Acrobate Excursion

After finding a few loose Acrobates on Ebay last year, my regular trawls for goodies online began to include parameters to discover other similar toys. One day I was lucky enough to spot a really badly described set of figures from the smaller range. I had run into these figures in the late seventies when someone bought a set of cheap knockoffs for my five year old nephew. I had then got myself a set, which were in an unbranded pack and made in quite flimsy plastic, resulting in the arms breaking off almost immediately. Consequently, the broken figures ended up in the scrap box destined for scratchbuilding.

The set which appeared on ebay however contained basically the same figures, but made by a more well known company, Berwick Toys. Also, they were referred to as 'Whipper Snappers' a line that I vaguely recalled. The small box was battered and dirty, the foam insert containing a host of figures and three vehicles, a bus, jeep and lorry.

The original Acrobates figures that I had been familiar with were solidly made and in deep primary shades, appealing  to my love of colour and purity of design in the same way a Lego brick does. These smaller figures, while identical in design, departed from the overall impact of the originals as they feel light and flimsy, with bright dayglo hues. The vehicles themselves are very basic and lack the charm of the acrobat horse. Beneath the cars is a trademark for the maker 'Simex', so they may have appeared under another brand again.

On the edge of the tattered box is a patent registration number, which when I looked it up, brought up the original patent by Rene Ach himself.