G is for Gala, Garcia, Generalisimo, Gormasa and Guardia

Bit of a departure from recent output and a return to Spain, so strap-in for a bumpy ride as at least one of them is a great big question mark which should exercise the idiots of the Penn-State Toy Soldier Mafia and have them flecking dribble on their big book of Spain! So here goes nothing . . .

. . . and we start with this trio who were in storage and I think all came for the collection of the legendary Barry Blood back in 2010 (where one or two could be seen in the plunder-post at the time), from the left; we have a - probably(?) - Argentine life-guard type, the horse looking to be copied from Jean, but Jean had based their plastic horse on earlier composition mounts, so that's probably where this one is taken from.

The most interesting thing about him is that his right arm is attached after moulding / trimming, but before painting, and it's done with the old hot-knife/screwdriver technique! Next to him is a trooper from the Soldados de Alfonso XIII (Alfonso XIII Regiment - officers have red trousers), from Reamsa.

The final figure is also Reamsa; from the Guardia Municipal de Gala, or Ceremonial Municipal Guard. Looking these Spanish figures up over the last week or two has revealed the problem that they all seem to have two names - the monarchist-periods title and the moniker of the fascist interregnum - to that end I think these have reverted to Guardia Real, or Royal Guard?

They are compared to a Life Guard bandsman from Britains, who may be on the wrong horse, as he's using foot-stirrups with a one-handed instrument? I also wasn't happy with the last Spanish chap's horse, and went off to the orphan-horse box . . .

. . . where I found similar horses which have clearly been broken off a Wild West wagon's draw-bar, they aren't the same, but the paint is, and the rider's leg is hiding a big hole, also his horse has a shorter tail, so I think he still needs a correct horse.

Meanwhile this was in the To Be Sorted pile from May's show, and is the officer from the same set, but on the correct horse (in both cases the horse is too small for the figures, who are huge) he's lost his gold epaulets and white trouser-paint but is otherwise a nice figure, if not rare.

Gormasa re-issued these under the Soldis label (yes, I've called it Soldat in the past - more than once I think - but, a mental-typo isn't making it up as you go along!) in quite large 'touristy' sets so they do turn-up pretty regularly.

This chap was hiding in the WWI box as a [possibly] German Ulhan! He is in fact depicting the King's Lancers (Lanceros del Rey), in the ceremonial uniform of the 1970's, at which point they were called the Escolta del Generalísimo (or Fascist Bastard's Escort, if I've got my Spanish correctly?!!), they may also be a type of Cazadore (whatever that is? Is it French, it may be French!), I think these can also be mistaken for Santiago Dragoons (Dragons de Santiago)? But they all have red trousers?

Still; I'm not sure who made him, I assume (helmets on!) he's Jecsan, but there are elements of Pech Y Hermanos (Pech & Brothers) to the horse, which is otherwise like Jecsan horses, apart from the little blobs on two feet. Also - while the cloak fits nicely, and the saddle seems right, he may not be on the right horse?

Marte (Julio Garcia Castresana - 'Castresana Y Marte') also issued a set, but theirs look more formal / relaxed, this chap is in a hurry and his lance is different to the hammered-head, metal Marte ones I've seen, here a plastic blade/pennant moulding, plugging-on to the plastic shaft, but both sets have movable arms and clip-round-the-neck cloaks, so he may have just been wedged on a Jecsan/Pech horse? Means I get to put Marte in the tag-list!

Maybe they're Teixido! I'll put it in the tag-list!

You can see the lancer penciled-in as Jecsan or Teixido makes a better match - size-wise - for the British figure, and I've posted Her Mage in die-cast alloy from Britains' 'New Metal' range of the late 1970's/early 1980's, riding side-saddle, sans horse, in front of the parade.

While the pennant on the Royal Guard trooper may actually be from the Reamsa Medieval/El Sid figures? Also I'm pretty sure both of mine are Reamsa originals as the Gormasa-Soldis ones tend to a glossier finish.

There you go anyway, five ceremonial oddments from the stash, four Spaniards and a probable Argentine, and he's probably the rarer, as the others will have gone all over the world as Tourist keepsakes, but then maybe he did too, although Argentina isn't the Tourist trap Spain has been?