These Music In Miniature surviving Sub MASTER Figures are all that remains of the entire range originally made by Brien and Wendy Wallace. Sold to "Father" Gregg Simon of Australia, many Moulds and Masters are understood to have burned, and fell victim to a mysterious and "unexplained" fire at one of their several known previous addresses in Australia and New Zealand. Gregg Simon certainly purchased a disproportionate and very large number of former UK toy soldier ranges and immediately exported them. What subsequently followed has been one of the worst and darkest hours of the Toy Soldier Industry, with precious decades worth of people's work being abusively roughly handled and then "lost".... Maxime Chevallier rescued what survived and shipped it to Europe. Though ALAS the shippers stole and also damaged a lot of items in the cargo, and when MIM finaly arrived, well, what remained was of questionable commercial value to relaunch again as a bona fide, valid toy soldier range.
BONHAMS recently held an Auction featuring a large quantity of former MIM figures; however, they had listed them erroneously as DUCAl which, while being "interesting," was not strictly correct. However, it has been observed here, upon careful examination of certain MIM items, that on SOME occasions, (I say SOME!) there does in fact really appear to be a striking resemblance to the style and manner of sculpture and workmanship of Ducals Jack and Thelma Duc. Giving rise to speculation, that perhaps one producer worked for another or copied the other, who now can tell.
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