Happy New Year 2022 ! 🎅🎄🎇🎆

Farewell, 2021. Hello and Happy New Year, 2022 ! 🎅🎄🎇🎆 ho! ho! ho! Happy New Year everyone!

The Red Army attack German positions

The Red Army composition soldiers, produced by Durso (Belgium), fiercely attack German positions (Elastolin and Durso). The explosions are produced by Lineol.

Irish history miniatures from the National Museum of Ireland gift shop

The National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History (Dublin, Ireland) gift shop collection displays metal miniatures depicting famous Irish characters from history. This range of 65mm figurines representing Irish leaders of the 1916 Ester Rising includes Patrick Pearse (1879 - 1916), James Connolly (1868 - 1916), Constance Markievicz (1868 -1928), Michael Collins (1890 - 1922) and Richard Mulcahy (1886 - 1971). The figurines are handcrafted from metal alloy by Peadar Collins (Perth, Australia), member of the Irish Model Soldier Society, using his extensive archive of military uniform information.

Old photo of Tippco tinplate SdKfz 7

This photo of Tippco Wehrmacht halftrack with composition soldiers (no. 217 Wehrmacht-Mannschaftswagen) was taken in 1941.

Source (http://www.fortepan.hu/)

WW2 German Pontonbrücke

German Elastolin and Lionel soldiers cross a pontoon bridge. There are also Elastolin and Lionel made pontoons, a Goso LKW and a Gama tank.The trenches are produced by Kienel.

WW1 American Christmas Postcard 🎅⛄️🎄❄️🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌

This postcard was pinted in USA (c. 1907-1915).🎄⛄️❄️🎅

Siege of Limerick 1691 : Thomond Bridge (Part 2)

The Thomond Bridge was defended by two forts and covered by fire from Limerick's batteries. These obstacles held up General Ginkel's advance for some time. On 22 September, Colonel Zachariah Tiffin led the grenadiers of Ginkel's army and stormed the forts supported by regiments of foot that included Tiffin's Inniskillings. The Jacobite defenders of the forts retreated to the city drawbridge where, because it had already been raised, they were decimated; it was said that the dead lay ‘in heaps higher than the parapet of the bridge’. That same evening, negotiations for the terms of surrender began and Tiffin entered the city as one of the 'hostages' sent pending the conclusion of negotiations. The city capitulated on 3 October, and the Treaty of Limerick concluded the three-year campaign in Ireland by King William's III's army against King James II's now defeated Franco-Irish army. Thus ended, what the Irish titled, the ‘War of The Two Kings’ (Cogadh an Dá Rí), a war concluded by a treaty whose soon-broken civil articles would have a profound effect on the future of Ireland for centuries to follow. General Patrick Sarsfield would leave Ireland, under the terms of the military articles agreed in the treaty, with a Jacobite army of some 14,000 men (including families and children) and arms and be transported to France to join King James, leaving behind around 2,500 soldiers, who returned to their homes, and a further 1,000 who joined William’s army (https://www.royal-irish.com/events/inniskilling-foot-enters-limerick).The battle model is presented at King John Castle's museum in Limerick (Ireland). 

Season’s Greetings from Soldatini.eu ! 🎄🎅⛄🎄🎅⛄🎄🎅⛄

Thank you for being soldatini.eu subscribers in 2021. Next year there will be a lot of new interesting posts covering a variety of toy soldier related topics. Wishing you a healthy and prosperous year ahead ! 

🎄🎅⛄

Sincerely yours, 

Soldatini.eu

Elastolin musicians from early 30s (Musik stillgestanden)

Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches Neues Jahr !

Visiting King John's Castle in Limerick (December 2021)

King John's Castle also known as Limerick Castle is a 13th-century castle located on King's Island in Limerick, Ireland, next to the River Shannon. Although the site dates back to 922 when the Vikings lived on the Island, the castle itself was built on the orders of King John in 1200.

Siege of Limerick 1691 : Thomond Bridge

Limerick, a city in western Ireland, was besieged twice in the Williamite War in Ireland, 1689-1691. On the first of these occasions, in August to September 1690, its Jacobite defenders, supporters of deposed monarch James II, retreated to the city after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne (1 July 1690).

One of the bloodiest engagements of the 1690 conflict occurred at Thomond Bridge on 22 September. The Irish, having held Thomond Gate, were driven back to Thomond Bridge by Williamite troops, under William III. At King John's castle, the command was given to raise the drawbridge, and halt Williamite advance led by Lord of Ginkel, a Dutch general in Williamite service. However, in the heat of the battle, the bridge was raised too soon, trapping the Irish soldiers. Of 850 Irishmen, only 120 made it inside the castle. 118 were taken prisoner, and over 600 drowned or were killed on the bridge.

Soldiers on both sides wore red and blue coats: troops were distinguished by the color of the feather in their caps or by the color of their sleeves. Identifying friends or foes would have added to challenge of battle ! The model presented at King John Castle's museum shows the action on and immediately in front of the Clare side of Thomond Bridge as the drawbridge is being raised.

Hausser/ Elastolin toy catalog cover 1934/35

The Hausser/Elastolin composition soldiers and tinplate vehicles catalog cover from 1934/35.

W.Britain catalog 2021

The W.Britain 2021 catalog contains the historical miniatures dedicated to many different topics : Jack Tars Leathernecks ( Marines and Naval personnel from many countries around the world); Wrath of the Northmen (Normans and Vikings), Clash of Empires ( the French Indian War, the American War for Independence, the Northwest Indian Wars ) ; Napoleonic Wars ; the American Civil War; Super Deetail Plastic; the Anglo-Zulu War; the War Along the Nile; World War I and World War II.

Please use the link below to download the catalog (pdf, 68 pages):

Confalonieri Chialu: Army Medical Corps

This is a real toy soldier masterpiece from Confalonieri Chialu (Italy).1939/40 production.

Hermann Göring figures produced by Lineol

Excluding religious figures and fairytale characters, Lineol produced at least 48 named personality cameo figures. Lineol introduced five different types of a cameo figures of Hermann Göring (2 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) , who was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party and convicted war criminal, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. The majority of Göring figures was painted in Luftwaffe colors uniform (Oberkommando der Luftwaffe) but some of them are depicting Göring as chief of the SA.

Lineol pioneers in action

LINEOL pioneers wear black branch-of-service color (Waffenfarbe Schwarz). The Lineol set of three-man pontoon crew represents pioneers in action from 1934-39: the three composition figures are referenced as 210-212 in the Lineol catalogues. The pontoon and paddles are made of tinplate. May be it will give some inspiration to modern producers of plastic soldiers !

King Christian X and Danish Army

These Danish Army composition soldiers were produced by Lineol (Germany) in 30s. There is a very beautiful mounted figure of King Christian X (1870 -1947). There is a popular legend that King Christian X, riding by and seeing the German flag over the Hotel d'Angleterre, used as the German military headquarters in Copenhagen, tells a German sentry that this is a violation of the armistice agreement and that the flag must be taken down. The sentry replies that this will not be done. The King then says if the flag is not taken down, he will send a Danish soldier to take it down. The sentry responds, "The soldier will be shot." The King replies "the Danish soldier will be me." According to the story, the flag was taken down. Coming back to the photos, it's also interesting that the general in overcoat and the "greeting" general have "movable" right arms ... Happy Friday !