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Four Feathers Toy Soldiers - ‘Towing the Navy’
Review taken from 'New Releases Part 1'
Four Feathers, one of the Argentinean based producers, continued to expand rapidly during 2010 with the introduction of new sets on a monthly basis.
The latest set I have got my hands on serves to demonstrate the company’s desire to give the collector the opportunity to acquire figures and sets that are out of the ordinary. ‘Towing the Navy’ is no exception as it features an elephant waist deep in the river being encouraged to tow a British naval boat out of difficulties due to an engine failure. As with a number of previous sets from Four Feathers, this set draws on possible real life experiences at the time for the composition of subjects and figures.
A patrol boat of the Royal Navy armed with a machinegun has lost engine power and all the professional skills of the crew cannot get it going again as it starts to drift dangerously towards the river bank. The three sailors wear the distinctive white trousers and Navy Blue shirts with bibs attached, so typical of the tropical uniform issued during the period and they are all protected from the strong equatorial sun by large round straw hats. Meanwhile the officer in his very elegant Navy Blue suit realizes that the steel and copper steam boiler is not enough to get the boat out of this situation, and so he decides that the forces of nature should be employed and calls on elephant power to save the day!
Jaabir, a very experienced mahout is summoned with his powerful elephant Ganapathy. He puts the elephant to work immediately and in his first try gets Ganapathy to successfully tow the boat away from the bank and to safety. In a neat extra touch, a young friend of Jaabir and Ganapathy who accompanied them to see their efforts runs excitedly near the shore celebrating their success.
This is a beautifully sculpted set and truly epitomizes India at the time of the Empire. The same vibrant colour palette so successfully employed by Beau Geste, most notably in their Durbar series of figures, is again to the fore with this set, which is not surprising as Four Feathers utilize the same painters in the production of their sets. There is a real sense of movement throughout the piece as the elephant takes the strain on the tow rope and starts to get the naval gun boat on the move again. I also particularly like the interlocking bases of the two pieces which make up the complete set, these add to the overall appearance when displayed and keep the terrain and figures on an even keel! (No pun intended). The set is priced at $545 plus the usual post and packing charges and while some might consider it to be on the expensive side I am sure that for what you are getting it does represent a good investment and value for money.
Date Published Sun, 01/30/2011 - 11:18
Author: Martin Ainscough
Contact
Beau Geste Toy Soldiers
Pico 2021 – (1429)
Buenos Aires
Argentina
Tel: (541) 4702 9394
www.beau-geste.com
Worldwide Mail order:
Treegfrog Treasures
248 Sandstone Dr. NW
Eyota
MN 55934
USA
Tel +1 866 394 2418
www.treefrogtreasures.com
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MAX_ALLOWED value expected (missing)