Any determination about Mixed Toy Soldiers? (1 Viewer)

[Elvis031267]

Hi fellow collectors,
I got this lot together with another lot I purchased
But when i came home i realized that non of them are marked. So now I am not sure what they exactly are.
Does anyone know more about the maker and year of production.
Kind regards
Elvis

 

[theBaron]

Hi, Elvis, these are homcasts, made from molds originally made by Schneider Bros., in Leipzig, Germany. Given the general good condition of the paint, I'll that yours were probably cast and painted relatively recently, within the past 20 to 30 years.
I have some Schneider molds myself and occasionally cast with them.
Prost!
Brad

 

[Elvis031267]

Hi,
Many thanks for the information. I had no clue.
Kind regards
Elvis

 

[theBaron]

Sure thing! I learned about Schneider Bros. gradually. Years ago, I had bought some toy soldiers at a flea market, because they appealed to my eye. Later, I found Richard O'Brien's book, "Collecting Toy Soldiers", and it contained a chapter on homecasting-casting your own toy soldiers, with molds available on the market. It was a popular hobby for some years, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Because many of the original bronze molds are still around and in good working order, and because Schneiders' molds were copied by their contemporaries, and reproduced after the war, it's almost impossible to date any of the figures anyone may have cast with them. And because some people cast with whatever metal they could find, like old fishing sinkers, some of the figures are really only good for melting down. But if you have good ones, like yours, they're pretty as they are, or you can feel free to repaint them.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Wolfgang_UK]

Hi Elvis,

actuallly the Baron said it all, there is very little to add. Castings where never sold by Schneider, they fully relied on selling the molds for a buisness. Saxony was one of the two hot spots on selling and produceing toy soldiers. Companies like Heyde/Dresden, Dressler/Dresden who worked on molds for various companies, Lehman of Meißen and Wilke of Großenhain where the bigger players. Nürnberg was another stronghold, with companies like Haffner, Spennkuch and Heinrichsen. Some figures pop up in various catalouges due to the fact that companies mastering the art of slate engraving or moldmaking in brass where hired throughout Germany and when times went tough, companies sold their molds among each other.
Very nice subject to explore, there are a number of nice books available - some of which are bi-lingual.
Interesting about your castings is the age of some of the molds that where used. The cowboy mold originated in the 1890ies and the german infantry in Steelhelmets is the youngest figures/mold produced. As the Baron wrote, Schneider molds antique or (more or less) current production are easy to find. But over the time they became plenty and some molds or even castings are more difficult to find. For obvious reasons III Reich period molds wheren´t produrced after 1945 at all. But today you can get unpainted castings of marching HJ with bandsmen on EBAY. The only little thing I have found in adding to the Baron´s summary is that Schneider did not sell brass molds to private customers, they where much too expensive. Instead zinc-alloy and aluminium where used.
If you go to Berliner Zinnfiguren you may find all kinds of them as well as ancient molds from slate or brass of various manufactures.
Happy hunting.{sm4}{sm4}:salute::