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Slot-together models
Trumptonalia.
2 slot-together cardboard models - Camberwick ( Pippin Fort ) and Trumpton ( Fire Station )
Both sets were made by Emmann Products Limited in 1970.
Both completed models are around 30cm tall. Sold in boxes measuring about 20" x 12" x 1.5".
And the crossover slogan for both is "No scissors,no glue,no mess"
Classy looking bits of kit they are too.
But ultimately a rather frustrating compromise I fear.Because they'd be fun to assemble and good to look at.
But far too tempting not to play with,and far too fragile to be up to the task.
So it's probably not that surprising that they're hard-to-find ... unless poor sales also had something to do with it.
Either way,the Trumpton version seems to be the rarer of the 2.
Maybe because most small boys would have chosen soldiers over firemen ? Who knows ?
But pity the poor mum who had to dust those turrets though !
And finally ....
You know I suggested they were "classy looking bits of kit" ... well ....
This is the only bit of Trumptonalia that's ever been on display in the Victoria & Albert museum in London.
And,yes,you did read that correctly.
Because a fully-made version of the Camberwick Pippin Fort appeared in a Museum of Childhood exhibition called
"Cut it,Fold it: Build it With Paper" that ran from Oct. 9th,2010 to Jan.9th,2011. Pic here
So,hats off to Emmann.
Because at least it's some reward for trying to produce a mass-market toy with an air of quality,when I doubt it did nearly as much for their balance sheet as it probably should have.
