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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.
Showing posts with label NO. 5932. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NO. 5932. Show all posts

Thursday 24 March 2022

Giant and Giant-like Astronaut Spacemen - Part II - Giant Originals

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;

So, to the figures issued by Giant in the early to mid-1960's, the same figures would have been found in The Toy House or World Toy House (same firm) packaging. Figures are marginally the largest at a tad over 21mm and a mean/average, and also the best sculpted, these can paint-up well, but are scarce, so better to use commoner copies for that sort of thing!

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;
The boards I used t shot these have left a bit of a shock on the eye, vis-à-vis the base-marks, but if you enlarge the images (right-click and 'open in new tab', or window, then left-click the image if a plus-sign is showing) you'll see they are clear enough.

This is what I call the command poses, four-of-nine, with detector man (it's sci-fi he could be detecting anything, not necessarily mines!), a spotter with binoculars, a squad/section signaller/runner and the O/C - Officer Commanding; we know that's who he is as he's the only one with a side-arm . . . or ray-pistol!

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;
The squad troopers, armed with various lengths of space-rifle and a recoilless, tube-launched weapon, undoubtedly capable of some cosmic devastation on an epic scale! Giant originals are all clearly marked with the mark more associated with the later retail production (black and silver knights, Mongols &etc.), including the spurious -mark! - "GIANT ⓟ MADE IN HONG KONG"

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;
Someone sent me this about ten-years ago, maybe twelve (2007/8?) and I can't find the eMail to thank them, they are - sadly - only empty cards, but I think we can tell they would have contained - from the left; a random (of three designs) space-tank and a handful (20-odd?) of figures [3907 Space Patrol], a larger single blister of (40/50-odd?) figures [Space Men], at least two tanks, with the missile-launch mechanism of a third, along with a sample of figures and possibly one of two things yet to be identified (?) [5933 Space Brigade] and finally; one of the big rocket-ships with a dozen or so figures [5932 Space Launch].

Not clear in this low-res shot is that the Space Launch set has an integral sunken tray like the Viking longship sets, and later simpler blister-packed sets existed including another Space Men and a Space Explorer set.

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;
I don't have the tanks or rockets yet, so until I track them down, which I will, here are a couple of past feeBay lots with two of them, they all have the same twin missile-launcher as a plug-in and the same dodgy running-gear as the WWII tanks, but three different superstructure/bodies of which there are two seen here

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;
Compared with the 23mm'ish Airfix Astronauts, you can see the diminutive size of Giant's figures, the bino's guy looks smaller-still because he's bending forward slightly and foreshortening has 'dwarfed' him!

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;
This image (left) is now on 'Worthpoint' except theirs is a fuzzy thumbnail you have to sign-up to see properly (which I'm sure involves money or endless spam, probably both!), but the eBay original can still be found at a higher resolution, it came in an opposite colour-way (blues for reds and vise-versa) and while being now some sixty years of age, bears a remarkable resemblance to Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship 'Heavy Lifter' (main image), which is designed to land on its tail fins like all those 1950's pulp-cover artwork and kids comic vessels!

1021; 3907; 5932; 5933; But Is It Giant; But Is It Giant?; butisitgiant.blogspot.com; Giant Astronauts; Giant Cosmonauts; Giant Hong Kong; Giant New York; Giant NY; Giant of Hong Kong; Giant Plastics Corp; Giant Spacemen; NY; Scale Miniatures; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Space Brigade; Space Brigade 5933; Space Explorer Set; Space Launch; Space Launch 5932; Space Men; Space Patrol; Space Patrol 3907; Space-Men; Space-Tank; Spacemen; Take Apart;
Vintage and modern as the current HexBug Nano - Nano Space/Nanobot's space ship disgorges a troop of Giant's intrepid finest to  . . . err . . . check something out! Please note; There were no gold astronauts from/issued by Giant

I think I've bored you with this before, but Giant's figures are problematical for me with what passes for OCD in an Aspergic; namely they are armed, so should be 'Spacemen', but they are clearly wearing NASA-era spacesuits which makes them 'Astronauts' . . . doh! And hence the titles of this series 'Astronaut Spacemen'! Although Giant get round the quandary (it's real!) by using the separate words 'Space Men' across the whole line - not 'spacemen'.

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But is it Giant

Yes! Apart from the obvious prop in the last shot, the four Airfix and most of the figures in the filtered first image, this IS the Giant Plastic Corp of New York & Hong Kong issued product.