh