Castles (1 Viewer)

[monarto]

Hi,

I am not sure whether I have come to the right place but I am trying to obtain information about some castles I bought in Germany in the mid 1980s. There are 4, 3 of which appear to be made by the same maker and a 4th, which is of a different approach to it's construction, being larger and of a different scale. By looking through the net it seems that the group of 3 could be made by Elastolin but as I look at the pictures of Elastolin castles they seem deeper in color. The scale can be determined by the bar stool in the background. They have been in storage for about 21 years and were only brought again out into the light yesterday. I have also made this request to 2 dealers / collectors on the net a few minutes ago before coming across this site which sems to be very informative.

Additionally, when were in Belgium from 1985 - 1991 we often drove into France and got into the habit of stopping at small general store types of shops and buying a couple of Starlux figures. There was an amazing variety of figures available - farmers, soldiers, Cowboys and Indians, sports people etc., and many which were so oddball we couldn't work out what they were. As a result we have a large cardboard box full of Starlux figures and as I tried the same effort in Spain we (my 2 sons and I) have many Spanish figures as well.

Are Starlux figures collectable? There are some on ebay, but are their differing levels of Starlux in terms of their value?

I will now attempt to put up some photos of the castles. Any information on them would be appreciated.

 

[Scott]

WOW! Those might be Elastolins. They look like the unobtainable toys of MY youth that were in the FAO Schwartz catalogs and on display at Christmas time at the JORDAN MARSH department store in Boston in the early 1960s.

This might not be helpful to you but it brings back memories!

I am looking for the female figures that STARLUX made for their Wild West series. I do have the saloon girl and the lady. Do you have these?

 

[Gideon]

the one on the upper right is starlux, the other two are elastolin/hausser. best of the best.

 

[monarto]

WOW! Those might be Elastolins. They look like the unobtainable toys of MY youth that were in the FAO Schwartz catalogs and on display at Christmas time at the JORDAN MARSH department store in Boston in the early 1960s.

This might not be helpful to you but it brings back memories!

I am looking for the female figures that STARLUX made for their Wild West series. I do have the saloon girl and the lady. Do you have these?

Sorry, I don't have any female figures to spare. I several females with six shooters but not the saloon girl or the lady.

I know what you mean by seeing toys that were unobtainable in your youth. I reckon that much of the stuff we buy nowadays as adults is to compensate ourselves for not being able to have them when we young.

Thanks for the suggestion that the castles may by Elastolin.

 

[monarto]

the one on the upper right is starlux, the other two are elastolin/hausser. best of the best.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know where I can go to find out more about these castles? What I would like to find out is whether they have any rarity value, especially the Starlux castle and the history of the Elastolin operation? Were these castles actually commonplace or were they prestigious and highly desireable? I must say that when I bought the Elastolin examples in Germany they were in just about every toy shop we entered so I guess I have the answer myself but I would appreciate a brief summing up of where they stand in the overall world of toy soldiers. When you say best of the best are you referring to the castles or are you just wishing me kind regards!?

Thanks again, your advice is greatly appreciated.

(Incidentally when I saw that I was listed private I first thought that my topic was somehow restricted to some sort of a private listing but then realised that is now my rank. It has been a long, long time since I was ever a private so once again I have to set off to move on and upwards!).

 

[monarto]

Well, I have just been through the net re Elastolin Hausser and Starlux and so I think that I now have a fair idea of the answers to my own questions and so will bring this thread to an end. I must mention that a box of siege towers etc., made by Jean Hoffler has come to light also and so that is another discovery. Thanks again.

 

[Gideon]

Value wise is hard to determine without seeing completed listing results. Also, I have no idea the condition of yours. They are vacuform plastic and often have tears and punctures.

For the 40mm figures (which I think yours are for) in decent condition, I would think fair value would be $50 to $250 depending on size of the piece. And, good luck shipping them if that's what you have to do. They are tough to pack!