About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

S is for S.A.E.

Swedish African Engineers, the final (I think/hope??!!) incarnation of the work of Holgar Ericsson, a man who's style was his saving, as some of his execution was pretty poor, but the sculptural 'life' with which he imbues his figures more than make up for the lumpen state of some of them.

These are a set of Union infantry 'in camp' during the American civil was and are a large 25mm size. He also worked in most other sizes from 18mm through to 40mm Flat and Semi-flat figures. I think this is a full set, and I have a few identical figures in Confederate paint-jobs, so clearly they could have either, a common occurrence with metal ACW across the board!

These are posted in part to help Clive Smithers over at The Old Metal Detector Blog decide whether one of his 'unknowns' is SAE or not;

http://theoldmetaldetector.blogspot.com/search/label/unknown%20manufacturer

When I first saw the figure I thought it probably was, then while taking these photo's I decided it was of better sculpting, now I'm not so sure?

Also by HE (the mark often found on the upper surface of his figures) are these Highlanders of the 1880-1930 period, this is a 'standard' SAE set, presented like old hollow-cast toy soldiers...i.e. a handful of 'standing do'in not much' and an officer!

This is a bit of a mock-up of what they look like in the box, the box needs some work, but I will do it as a restoration project one day and post the pictures here. I will also - at some point - look at some of his other work.

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