ON THE PATH OF DESTINY

«The road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone, 

and I must follow, if I can, 

pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way 

where many paths and errands meet.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 72: The nine walkers - Gandalf, Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Boromir (Play Along toys, The Lord of the Rings, Armies of Middle-Earth, The Fellowship Collection) - follow the path. In the background the Misty Mountains (Original Busch model).

The text: From «The Fellowship of the Ring», by J.R.R. Tolkien.

HANSEL AND GRETEL

«She was a wicked witch who was lying in wait there for children. 

She had built her house of bread only in order to lure them to her, and if she captured one, she would kill him, cook him, and eat him; and for her that was a day to celebrate.»

 

 

 

Scene no 71: Hansel and Gretel meet the wicked Witch and her black cat (Elastolin plastic figures) in front of the entrance of the house of bread and sweets and candies (Unknown manufacturer). Next to the cat, the raven is lurking... (Elastolin composition figure).

In the second version, Hansel and Gretel (McFarlane’s Monsters Series 4, Twisted Fairy Tales Action Figures) growing up in captivity...

The text: From «Hansel and Gretel», by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

LEGION ETRANGERE

«Enthusiastic foreign volunteers are good for national morale, but in practical terms they can be a nuisance. Few of these idealists had a military background; their enthusiasm was generous but their expectations unrealistic. To educated political liberals the brutal realities of old-fashioned military life came as a shock.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 70: The Legionnaires (Britains deetail, metal based models, 7780 Foreign Legion Infantry figures in all 6 poses and 7770 Gatling gun & crew) in battle positions under the palm trees (CollectA  toy models, coconut palm).

The text: From «French Foreign Legion 1914-1945», by Martin Windrow.

MEDIEVAL CASTLE

«For the knight the castle is of crucial importance. Here the lord lives, and his wealth and prestige attract to him as members of his household landless knights to form his retinue, clerics to administer his estate and a host of servants needed to support his activities.»

 

 

Scene no 69: The castle (Starlux toys, hand painted construction with wood and papier-mache) and the Paladins (Elastolin toys, composition figures).

The text: From KNIGHTS, by Andrea Hopkins. 

THE MAGUS

«Trust those who seek the truth,

but doubt those who say they have found it.»

 

Scene no 68: The Druid and the Soothsayer (Leblon-Delienne, hand-painted resin statues. Panoramix no 356/1500, and Le Devin no 447/999).

The text: From THE MAGUS, by John Fowles.

SILVER ARROWS

«Hitler came to power in Germany early in 1933, and he immediately identified Grand Prix racing as a powerful tool in propagating the image of Aryan superiority. Backed by Nazi subsidies, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union entered the competition with revolutionary new models in 1934 that rendered the various Italian and French machinery completely obsolete.»

                                                    

                 

                             

Scene no 67: The Silberpfeile of Auto Union (Schuco Studio II) and Mercedes-Benz (Schuco Studio), under the Hakenkreuz Flag and the Reich Eagle (John Player & Sons cigarette cards, National Flags and Arms, Germany, no 19 from a series of 50). Next to the racing cars, their legendary drivers Bernd Rosemeyer and Rudolf Caracciola (Preiser 57108, Racing drivers, 1:24).

The text: From The Complete Unofficial Encyclopedia of FORMULA ONE, by Mark Hughes.   

THE RIDER

An allegory on Christian Salvation – and more.

Scene no 66: The Knight (Pewter figure, made in Nuremberg) rides on ignoring Death (skeleton from the Hanging Tree, THE CUT Series 1, Jun Planning action figures) and the Devil (Preiser HO 29078, Teufel), to the Kingdom of Heaven on the hill (Wood carving, made in Corfu).

The masterpiece: Knight, Death and the Devil, by Albrecht Dürer.