HOORAY!!!
The weather looks set to be ok this weekend!!!
So I'm very pleased to announce that I'll definitely be doing THE CUSTOMS HOUSE EASTER OPEN MARKET!!
This will take place on Easter Sunday (April 1st), at The Customs House antiques centre down on West Bay Harbour in Dorset.
I already have a unit at this amazing location, so you can visit the stall and pop up the stairs at the Grade II listed building and visit the unit as well!!
I'll be bringing along a vast selection of retro toys, cars and games as well as some fabulous football stuff, including programmes, games and my own footie designs on A4 frames and cards.
Kick-off is at 10am, and is absolutely FREE to get in, so see you there!!
Had an amazing day at the GIANT TOY COLLECTORS FAIR at Shepton Mallet last Sunday!
In fact it was record-breaking sales for me!!!!
It was great to be out there again trading, as I hadn't done a proper fair for quite a while.
Last year I'd upped sticks from Southend to Dorset and spent the rest of the year sorting out stuff and catching up on sleep!!
So 2018 was going to be the year of starting up again.
I'm really hoping to do an outside stall at my regular haunt of THE CUSTOMS HOUSE in West Bay, Dorset this coming Easter Sunday.
I already have a unit at this brilliant place, and they do special days where you can have a market stall outside in the courtyard of this amazing historical building.
However, it all depends on the pesky weather!!!!
So I'll have to let you know later in the week.
If that doesn't happen, you can find me at my next fair at the splendid EXETER FLEA MARKET on Saturday 14th April.
Tomorrow is the big day!!!
I'll be at the Royal Bath & West Showground super-early in the morning to set-up!!
Kick-off is officially at 10-30am, closing at 2-30pm, but if you fancy sneaking in early they do a special Early Bird admission at 8am!
Costs a tenner, but as there are 250+ stalls you get extra time to see everything, and crucially, before everyone else does! Otherwise it costs £4 to get in at 10-30am.
I'll have a stall that will be absolutely heaving, I'm bringing tonnes of stuff!!!
Everything from retro Star Wars toys, classic Matchbox, Corgi and Dinky cars, games, annuals, a few odd bits and loads more!
So come along and say hello!!
Retro classic Star Wars toy, the Turret & Probot Playset.
Very rare Mobile Action Command Rescue Center made by Matchbox.
Blow Football game dating back to the Edwardian era.
Lovely 1950s wooden cube jigsaw puzzle, with 6 different Fairy Tale pictures to complete.
Boxed Corgi Ford Thunderbird from the TV series Vegas.
From another TV gem, a Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica series.
These are just some of the great items I've got to sell, everything must go!!
This is a very rare gem made by Matchbox in the 1970s.
The idea was an elite rescue team were housed in a secret mountain, that came to life with all sorts of rescue vehicles appearing from nowhere!
Take a look online and you will hardly see any references to this toy, let alone any for sale.
Which is odd when you consider it was made by the major players at Matchbox. It may have been marketed mainly in America, as they use the American spelling for 'Centre'??
The unassuming MAC Mountain, before its secrets are revealed!
Now with all the various compartments opened.
A ramp for vehicles to drive in.
A look-out post with satellite antenna.
Now turned around to reveal the secrets within.
Men in scarily tight uniforms working away!
Here it is with a bit of action going on!
Close-up of some of the rescue teams.
The Fire Fighting Vehicle.
Police Patrol Unit with original box and figure.
Snow Rescue Vehicle, again with box and figure.
Sea Rescue Unit, with box but sadly no figure it seems, presumably missing in action!
Still got the original instruction sheet.
And how about this for authenticity?
It's always difficult to date many vintage and retro items precisely, but tucked away at the bottom of the box is this sticker. It gives you the exact date it was completed in the factory – 19th May 1976.
Wow!!
This fantastic retro toy will be on sale on my stall at the GIANT TOY COLLECTORS FAIR at Shepton Mallet on 25th March.
Come and rescue it!
This is one of the most simple but effective games ever invented, and is still being produced to this day.
The example I've got here is a fantastic vintage version.
Housed in a lovely red box, its actually quite hard to date, my first guess was that it was from the 1920s.
But taking into account the style of illustration on the box, and the look of the goalkeepers, it could even be edging into the Edwardian era.
All the game needed was two goalies, four hollow sticks to blow through and a marble!
Set the game up on a table and you are ready.
Here is a closer look at the goalkeepers, they do have the air of an Edwardian gent, don't they?!
They actually remind me of a famous goalie from the late 1890s/1900s – WILLIAM 'FATTY' FOULKE.
He was quite a legend, being 6ft 4 inches tall and weighing 22st, he won two FA Cup winners medals with Sheffield United, was Chelsea's first ever goalkeeper in 1905 and was capped by England.
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| ©Wikipedia |
See what I mean??!
So these characters could have been modelled on our hero from yesteryear.
If you fancy having a go at this fantastic bit of football history, you can find it on my stall at the GIANT TOY COLLECTORS FAIR at Shepton Mallet on 25th March!
More exciting retro STAR WARS goodies here!
They were produced by Kenner between 1978 and 1980, and were high-quality reproductions of the many spaceships and vehicles that appeared in both STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK films.
Kenner made eleven of these models in metal, and what they called 'High Impact Plastic', to create these classic toys.
This X-WING FIGHTER was one of the original releases in 1978.
The fantastic MILLENNIUM FALCON came out in 1979, a year before The Empire Strikes Back appeared on the screen.
Also out in 1979 was this superb Y-WING FIGHTER , which helped the Rebels destroy the Death Star in the original film. It has a bomb that can be released at the bottom and even has detachable wings!
Next up are two models that both appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and were brought out in 1980.
The bounty hunter Boba Fett's SLAVE I .
And the REBEL ARMOURED SNOWSPEEDER , that gallantly battled against the At-At Walkers on the ice planet of Hoth!
GOOD NEWS!
They are all for sale and will be on my stall at the GIANT TOY COLLECTORS FAIR at Shepton Mallet on 25th March!
Got another classic toy from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK to show you!
It's the cuddly Tauntaun!!!
Very handy transport when you are on a freezing ice planet called Hoth. Although they do tend to freeze up and keel over if left standing for too long.
Just ask Han Solo!!!
This is one of the brilliant STAR WARS toys made by Palitoy, tying in with the 1980 movie.
I still have the original box, which also has the price label from 1980 on it – £5.25, wow!
You can recreate the scene when Han was out on patrol with the Tauntaun, or out searching for the missing Luke Skywalker, as the toy had a nifty feature that allowed you to place a figure inside the top of the creature, making it appear that it was sitting on top!
See above where the gap in the saddle is, where you can push the figure into place!
Hey presto, Han is off on patrol!
Just like on the box!
I also have the TURRET & PROBOT PLAYSET and the TWIN-POD CLOUD CAR from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK film, and the whole lot will be on sale on my stall at the GIANT TOY COLLECTORS FAIR at Shepton Mallet on 25th March.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!
