The World Belongs To Me

The World Belongs To Me - Stalin (Durso) composition figurine from 40s and four figures of Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium produced by NB in 30s.

Tinplate soldiers at the Museu do Brinquedo (Funchal, Madeira, Portugal).

Portuguese tinplate soldiers at the Museu do Brinquedo (Funchal, Madeira, Portugal).

7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats) at El Alamein 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧⚔️⚔️⚔️💥💥💥

The 7th Armoured Division took part in most of the major battles of the North African Campaign, including both battles of El Alamein (the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942, which stopped the Axis advance, and the Second Battle of El Alamein in October/November 1942, which turned the tide of the war in North Africa). This diorama is presented at the Museu do Brinquedo (Funchal, Madeira, Portugal).

A collection of rubber ducks peeped at Howth (Ireland) ☘️☘️☘️🐤🐤🐤🦆🦆🦆

A rubber duck or a rubber ducky is a toy shaped like a stylized duck, generally yellow with a flat base. It may be made of rubber or rubber-like material such as vinyl plastic. Rubber ducks were invented in the late 1800s when it became possible to more easily shape rubber, and are believed to improve developmental skills in children during water play. The yellow rubber duck has achieved an iconic status in Western pop culture and is often symbolically linked to bathing. This impressive collection of rubber ducks was spotted at Howth, an Irish village on the Howth Peninsula, east of central Dublin.

Elastolin Fliegertruppe soldiers 🌩🌩🌩

Elastolin Luftwaffe (Fliegertruppe) composition soldiers produced in Germany (30s).

Leopold III - King of the Belgians from Nazaire Beeusaert

Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. On the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad. Leopold's act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot and his cabinet, who moved to London to form a government-in-exile, while Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium, where his brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, had been declared regent. Leopold's eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, and under pressure from the government, he abdicated in favour of his son Baudouin in July 1951. Nazaire Beeusaert (NB), a Belgian toy soldier company, produced different types of composition soldiers depicting Leopold III during 30s/40s. I have 4 different NB's figurines of Leopold III in my collection.

WW2 Portuguese Marines from the Museu do Brinquedo (Madeira, Portugal)

The Museu do Brinquedo (Funchal, Madeira, Portugal) has a great collection of Portoguese tin soldiers. This part of the museum collection shows Portuguese marines and navy ships.

Visiting the Hellfire Club ruins in Dublin 🔥👹💀☘️☘️☘️

Montpelier Hill, better known as The Hellfire Club to Dubliners, is a lovely place for a walk. It has a variety of short forest trails and provides wonderful views of the Dublin city from the southwest. There are many legends associated with this place showing the Hellfire house as an object of occult activities and brief appearances of the Devil. The building was, in fact, erected by R.H. Connolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Parliament, as a shooting lodge, about the year 1725. Conolly is said to have destroyed the cairn while building the lodge, using one of the grave’s standing stones as the lintel for his fireplace. It is also believed that the ruined building at the summit was one of the first Freemason lodges in Ireland.

WW2 Red Army soldiers from RK

Reiner Krock, a modern German toy soldiers sculptor, produces his own Lineol style 7cm composition soldiers usually in very small bunches. Krock marks his soldiers as "RK". And you can find RK soldiers on eBay and toy auctions these days. He also restores old Lineol figures.

Madeiran Sugar Mill from 17th Century 🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹🌴🌴🌴

Early sugar processing technology utilized horizontal stone cylinders (rollers), which were used to crush sugar canes, and thereby extract the juices. Diogo de Tieve constructed the first water-powered mill on Madeira in 1452. Records suggest that by 1494 there were 16 water- powered sugar mills operating on the Madeira Island. Over time metal rollers were adopted in place of stone rollers. Although much debated, the three-roll vertical cylinder design, often found in l7th-century Brazilian and 18th-century West lndian mills, has been attributed to Madeiran invention. This model of the Madeiran sugar mill is presented at the Madeira Story Centre,a museum situated in the heart of Funchal´s Old Town.

Elastolin Wild West at the Museu do Brinquedo 🪓🪓🪓

Elastolin composition indians and cowboys displayed at the Museu do Brinquedo (Toy museum, Madeira, Portugal).

Visiting the the Sacred Art Museum of Funchal (September 2022)

The Sacred Art Museum of Funchal (Portuguese: Museu de Arte Sacra do Funchal) is located in the Episcopal Palace of Funchal, Madeira. It is made up of collections of painting, sculpture, goldsmithery and paramentaria from the 15th to 19th centuries.The collection of Flemish sculpture, especially from Mechelen and Antwerp, is also of note.

Timpo : Frozen North Series ❄️❄️❄️🗻🗻🗻

In 70s, Timpo (The UK) has produced its famous The Frozen North Series featuring eskimos and inuits - indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, eastern Siberia and Alaska. These Timpo plastic figures are presented at the Toy Museum in Funchal, Madeira ( Portugal).

Madeira Toy Museum - Imaginary City of Mandolia 🇵🇹

Created in 2003, from a collection of toys belonging to Borges Pereira, several other deposits of private collectors have been gathered here through the years. The museum’s collection assembles around 20.000 pieces coming from England, France, Portugal and Germany. The collection consists of dolls, toy soldiers, miniature cars and games, dating from the late nineteenth century to the present days. Previously located in a private house, in Barreiros, the museum now has new home, located in a building dated from the eighteen century, part of the new, “Armazém do Mercado”. This is the Imaginary City of Mandolia created by Alberto Figueiro Jardim (1882-1970), a Portoguese lawyer and publicist.