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| There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio.... |
Although work continues on the Prussian Garde du Corps (and the hussars too, when I can get some more), I haven't got anything to show at the moment apart from an intriguing little bit of wargaming history.
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| Pristine in their shininess! Never been out of the box, I'd say |
Pictured is a box of Alberken toy soldiers. I'd heard tell from the wonderful The Old Metal Detector blog and from a few other sources that Alberken (later to become Minifigs) had originally sold their ranges in boxes of ready-painted soldiers, so I was delighted to find a real example of something that is probably quite rare these days. What also made them fun was that they seem to have been produced at more or less the very moment that Alberken of Newark in Nottinghamshire became Miniature Figurines of Southampton.
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| ..and so they emerge, blinking, into the sunlight! |
The other reason I bought it was that the troops inside were French Old Guard Grenadiers (Alberken code
FN 21), which you can never have too many of in my book. However, having got them out and had a look at them, I find that I don't have the heart to strip them down and repaint them. Before I came to New Zealand I was a military museum curator (which is just about the best job in the world, by the way, as long as you're not too fussed about trying to get a mortgage), and such an act would be sacrilege to a museum professional. What is more, despite being about 50 years old, they appear to be in absolutely mint condition. I wish I could say the same.
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| That strange tubular object is a pistol, I think! |
Click on the pictures for a closer look.
Although the poses seem to be unique to Alberken, it is instantly clear why the appearance of this range led to the most almighty copyright row with Hinton Hunt.
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| Rare, interesting and completely useless! |
However, I think it's fair to say that they're not up to the Hinton Hunt standard. I've learnt from experience that there is often a lot more detail once the paint is off, but in this case I suspect that there is probably not all that much to be found!
So, not the solution to my Old Guard Grenadier shortage, but little charmers all the same.
WM
