SHEPTON MALLET TOY FAIR

                             A FESTIVE OUTING TO SOMERSET

On December 14 Chris and I went on a day out to Shepton Mallet Toy Fair, which is held at the Royal Bath & Somerset Grounds. It has a reputation for being the largest in the Southwest, and that three hundred traders might attend. I can't say whether it was the Christmas festivities but in my opinion it was not that much larger than the Exeter event. And, the typical pricing of items was possibly higher. I'm inclined to suggest the railway and toy soldier traders were low in number, or making up a smaller proportion of what was largely sci-fi and lego stands. So was it worthwhile?

This was a successful day out because we had agreed to meet family members, George and Lianne. We later drove on to Frome where we had a splendid roast dinner. Concerning the fair, well, I did pick up some useful additions to my collection, but that is as far as I'm willing to go.

And here are the new acquisitions. I rather like this metal French(?) Napoleonic staff officer. Will restore the original high quality paintwork. It cost £5. In height it is similar to Airfix.

Any help in identifying the manufacturer or retailer would be appreciated. The base is tin? With clipped corners.

I will always accept a Cherilea archer, it will join my French unit made up of the same. It cost £2 which is a bit high, but the bow is still intact.

Probably paid too much for this Deetail Confederate too, £3...... it was an early purchase!

Towards the end of our visit I discovered a bag of naval figures........ I need some more open-handed to man my gunboats. The trader charged £2 each, which is fine.

This Crescent figure has a shorter outfit, distinct from the British uniform. I find them very useful.

But this figure will be serving with the Royal Navy gunboats.

Now this is rather interesting. It is a plastic Royal Navy officer made by GE-MODELS. The scale is 51mm, which is fine with my gunboats. I include a file photo showing the full range, which included sea cadets. I paid £1, which I like!

My figure is on the far right.https://www.bonhams.com/auction/19297/lot/1338/gemodels-plastic-royal-navy-15/

With another trader George spotted this figure. I paid out heavily, £8. But I have always wanted a W. Britains Admiral. I will paint strip this figure, it deserves a smart uniform!

And finally, a WW1 lead figure with gas mask.......... hope it proves useful, Graham!

MGB

RAILWAY BUFFERS

Have been viewing this O Gauge Hornby Hydraulic Buffers No.2A for several weeks in the Collectables shop. After exchanging Christmas cards with the shop owner, I took the plunge. He kindly allowed a discount and I purchased it for £7. I will give it a light clean but unsure whether to restore the paintwork, no plans to paint strip this pre1930s model, but I might increase and polish the brass-work for aesthetic appeal.

I was also able to pick up a W. Britains Royal Artillery pack gun crewman for £2. It will probably have a head swap and end up with the Hessian artillery battery.

THOSE NEW ADDITIONS PAINTED AND BASED

Here are the figures picked up at the Shepton Mallet fair.

SOME CHARITY SHOP FINDS

On December 20 I popped into a local charity shop. They've had a box of badly damaged toy cars for several weeks, charging £1 each. To my surprise I found three items of definite interest.

 I picked up a Lone Star jeep. Now I already have one of these fully restored. They are a bit small for 54mm but some of my WW2 Americans are closer to 50mm.

Here it is repainted for service with my Seabees unit. Have added some perspex to the windscreen. The US Navy occasionally painted their jeeps in shades of grey or grey-blue.

I have no problem adding a WW1 Crescent 18pdr gun. A bit scratched but otherwise all in working order, including its toe hitch. It has now been lightly restored, removing any chips in the paintwork.

This is a W.Britains Triumph Thunderbird police motorbike no.9697, missing its megaphone, handlebars, and petrol cap. But for £1 I'll take the gamble and consider my options how to use it. One idea is to keep it as a police bike, with black paintwork. Some constabularies did this. These bikes were used by British police in the 1950s-70s. 

And here it is stripped, repaired, painted and varnished.

No plans to recreate a miniature of Marlon Brando in the movie The Wild One (1953). But the Thunderbird used in the film was actually his, having purchased it in 1950! A rather 'cool' fellow, and a great actor, he is superb in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). To my total surprise, I had assumed he was of Italian ancestry (blame the Godfather movie). But he was actually of German, Dutch, English and Irish stock.

And on another visit I picked up this Corgi tractor, just £1. Now this model design was produced in the 1950s but with a slight liberty it will pass muster as a WW2 Massey-Harris model 101, used by US Forces. It still had its steering wheel, just needed paint stripping and repainting. Here it is completely restored. I will attach it to my Seabees runway construction unit.

GONE FISHING!

On December 31, I spotted this fishing boat in a local charity store. I still had to pay £5 for it, but the potential for an attractive maritime addition was high. It certainly would need a good clean, and I would have to clear some of the deck clutter for a suitable crew.

Having got home, could not resist starting work on the boat. First job was to go outside and use a make-up brush to remove the accumulated dust and fluff. Some of the deck woodwork had no value to the model and was removed. Any dangling ties were also cut away. I then sanded any rough areas, and tidied up the paintwork. A coat of varnish spray completed this two hour project. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MGB