About Me

My photo
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Sunday 2 August 2015

Abel and Fry - Abel & Fry

London, UK

1901-1914 (some sources state 1910-14)

Slightly smaller than standard size (approximately 50mm) fully-round hollow-cast lead toy soldiers, Garratt (via Richards and Wade) mentions 45mm figures designed to be placed in trays, probably a form of automata that allowed for parade drill movements, a common type of 'interactive' toy at the time.

What This Entry Needs
Firmer dates
Better company history / logo?
Full product listing

Abbiati Wargames

Via Mazzini, 12, 22036 Erba (Co), P.Iva 02830130130, ITALY
Tel: 031.611259
Mobile 1: 340-3287420
Mobile 2: 349-2862984
Website: http://www.abbiatiwargames.com/

Francesco Abbiati- owner/sculptor?

Producer of scenic items, buildings and terrain for war gamers in various scales for both historical and fantasy settings.

What This Entry Needs
Complete listings (my Italian isn't good enough!)
Better company history

Absolute Scale Models - ASM - ASModels - AS Models

USA

2003-2005

Proposed manufacturer of removal box-bodied vans ('pantechnicons') and trailers for transporting racing cars, scale unknown, but likely to be close to 1:87th scale and aimed specifically at US 'Amtrak' model railway enthusiasts. Products were announced in 2003, but nothing came of the venture and the plug was pulled in 2005.

Joe Bohannon - Owner

Announced Listing
276-7500 - Dromedary Box (solid resin casting)
276-7501 - Aerodyne II Sleeper with Airfoil (solid resin casting)
276-7502 - Aerodyne II Sleeper Flat-top (solid resin casting)
276-7503 -
276-7504 -
276-7505 - 120" Condo Sleeper (long 'custom' trailer, solid resin casting)
276-7506 - 132" Condo Sleeper (long 'custom' trailer, solid resin casting)
276-7507 -
276-7508 -
276-7509 - 160" Condo Sleeper (long 'custom' trailer, solid resin casting)
276-7880 - Tandem-axle Racing-car Transport Trailer (resin, 9 part kit)
276-7881 - Tri-axle Racing-car Transport Trailer (resin, 9 part kit)
276-7882 - Spread-axle Racing-car Transport Trailer (resin, 9 part kit)
276-7883 - Tandem-axle Moving-van Trailer (pantechnicon trailer, resin, 8 part kit)
276-7884 - Tri-axle Moving-van Trailer (pantechnicon trailer, resin, 8 part kit)
276-7885 - Spread-axle Moving-van Trailer (pantechnicon trailer, resin, 8 part kit)
276-7886 - Tandem-axle Skirt (resin, 1 pair)
276-7887 - Tri-axle skirt (resin, 1 pair)
276-7888 - Spread-axle skirt (resin, 1 pair)
276-7889 - Equipment Box (resin, 1 piece)
276-7890 - Rear Door for Racing Transport Trailer (resin, 1 piece)
276-7891 - Rear Door for Moving Van Trailer (pantechnicon trailer, resin, 1 piece)
276-7892 - Chrome Budd Rear-wheel Sets (injection molded set, 4 rims, 8 tires, 2 axles)
276-7893 - Chrome Budd Rear-wheel Sets, low profile (injection molded set, 4 rims, 8 tires, 2 axles)
276-7894 - Trailer chassis (resin)
276-7895 -
276-7900 - Tandem-axle Racing-car Transport Trailer (as 276-7880 with low profile wheel set)
276-7901 - Tri-axle Racing Transport-car Trailer (as 276-7881 with low profile wheel set)
276-7902 - Spread-axle Racing Transport-car Trailer (as 276-7882 with low profile wheel set)
276-7903 - Tandem-axle Moving-van Trailer (pantechnicon trailer, as 276-7883 with low profile wheel set)
276-7904 - Tri-axle Moving-van Trailer (pantechnicon trailer, as 276-7884 with low profile wheel set)
276-7905 - Spread-axle Moving-van Trailer (pantechnicon trailer, as 276-7885 with low profile wheel set)
276-7906 - Low-profile Tandem-axle Skirt (resin, 1 pair)
276-7907 - Low-profile Tri-axle Skirt (resin, 1 pair)
276-7908 - Low-profile Spread-axle Skirt (resin, 1 pair)
276-7909 -
- California Cars?
- F40PH-3's.?
- Surfliner?

What They Say
"It is with immense regret that I have made the decision to close the doors to Absolute Scale Models. I started ASModels 2 years ago in hopes of being able to bring the products that the mainstream manufacturers were not interested in producing to the hobbyist that longed for their availability. My interests stemmed around commuter and passenger operations, where there was much lack of the unique equipment out there. While the goal may have been ambitious [...] the focus was simple, to produce Resin models and to network with other producers. Through our operations we were pleased to be able to carry the lines of Imperial Hobby Products, Train Station Products, AZL, and Trucks N' Stuff...."

What This Entry Needs
Pictures of master moulds?
Company logo

Saturday 1 August 2015

AB Scale Military Equipments

88a London Road, Enfield Town, Middlesex, EN2 6HX, UK
Tel: 0181 245 1796

Apparently a producer of aftermarket 1:35th scale resin accessories in poured, cold-cast resin? I dare say there's more in old copies of Military Modelling, but there's nothing on the web, so that's it for now.

One on-line source talks of PEB equipment, but 'PEB' is not an abbreviation or code ever applied to plastics? PEBA is the closest but polyether-block-amid is not a poured resin, it's a synthetic-rubber used for sports shoes and medical catheters!

What This Entry Needs
Everything except contact details…and they need confirmation.

AB1 - AB1 Games - ABOne - AB One Games

Basically - 'Not Known'!

I have an empty file in the archive marked AB1 (AB one) Games, but can find nothing else about it?

Contenders are Animoca Brands who list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) as AB1; having only been formed in 2014, they may have had an earlier incarnation as AB1 Games, or one of the contributing parts of the new entity might be connected to the older reference.

Board Game Geek has an Abi Games linking to a dead web-page (http://www.abigames.com/), with no products listed on BBG it would seem to have been short-lived and requires a typo to be the originator of my empty file!

AB One Games*

However there is an AB One Games, who were/are (?) a publisher of watermarked PDF/digital-download rule sets. Hard to know if they are still extant or not, several of their rule-sets are still available on some of the bigger RPG support sites but where the money's going is not clear.

Links

What This Entry Needs
Sorting out, clarifying and product listing for AB One Games
Homepage/website for AB One games
Company History for AB One Games

* Animoca and Abi will get separate entries

AB Gee


Asher House, Ripley, DE5 3SW, UK           
Tel: 01733-570444

Trader/dealer?

What This Entry Needs
Clarification

AB (Anthony Barton) - AB Figures - Battle Honours - Empress - Eureka - Fighting 15's - Milicast - Tony Barton - Wargames South

Ffos Yr Ewig, Llanfynydd, Carmarthen, Wales, SA32 7DD, UK
Honeystone, East Williamstone, Tenby, SA70 8RT, UK
Phone: +44 (0)1834 810307
Fax: +44 (0)1834 810307
Website: http://www.abfigures.co.uk/ (old site - link dead)
Homepage: http://abfigures.com/ (Eureka-backed website)

See also: Empress Miniatures (have some of the artillery models), Eureka Miniatures (Australia, hold moulds), Eureka Miniatures USA (carry stock in N. America) and Fighting 15's (UK stockist)
Previously carried by: Battle Honours (1980's) Milicast and Wargames South?

Tony Barton - Owner/founder/sculptor (the 'AB' of the various AB's)
Michael and Lynda Hickling - Ran AB Figures from (?) until approximately 2013
Ian Marsh - Head of Fighting 15's

Metal manufacturer of 1:76th scale seated figures for vehicles, war-gaming troops in 15 and 20mm and some artillery models, all in white metal. They have supplied (specially created?) figures for a Normandy Landing diorama presented to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford by MAFVA’s London branch. They aim at a 'true' 1:76th scale/20mm size range at 4mm-1 foot.

A complicated history which only got more complicated a year or two ago. Tony tended to issue licences rather than working for himself, and this has lead to problems in the past, and resulted in a hiatus when he came to retire, this was solved when Eureka (who had been handling the Napoleonic range for some time) stepped in.

Various statements have been issued by various parties, some findable in the links below, suffice to say that the website which had been there since the early days of the internet went dead, only to be replaced by another which appears to be AB Figures, but is an extension of Eureka's operations. Tony Barton has retired, and has handed control of those ranges still extant to Eureka. Eureka has cleaned-up moulds, invested in new masters and works with partners to ensure as much as possible of the old AB inventory is still available

Ranges
15mm
Napoleonic
Roman/Ancient
20mm
World War II Gaming Figures
World War II AFV Crew Figures
Artillery pieces
Flags (?)

Links / What Other People Say (discussions on recent events, for range see link above)

What They Say
"Men in miniature for the dedicated wargamer & collector"

What This Entry Needs
Full (and historical) Product Listings
Decent Company History/Timeline