Need some help with Identification or Information! Glossy Civil War Soldier with Pig (1 Viewer)

Julie

Julie

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I am working through a collection at the moment and came upon this figure and the Consignee had "Elsa" listed as a possible Manufacturer? No box, just wrapped in bubble wrap.
No markings on the flat brass-looking base. Just a sticker with "232" on it. I assume that was for the seller's identification more than anything.
I like this guy, nice character piece!
ACW-1.jpg
ACW-1a.jpg
ACW-1b.jpg
ACW-1c.jpg

Any help would be appreciated!!

Julie
 
I was thinking of Tom Loback's Thomas' Tin Soldiers, because he produced a series of figures of the 54th Massachusetts, but his figures had thicker bases, cast integrally with the figure, if I remember correctly.

I agree that it's a nice character figure.

Prost!
Brad
 
Thanks for the input! I didn't find any more with this type of base in the collection so I guess it will have to be a neat 'unknown' piece!

Julie
 
I looked at Ted's website and it probably isn't his as his bases are rounded and perhaps a little thicker. Sorry!
 
It looks to me like a composite figure rather than a standard production piece. It could be a Hornet figure or a Wolf figure with a Hornet head but either way the pig is a farmyard animal that has been added. The legs of the animal are in an obvious walking position. Trooper
 
Found some more in the collection! Same flat bases, another soldier carrying a pig!
C-ACW-1-C.jpg
U-ACW-2-C.jpg
U-ACW-3-C.jpg

Julie
 
Interesting. They're all stylistically similar, if not from the same hand. The white soldier wearing a slouch hat carrying a pig is obviously the same basic casting as the black soldier, just with a different head swapped in and gear. These have come from someone with some skill, and I would say that the same person sculpted the masters used to make the castings. The mystery deepens.

I take it there are no markings under the bases?

The sticker on the first figure, by the way, looks to me like something added by an auctioneer or some other seller, a lot number, for example.

Prost!
Brad
 
theBaron said:
Interesting. They're all stylistically similar, if not from the same hand. The white soldier wearing a slouch hat carrying a pig is obviously the same basic casting as the black soldier, just with a different head swapped in and gear. These have come from someone with some skill, and I would say that the same person sculpted the masters used to make the castings. The mystery deepens.

I take it there are no markings under the bases?

The sticker on the first figure, by the way, looks to me like something added by an auctioneer or some other seller, a lot number, for example.

Prost!
Brad
Click to expand...

Correct Brad - No markings on the bases under the stickers (when they have one!). Just the flat metal (brass?) unpainted base.
My guess was also that the seller (or maybe maker?) added the stickers. Unfortunately the original owner passed away and his spouse was not aware of the 'soldiers marching through her kitchen in the night' as she put it :)

They are well done and nice looking figures!

I have several more boxes to sort, who knows if I will find more!!

Julie
 
As this was never really solved could they be Alymer? I just processed a set by them - "El Oasis" AB69 - where the trees have the same flat brass bases as these figures. Does anyone know if Alymer made figures with those kinds of bases as well???

U-ACW-4-C.jpg

U-ACW-2-C.jpg

U-ACW-1-C.jpg
U-ACW-1-C

C-ACW-1-C.jpg

Hmmmmmm --

Julie
 
Julie said:
As this was never really solved could they be Alymer? I just processed a set by them - "El Oasis" AB69 - where the trees have the same flat brass bases as these figures. Does anyone know if Alymer made figures with those kinds of bases as well???
Click to expand...

Hi, Julie, possibly, but I can't yet confirm that they are or are not by Alymer.

The Alymer figures I have, have two types of base. One is a round piece of brass or copper, stamped, with "ALYMER Spain" stamped on the underside of the base. The other type is a square piece, cast in white metal, with a lip running around the outer edge, providing a little bit of height for a display base. On the underside of the base, "Alymer Spain" is incised.

Checking my references, I've run into my first disappointment with O'Brien, since I first bought his "Collecting Toy Soldiers", starting back in '89. There's no chapter on Alymer. I looked first in his 4th edition, "Collecting Foreign-Made Toy Soldiers", and the section on Spain consists of two pages of black-and-white photos of plastic figures. Then I went back to the second edition, the expanded "Collecting Toy Soldiers", and there's no mention there, either. On reflection, though, I can see that he excluded Alymer, because they're not toy soldiers for play, a la Britains, but they've always been considered as miniatures, in the same vein as Stadden, Imrie-Risley, et al.

I looked next in Garratt's "World Encyclopedia of Model Soldiers" for pictures, but that proved relatively inconclusive. He has photos of some Alymer figures, but the only ones that had rectangular tin bases were mounted. Garratt's article also lists the subjects Alymer produced, but it doesn't include US Civil War. Fortunately, Alymer is still in business today, and here is their website:

http://www.alymer.com/en/index.php

I found no US Civil War in the Toy Soldiers area, but in the catalog for Boxed Sets, they do have some sets:

Confederate Infantry: http://www.alymer.com/1854-Infanteria-Confederada,-1862.html

Confederate Group (consisting of a color-bearer, a fifer and a drummer): http://www.alymer.com/1910-1862-Grupo-de-confederados.html

Union Infantry: http://www.alymer.com/1855-1862-United-Infantry.html

Union artillery (field piece, limber and team): http://www.alymer.com/1904-Arrastre-de-artilleria-de-la-Union.html

Union field hospital: http://www.alymer.com/1531-Union-Field-Hospital,-1862.html

Union artillery unit (field piece and crew): http://www.alymer.com/1356-Union-Artillery-Unit.html

Confederate artillery unit (field piece and crew): http://www.alymer.com/1357-Confederate-States-of-America-Artillery-Unit.html

and two Confederate field hospital sets:

http://www.alymer.com/1532-Confederate-States-of-America-Field-Hospital,-1862.html

http://www.alymer.com/1533-Confederate-States-of-America-Field-Hospital,-1862.html

Unfortunately, none of these sets contains figures like the ones you're trying to identify. It's not conclusive to say that they're not Alymer, but I think we're closer to confirming that they're not.

Now, as far as square tin bases and Spanish manufacturers go, Almiral used square tin bases, with rather sharp edges, but his figures were more robust, closer to 56mm or even 58mm, and as far as I know, he only made WWII German subjects.

I still think that your figures are of American make, and that they may even be something that a more talented painter put together. For one thing, I've never seen any makers who produced black Union soldiers, apart from Tom Loback's Thomas Tin Soldiers, who produced a set of 54th Massachusetts. That's not to say that there aren't, just that I'm not familiar with them.

Anyway, that's all I can come up with at this point.

Prost!
Brad
 
I don't recognize them either. I have about 15 or 16 Alymer sets in my collection, all of which are American Revolutionary War. If they have bases, they are round and clearly marked "ALYMER Spain." I also have colored Union troops made by Marin Ritchie (54th Massachusetts) and Potsdamer Zinnsoldaten (Corps du Africa).
 
Bummer - well I tried again! Someday .... someone .... will tell us all who/what these are!

Julie
 
These could be Fusilier Miniatures from the UK. I have a few of their ACW figures that look like these.
 
nysoldiers said:
These could be Fusilier Miniatures from the UK. I have a few of their ACW figures that look like these.
Click to expand...

Good call, you may be right. Though I don't see these exact poses in their catalog, they are stylistic similar. They also include a figure carrying a piglet, albeit on his right arm. These could be previously produced, or perhaps modified.

This will land you in the middle of their US Civil War catalog at the website:

http://www.fusilier-miniatures.com/order_cat.asp?lsSelect=US+CIVIL+WAR&butSubmit=Go&offset=10

Prosit!
Brad
 
Fusilier are typically marked on the bottom as I have the csa foraging set. New Alymer has this type of unmarked base, but those were produced in 2015 and I think these are older than that

Tom
 
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