Alan Silk & Guard Corps (1 Viewer)

[Gideon]

I've been sorting figures from my old inventory and collection and came upon my personal stash of Alans Civil War dismounted cavalry figures.

Opening the boxes, a flood of great memories came back to me.

He used to deliver our orders in Franzikaner Weiss Beer case boxes perched up on his shoulder - never a shortage , stay for a while, set the figures up on our shelves as he thought they best fit, chat, talk, entertain questions from customers - always humble. We hosted a wine & cheese event for him when he introduced his WWI Germans. A lot of people came out for that - a great mix of people and was so incredibly humble during the evening. He took so much pride in holding his creations and discussing the details and why he chose the pose.

His figures Civil War figures were mostly sculpted in 1992 and 1993 and then Prussians and WWI Germans followed. His figures were in gloss finish until the late 1990's when he introduced some matte finishes.

The sculpt quality was and still second to none. The poses were so natural and, rare for figures at that time, they interacted.

It's been just over three years since his passing and we really miss him. He was one of two NYC based toy soldier makers - which also reminds me how NYC has so totally changed.

Anyways, I took some pics. It's not my entire stash but a good representation. Hope you enjoy them.

 

[Leadmen]

Thanks Gideon for the pictures and memories of him. I did not know him personally but have some of his wwl Germans. Leadmen

 

[Louis Badolato]

I bought all of the Civil War sets depicted from you Gid, and have either given them or in the process of giving them to Hans Hedrich, who loves them.

 

[tdubel]

Very cool stuff, especially like the Confederates! Great sculpts, I wish this didn't occur during my collecting hiatus or I would have bought them for sure. Neat!

Tom

 

[kilted vampire]

Nice of you to post the pictures. It is nice to see the work of great toy soldier makers.

 

[Gideon]

I always felt that Alan was kind of an unsung guy in the hobby. Those poses are absolutely amazing - they are my favorite from Civil War figures - they really flow and move.

Maybe it was his limited range of product that kind of made him a footnote? Anyways, I think he really contributed to the hobby and certainly to the sculpt of the figures we collect now.

So raise a glass to him when you can.

 

[theBaron]

And let's not forget his partner, Ed Lober. It was a shame to see them pass.

On a postive note, the figures are still being produced by Fair-Tech International, Ltd in China:

http://www.fairtechhk.com/Attachmen... Toys Soldier/Page 05 attachment - Keiser.htm

After Ed passed, Alan was supposedly looking into having Fair-Tech take over producing the figures. Fair-Tech produces the existing figures; I don't think they'll be adding any figures that Alan had not already mastered. They were selling them on eBay, in lots corresponding to the sets as defined in the Guard Corps catalog, but I haven't seen any recent auctions there, so Fair-Tech may now be selling directly or looking for agents to sell through whom to sell the set.

Prosit!
Brad

 

[Gideon]

Actually, Alan did have some late release figures produced in China. They came to us with pink gloves. We all thought that was very funny. Alan retouched them for us so I guess those were "hybrid" figures. Lol.

It's interesting to see them posted on that website. I wonder if they are custom ordered, still available or one the many abandoned product ranges out there on the web.

I also wonder about the quality as compared to the originals.