Franco-Prussian War (1 Viewer)

Evzone

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Can any of the glossy afficienados give me a steer towards any manufacturers who produce figures from the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

Thanks
 
Hi, evzone, this very subject came up in a thread in the Glossy Manufacturers subforum. There is a manufacturer, Historical Toy Soldiers, who has some sets depicting French and Prussians. Their website is

www.historicaltoysoldiers.com

You can take a look and decide for yourself whether they are something you'd buy.

Their figures appear to be copies of other manufacturers' figures, like Britains. The 1870 Prussians are copies of Authenticast's Prussians.

They are very much in the classic toy soldier style.

Apart from those, there isn't much out there for toy soldiers from the Franco-Prussian War. Tradition has some figures in its catalog, available as kits, Russell Gammage included some figures in his catalog, but they are currently out of production.

Classic Britains included Prussian infantry and Prussian hussars, both of which could be used for the Franco-Prussian War. Those turn up from time to time on eBay, and if you don't mind painting your own, you can get new castings from authorized Britains dealers (like London Bridge Collectors Toys, here in the Stats: www.londonbridgetoys.com).

Also, Little Metal Men used to include sets, in the classic Britains style, of foreign regiments that Britains never made, for example, cavalry from the other German states, such as Bavaria and Saxony, and also Prussian cuirassiers. Little Metal Men is still in business, as far as I know, but they've never answered my email enquiries. Their website is http://littlemetalmen.homestead.com/littlemetalmen.html

There is a note on that page that they will be at the Chicago show, but page may not have been updated for some time (there is still a link to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief fund, for example).

In my opinion, the painting of their figures was crude at best, especially compared to classic Britains or Mignot figures. But they included in their catalog subjects, like those foreign regiments, and an Oktoberfest scene of Bavarian civilians, that no one else has done. For me, I'd strip them and repaint them.

That's all I can come up with, off the top of my head, hope that helps!

Prost!
Brad
 
Dear Baron

Many thanks for your informative and prompt reply to my plea for information. I shall get on the case during my lunchbreak to see if I can track any of the figures or dealers you mention.

I have as far as I can remember been fascinated by this period, triggered by the very Britains figures you described but als I was lacking in funds to purchase at the time.

The wonderful thing about this hobby and particuarly about this forum is that there are so many knowledgeable and friendly people to offer advice and encouragement.
 
Glad to help!

As a student of German history, that war is also one that I would collect, if I could find more figures from it. I have a bunch of the Authenticast castings around someplace, in the same pose as the ones Historical Toy Soldiers sells, but I haven't gotten around to painting them.

If you're not wedded to fully round 54mm figures, you can find figures in the catalogs of the old German makers like Schneider Bros. In their half-round mold series, some of the figures of soldiers of the German states are in their uniforms from 1871, like Bavarians with the Raupenhelm. Wollner,too, I think it was, also included the Franco-Prussian war in their catalog.

And of course, the various flat manufacturers covered the period very extensively. Scholz in Berlin still has figures in his catalog, from the original molds his father used (Berliner Zinnfiguren, www.zinnfigur.com).

Prost!
Brad
 
Can any of the glossy afficienados give me a steer towards any manufacturers who produce figures from the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

Thanks

Dorset Soldiers produce a range of figures for the "European Wars" in the traditional sense.

Jeff
 

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Wow! Thanks, Jeff, Dorset's never really been on my radar, and I'm sorry now that I never paid them much attention. Those are some nice sets!

Prost!
Brad
 
Wow! Thanks, Jeff, Dorset's never really been on my radar, and I'm sorry now that I never paid them much attention. Those are some nice sets!

Prost!
Brad

Brad, they are all available as castings as well.

Jeff
 

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