AOME LOTR Battle Scale Figures (International Issue) - Aragorn in Helm's Deep Armor

Way back when the blog started in 2010 we were posting Play Along Toys Armies of Middle Earth line quite regularly and then just stopped. I remember not wanting this to become a Lord of The Rings blog and quit cold turkey in December of 2011. Well heck, I miss the toys and there is still so many from Play Along waiting in The Cave that never got coverage. In the meantime my photo taking skills have progressed a little bit and I think most of these new posts will be of better quality. 

Play Along had quite a few different lines of figures and playsets, fortunately all in the same scale so that you could build up an army or diorama without worrying about mixing scales. Today's figure is from their "Battle Scale Figures" which was an international release of single figures with packaging in French and English. The characters here were released in the States but in sets with multiple figures. I've been telling myself for the past ten years that a diorama or something was just screaming to be made. Not saying I'm a slow worker or anything but that diorama is still waiting! 

Without further ado let's take a look at the first LOTR toy on the blog since 2011 - Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Parkbräu Beer .5l 'Bent P' w-Top hat Keramik Bierkruug (Ceramic Beer Stein)

Have you ever heard the saying, "They were born to sing", or "They were born to play sports" or something to that effect? Well I was born to collect and have been doing it almost as long as I can remember. One of my earlier assemblages had been coffee mugs followed by some beer mugs and steins. Nearly all of those earlier acquisitions are gone now with the exception of several given to me as presents so it was no surprise to me that I latched on to beer paraphernalia while stationed in Germany. Parkbräu was the local brewery and so it was that a bunch of their stuff just sort of gravitated to the Berg household. Here's a nice ceramic stein, or bierkrug in German, with an older style Parkbräu  'P' w/Top hat logo. You'll notice the top serif of the 'P' is bent upwards and holding the mug while the lower serif is bent downwards. Later style logos had a straight serifs. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

1950 Tom Corbett Space Ranger Tray Puzzle #7320 by Florian - Rockhill Productions

Here's another hi-res Tom Corbett Space Cadet tray puzzle from Rockhill Productions in 1950. Last week Saturday we featured another classic Tom Corbett tray puzzle featuring Tom standing out front with the Space Academy and the Polaris rocket cruiser behind him.. So far I've only noticed three different Tom Corbett scenes on these Rockhill puzzles. The third puzzle, which I don't yet have, depicts several of the gang behind a port hole on their space ship. Unlike the other puzzle featured last week, this one clearly shows the artists' name: 'Florian'. The two puzzles share the same item number '7320' so I'm guessing the third puzzle in the set shares the same number. I love the retro space art these depict and hope you do too! Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Kellogg's Corn Flakes 1956-57 Fire Engine Set

We're goin' to re-engage a subject we covered here on Toy & Stuff way back in early 2011, just a few months after the blog's beginnings: The Kellogg's Fire Department set of cereal premiums. Back then I was under the impression that there were only four vehicles in the set; a Fire Chief's car and three engines. I kind of left it that and didn't bother to pursue it more but a chance eBay listing showed how wrong I was. I was able to buy the complete, unassembled set of five vehicles plus the insert that came when you ordered the complete set from Kellogg's (vs. getting them one at a time out of the cereal boxes). The sets were available from 1956-57 I believe but I can't verify that. When you bought a set it came with one duplicate vehicle for a total of six. I did take new photos of the set as well as starting a special project. The photos will start next Friday and we'll bring you more on the project in the coming weeks. Unitl then - Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

I culled these scans of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes boxes from the Internet years ago and now I don't have a record of what website they came from! The scans are low res and you'll just be able to make out the basic info on the sets.

This is the original flyer for the set. I laughed at the suggestion of using a shoe box to make a fire house. Why? Because these vehicles are so small (smaller than HO scale, larger than N scale) that you'll need a box from a pairm of baby's shoes :-)

The reverse side showing yet another cereal premium available from Kellogg's

The vehicles came with wheel sets which were still joined together. You had to separate them prior to assembly.

That's an American $.25 (what we call  a 'Quarter') for size comparison. It's .955" (24.26mm) in diameter

TRAIN TIME: 1995 Henderson Outdoor Garden Railway

From the forgotten fotos files are some pics from an outdoor railway here in Henderson, Nevada. HOWEVER this layout is no longer there. About a year or so after these were taken back in 1995 the owner of the house had an extensive garage fire and my understanding was that he sold the house and moved. In any case, we haven't been back there to see whether or not the layout still exists. 

This set-up is unique in that it was in the front yard vs. the back yard where most garden railways are located. The yard had a Plexiglas surround atop a cribbing of 4x4 lumber. There were also motion sensors and other alarm systems in place. Apparently the neighborhood people left it alone because it was quite unattended on the day of our visit and everything looked just fine. The scenery is quite nice, depicting an Old West theme and the front of the house was even painted to serve as the backdrop. Even though it's no longer there, the details are nice to peruse. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

 

Gilmark Merchandising Corp Build-A-Car Convertible Gray-Red HP

Here's an early Nifty '50s car from Gilmark Merchandising Corp, USA. The Build-A-Car line was essentially the same sedan body but with either hardtop or convertible and available in a variety of colors. They had opening hoods revealing a motor underneath and measured  4 1/8" (10.47cm) L x 1 5/8" (4.12cm) W x 1 1/4" (3.17cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina