Overwhelmed by latest find (2 Viewers)

[Bigmussie]

Hi. Been a lurker for a while but this is my first post. A few days ago I was 'lucky' enough to buy a load of mounted lead soldiers. I have no idea if they are produced by a manufacturer or home molded. The detail seems to be excellent but they have been very poorly stored and as a result I have around thirty dismounted troopers and a stack of lead arms legs, rifles, flags and general detritus. I think I got a bargain because of the poor condition of many of them but where do I start? I've over a hundred of these, weighing an absolute ton and most with some deficiencies. I'd like some idea if it's worth my while restoring them, manufacturer if any and just your general opinion. Thanks in advance.

I think I have created the album OK but can't seem to link here.

 

[theBaron]

Hi, Bigmussie, and welcome!

That's quite a collection you found there, and you're correct, they are homecasts. From the detail shot of the hussar, and from what I can see in the larger photo, they all appear to be made from Prins August molds, from their toy soldier catalog. I have a mold to make the same horse as your hussar is riding, with the Seven Years War Prussian cuirassier set.

If you're a painter yourself, it might be worth it to strip them, examine the castings and clean them up as necessary, then repaint them. You can have quite an impressive display.

I'm sure we'll hear from the other painters among us, who will have good suggestions for you, too.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Mitch]

Great collection. That would be a great job to fix and repaint these!!!
Mitch

 

[Bigmussie]

Great collection. That would be a great job to fix and repaint these!!!
Mitch

Thanks for both replies guys. I've totalled them up now and I have 120 of them, most need some work even if it's just a little tidy up. I'm not a painter or repairer really but it looks like i'm going to have to learn fast!

 

[Mitch]

I am sure that you will have a huge amount of fun doing this. There are plenty on here who will offer help colours repairs tips etc should you need it. Look forward to seeing some of the results
Mitch

Thanks for both replies guys. I've totalled them up now and I have 120 of them, most need some work even if it's just a little tidy up. I'm not a painter or repairer really but it looks like i'm going to have to learn fast!

 

[theBaron]

It's a good opportunity to delve into painting your own, then. If these were commercially-produced figures, like Britain's, for example, it would be worth it to look for someone to repair and repaint them, because there is a question of the resale or insurance value, and repairing such figures yourself could impact that value (though even then, I'd do it myself, because I like to paint ). But for homecasts, their value, really, if it came down to it, is the melt value of the metal, generally speaking, and especially for figures like these, since the molds still exist. So, you won't be losing anything, if you decided to try your hand at the repairs.

I came to toy soldiers from scale modeling, so I already had a background in assembling and painting my own. I enjoy casting figures, and assembling kit figures, and painting them, so if I found a cache like these, I would look on them as a long-term project for my own enjoyment. I think you could find that same enjoyment, if you embarked on that project, too.

Who knows? You might even get to a point where you buy these molds and make more of the figures, too. A parade is a great way to display a large group of figures.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Bigmussie]

It's a good opportunity to delve into painting your own, then. If these were commercially-produced figures, like Britain's, for example, it would be worth it to look for someone to repair and repaint them, because there is a question of the resale or insurance value, and repairing such figures yourself could impact that value (though even then, I'd do it myself, because I like to paint ). But for homecasts, their value, really, if it came down to it, is the melt value of the metal, generally speaking, and especially for figures like these, since the molds still exist. So, you won't be losing anything, if you decided to try your hand at the repairs.

I came to toy soldiers from scale modeling, so I already had a background in assembling and painting my own. I enjoy casting figures, and assembling kit figures, and painting them, so if I found a cache like these, I would look on them as a long-term project for my own enjoyment. I think you could find that same enjoyment, if you embarked on that project, too.

Who knows? You might even get to a point where you buy these molds and make more of the figures, too. A parade is a great way to display a large group of figures.

Prost!
Brad

Ha ha, I think i'll make a start with these ones first. Just spent a bit of time matching up a few sets and finding some spare arms and swords that were in the bottom of the bags, I think most of the detached stuff is still present so thats good news. I'll start re-attaching a few limbs and see how I get on. They seem very well made and reasonably well painted, they must have been someone's pride and joy at some time. I wonder what brought them to their present state? I'm not really a modeller more a diecast collector but i've always loved the diorama stuff and that's how I came upon this great site.

 

[Obee]

Yes, these are definitely Prince August homecasts, and I have quite a lot of them in my collection too.
http://www.princeaugust.ie/

They are a great was of building up your Army at low cost, especially when youc an do your own painting.

You never know you may like painting and then graduate to painting more detailed castings and thates all good fun

John

here are a couple of my Hussars, 11th & 14th King's Hussars

 

[Bigmussie]

Yes, these are definitely Prince August homecasts, and I have quite a lot of them in my collection too.
http://www.princeaugust.ie/

They are a great was of building up your Army at low cost, especially when youc an do your own painting.

You never know you may like painting and then graduate to painting more detailed castings and thates all good fun

John

here are a couple of my Hussars, 11th & 14th King's Hussars

Yep, no doubt they are Prince August casts. I've done a bit of trawling on-line and I must say i'm becoming quite fond of them. I think i'll have a go at repairing a set of six or so, say the Indian Cavalry first and see how I get on. I don't fancy learning to solder so I will try Epoxy for the limbs. They display very nicely in small sets, all 120 on a shelf is just too much (according to missus).

 

[DMNamiot]

hi There,

Great find! I keep hoping to find big quanties like this at the Flea Markets here in germany but still no luck. I am not sure if it is available there in the UK but I use JB Quickweld 2 part epoxy and it seems to work well and as it sets there is time to do some molding of it so you have a better looking fit and hopefully less sanding before you repaint. Drop aline to Johnny Bach here he is a big do it yourself guy and probably can give you some great pointers.

Enjoy!

Dave

 

[lancer]

Yes, these are definitely Prince August homecasts, and I have quite a lot of them in my collection too.
http://www.princeaugust.ie/

They are a great was of building up your Army at low cost, especially when youc an do your own painting.

You never know you may like painting and then graduate to painting more detailed castings and thates all good fun

John

here are a couple of my Hussars, 11th & 14th King's Hussars

These look great. Quite bright and colorful. -- Al

 

[theBaron]

Dave, I got started in collecting toy soldiers with a set of Schneider figures that I found at the Dachauerstrasse flea market outside Munich. They're marching Prussian/Imperial German infantry in Pickelhauben, someone cast them and glued them to a board. I thought they looked neat, and a couple years later, I bought O'Brien's book, and learned what they were. From there, it was all downhill

Prost!
Brad

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Brad,

I have seen a ton of the semi flats here some painted some not but I dont see many lead like Britains or Heyde figures. In France I found a ton of CBG and other french makers and even some very cool prewar composition soldiers but the big bulk finds like this one still elude me. Dont get me wrong my wife is probably thrilled that i havent gone hog wild but I still hope to find some buys like this eventually. We have 2 and maybe a few more years here before we come back to the states to settle down so I still have a lot of hunting time left.

As for me I got into this hobby when dad bought me some molds and I went to town getting scrap lead from all the old building sites and construction sites I could find. Lots of fun casting those figures and painting them for my backyard sand pit. Also built tanks and painted plastic soldiers in a couple of scales to meet the needs of the game as well as buying Britains Detailed Plastic and repainting them as Waffen SS and other units to add a lot more depth to the games we would have. Good times to be sure! Still have some of the lead but all the plastic seem to have gone the way of the dodo. Hope some other kids are still enjoying them.

Dave