Help Identifying Old Soldiers (1 Viewer)

[SlaterX9]

Maybe there is a different area on the forums for this. I looked around but couldn't find it.

I'm new to the forums. Collected soldiers casually in the mid-90s then stopped and I'm starting to get back into it. Right now i'm interested in Medieval Heraldic Knights miniatures. (separately it seems like there isn't a spot that I could find on the forums to talk about Greenhill, Ping, etc, maybe someone could point me to it if I'm wrong).

Main reason I'm posting is I found some old boxes of soldiers some I probably bought in the 90s and forgot about but some may be from my grandmother who bought some soldiers in the 30s-70s... I'd really just love to know what i'm looking at as I'm too much of a novice to identify any of them.

I'll post images and if anyone has any info on any of it I'd love to know!

1.
These figures are from my grandmother. From Russia or Lithuania after the war. Silver paint still visible on one in the back.

2.



3.


There are more but it says only 5 files per post. If people are interested in helping I'll post the rest in another post.

Thank you!

 

[thebritfarmer]

The second and third picture are William Britains.

 

[SlaterX9]

Ah Great, Thank You! - When you said 2nd and 3rd picture did you mean two pictures of the same buglers in red - or the mounted soldier as well?

Any guesses on these guys?

1.

2.

3.

4.

I'd assume these last ones are britain's as well.

 

[johnnybach]

Hi SlaterX - welcome to the forum. You asked about places to look for items about Greenhill, Ping et al on this forum. Well, there aren't any designated spots - as this is really a Toy Soldier forum. Such expensive rareties as those - are really considered as Miniatures - or Conoisseur figures, rather than Toys - even though they really are just that - but for some rather well heeled collectors with a passion for them!

Sounds like you may have recently bought a book by Peter Greenhill???? I too have a copy - and use it to help convert and/or paint up my own versions from bare-metal castings. Have a look under "Painting" in this section - and go back to "Fancy a Knight out in Agincourt" - for a thread where I have discussed with others, the likes of Courtney, Ping, Selwyn-Smith and Greenhill. I also have that particular "bug" - though as you may see - I try to make my own versions up at far more realistic prices than most examples by the previously mentioned Gents.

If you like what you see there - consider grabbing a brush and some paints - and you will be off! Best of luck; Johnnybach

 

[Hazebrouck]

The first two figures in Post 3 (in the plastic bags) look like Prince August Seven Years War castings.

 

[Obee]

The French Grenadiers look like Tradition of London

Yes, agree about the home cast Prince August 40mm semi flats

John

 

[thebritfarmer]

Ys, sorry I did mean the mounted figure as well.

 

[theBaron]

Welcome to the forum!

I can confirm your info on the toy soldiers in the first photo, they're Soviet, produced in the '50s through the '60s in the Soviet Union. They were heavily influenced by the German semi-round mold makers, like Schneider or Ideal. Some figures were cast in alloys other than lead-tin, such as alloys containing aluminum or zinc

I agree with Hazebrouck, too, but with a qualifier. I think those are definitely Holger Ericksson, but from the shape of the bases, I think those are factory-made figures that were sold in a boxed set, rather than made with the Prins August casting molds. But they're definitely Authenticast/SAE/Prins August figures. Those figures are in the homecasting line, too, but the bases cast a little thicker with the homecasting molds. The figure in a blue coat with yellow cuffs and turnbacks, firing a pistol, is a Swedish officer from any time from 1700 through around 1740. The other figure is a grenadier, the sculpt is of a Swedish grenadier, but it looks like it was painted for another country's army.

Thanks for sharing these with us, prosit!
Brad

 

[SlaterX9]

Thank you to everyone for helping my out.

Johnnybach - Yes! I have been reading one of Peter's books. Really interesting stuff. I love how they still make each one by hand from the original moulds - Though I have to say I'm not sure if the modern Greenhill figures are worth the money considering a lot of the St Petersburg shops put how more detailed figures. I can understand the value of the old Courtenay figures but modern Greenhills seem like modern relics of an age gone by... But maybe I'm not judging them based on the right criteria.

Brad - Thank you for identifying the soviet figures! That makes sense as my grandmother said she got them in that region after the war.

So final ones I'll post. these are the most fun b/c I DO know who made them although since all info online about the company is in German (maybe swiss german?) I can't discover much more than the box will tell me. If anyone has any info let me know!

 

[theBaron]

Berliner Zinnfiguren is was started in 1934 by Werner Scholtz, who produced his own catalog of flats, as well as offering those from other manufacturers' molds, who had gone out of business. After his passing in 1976, his son, Hans-Günther Scholtz, has run the business. Today, they offer classic flats, as well as fully-round toy soldiers, collector's toy soldiers, eg, King & County, kit figures in various sizes and scales, and supplies for painters and other hobbyists, and books. They maintain a flea market section, selling everything from flats and fully-round figures, to old molds, to other odds and ends from our hobby. I've bought a good number of fully-round 54mm figures from Scholtz, figures that I wouldn't otherwise have been able to find, without traveling back to Germany.

The website is www.zinnfigur.com, and it's offered in English as well as German. Have fun browsing the site!

Prost!
Brad

 

[SlaterX9]

Thank You everyone for your help and input. Its great to know what I have.

One final one I'm curious about. I imagine they'd be identifiable by the whites in the eyes. but does anyone know who might have made these figures:




Thanks again for all the help!

 

[DMNamiot]

Berliner Zinnfiguren is was started in 1934 by Werner Scholtz, who produced his own catalog of flats, as well as offering those from other manufacturers' molds, who had gone out of business. After his passing in 1976, his son, Hans-Günther Scholtz, has run the business. Today, they offer classic flats, as well as fully-round toy soldiers, collector's toy soldiers, eg, King & County, kit figures in various sizes and scales, and supplies for painters and other hobbyists, and books. They maintain a flea market section, selling everything from flats and fully-round figures, to old molds, to other odds and ends from our hobby. I've bought a good number of fully-round 54mm figures from Scholtz, figures that I wouldn't otherwise have been able to find, without traveling back to Germany.

The website is www.zinnfigur.com, and it's offered in English as well as German. Have fun browsing the site!

Prost!
Brad

Brad is spot on with this post about their website, but if you get to Berlin you should pop into their store. I picked up a figure from the 1930s that wasn't listed on the website and was thrilled to find it for such a good price. As for the rest of the photos I think the IDs are on the money. The last photos remind me of Errikson Figures but I will try and pull out my book today and look it up.

DAve

 

[theBaron]

Thank You everyone for your help and input. Its great to know what I have.

One final one I'm curious about. I imagine they'd be identifiable by the whites in the eyes. but does anyone know who might have made these figures:

View attachment 133864


Thanks again for all the help!

Thank you, Dave, for the kind comment! You are correct, those are Holger Ericksson sculpts of Prussian/Imperial German Jäger. I'm not sure if he first sculpted them for Authenticast or later for SAE. They have been very likely repainted from their original factory finish. The factory paint job was relatively simple, without any of the outlining, and the eyes were simple dots. I don't recall if they were available in a gloss finish, either. They may have been purchased as castings, too.

The marching pose is common to many of Ericksson's sculpts. I have a group of his 1871 Prussians, in the same striding pose, awaiting painting some day. I think it was O'Brien who wrote something to the effect that Ericksson's designs were simple, but had a dash or animation to them.

Feel free to strip them and repaint them.

Prost!
Brad