Our guns are thundering
bayonets shine!
Nice toy, cheap toy -
box soldier.
Olga Berggolts. March of the Tin Soldiers
This shrunken, shrunken world. It just so happened that people from planet Earth at all times tried for some reason to make copies of themselves, both enlarged and reduced in size, and, of course, they also made figures "one to one" high, or even quite gigantic … Large figures and those that were the size of a living person were used for worship and as monuments, but why were small figures needed? As amulets? Yes, of course, and ethnographers confirm this. But they also tell us that these figurines, sometimes made of twigs, straw and clay, were and are used by children of different primitive peoples today as toys. It is obvious that in the past there were dolls used by both the children of the nobility and the children of the poor, only they were arranged differently. In addition, to the same Egyptian pharaohs, whole detachments of miniature warriors in full armor were placed in the tombs. In the next world, by the will of the gods, they had to come to life and, as before, serve their master! Well, later such figures turned into "soldiers" well known to us today.
Not so long ago, VO published two very interesting articles by the historian E. Vashchenko about soldiers - warriors of the past. In my opinion, these are the best materials on this topic among all that I have ever read. However, this topic is so vast and truly inexhaustible that it may well be supplemented. In particular, in relation to the history of the "soldiers" themselves, and besides this, information about the prospects of this type of creativity, whether it is the hand-made production of these figures or a business put on stream by someone. But first, let's take a closer look at their history and the collection of soldiers displayed in the Paris Army Museum. Honestly, those who are fascinated by all this should definitely come here and get to know her, because she is … well, just extremely interesting in all respects.
So let's start with the story. It turns out that the beginning of mass production of fairly cheap figurines of tin soldiers that could be played is associated with the name of a very specific person, namely, the German master Joachim Gottfried Hilpert from the city of Nuremberg. He was born in 1732 into a family of foundry workers who lived in the city of Coburg. In 1760, Hilpert was already an independent craftsman and continued the family business together with his brother Johann Georg, and later his son Wolfgang.
At that time, it was in vogue to put portrait medallions with profiles or portraits of various European celebrities on the table or on the mantelpiece. These could be emperors and kings, great educators, and artists, military leaders and people of the church. These medallions were cast from tin in molds engraved on slate plates, then soldered onto tin stands and painted with multi-colored enamel paints. However, the market demanded to keep up with the times. Then, together with the famous naturalist Alexander Humboldt Joachim, he created a whole series of figurines of various exotic animals, followed by characters from folk tales, as well as sets with scenes of hunting and holidays. Although they were all flat, like his earlier medallions, they were distinguished by stunning detail on both sides of each figurine.
And then the Hilperts started making flat soldiers. The fact is that King Frederick II at this time was very popular and people wanted to join his military successes, at least … placing on their table the figures of his grenadiers! The benefits were also in material savings. The medallions required a lot of metal, and these figures were very thin, only about 1 mm thick, and 2-3 inches high. At the same time, they were beautifully designed and painted.
Well, in 1778, Hilpert sculpted Frederick the Great himself on horseback, and the demand for it exceeded supply several times, so it turned out to be popular. The production of soldiers was also influenced by progress in the production of earthenware dishes. Cheap and beautiful, it began to rapidly displace the pewter one and … what could its former foundry workers do to earn their daily bread? So it turned out that only in the city of Fürth in 1790, eight model and foundry shops were producing soldiers at once, and all their products were sold.
The popularity of the Nuremberg figurines was also added by the Russian emperors. The fact is that Peter I, and Peter II, and Paul I, and Nicholas I, and Alexander II were passionate admirers of this hobby, and it is clear that the courtiers tried to flatter their masters, and therefore, to the best of their strength and capabilities, too " played at the soldiers."
And again, it was in Nuremberg in 1848 that a certain Ernst Heinrichsen came up with the first scale, which later became international - the height of 32 mm for the infantryman's figure without a headdress, and 45 mm for the figure of the horseman. They were, as before, flat figures, but now they all began to be produced in the same size. But the greatest success awaited the son of the founder of the company, to whom Emperor Nicholas I ordered a large batch of 60 mm high soldiers of the Russian Imperial Guard. It included all types of troops, the regiments of which consisted of figures of six types. That is, everyone was there: infantry, cavalry, timpani, drummers, trumpeters, and standard-bearers. This royal whim cost the imperial treasury 15,000 gold guilders. However, Nikolai did not have a chance to see the collection. While doing it, he died. It was already received by Alexander II, but it is not known where it went later.
Already at the end of the 19th century, the time came for volumetric figures. France is considered their homeland, but the British, or rather an Englishman by the name of William Britain in 1893, learned how to cast soldiers, albeit small, but hollow inside, while significantly saving on metal. They have become lighter, which means cheaper and more affordable. Playing with them and collecting them has become much more interesting. At the same time, in Germany, for example, there were areas where they were traditionally made from wood, and in the East, in India, from painted clay.
In England, there is even a magazine called “Toy soldiers”, which tells about the world of figurines, and, of course, “soldiers” of all countries and peoples are advertised by the Japanese magazine Model Grafix. For those who are keen on this, on the one hand, it is better not to look there. For example, in the January issue of the Toy soldiers for 2019 there were figures of German knights from the Battle of the Ice, Aztecs in their luxurious outfits - just all those characters about which our website "Military Review" was writing at that time. Figures of soldiers in our country are in many museums, in particular the Museum of Artillery and Signal Corps and the Museum of Suvorov in St. Petersburg.
But in the Paris Army Museum, almost an entire floor is dedicated to them. In any case, a few of his rooms. And here are some interesting thoughts that arise when you look at all this tin wealth. But we have before us an excellent tool for the "factory in the garage" and "home business". That is, for a side job, which is quite possible even in the simplest conditions with the use of modern technologies and materials. Of course, this small business, nevertheless, will require both time and money, and the fact that they are engaged in it, but … what if a person is interested in such figures here, knows how to make them or skillfully converts a “firm”. Then why not? Why not make money where we often just spend it?
So, today it is possible to make figures on a scale of 1:32 and 1:35 both from metal and epoxy resin, and to pour them into molds from vixinth. If you make them metal, you will have to use "white metal", either purchased or homemade based on an alloy of tin with "Rose metal". True, the same "Rose alloy" is not cheap, in Penza, for example, the price of 50 g ranges from 190 to 319 rubles. In addition, ideally, you need a compressor - to create a vacuum when casting from epoxy resin under a hood or a special injection molding machine to get clear casts. But experience shows that if you do this and your products are of high quality, then all this pays off very quickly.
And, of course, today you need to “keep your nose downwind” and offer what is in great demand. For example, it may not necessarily be pewter figurines, but … antique pewter dishes for doll houses, copies of plates, beer mugs, dishes, waffle irons. Some large company released another dollhouse, and it went on sale through newsstands. Well, you can make dishes for it, lamps, including those operating on LEDs and batteries, candlesticks, and even Singer sewing machines on a beautiful cast, curled base.
The 1:12 scale allows you to produce figurines for such houses. And although they are somehow not accepted to be ranked among the soldiers' women, it is quite possible to do them. You will begin to cast and paint them, and your wife or hired seamstresses will sew on them! Take, also LLC "Ashet Collection" - a branch of the French company "Ashet". Now from this company are on sale the details of the next dollhouse - in the Victorian style. But this set may well be supplemented. Supplemented with … the same miniature figures of painted soldiers in red uniforms. That is, what we got away from, besides, we returned, but only on a different level. However, we will certainly continue the theme of large-scale figures next time!
