Family Toy Soldier and History Museum Project.
Maxime and Maryse Fabre Chevallier purchased an old part of a large French Chateau in Northern France for their retirement home.
Already owners of major Toy Soldier Ranges and familiar with the Business, Max Chevallier plans to Put part of the Massive Space at the old Castle back into use to create a Toy Soldier and History Museum there.
There are Proposals to Create a Entrance to the Museum Area by Re Building a Medieval Entry Bridge or "Passarrelle" leading into through a re opened door in the wall, gaining access to the Museum Space and Floors.
Parking is ample at the Front and Rear of the Site, and Existing rooms and large areas at the site permit the installation of Museum Exposition Floors inside the old main part of the Castle, part of which was used until around 1970 for Agricultural Purposes.
A Viewing area where the work of casting Metal Miniatures is also proposed, where visitors to the proposed Museum may watch as the Mould tooling is prepared, and the Metal is poured (from a safe distance) into the Moulds and the actual Figures and Toy Soldiers arrive at the point of their creation.
A separate Exhibition of Alsace Lorraine through its History is also Proposed to be Displayed at the site. If future plans materialize, there is also some consideration to creating a small Tea and Coffee refreshment Cafe at or near to the site for visitors and local Villagers.
A Small Pottery Workshop is also planned at the Site , to create Complementary Products from Clay Argile. Unexpected issues surrounding greatly increased Prices , supposedley due to the war with Ukraine and Russia, have meant that for now, sadly, those Plans have had to be placed on a go slow, until the current International Position and Energy Supplies becomes more secure again.
A Figure Collector was Getting Creative Down at his Local Tavern, he had a big surprise down in the Cellar....
Empower your Creativity and Artistic Eye for Detail
Every effort is made to supply you with a perfected metal Miniature. However, a number of our rare Miniatures do have very old tooling, and sometimes, some joint lines may require removal before painting your Model. To assemble we recommend EPOXY normal setting for the heavy Horse and Animal type castings, and a more fast, Rapid Epoxy for the arms, heads and various figure bodies etc. We supply our figures and Mounted Models on a Round Wooden un varnished base plate. Occassionaly, if you are assembeling your model at home, we recommend you consider drilling a small pilot hole, to accept the Horse or Figure Pins, into the Wooden base, and in the case of very heavy Metal models, or rearing "high" Horses, that you drill carefully the foot of the casting, and insert a suitable piece of copper gauge wire, to strengthen the bond between the wooden abse and the Miniature displayed on it. Some parts, such as the separate medeval Horse Regns, require gentle bending and shapeing to fit correctly, please be careful doing this, to avoid snapping or over stressing the casting. For certain assembly sequences, we recommend a pair of Helping hands clamps to hold the "work" steady whilest the epoxy is drying. Be aware that sometimes, the heavy Horse castings or figure parts, can sometimes "slip" glide or move during the drying of the Epoxy. PLEASE CHECK YOUR WORK during the first few minutes, to ensure you apply corrective measures. NOTE A stuck bonded casting using Rapid epoxy is well nigh impossible to separate againa fterwards, so PLEASE WATCH YOUR WORK during the drying time to avoid costly errors with the castings. The original kits and figures were designed to be sodered together, use of Epoxy is a Modern world time alternative. Older more skilled Model makers may wellprefer to Soder the castings together to avoid this risk. Just pay careful attention to your modelling work, and everything will be all right Please do not end up like Mustapha the statue builder to Pharoah in this picture, who clearly failed to read or follow the assembly Instructions for the Statue....."A Thousand Apologies master....errr We could not read or understand the Translated Instructions from the Quarry....
The Haunted Pub in York, where a Roman commander and his men march through the basement along their ancient Roman road.
Observation skills can also mean looking for new and interesting sources of material.
The ye witness account of one man in York lead to some new ideas.
One of the mystery York Haunting Roman soldiers, who wore Green. Never allow the "set in Stone" opinions of so called experts to sway you from checking things yourself. the Differrence between Red and Green equated in this case to a definate dose of Historical colour Blindness on the part of certain "Hobby experts" who just refused to accept certain truths.....
What we can see or not see is influenced only by your imagination and openess to being creative. Making and assembling Model figures, or any form ofArtwork, require good steady hands or Motor skills, and a very observant pair of eyes as well. Making Models or figures is notmerely opening a box and reading the instruction paper, it is about adding life like feel and sense to a inanimate still metal object...
A Roman Castle and Watchtower stands next to a great Marsh in Germania Superior.
This Tower and the Legionary Camp that grew up there before it was built, has proved to be a great inspiration in finding new ideas for toy soldier "stories".
Research into families, and centuries old occuppations and events can be rewarding to those prepared to do the homework....
The Legend of the Mysterious Princess who got lost in the Marsh .
So it never really happenned? They never really existed? Hmmm.... In fact truth can be far stranger than fiction. Developing a hearing ear, and an observant eye for details can lead to some fascinating discoveries.....
When you are interested in History and Model making, everything around you can take on a completely differrent Dimension. Old meets new. Imagination and creativity knows no limits.
Ordinary everyday situations, can become enhanced, changed, imaginatively used as a spring board for other creative artistic work. Costume, Horse harnessement, Architecture, even hair styles, all form part of the repertoire for the figurine creator and scale Modeller.
