THE LAST TRUE KING

«Roi, le seul vrai roi de ce siècle, salut, Sire,

Qui voulûtes mourir vengeant votre raison

Des choses de la politique, et du délire

De cette Science intruse dans la maison,

 

De cette Science assassin de l’Oraison

Et du Chant et de l’Art et de toute la Lyre,

Et simplement et plein d’orgueil en floraison

Tuâtes en mourant, salut, Roi, bravo, Sire !

 

Vous fûtes un poète, un soldat, le seul Roi

De ce siècle où les rois se font si peu de chose,

Et le martyr de la Raison selon la Foi.

 

Salut à votre très unique apothéose,

Et que votre âme ait son fier cortège, or et fer,

Sur un air magnifique et joyeux de Wagner.»

 

 

 

 

Scene no 73: King Ludwig II (Preiser figure 29018) in front of the scenery of a forgotten dream world.

Castle ruin (Noch 58602 scale HO), trains of the era (Marklin HO 41071 and 94099, homage to Ludwig, special edition train carriages), the Swan (Lineol composition animals), Neuschwanstein (Phil Goods plastic castle for cookies).

The poem: «To Ludwig II of Bavaria», by Paul Verlaine.       

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.                                                                           

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

“That’s one small step for a man,

one giant leap for mankind.”

 

 

              

 

Scene no 65: Neal Armstrong (Louis Marx & co. toys, plastic 6 inch Astronaut figure, made in U.S.A.) on the surface of the Moon (Jean toys, Lunar landscape, made in Germany), near the Lunar Module (Daishin toys, battery operated Apollo 11 American Eagle LM, made in Japan).

The statement: Armstrong’s first words on the Moon.

AQUALUNG

 

“Feeling like a dead duck

Spitting out pieces of his broken luck

Oh, Aqualung

Sun streaking cold

An old man wandering lonely

Taking time the only way he knows

Leg hurting bad

As he bends to pick a dog-end

He goes down to the bog and warms his feet.”

 

 

 

 

Scene no 64: A homeless long-haired, bearded man in shabby clothes (LEPI original woodcut figure) with a stray dog (Starlux toys) on the city streets (Unidentified painting on wood).

The lyrics: From the title song Aqualung, from Jethro Tull’s fourth studio album.

SECOND AMENDMENT

 

“A well regulated Militia,

being necessary to the security of a free State,

the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,

shall not be infringed.”

  

 

 

 

Scene no 63: An authentic submachine gun (Mettoy toys), easy to operate. No caps! No batteries!

The text: The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

YANKEE DOODLE

“What do we mean by the Revolution? The war? That was no part of the Revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was enacted, from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen years before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington.”

 

 

                                             

 

 

Scene no 62: Early American colonists (Elastolin toy figures) march proclaiming the American independence over the British rule. In the background, long cabin (Lineol toys) and tree (Marolin toys). Based on the famous work «The Spirit of ’76», by the American painter Archibald Willard.

The text: John Adams to Jefferson (1815).             

I AM A KNIGHT

 

“Who are you then?” “I am a knight”

“Of such I know not, not a sight

Of one”, said the youth, “nor word

Of any such, have I seen or heard;

Yet you are handsomer than God.

If only I, who go ill-shod,

Were made like you, and shone so bright!”

 

 

                                             

 

Scene no 61: King Arthur riding (MM no 63, King Arthur animated toy, friction drive, made in Hong Kong) in front of young Perceval and a red knight (Heye Art.-Nr.29734, Inside Neuschwanstein, Parzival, puzzle made in Germany).

The text: Lines from PERCEVAL by Chretien de Troyes.