Figure ID (1 Viewer)

[black hat miniatures]

Can anyone identify this figure? It appears to be a WW1 (?) airman with his gloves hanging from his coat.




I have recently obtained a number of Toy Soldier moulds and this is one of them and I'm trying to work out the original manufacturer or origin for them. There are also a lot of Zulu War, some Napoleonic, WW1 and WW2 and two lots of Laurel and Hardy - one set in a Fez...

Many thanks

Mike

 

[Rediarmor]

I like that figure, but don't recognise it. I hope someone who knows will answer you. I am assuming it's 54mm? What are the moulds made of?

 

[black hat miniatures]

I like that figure, but don't recognise it. I hope someone who knows will answer you. I am assuming it's 54mm? What are the moulds made of?

Hi

yes, all 54mm except for a very few 25/30mm Napoleonics they look like - haven't cast them yet.

The moulds are very old drop-cast ones made from silicon or red RTV rubber.

I'm going to go through and cast up another batch tomorrow and I'll put up some more photos then.

Mike

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi There,

Very interesting casting. My initial thoughts are possibly Johnhilco or one of the other smaller British makers from the post WWII era. But I cant be sure because I haven't found it yet in my references. Post some more photos of the others when you do some casting. seeing the mold might also be useful.

Dave

 

[theBaron]

Hi There,

Very interesting casting. My initial thoughts are possibly Johnhilco or one of the other smaller British makers from the post WWII era. But I cant be sure because I haven't found it yet in my references. Post some more photos of the others when you do some casting. seeing the mold might also be useful.

Dave

I'm thinking along the same lines, Dave. I can take a look in O'Brien and see, too.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

Also, it doesn't look like a figure from any commercially available home-casting mold, that I've seen. I suspect that the mold is a copy made by a hobbyist, of an older figure.

Prost!
Brad

 

[black hat miniatures]

Re: Figure ID - ZULU Wars pics

I managed to grab a moment to quickly cast a few moulds and take some pics - very rough casting but hopefully it shows the figures.



More in next message

 

[black hat miniatures]

Re: Figure ID - More pictures

More pictures - I have two moulds of Hardy in a Fez but no mould of Laurel in a Fez. 54mm Napoleonics and some 20mm Napoleonic French as well plus one WW2 figure from about 9 moulds.

 

[black hat miniatures]

Re: Figure ID - More pictures

Last set of pictures:

There is one figure with a marking on the base for the Zulu Wars castings:



The moulds look like:



And this is just one box - there are about 100 moulds in all - the white ones look like they have seen a lot of use.

There are a couple of moulds which are doubled even though one mould isn't broken which makes me think they are production moulds for commercial casting.



Any help in ID gratefully received.

thanks

Mike

 

[theBaron]

The photos of the molds confirm me in my opinion from before. I think they were made by a hobbyist to cast his own figures, using commercially available figures as his masters. The color of the rubber makes me think that. The fact that one of the castings has a mark under the base also suggests this to me. I don't say this as a judgment, I just say it to help clarify the molds' origins. It also suggests to me that there will be various ID's for the castings. I have seen the Laurel and Hardy figures elsewhere.

To me, the Zulus suggest Fusilier or Tommy Atkins, but I don't know their catalogs too well, outside of the Imperial Germans and Seven Years War figures. They could be copies of some other makers, too.

In any case, you can cast yourself quite a little army. I'm a caster, too, and it's a lot of fun, though I haven't cast anything in a while.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

I just thought of another reason I think that they're homemade molds. Commercial molds tend to be made in flat disks, with many pieces arrayed around the pour gate, for use in a centrifugal caster. A home mold maker would be more likely to make rectangular molds of single pieces, like these. Not 100% conclusive, but just supplying more evidence for my opinion.

Prost!
Brad

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Brad,

I agree that these are home made molds but the figures they are based on are still a mystery. I know I have seen a WWI pilot like this one somewhere and the Zulus look like several I have seen as well. I wonder if the person who designed these used a couple of figures to get what he wanted ie head of one guy with a body of another etc. Very cool to see and its also great to see some actually casting with them again.

Dave

 

[Hazebrouck]

The rough casting mark on the base of the figure in post no.9 looks like Hinchliffe Models and looking closer at them I have an original of the British soldier standing with the Martini Henry and the code for that figure is CS5. All the detail has been lost with these castings.

Scott

 

[theBaron]

The rough casting mark on the base of the figure in post no.9 looks like Hinchliffe Models.

Scott

Thanks, Scott, I was trying to remember if I had seen it before.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

Hi Brad,

I agree that these are home made molds but the figures they are based on are still a mystery. I know I have seen a WWI pilot like this one somewhere and the Zulus look like several I have seen as well. I wonder if the person who designed these used a couple of figures to get what he wanted ie head of one guy with a body of another etc. Very cool to see and its also great to see some actually casting with them again.

Dave

The pilot reminds me of Ken Wittenrich's West Falls Toy Company, back in the 90s. He's featured in O'Brien's "Collecting Toy Soldiers". West Falls produced castings of a lot of defunct manufacturers from the 30s and 40s, solidcast, of course. I really need to look at the book when I get home, because the pilot looks familiar to me, and I think it might be from the photos in the book.

I agree, too, these can be kitbashes/modifications of commercial figures, too. Looks like a wide variety.

Mike, I hope you'll do some casting and share some more pictures of this "catalog" with us.

Prost!
Brad

 

[black hat miniatures]

Thanks for the replies.

The only information I have about these figures is that the guy I bought the moulds off said he bought them "at a model show several years ago from, I think, the father of the man who now runs Tommie Atkins...". I've emailed Tommie Atkins to see if they can shed any further light on them.

I did think they might be copies of, or based on the Sanderson Zulu War figures, but wasn't sure.

I'm sorting out a 24th Foot and a Zulu to paint up and I'll be making some more castings from the other moulds over the next few weeks.

thanks

Mike

 

[black hat miniatures]

I just thought of another reason I think that they're homemade molds. Commercial molds tend to be made in flat disks, with many pieces arrayed around the pour gate, for use in a centrifugal caster. A home mold maker would be more likely to make rectangular molds of single pieces, like these. Not 100% conclusive, but just supplying more evidence for my opinion.

Prost!
Brad

I make centrifugal moulds for my wargaming business ( and the Little Wars Revisited range of Toy Soldiers I sell) so I had wondered. But I wasn't sure if people were using Drop-cast moulds in the 1970s rather than spin casters?

Mike

 

[beating retreat]

Can anyone identify this figure? It appears to be a WW1 (?) airman with his gloves hanging from his coat.

View attachment 145061


I have recently obtained a number of Toy Soldier moulds and this is one of them and I'm trying to work out the original manufacturer or origin for them. There are also a lot of Zulu War, some Napoleonic, WW1 and WW2 and two lots of Laurel and Hardy - one set in a Fez...

Many thanks

Mike

Hi

This figure is a copy of a scale link WW1 British pilot

Regards John

 

[Hazebrouck]

Mike,

The Zulu war figure does look like Hinchliffe CS5. See below from a 1975 Military Modelling magazine. It could also be CS8 as the casting has a holster on the figure.

Scott

 

[theBaron]

I make centrifugal moulds for my wargaming business ( and the Little Wars Revisited range of Toy Soldiers I sell) so I had wondered. But I wasn't sure if people were using Drop-cast moulds in the 1970s rather than spin casters?

Mike

Oh, but spin-casting goes back quite a ways. The average hobbyist probably wouldn't have access to a centrifugal caster, though. I have seen some jury-rigged contraptions, using old record player turntables.

As far as the pilot figure goes, I looked in O'Brien and it's similar to Johilco's J239 Walking Pilot, but not the same. I think it's actually of more recent design than Hill, who went out of business by 1960. I think your pilot was sculpted a little later than that, just from the quality of the sculpting. But it's going to take some more digging, I think.

Prost!
Brad