These are timeless and - in various guises
- common if not universal, but they are fun! They just wouldn't 'represent'
anywhere, even if they reminded you of a visit to somewhere. We had smaller
versions when we were kids (a tiger and a zebra I think?), and I've blogged a
modern soldier-guardsman here before.
I'm always looking out for the ones we had
as kids, just to replace them for nostalgia reasons (as you occasionally see
older ones on evilBay), but the trouble with them is that the day their string
or fishing-line fails, the bits fly everywhere, and they never get put back
together again!
Looks like a poured-resin Swiss Guard, and
long-time followers of the blog will know I don't rate the stuff, I'll collect
it, I’ll blog it, but it's a low-tech, cheap tech, which damages easily. At
least this is or says 'Italy' or 'Rome', anywhere in the world you'll find a
tropical fish fridge magnet with that town's name marker-penned into the
plaque-space left for such labelling!
I don't get the very long drum sticks? Is
it meant for overnight storage of rings and jewellery, or just poorly finished?
Or is it some form of foreshortening caused by the angle of the photograph?
These are starting to look better, hard to
tell if resin or white-metal is involved and the chap out of focus (front left)
seems to be a different make (heavier sculpt, different base?), now does anyone
recognise these? The distinctive hex-bases should be known to someone and I'd
happily bring that masked, wolf's headed signifier back from a trip to Italy.
More Swiss Guards and Napoleonics from at
least two makes, again; does anyone know who they are made by - I know Figur are still going, are some of these
theirs? The two mounted Napoleonic figures look to be rather superb.
Meanwhile; Carrara now seem to be using aged or distressed copper-bronze
casts, they could just as easily be white-metal or resin, but the verdigris
looks like a chemical dip, not a painting technique? Still - it's rather nice
isn't it; that chariot?
It seems to have found an excuse to take
the Thomas Toys charioteer's sculpt
forward for another decade or two as well! Although scaled-up and just out of
shot is what appears to be another scale-up; of an old Atlantic Greek! But might be something else entirely and more
'Roman' - a sword and a foot's not much to go on!
Can anything be added to this!
I think a caption competition - just for
fun; put your lines in the comments, I'm going with the Danny De Vito lookalike
saying . . .
"Are
you representing the Army of the State of Rome, or are you representing the
state of the army of Rome?"
. . . but at the back of my mind I can hear
Waynetta Slob yelling "I AM
HAVIN' A FAG!"
They look like they are recovering from a
fight - with each-other! Thanks Brian, four interesting toy photographs giving
us some idea of current tourist mementos where once Fontanini featured heavily - and one priceless shot.
2 comments:
Not foreshortening from the angle of the shot but 'huge' drum sticks. I like the idea that it could be a ring holder.
Cheers Terra', I did try imagining them form other angles and they still looked very long!
Big guy's saying,
"I think they were Gauls, a small one with a huge moustache and a big one with stripy-trousers!"
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