My first post (2 Viewers)

[mensaman]

Hello everyone - This is my first post here, and as a newbie I have not really found my way around the forum yet. But I was very interested to find that there is a section for casting. I have been casting models for many years mostly PA and Dutkins but today I tried something new. Some years back I bought a metal mould from Ebay and didn’t have a clue what it was and have never really cast from it successfully until today when I heated the mould on top of my melting pot first and bingo - a result.

My grateful thanks go to Johnnybach, 1. - For introducing me to this forum and 2. - For undertaking some excellent detective work on my behalf and discovering that the mould I have is of the semi-flat variety of three Prussian bandsmen and was made by Gebrüder Schneider around the early 1900's - it features a Bass Drummer; a Tuba Player and a Trombonist. I look forward to learning a lot here on this excellent forum. Best regards. JP



Sorry MOD's - please remove extra larger image - Many thanks. JP

 

[johnnybach]

Hi JP - and welcome to the Forum. Just love these latest products from your hand - and I am so glad you have finally decided to join the rest of us happy Toy Soldier lovers here. I can't do what you do - as your latest offerings show. Never mind the size of the photo - feel the quality!

The cheque's in the post! I'm having some of those.

To everyone else looking in - JP can also be found on www.whitemetalmail.com - and can provide a growing range of castings to paint - at the most reasonable prices around. Hope you have as much fun here as I have, since joining.^&grin johnnybach

P.S. JP also cast me the Prince August castings that I am painting as "The Emperor's Beautiful Daughters" - which are a joy to paint........jb

 

[Hazebrouck]

Welcome JP.

Love those castings you supplied to JohnnyBach.

Scott

 

[mensaman]

Hi JP - and welcome to the Forum. Just love these latest products from your hand - and I am so glad you have finally decided to join the rest of us happy Toy Soldier lovers here. I can't do what you do - as your latest offerings show. Never mind the size of the photo - feel the quality!

The cheque's in the post! I'm having some of those.

To everyone else looking in - JP can also be found on www.whitemetalmail.com - and can provide a growing range of castings to paint - at the most reasonable prices around. Hope you have as much fun here as I have, since joining.^&grin johnnybach

P.S. JP also cast me the Prince August castings that I am painting as "The Emperor's Beautiful Daughters" - which are a joy to paint........jb

Hello Johnnybach

Many thanks for the welcome and your initial introduction, I am sure I shall get a lot from this forum. Sorry about posting the photo twice (I’m not sure what happened there) however I shall find my way around eventually! Thank you too for the plug.

Of course, I shall be happy to supply any amount - parcel on way tomorrow. JP

 

[mensaman]

Welcome JP.

Love those castings you supplied to JohnnyBach.

Scott

Hello Hazebrouck

Thank you for your kind comments about my castings it has been my hobby for many years - unfortunately I do not have the skill to make them come alive like so many excellent painters on this forum. I think it’s a case of sticking with what I know! Once again thank you for your welcome. JP

 

[johnnybach]

Hello Johnnybach

Many thanks for the welcome and your initial introduction, I am sure I shall get a lot from this forum. Sorry about posting the photo twice (I’m not sure what happened there) however I shall find my way around eventually! Thank you too for the plug.

Of course, I shall be happy to supply any amount - parcel on way tomorrow. JP

Cheers for the super-quick casting/posting JP - I look forward to getting my hands on some crisp new semi-round re-casts from you, from that old Schneider mould. I have been after some of those for ages - to paint. Don't worry about posting the pics twice - they're good enough for a second look anyawy!

As discussed - I'm going to use an illustration by A E Haswell-Miller, ( see in Vanished Armies:2009 - Plate 39.) as a guide for painting them: they are second and third in from the left - and from Prussian Guard Foot Regiments, in Parade Dress - so just the job for your newly made figures. I'll be watching for the Postie from my window from tomorrow on! We just need to find the moulds for the other members of the Band now!^&grin johnnybach

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Mensaman,

Welcome to the forum! Those figures look like fun! I used to do some casting when I was a kid and found out the heating the mold trick from my dad who did casting when he was a kid as well. Its a lot of fun making them your self! I guess now you will need to find the rest of the band molds. I hope we will see them painted soon.

Do you collect any specific eras or are you like the rest of us? A Little of this and that or whatever shinny object crosses your path? Looking forward to chatting with you.

Dave

 

[kilted vampire]

Heating the mold is recommended with all molds. Usually with the rubber molds the first castings are not fully formed. So you throw them back into the pot.

 

[mensaman]

Hi Mensaman,

Welcome to the forum! Those figures look like fun! I used to do some casting when I was a kid and found out the heating the mold trick from my dad who did casting when he was a kid as well. Its a lot of fun making them your self! I guess now you will need to find the rest of the band molds. I hope we will see them painted soon.

Do you collect any specific eras or are you like the rest of us? A Little of this and that or whatever shinny object crosses your path? Looking forward to chatting with you.

Dave

Hello DMNamiot

Thank you very much for the welcome. I have spent most of my senior years casting mostly 1/32 Napoleonic's from Prince August and Zulu Wars period with Moulds from Dutkin's of America, the figures I posted below were from an unknown steel mould which I bought on Ebay many years ago but never had any luck casting with it until I hit upon the idea of heating up the mould on top of my melting pot - which seems to work a treat. With my grateful thanks to Johnnybach I now know what they are too - always a bonus. You may indeed see them painted soon but sadly not by me - my skills lay in the alchemy of casting and I leave bringing the pieces to life by those much more skilled than I.

To answer your question - I do not really collect models although I am surrounded by them in my office/playroom - rather my hobby is casting so I supplement my hobby by selling castings in this way I can build up my mould collection and currently have quite a large collection. But with a bit of encouragement from Johnnybach on this forum I may try my hand at painting in the future ...

Once again many thanks for the welcome and very pleased to know you. JP

 

[mensaman]

Heating the mold is recommended with all molds. Usually with the rubber molds the first castings are not fully formed. So you throw them back into the pot.

Hello kilted vampire

Thank you for your comments and I agree using rubber moulds it's quite easy to cast a couple until the rubber heats up and throw the first few back into the pot. But casting in a steel mould was a new experience for me and I didn't previously have any joy as I have no means of heating the mould to the required temperature until I figured out that the pot has to heat up - so I simply placed the mould on the top until it reached a similar temperature to the metal and to my surprise - all came out well ...

Very nice to meet you. JP

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Again,

Do you happen to have any molds for the Saxon/Viking/Norman Period? I am looking at getting castings for this era so I can do a Shield Wall vs Shield Wall display. I am in contact with White Tower but and always looking for more sources so I can optimize my hobby spending.

Dave

 

[mensaman]

Hi Again,

Do you happen to have any molds for the Saxon/Viking/Norman Period? I am looking at getting castings for this era so I can do a Shield Wall vs Shield Wall display. I am in contact with White Tower but and always looking for more sources so I can optimize my hobby spending.

Dave

Hello again DMNamiot

So sorry to disappoint - I only really collect Napoleonic and Zulu Wars moulds but the occasional 'odd' one does pop up here and there. You are welcome to visit my website: http://www.whitemetalmail.com and have a look round. Do you mind if I ask what scale are you looking for in particular?

All the best. JP

 

[johnnybach]

Just as an add on to the pic of the castings already show by mensaman (JP) - below is the pic of the mould that JP used to cast those lovely old boys of the Prussian Guard. It was from this pic and the casting of the Bass Drummer in particular, that we were able to deduce that it was a Schneider mould, probably from pre-WW1 times - as the soldier is in Parade Order. From the start of WW1 - German Troops changed into Field Grey, so the pickelhaube with the plume would not have been worn. Note the S with an arrow on the mould - and the Number 67. Anyone have any more like this????

I'm delighted to say, that the first modern castings from this mould are currently winging their way towards me - and I will pretty soon have a long awaited chance to add some semi-round versions of these Bandsmen soldiers to my collection. I'll let you know how I get on with them - in due course. Cheers JP - johnnybach

 

[aujj65]

Heating the mold is recommended with all molds. Usually with the rubber molds the first castings are not fully formed. So you throw them back into the pot.

Sound advice KV, but remember the best advice is NOT TO USE A COFFEE CUP for molten metal!.....:tongue: :rolleyes2: ^&grin^&grin^&grin

Jeff

 

[johnnybach]

Especially if there's coffee already in it Jeff! It makes it taste awful

By the way - JP and I have been searching the web for any other Schneider moulds for this Band - and have found that there are two others for other figures for this Band at this size (70mm). They are Number 65 - which is of a Jingling Johnny and a Drum Major - and Number 66 which has another three musicians - Trumpet, Clarinet and Bombardon (Oooooh! I just luv Bombardons).

So - if anyone spots any of those Schneider numbered moulds on the market - please give either mensaman - or me johnnybach a shout. Thanks - jb

 

[aujj65]

Sound advice KV, but remember the best advice is NOT TO USE A COFFEE CUP for molten metal!.....:tongue: :rolleyes2: ^&grin^&grin^&grin
Jeff

Especially if there's coffee already in it Jeff! It makes it taste awful
By the way - JP and I have been searching the web for any other Schneider moulds for this Band - and have found that there are two others for other figures for this Band at this size (70mm). They are Number 65 - which is of a Jingling Johnny and a Drum Major - and Number 66 which has another three musicians - Trumpet, Clarinet and Bombardon (Oooooh! I just luv Bombardons).

So - if anyone spots any of those Schneider numbered moulds on the market - please give either mensaman - or me johnnybach a shout. Thanks - jb

Some years ago there was a lot of hilarity on the forum when Michael (KV) had a bit of a problem with casting figures whilst using a coffee cup to hold the molten metal! {eek3}{eek3} One of the other forum members actually converted a figure into a Kilted Vampire holding an exploding coffee cup of molten metal……I’ll see if I can dig this up. :wink2:

Jeff

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Again,

I collect 54mm mainly. Do mess about with some other scales but not too often. I am putting together a collection of European figures in scales and type that are difficult to obtain in the States for a fair price. So far in this vignette I have some composition soldiers from several makers including a really great marching German Soldier from about 1920 that is around 100mm the rest being about 60mm, a really amazing box of 30mm Flats from Heinrichsen that I found at a local flea market. I am only picking them up as a side note to the main focus of my collection which is the 1903 Delhi Durbar. I also collect some Napoleonics and now the Britains War Aong the Nile Series and a few other eras as I find items I like. How about you what is the scale of choice?

Also Jeff that was a really funny story that KV and I talked about a little while back he is a great guy and is amazingly lucky to walk away from the exploding coffee cup unscathed. There is a thread somewhere in the archives on this site of it makes for a very funny read...

Dave

 

[mensaman]

Hi Again,

I collect 54mm mainly. Do mess about with some other scales but not too often. I am putting together a collection of European figures in scales and type that are difficult to obtain in the States for a fair price. So far in this vignette I have some composition soldiers from several makers including a really great marching German Soldier from about 1920 that is around 100mm the rest being about 60mm, a really amazing box of 30mm Flats from Heinrichsen that I found at a local flea market. I am only picking them up as a side note to the main focus of my collection which is the 1903 Delhi Durbar. I also collect some Napoleonics and now the Britains War Aong the Nile Series and a few other eras as I find items I like. How about you what is the scale of choice?

Also Jeff that was a really funny story that KV and I talked about a little while back he is a great guy and is amazingly lucky to walk away from the exploding coffee cup unscathed. There is a thread somewhere in the archives on this site of it makes for a very funny read...

Dave

Hello again

I am amazed by how many people collect different types of scales on this forum and it makes me feel like a bit of a fraud because I do not collect soldiers per se my hobby is only casting or has been up to this point until Johnnybach convinced me to have a go at painting some of my own castings on his excellent Napoleon's Daughters thread. I have always collected 54mm/1/32 Scale Napoleonic and Dutkins Zulu Wars series but have recently started to have an interest in very early semi-flats and I hope to have in my possession soon a three mould set of Prussian Guards Band from early 19th Century Moulds - not sure what scale these are but they average about 70mm high.

All the best. JP

 

[Bellerophon]

Hi JP

First of all welcome to the forum mate, And you are only a stones throw away from Plymouth,


Love the castings , Keep up the good work^&grin


Very best wishes Mark

 

[theBaron]

Holy cow, how did I miss this thread?!

First, welcome to the forum, JP! It's nice to welcome another caster to our ranks.

I have a bunch of Schneider molds, too, a couple of originals in bronze, and then a number of modern reproductions made in zinc alloy by Höhmann in Cassel, and a couple made here in the States and sold by Castings/REB Toys. The originals still make the best, crispest castings, as do Höhmann's molds.

Regarding your mold with the "S and arrow" marking on it, if I'm not mistaken, it's not actually from Schneider Bros., but was made here in the States by a gentleman named Henry Schiercke. He was a German immigrant (I believe) around the turn of the last century, living in New York, and he sold toy soldiers, and eventually, homecasting molds, including Schneider molds. At some point, he commissioned copies of the original Schneider molds and sold them under his own label. In fact, some collectors group the originals and the Schiercke molds together as "Schneider-Schiercke" molds. Though Schiercke's were copies, there was no loss of quality, and they were much better, in my opinion, than the generation of home-grown American molds that they inspired. (This is from memory, from Ed Poole's article on homecasting, in Richard O'Brien's "Collecting Toy Soldiers".)

The series made and sold by Castings are copies of copies, and they're not designed as well as the Schneider and Schiercke molds. They're too big, so it takes longer for them to warm up. Also, the figure is centered in the molds, rather than to have the open bottom of the mold form the base. I've found in casting with those that it takes more passes till the molds heat up and the metal fills the cavity, and the way the base is formed, with a key in one side fitting into the other, is clumsier to use. But here is the URL for the page in Castings' catalog for their version of these old figures: http://www.miniaturemolds.com/ser05__.htm, so you can see a full series of the figures.

I still have a catalog from Höhmann, though I haven't ordered anything from him in over ten years. He used the original Schneider designations, as far as I know.

I have to fire up the pots and do some more casting, it's been a while. I have some castings from the last session, too, that I have to paint. These figures were the ones that drew me into the hobby. I bought a set when I was a student in Munich, and later learned about the origins of the molds. I found one at a flea market, and then found commercial sources for them, and also rubber molds, and then I branched into kits and castings of fully-round figures as well.

Well, I've run on quite a bit. Please do show us more of your work as you go, and if you have any questions about casting, please just ask!

Prost!
Brad