M is for Merry Mass of Malleable Model Mayhem! 6 - Ancient, Medieval & Ethnic

The sixth part of Chris's donation stuff, and there's some really nice bits, including at least one other contender for best in box! But there's some other really nice bits, not least these large knights;

At first glance you think modern, Chinese take on the old Fontanini museum gift-shop stuff, and in that you're not exactly wrong, they have the appearance of blow-moulds, but are pretty solid, so some form of rotary-moulding I suspect, and are about the same size as that large Hussar/Chasseur we looked at the other day.

 

But they have the little gold sticker associated with old museum stuff, or the novelty imports of HCF, which if nothing else means they have some age to them, and would have been competing with Fontanini!

But back to the ancients which were going to be first, and these are the small scale bits, two Quaker Food's mounted gladiators who were missing their horses, untill they turned-up in the big bag of hollow-horsed cowboys!

 

A Lucky Clover chariot and crewman, a really nice find as one of the few non-Giant's ID'd (here at Small Scale World!), and several post-Giant Romans, including two who may be new, the bases on the two orangey-flesh coloured ones look particularly thick?

A headless Hong Kong copy of a Britains Trojan is better than no Hong Kong copy of a Britains Trojan, the Marx/Marx-knock-off (Cane?) needs a sword, and the Viking takes the prize here, he's a Horrible Histories pencil top, I think!

 

Best in box? It's only a green Tatra 'Soldier of the World'! The two silver ones are East German copies of other-peoples better figures, and I have quite a few now, were they Marolin or one of the lesser 'peoples brands'? Two spare shields, although I'm pretty sure one is a French farm-door from a Matchbox kit!! But it would make a very good, crude shield for a man-at-arms, while the gold knight, is interesting . . . 

. . . as he is quite well done, in a late Britains Deetail style (and about the same size), but has a peculiar plug on his underside, which I hope someone will recognise as a distinctive 'system' from someone, somewhere. The other figure is a 'Warriors of all Nations' premium figure from Tatra, in green, how cool is that?!!

 

The funny thing is, like the dark brown Zulu who turned-up a while ago, he seems to have been gold once, and the gold having worn-away, has left a base material, slightly translucent (like the Zulu), but green rather than brown? the similar Egyptian was a flatter brown, but the hint of gold was there too.

 

Exin Lines prince, archer and ghost, stand behind two Blue Box micro-playset knights. They are next to one of those rack-toy Asian civilians and a Giant medieval horse, behind which is an MPC or copy (I didn't look, and there's not much in it) 40mm medieval and finishing-off the line-up, is - strangely - the second 12" Airfix Black Prince's crest, this year!

These are charming, and like most new finds, pose a new question or two, why has one got a definite region written into the sculpt, while the other is blank? The other looks North Coast thought, with that sow'wester, so, Normandy or the Cherbourg peninsular? And are they for stopping wine, or oil, bottles or casks?

 

Lovely additions to the stash, though! And a sort of resinated polymer which doesn't seem to be poured PE-resin? Yes, all polymer is 'resin' in the trade, but you know what I mean.

 

KT Tyrolean dancer, sans pencil-sharpener, two of the predominantly French premium copies of Fontanini orientals and a late Commonwealth (or copy) Austrian premium type.

 

While this is a really eclectic mix with the Little Baby Jesus, probably rudely removed from a snow-shaker, or hollow Christmas-tree bauble, a large Alpine figure, probably from some household object like a clock or ashtray? An oriental lady from a vaguely 54mm rickshaw, and the puller from a larger rickshaw, and finally, an exquisite carved-wood farm lady of the Erzgebirge type.

 

All very useful and some fantastic things, I can't thank Chris enough for all this, but to share it with the rest of you. It's Willian Tell! Green . . . Tatra!