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?

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?

plastic swords graced my little hands

I had the pleasure of handling a plastic Katana on Saturday.

For those wondering what a Katana is, its a Samurai sword.

I was obsessed with Samurai swords when I was  young teenager so a plastic sword would have been an absolute boon!

The plastic Katana by Ravensden, complete with hand-guard and scabbard, was being sold in the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

Did you have any plastic swords and or armour when you were a kid readers?

ARE CHEAP SPACE TOYS DEAD?

Just been into two huge discount shops in Wakefield's city centre. Not Poundland or Pound Shop, these were even cheaper, the 89p + shop and one called Mini Market. You must have shops like these near you?

The toy sections were vast affairs and I always have a butchers to see which knockoffs are popular and whether there's anything interesting from China. Without doubt the knockoff of choice at the moment is anything to do with the Avengers. That's the Marvel gang and not Emma Peel.

Most of the larger toys are utility vehicles like huge boxed cement mixers and motorbikes and the top racks are draped with massive carded weapons sets, everything from Police SWAT sets, Knights in Armour to the new kids on the block, Ninja Killers.

The Ninja weapons sets are quite amazing and I would have fought Bruce Lee himself for them forty years ago! The table-sized blister cards contain plastic nunchaks, plastic shurikens, a plastic Ninjato Katana sword and scabbard, a sai or two, maybe a tonfa and best of all, a short plastic bow and quiver of rubber-tipped plastic arrows, the Yumi and Ya. Mind boggling. I had to make them all from scratch when I was 12!

However, the most interesting thing about these cheapo store toy shelves is the complete lack of space-related stuff. Not a rocket, a missile, an astronaut or a spaceship. Not even a space shuttle anymore. Nasa? Nada!

I have come to the conclusion that modern cheap space toys are dead or dying!

What do you think?

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?