The Lone Star Custom Armoury

 Before they all go into storage, here's a final group shot of our five custom Lone Star swords. 

Which is your favourite?

Operation Lone Star Customs - The Five Toy Swords: 5. Dick Turpin

 Our final Lone Star custom, Dick Turpin's sword released between 1979 and 1982.

Again, with reference material kindly supplied by John Buss of Murdersville, Bill was able to create a really fabulous backing card and I was able to get the sword guard gold colour right.

So here goes, the latest of Lone Star's swords and the last of our customs:

Hope you like it.

In the catalogue picture provided by John there was an image of the sword along with a neckerchief and what I assume to be Dick Turpin's black cap. I think they came with the sword sold in toy shops.

Here's my rather shoddy imitation of it.

That's it, we're done with Lone Star's swords.

Hope you enjoyed the journey.

Next up, Secret Sam!

Operation Lone Star Customs - The Five Toy Swords: 4. Sir Francis Drake

 This is our fourth custom 1960's UK TV toy sword and special thanks must go to Murdersville's John Buss for supplying us with a very rare catalogue image* of it, along with an old TV Times cover:

The Lone Star Sir Francis Drake sword and matchlock.

Lone Star issued the sword on its own, the gun on its own and both together, which is the set we've gone for.

It's unclear if any real examples have survived.

Our constituent toys were via eBay: the sword is a modern basic toy rapier from the Rubberplantation and the pistol is a genuine vintage Lone Star, albeit a Captain Cutlass/ Buccaneers matchlock, but the same design nonetheless

Colours were taken from the catalogue text.

Again, star billing goes to Bill for the card art. Having pulled out all the stops and sprinkled some magic dust I'm sure you'll agree it looks fabulous! Believe me, he didn't have that much to go on! 

So, here goes. Hope you like it.

*

* The catalogue image that John provided is from his new book on Robin Hood and ITC Swashbuckling Collectables, which I have just ordered ( John has written lots of collectables books such as The Saint and The Avengers)

Royal Armouries Leeds

 A recent flying visit to the Royal Armouries gift shop boasted these fab mini model weapons. 

Looking at them I had Action Man on my mind and wondered why Palitoy never did a Knight in armour suit? It would have been great.

Mini Helmets

Detailed rifles

Swords

Life size Ammo boxes

Life size helmets

Plastic warrior arsenal

Fantastic plastic katanas

Mini zip holders

The Armouries famous tower of steel, looking upwards.

And the coolest car ever parked nearby! 

Any good?

Civil War News

A recent trip to Oakwell Hall, run by Bradford Council, brought back memories.

I loved the arms and armour in the window. I had plastic versions as a young knight. You too? These were a bit later. Cromwellians with muskets, big news round here during the English Civil War with the Battle of Adwalton Moor close by.

The shop sold die-cast soldiers, civil war key rings ....

And boxed canons. These seem to have always been around. I don't think they're toys but I had some as a kid too; you?

The sweet corner was ... Sweet! What's your favourite? I'm very partial to a chocolate peanut.

Do you visit old halls, houses and monuments?

Truncheon Meat

After a nice meat pasty for lunch, we visited Ripon Police Museum today, where Junior got a metal Special Police pin badge. It took me right back to when I loved buying badges wherever I was taken by my Parents and older Sisters as a kid. Tin Sheriff's stars were a real favourite, to go with cap-firing colt 45's.

Junior wanted a plastic truncheon too. Had it been 1971 it wouldn't have been an issue. I would have wanted one too and got one to pound my older Brothers with. Alas Time moves on and truncheons and little Junior sisters don't mix! A recipe for disaster.

Like all good museums you could get toy versions of everything and besides the badge and truncheon there were plastic helmets and working handcuffs.

I adored stuff like this as a kid, especially plastic swords and armour. Seeing them in Museum shops still gives me a huge thrill.

Did you have a plastic truncheon or tin badge or handcuffs readers?

THE DIG

Me and the Missus caught a flick the other night called The Dig.

Its a modern film recreating how the Sutton Hoo horde was unearthed in Suffolk in 1939 as the Second World War broke.

Its certainly not an action film and takes on the pace of soil being slowly scraped away but it was very enjoyable and interesting.

The champion of the dig, on whose land it is, is one Mrs. Edith Pretty ably encouraged by her young son, who in the film is a Back Rogers nut. The archaeologist or 'excavator' as he called himself is Mr. Basil Brown.

What they find under the mound is magnificent: an entire wooden ship bursting with Anglo-Saxon treasures like coins, swords and all sorts. Oddly the famous helmet isn't shown.

It would appear from the flick that the 'authorities' took credit for the find and for years Basil brown was unknown. It was only relatively recently that his work was formally acknowledged. 

I remember reading about Sutton Hoo as a kid and being entranced by the majesty of the gold torques and the shining helmet. I don't think I had any specific toys relating to Hoo but I adored plastic armour and swords. I really did. So much so that I find myself staring at them in Museum shops were they always seem to be. One of my favourites was a plastic mace made from brown plastic. I also loved digging up pottery and the like in my parent's garden. I even buried some coins in a biscuit tin.

On a whim I googled Sutton Hoo toys and lots of stuff appeared. I didn't even need a trowel. I was most surprised by a Timpo Viking figure wearing a Sutton Hoo helmet.

Did you have anything like this or any plastic arms and armour?

The Toy Soldier Company

ZORRO MASK N SIGNAL FLASH! WHAT?

 I didn't know what to make of this I saw on an old auction.

I quite Zorro and his flashing blade as I was a big sword fan as a kid. I would have enjoyed a plastic rapier. I'm pretty sure I had one.

But no. This crazy set tries to bring Zorro up to date. Forget the foil, you get a signal flash gun!

I'm not usually bothered by what Wote would call an anachronism [don't try to say it fast!] but the gun just doesn't belong!

Zorro needs to slash a Z. Give him a sword!

Here's a Lone Star classic.

Stand and deliver! What say you?

MY INFINITY STONES ARE GLOWING

This is a friend's modern toy.

A plastic illuminated replica of the glove worn by super-baddie Thanos in the Avengers movies.

The lights represent the Infinity Stones, the most powerful objects in the universe I think.

Its the sort of thing I'd have loved as a kid as well. Would you?

It recalls the clunky plastic Knights' armour I adored in the Sixties.

Did you have any toy armour?

THE TENTACLED WAR

I've been off-blog for two weeks but I'm slowly easing my way back now. The first week was official RnR, the second an unwelcome bad cold!

Bill's last post about those beautiful and delicate War of the Worlds [WoW] miniatures from Japan immediately brought to my mind images of Samurai helmets and motifs.

The tentacled base featured on ancient tsuba or sword guards like this gorgeous octopoidal swirl.

The skull-like top of the WoW miniatures recall the skulls found in the designs of Okimono or ornaments. This smooth one is festooned with a curling snake.

Overall Bill's WoW pieces reminded me of a Japanese Samurai's helmet or Kabuto resting on a tall stand or Yoroi.

Beautiful objects all don't you think?

Do you collect Japanese miniatures or objects?

I HAVE THE POWER...OR DO I?

here's another toy Sword online.

The Power Sword,

Looks like a light sabre.

But what is that artwork dammit?

I've seen it before but where?

You readers?

*

Update

Based on Ranunculus' idea of Conan I found this.

Sort of similar?

WHEN KNIGHTS WERE YOUNG

Knights were a huge deal when I was a kid. Like Dinosaurs and Pirates, Knights were one of those essential pages of history which kids just wanted to jump in.

My bookcase was full of Knights and Minarets and tilt-yards. Ivanhoe and the Black Arrow leap to mind - in glossy hardbacks, the publisher of which escapes me. I know they weren't Ballantine. Those were matt with a grainy feel, not gloss like these.

Alongside classic kids novels were history books. History back then was about Kings and Queens and battles and castles. One book I adored was A Pageant of History. You could get one free in TV21 - see below - but mine will have come from Sweetens bookshop in Preston town centre I would have thought. My Mum and Dad must have had shares in the place the number of Sweetens books we had in the house. Sweetens always put a tiny oblong sticker on the inside cover giving their name and address.

The thing I liked the most about A Pageant of History were the simple line drawings of Kings and Queens of Great Britain going right back to before William the Conquerer 1066 . I would happily copy these drawings all day - mostly heads and crowns - in light blue Silvine drawing books like this.

God how I loved drawing in those thin side-on Silvine books. I think between Silvine, Collins and Paul Hamlyn my childhood education was sorted really. I drew in my final Silvine around 1981, which I still have in the loft. Its full of birds in watercolours. That was my twitcher period!

Did you draw in Silvine drawing books?

In my folk's old downstairs bookcase were more historical books. One was an ancient looking green hardback with pages of super thin paper. It was a book of Sir Walter Scott's stories and there were a few of these, from different antiquarian authors. I wonder where those books ended up? Probably the bin.

Another book of my Mum's was The Heirs of the Kingdom by Zoe Oldenbourg. I actually still have this. It was a gift to her in 1973 from my older brother. From Sweetens bookshop no less. I tried to read it last year but found the style hard going. I'll give it another whirl one day for old time's sake.

Did you like to read about knights of old readers?

ACTION MAN'S SHINY CUIRASS

When I was a nipper I adored the ceremonial military uniforms Palitoy issued for Action Man.

These included the Grenadier Guard with the big furry busby but more especially the Royal Life Guard.

One of the attractions of this uniform was the beautiful plastic sword and scabbard which came with it.

I was sort of obsessed with swords as a kid and Palitoy's sabre was a no-brainer.

Much later when I started going to toy fairs I was intrigued to see a carded accessory set allover the place, which contained the very same sword and the breastplate I love so much as a little Life Guard.

Looking into it I discovered it to be a 40th Anniversary issue by Modellers Loft. In fact its still available as a new item on their website!

I am still unsure if it's a re-issue of a Palitoy carded set or whether Modellers Loft have issued something new. Do you know readers?

This is the vacuum-packed carded set:

Seeing it I remember savouring the word cuirass as a kid. What a fabulously exotic word! It describes the front and back plates together. The front is commonly known as the breastplate. Another older word for this is the plackart.

The other figures I had which enjoyed a good cuirass were those wonderful plastic knights released by Marx. 

Life size toy armour can still be found on the shelves of toy stores and museum shops. How terrific to dress up as a knight!

Did you like toy swords and cuirasses readers?

I Drew My Japanese Sword Slowly With a Sharpened Pencil

I was reminded recently how much I loved old weapons as a kid. 

It wasn't just weapons. It was armour, uniforms, medals and ranks.

I imagine it came from my Dad's talk of the Royal Navy and Mum's time in the WAF during World War II. Whatever it was it was given a solid boost by the arrival of Action Man, Little Big Man, Tommy Gunn and all the other plastic fighting men in my life.

One of my favourite books picturing arms and armour was the Finding Out of Battles. It was illustrated by Ron Embleton. 

I have to say the illustrations were quite brilliant and I can remember them vividly. Ron Embleton had a style all of is own but I didn't know it was him back in the Sixties. I just loved the art.

If Action Man boosted my interest then Kung Fu turned it into an obsession.

By the time I was 12 I spent more time thinking about old weaponry from medieval Japan and Europe than Dr. Who thought about his Tardis.

I even did a long project comparing the two styles and in particular swords. Researching as much as I could from books and magazines I meticulously drew loads of pencil drawings of different European sword hilts, guards and blades together with their Japanese counterparts.

This project I did when I was about 12 or 13 and was typical of the passion I gave to my various crazes, Kung Fu and Martial Arts being the most enduring of my early teens until heavy rock usurped them age 16.

I still have this research project in a folder somewhere in the attic and it will be fun to track it down and blog a few pages. I still have all the books I used to research it too 45 years later!

There was little I didn't know about English Pikes, French Basket Guards, Katana's and Wakisashi's in those days! A regular Samurai anorak I was! Its amazing how much random knowledge a teeneger can retain when he wants to!

Some of I've retained and still get a kick out of medieval arms and armour, particularly from Europe and the Orient.

What was your burning passion when you were an early teen readers?