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JournalThe British Flat Figure Society

No 105 Summer 2012

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BFFS Journal No 105 - SUMMER 2012

of The British Flat Figure

SocietyJournal No 105 Summer 2012

Journal

Society ContactsPlease send all information to be published in the Journal to Jerry Mortimore. All other correspondence with the Society should be addressed to Martin Sutor. Membership ap-plications and renewals go to Charles King. All addresses can be found on this page.

The next JournalThe copy deadline for the next Journal is 5th August 2012 for the Autumn edition.Contributions to the Journal can be typed, handwritten or digital. If supplying scanned images, these should be 300dpi. For digital pictures the higher the number of pixels the better.

Annual SubscriptionsU.K. members: £22.00, European mem-bers: £25.00 Overseas members: £27.00 (by air mail). Subscriptions are due for renewal in January every year.

Payment of subscriptions can be made by cheque, postal order, or Paypal.We cannot accept foreign currency cheques.We can only accept paper currency notes in Sterling,

Paypal payments should be made in Sterling to [email protected]. Add £1 to cover Paypal fees.

Cheques must be made payable to The British Flat Figure Society, not to the Membership Secretary or any individual person.

Contact The committee and Area Representatives of the Society

Hon. Secretary:Martin Sutor, 47 Spencer Road, Rendlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 2TJ.Tel: 01394 461535.E-mail: [email protected]

Membership Secretary:Charles King, 106 The Manor DriveWorcester ParkSurrey KT4 7LNTel: 0208 337 6101E-mail: [email protected]

Treasurer:Dr Bob Williams, Withersdale Hall Cottage, Metfield Road, Mendham, IP20 0JJ.

Editor:Jeremy Mortimore, 17 Redwood Drive, Wing, Leighton Buzzard, Beds LU7 0TATel: 01296 688455E-mail: [email protected]

Additional Committee Members:Ian Parkinson, Ashton House, Main Street, Heming-brough, Selby, North Yorks YO8 6QE

Distribution & Printing:Mike Taylor, Stonechat House,8 Ferndell Close, Cannock, StaffsWS11 1HR

Joe Melvin, 21 Ridgeway, Aldridge,Walsall, WS9 0HL

Malcolm MacDonald, 279 Blackberry Lane, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield,West Midlands B74 4JS

Archivist:Richard Hyne, 23 Letchworth Road,Baldock, Herts. SG7 6AA

Webmaster:Simon Hoggett, 23 Parkhurst Road,Hertford SG14 3AZTel: 01992 586568E-mail:[email protected]

BFFS Figure Co-ordinator:Brian Keywood 32 Junction Road Gillingham, Kent, ME7 4EH

Tel:01634 581823Email: [email protected]

Area RepresentativesLONDON: Situation vacant.

HAMPSHIRE: Situation vacant.

SOUTH-WEST: Tony Du-Vall,4 Pixie Dell, Braunton,North Devon EX33 1DP

SOUTH-EAST: Situation vacant.

BRISTOL & AVON: Situation vacant.

MIDLANDS: Jon Redley, 64 York Avenue, Finch-field, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV3 9BU. Tel: 01902 423732

NORTH-EAST: M.G.Wardle, 96 WestEnd Drive, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 5JXTel: 0113 258 1508

NORTH-WEST: Malcolm Collins,16 Tithe Barn Street, Currock, Carlisle,Cumbria CA2 4EL. Tel: 01228 46444

WALES: Situation vacant.

EAST ANGLIA: Michael Creese, ‘Nutwood’, Great Glemham Road,Stratford St Andrew, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1LL Tel: 01728 602746

SCOTLAND: John Russell,2 Marcus Crescent, Aberdeen AB21 0SZTel: 01224 790680

EUROPE & OVERSEAS: Situation vacant.

NORTHERN IRELAND:Situation vacant.

CANADA & USA:Patrick J. Deluhery18 Morningside TerraceWest Springfield, MA 01089Tel: [email protected]

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND:John Brewer, P.O. Box 5250,Turramurra, Sydney, Australia [email protected]

ITALY:Gianpaolo Bistulfi, Via Alberti 10,20149 Milano, ItalyTel: 02 33106690E-mail: [email protected]

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Front Cover: Ancients painting project figures.See article on page 4. 4. The 2012 'Ancients' Painting Project.Bringing you up to date by Roger Newsome.6. What's New.Flats from the pages of Die Zinnfigur. 8. Finishing School For Young Ladies.The Terror of St. Trinian's by Jon Redley.10. Lúneville 2012.Nick Ball and Eric Talment. 14. Discus No.2.News from Martin Sutor. 15. Society Painting Project, 2012.Martin Sutor. 15. Help Wanted.Marlburian figures wanted. 16. What's New Too.Western Miniatures and BFFS.18. Knowle 2012.This years meeting. 19. Richard Lionheart, Hero or Villain.Louis Liljedahl. 14. The Figures of Franz Karl Mohr.Part 6 by Jim Woodley.Rear cover: Lúneville 2012see the article on page 10.

The opinions expressed within this Journal are not necessarily those of the

Editor, the Committee, other officials, or the British Flat Figure Society.

This should have been a monochrome Journal but the quality of the colour pictures meant I could not resist turning it into a colour Journal. Probably have to make the next one mono.I couldn't keep the colour until the next issue as I have used up pretty well all the content I have in this one, all I have for the next issue is more from Jon Redley on Tannenberg, reviewing the information he has received from various BFFS members.So don't be shy, get writing....The Crusaders and Saracens from Louis look superb in colour. Please can I ask that any pictures emailed are done to high dpi, it is such a shame to see beautifully painted figures that have to be reduced to the size of a postage stamp before the quality is adequate.Reading the account of the trip to Lúneville makes me wish I had gone.See you at Knowle.

Please send or phone any Diary Dates to the editor. If you plan to have a small stand at any shows or if you know of any shows that may have a flats content, let

us know.

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The Annual Meeting will be at the usual venue, The Masonic Lodge in Knowle, on 10th June 2012.Theme for 2012 is 'Winter'.---------------------------------------------The Basement's Figure World is on the 7th July 2012 at Oundle School, Oundle, Near Peterborough. PE8 4GH. BFSS display, contact Brian Keywood for details.www.tbfigureworld.co.uk----------------------------------------------Klio Bundestagung 2012, 10-12 August at Neuwied am Rhein, near Koblenz.--------------------------------------------------Scale Model Challenge in Eindhoven, Holland the 14th October 2012. Brian Keywood will try and do the same as Antwerp; minibus & hotel. BFSS display.------------------------------------------------

Euromilitaire 22-23 September 2012. Usual venue - Leas Cliff Hall at Folkestone. BFSS display.

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Following a discussion of “bright ideas” via email between myself and Brian Keywood members who use the forum were asked if they would like to participate in a just for fun painting project this year. We decided the theme would be “Ancients”, the criteria being any scale, any media and any interpretation of the subject. It was hoped that this would give the participants as broad a range of subjects to choose from as possible within the theme and if this years project was a success it could e repeated next year with a different historical period for the theme.

The painters were asked to submit photos along with a brief description of their work to myself so I could put together an article for the Journal. At the time of writing three of us have finished so hopefully over the coming months there will be a further instalment(s). There was no time limit set so no pressure for painters to hurry and finish, reinforcing the just for fun aim of the project.

Brian Keywood painted these 30mm von Droste Romans purchased from Werner Fechner (see front cover).

Brian says although they are fin-ished he will be basing them later. They have been painted with Winsor & Newton Winton Oil Colours. The paint first being applied to card to bleed the oil and white spirit. Brian used Pro Arte 0/4 and Raphael 0/5 brushes.

More 30mm von Droste Romans, this time from myself (left, bottom of page). They were painted using the Winsor & Newton Artists and Galeria ranges of acrylic paints. The brushes I use are from Rosemary's Brushes.

Bernt Grimm submitted this article which because it is so informative I will include in its entirety without any editing by myself.Romans plundering the temple in Jerusalem.

See the nine pictures left and the front cover.

The figure is designed by Rainer Tschöpe. It is engraved by Gerald Nadebor.

After I have cleaned the figure it was primed with a matt white Humbrol colour. To paint the figure I then used eight following oil colours:1. mixed white - MW2. ivory black - IB3. yellow ochre - YO4. burnt umber - BU5. light red pale - LRP6. cadmium red deep - CRD7. cadmium yellow extra pale - CYEP8. Prussian blue - PB

All the colours were mixed with white spirit. I cover the figure with many thin layers of colours.The skin:

For the skin tones I first paint a thin coat of a mix of MW+YO+IRP. Next step, when the paint is completely dry, I continue with a very thin, almost invisible layer of BU. Then I make the first shadows with the three base colours plus BU. I continue with a second shadow using very little of PB mixed with BU and the base colours. The highlights were the basic colours with some more MW added. To paint the lips and cheeks I use more LRP.

The candlesticks called Menoran:I start to paint with YO mixed with

little amount of MW. After getting dry I make a very thin coat of BU. The next step is shadowing with BU in several steps. The last shadowing is made with some IB mixed with BU. The highlights were made with YO + more MW. The very last touch was that I added some CYEP on some small spots.The man to the right:

To paint the toga I mixed MW with a small amount of BU and YO. The shadows: more BU and IB added to the basic colours. The highlights: basic colours with larger amount of MW.The man in the middle:

The same basic colours as above with some more of MW. The shadows and the highlights: more or less of the same colour combination as above.The man to the left:

To paint the toga I mixed CRD with BU. The shadows: more BU and IB added to the basic colours. The highlights: only CRD mixed with MW and some CYEP. The chain mail and the helmet are painted with a mix of MW, IB and PB. The shadows and the highlights: the same basic colours mixed in different proportions.

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First, two sets from Jean-Jacques Mineur, the Landsknecht group right top and the very nice Gendarmes d'Elite group right bottom. Designed by Gaggelmann and engraved by Sonntag. Available from:Jean-Jacques Mineur, Bert-Brecht-Str 72, 77855 Achern.Tel: 07841/24559.Email [email protected], a 70mm Harem scene that lives up to Jim Woodley's description of 'exotic and erotic'. Designed by Reck and engraved by Rieger. Available from:Dieter Reck, Weinsberger Weg 18, 74189 Weinsberg. Tel 07143-9180175.

Figures from the pages of Die Zinn-figur. All figures 30mm unless otherwise

stated.

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Royal Horse Artillery are next. These are designed by Michaelis and engraved by Rieger. Available from:Reiner and Helga Mischko, Kulturhistorische Zinnfiguren aus Buchloe, Am Hirtenhausberg 9, 86807 Buchloe. Tel: 08241/4493 after 19:00 hour.Below, an interesting group of Romans in action, first half of the first century AD. Designed by Tom Gotthardt and engraved by Friedrich. Available from:Wolfgang Friedrich, Lossener Weg 2, 04519 Rackwitz.Tel 034294/76633.Email: [email protected] American Civil War figures next, Northern infantry officers and artillery officers. Designed by Michaelis and Gagelmann and engraved by Rieger. Available from: Michael Mischko, Kulturhistorische Zinnfiguren aus Buchloe, Am Hirtenhausberg 9, 86807 Buchloe.Tel: 08241/4493 after 19:00 hour.

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More news from Western Miniatures:With the death of Ronald Searle, at the turn of 2012, Britain lost one of it’s most famous cartoonists and social commentators. To the majority of people his most endearing creation was the series of cartoons charting the life of staff and students at that well-known school for young ladies – St. Trinian's. In the style of Searle Dick is to release a series of flats, “Finishing School for Young Ladies” which echoes the developing talents, educational achievements and lives of such a group of school girls. It also continues Dick’s intention wherever possible to reflect a British element in his releases be it in subject matter or the designer.

Ronald Searle was born in Cam-bridge in 1920 and was educated in the city and at the Cambridge School of Art. At the outbreak of the Second World War he left his studies to serve with the Royal Engineers in the Far East. In 1942, with the fall of Singapore, he was captured by the Japanese and held as a prisoner of war for three and a half years. It was while he was in captivity that he started to record, in his drawings, the life and conditions of his fellow inmates. It was these drawings,

which after the war drew his work to the attention of the public. The recent discovery of a Journal completed at the same time and which he entrusted to the camp’s sen-ior officer, Major Patrick Maling, reflects his humorous outlook on life. Unlike his record of life in the prison camp, which are completed as monochromatic drawings, these are full of life and colour recording his thoughts about life in pre-war Britain.

After the War, Searle returned to London working as a cartoonist for a num-ber of publications in Britain, including the ‘News Chronicle’ and ‘Punch’. Although people tend to think of Searle’s work as be-ing quintessentially a reflection of British-ness he never saw that in himself. His work was popular in Europe and from the early 2000’s he drew political cartoons for the French newspaper ‘Le Monde’. Recently a museum in Hanover has purchased most of his work. In fact in 1961 he moved to Paris and then in 1975 to a remote village in Haute-Provence. Being based in France allowed him to reach a wider public; un-like in Britain where there is still a strict delineation between the cartoonist and the fine artist that does not exist in France or Germany nor in the majority of the rest of the world.

Searle was a hugely successful graphic artist and pictorial satirist. He collaborated with Geoffrey Willans on the ‘Molesworth’ books then he created, for publication, the cartoon strip ‘St.Trin-ian’s’ in the early 1950’s. The school was populated by a selection of deliciously horrid girls who were to some extent kept under control of equally horrid school mis-tresses. The series of drawings became a huge success over which he found himself losing control, the public demanded more from him, then came the original series of films that starred Alastair Sim and latterly the ‘new’ series of films, which he felt did not reflect his original ideas.

In fact in 1953 Searle, despite a public outcry, finally “killed off” St. Trin-ian’s. He had had the original idea in 1941 but this hardly developed being interrupted by his war service and the need to find em-

ployment on his repatriation. However it was finally to come to fruition in the early 1950’s. Looking at the published drawings completed by him it is easy to see how his approach to the work changed from the early more gentle style to the sharper more acerbic depiction used in the later draw-ings. Yet underpinning all his work there is a wonderfully dry sense of humour that is also to be found in the way he broke the news of the demise of the school and thus the end of the series:Announcement

“St. Trinian’s has gone. Encouraged by the success of recent atomic explosions in the Pacific, the School nuclear fission experts threw themselves into their experi-ments with renewed enthusiasm and with the help (thanks to certain old girls) of some newly acquired Top Secret informa-tion, achieved their object at midnight last night. The remains of the school are still smouldering. By some miracle the statue of our patron saint, scorched but uncracked, still stands where once the ripple of girlish laughter could be heard on a clear frosty morning. The fate of the teaching staff is unknown, nay, will never be known, and a few young ladies are believed to have sur-vived. Early morning reports from various parts of the country bring news of blackened figures silently trotting through sleeping villages, but bloodhounds have failed to pick up the scent – however radioactive. This blow from which St.Trinian’s cannot recover (the building fund has been embez-zled anyway) may bring a sigh of relief to many a parent and a quiet tear from true lovers of healthy girlhood. Let it suffice for us to say (before we draw a veil over the last broken limb) we are proud that the name of St.Trinian’s has echoed through this land.”Ronald Searle.

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1. The Englishman's Tale:Four Mad Englishmen and a Frenchman go Luney.By Nicholas (the Navigator) BallThis year we were kindly invited by Mathieu Marnay of the AFCFEF figure society to attend their show at Lunéville, in the middle eastern quarter of France and so plans were made for members to go.

There would be five of us attending, Martin Sutor, Brian Keywood, Chris See-ley and myself. Once in France we would pick up our French BFFS and AFCFEF Member, Eric Talmant. In the early stages Martin had declared it as an official visit between the two societies.

We were to travel to Brian's home and set off from there, Martin and Chris coming down from Suffolk and I up from the middle of Kent. Chris kindly volun-teered to drive as he had the biggest vehicle (a Ford Galaxy, obviously renamed 'The Chocolate Car')

Things started well; Chris left his medication at home, but as he was almost at Brian's he decided to make alternative arrangements once in France, so before long we were on our way.

We would spend Thursday night in Calais and meet up with Eric next morning. Things were going well - too well really, but hey, perhaps our luck would hold!!! Yeh, right!

Next morning we said our hello's to Eric and got into the car.

Now, the problem with being a village idiot is that you already know that you shouldn't ask the next question, but I reckon the brain, however hard it tries to stay on, just shuts down, and when the mouth opens the voice box decides to runs amok!! And so when our mouth's opened the conversation went like this:-Nick: Do we have a map of France? Brian: Er----- Nope. Nick: We are travelling through France and we don't have a map? Brian: Yes we do. Nick: But it's not of France. Brian: Nooooo Nick: Is it by any chance a map of England and Scotland? Brian: Might be. Nick: So here we are in France with a map of Scotland! BK: Yep.

Now after the journey to Bath, I calculated that the chances of 2x Village idiots (from Kent) being in the same car at 440 trillion to 1, and so here we were, the Kent's representatives now with apparently both the Suffolk pair as well!!! This did not bode well; perhaps it was down to Eric to save us from ourselves.

At this point our French companion then announced he had a map and so as he was sitting in the front (and had the unique ability of reading the map not only upside down but also back to front), I was instantly FIRED, and he was duly elected the Navigator.

Oh it gets better TRUST ME!!!

Now the beauty of the French Motorway system on leaving Calais is that they sign both Paris and Nancy, as we were going just past Nancy we would have a fairly straight forward drive until we needed to find the road to Lunéville. And so we were now on our way.

Now I could tell you of the beauty of the French countryside and the historical battlefields we passed, but quite frankly, I blame my Mother!!! As a young child she would put me in the car to make me sleep, and so as soon as we were on the open road I fell into the land of nod!!

As we approached Nancy, the map suddenly appeared, but lucky for us, so did Lunéville on the Gantry above and yippee, we were saved.

It was now as we approached Lunéville that things started to go sideways.

We had decided to go to the hotel, freshen up and then make our way to the venue to meet our hosts, and yet again the Kent pair got into conversation!!Brian: Does anyone know where the hotel is? Nick: You organised it with Mathieu, don't you know? Brian: Er---- does anyone know the name of the hotel? Nick: You don't know the name of our hotel? Brian: Nooooooo. Nick: But you had all the details, don't tell me you've left them at home. Brian: Might have.

L to r: Eric, Brian, Chris, Martin.The'Chocolate Car' fully loaded.

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Now as you may have guessed Mr.Keywood is totally unorganised!

Upon further discussion, it was suggested (would you believe it, by Mr.Keywood himself) that we could go directly to the Venue, and as we were all in the same hotel, they could tell us what and where it was.

By good fortune, the Chateau sits directly in the middle of Lunéville, and is the home town of that famous Napoleonic general Lasalle, the shops opposite once being the cavalry headquarters.

It is at this point, I am ashamed to say, that I have to report a holiday romance thingy between one of our colleagues and a local resident.

Chris Seeley is a true Lasalle fan, and as we drove into the courtyard, his eyes lit up like a little boy coming home from his first day at school (although it was suggested that it could just be the sunlight shining in his eyes) as he saw a large plinth with his hero sitting on his horse in the mid-dle of the main square. HE WAS IN LOVE.

Having all got out of the car and eventually pulling Chris off of Sally, we started to help put the tables in the rooms. At this point we were sent over the road to the bar whilst our French colleagues finished up (once again prising Chris away from his beloved).

The sun had now hit 30 degrees and as we sat there taking in the sights, drink-ing, and relaxing (with Chris occasionally winking and waving at Sally) life really could not get any better than this.

On returning to the hall, we were

allowed to set up the two tables we had been allocated. Eric needed a painting display area, and as the table filled up, we were offered yet another one as we had bought a pretty big display with us. As you can see from the photo's I think we did ourselves proud (see back cover).

At this point, the sun disappeared behind big black clouds and distant thun-dering could be heard. The evening market that had arrived earlier were now putting up umbrellas to keep the rain off their products.

We decided it was time to retreat to the hotel and get ready for dinner, so our navigator asked for details and directions, and off we set. Out the gate, turn right 100 yards up the road, down to the roundabout, turning right onto the back street, up to the end, turning right over the river and HEY PRESTO, we were back at the Chateau from the opposite direction!!!) (Were we back in Bath?)

As we pulled into the courtyard the wind had 'picked' up so much that there were now umbrellas, sausages and jars of jam rolling in all directions. One of the AFCFEF members must have felt sorry for us, as he kindly offered to show us the way.

Dinner approached and as there were now ten of us, we all sat down for a well-earned meal. After a short while, 8 meals arrived and Eric and I sat patiently for ours. He had the fish, I had the duck. After ten minutes, Eric asked the waitress where they were, and although his fish was cook-ing, it appeared that the duck was hiding in one of the cupboards and refused to come out! Eventually, as our French colleagues said goodbye, my duck arrived and all I

can say, is it was well worth the wait. The one thing you can guarantee in France is that the food is always good.

Next day the show started at 2 pm, so we looked around Lunéville, which re-ally is very quaint. We walked through the Farmers market, where they were selling cooked chicken, all kinds of meats, fruit and clothes. None of this Hygiene and Health and Safety rubbish out here.

As the doors opened there were streams of people and it soon became ap-parent that Brian likes to shop! There were 3 main Flat figure sellers, the best by far being J.J.Mineur, his figures are flawless and a delight to look at. Martin will supply details in future on all these new contacts.

As the day flew by, and Brian car-ried on shopping, it was decided that if we approached these traders and asked for them to send us their latest releases for the journal, we could start to get a re-ally good catalogue of figures for the New Releases page. In time we also suggested that they might like to have a small advert at a minimal cost, which would help sub-sidise costs at our end. This didn't go down too badly, and I got the impression that if members start buying from them, they will definitely do this.

The AFCFEF had organised an evening meal for traders and members and again this went down very well. During the meal I even plucked up the courage to ask the non-English speaking French waitress for a bottle of wine! As she reappeared with a caraf of water, everyone started laughing --- how was I to know she didn't speak Ital-ian, I thought I was speaking pretty good

Hard at workThe Chateau

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French frankly - silly woman!!!Next morning we again set off for

the Venue, Brian went shopping, and Chris serenaded Sally, we reckon he took over 120 photos!!

Eric had been doing a painting dis-play and as the sun had come up early and the room was warm, the oils had practically dried, but a good artist always recovers and by the end of the day he had created yet another masterpiece. If you think his figures look good on the forum, wait till you see them up close, they are frankly mind blowing. They really are beautiful pieces of art.

By lunchtime, things had quietened down, and it was time for Martin and I to do our own shopping. We had agreed to do another society figure by as many members as possible like the 2008 display, as this is always well received and commented on at shows. Martin will again let you know about this and a figure has been chosen from Mr. Mineur.

As the day came to an end we were treated to painting tips by probably the two best fiat figure painters in France, Phillippe Fourquet and Francis Quiquerez , Francis is an illustrator by trade and has created his own flats, he has also done a self-portrait of himself as an officer, which is just stun-ning. We certainly learn a lot on these trips, and it's worth going just for this generous advice. I would like to thank both of them for the time they donated to us.

After packing up and saying good-bye to Mathieu and all our other new found friends we went for one last beer to celebrate a very, very good weekend. As we again

heaved Chris off his beloved Sally for the last time, I am sure I saw a small tear ap-pear in his eye, and under his breath the words, "will you wait for me Sally, I will be back in 2 years" and with that he waved his final goodbye.

Now one thing that I feel does need to be mentioned is the common sense of one of our oldest member's, I am not go-ing to mention his name because of the embarrassment it could cause. NOW YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT that an expe-rienced flat figure painter would know good from bad. One of the traders had obviously copied good figures in plasticine and had replaced heads etc. To say these figures were horrible is an understatement; one had no nose, one had had his head soldered on from the front and his face ground off with a grinding wheel because of the ex-cess blob of solder, muskets (where they were recognisable as muskets!) were of different lengths and sizes!! The detail is so faint it is barely there. There is nothing good that can be said about them, except they appear to be chrome plated; even as fishing weights they would probably scare off the fish! But it does show how you need to be very wary of the different qualities of figures available. If he had received them in the post you could forgive him, but to see them and still buy, well he is my paired village idiot so no more needs to be said! He still reckons he got a bargain!

Worst of all, he gave us one each to prove how right he is, so this could be embarrassing for the rest of us! (That’s if the paint sticks, and doesn't just run off!!!)

It was now time to go home and our navigator was on top form, we only took

Bar du Chateauthree wrong turns, which considering there were no road signs for Calais until we were about 20 miles out was pretty impressive.

I would like to thank all of my fel-low travellers, not only for having to put up with me, but for all the laughs in between, to Eric, for translating and your composure whilst having to deal with four small chil-dren (us), to Chris, for all the driving and the humour, to Martin for trying to keep us on the straight and narrow, although I must say at times even he couldn't beat us so he joined us, and to Brian, well for being Brian, what more needs to be said and to all our new found friends in the AFCFEF who made us most welcome and showed us how a good show should be.

And a very special thank you to Mathieu Marnay for inviting us. I hope next time more of you can join us at this show; it really is worth the six + hour drive. Until our next adventure, keep well and keep on painting.

Who knows, we might even pro-mote Brian to navigator; that would be funny.The Frenchman's Tale:By Eric Talment.From Great Britain to Lunéville and back or a BFFS Odyssey.In other words:Diaries of five mad collectors of flats.In other, other words:What the hell have I been doing in this adventure?

Chris and Mathieu Marnay

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First day.I won't make any comment about the

first day because I was not there. I simply heard that the channel was kind with no wind and a nice crossing. Brian, Chris, Martin or Nick will complete.Second day.

Wake up early to be driven by my wife (thank her so much) to Calais where I met the BFFS team. Here were:Martin the « Leader » whose authority and decisiveness would be of great help.Chris the « Driver » probably the most important man who avoids us a long walk.Brian the « Crazy Buyer » you'll understand why later on.Nick the « Navigator » in fact an usurper who navigate nothing.and I the « Translator » because as you all know, Britannia rules the world and does not speak French.

Chris’ carrier was just big enough to receive all the luggage and figures and people; that was about 300 individuals among them 295 figures. At 9 a.m. we were on the way and we reach Lunéville without any problem six hours later under a very hot and stormy weather.

We were warmly welcomed by AFCFEF members who were really happy to see these five tough guys who would undoubtedly give a hand to set up the tables for the show

What we did!....a little….Pictures prove it.We also had the surprise to be wel-

come by General Lasalle whose equestrian statue stands in the middle of Lunéville castle courtyard.

But the English nature is so that at about 16.30pm our « Leader » decided that it was beer time and we went at the « Bar du Château » terrace drinking a very good white beer. I have to confess that at that moment I felt very much English.

A few beers after we were back in the show room to set up the tables and display the figures for the oncoming show. The AFCFEF was very efficient and we had all the room we needed to promote our society and collecting flats.

After that we had to go to the hotel

to rest a little and have dinner.Our first attempt was not a real

success because after a little round trip in Lunéville we were back to the castle without having even seen the hotel. This was the first «Substitute Navigator»'s error; because I have to explain that Nick found easier to ask me to navigate, arguing he does not speak French and other bad reasons. At last we reach the Campanile hotel where we soon started another beer.

We then had dinner with a few of the AFCFEF members. It was an opportunity for Nick and I to discover some curious habits of the Lorrains. When you order a duck or a fish you have to wait while they hunt the duck and fish the fish. Any information about this will be welcome.Third day.

Of course this was the day! Morning was cool because the show

started at 2 p.m. As the time passed we were wondering if we could assume the honour of being the BFFS representative. I dare to say we did.

Our display was a nice one, very convincing, a strong illustration of what can be collecting flats. Many people went to have a look at it and we received a lot of compliments. Most people were surprised to learn that such a society dedicated to flats could exist in Great Britain. We had a lot of contacts with other societies and merchants and I will let Martin make a report about that if he wants to.

The day ended with a general meet-ing around a dinner during which the main topic was …..just guess. Thanks to Mathieu for being with us.Fourth day.

Most of the day consisted in talking with collectors or painters looking at other displays and getting in touch with flats edi-tors. The idea was to ask them to let the society know their new products and it is well on the way.

A special thanks to Philippe Four-quet and Francis Quiquerez whose figures are absolutely wonderful. Maybe Chris will show some of the paper figures of Francis which are real masterworks.

We also had a little time to buy a few figures and as I suggested at the beginning of this topic, Brian the « Crazy Buyer »

was the indisputable winner of the contest.He bought, bought, bought....The problem is that his addiction

is contagious....The day ended gently under the sun

with a last beer at the « Bar du Chateau » where the maid warmly thanks us because I think we made her week-end turnover!Fifth day.

Chris wisely decide we had to left at 8 a.m. He was right to -

First, after about 1 km we got a traffic jam for about an hour.

Second, I, the « Substitute Navigator » made a first mistake and took the car east instead of west; a 30 km diversion.

Third, I the « Substitute Navigator » made a second mistake and took the car on the way to Lyon instead of Calais; another 30km diversion.

Nick regretted a lot to leave me the job.

At last everybody was back in time.The four « Rosbif » got their ferry

and the « Froggy » got his wife.General feeling.

A nice trip, with very friendly and agreeable people, and a confirmation that the Society has to be present at such shows; I warmly hope we will be back in May 2014. Our society can easily hold the comparison with other ones.

I do not know if there will be a lot of new members but I am quite sure we will have new visitors on the forum and so promote our hobby.

For myself I shall say that I enjoyed a lot the company of Brian, Chris, Martin and Nick, who really are good fellows. I did not understood all their jokes (and they made a lot) but I have been happy to contribute to the success of these four days.

Once again, thanks a lot to the AF-CFEF, her president, Patrick Auffray, her secretary, Jean-Luc Veinnant and a special gratefulness to Mathieu Marnay.

(The photographs were supplied by Nick and Eric. More on the back cover.)

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The Committee I have been asked what the Committee does and who is on it. The Committee caries out the wishes of the Society expressed at the Annual General Meeting. There is no formal make up of the Committee but at present it consists of The Secretary, The Treasurer, The Membership Secretary, The Webmaster and the Editor of the Journal. In addition 3 or 4 other Club members volunteer at the AGM and it is useful if one of them volunteers to be the Minute Secretary and take the Minutes of the AGM and the Committee Meeting The Committee meets once a year at Mike (Cannock) Taylor’s, usually mid to late October and the main business is to set the membership subscription for the following year. When instructed by the membership at the AGM it will do other tasks, for instance this year has been taken up with reorganizing the production of The Journal. The Journal Jerry has done a fantastic job on The Journal this year. He has halved the cost of production and maintained the standard. This has given us a valuable breathing space but the cost saving is going to largely disappear in increased postage. Earlier in the year Jerry produced some Discs of the Journal which I sent out to some members for comment. The feedback was very positive but again the downfall with that idea was the postage. I am now convinced that we shall quite soon have to look at the “Standard” Journal being an on line downloadable version and the “Special” being the printed and posted one. We are not quite at that stage yet but it will happen and I would like some decisions as to how this should effect the Subscriptions.

It seems to me that we will still need to produce and print a number of hard copies and this cost should be included in the subscription. Postage will be extra for those wanting a hard copy. I would very much like a decision on this as soon as possible and preferably at the AGM. What I intend is that once the decision is made it would only be activated when the cost of postage threatened the finances. With regard to the “On Line” version I propose to start a separate site which will just hold The Journal and will be accessed by payment of the Annual Subscription. The Journal Editor would be the only person able to download onto the site. Finance I was delighted to learn from the Treasurer last week that we have more money in the Account than at any similar time for the past 3 years. Whilst I do not wish to pre-empt any decisions at the AGM or the Committee we may therefore be able to hold the subscriptions steady for another year. Much will depend on postal costs. Membership I am not exactly sure what our numbers are at the moment but my impression is that they have increased. There has been a concerted effort by several members to visit shows, take stands and hand out Society visiting cards and certainly in U.K we are becoming better known. It is a slow process but one that will feed on itself. Unfortunately we now need a new Membership Secretary as Charles King who has done a great job for several years now wants to move on. The job involves collecting the Annual Subscriptions and keeping a list of current members that can be handed to the Editor for The Journal. Please consider whether you could do this and let me know.

Added Value Those of you who use the website, and I encourage all of you to use it, will know that we now have a range of privately produced Society items. There are Mugs, Sweatshirts, Polo Shirts, Caps and 4, soon to be 5, specially produced Society Figures. These are all produced by individual members using their own money, so there is no drain on the subscriptions. In particular if you have not joined The Consortium you ought to consider it. This is the group which chooses and produces the Annual Figure and there will be some interesting developments soon. You will also read in The Journal of the new Figure painting project and for £2 why not join in? We are consciously trying to give as much value as we can to members without increasing the subscriptions knowing that everyone has different collections. Later in the year there will be another experiment with The Journal. Communication One of the reasons that it has taken so long to get this edition out is the difficulty and cost of communicating with you all. Ideally you should all get this as an email attachment in a day or two but a sizeable number won't because we either don’t have an email address, or you don’t use email. This means I either post it separately, quite costly now, or send it to Jerry to put in The Journal. As an example it will probably take a couple of months to get the painting figures to everyone together with instructions whereas by email it would be two weeks. Please, please, please get on the Website. You will find a whole new world of Flats Happy painting,Martin.

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SOCIETY PAINTING PROJECT 2012/13 Twice before the Society has had painting Projects and it is time for another. The idea is that everyone paints a copy of the same figure in their own way, on one side or both; it’s up to you... This is not a competition. All the figures returned will be mounted on card, inserted into the “Book” and taken round to shows. The idea is to show all types of style and mediums even if it is your first figure. All figures will have the Authors name, country and the medium it was painted in.Read on:

The Figure.The one chosen is a 30mm Landsknecht swordsman from Jean-Jacques Mineur. We chose this as it is small enough to paint quickly, there are a vast number of colour combinations and it is a lovely casting. Cost.£2, including postage to you. How do you get it? From me. Martin Sutor. 26 Thellusson Road, Rendlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk. England IP12 2TD [email protected].

We have received a call for help from a new member with regards to where he can purchase figures of the early 18th Century, in particular troops from Marlborough's armies and those of King Louis XIV and King Louis XV. He knows that ‘Glorious Empires’ has a number of sets available from the early part of the period and has been told that Neckel produced the Blue King series but as of yet has been unable to find a contact for Neckel or to see any examples of the figures. So if any member has any details about figures of this period could you please contact the Editor.Also, does anyone have current information on availability of the Krog/Gottstein sets and also Dangschat (Braunschweiger Zinnfiguren)?Editors note:Ochel (Kieler) do some French Cavalry of the early 18th century (right), also Brandenburgers and others. There are some personality figures as well.Alexander Wilken has a range on his website www.zinnfiguren-wilken.de under the Offizin Sauter heading. Includes Marlborough and some of his infantry marching.Some of the Neckel Blue King series are shown right, above.

Payment. PayPal to my email. Mark the payment BFFS and make sure the return address is included. Cheques. Make them payable to M Sutor. Include your address.Coins? Yes if you want. Include your address.And afterwards?.When you have finished post them back to me or take them to any of the shows we will be attending. I know we will be at Euromilitaire and at Eindhoven. Knowle of course if you have it ready. The finish date will be 31st Dec.

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By now I am sure many of you are aware that I have a great deal of admiration for the figures of Otto Gottstein. It is not only his figures but also the debt British flat collectors owe to him. With this in mind I can now share with you some news, which may interest you. By the time you read this Dick Jenkins of Western Miniatures will have released the first set of an occasional series of figures, based on the idea of “sets not released by Gottstein”. The idea is to produce a number of small sets of figures to complement those larger sets commissioned by Gottstein.

Some twenty years ago I was fortunate in having the opportunity to correspond with and to meet the late Dr Lovell-Barnes, who not only worked on the R.U.S.I. dioramas but was also a friend of Gottstein and it was he who introduced him to Herbert Norris, the historical costume designer, who acted as advisor for many of the figures in the dioramas. In his recol-lection of that period Lovell-Barnes said that it was clear to him that after Gottstein escaped from the Nazi regime and found refuge in England he immersed himself in a study of British history not only for his R.U.S.I. dioramas but also for himself. One of his particular interests was the life and times of the Tudor monarchs Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. It is also interesting to note at the same time as Gottstein was commissioning his figures so too was both the British cinema and Hollywood produc-ing films of this period in British history. Gottstein produced 3 sets based on these two monarchs; The Court of Henry VIII, The Field of the Cloth of Gold and Elizabeth at Tilbury, Sets in which he, according to Lovell-Barnes, took a particular delight.

Until recently all of Gottstein’s figures were readily available from Paul Krog and a series of other editors. Not only the complete sets but individual figures, which can be used to add additional figures to these ‘new’ sets of flats.

The first of Dick’s sets ‘Queen Bess’ consists of three figures and shows Queen Elizabeth I knighting one of her ‘sea-dogs’ with Lord Burghley (William Cecil, one of

her most trusted ministers) in attendance. Various civilian figures from ‘Elizabeth I at Tilbury’ can be used to add a crowd rejoicing in the knighting of the ‘sea-dog’. As with the original Gottstein figures, the designs are based where possible on con-temporary illustrations.

The second set, slightly larger, will take Henry VIII as it’s central character and depicts an execution scene. ‘Divorce, Tudor style’ will allow you to make a choice from one of two poses of victims for execution, with attendant figures including an execu-tioner , priest and maid plus other officials. Individual figures for either of Gottstein’s Henry VIII sets will enable the diorama builder to increase the number of people in attendance. This set also owes something to Bill Carman (also a close associate and friend of Gottstein’s) who having seen the figures that made up Henry VIII’s court set had, at a later date, an executioner made.

The Queen Bess set is £6. Also avail-able is a new set of figures of Barbarossa, also £6. There are also some Bisto kids, £3 each for single figures, £5 each for carts. Postage is now £2 per order. Available from Western Miniatures, 51 Tregarth Road, Ashton Vale, Bristol BS3 2QB.An afterthought…..

A number of years ago in 1988 to be exact, Paul Britten Austin opened a small museum in Dawlish that he called Dioramascope. The museum consisted of in excess of 30 dioramas made by Paul and

Rolf Åhgren showing events from various periods in history. In addition other mem-bers of the BFFS lent works for display including examples from Jim Woodley’s collection of Egyptians. The Museum also acquired two Denny Stokes dioramas, one with a local theme of Drake playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe. This diorama was typical of much of Denny Stokes’ diorama pieces being fairly small consisting of only about 12 figures, it shows Drake completing a game of bowls as the Armada is sighted and the warning beacon is lit. The diorama is very much in the style of Denny Stokes in terms of the background paining and the construction of the foreground but as to the figures I can find no trace, could these also have been a set completed as a private commission? Or could some of them be converted from Gottstein’s Elizabeth at Tilbury? Does anyone know the diorama or figures? I know that the Dioramascope closed in 1990. The collection was moved to the Karlsborg Fortress in the town of Karlsborg in south central Sweden and that the dioramas went on display there in 1991. At that time there were plans afoot for the Karlsborg Fortress to acquire the contents of the Hjortnäs Tennfigurin Mu-seum (Leksand, Dalarnia) and merge the two collections together to make a display of some 80 to 90 dioramas. There were plans in place to turn the fortress into a major military museum. Does anyone know whether this has happened?

Jon Redley

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From Brian Keywood:Here's just an update on the figures.The Charles I and Cromwell Figures are now ready and are £10.00 plus £2.50 postage & packaging. They are 54mm engraved one side and come as a pair.Also available are:- Roll Call single sided 40mm £10.00 plus £2.50 P&P.Friends 1815 single sided 54mm (our Anniversary Figure) £8.50 plus £2.50 P&P.Also available are Society Mugs at £10.00.£3.50 P&P to UK and Europe.Rest of World £5.50 P&P.Available from Brian, address on page 2. Colour pictures of figures are shown on the back cover -Roll Call picture painted by Roger Newsome.Friends 1815 painted by Eric Talmant.Charles I & Cromwell painted by Nick Ball.Also on this page an image of one of the drawings of the Thomas Beckett set in 30mm, which hopefully will be available by the end of the year.

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The Annual Meeting this year will be held at the Solihull Masonic Temple, 1621 Warwick Road, Knowle, Solihull, B93 9LF, on Sunday the 10th June. The meeting will start as usual at 11.00am and finish around 4.00pm.The meeting is not restricted to members only; please invite anyone with an interest in attending.As usual, the meeting will be non-competitive, a chance for members and friends to simply display their work in a friendly atmosphere. We do need as many people as possible to display some of their

work. With no competitions and no judging there is no need to be shy, we all want to see what others are doing so bring your work along.Dick Jenkins (Western Miniatures), Ed Humphreys (Glorious Empires) and John Russell (Fredericus Rex) are usually in attendance with figures to sell.This year’s theme is ‘Winter’. Note that the figures on display need not be part of the theme - any figures from any period displayed in any way will be very welcome.Coffee, tea and biscuits will be available in the hall. Knowle is an attractive little town

with a wide range of pubs and restaurants. There is some parking at the Temple, which is adjacent to the Wilsons Arms, which has a very large car park.From the Motorway: Leave from Junction 5 on the M42 onto A4141 and head south for Knowle. At half distance to the Masonic Hall pass a large roundabout. Entrance to Hall and car park is on the left by road sign (humps for 440 yds).From Warwick: North on the A4141. After passing through Knowle High Street and shops, the Masonic Hall is first entrance on the right after Wilsons Arms.

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from infidel intruders, e.g. the Christians.The First Two Crusades

Before Saladin appeared on the stage two crusades had already been launched by the Christians. The first started with Boemund of Tarentum in the year 1096. He was highest in command and among other things he conquered Jerusalem and established four states: the counties of Edessa and Tripoli, the kingdom of Jeru-salem and the Duchy of Antioch. When Jerusalem was taken, a cruel massacre of 30,000 Muslims and Jews took place.

No-one was spared, not even women and children. Gottfried of Bouillon was chosen to rule the Kingdom Jerusalem. However, the struggle between Christian intruders and Muslims continued. When the latter retook Edessa, in the year 1144, the Pope decided that it was time for a new crusade. A tragic parenthesis during the first crusade was Peter the Hermit of Amiens, who ini-tiated the so called ‘People's Crusade’ - a total fiasco. His “army” consisted of ordi-nary people who were badly equipped and were butchered before even reaching the Holy Land. Peter of Amiens got there later

Richard the Lionheart was my boyhood hero. I still remember from the movie Ivanhoe how King Richard returned from imprisonment as a cool hero-saviour. But what kind of a man was the real Richard the Lionheart?Richard the Lionheart

Richard the Lionheart, or Cœur de Lion (1157-1199) was the youngest of three sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine (Aliénor d'Aquitaine). Since Richard’s eldest brother had the right to the crown, Richard became duke of his mother’s land, which was situated in the southern part of what is now France. Al-though Richard was born in England he was raised by his mother in Aquitaine and his mother tongue was French. He seldom spoke English.

However, Richard’s older brothers died and eventually Richard became the heir to the throne. When the old king died Richard the Lionheart was crowned King at the age of 32. He did not spend much time in England but even so, he let his country fund the planned crusade. This was financed in a number of ways. Among other things he simply auctioned important offices and introduced a much-hated ‘cru-sade tax’. Eventually the king had enough means to hire about 4000 knights and an equal number of foot soldiers. At last, he could go out on his crusade. But before we continue, let us look at the conditions of the imminent campaign and the reality that awaited him in the Holy Land.Saladin and Preludes in the Middle East

Sultan Saladin, whose name means something like “piety in religion”, was actu-ally named Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (1138 – March 4, 1193). He was born in the city of Tikrit in what is now the Iraqi part of Kurdistan. When he was in his 30’s he became Sultan of Egypt and since he enjoyed a position of high esteem with the Caliph of Baghdad, he received his help in his quest for power. Soon he had gained control over Syria and Yemen. Saladin was a unifying symbol for all Muslims and was an excellent commander. Thus he became commander in chief of all Muslim forces and was now ready to liberate the region

however, together with the real knights, but played no major role this time.

In the year 1177 Saladin commenced his holy war by besieging and conquering the city of Ascalon. An important battle at the city of Hattin occurred during the war that followed, in which the outnumbered Muslim forces defeated the 60,000-strong Christian army. This was the greatest ever defeat for the crusaders. That same year the King surrendered Jerusalem and the city was occupied by Saladin without a fight. He allowed the inhabitants of the whole city to go as free men and women, albeit for a small ransom. After these setbacks the crusaders lost in one single blow large parts of the occupied areas. These events led the Christians to arrange a third crusade.The Third Crusade

The pope in Rome managed to reconcile the French King Philip II and the English King Richard I and persuaded them to form an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa and his son Freidrich of Swabia to once again ‘liberate’ the Holy Land.

The Holy Roman Emperor thus became leader of this third crusade, and its army of 100,000 men began its journey east on 11 May 1189 in order to re-take the Holy City. The 70 year-old Barbarossa never made it to the final destination as he drowned during a river crossing in what is now Turkey. Richard, who instead had chosen to travel by sea, suffered a ship-wreck off the coast of Cyprus. After various adventures, which among others included the liberation of the princess Berengaria of Navarra whom he later married and who was later crowned Queen of England, he eventually reached Palestine.

The English and French kings were united at the city of Acre which they then occupied. Here Richard, remembering well the instructions of the Pope, had 3000 Mus-lim prisoners cut down by his knights in cold blood. The French and English kings again became foes, and Richard was left alone as sole commander of the Christian forces. Richard and Saladin clashed in the battle of Arsuf, where Richard was victorious. After that he went straight to the main objective of the campaign, Jerusalem. However, he

Richard The Lionheart, statue outside the Houses of Parliament, London.

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Sultan Saladin, statue in Damascus.

judged that he could not take the city; his knights would not stay, and moreover the various Christian forces seemed unable to get along.

At this point Richard fell ill and - to add insult to injury - his brother John began plotting against him. Richard had negoti-ated with Saladin before without result; but this time he was more successful as both combatants realized in what bad shape their armies now were. Thus they made peace. Saladin assured Christians that they could visit their holy places and perform free trade as they pleased. In return, Richard would destroy the city of Askalon, which Saladin considered a threat. This ended the third crusade and Richard was able to return home. Saladin died six months later in Damascus.

Saladin, being the greatest Muslim hero of all time, has entered western history as a worthy opponent and archetype of the ‘noble heathen’, in spite of having inflicted the Templars’ greatest defeat and caused them enormous adversity. It is said that once, when Richard lay ill, Saladin sent his own physician to him, with herbs and refreshments in order to cure him.

EpilogueRichard had, earlier during the

crusade, deeply insulted King Leopold of Austria on his way back to England and was unfortunate enough to be captured by him. Leopold demanded a ransom of 150,000 marks, a substantial sum for that time, corresponding to three tons of silver! After two years’ imprisonment the ransom was paid and Richard was freed. When he came home his brother John was forgiven and all things returned to normal, i.e. Richard left England, in which he during his 42-year long life only ever spent six months. He continued to fight against various minor lords in what is now France. During a siege of an enemy castle he was struck in the shoulder by an arrow from a crossbow and died shortly afterwards of his injury.

After Richard the Lionheart’s death he was eulogised for several centuries by troubadours as the most noble knightly king. He got his nickname as a result of his unusual courage and audacious fight-ing spirit on the battlefield, where he won many celebrated triumphs as an outstanding military strategist. But every medal has its flipside. In reality, the hero of my boyhood was a headstrong, ruthless and predatory regent, who, in victory, was unusually

cruel and merciless to those whom he had defeated.

The 30mm flats on the plate are as follows:1. King Richard 2. Sultan Saladin 3. Boemund of Tarentum 4. Gottfried of Bouillon 5. Queen Berengaria of Navarra 6. Peter of Amiens 7. The King’s standard bearer 8. Sultan Ilgazi of Mardin 9. Knight of the Order of Saint John 10. Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Sacred Sepulchre of Jerusalem or Holy Grave 11. Knight Hospitaller of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem 12. Detail of King Richard.

Figure no. 7 on the colour plate was issued by Alfred Retter of Stuttgart and the remaining figures by Hans Müller of Erfurt. Drawings were made by Ludwig Madlener and the engraving by Ludwig Frank. Painting by the author.

The coat of arms of the King was a rampant lion, but his shield was "Gules three lions passant guardant," the three lions reportedly representing England, Normandy, and Aquitaine.

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The West German Figures. Wolfgang Hafer (Schlangenweg 14, 3500 Kassel).Das Bohenfest Niederlande um 1650 (The Bean Feast) B0/1-15a,b .

Based loosely on a painting by Jan Steen, now in the Staatliche Kunst-sammlungen in Kassel, this set is the most 'East German' of Mohr's figures in the west. Obviously a commission that he enjoyed as the designing and engraving are superb. A Dutch family sit at table, celebrating an event unspecified. Children play while the adults raise their glasses in a toast. A fiddler entertains them and two of the men enter into the spirit of the occasion, one playing an improvised drum, the other, more ambi-

tious, has draped himself in a bedsheet and, wearing a funnel for a hat, scrapes a ladle across a griddle in time with the music.

(Eds note: The one who found a bean hidden in the cake on twelfth night, a popu-lar Netherlands festival, was crowned the Bean King. It dates back to an older, more sinister time when the ultimate role of the finder of the bean was the sacrificial slab.)Hexengericht (Witch Court, Inquisi-tion HX/1-4,7,8 (50mm)Hexengericht (Witch Court, Inquisi-tion HX/1-10 (30mm)

People who know me know that I'm not too keen on torture or execution scenes and, but for Mohr, I probably would have passed it by. Looking at it again after some years, it seems to me that the comely young witch, naked, bound and vulnerable looks

a symbol of purity, while her tormentors to a man come over as a pretty odious crew.

The 30mm version engraved by Hans Georg Lecke has four extra pieces, the chief inquisitor seated on an ornate chair, his scribe seated at a desk, an extra monk and a rather nasty looking interrogation chair.Indian 17th-18th Century. "Abend der Haremsterasse" I/1-3c (5 pieces).

Mohr was responsible only for the engraving of this fairly routine little set designed by H.H. Kroger. It shows an East Indian couple, seated on a couch, being served by a handmaiden. A low table, a candlestick and an ornate screen complete the scene.

Alfred Retter (Kleinhoheimerstrasse 32, 7000 Stuttgart 75).Alexander and Diogenes A/D1-20.

Possibly inspired by an illustration in the National Geographic Magazine, the scene shows the famous meeting, when Al-exander enquired of Diogenes if there was any favour he could do for him, to be met with the reply, "Yes, you can stand a little to one side and not keep the sun off me". For those of you who have the Collector's Guide to Model Tin Figures, a photograph of the set can be seen on page 115, incor-rectly attributed to Ludwig Frank by Erwin Ortmann who ought to know better.Olympia (Olympic Games) RE/1-37

The National Geographic Maga-zine must again take some credit for this

set of the ancient games, although Greek sculpture and vase painting contribute more. Most of the well-known sports are represented - boxing, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing and, of course, running. All figures are by Mohr except nos. 17, 18, 19, 23/24, 25/26 for which Ludwig Frank made a guest appearance.Ekkehard E/1-24.

My favourite of the Retter Mohr sets. According to Andreas Barz, the set is based on a novel by Viktor Scheffel but I do not know if it has been translated into English. The time is the 11th century and I hope I've got this right as it's some time since it was told to me. The Duchess Hadwig, and her small retinue, has arrived

at the monastery of St Gallen and requested sanctuary from her pursuers. The abbot refuses on the grounds that, "no woman has ever set foot in the monastery". The handsome young monk Ekkehard solves the problem by picking up the plump Duch-ess and carrying her through the gateway in his arms. Mohr's monks are again in abundance registering their disapproval of the proceedings.Die Sieben Schwaben (The Seven Swa-bians) 30mm.

I can do no better than to quote Andreas Barz again. This is a large group based on an old German legend of seven medieval characters armed with a large spear stalking a monster which turns out to be a rabbit!

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Hans Gunther Scholtz (Knesebeck-strasse 88, D 1000 Berlin 12)Bath Scene 1450, 8410-6. Order No. 100/36.

A young nobleman drinks a toast to his lady as they both sit naked at a table in front of a large bath tub, curtained all round for privacy.

Offentlich Frauenbadestube 1500 (Women's Public Baths) - 35 pieces, 860-890. Order No. 100/37.

Definitely a set for the serious art student. Based, I think, on a Dürer print, there are 23 late medieval ladies enjoying the pleasures of the bath house, including sauna and massage. As this is very much a diorama set, furnishings included are empty benches, tubs, cauldrons, a broom, a large stove and, very unusual for Scholtz, folks, no trees! Morgentoilette France 1780, 8467-859. Order No. 100/35.

A young woman, having completed her bath, stands behind an ornate lacquered

screen admiring herself in a hand mirror. Her maid prepares to dress her and her clothes, including a formidable corset, lie over a chair. An older woman sits before her dressing table, while her hairdresser puts the finishing touches to her coiffure; another lady approaches her, bearing a letter. The gentlemen of the household sit at a table enjoying a drink, and a child in

eastern dress sits on the floor playing with toys and a globe. A small dog begging and an open coffer complete the set.Carl Spitzweg Series. A, 15 figures. Order No. 100/42.B, 17 figures. Order No. 100/47.

Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885) is today one of Germany's most popular artists with his pictures fetching high prices at auction. He is also much beloved by flat producers who interpret his work into tin. The two boxes contain some of his best known work, such as The Sunday Hunter, The Cactus Friend, The Eternal Bridegroom and The Antique Bookseller. I suspect there could be other sets by Mohr in the Scholtz cata-

logue; maybe somebody could help there? I am aware that he engraved the 'Twenties-Thirties' period of the vast Costume Series and I'm told these were the cause of a rift between him and Werner Scholtz.Georg Cortum Figuren (Christian Carl, Auf dem KlUschenberg 5, D 2410, Mann.)

Mostly odds and ends. Two versions of Alexander the Great, 46 and 161. Some 'Dark Ages' personalities - 162 Arovistus; 164 Mounted Warrior; 165 Totila; 166 Atilla; Aethiopsiche Gestantschaft (Ethio-pian Tribute to Pharaoh) Nos. 143, 151-4, 156-7, 159-60.

This completes the list of Mohr figures at present. He made contributions to other sets such as the Sirens in Retter's Troy and a number of groups and singles in the Gottstein/Blum Burgunder Krieg, at present issued by Paul Krog. Also in Herbu's civilians there are three examples. Recently I learned that he designed the Napoleonic Camel Corps and Tyrolean Series for Hinsch, now owned by Ochel and the H.H.Albrecht Burgundian Market now owned by C.P.Golberg.

- o O o -Editor's Note. This is where Jim ended his series on the figures of Franz Karl Mohr.

We now know there were other figures Mohr designed and engraved for other editors, as shown in the two volumes by Krannich and Brock.

I am sure that Jim would have con-siderably revised this list later in his life, but at the time this series was written the Berlin Wall still stood, communication and acquiring figures and, indeed, information from East Germany was difficult in the extreme. The situation now is thankfully very different.

The articles represent Jim's personal view at the time they were written. I am pleased to have a couple of Jim's unpainted Mohr sets, particularly the Ekkehard series, which I also really like.

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Society figures: Cromwell and Charles painted by Nick Ball, Roll Call by Roger Newsome, Friends by Eric Talment.

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