FRENCH FIRE ENGINES, TOY SOLDIER BOX, and more

                  A NEW ADDITION TO MY FRENCH ARMY 1870-1914 

Some years back I painted up a handful of French infantry as the Paris Fire Brigade. This might initially appear to be a rather strange addition to my French Army, but there is a good reason.

                Brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris (BSPP)

Historically, the Paris firemen are part of the French Army, to be more precise, they are a corps of engineers and sappers. To this claim, they are also an emergency medical unit, and as early as 1898 they included not only fire engines, but also ambulances.

For some time my petit unit (it numbers four) was attached to a toy armoured car but it was always my intention to furnish something more appropriate as their own transport. Recently, I spotted a job lot on three Del Prado fire engines. At the discounted price of £8.39, including delivery, I thought this was a rather good buy. Here are the French designed machines, the bases do unscrew.

First up is a 1/43 scale Pompe Automobile Electrique. Amazingly, this 1900 contraption actually ran on electricity! Now I know the scale is not correct but am I alone in thinking it doesn't look that out of place as part of a 54mm toy soldier collection? Del Prado scales are rather large when compared to traditional toy soldiers. My intention is to convert a suitable driver, supplied with their distinctive brass Adrian helmet. I'm also thinking of attaching a trailer with tools, or even a pontoon boat, befitting a corps of sappers.

Next up is another 1/43 scale model. This is an 1897 horse drawn Fourgon Depart Attele. I haven't decided which army will receive this fire engine but I'm thinking either British or American. It is worth remembering, while all the main powers produced their own engines, they were actually quite similar to one another in design.

And here is the star attraction, which initiated my interest in the job lot. It is a 1/32 scale Steamer Durenne Keres of 1907. I do like this model, and I suspect it will be drafted into my British Army. It too will be supplied with a team of horses. I'm thinking of recruiting some Airfix firemen, or perhaps even a few of the splendid Tradition Figures in metal. We will see.

Here are a few old photos for research purposes, no copyright infringement intended, no profit.

                                                                Some French teams.A British example

Here is that rather magical French electric vehicle.

This American photograph is interesting as the crew have European style helmets, they are normally much wider brimmed.

A lovely photo from https://tomgreencraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dsc_0039.jpg

A British example, and very similar to the 1/32 model.

And Finally, I was chuffed to find this example of a manhandled fire cart in the Museum of Dartmoor Life. I am seriously thinking about scratch building an example.

                                     ANOTHER MUSEUM IN CORNWALL

Having previously mentioned the superb toy museum in Liskeard, I can confirm this small town had a second centre for historical artefacts. The Stuart House is a 17th century property on the high street which a local preservation society has restored, and now manned by volunteers. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but it was a nice day to go out. To my surprise, it included a small armoury dedicated to the English Civil War. And if that was not enough, I had a rather nice Cornish Cream Tea while I was there!

http://www.stuarthouse.org.uk/

A GIFT FROM A FRIEND

Behind this blog, Brian Carrick of the Plastic Warrior Show and Magazine has been keeping post with me on this rather strange year, having also put aside a box of surplus figures which he thought might lend themselves to future service in my collection. Well, that box duly arrived on the 10th of August, and the contents were a dazzle to my eyes with the shear number of possibilities.

First up were a collection of plastic West Point Cadets bandsmen, and one metal sentry. These are certainly Timpo style. No conversion work here, I want these as they are. An attractive addition to my late 19th century United States Army.

Next up, a handful of Medievals. Some restoration work required, which I will enjoy. You can never have enough bowmen. The knight will join my Italian Guelph armiy.

The Third batch are some ever-so-70s plastic Guardsmen. I'd mentioned to Brian I have long planned a fun project, to paint up a  Kelloggs marching band, comprising Kelloggs freebies. Time to start.

And here we have the fourth contingent. Yes, some Herald ACW figures. In my opinion these are some of the best ACW toy soldiers ever made, although I will be painting them to represent 1860s Italians (shock and horror).

A mixed parcel next. I shall enjoy seeing how these are repaired and integrated. By the way, a fashion developed among Italian despots in the 15th century to have court dwarfs as jesters......

And finally, a few character figures. The first has a statue like stance which seems like a potential plan. The second I've been wanting to acquire for some time, part of the William Grant's Scotch Whiskey range of figures. The third is a seated lady, possibly Wild West linked, useful for a vintage car. 

And now the last figure. Made by Charbens, it is Winston Churchill in a naval uniform c.1945. However, this particular moulded figure is far too thin, so I have an alternative plan. 

 

I intend to use Milliput to extend the coat length, so as to recreate Churchill as the First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911. I will also replace the damaged foot and base. 

Thank you very much, Brian, for your generosity and support! 

AUSTRALIAN WW2 OFFICER CONFIRMATION

My friend Graham Apperley was convinced in the previous post that an unknown lead W.Britains figure was an Australian officer in battledress from box 2031. Have found this photo confirming such.

https://www.treefrogtreasures.com/p-40147-australian-infantry-battle-dress.aspx?srsltid=AfmBOopx1CnCM57U_L-f9Re7iZ0OI2w_pbdB1cZYQyA1sxzUQC7TRiF0

Private William Thomas Ward

A visit to The Museum of Dartmoor Life

Well, I still want to see some photographic evidence he was that good a shot!

MGB

TWO MUSEUMS IN ONE POST, and recent acquisitions

                       NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM OF MALTA

Situated in Fort Elmo, the same fortifications that played an important roll in the successful defence of Malta in 1565. The British then acquired it and constructed additional batteries and barracks. It is now the main depository for WW2 artefacts, although it claims to cover a great deal more. Here are the photos.

A RAF jeep, I wanted a good look at this for my painting notes.

As you might expect, RAF items are well represented.

So young!

Below. Reminded me of the Britains Toy, this one has naval paintwork.

Maltese camouflage!!!!!

Some interesting Brodie paintwork.

And some views of Fort Elmo

The scale is often what hits you.

The scale of the barrels is impressive.

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Maltese Camouflage

The island of Malta was under siege from 1940 to 1942. During WW2 it suffered thousands of air raids by the Italians and Germans with an estimated 15,000 tonnes of explosives being dropped. It has been suggested that per size, it was the most bombed territory during WW2. With such intense daylight bombing British Command authorised the use of a special camouflage pattern.

Applied to armoured vehicles, artillery, motorcycles and even Tommy helmets, it was a light stone colour on original paintwork, giving the appearance of boulders or large stones. The background was typically khaki green although brown is also recorded.

A reenactment group based in Malta, the King's Own Malta Regiment and local collectors have restored some vehicles.

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A BRITISH PUB IN MALTA

During my four weeks in Malta I largely restricted my eating to salads, supplemented with Maltese bread, local style Jam and Christmas minced pies, meat pastizzi, and Torta tal-corned beef. (Yep, that's its name, while the Maltese are very similar to Sicilians their language is quite distinct. It is founded on a very archaic form of Arabic, strongly supplemented with Italian words, and a fair number in English.) On occasions, however, I sought English cuisine, and frequented an English style pub, where I discovered many Maltese also sought English breakfasts and Sunday roast dinners. The Maltese owners made me feel most welcome.

                                                                THE SALISBURY ARMS

Liskeard Museum

While solicitors were continuing to struggle with the purchase of my humble cottage, I found some fair priced accommodation for four weeks in the Duchy of Cornwall. I must admit, I had become very nostalgic towards the shades of green found on the British Isles, although the weather turned out to be much the same as it was in Malta. But what really took me back was to discover the local town museum had acquired a rather splendid array of vintage military toys. Arguably, one of the finest collections I have seen for tinplate tanks and armoured cars. I hope you agree.

Loved this wooden tank.

A slight touch of envy?

Seeing the above in real life made me realise how technically advanced toys are today, but have they also replaced the artisan creativity that stimulated the imagination of young minds in previous decades? Here is the Museum, well worth visiting. 

(Free entry, but do give a donation, by the way, my good friend in the collectables shop had previously sold some of the items to the former curator!)

Some views of the town. 

The Ancient Celtic people of Cornwall made this (mainly) Englishman feel very welcome! But then my great grandmother's maiden name was Penryn. 

NEW ADDITIONS TO MY COLLECTION

With rather little to show from my Malta month, I looked forward to something from my Cornish trip. Well I did find Trinkets and Treasures antique shop in Liskeard. They had a case of old lead farm animals. To be honest, my farm livestock is fairly complete. But two items did catch my eye. The first was a W.Britains Cocker Spaniel for £2, and the second was a Timpo lead zoo attendant for £3. 

I can now confirm the zoo keeper is to be transferred to my French gunboats,  a definite promotion from the chimpanzees' tea party! (Please, no comments on my toy gunboats, or the French Navy.)

My next batch of items came from my friend that runs the collectables shop in Honiton. Three items caught my eye here. The first was this Corgi 350 Thunderbird missile and trailer, still with its plastic cone. I thought it would look good with my postWW2 toy soldiers. This diecast model was produced during 1958 to1962. They also produced a three part set which included a Land Rover, but the latter scale would be too distinct. I picked it up for £15. 

I'm still keen to complete my forecourt garage c1910-1950, so this Dinky Essolube bin was a nice find. With original paintwork and transfer, the cost was £5. The third item was a Dinky 341 Land Rover trailer which someone had converted into a WW2 US water tank trailer, borrowing the tank from another diecast vehicle. Now that will fit in perfectly with my US 54mm army jeeps. The paintwork was well done, including emblems, I paid £8. 

A BOX ARRIVED FROM MY FRIEND GRAHAM APPERLEY

Graham forwarded a box of figures as a home warming gift. Now I have a fair number of Crescent open-handed naval ratings but I'm always on the lookout for more. This simple, rather petit casting is designed with shorter naval shirts, slightly below the waist, and this style is more in keeping with American and Continental navies, so I use them with my foreign gunboats. Graham not only sent me a spare, but furnished a second from his actual collection to help complete a full crew of four. But he didn't stop there, some railway figures were also included, and a few others. All have excited my return to painting and converting lead figures. Thank you Graham!

A question for visitors, Graham included this figure, but I'm at a loss to discover what it is meant to represent. It has an open shirt, and a pistol hanging on a lanyard and secured round the leg. Now the peaked cap and puttees would imply WW1. Any information on this W.Britains figure would be most welcome. I mentioned to Graham, a lanyard linked revolver was popular with officers serving in the trenches or mounted. Suddenly, it reminded me of my late grandfather's firearm, his Royal Naval Air Service revolver also had an attachment for a lanyard, must have been about twelve when I last saw it. He started off as a mechanic but ended up on reconnoissance flights taking photographs of German trenches in France during WW1.

Visiting a local Antique Shop

Yes, I well over-paid for these two lead figures, but visiting a local shop I enjoyed a chat with the owner, and I was keen to make a small gesture of support for her business. £5.

EBAY

And finally, spotted this W.Britains French cuirassier officer on Ebay. Not a bad price, I got it delivered for £6.50. Point of interest, the officer was often painted on a white horse, and you do see some contemporary prints showing such. However, while French regulations allowed officers to choose their own horse, the squadrons were expected to stick to one of three colours, bays, browns or blacks. The white or grey horses were always linked to musicians. I'm planning to paint strip this clogged up horse, and I will adopt a dark colour. This gives me eight cuirassiers.

MGB

ps If I may, a few photos of my accommodation in Cornwall at the Rosecraddoc Estate. To be honest, Malta was an adventure, Cornwall was a pleasure. I really did enjoy my four weeks there.

The Coach House

My rear garden view included a waterfall.

The estate Manor House

The fishing lake.

The tennis court.

The private grounds.

https://rosecraddocmanor.co.uk/