New toy figure releases from Tony Burley Boy Scout Models (July 2011)

Tony Burley Boy Scout Models

They say even nostalgia ain’t what it used to be, but a hankering after those quieter, less pressured days gone by affects us all at times. We think back to how it was when we were younger – less traffic on the roads, safe for kids to play in the street, the countryside green and pleasant fields covered in wild flowers, barns shared with migrant swallows and sparrows. Well, now there’s a chance to revisit that bucolic past of the English town and countryside courtesy of some makers of civilian models rather than military ones! 

The first set is a truly charming one – it could almost be described as sweet but that would be a pun too far. It features of one of my all-time favourite treats, ice cream. Tony Burley normally makes figures of Boy Scouts – hence the name. But this time he has gone for something quite different, but which would no doubt appeal to boy scouts. This ice cream salesman and satisfied customer would make a wonderful addition to any civilian collection. The set will strike a nostalgic cord with all those of us old enough to remember them, though I have spotted the cycle-ice cream chiller combo making a small comeback on some modern sea fronts, but usually pedalled by a lank teenager in holiday employment! It is a copy of a Morestone original and will sell for £30.

This is only one of many sets Tony produces, of course, the others being on the theme of Boy Scouts, and they are well worth investigating as collectable in their own right or to complete a British civilian display or diorama.

This is an excerpt from the regular section Toy Figure Focus first published in Collectors Gazette's July issue. To see which issues of Collectors Gazette are available to buy online, click here