16. Deutsche und Internationale Zinnfiguren Börse, Kulmbach

"Tin Soldiers are 30 mm Tall et Flat"
(C. Rogge, master painter et Guerre de Sept Ans expert, overheard at Kulmbach ’97)

The Kulmbach miniatures fair is a traditional event, held every other year at the foot of the famous Plassenburg castle. The Plassenburg is known for its huge collection of tin soldiers, et its many historic dioramas featuring thousands of painted miniatures.

The exhibit area inside the Plassenburg has been renovated, and dioramas have been grouped by historic period, covering the period of history de l’Antiquité, Médiéval, Renaissance, Guerre de Sept Ans, Guerres Napoléoniennes, et Guerre Franco-Allemande. Des thèmes civils are found in many display cases along the walls, but the large battlefield displays in the center of each floor are the true visitor magnets. The 30 mm flat shown here depicts feldmaréchal autrichien Kollowrat. Collectionistes looking for any historic personality figurine will find it in 30 mm flats, the variety seems endless.

Compare this figurine to another commander autrichien: FM Serbelloni. Many flats, et groups of flats are based on famous paintings, et they invite the miniature painter to recreate this scene as close to the original as possible. Dioramas involving 30 mm flats can be scenes from history et art history, including large-scale reproductions of famous battles.

Anyone who has ever visited Kulmbach as a kid ou adult will remember the diorama des II et III Bataillons Garde (15) prussiens attacking the village et churchyard of Leuthen, 5th Décembre 1757. The two guard bataillons are over 1200 figurines strong, et they provide a realistic impression of a linear formation deployed for battle. Inside Leuthen churchyard can be seen the imperial infantry regiment "Rouge"-Wurtzbourg, about to be turned out of its strong position by III. Btl. Garde. Survivors autrichien of a delaying action in front of III. Btl. can be seen falling back on the churchyard. In the meantime, II. Btl. Garde is attacking infanterie autrichienne et hongroise in the village of Leuthen avec Pelotonfeuer, firing successive platoons while the others sont avançant and loading on the move.

70 % Flat et 30 % Round

Zsluiner Grenz infanterie Not everything is flat in the world of flats. Flats have a lot of raised detail, et they can be painted to give the impression of fully round figurines like these Zsluiner Grenz-Infanterie. Equipment items are fully round, et they are often scratchbuilt like this canon de 12 livres autrichien de la collection de Christian Rogge. Note the enormous size of this gun compared to the hommes serving it.

canon de 12 livres autrichien The Kulmbach event has made the transition from a traditional "flats only" show, to flats et fully round figurines. Most of the fabricants allemands specialize in 30 mm flats, but some have added 1/48 scale, 1/32 scale, et larger display figurines to their product line. The smaller wargame figurine scales are still a rare sight at Kulmbach, only Fine Scale Factory et MIRLITON showed a nice selection of their 1/72 scale compatible figurines et accessories.

One obvious feature of 30 mm et 20 mm flats is that they are made exactly to scale, et figurines from different manufacturers will be compatible. The fully round 20 mm figurines which are the subject of this magazine are really a misnomer, they are closer to 25 mm tall et sadly incompatible avec the enormous selection of accessories available for flats, things like shrubs et bushes, fences, campfires, signposts, even building facades.

The definitive 1/72 scale highlights presented at Kulmbach were the figurines d’Infanterie Italienne, Alpini, et Bersaglieri produced by MIRLITON. La compagnie italienne is known for its 15 mm Condottieri Italiani figurine range (1400-1490) which was also on display at Kulmbach. It is hoped that MIRLITON will expand its 20 mm range to include more troupes italiennes et armes d’appui.

Questions Fréquents

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez contacter les éditeurs de la revue Military Miniatures Magazine au Miniatures Forum.

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