Gottstein - Aztecs - 30mm

[Hannibal]

Considering the details of these flats, it will be quiet a challenge to paint them, as Aztecs are quiet colourful !!


Looks like the recent Louis XIV Carroussel managed by Eric Talmant !!!

[marko]

After a three month journey - among other things COVID seems to have pushed the US Postal service back 20 years - I received a package yesterday from Berliner Zinnfiguren yesterday of which these were a part.  I was struck by the quality of the castings throughout - they are really quite beautiful, particularly given the age of the molds.


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This was one of 3 sets all of which were flawless.  (Some find Berliner a bit pricey but, the quality of the product is always top notch!)


mark 

[Jean_Paul]

Thanks MARCO ! 

[marko]

Another Gottstein set saved by the Leipzig Collectors Society and available from Berliner Zinnfiguren.  (They sell the Conquistador portion of this set separately - both at a premium.)

The Aztec nation is well served in the flat community with this set being one of the nicest - depicting a variety of warriors in traditional costume, a blood sacrifice and some of Cortes's indian allies. 

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The full set can be seen here in the old Krog catalog:
http://intflatfigures.org/BFFS/History/Krog/index.html

In doing some research for this and hopefully some articles for the Journal one finds the time period represeted by Gottstein/Neckel/Ochel/Maier most notably.  There are a number of figures pulled directly from drawings by Anton Hoffman which apparently are not always entirely based on accuracy which has resulted in Aztecs bearing large fighting axes and some nasty looking sword/clubs for which apparently there is no evidence from archaeology. 

I have a suspicion these have a similar time period when they were edited or at least  a common genealogy as they share some designers and engravers.  (Many of the most famous Egyptian sets all are taken directly from a National Geographic article illustrating the time period.  A number of Neckel/Otto's  figures are based on illustrations from the article.)

A truly interesting time period well served by recent scholarship which I am finding quite fascinating.  The Aztec empire of this time had a captal city of 90,000 residents when London was 40,000+ and Paris 60,000+ and were conquered by a band of under 300 Conquistadors who took advantage of a hugely unlikely set of circumstances that all coincided at the same time to the disadvantage of the Aztecs.

Bistulfi offers this rendition from his site which also shows a nice selection of Ochel's Conquistadors - http://www.zinnfiguren-bistulfi.com/galleria/rinascimento.html


(Similar to Eric Talmant, Gianpaolo Bistulfi is a very pleasant, helpful fellow to correspond with and seems to have beautifully painted every flat figure ever produced!)


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mark