MPC Royal Canadian Mounted Police Set UNK YR (No Box) - Pt 3 MPC 60mm MP120 & MP122 Ring Hands

One of the unusual aspects about this set were the figures. They were all of the older style ring hands (I know, I know - mostly these are slot hands, but generically the MPC guys are referred to as 'ring hands'). Also, they were all in blue vs. the traditional red of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. That's easily rectified because I have enough red ring hands to make it a 'proper' Mounty set. But for now, let's just look at the blue figures that came with my purchase.

Ed

The 'MP' designations (like 'MP120' & 'MP122' shown here today) have been around for quite some time. I don't know who first came up with them but they do make identifying figures a bit easier.

Courtesy Toy Soldier HQ

These first two figures were photographed without accessories.

MP120

Quite frankly, this guy looks more like a garage mechanic than he does a military or police figure. That said, if he were in olive green then yes, he could pass for a motor pool mechanic or even flightline mechanic as those guys did wear overalls.

MP122

This guy is definitely a ring hand, and the figure itself has a distinct backward lean.

MPC Royal Canadian Mounted Police Set UNK YR (No Box) - Pt 1

I just got this set in a couple of weeks ago. While doing random searches in fleaBay I came across this lot containing a bunch of MPC's early slot-hand figures, accessories, and a jail with blue front wall. The seller listed it as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) set and I'm okay with that as the accessories included bear that out - most especially the wide-brimmed 'ranger' hats. Okay, I hear what you're saying: maybe they were a part of an American park ranger or Boy Scout set. Also plausible, but then too I have never seen sets like those from MPC.  

After a quick follow-up with the seller he stated that the set was acquired a couple of years ago at the Chicago Toy Soldier Show and it was identified and sold as a RCMP set. Even without the original packaging that is a plausible assumption, based on MPC's prolific re-packaging of its buildings and figures into a myriad of sets. And they did of course sell a lot of them in Canada. Without the original packaging or a catalog reference (did these appear in any Eaton's or Simpsons-Sears catalogs???) I can't pin down a year.

You can see all the pieces that came in the set in the following photo. I'll be posting the jail and figures separately.

Ed

Several wide-brimmed ranger hats (plus what appears to be a baseball cap??), a Billy club, handcuffs, and a sign that says 'QUIET ZONE' may all be indicative of a Canadian set as I have yet to see an MPC American police set with those accessories.