Mike Tarantino's Toy Soldier Collection (1 Viewer)

[ucla1967]

Now that the earthquake clean up is complete, I am going back and changing out several shelves to display new sets. This shelf use to display 24 mounted Frontline Figures British and French Napoleonic cavalry plus 20 infantry figures. I sold those figures to Bob and now have on display 28 Hiriart sets, most of which were not previously displayed. The major themes are the 1912 Balkan War, secondary World War II powers, French Foreign Legion, and modern French forces.

Photo 1: This is not the best quality photo, but it shows the whole shelf including three open spaces reserved for WWII Nationalist Chinese Infantry, Balkan War Bulgarian cavalry, and French Foreign Legion Paratroopers.

Photo 2: Balkan War Greek Navy, Cretan Gendarmerie, Greek Infantry, Montenegrin King Nicholas I Guard, Serbian Infantry, and Romanian Infantry.

Photo 3: Balkan War Romanian Infantry, Bulgarian Infantry, and a double sets of Turkish Infantry.

Photo 4: 19th Century Turkish Artillery and Sultan Mehemet V Turkish Guard.

Photo 5: Another view of the Sultan's Turkish Guard and Turkish Infantry in Action.

 

[ucla1967]

New Hiriart display shelf continuing...

Photo 1: A different view of Balkan War Turkish Infantry in Action and below them are partial views of WWII Polish, Hungarian, and Finnish Infantry.

Photo 2: 1934 Polish Lancers and French Saint Cyr cadets.

Photo 3: World War II Romanian and Dutch Infantry .

Photo 4: 1900 French Foreign Legion, double set of 2nd Legion Regiment in Saida, and 1923 French Foreign Legion.

Photo 5: As in the previous photo plus modern French Foreign Legion with FAMAS assault rifles.

 

[ucla1967]

New Hiriart display shelf continuing...

Photo 1: Modern French military armed with FAMAS assault rifles---Garde Republicaine, Spahis de Valence, and 417th Regiment du Train.

Photo 2: Front view of the 417th Regiment du Train's camouflage uniforms.

 

[ucla1967]

I moved several Hiriart Balkan War and World War II sets from another shelf in a different curios to the new display that I showed in the two previous posts. That left several open spaces which I have subsequently filled in as follows:

Photo 1: Non-catalog Egyptian and Sudanese 1885 Infantry.

Photo 2: Princess Pat's Canadian Light Infantry, Fort Saganne special with marching Arab infantry, and Irish Volunteer Infantry 1913-1923. Both the PPCLI and Irish Volunteer sets on display are older versions of these sets. The new versions have Canadian and Irish flag bearers.

Photo 3: The Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Infantry. The RAF set has extra marching men and does not show the RAF pilot or Gloster Meteor model it normally comes with. The U.S. Army set now includes a flag bearer.

Photo 4: U.S. Marine Landing Party 1900 and U.S. Marine Color Party 1900.

 

[ucla1967]

I changed out a shelf which previously displayed Frontline Figures Ancient Warriors (they are now displayed in a secretary in the living room) and 14 sets of Frontline Figures Seven Years War/French and Indian War sets (which I will offer to Bob or Fred). The new shelf displays 28 sets of Bastion Models "A" series range, only three sets of which had been displayed before. These are in addition to the 25 sets of Bastions Boxer Rebellion range which are displayed in the bookcase.


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Photo 1: Sets A.8 SPANISH INFANTRY 1900, A.9 FUSILERS MARINS 1900, and below, A.21 AUSTRIAN INFANTRY 1914 and A.22 BRITISH INFANTRY AT THE READY 1914.

Photo 2: Sets A.10 FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION 1900, A.11 ROYAL MARINE LIGHT INFANTRY 1900, and below, A. 24 BRITISH INFANTRY MIDDLE EAST 1925 and A.25 ROYAL AIR FORCE 1925.

Photo 3: Sets A.13 ROYAL FLYING CORPS 1915, A.16 BRITISH INFANTRY MARCHING 1914, A.17 FRENCH LINE INFANTRY 1914, and below, A.27 CHASSEURS A PIED 1900 and A.31 AUSTRALIAN INFANTRY STANDING FIRING 1915.

Photo 4: Sets A.3 GRENADIER GUARDS 1895, A.4 SCOTS GUARDS EGYPT 1885, and below, A.18 BELGIAN INFANTRY 1914 and A.19 THE HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT 1905

Photo 5: Bastion Models Boxer Rebellion display in the bookcase which I posted photos of several months ago.

 

[ucla1967]

The new Bastion Models display continuing....

Photo 1: Set A.17 FRENCH LINE INFANTRY 1914 close up.

Photo 2: Sets A.33 TURKISH INFANTRY FIRING 1915 and A.48 WWI BOSNIAN INFANTRY, and below, A.64 WWI AUSTRIAN MOUNTAIN TROOPS, B.13 ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS 1900 and A.? MUNSTER FUSILIERS.

Photo 3: Sets A.48 WWI BOSNIAN INFANTRY (as in photo 2) and A.49 BOSNIAN JAEGERS 1910 and below a Wessex set of the 9TH SUDANESE BATTALION which I have subsequently removed and replaced with a newly acquired Bastion set and two Hiriart double sets.

Photo 4: Sets A.53 WWI AUSTRIAN INFANTRY IN ACTION and A.54 ROYAL NAVY AIR SERVICE 1925.

 

[ucla1967]

In January, I came across an auction which had 22 lots of Lasset Models unboxed single figures, one figure per lot. My good friend Bob once commented that he preferred Lasset to Greenwood and Ball which got my attention since he has very good tastes and has a large collection of Greenwood and Ball. So, when I saw these at auction, I bid on them and won 17 (two I didn't win and the other two I didn't bid on because they might not have been Lasset). They really are very fine examples of the cottage industry products coming out of the U.K. in the 1950s.

Photo 1: German Dragoon, German Infantry 1914, British Infantry 1880, 21st Lancer, Prussian Line Officer, and Austrian Infantry.

Photo 2: Close up front view of German Dragoon, German Infantry 1914 and British Infantry 1880.

Photo 3: Close up rear view of same.

 

[ucla1967]

Lasset Models continuing...


Photo 1: Close up front view of 21st Lancer, Prussian Line Officer, and Austrian Infantry.

Photo 2: Close up rear view of same.

 

[nmrocks]

those are very nice mike, have a distinctive look to them, a particular style.
Ray

 

[lancer]

I really like those. Great looking figures. -- Al

 

[ucla1967]

those are very nice mike, have a distinctive look to them, a particular style.
Ray

Thanks Ray, they are nice and they do indeed have a particular look and style to them.

Mike

 

[ucla1967]

I really like those. Great looking figures. -- Al

So do I, Al. I am glad I came across them. I don't recall seeing Lasset figures very often at the shows or on eBay.

Mike

 

[ucla1967]

Lasset Models continuing with figures seven through twelve...

Photo 1: Hussar Officer 1800, French Imperial Guard Standard Bearer, Swiss Grenadier 1812, British Officer, 28th Regiment of Foot, and 2nd Foot Guards.

 

[ucla1967]

Rear view of figures seven through twelve in the previous post.

 

[ucla1967]

Lasset Models continuing...

Photo 1: Frontal close ups of Hussar Officer 1800, French Imperial Guard Standard Bearer, and Swiss Grenadier 1812.

Does anyone know what regiment the Hussar Officer with the map and lantern belongs to? The underside of the base does not have any identifying information, unlike most of the other figures which do.

Photo 2: Frontal close ups of British Officer, 28th Regiment of Foot, and 2nd Foot Guards.

 

[ucla1967]

The last five Lasset Models, 13 through 17...

Photo 1: Front view, Polish Standard Bearer (without broken flag), Engineer of the Guard, Hessian Jaeger, Grenadier Erbprinz Regiment, and American Infantry.

Photo 2: Rear view of above.

Photo 3: Frontal close up of Polish Standard Bearer and Engineer of the Guard.

Photo 4: Frontal close up of Hessian Jaeger, Grenadier Erebprinz Regiment, and American Infantry .

Photo 5: Figures to be repaired including Prussian flag.

 

[jazzeum]

Those Lasset figures are very interesting. When were they made?

 

[ucla1967]

The last five Lasset Models, 13 through 17...

Photo 1: Front view, Polish Standard Bearer (without broken flag), Engineer of the Guard, Hessian Jaeger, Grenadier Erbprinz Regiment, and American Infantry.

Photo 2: Rear view of above.

Photo 3: Frontal close up of Polish Standard Bearer and Engineer of the Guard.

Photo 4: Frontal close up of Hessian Jaeger, Grenadier Erebprinz Regiment, and American Infantry .

Photo 5: Figures to be repaired including Prussian flag.

In the previous post, photo 5., I should have said Polish flag and not Prussian flag.

 

[ucla1967]

Those Lasset figures are very interesting. When were they made?

Brad,

During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, there were several connoisseur British sculptors and model makers including Richard Courtenay, Frederick Ping, Charles Stadden, Russell Gammage, John Greenwood & Kathleen Ball, Marcus Hinton, and John Tassell. My familiarity with them, such as it is, is due entirely to my friendship with Bob Walker who collects all of them. John Tassell produced single connoisseur figures under the name of Lasset Models in the early 1970s and when Bob mentioned to me that he liked Lasset better than the extensive Greenwood & Ball collection he has accumulated, it got my attention. They have unique eyes and longish faces to my mind's eye. They can also be identified by their very thin metal bases with clipped corners which are very similar to the bases on Stadden's figures. Lasset may have sold castings, because I came across several figures on eBay that claimed to be Lassett but did not appear to be painted to Tassell's standards---far from it.

Mike

 

[ucla1967]

I completed the last open areas in the Bastion Models display with one additional Bastion set which replaced a Wessex Sudanese IX Battalion set and two Hiriart double sets. Now I have to go back and tacky wax down all of the 250 plus figures on this self. Ugh!

Photos 1 & 2: Bastion Models Set No. A.41 FOREIGN LEGION 1916 IN STEEL HEMETS as displayed.

Photos 3 & 4: Front and rear views of set A.41 prior to displaying.