F is for Follow-up - Metal Flats; N'animals Not Nazi's

When we looked at those peculiar Nazi flatsthe other month, I said I had a rhino (and possibly other animals) in storage, so I was pleasantly surprised to find I had in fact added nine additional animals to the rhino.

Domestic animals and birds, wild animals and birds, all the bases are covered! The rhino; who I remembered to be smoother and cleaner 'of line', actually looks more like Albrecht Dürer's interpretation of an Asian Rhino!

I have no idea how large the whole set was or . . . 'sets' were, and like the clowning Nazi's don't know where they came from, or when. The suspicion is that the source is the same . . .

. . . both as far as the manufacture of the figures goes, and where they appeared, I favour cigarette premiums, but it's all up for grabs!

They are the same lightweight, tinny, aluminium casts and while the side-flanges are a little different, the overall look is the same, but that difference, along with the more realistic sculpting might still suggest a different maker?

The problem with shiny, looked-after aluminium is that it's impossible to date! A thought though - The Russians and East European members of the 'Soviet Bloc' did use this material a lot, including as flats or semi-flats, even for Toy Soldiers. So, were these to be from 'beyond the curtain', that would back-up the satirical angle of the previous set (especially if they came from the former East Germany) and date them to the 1950/60's?