Do You Know Who Made Them? Over the last year, I have acquired various figures whose makers I do not know. They are not rare, and some are very interesting. Next, one of the hassles I went through recently.
Do You Know Who Made Them? Mystery Figures
Over the years, I have seen and acquired figures that I have no idea who made. I found a bag of figures from my trip to France last year. In it was this Indian chief with a spear. Who made him?
Three more figures from France. People are stating the cavalry figures are Cherilea swoppets, but I am not sure. The heads come off, and the bases are not the right bases for Cherilea. I am more interested in the figure in the middle. The figure looks like a Roman and has a plug-in base. Besides who made him, I wonder if there are any other figures in the series.
I have these two matadors, the one on the right, who can not stand right, may have a cape. I am against bullfighting, so the only way I will take these figures is if they are in a lot.
This piece has been identified as being from a newer Lincoln Logs set.
Alain Lapointe posted this photo on my Facebook post. As you can see, the fort piece and the other newer pieces in the set.
A Minor Hassle
My printer finally crashed. I had bought a backup and figured it would be a simple job replacing it. When I opened the package, I discovered that you need a wireless connection. My system does not have a router yet. I tried using an open router with no luck. At that point, I went to Staples. Going through the rows of printers, everyone seems to be wireless. Frustrated, I go to a sales representative. I tell him I need a printer that isn’t wireless. He replies that he has one printer, but it only does black and white printing. That is fine with me, as I use it only for labels. So I bought the printer and took it home.
Open the box and start looking at the manual. The text is so small and confusing, I go to YouTube and find a video. The video is great, but I have a problem getting the cartridge in. I discovered the cartridge was already in; the one I was putting in was a spare. Realizing my mistake, I switched the cartridge and everything works.
Shows
I will be at this show again.
This is a great show with loads of plastic. I will be at this show, roaming around as usual. When I am not roaming, you will find me sitting with Mike Predergast and his lovely lady, Carol of War Horse Miniatures. Hope to see you there.
Hi,
For folks that really like Lincoln Logs – I found a video on U tube which shows how to make your own Lincoln Logs. It’s fun to watch, even if you don’t plan to make any.
I was thinking it might be interesting to make some plastic Lincoln logs in a smaller scale. The logs would be the diameter of the logs in the Marx Ft. Apache, or a bit larger.
Maybe soft plastic logs which are shaped like 1/32 scale Lincoln logs, but maybe snap together like legos? If had enough of them you could build a Fort Apache from scratch.
TD is onto a good idea. For many years, I planned to get some wooden dowels that were more appropriate for 54mm (-ish) buildings. My father had a workshop with the proper tools. I just never managed to get the project done.
But TD’s idea of making them in plastic (3D printed or good ol’ injection molding) is a good one. That way the “logs” could have irregular textures and look more like treees that were felled for the purpose of building a stockade or cabins. The concept would be the same, but the modeler would not be limited to such a rigid and uniform end result.
If someone does want to use wooden Lincoln Log style logs, you can do what I did…
I soaked them in bleech for weeks to really soften them up…then I put them in an industrial blender I got from the goodwill store (It was made in the 1960’s!)…the blender added texture to the smooth wood. Then I set them out in the backyard for several months to let the rain and sun do their thing to age the logs. After you clean off any caked-on soil (but, for effect, not all of it), you can make some decent buildings for your figures.
The yellow Indian Chief may be from the first Jean Hoefler Western series. They were semi-flat, a little smaller than the moroe familiar later Hoefler Western figures, and I think they may have been distributed as soap premiums in Germany.
I agree TD’s idea is great.
I’ve used wooden dowels of various sizes over the years for a bunch of projects; they were the original palisade wall of my first Alamo before I bought a professional version. They also came in handy on the enforced ramps of the gun emplacements.
Love popsicle sticks to0 – don’t we all?
Oh yes, to the original subject – Lincoln logs are the best. Always loved them.
The yellow indian is made by Cofalu from France (last production with no paint). You can find more informations on this french site (inscription is easy) :
https://soldatplastique-1-32.forumgratuit.org/forum
Swoppets US cavalry are not Cherilea, but copies of Timpo legs mixed with copies of Cherilea torsos made in Hong Kong or elsewhere. The difference can be easily seen in the type of legs and the more detailed torso with different heads/faces made by original Cherilea. Not to mention the much larger Cherilea base.
The US Cavalry are by CHERILEA.
They are not Hong Kong
This was their first attempt at Swoppet figures as well as over molding, in the series besides cavalry were Indians and Cowboys.
They are not as well known as the later Swoppet type figures. Released at the same time as the Knights and Khaki Infantry. The Mexicans are a sort of “Half Way” version.
PW has covered these ranges several times.
Mounted figures were also produced. PW has dated these figures around 1963/64
From the pose of the Roman I would assume that he was designed to go into a chariot.
Thanks Peter, I had not seen this version on Cherilea before. I picked them up in France last year in a junk lot.
I should add that they also did the cavalry as Confederates with grey shirts and brown braces / suspenders