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Plastic 00 figures 1950-80


BernardTPM
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Wow what a great collection! - thanks for adding so many new photos of figures but as they are edits of previous posts they don't flag up as new posts!  Thank you very much.

Slaters sent their figures out unpainted with circular sprues - see attached

IMG_4163.JPG

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Looking at the Merit figures  these three which I thought were Merit don't match.  The gent is Slaters so perhaps the two ladies are also Slaters? 

Also of these four the shepherd, the postman and the porter are Merit but is the policeman Slaters again?

IMG_4166 (6).JPG

IMG_4166 (4).JPG

Edited by Albyn
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I set the titles up for each section so they didn't get separated. There are still more pictures to come though. I'm hoping to add a fair number for Subbuteo over the next couple of days.

 

I need to find out more about Slater's; a more definite start date would be useful. I know they were originally painted and boxed but whether they were also abvailable unpainted originally I don't know. I'm hoping a dig through some old magazines and catalogues might help, but that is for later. The policeman does not look like a Slater's figure. The lady in mustard, the gent in red/brown and the postman are the shared with Merit, but the porter and shepherd could only be Merit.

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Bernard

I know this thread is for plastic figures however there has been mention of Mastermodels.   The full range of Mastermodels was covered in a series of articles in the Model Railway Enthusiast in about 1999.  I may have copies hidden away somewhere should you require them.

Malcolm

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Thanks Malcolm. I have a few issues of that mag somewhere, but by no means all, so I would be interested, here though I'm only intending to cover the possible Master Models/Slater's/Merit connection where some figures appear to be practically identical. In that respect, but on the plastic side only, does anyone know why the Merit 'flatties' (5056 - 5082) are the same as some of the Slater's figures? Was it one copying or did one supply the other? Or did they both independently copy the metal figures?

The 'flatties' from 5056 - 5059 are now available as an unpainted set from Modelscene (Peco) ref:5200 but the runner is straight, while Slater's (with mostly the same figures) are still round, so for those available now the injection tools must be different.

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An interesting thread.  I've got a set of 5 pre-painted plastic figures that haven't appeared in the listings yet which I haven't a clue who made them, so it will be intersting to see if they appear in your "Miscellaneous" section.  They must have been bought in the late 1960's as they were used on my first layout and are at the 1/72 end of the scale spectrum, perhaps a little bit larger (certainly larger tham Merit/Airfix).

The set consists of a Policeman on point duty, walking policewoman, School "lolipop man", security man/policeman with dog and a car park attendant. Something makes me think there may have been a female traffic warden as well, though I cant find that one at the moment (it might be fixed somewhere out of the way on the layout!).

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There have been figures released with model vehicles, of various scales.

 

Some of these may well be around the 1:72 scale area...

 

I did produce an item about the similarity between Mastermodels, Merit, and Slater's figures.

 

I'll have to see if I can locate it on the computer at some point.

 

Not on the computer at the moment... ;)

 

 

 

Edited by Sarahagain
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Three of the five from that set aren't fixed to the layout yet, so......

 

DSCF5043.JPG.b7e0d531411e15a90e32a399a69409e0.JPG

 

Car park attendant, dog handler & Policeman.  They all were originally on very large bases like the dog handler.

I'm certain they came in a pack of figures rather than with model vehicles.

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Yes, those are from the Husky set 1574 'Public officers', I don't have all of that set but I do have the two on the right plus the WPC and traffic warden. From the picture I've seen of an unopened set (they came in a bubble pack) the lollipop man is rather larger than the others. The range will come under the 'Miscellaneous' heading, though only two of the sets will be featured as all the figures in the other two are obviously much too large.

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My Husky crossing warden is stuck firmly to the layout, but you can see him in the photo below...

 

DSCF5046.JPG.d54e412af4f6383dd9d5fd0aa16a7055.JPG

 

Whilst being larger than the other figures, he doesn't look too overpowering compared with the Merit schoolboys.

 

The Husky figures were apparently a nominal 1:64 from what I discovered elsewhere.

 

.

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That would be a very nominal scale though given you have a great variance in both height and build. In general terms. These two don't comfortably fit the same scale:

 

HuskyVariance.jpg.40cac542e5631c616ce641d6d6f3246d.jpg

 

Were he stood upright, the figure on the right (from set 1572) would be around 8 foot tall compared to 5' 9" (ignoring the base in both cases) in 4mm scale. On the other hand, if the taller figure were 6 foot, the traffic warden would be only 4' 4" high working to the same scale.

Their vehicle models were like Matchbox, with 'fit the box' scaling, though that is often, not very accurately, referred to as 1:64 scale.

 

 

Edited by BernardTPM
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I re-read 'Narrow Gauge Adventure' by P D Hancock this morning to check on a few facts and came across some photos showing GF figures on station platform and around his locoshed.  Looks like ther were quite a few.  He also mentions a range from Ireland to a slightly smaller scale but he used several of these also.

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5050 - The Irish range was Authenticast.

There is also information on some of the GF figures and some of the other worthies who populate Craigshire in the thread P. D. Hancock - Craig and Mertonford Railway in the Narrow Gauge Forum of Rmweb, it all starts part way down page 1 with the post by Albyn on May 14.  This thread on plastic figures is a spin-off.

Malcolm

 

Edited by dunwurken
Correction from humanitures to authenticast
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I've been through my collection of old MRN, MRC and RM magazines of the 1949-'63 period when the majority of these figures were new and have been able to add a few extra dates and snippets of info. I've also slightly tidied the headers. Further info always welcomed, but that's about it for now.

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The Illustrated Kemlow Story - Including the Mastermodel Story by Paul Brookes came out in 2009.  You can order a copy on ebay for £22.95  or by emailing mastermodels@btinternet.com as Paul accepts Paypal or a cheque.  Via a mutual pal I was given Paul's telephone number and had a few words with him.  He only has a few copies left so if you want one get one now!  The book does explain that the three firms - Kemlow, Merit (J & L Randall) and Slaters were all based in Wood Green in the 1950s within a few hundred yards of each other.  A lot of employees were temporary and moved between the firms.  Basically the latter two firms did indeed copy the Kemlow figures, though the actual story is quite complicated and you really need to buy the book to find out some details of what happened and the fate of Mastermodels in the 1960s when they also began making items in plastic.

regards,

Albyn

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On 07/06/2020 at 14:40, 5050 said:

I re-read 'Narrow Gauge Adventure' by P D Hancock this morning to check on a few facts and came across some photos showing GF figures on station platform and around his locoshed.  Looks like ther were quite a few.  He also mentions a range from Ireland to a slightly smaller scale but he used several of these also.

 Was  the Irish range   Authenticast ?

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9 hours ago, CKPR said:

 Was  the Irish range   Authenticast ?

Yes.  They also made figures in O gauge as well as HO I think.  The Binns Road website has some photos of the O gauge sets but  I've no idea whether these were identical to the smaller figures.

Albyn 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 02/06/2020 at 23:38, BernardTPM said:

Hornby Dublo

 

The first set of plastic figures date from 1960/'61 (advertised in January 1961 MRN & RM which would have been out about Christmas 1960). Two more sets were added around 1961-'62, set 054 available by mid 1962 (review MRN July '62).

 

050 - Railway staff  (12 figures supplied)

050pic1.jpg.9000171e6d3a3f6f4868035c6c7edd9d.jpg

The figure on the far right has lost the head of his shovel (sorry, I don't have one with that intact).

 

050pic2.jpg.e163155176568f2fd753f3f830a0b38f.jpg

The shunter's pole (2nd left) should reach the ground the figure on the far right should have a green flag (sorry, I don't have ones with those features intact).

 

With the exception of the policeman with hands behind his back, the first series bases have Hornby Dublo Meccanno Ltd moulded in.

HDbase.jpg.0a48bc860a2b7645e77a9a09102fae6b.jpg

That new policeman (with plain base) apparently replaced the shunter with pole later on as the pole was to easy to damage (I assume meaning damaged prior to packing).

 

052 - Railway station passengers  (10 figures* plus bench)

052pic1.jpg.b95c1890c8b5ff29016effa78d8e825a.jpg

052pic2.jpg.af3127f6727d0fa64afbc070be52ad03.jpg

* counting seated mother and child as one

 

054 - Railway station personnel  (supplied with bicycle, trollies, luggage, etc.)

054.jpg.b62f5a15ce46c240ef09c71c7c450db8.jpg

 

 

Michael Foster speculated that these might have been made under licence rather than at Binns Road with Waddingtons being a candidate (as they had 'previous' in moulded plastic figures thanks to Subbuteo). I don't know whether that has any truth in it.

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On 03/06/2020 at 17:22, Albyn said:

Mr Hancock did indeed make use of Graham Farish figures.  This thread is a spin off from one on P D Hancock The Craig and Mertonford Railway.  I think one of the problems is that none of us know exactly what most of the GF figures looked like.

regards,

Albyn

I didn't realise GF did so much on the 00 accessories front. I used some of their printed shop-front display/Dutch blind sheets to add to scratchbuilt and Superquick buildings years ago.

 

David

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On 03/06/2020 at 12:49, BernardTPM said:

There does seem to be some kind of connection between the Slater's Huminiatures, early Merit (5056 to 5082) and even earlier diecast figures, but I don't believe Merit ever sold metal figures. If I can find examples I will show these, probably in the Slater's Huminiatures section.

 

I believe you're right that there was a link to Waddingtons for at least the later Hornby Dublo plastic figures. Once the basic photography is done I'll explore that further in the Hornby Dublo section.

I see I'm not the first poster to mention the HD/Subbuteo link...

 

David

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On 02/06/2020 at 23:33, BernardTPM said:

Slater's Huminiatures

 

From History of Model & Miniature Railways (New English Library 1974) p.275

"Slater's Huminiatures, small scale plastic figures, have been around since the end of the War"

The earliest mention I have found so far for Slater's is the December 1950 issue of Model Railway News in an advert placed by Attenborough Model Railway of Nottingham - Further Slater's plastic Huminiatures for gauge "OO".

Originally supplied ready painted in small cardboard boxes, the figures are still available unpainted:

4A03 - Locomotive Crew

4A26 - Assorted Figures

4A27 - Seated Figures

 

Some of the figures appear to be identical to those used by Merit in sets in the number range 5056 to 5082. In turn some of these are very like Master Models diecast figures. See this post by Sarah. There's some interesting wording in a Slater's ad in Model Railway Constructor, October 1959 "Always insist on having "HUMINIATURES," refuse all copies and imitations."

Three versions of the seated figures had no equivalent in the Merit range:

 

SlatersOnlySeated.jpg.f6efc2a71a32d5e24c3140e4de647941.jpg

I have just populated my station platform sears with an unearthed and very old bag of these:) 

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