A bit of a miserly post today with only two images of two makes and one of them is half known! So we'll look at the totally unknown ones first . . .
. . . and while unknown; I can say they are
lovely! Small, but heavy, round sculptural bases with no mark, 20-23mm and
fully compatible with Airfix (but
immeasurably better sculpts!) can anyone put a name to them?
These - Eriksson/SAE
copies - are problematic as while they are probably Minikin they could just as easily be AHI . When I posted some die-cast figures (which I had been lead to
believe were Minikin, Brian corrected
me to the effect he thought they were AHI,
but if they were, then these which are lead, must be Minikin surely?
I mean - we can't label them all as one,
whether lead or alloy, while denying the other any examples at all! So who
knows which is which? Die-cast mazak or lead/white-metal, Minikin or AHI?
The above are lead/white-metal. Grey with
green facings - Patriots or Hessian mercenaries?
While these - previously seen - are
die-cast mazak. See also the forthcoming (Friday) post on ACW unknowns for another possible from this range?
I know AHI
(Azrak Hamway International) a New
York office'd importer marketed sets of 30mm Indians and Backwoodsmen along
with 22mm (OO-gauge) railway figures, AWI goes better with Indians and Backwoodsmen,
letting these be AHI would allow the
ACW to be Minikin!
While Minikin
did several sets of OO-gauge figures for model railways, imported by International Models Inc. (IMI) also New York based and owned by a
Lou Barnett. Linemar (Marx subsidiary) also imported painted
metal from Japan - among others, could these be neither AHI nor Minikins but
another source altogether?
Garratt mentions plastics for AHI under their heading, then places
them in Hong Kong for SAE, and
credits IMI of being Canadian and EMI! I think - in the first instance he
was getting AHI confused with AHM (Associated
Hobby Manufacturers - a tax avoiding industry cartel) a later importer of
plastics, die-casts and model kits? While in the second instance a typo seems
to have 'become flesh'?
For the casual visitor:
ACW = American Civil War (Republicans versus Democrats!)
AHI = Azrak Hamway International (Jobber)
AHM = Associated Hobby Manufacturers (Industry funded 'Co-op')
AWI = American War of Independence (Successful armed insurgency)
5 comments:
I also have several of the first set of figures. I think they were intended as American Revolutionary War. I don't have any Indians or cannon, but I have some of the same pose with various light infantry helmets.
I'm glad someone else has them Doug! They're nice aren't they? No idea on a maker? Someone'll know!
Cheers. H
3 are Spencer Smith ACW originaly in plastic but still available in metal, Tony
Number 2 the marching figure looks like a very well cast Spencer Smith plastic (well cast is unusual for Spencer Smith). These are still available in metal.
Cheer,
Willz
Thanks Willz and Tony, but they are marked 'Japan' and some are die-cast mazak, 'after' Eriksson, but not his! And Spencer Smith may have been equally err....worshipful in his choice of sculpts!
H
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