I don't believe they are WHW because they are too large, they are
poorer quality than the better known DRK
(Deutsches Rotes Kreuz) - German Red Cross set of winter '40-41 (Types of the German Armed Forces/German Forces Today, although, as
we saw earlier; it had several titles) and because they seem to have been glued
to something - making them, originally, even larger?
Steaming out of port we have a rather
non-descript pair of warships, one a small battleship or cruiser, the other a
rather large frigate or corvette? Between them something which appears to be
the ill-fated Aircraft Carrier KMS Graf Zeppelin? I say that while
repeating previous admissions of not being an expert on these things (sorry
Granddad!) but the huge stack and long, straight-ended, parallel-sided,
flight-deck both seem to suggest the Zeppelin?
The other side of the island is a simple
flat formed from the tip of the 'more' male half of a two-part mould, and the
ship has two small protrusions at sea level to help it balance upright on a
flat surface, yet it appears to have been glued to something!
The two warships from both sides, there is a
vague Bismarck/Tirpitz look to the main tower, but it's fleeting and
not matched by the other details, with both vessels being pretty generic. They
also - both - have signs of glue on the undersides.
The smaller ship, flanked by two vessels
from the known WHW set, they are both
far more accurate or detailed models, both have a bow-wave, and wash running
down the sides and are manufactured in two halves, glued together; really, the
only similarity is the silvery-grey polystyrene they are all made from?
They could be from a board-game, even a
Nazi board-game, from the occasional frequency they (Nazi board games, not
these ships) turn-up at auction (and provide an excuse for paroxysms of outrage
from the Tabloids) a fair few made their way here, either before the war (as
generic playthings) or after the war as booty/'war trophies' from liberated
Nazi Europe? The bomb 'Engerland' set being unlikely a pre-war import, but
still turning up from time to time!
They could be unattributed Nazi-era toys?
Maybe an early attempt by Wiking to
move away from metal, but the lack of accuracy argues against them? Although
the plastic type was used for early Wiking
vehicles. Perhaps penny-toys, sold from the toy-shops, market stalls or street-vendors
of pre-war Germany?
Or they might yet turn-out to be WHW/KHW/DRK tokens, yet there is no sign of a hanger-hole or broach-pin attachment,
but - as I say - they seem to have been glued to something at some point? Might
they have even been mementos of the Zeppelin's
slipway launch?
However, I have also seen a larger, longer
submarine (above, about 11 years ago) included with a sales-lot of the 1940/41
set (stated March '41), it would sit well with the three 'unknowns' and has no
sculpted wash along the water-line?
In Plastic
Warrior's issue No.84 as
described earlier, two sets were shown, including all six warships from that
set; and clearly the naval vessels all have the waterline 'seascapeing', and
all are shorter than the three question-marks above (and the 'archive'
submarine), apart from the - more recognisable - battleship (largest model) which
just-about matches the unknown Sub.
Any ideas on the biggies?
My suspected Nazi navy from both sets, in
full cry, heading out en masse to meet the subject of this afternoons post, on
the high seas!
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