I remember reading someones blog a few weeks ago [ sorry for forgetting which one ] mentioning the book, Model Soldiers for the Connoisseur which is by John G Garratt, [Weidenfield and Nicholson]. This sparked an interest in what the book contained and I managed to get the book from an Amazon seller for £10.00. The book actually contains a potted history of most figure producers and collectors of that era,aka 1972,which probably wouldnt hold much interest to a person who paints Flames of War or Warhammer. However I found the book thoroughly charming and actually very informative. The book is crammed with photographs and is 240 pages of nostalgia.
It contains a potted history of many names from the wargaming past,but my favourite chapter is the authors trip to visit Brigadier Peter Young at his home in Tewksbury. I would give my back teeth to have met and talked to this man,what tales he could have told.
It was interesting to find out that Peter Young had a large range of 30mm Stadden figures,which even in 1972 were expensive. He also posessed some of the figurines of Madame des Fontaines, figures which featured in the early Military Modelling magazines, in bold bright colours. I can remember using a magnifying glass to admire the paintwork on these figures and hoping to be able to attain the painting standards of this woman, sadly I never did.
I think it would be a great idea for a new book of todays collectors and sculptors to be created and published,mind you most of todays collectors would have to smarten themselves up,to compare to the ones in this wonderful book. Anyway,this book was well worth a tenner,and of great interest.
Although I intend to stick to my Rsm figures, I was especially taken with the Hinton Hunt and Les Higgins figures.
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