Do you recognize this uniform? (1 Viewer)

[hallcp]

These figures were cast with an old home casting mold from Rapaport Brothers.

My question is, what the heck army are these figures supposed to be!? One has a fez with a tassel, one has a helmet with a knob, one looks like he has a Zulu war era British helmet.

Anyone have a guess? Judging from eBay this was a pretty common mold back in the 30's or 40's. But I sure don't recognize these fellows!

Thanks.

Charles.

 

[theBaron]

Hi, Charles!

That Rappaport Bros. mold is actually a copy of a mold originally made by Schneider Bros. in Leipzig, Germany, around the turn of the previous century. Rappaport copied much of the Schneider catalog, as well as molds from other German makers of semi-round figure molds, along with their own original designs.

The figures in this mold are, from left to right, British infantry in pith helmet, Prussian artilleryman (the artillery had a ball on the spike of their Pickelhaube, representing a cannonball), and Egyptian infantry circa 1890-1900. The Prussian artilleryman was meant to be paired with a field piece casting; he's sighting along the barrel and adjusting the elevation. The Egyptian's fez looks like it didn't cast that well; on good castings, you can make out the crisp outlines of the headgear.

Prost!
Brad

 

[hallcp]

Brilliant! No wonder I was confused. The idea of different country's armies in the same mold would not have occurred to me.

Thanks so much for solving my mystery.

Charles.

 

[centocinque]

it is quite late to answer, almost 10 years elapsed, anyway the one with the button on the helmet could be either British o German artillery, the one with tassel may be a French zouave

 

[theBaron]

it is quite late to answer, almost 10 years elapsed, anyway the one with the button on the helmet could be either British o German artillery, the one with tassel may be a French zouave

Yes, they could be painted that way, because the uniforms are so similar. As far as the mold goes, though, those were the designations Schneider Bros. gave the figures.

Prost!
Brad