First Flats or Homecasts Prince August 1980s

These three strange figures appeared in a (school?) jumble sale mix of plastic figures in the early 1980s. I had no idea what they were, had not encountered flat figures and they were surprisingly heavy for their size.

All the lead hollowcast figures had vanished from the family by the late sixties, these lost legions possibly the casualties of parental concern about lead in children’s toys and the new possibilities of plastic.

I had no idea what these were. They had a strange marking ‘HE’ on the base.

1980/81 – This was the days before the Internet.

They were bare metal or grey undercoated when found, at some point they received my desultory painting of red and black, then languished unseen for decades.

Their survival is probably due to having been in the 1980s Blue Box for the next 25 to 30 years or more, where they remained unused in my 1980s Blue Box of odds and ends, as what use were three figures?

Image source from my blog post on the Military Modelling / Battle for Wargamers 1983 Wargames Manual – https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/brian-carricks-big-wars

I didn’t connect these orphan HE figures at all with the tempting adverts in Military Modelling in the early 1980s for these grown up, hot metal moulds. The moulds and the metal were unobtainable on my Airfix figures pocket money income, even if I could be trusted with hot metal (unlikely then).

Another 25 years pass.

Early in 2005/6 in a small craft shop on a backwater street of a backwater southwest town, by chance I discovered in a sale one Prince August casting starter set and a box of 54mm Traditional Toy Soldier moulds. At last I could cast my own figures.

Being able to cast your own figures whenever you want more and own the means of production still seems a little bit magical to me.

I have not looked back since.

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I sometimes wonder how different my toy soldier hobby life would be without that chance shop find.

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I know now that these three figures are Holger Eriksson 18th Century / Seven Years War moulds, still available from Prince August and I now have some of these moulds in my collection:

I know now that HE obviously is the talented Swedish Toy Soldier designer Holger Erickson. His HE figures from the 1950s and 1960s are still available through Prince August and from Tradition Of London including S.A.E Figures from the Featherstone era.

Brian Carrick’s excellent blog posts on Holger Eriksson:

https://toysoldiercollecting.blogspot.com/search/label/Holger%20Eriksson?m=0

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40mm?

This seemed such a weird size when I first encountered these three Unknown figures in the early 1980s. Figures to me back then were Airfix size 1:32 or 1:72/76. I now have a fair amount of 40-42mm figures in my collection and gaming skirmish units, including Pound Store Plastic copies of 54mm figures that have through copying shrunk in size, stylish HE Cowboys and Indians and of course my current STS Little Britons 42mm range Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

I wonder if one day these three stray orphan 40mm HE figures – my first metal figures – will kickstart a small gaming collection of Tricorne and Musket figures? Who knows?

These tricorne figures to me inexplicably have a Gulliver’s Travels Lilliputian look to them. If it does eventually happen, it might be unconventional ImagiNations / Lace Wars Steampunk like this 2007 blog link I found via TMP about 6 years ago. But not just yet …

http://mcristobylacew-abdul666.blogspot.com/2007/09/lace-wars-sci-fi.html

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, 15 August 2022.

“I live in a madhouse …” Home Casting Humour

As well as EBay there are other maker and vintage listings out there, ranging from

the international Etsy with its often expensive ‘vintage’ toy soldier offerings and unusual international toy soldier offerings (great for window shopping)

to the more British based crafting site Folksy.

Here I spotted and bought this rather apt fridge magnet that home casters might enjoy.

https://folksy.com/items/7160996-I-Live-In-A-Madhouse-Magnet

Luckily I tore off the Folksy maker’s name from the invoice and stuck it roughly in the back, so I could find them again.

I thought it goes well with the contents of a recent mostly Schneider vintage metal mould casting session and some very cheap Pound Store conversion plastic soldier Boy Scouts.

Eagle eyed readers may spot two ‘half casts’ who were missing heads, so these colonial flats got a plastic flat head modern Fritz helmet from the Specia forces figures.

(Small) World Domination plans

It reminds me of a rough sketch outline I did for a finished postcard in a local art event in the anonymous Post Secret / Secret Squirrel confessions postcards project:

Rough sketch by Mark Man of TIN – based in Prince August 54mm toy soldier moulds

This postcard blog post from my first month of blogging here in 2016 with some thoughts on homecasting https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/15/

Blog posted by Mark, Man of TIN on 8 May 2021.

Prince August 54mm Home Cast Armed Gelati and Traffic Wardens on Parade

I made these home-cast 54mm parade figures using the traditional toy soldier moulds by Prince August back in 2005/7.

https://shop.princeaugust.ie/54mm-traditional-toy-soldiers-moulds/

The first group are ImagiNations armed Guild of Gelati or ice cream sellers on parade with their Neapolitan Ice cream based flag.

The second are armed traffic wardens on parade. No arguing with these over your parking fines with these fine well-armed fellows, keeping the local streets clear, safe and responsibly parked for democracy.

These are obviously based on the old fashioned British traffic wardens. I love the black uniform contrasting with the yellow stripes.

If you want them to be Italian / ImagiNations to match the Gelati, they would be called Vigili Urbani. I have no idea really what Italian traffic / parking Wardens look like other than those white gloved ones in 1980s Cornetto adverts and the 60s film The Italian Job. At least there is a spurious Italian link between parking enforcement and ice cream.

The Traffic Wardens do not yet have a standard or flag. Polite suggestions only please.

A marching red hat Band and some Coastguards at the back left mixed in. Airfix multipose haversacks

Very VBCW!

These were painted when I still used Humbrol Gloss enamel paints or Gloss Varnish over Humbrol enamels. I like this ‘Tintin’ old shiny toy soldier style painting still, although today I use Revell Aquacolor Acrylic gloss and gloss varnish. I have noticed that they need the final gloss spray Varnish as the flesh paint is matt, not gloss.

The two standing figures at ease (at the back, left) are not yet Traffic Wardens. They are inspired by 1860s British Customs Officers in Polperro based on a photograph by Lewis Harding of Polperro (taken from the book Lewis Harding Cornwall’s Pioneer Photographer by Phillip M. Correll, Polperro Heritage Press, 2000 polperro.press@polperro.org)

This came from the excellent small local museum of Smuggling at Polperro in Cornwall. Well worth a visit.

1860 Image for research purposes taken from Lewis Harding Cornwall’s Pioneer Photographer

A few more random Prince August home cast figures from the same 2007 recently rediscovered box

A Redcoat figure deliberately aged and roughed up, along with a new replacement arm.

Mixed Patrol

Some of these figures were displayed to other’s bemusement at a local arts and crafts exhibition in my local village church / church hall about ten years ago as they scandalously had little or no boycraft or mancraft of any kind.

A blast from the home-cast past posted by Mark Man of TIN 14 November 2020.

Next post: back to the 54mm Spanish Armada 1588 / Aztecs and Mixtecs

Army Red and Blue home castings simply painted

Twa  Bonny Lads – homecast Highlander firing, repainted Britain’s Highlander charging

 

Back around January the 25th (Burns Night) I tried out some new vintage metal home cast moulds including this Highlander firing.

https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/burns-night-casting/

He got stuck in the mould, despite using release powder, but cleaned up nicely.

The face is not very detailed but he has a fine vintage toy soldier look. There is a distinctive casting line but not too much flash.

The original Highlander home casting. 

There is not much fine detail in the mould, whatever type of casting metal is used.

Simple paint scheme to suit a simple home cast figure. The Britain’s Highlander has a repaired rifle, again using the shaved cocktail stick method. 

I like this Highlander enough to want to cast more. A row of them firing would look a fine addition to any wargames table or garden skirmish, despite the casting line running across and obscuring any facial detail.

Another vintage metal  mould casting on the same day was this curious greatcoated steel helmet figure, a little in the small side at about 50mm.

Again this was a figure with some casting problems (hollows in the chest or backpack) but with lots of conversion potential, especially if heads were exchanged. There was more flash than you would expect from a modern home cast silicon figure, requiring a bit of filing. The rifle also failed to fill out on one or two castings.

https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/more-homecasting/

The Homecast steel helmeted guardsman. 

Army Red and Army Blue paint options of this Home cast figure. 

The steel helmet is oddly cast enough that it could with little filing be turned into a bush hat, or a head swap or replacement arranged.

Superb as the Prince August 54mm multipose 54mm traditional toy soldier range are (choose the head, body and arms you want)   I also like the simplicity of a single figure mould sometimes.

The slightly hollow pack in one  and chest on the other can be seen here. 

A useful and versatile figure to cast more of, and one that suits a simple gloss toy soldier paint scheme. I imagine he was intended to be painted khaki.

Not sure of the Home cast manufacturer.

Blogposted by Mark, MIN Man of TIN blog, March 2017.

 

More Homecasting

Getting back into casting my own figures in metal, rather than Fimo / Sculpey Polymer Clay, after a break of several years is proving interesting.

It hasn’t all gone to plan. Moulds, especially metal vintage ones not used for a while, need to be “run in”. Warming the moulds gently helps the metal flow too.

Moulding disasters get put straight back into the melting pot or melting spoon.

Schneider Settlers and Indians – Back into the melting spoon together …

Rough, but useable 54mm castings from old metal moulds in need of a bit of trimming and filing. Faces are a bit blank. 

An attractive WW1 / early WW2 British infantryman marching, c. 54mm height

 

Rough raw castings of Prince August 40mm Cowboys and Indians designed by Holger Erikkson

Lovely to know that these ‘HE’ or Holger Ericksson figures (cast from moulds sold by Prince August) are still popular many years after they were first carved by Holger Ericsson (1899-1988) as shown here http://www.tabletoptalk.com/?p=572

Schneider type moulds for 30 to 40mm flat 19th century British infantry.

Straight out of the mould, clipped but not filed yet – 40mm PA5 modern 1950s infantry marching (Holger Eriksson / Prince August moulds).

Lots of filing and trimming awaits … and lots of imagi-nations skirmish game ideas.

Casting using the vintage metal casting moulds is definitely trickier than the silicone rubber moulds, but a few tricks picked up from the toy soldier forums  such as warming the moulds first does help with the metal flow.

Blogposted by Mark, Man of TIN blog, January 2017

Burns Night casting

Stuck in the mould …

The figure released at last.

Today – it’s Burns Night, Rabby Burns Birthday. Here is my Highland tribute to Burns , once a former volunteer or militia man of the Napoleonic invasion scare.

http://scottishmilitary.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/robert-burns-and-royal-dumfries.html

Robert Burns received a full military funeral in 1796 as a member of the Royal Dumfries Volunteers.

Casting my Burns Night Highlander

I spent part of a day off home-casting metal toy soldiers like this 54mm Highlander, something I haven’t done for several years.

Some eBay finds of vintage metal toy soldier moulds you ‘buy blind’ and aren’t too sure what you’re getting. This was one such mould. Not yet sure of the manufacturer.

Sometimes the moulds have been over cleaned purely for show, apparently like some people collect and display vintage butter pats or cake tins. Sometimes they are cracked, damaged or overworn.

The only glitch was the casting getting stuck for a while, not prised out until very cool, so maybe some mould release powder next time.

This figure is not highly detailed but has minimal flash and a lovely vintage  ‘Toy Soldier’ feel to it.

I look forward to making many more and getting them painted up for 54mm games this year. More photos of other moulds and castings to come soon.

Happy Burns Night (or Happy Birthday) if you are celebrating the occasion.

One of Burns’ Napoleonic wartime poems …

Does Haughty Gaul Invasion Threat? 

(The Dumfries Volunteers) by Robert Burns

Does haughty Gaul invasion threat?
Then let the louns beware, Sir!
There’s wooden walls upon our seas,
And volunteers on shore, Sir!
The Nith shall run to Corsincon,
And Criffel sink in Solway,
Ere we permit a Foreign Foe
On British ground to rally!
We’ll ne’er permit a Foreign Foe
On British ground to rally!

O let us not, like snarling curs,
In wrangling be divided,

Till, slap! come in an inco loun,
And wi’ a rung decide it!
Be Britain still to Britain true,

Amang oursels united!
For never but by British hands
Maun British wrangs be righted!
No! never but by British hands
Shall British wrangs be righted!

The Kettle o’ the Kirk and State,
Perhaps a clout may fail in’t;
But deil a foreign tinkler loun
Shall ever ca’a nail in’t.
Our father’s blude the Kettle bought,
And wha wad dare to spoil it;
By Heav’ns! the sacrilegious dog
Shall fuel be to boil it!
By Heav’ns! the sacrilegious dog
Shall fuel be to boil it!

The wretch that would a tyrant own,
And the wretch, his true-born brother,
Who would set the Mob aboon the Throne,
May they be damn’d together!
Who will not sing “God save the King,”
Shall hang as high’s the steeple;
But while we sing “God save the King,”
We’ll ne’er forget The People!
But while we sing “God save the King,”
We’ll ne’er forget The People!

Two ways of reading the last verse of  this supposedly patriotic poem!

A painting of Burns in his volunteer uniform by Scots military artist Douglas N. Anderson (who works for Osprey) can be found here http://halifaxburnsclub.org/Militia_Fletcher.html

For more about the Napoleonic era Volunteers in Britain https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Volunteer_Corps

Posted by Mark, Man of TIN blog, 25 January 2017.

Home cast antique and gilt paint finishes

A very long time ago as a child I was bought a jumble job lot  of toy soldiers, mostly plastic but amongst them was this trio of metal soldiers.

I painted their hats, coats and boots but never finished them. I had no idea what they were, who made them or what to do with them as they were 40mm tall, bigger or smaller than my other figures. So no real use or match. On their base I could just make out the letters HE which meant nothing to me at the time.

Fast forward to ten years ago: poking around a craft shop on a trip to Cornwall, I discovered a tiny cache of Prince August moulds for making traditional toy soldiers which I bought straight away.

I had seen as a child intriguing adverts for this company in modelling magazines but the dangers of hot metal and shortage of pocket money as a child  meant that I never bought any.

Looking through the Prince August  online catalogue, I recognised these strange random trio of figures, their designer’s name HE (Holgar Eriksonn) and sent off for some PA moulds to find out at long last how they worked. And to give this three man patrol  some company  to pick on of their own size.

http://shop.princeaugust.ie/h-e-40mm-scale-military-moulds/

I found these figures are Prince August PA17 Musketeer, PA23 Musketeer standing and PA24 kneeling.

Playing around with paint finishes

There are many possible finishes for these shiny Prince August castings.

One suggestion is pewtering, an idea from their cast your own chess sets ‘antique finish’. Black acrylic paint is painted over the figures, then fairly quickly wiped off with a cloth or kitchen roll before fully dry.

Another alternative is the simple gilt or gold paint finish.

I tried out the gilt finish on another home casting, an American sailor drumming,  from a metal mould of a different much older (American?) manufacturer.

The older type of metal home cast moulds (usually German or American origin) have much more flash and casting lines, requiring more time and filing to clean up than a modern rubber Prince August mould.

Another gilt finish home cast Schneider mould figure in my collection with mould half.

 

This is a 1910-20s gilt finish early British lead toy soldier in my collection (Photo / Figure: Man of TIN)

Sometimes I find stray home cast  figures in junk shops and online lots that are quite crude, often overpriced such as this cowboy type figure from another metal mould (in this cast in quite soft and bendy lead).

They have a simple charm and many conversion or paint possibilities.

I have now tracked down a three figure (Schneider?) mould No. 56 of this cowboy and two Indian figures to produce more. At some point worth casting enough for a Close Little Wars home cast skirmish of settlers versus natives maybe?

Plastic Postscript 

This “fake pewter” or “antiquing”  technique can also be tried with some success on silver plastic figures from pound stores.

Compared to the original plastic figure:

Posted by Mr MIN, Man of TIN, June 2016.

Small World Domination

Inspired by a gift a few years ago of some Prince August moulds:

“Today the playroom … Tomorrow the (small) world”

This is a quick sketch for an anonymous “secret squirrel” type postcard competition / exhibition run through an art gallery a few years ago,inspired by the website http://www.postsecret.com

Oh well, the secret’s out. Plans for (small) world domination unmasked.

Quick, time to keep building and casting as fast as I can!

Home Casting 

If you want to take part in this arms (legs head and body) race, head to the traditional 54mm toy soldier multipart  moulds at http://shop.princeaugust.ie/54mm-traditional-toy-soldiers-moulds/

The great joy of these home casting ‘mix and match’ is the creation of figures – soldiers and civilians of all nations – in box sets and parades that never existed in the heyday of lead figures, before they vanished in favour of safer, unbreakable (and often now crumbling) plastic from the 1960s onwards.

Of these, in future blogposts, I’ll feature some of the stranger ones from the bands, parades, civilians and soldiers of all my ‘imagi-nations’.

The other creative way to acquire the figures of your wilder “Imagi-nations” was through conversion (plenty of collecting toy figures books in the library or out of print online for this topic) or repaint.

The toy soldier version of a car respray, some of the odd figures found online or in junkshops in my collection are childish repaints or very slop happy repaint jobs in whatever colours were available for whatever figures were required for play or parades. Again a future subject for blogposts …

My Man of TIN Gravatar, blog icon, a Guardsman saluting, made years ago as a brooch gift from Prince August 54mm multi part traditional toy soldier mould. (Photo / figure: Man of TIN)