Friday, 7 June 2013

SWORD PLAY



A recent trip to the Royal Armouries in Leeds [England] revealed lots of plastic toy swords, helmets, breastplates and shields for sale in the shop. It took me right back!
 
 
I loved plastic toy swords and armour as a kid. Absolutely loved them. Battles were fought with my bruvvers and mates, inside in the winter and in the garden in summer. It was all year round!
 
 
Holidays were a great time to pick up a new sword or helmet. Seaside and resort kiosks were choc full of them, the swords in big tubs like umbrella stands and the shields slung on hooks. Occasionally a cool roman or knight's helmet would turn up , which I'd pester my poor Parents for, often at Butlins during the 1960's.
 
 
One sword I particularly loved was a sort of Spanish Toledo [not sure of its name] with an ornate grip, jewelled pommel and plastic scabbard, a bit like these.

 
 
Were toy swords and helmets big in your house?

6 comments:

  1. Oh Yes! Roman helmet, shield and short sword (on an awful hard vinyl dog-s**t coloured belt!), my brother had a more medieval get-up if memory serves? Yes - with a breast-plate.

    The swords always used to split down the moulding lines, leaving you fighting with two limp propeller blades!!

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  2. The swords and helmet theme wasn't there, but swords as part of American Civil War play was certainly there.

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  3. Don't remember having a sword as a kid (but remember them being around), got a couple now though, a replica of Duncan MacLeod's katana from 'Highlander' and an American cavalry sabre!

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  4. Very much gun law in the Bulloch household!

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  5. Like Bill, my youth favoured guns instead of swords. But fatherhood has very much included swords for my sons. Mostly holidaying in France, there's usually something to do with knights, including the Puy du Fou and reenactments at Agincourt. The latter inspired some interest in heraldry, so I made the boys some proper-looking shields (aluminium over wood with leather straps) with their own coats of arms painted on. Plus a pair of wooden swords that would pass for the real thing at a distance. :) happy times.
    Best -- Paul

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  6. We were gun toting kids in my neighborhood. The dreaded disc and yellow ball guns mainly along with a lot of noise maker guns. My favorite was the long barreled Marx blue tommy gun. So much so that I cried when it got broke about 20 years later. Sure, it hardly made a noise as the gears from the trigger to the sound mechanism were worn out but that gun served me well thru The Rat Patrol and Combat phases of my youth. I got lucky a couple years back and snagged some wonderful intact ones in an auction. One even still had the stickers on it (which we all took off because guns don't have stickers!)

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