For the selective remembrance of all the carefree days gone by.
For the mystical places which evoke our childhood memories.
For the sacred melancholy of the lost wonderland.
Scene no 30: Winter glass balls (unknown manufacturer) with running wolves, old train, and a peaceful cottage. In the snowy forest.
The Stagecoach Wars.
The safety of the passengers traveling through Indian country could not be vouchsafed by anyone but God. Raiding warriors attacked stagecoaches in every state of territory from the Great Plains west.
…The driver spun the coach around and the
Indians stabbed their lances through the windows. The coach careened along,
with passengers leaning out to shoot at their pursuers…
Scene no 29: Wells Fargo Overland Stage with driver and attacking Indians trying to climb onto the roof of the coach (Alps Toys, battery operated tin toy, made in Japan). Three impressive cowboys (Lafredo copies, plastic figures made in Hong Kong) have taken over the defense.
Cut and Assemble!
Scene no 28: Knights and Landsknechts in a
variety of action poses, including plenty of accessories. One-sided paper soldiers
from the back cover of the Greek boys’ comic magazine AGORI (BOY, nine issues:
no 111 – no 119, summer of 1979).
« ... because a united Europe, for which they strove, was the only – perhaps the last – possibility of survival for a marvelous old continent, a haven of human joy and fervor, but mangled and mutilated to the point of death.
A day will come, perhaps, when people will regret the defeat in 1945 of
the defenders and builders of Europe.
While awaiting that day, let us tell truthfully their epic tale – how
they fought, what trials they suffered, how they gave their hearts to the
struggle.»
Scene no 27: Waffen SS soldiers in front of the ruins of their world (King and Country toys).
The Text: From THE EASTERN FRONT: Memoirs of a Waffen SS Volunteer 1941-1945, by Leon Degrelle.
Palamedes concocted the game, to relieve his boredom during the ten years of the siege of Troy.
Scene no 26: All the different Romanesque chess figures (plastic pawns given as a prize inside Mr. Chips cereals, in Greece in the 70s) in a four colors battle formation.
Scene no 25: Milou enthroned (Herge - Moulinsart toys, Coffret scene plastique) in the middle of the lions (Britains toys, Zoo), and small shrubs all around (W. Germany / Jean toys).
The comic book pictures: From the Adventures of Tintin (Tintin in the Congo).
«They’ve got the Guts – GIVE ’EM MORE FIREPOWER»
«Responsibility and Character – U. S. ARMY»
Scene no 24: Attacking American
soldiers (Britains deetail Toys, metal based models, 7340 U.S. Infantry and
7334 U.S. Recoilless Rifle & Crew), supported by armored battle chariot (Masudaya
Modern Toys, M-120 battery operated tin Tank).
The Text: Quotes from World War II propaganda posters. For the minds and hearts of the American citizenry.
«The man before him was the embodiment of physical perfection and giant strength; yet it was not upon these he depended in his battle with the great cat, for mighty as were his muscles, they were as nothing by comparison with Numa’s.
To his agility, to his brain and to his long keen knife he owed his supremacy.»
Scene no
23: Tarzan with knife (Heinerle Manurba toys) against the attacking Lion (Lineol
composition toys). Victorious Tarzan (Heinerle Manurba toys) next to the
defeated Lion (Paper stuck on wood animal figure). At the back of the stage, a
cluster of African trees (Heinerle Manurba toys).
The Text: From the novel Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The overriding desire of most children is to get and see the soul of their toys, some at the end of a period of use, others straightaway. It is on the more or less swift invasion of this desire that depends the length of life of a toy.
I don’t find it in me to blame this infantile mania; it is a first metaphysical tendency.
Scene no 22: Orchestra
of happy monkeys (Clockwork toys - made in Greece by Fino).
The Text: From the essay Morale du joujou, by Charles Baudelaire.
Watch out!
The imminent return of Matriarchy!
Scene no 21: The dreaded Goddess accompanied by her saber-toothed cat (Hand-painted statue sculpted by Tony Cipriano. Limited edition of 2000 - Number 636. Based on the original artwork of Frank Frazetta. ReelArt Studios and Darkhorse Deluxe).
Ye who love the haunts of Nature,
Love
the sunshine of the meadow,
Love
the shadow of the forest,
Love the wind among the branches,
And the rain-shower and the snow-storm,
And
the rushing of great rivers
Through their palisades of pine-trees,
And
the thunder in the mountains,
Whose
innumerable echoes
Flap like eagles in their eyries;--
Listen to these wild traditions,
To this Song of Hiawatha!
Scene no 20:
Fighting Stag (Lineol composition toys) and Native American Warrior (Hausser -
Elastolin composition toys) among fir trees (Hausser - Elastolin composition
and hard plastic toys).
The Text: From the Introduction of the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
«More than that, Brazilians invented a flamboyant, thrilling and graceful style that has set an unattainable benchmark for the rest of the world.
Britons call it the ‘beautiful game’.
Brazilians call it ‘futebol-arte’,
or art-football»
Scene no 19: Subbuteo Table
Soccer. The Jules Rimet Trophy (C 119), Standard Goal and three Continental
Match Balls (C 127). Brazil Subbuteo Team, World Cup Winners (Subbuteo Sports
Games Ltd). Brazil, World Cup 1982 (50, C 100, Subbuteo Sports Games Ltd), Brasile
1970 (Subbuteo la leggenda, Fabbri Editori, Licensed by Hasbro).
The phrase: Text from the Introduction of FUTEBOL The Brazilian Way of Life, by Alex Bellos.
«But Don Quixote, supported by his intrepid heart, leaped on
Rocinante, and bracing his buckler on his arm, brought his pike to the slope,
and said, “Friend Sancho, know that I by Heaven’s will have been born in this
our iron age to revive in it the age of gold, or the golden as it is called; I
am he for whom perils, mighty achievements, and valiant deeds are reserved; I
am, I say again, he who is to revive the Knights of the Round Table... »
Scene no 18: Don Quixote (Papo toys) and behind
him Sancho (Papo toys), under a beech tree (Schleich toys).
The text passage: From The
History of Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
«We are vanishing from the earth, yet I cannot think we are
useless or Usen would not have created us. He created all tribes of men and
certainly had a righteous purpose in creating each.
For each tribe of men Usen created He also made a home. In the land
created for any particular tribe He placed whatever would be best for the
welfare of that tribe.
When Usen created the Apaches He also created their homes in the West.
He gave to them such grain, fruits, and game as they needed to eat. To restore
their health when disease attacked them He made many different herbs to grow.
He taught them where to find these herbs, and how to prepare them for medicine.
He gave them a pleasant climate and all they needed for clothing and shelter
was at hand.
Thus it was in the beginning: the Apaches and their homes each created
for the other by Usen himself. When they are taken from
these homes they sicken and die. How long will
it be until it is said, there are no Apaches? »
Scene no 17:
Apaches (Timpo toys, series number 23, eight poses) in their camp. Also the
ninth Apache holding a blanket out to make a smoke signal (from the mini set
Indian Smoke Signal, Ref. no 1001). Wigwam (Ref. no 274) and Tepee (Ref. no
1005). Indian Squaw and pony dragging a travois (Ref. no 1007). Game play base
from the INDIAN VILLAGE box (Ref. no 258)
The text passage: From “Geronimo’s Story of His Life” (Chapter II), taken down and edited by
S.M. Barrett.
and above all he lacked faith in himself…»
Scene no 16:
Mighty Sorcerer King Elric of Melnibone aboard the mysterious vessel of the
Seas of Fate. Statue by the Greek sculptor Kostas Krasonis, inspired from Michael
Whelan’s illustration for the front cover of the second Elric novel. In the
background, a limited edition lithograph print of Robert Gould, signed and
numbered by the artist.
He lacked faith: Text from THE SAILOR OF THE SEAS OF FATE, by Michael Moorcock.
Clean and
nice before the battle.
The warrior must be handsome in the face of death.
«…And so, strange as it may sound, I
learned from this very four years’ schooling in force and in all the fantastic
extravagance of material warfare that life has no depth of meaning except when
it is pledged for an ideal, and that there are ideals in comparison with which
the life of an individual and even of a people has no weight...»
Scene no 15:
German soldiers (Elastolin and Lineol composition figures) who wash and shave
in front of their bunker. Rifles and helmets (Elastolin) are resting on the wall of the combat shelter.
The text passage: From the novel THE STORM OF STEEL, by Ernst Jünger.
A classic Two Player Board Game.
«BATTLESHIP is the old favorite Navy
Game where two players try to sink each other’s hidden ships.
…
Strategy and some luck must be
combined to be the first to locate and sink all 5 opponent’s ships to win the
game.»
Scene no 14:
Closed and open plastic game kits (red and blue) with small ships fleet (Carrier,
Battleship, Cruiser, Destroyer, Submarine) on the ocean grid, target grid and
marker pegs. All placed in front of the excellent cover of the game box. (Milton
Bradley Company toys, 1967)
Traditional gender roles: Family fun on the cover of the game. The excited males (father and son) are playing their suitable game of war, while the smiling females (wife and daughter) are doing the dishes in the kitchen.
200 years after the Greek Revolution.
At Jassy in Moldavia, on 24 February 1821, Alexandros Ypsilantis issued the very first
Declaration of Independence,
under the headline:
FIGHT FOR FAITH AND FATHERLAND!
Scene no 13:
A dressed in black, young soldier of the 1821 Sacred Band, parading between two
cypress trees. In front of formidable hoplites of Classical Greece.
Toy soldiers made by the
Greek sculptor, Fotis Spyretos. Cypress trees made by Elastolin.
The Sacred Band: The first organized military unit of the Greek Revolution. A battalion
formed by Alexandros Ypsilantis, comprising 400 young Greek volunteers, students
from eastern Europe. They borrowed the famous name from the ancient Sacred Band
of Thebes. The original Sacred Band was the elite force of the ancient Theban
army.
The intellectual side of man already admits that life is an incessant struggle for existence, and it would seem that this too is the belief of the minds upon Mars.
Their world is far gone in its cooling and this world is still crowded with life, but crowded only with what they regard as inferior animals.»
Scene no 12:
Flying Saucers (Space Explorer Ship X8 and Flying Saucer X-7, Modern Toys MASUDAYA, made in Japan in the 1960s, lithographed tinplate, battery operated with bump and go
action and flashing lights).
The text passage: From the novel THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, by H.G. Wells (The Coming of the
Martians / The Eve of the War).
"No," said Snow White, "I dare not take anything."
"Are you afraid of poison?" said the old woman, "look, I will cut the apple in two pieces, you eat the red cheek, and I will eat the white."
Scene no 11:
Walt Disney’s little Snow White and the Wicked Queen disguised in the shape of
an old hag (Demons & Merveilles resin statuettes. Limited edition, Snow
White # 992 of 1504 and Wicked Queen # 709 of 1505).
The text passage: From «SNOW WHITE» by the Grimm Brothers.
Aaaaaahh – Ahh
Aaaaaahh – Ahh
We come from the land
Of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun
Where the hot springs blow.
Hammer of the Gods
Will drive our ships to new land
To fight the horde
Sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming.
Scene no 10:
Vikings attacking (the six different figures of Preiser/Elastolin) in front of
their Drakkar (unfinished Revell 1:50 Viking ship model). Behind the ship, the God
of Thunder (Thor Marvel Fact Files statue, Eaglemoss publications) oversees the
landing on the shore.
The Lyrics: From IMMIGRANT SONG (1970) by Led Zeppelin.
