Oh my goodness my dad worked at palitoy as a designer he designed action man tank the strawberry shortcake figures. Tiny tears. Starwars figures and care bears. Kenner parker trivial pursuit. When manufacture stopped we moved to Portugal as it was cheaper too build molds out there. We never went back to Coalville. 😢 you've brought back so many memories of amazing Christmas parties at the factory. And all the great staff. Xxx
I used to live in Hugglescote, I moved there as a kid in 1989 and a load of my friends had huge star wars toy collections... though they mainly consisted of unboxed defects their mums would smuggled out of the factory. Another interesting fact about the Palitoy site, is around 2000ish it became home to an aerial photography company (Wildgoose aka Blue Sky Mapping) who supply most of the aerial photography for google maps "satellite view" and do (did) the Eastenders opening. I worked there for a few years, where all the companies computer were named after star wars characters.
Smuggling out defect slight seconds clothes from the factory I worked in back in the pre-CCTV early 90s was a fun bonus. But Star Wars toys, I'm jealous.
I think most kids of the 80s in Leicestershire had some imperfect Palitoys, My Dad knew someone who worked there, we had a few Action Mans with missing fingers.
Awesome video this Jon. How you manage to make a film about a seemingly innocuous junction on a housing estate rivetingly interesting is what UA-cam was made for.
Coalville is an odd place, near the town centre on Hotel Street, there is a lovely row of display boards that tells you all about Coalville's heritage, and how they knocked it all down.
As a Coalville native, thank you so much for this lovely and warm video. Made my day. One of the streets on that new estate is named after a great uncle (?) of mine so particularly important place to me.
As kids, the hype for Star Wars was real, even before seeing the film in December. We had books, and teasers, etc.. Think the roundabout design is awesome, would love to see more.
I think this is your best video yet! Very informative, and nicely paced, not too rushed. Very enjoyable. I like this direction you’ve found, more please!
The Hugglescote area has changed so much in the last 5 or 6 years that I decided to walk round it about three weeks ago to update my local knowledge. I ambled past the roundabout without noticing that it wasn't just another roundabout and I probably also walked along Pippa Place and Action Man Road. It takes an interloper like Jon to update me on somewhere just down the road. How embarrassing!
Sadly it wasn't really simpler, we just didn't know as much. It was simpler for people like me, and maybe you, but much worse for many others. Besides, I don't think Britain was a simpler place during the Troubles, the forced de-industrialisation of the north, mass unemployment, the Cold War and all the rest. It maybe just seemed simpler because we were children and didn't know anything.
I was brought up in Coalville and remember the "factory sales" they would have at Palitoy every year where they'd let us into the factory to buy slightly damaged (and I mean slightly - a small scratch somewhere on a toy) toys at lower prices. Funny how you don't realise how significant it was at the time...
A truly excellent video. Thank you. Action Man Road! It's a shame that Britain has become a country full of plaques marking where great things used to be.
I used to collect bricks from Ellistown Ibstock plant and from Ibstock. Didn't know about the coal mining let alone the Palitoy factory. All those toys i had as a child, that are now worth a fortune if i still had them, where made there. Always fun and always informative. Fantastic channel.😊
Excellent little video. There's a housing estate in Norwich (my home city) shaped like the Millennium Falcon. I think it was unintentional either way there are news articles on it. It's at Appleyard Crescent.
I like the roundabout idea as it is not a typical clumsy & tacky tribute and I like how it is almost abstract on its construction, being loosely made of blocks, hardcore and grass rather than the clinical precision of the ‘real’ Death Star 🤔 I have to admit I loved the Mainline Railways range. Always made great excellent looking models, even if they weren’t always exactly accurate. I have a lovely 4MT steam engine, a pair of N2 tank engines and quite a few items of rolling stock which even by today’s standards are lovely models! 💚 Excellent video mate. Interesting subject and interesting history all rolled into one 🍀💚👍🍻
Mainline railways were made for Palitoy by Kadar International (I think) who after the demise of model railways for them ended up making them for Bachmann, who still make them today, although nearly all ex mainline models have been superseded now. However Bachmann Europe are based in Coalville so in a way part of Palitoy still lives on there.
That was an extremely interesting one. Sadly I was 28 - 29 in 1978 and didn't collect toys then so I never heard of Palitoy I think. What's great is the developers and preumably council kept a lot of the names alive as street names and roundabouts. Great work on finding those old ads.
Ahh yes Coalville, just down the road from me in Long Eaton, and remember Palitoy very well..... unfortunately right now though, very flooded, and Sawley Marina / River Trent has just breached Tamworth Road Sawley just behind the Harrington.
It was yesterday, and only route in today was via Hathern, with TrentBarton stopping services short at the airport with flooding. I'm next to Sawley Marina, and Tamworth Road has just gone behind the Harrington, though just passable.
“Don’t be so proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to send cars in a circle is insignificant next to the power of the force!”
Who'd have thought that Auto Shenanigans would lead to an episode full of vintage toy adverts. And I remember most of them too. Fantastic as always! 😄👍
This is a fantastic video Jon I had no idea this roundabout existed. I am going to visit! There is a great archive video on the Vintage Schools TV UA-cam Channel (Stop Look and Listen Toys and Games, narrated by Chris Tarrant) going inside the Palitoy Coalville factory showing the Star Wars and Action Man toys being made in the early 80s.
What a brilliant skit. I was wondering where we going with the Mway series coming to a close - this is a fantastic new (Action Man) Avenue to take. Nice one.......
Hi Jon. Thank you for such an interesting video. Who would have thought that a roundabout would be based on Star Wars. Palitoy is indeed a name from my 60’s childhood. Sad that they no longer exist. 👏👏👍😀
A great video, and a lovely story as well regarding the local history and how things are now remembered with the street names and roundabout. A council with a bit of empathy it would seem.
This is the best one yet! Fantastic research for this one, and I had every Action man figure there was, including his dinghy but sadly I no longer have them
Ashamed to say this is my home town. But weirdly not the first time you’ve been in the area, as I believe you did a video on the abandoned service station in markfield.
One of my cousins had every toy, right down to the last gun. Being in the UK, they would most likely have been largely Palitoy figures. He went to uni, in the early 90's, and his mum sold the entire lot for $50 without asking him.
The road names remind me of Centrifuge Way in Farnborough - a housing estate built around Qinetiq's centrifuge. Let's have a series based on unlikely road names.
I have a whole new respect for Co’vul. Used to drive through regularly before the A50 (aka the best thing to come out of Lestah) was shunted up north. But you didn’t mention Tressy (her hair grows) - Palitoy’s response to prissy Sindy and the American one!
I feel daft not knowing this fact that we have a Death Star roundabout as I live in Hugglescote I’ve been going round it most days since it’s inception, so thankyou 😂😂
Wow! What a fantastically fun and informative video John. I think this could be a brilliant side hustle to run alongside your normal great road videos. Maybe like a follow up vid later in week about anything historical and factually interesting about the area/people/work trades in the area but after the road junction vid itself? Absolutely loved it 😎👍
These are not the roundabouts you are looking for
Yay, nice one.
😂😂😂Brilliant 😅
😂 belter!
Marvellous!
These are not the roundabouts I am looking for...
bloody hell, imagine having to write "Action Man Road" on any kind of official document
It'd motivate you to keep fit if you lived there.
@@darthwiizius Benefits claimants for PiP?
Greedo Close would’ve been good but yes having Action Man Road in your address would be so cool ☺️
Imagine getting pulled over and telling a policeman that you live on Action Man Road. 🤣
Sure you do, sure you do son, blow into this tube for me! Lol
Like me, the police would be pmsl 😂
Oh my goodness my dad worked at palitoy as a designer he designed action man tank the strawberry shortcake figures. Tiny tears. Starwars figures and care bears. Kenner parker trivial pursuit. When manufacture stopped we moved to Portugal as it was cheaper too build molds out there. We never went back to Coalville. 😢 you've brought back so many memories of amazing Christmas parties at the factory. And all the great staff. Xxx
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Imagine having a crash on the Death Star roundabout
Not crash. Trench run!
Would you prefer to hit it side onto the walls, or end on to the walls?
options, options
Imagine crashing into the weak spot and totally destroying it 😂
It's happened 😭
Blame it on a Tractor Beam
I used to live in Hugglescote, I moved there as a kid in 1989 and a load of my friends had huge star wars toy collections... though they mainly consisted of unboxed defects their mums would smuggled out of the factory.
Another interesting fact about the Palitoy site, is around 2000ish it became home to an aerial photography company (Wildgoose aka Blue Sky Mapping) who supply most of the aerial photography for google maps "satellite view" and do (did) the Eastenders opening. I worked there for a few years, where all the companies computer were named after star wars characters.
I suspect defects would have a value these days
Smuggling out defect slight seconds clothes from the factory I worked in back in the pre-CCTV early 90s was a fun bonus. But Star Wars toys, I'm jealous.
I think most kids of the 80s in Leicestershire had some imperfect Palitoys, My Dad knew someone who worked there, we had a few Action Mans with missing fingers.
Now that's history.
Awesome video this Jon. How you manage to make a film about a seemingly innocuous junction on a housing estate rivetingly interesting is what UA-cam was made for.
Spot On!
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Coalville is an odd place, near the town centre on Hotel Street, there is a lovely row of display boards that tells you all about Coalville's heritage, and how they knocked it all down.
with tom scott retiring im thankful you exist to bring us to these delightful places
Nice one, thanks for watching!
As a Coalville native, thank you so much for this lovely and warm video. Made my day. One of the streets on that new estate is named after a great uncle (?) of mine so particularly important place to me.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
As kids, the hype for Star Wars was real, even before seeing the film in December. We had books, and teasers, etc.. Think the roundabout design is awesome, would love to see more.
see more death star roundabouts? You could have a whole battle with the Swindon magic roundabout :D
@@PeterSlack83that Swindon roundabout is more like Death Race 2000 to circumnavigate it.
i cant actually think of a reason to watch this channel and yet i do and never miss one strange but true
Sat nav voice as you approach "take the second exit.. stay on target.. stay on target"
Who knew there was an Action Man Road, not me, but I am so pleased there is. Wowzer, as they say these days.
I think this is your best video yet! Very informative, and nicely paced, not too rushed. Very enjoyable. I like this direction you’ve found, more please!
I appreciate when town planners do things like this, gladdens the spirit
May the fourth exit be with you
Love it!
In Leyland we have a tank on a roundabout, because we used to build them.
And a fabulous memorial to fallen soldiers too.
That tank was at the end of my road for years. I also used to know an old man who worked at the factory that built them.
The Hugglescote area has changed so much in the last 5 or 6 years that I decided to walk round it about three weeks ago to update my local knowledge. I ambled past the roundabout without noticing that it wasn't just another roundabout and I probably also walked along Pippa Place and Action Man Road. It takes an interloper like Jon to update me on somewhere just down the road. How embarrassing!
Thanks Jon - a wonderful five minutes on an otherwise dark and dreary morning.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
A trip down memory lane when everything was so much simpler.
So true 👍
Sadly it wasn't really simpler, we just didn't know as much. It was simpler for people like me, and maybe you, but much worse for many others.
Besides, I don't think Britain was a simpler place during the Troubles, the forced de-industrialisation of the north, mass unemployment, the Cold War and all the rest. It maybe just seemed simpler because we were children and didn't know anything.
Just down the road from Grange Rd there is a hill and they are building school on it 😊
You deserve every subscriber and success going forward. Your research, editing and presentation are superb in every video you produce 🙏👍
Nice one, thanks for watching!
I was brought up in Coalville and remember the "factory sales" they would have at Palitoy every year where they'd let us into the factory to buy slightly damaged (and I mean slightly - a small scratch somewhere on a toy) toys at lower prices. Funny how you don't realise how significant it was at the time...
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Coalville - a wretched hive of scum and villainy
As I recall, this is where the Miner's strike started.
Don't underestimate the power of the dark side.
Very light fingered, all 12 of them.
You forgot about the webbed fingers.
Yo!
Gimme Six!
A truly excellent video. Thank you.
Action Man Road!
It's a shame that Britain has become a country full of plaques marking where great things used to be.
Actually a really cool tribute, and the design of the roundabout is elegant. Coalville W
Directions in Coalville: Take the first exit at the small moon... that's no moon, it's a space station!
Love Coalville - take my students to Snibston colliery every year.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
I used to collect bricks from Ellistown Ibstock plant and from Ibstock. Didn't know about the coal mining let alone the Palitoy factory.
All those toys i had as a child, that are now worth a fortune if i still had them, where made there.
Always fun and always informative.
Fantastic channel.😊
I live about 10miles from this roundabout and didn't know it existed!
Thank you
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Brilliant piece, I still have mainline railway set, must be 40years old still in original box.
Peak crossover video Jon. I reckon this should garner you a few thousand extra subscribers.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
This is not the Auto Shenanigans you're looking for!
Brilliant
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Excellent stuff, take a tiny municipal curio and dig up all sorts of reasons why it exists. Love it.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Your best video yet Jon, well done! As a 70's-80's kid, this stuff was my life. Nice one
I've driven around that roundabout dozens of times and have never ever noticed the death star 😂😂
Sorry sir you obviously don’t feel the force…
Palitoy literally put Coalville on the map. Happy New year Comrade John🤜🤛🍻
Happy New Year mate
Excellent video, so many memories.
Excellent little video. There's a housing estate in Norwich (my home city) shaped like the Millennium Falcon. I think it was unintentional either way there are news articles on it. It's at Appleyard Crescent.
I was about to mention, @AutoShenanigans NR3 2QA if you fancy a visit
I like the roundabout idea as it is not a typical clumsy & tacky tribute and I like how it is almost abstract on its construction, being loosely made of blocks, hardcore and grass rather than the clinical precision of the ‘real’ Death Star 🤔
I have to admit I loved the Mainline Railways range. Always made great excellent looking models, even if they weren’t always exactly accurate. I have a lovely 4MT steam engine, a pair of N2 tank engines and quite a few items of rolling stock which even by today’s standards are lovely models! 💚
Excellent video mate. Interesting subject and interesting history all rolled into one 🍀💚👍🍻
That is a great share, a bit of information that is just fun and entertaining. Thank you
Nice one, thanks for watching!
In truth - did not expect this to be very interesting, but you tell a meh story really well
Nice one, thanks for watching!
You learn something new every day, thanks John
The outro music is perhaps the most upbeat version of the Imperial March I've ever heard. I love music in that style. Excellent choice.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Fun never ends with auto shenanigans!
Brilliant, Jon. Nice one. 👍👍👍
Mainline railways were made for Palitoy by Kadar International (I think) who after the demise of model railways for them ended up making them for Bachmann, who still make them today, although nearly all ex mainline models have been superseded now. However Bachmann Europe are based in Coalville so in a way part of Palitoy still lives on there.
It was either Kader or Sanda Kan they were both from Hong Kong.
That was an extremely interesting one.
Sadly I was 28 - 29 in 1978 and didn't collect toys then so I never heard of Palitoy I think.
What's great is the developers and preumably council kept a lot of the names alive as street names and roundabouts.
Great work on finding those old ads.
Star Wars was the first film I saw twice. It was great to see these ads at the end. Nostalgia!
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Ahh yes Coalville, just down the road from me in Long Eaton, and remember Palitoy very well..... unfortunately right now though, very flooded, and Sawley Marina / River Trent has just breached Tamworth Road Sawley just behind the Harrington.
Love the use of "around" for the pricing in the ads
Great to see drone shots of my home town 👍 i bet coalville was closed 😂
I’m shocked he made it home with wheels on his car.
It was yesterday, and only route in today was via Hathern, with TrentBarton stopping services short at the airport with flooding.
I'm next to Sawley Marina, and Tamworth Road has just gone behind the Harrington, though just passable.
@@jonouk88 he was in Coalville not Ibstock! 😉
@@skrich9690 if it had been Ibstock, there wouldn’t have been a car!
@@jonouk88 😄😄😄
“Don’t be so proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to send cars in a circle is insignificant next to the power of the force!”
❤ the Coalville trench run @ 3:28.
Smashing stuff young fella. I do like the ones where the road is incidental to what is going on around it and the history and so on. Many more please.
Roundabouts and roads are brilliant but that was a serious nostalgia trip for me - Especially the TV adverts.
Thank you, Jon.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Keep them coming John
Nice one, Thanks for watching!
Who'd have thought that Auto Shenanigans would lead to an episode full of vintage toy adverts. And I remember most of them too.
Fantastic as always! 😄👍
I never looked at the toy ads, no space and no money. I did have a decent DC comics collection i sold way too cheap (I had been given it )
Nice one, thanks for watching!
This is a fantastic video Jon I had no idea this roundabout existed. I am going to visit! There is a great archive video on the Vintage Schools TV UA-cam Channel (Stop Look and Listen Toys and Games, narrated by Chris Tarrant) going inside the Palitoy Coalville factory showing the Star Wars and Action Man toys being made in the early 80s.
I got too close to it once in my Tractor Beamer.
3.5/10
Another fantastic and informative video Jon, i never knew about this connection.
Great video, loved the outro music Jon!
Nice one, thanks for watching!
A fantastically sincere piece whilst keeping true to your usual style. Kudos!
Nice one, thanks for watching!
At my ripening age of nearly 55, I had most of those toys as a child in the 70's. All binned as we got older, yes hindsight is a wonderful thing!
What a brilliant skit. I was wondering where we going with the Mway series coming to a close - this is a fantastic new (Action Man) Avenue to take. Nice one.......
Nice one, thanks for watching!
The prices in the adverts are worth the LOL's alone!
Hi Jon. Thank you for such an interesting video. Who would have thought that a roundabout would be based on Star Wars. Palitoy is indeed a name from my 60’s childhood. Sad that they no longer exist. 👏👏👍😀
Nice one, thanks for watching!
This is brilliant. Thank you 😊
A great video, and a lovely story as well regarding the local history and how things are now remembered with the street names and roundabout. A council with a bit of empathy it would seem.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
This is the best one yet! Fantastic research for this one, and I had every Action man figure there was, including his dinghy but sadly I no longer have them
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Ashamed to say this is my home town. But weirdly not the first time you’ve been in the area, as I believe you did a video on the abandoned service station in markfield.
Yeah I remember that video.
Quite right, I stopped in at markfield just to see if anything had changed since my last visit. Nope.
@@AutoShenanigans yup Coalville has and always will be a monumental shit hole.
Coalville. My old manor. I was actually at a new build on this island at Xmas. Great video.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Another very informative video. Thank you for telling us about the history of Palitoy.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
One of my cousins had every toy, right down to the last gun. Being in the UK, they would most likely have been largely Palitoy figures. He went to uni, in the early 90's, and his mum sold the entire lot for $50 without asking him.
Amazing this is just a few miles from me and I’ve never heard of it 😮 really should get out more 🤣
The road names remind me of Centrifuge Way in Farnborough - a housing estate built around Qinetiq's centrifuge.
Let's have a series based on unlikely road names.
I was 1000% expecting Boaty McBoatface with concrete.
Hi Jon, great death star roundabout story and Palitoy , Take care
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Really interesting. Thank you.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
imagine living in action man road----" yeah i'm serious! Turn left at the deathstar......"
Action Man Road? WTF?😂
I have a whole new respect for Co’vul. Used to drive through regularly before the A50 (aka the best thing to come out of Lestah) was shunted up north. But you didn’t mention Tressy (her hair grows) - Palitoy’s response to prissy Sindy and the American one!
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Me other half's mam worked at Palitoy. Still live in Hugglescote, It's alright.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Love it. Going to have to pay a visit next time i'm in the area.
Eyyyy as a Coalville native (well, not really, but I do live there) we are very proud of our Death Star
As a Leicester resident, the reason for the roundabout is cause the tory Leicestershire council are as evil as the empire.
Fascinating stuff john
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Great episode thanks Jon
Had absolutely no idea that all our old Star Wars toys were made in the UK, fantastic video, thanks Jon!
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Excellent
That was quite interesting. Thank you for making and sharing it
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Excellent episode. Thank you.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Fascinating.
A wonderful video.
Thank you
Nice one, thanks for watching!
1:55 I think my dad owns this exact millenium falcon! I never knew it was worth anythign and was even allowed to play with it as a kid!
I feel daft not knowing this fact that we have a Death Star roundabout as I live in Hugglescote I’ve been going round it most days since it’s inception, so thankyou 😂😂
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Interesting bit of history!! Keep them coming.
Nice one, thanks for watching!
Wow! What a fantastically fun and informative video John. I think this could be a brilliant side hustle to run alongside your normal great road videos. Maybe like a follow up vid later in week about anything historical and factually interesting about the area/people/work trades in the area but after the road junction vid itself? Absolutely loved it 😎👍
I do like these touristy videos.
"Can you fill in your address sir? "
" Yes - "No 3 , Action Man Road, Hugglescote "
"You're joking!"
"No, its just past the Death Star"
🤣🤣
You should also have a look at Appleyard Crescent in Norwich...