«The Ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet, an alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
The awful spirits of the deep
Hold their communion there;
And there are those for whom we weep,
The young, the bright, the fair.»
Scene no 89: Warships (Unknown manufacturer, wooden small models) that are sailing in a raging sea (IMAI plastic models, Operation Sail).
The verses: The first two stanzas from the poem The Ocean, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
«Our lives are indestructible.
Immortal!
Though waves break and blood flies, never shrink.
Though my body falls, never quail.
Though
my eyes shut, my lips close…
Do not fear.
In that world of rebirth,
I’m still your Father.
In that world and all worlds,
You are my Son!
We are Father and Child!
Forever!»
Scene no 88: Itto Ogami and son Daigoro (Improvized
models and scenery by an unknown artist) abandoned the way of men to walk the
demon path to hell. Always surrounded by enemies (Aoshima Japan History
Miniature Model Series).
The text: From the twenty-eighth and final volume
of the epic LONE WOLF AND CUB by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima.
This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Feared by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home
For Christian service and true chivalry.
Scene no 86: English knights (Britains Swoppets, 15 th
Century Knights, The Wars of the Roses, 10 different plastic figures) protect
the throne which encloses the Stone of Scone (Britains Toys, Coronation Chair).
The lyrics of the play: By William Shakespeare. From «Richard II», Act
2, scene 1.
«For the safety of the Emperor, the vow that I,
Lucius Maximus Caetulicus, son of Lucius,
of the tribe Voltinia, from Vienna, made
as a new recruit in Legion XX Valeria Victrix
- to Imperial Victory, All-Divine and Most Reverend -
I have now fulfilled as chief centurion of
Legion I Italica, in the consulship of Marullus
and Aelianus, after 57 years of service.»
Scene no 82: Legionnaires of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix of the
Imperial Roman Army (King and Country toy soldiers, Romans 2001) fight in a
forest (Elastolin plastic trees) somewhere in Germania Inferior.
The text: Inscription of AD 184 from Novae in Lower Moesia.
«There is no fear to stop me.
There is no anger to stop me.
There is no love to stop me.
There is no death.»
Scene no 78: Kamikaze airplane (Oxford diecast 1:72 scale model Kawasaki
Hein Ki61 KAI-Hei of HQ Chutai, 224th Sentai, Chofu, Tokyo, Winter
1944/45) soaring through the clouds in the sky. Surrounded by the spirits of
the glorious ancestors (ARGO Toy Soldiers Samurai warriors). Beneath the
warlike wings, the cherry blossoms (Gean, Prunus Avium, WILLS’s CIGARETTES collectable
cards, Flowering Trees & Shrubs, card no 21 from a series of 50).
The verses: From World War II Japanese Kamikaze pilots Death Poetry.
«Father, I honor thee;
Not for earth’s hoards or honors we here are
contending;
All that is holy our swords are defending:
Then falling, and conquering, I honor thee.
God, I repose in thee.
God, I repose in thee;
When the thunders of death my soul are
greeting,
When the gashed veins bleed, and life is
fleeting,
In thee, my God, I repose in thee.
Father, I call on thee.»
Scene no 76: German soldiers (KOBER SPIELWAREN semi-flat
zinnfiguren, Bavarian army Nr.2767 Infanterie im Gefecht, made in Austria) taking
positions on a battlefield (LOTT’S BRICKS, solid stone building bricks and
trees – British made).
The lyrics: From the poem “Prayer During Battle”
by Korner.
«No one gets out of childhood alive.
Like the gravitic pull of the moon on the tides
of Earth, we never escape what was done to us, what we did, what we learned,
what we didn’t learn, where we went, and what we ate when we were children.»
Scene no 74:
Space rockets (Battery operated, KY Yoshino toys Apollo 15 and TN Nomura toys Solar
X7) ready to intercept flying saucers in our solar system (Saucers Club, wooden
bagatelle pinball with striking space graphics).
The text: Βy
Harlan Ellison (from the introduction to the book BLAST OFF!).
«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.
«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).
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.
“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.
“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).
“Brothers!” cried the girl, dancing between them.
“Look who follows! I have brought you a man to slay!
Take his heart that
we may lay it smoking on our father’s board!”
Scene no 57:
Conan against the children of Ymir (Dark Horse full color PVC set, Figures
designed by artist Arthur Suydam).
The text: From Robert E. Howard’s «The Frost Giants Daughter».
«The flat is a point of reference to the
historian,
a means of expression to the artist,
and an object of desire to the collector.»
Scene no 55:
Late medieval army - before the parade (Hand-painted, flat-cast metal miniatures).
What is a flat: From The Art of the Flat Tin Figure, by Michael Taylor.
Scene no 54:
The fearsome son of Peleus on his chariot (Athena plastic toy soldiers),
scatters the Trojans (Britains Herald plastic figures, all different poses of
Trojans) among the plants (Athena plastic palm foliage).
The text: From
The Iliad of Homer - Βοοκ ΧΧ.
Scene no 50: The immortal and amoral warrior Kane
(plastic figure based on Frank Frazetta’s Dark Kingdom painting, Master Artist
Series Frazetta action figures, 8 Ball Studios) advances
over the dead (plastic skeletons, Biokonto, made in Greece).
The text: From the novel Dark Crusade, by Karl Edward Wagner.
«Blood and flowers were alike, Isao thought, in that both were quick to dry up, quick to change their substance.
And precisely because of this, then, blood and flowers could go on living by taking on the substance of glory.»
Scene no 47: WWII Japanese Infantry (Britains Deetail Toy soldiers, all 6 figures, Set 7352) take up battle positions in the rainforest (Diorama of trees by unknown maker).
The text: From «Runaway Horses», by Yukio Mishima.
Hell grant soon we hear again the
swords clash!
And the shrill neighs of destriers
in battle rejoicing,
Spiked breast to spiked breast
opposing!
Better one hour’s stour than a
year’s peace
With fat boards, bawds, wine and
frail music!
Bah! there’s no wine
like the blood’s crimson!
Scene no 45: Knights in ambush (Britains toys, Mini Set 1082, 1:42 scale mini-scenic models).
The verses: From "Sestina: Altaforte" by Ezra Pound.
«Winter is coming»
«Ours is the fury»
«In the name of Robert
of the House Baratheon, the First of his Name, King of the Andals and the
Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the
Realm, by the word of Eddard of the House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden
of the North, I do sentence you to die.»
Scene no 43: The Iron Throne (HBO official licensed product sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios, Dark Horse Deluxe) and the Weirwood Tree (Snow globe, HBO official licensed product sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios, Dark Horse Deluxe, number 0065 of 1,200). On one side the Direwolf of the House Stark (Bookend, modeled after the direwolf statues that guard the crypts of Winderfell), and on the other the crowned Stag of the House Baratheon (Board game accessory).
The text: From Α Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin.
«How best to kill dragons has been the subject of many a debate.
The method most favoured by chivalry is to engage
it in battle when on horseback, and to so manage the lance that it slides
effortlessly between the dragon’s jaws.»
Scene no 39: Knight and Dragon (McFarlane
toys, Dragons Quest for the Lost King, Berserker Clan Dragon vs. Human Attacker).
The text: From THE DRAGON, Nature
of spirit, Spirit of nature, by Francis Huxley.
