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"The Corner Of Giuse"

(MY COLLECTION OF VINTAGE MILITARY MINIATURES)

75 mm Old German " Elastolin " Composition Toy-soldiers

Elastolin and Lineol

Many companies produced composition figures in the Western European countries from 1905 ÷1960 ,

but only two achieved prominence in the field at the time ;

O&M Hausser ( Elastolin ) founded in 1904 in Ludwigsberg .

and

Lineol founded by Oskar Wiederholz in 1905 in Brandenburg/Havel

Method of Manufacture

The method of making such figures derived from materials used inEuropean doll manufacturing since 1850 .

Pfeiffer of Vienna perfected the soldier tecnique around 1898 .

A multipart , accurately machined brass mold is prepared and a cereal-like mixture of wood flour , kaolin

is hand-pressed into both halves. A skeleton is inserted of thin wire having been bent to the proper shape

by hand.The molds are the joined, air-dryed and then heated for a time , to cure the figures.

After cooling , the figures were removed from the mold and , while still slightly flexible , trimmed by hand

and hand-painted.

( From " Collecting Toy Soldiers " of Richard O'Brien )

Ela.001) II War World

Made and painted by Elastolin - Germany on 1940