Battle on the table. Vikings
foreword
Men always play, play football and politics, “significance” and chess, war and “importance”, but isn't our life a game?
Conte collectibles
But my humble story is not about the psychological sources of war and games. It’s just about the soldiers, who were played and, I think, should be played by children. Someone changes the shape and color of their shelves, chevrons, epaulets, cut coat, and someone puts the shelves on the table. And as the heroine of one film said, a man should have a small, innocent hobby.
Playing toy soldiers or collecting them today is in fashion, small figures help to learn history, uniforms, weapons, reconstruct the old battles.
From the beginning of the 80-ies in the West began the struggle with military toys, including soldiers. Perhaps this topic was relevant for the aggressive West, which cannot be said about our country. Nevertheless, there is a drop in interest in this topic among children, cinema, which has long supported this topic, has left military-historical subjects. Computers contributed to the transfer of the game from the real to the virtual world. We also fell under this wave of "civilization."
And if in the United States or, say, Germany, there was (and still is) a huge number of enthusiastic collectors who supported this trend, then in the 90s there were only a handful of such people. It's like vinyl - he came back, and the soldiers returned. In our country, this was due to the interest in our own history and the children's memory of Soviet soldiers.
I will talk about the Viking soldiers and the companies that made and produce them.
A bit of theory. Today we have many types of miniatures. For brackets we leave figurines of fantasy and wargames. Their scale is 28 and 40 mm.
Conventional "soldiers" are divided into VIM - military history miniature and the actual soldiers.
Military history miniature
VIM is the production of metal figurines, the scale of execution is different, but the main size is 54 mm, although 60 mm, 75 and 120 mm are also produced. The key parameter of VIM is the execution of figures as close as possible to historical realities, a rigorous study of elements and details, the image of figures not in static poses, but in motion. VIM of course does not imply a "game" in it, it is figures for collections or gifts. No wonder the famous British company Britains has a line called the "Museum Collection".
But the company from Ekaterinburg “EK Castings”, existing with 1995, produces very high-quality, inexpensive and massive VIM. On the other hand, produced in St. Petersburg by some well-known craftsmen and companies VIM comes in price to 25 thousand dollars for a figure. Moreover, these are world-class masters, or rather, they set this world level, one can say about their figures that in miniature they reach such a level of detail that even live warriors did not have.
VIM made by companies or individual craftsmen is adjoined by the creation of miniatures, dioramas and vignettes with figures of the indicated sizes, for example, busts. The artistic reflection of historical authenticity, as well as the actual coloring technique, is the most important component of this work. For creators of miniatures, it is extremely important to thoroughly reconstruct dirty snow on the overcoats of German prisoners in February 1943 in Stalingrad or the color of sand during the battle of Zama in 202 BC. er Many companies produce blanks or whales for such work: as finished figures or high-quality busts, equipment, weapon, walls and buildings, trucks, zip equipment, heads, with different shades of emotions on the face and much, much, much. These miniatures are rarely made of metal, more often from various types of modern resins, quickly hardening clay, and of course, plastic. Any scale is used, if you want to reconstruct the naval battle of Solomin, it is hardly appropriate to use a different scale than 1: 72.
Toy soldiers
But back to the soldiers. By them are meant figures from any or almost any material that can be played, arranged for parades, or fought.
Since 50-ies of the twentieth century, the main material is plastic, or metal, not lead with tin, but CAM (an alloy of zinc, aluminum and copper). In the USSR, a huge number of soldiers were made from this material: sailors and soldiers in battle, heroes, etc.
If we talk about collecting, there reigns the cult of brands. Collect or on topics: cowboys, Indians, World War II, Antiquity or the Middle Ages, knights, pirates, civil war in the US, etc. Another collectible option: soldiers from the USSR, or one brand, for example, DZI (Donetsk Toy Factory) or the German "Elastolin".
The main dimensions of the 54 mm, 60 mm, less often, 75 mm, 40 mm soldiers are practically not used, although a number of companies produced soldiers of this size earlier, for example, the German company Elastolin and its branches.
Yes, and one more important addition: if earlier products made of lead and tin were considered more complex products from the point of view of production, and soldiers of plastic were bargain products, in our time the quality of the soldiers dramatically improved, and somewhere it is not inferior to metal figures, Yes, and the price of production of plastic caught up with the metal, as the production volumes are not comparable with the previous ones.
Painting the figurine continues to be technologically challenging due to the fact that it is made by hand, but one thing is to paint a small batch of expensive VIM, another thing is mass production.
Vikings, heroes from Scandinavia
The impetus for the emergence of huge interest in the Vikings and, accordingly, the beginning of mass production of soldiers was the appearance of these desperate sea robbers in 50-60-s films, in particular, in the cult film Vikings 1958, where Kirk Douglas played the main roles and Tony Curtis.
The discussion will focus on the largest toy company in the United States at that time. Louis Marx & Co, or Marx, its founder, Louis Marx, was called the “King of Toys” in 60's.
In 1954, the film Prince Prince was filmed in a comic book, where the Vikings with huge horns on their helmets were among the heroes. The company "Marx" has acquired a license to release the heroes of the film. The Prince Castle was made with knights and one Viking. Further, the production of "Vikings" has expanded. The Vikings were three scales: 150 mm (6 inches), 60 mm and 54 mm. Sold both singly and in game sets. The company began to produce a smaller scale in order to reduce the cost of goods. Large-sized Vikings were copies of their smaller brethren: but the copies were not repeated exactly. Copies of 60 millimeter figures were made in color, copies of 54 millimeter figures were one-color, green.
The early pieces of 60 mm size were uncolored - green, in 60-s they were painted, the coloring was made in Hong Kong, then Taiwan, and West Germany.
Vikings "Marx". 60 mm, 50-ies of the twentieth century.
The painted warriors were sold in separate sets, individually, and were also included in the Warriors of the Word prefab sets.
The 54 mm figurines were light green in color and included a set with a fortress and knights who were opponents of the Vikings.
Vikings "Marx" 54 mm. 60-s of the twentieth century.
As for the Vikings from 8 figures of size 60 mm, they had more copies in the size of 35 mm, it was also a game set with a fortress and knights-opponents, both horse and foot. Moreover, the knights were not made on the scale of 60 mm in the USA, but similar copies, on the scale of 150 mm, but they were sold in the USSR, where two figures from this set became legendary among collectors.
Vikings "Marx" "Warriors of the Word" .60-ies of the twentieth century. Hong Kong
The company "Marx" produced soldiers in the United States, then in Mexico, as well as in Germany and England (Wells), and later in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Molds were transferred to different departments of the company.
I started the story with the Vikings “Marx” also for the reason that their life continued, as I wrote above, in our country, at the end of 60's the company went bankrupt, and the mold was purchased by the USSR with payment not with money, but with products. The molds were transferred to Donetsk, where they began to produce 60 mm and 150 mm with 1977 g. In 1991, it was decided to discontinue production due to the deterioration of the mold, but only to stop production in 1995.
Vikings DZI, along with other sets made on American molds, created a furor among the boys of the USSR: voluminous, as from the GDR, but much more detailed.
After watching the film "Vikings", which could occasionally be seen in the cinemas of the Union, it could not be otherwise. But, of course, they instantly fell into the category of "deficit". It should be noted that in all the sets there was a leaflet with a brief but very capacious historical reference.
Once I read the opinion of a well-known collector of soldiers that the production “according to American patterns” was wrong, and the soldiers produced were alien to us and we had to develop our own analogues. It is difficult to say something here, but in my childhood “Donetsk” were my favorite soldiers.
At the end of 80-x ready XX. the same Vikings began to produce the Moscow "Spark", but in the number of 6, not 8 pcs. At the end of 90's, Viking figures 54 mm and later 60 mm began to be produced in Mexico because of the re-emerged interest in the soldiers. And the molds of the Donetsk plant were acquired by the Moscow company Arc Model, which still produces them.
Vikings of Donetsk toy factory. 1981-1982
The life of Marx continues, so this year the Moscow company "ALEX-Moscow" produced a limited batch of Vikings in the size of 75 mm, an absolutely exact copy of 150 mm warriors of American manufacture.
In 50-70-ies, cinema has shaped the image of a Viking - a stern warrior dressed in leather or fur, with bare legs and calves, wrapped in fur. He almost did not have protective weapons, but all the helmets were with wings or horns. This is how the reference Vikings of the Marx Company look, the features or poses of which can be found in many of the figures that have come down to our day.
The next company to be discussed is "Timpo Toys", one of the leading British firms for the production of soldiers, was ruined in 1979. Its distinguishing feature was the production of soldiers assembled from various replacement parts. Technology swoppet (swap, exchange) - the invention of the company Herald 1958 g. At first, the parts were made separately and painted by hand, this technique uses today DSG. In 1962-63, a new technology was introduced, the parts were molded from colored plastic and did not need to be painted. It is significant that before the ruin in 1978, the company's engineers made a machine that assembled the soldiers from various colored parts automatically.
Wounded Viking. Timpo toys
I was always sure that they were assembled by hand, since this level of automation is difficult to imagine.
Today Timpo are quite expensive, some instances of horse Vikings - 300-500 $, despite the fact that they were produced in large quantities and sold in many countries.
The company produced Vikings on the scale of mm 54. In Viking horsemen, horses are covered with blankets and sheep skins. It is difficult to say whether there are any historical roots for such padded skins, but the horses of modern English horse guards are covered with sheep skins, but in the recently released TV series The Last Kingdom, very effective ones are given with tinted eyes of the times of Albert the Great ride horses, covered with skins.
Another English company "Cherilea", which arose after the Second World War and died in 80, produced not only Vikings of the 60 mm scale, but also Saxons - their opponents. Initially, the Vikings were painted, later sold without coloring. The manufacturer paid tribute to the iconographic tradition: the Viking warriors were all made with horns and wings, unlike the Saxons, whose helmets are not disfigured.
Vikings Cherilea
True, a new issue of soldiers under this brand has begun. The same can be said about the Spanish company. "Jecsan"in 50-80 The twentieth century, the leader of the production of soldiers in Spain, along with «Reamsa». The Jecsan set of Vikings included 12 figures, colored, made of rubber, while the helmets were removable at that time. All warriors produced from 1959 were 60 mm. Subsequently began to be produced from one-color plastic, and then PVC. Of course, they were all with horns, the “consumer” would not understand another type of Viking.
Vikings Jecsan
But the Italian company "Cane" from Bologna since the beginning of 70-x produces as its soldiers, and copies of well-known companies. She produced two sets of Vikings on 6, the size of 70 is mm: one set is completely original, made by sculptor E. Sominetti, in the other three Vikings were made by him, and three were copied from the Elastolin galls. And if the “Gauls” -wigs made by the Germans are harsh fighters, then the Italians released their figurines in a peculiar, baroque style.
Modern Argentine Company "DSG", which acquired a license for the production of soldiers from the famous British Britains, produces the original Vikings, but ... with horns on helmets.
DSG Viking Riders
This is an absolutely original development, by the way, a few years ago, on the basis of the Vikings, Argentines released pirates of the nineteenth century. Scale - 54 mm, figures both horseback and foot, among them there is one female warrior. There are unpainted figures, but DSG only sells color.
It is worth mentioning another very successful release of a set of Vikings in the scale of 54 mm of the English company of prefabricated models and figures of the scale of 1: 72, "Emhar". I would say - they have reference Vikings, which they are in the majority view. Interestingly, several figures in poses, a copy of the Vikings of Marx in the scale of 54 mm, but, of course, in a better "body kit" for weapons and equipment. In the absence of real Viking helmets, all the helmets in the style of Wendel.
Vikings Emhar
Conte Collectibles, a small Canadian company that produced and produces several sets in the size of 54 mm: Vikings, Saxons and Normans under the general theme “The Conquest of England”. They also produced a limited series of “Battle at Stamford Bridge”, “Normans” and, in 2001, a Viking ship, though the rowers on it are made of metal.
Conte Viking Ship
The Vikings and other warriors are made with a high degree of detail and reliability, from rubberized plastic, their poses are original and not static. It seems to me that, unlike Marx, the company’s sculptor is trying to avoid heroic poses, all the figures are slouching a bit, although you can very effectively build a “wall of shields”.
Conte lets out and VIM from metal, and in color, some figures intersect with their own soldiers, but the price is very different from the latter. In limited sets, the riders were made of metal, all the rest of rubber.
Conte Vikings
From domestic producers it is worth mentioning, in addition to Viking producers made on Marx molds, about a company from Gelendzhik "Technologist" - she releases sets of soldiers, including Vikings, as part of her role-playing games. Vikings naturally with horns.
Ten years ago, the St. Petersburg company "Soldiers of Publiya" released the first flat Vikings from TsAM, in the style of flat Soviet warriors.
Vikings from Tsam. Soldiers of Publius
After which it was released three sets of Vikings in the original poses on the scale 60 mm. Today, the company produces both sets and a large number of individual Viking warriors made of soft plastic. In the manufacture of sculptors focused on the work on the reconstruction of weapons and equipment publishers such as "Osprey". Their appearance is fully consistent with the modern concept of the appearance of the Scandinavians, you can even see the figures hung with Thor's hammers.
Vikings. Soldiers of Publius
Where the Vikings, there and their opponents. Their rivals are poorly represented among the soldiers, but the successors of their business in England, the Normans, the manufacturers of the soldiers did not ignore, we will tell about this in the sequel.
To be continued ...
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