Poste Militaire
After spending a couple of years designing 75mm figures for Hinchliffe, Ray Lamb launched Poste Militaire in 1975. It started out with a series of 90 mm Napoleonic white metal kits and immediately set the standard. From there he also produced some very fine Samurai kits.
In August 2004, Ray Lamb and Norma Lamb decided to close the
production of their Poste Militaire line of military figures. The closure was
announced on August 12, 2004 via an email from Historex Agents in
Following the closure, most of the 110mm, 90mm, Samurai and some of the 70mm figures were re-released by Bonapartes/DF Military Figures, which are missing the painting guides and casting quality is not the same as from the Poste Miltiaire ones. Maybe DF is still casting from the old moulds. The particular ones sculpted by Derek Hansen were re-released by Elite Miniatures, which itself closed around 2010. Those figures were then re-released again by FeR Miniatures, which now cast them in resin under the Elite Classics.
In the 1980s, Poste Militaire commissioned some very talented figure sculptors and introduced the 70, 75 and 110 mm range alongside its highly regarded 90 mm figures. Some of the sculptors include Keith Durham, Mike Good, Derek Hansen and Julian Hullis.
Some of the Figures by Keith Durham
Some of the figures by Mike Good
Mike Good's Artillery Train Driver won "Best of Show" award for 1987 Euro Militaire
Mike Good's "Moscovite Rindi" figure
I had done this figure on a whim as a one off for myself. The subject is a
"Moscovite Rindi" which I read were palace guards to the Czar. They
were distinguished by their distinctive dress made from the finest materials
and all in white from head to toe. I had taken on the project as a kind of
painting challenge for myself. I thought it would be an interesting challenge
to depict all the different textural materials: silk, leather and fur all in
white. I especially looked forward to painting that satin kaftan with pearl
white paint. Despite my suggestion that it may not be a good commercial choice
for him, Ray decided to take the figure on anyway. I never did get around to
painting one.
And for years afterwords one of Ray's favorite stories to tell was about this
blasted figure and its rather "limited" paint job. Sorry Ray! And I
am forever grateful to Ray for putting faith in me and allowing me to create
figures for the best producer in the business! I am truly blessed.
Cheers!!
Mike
Derek Hansen’s Uhlan 5th Westphalian Regiment 1914 won "Best of Show" and the Class 4 Gold award for 1990 Euro Militaire
Julian Hullis’s Watching the Steppes won "Best of Show" and the Class 5 Gold award for 1991 Euro Militaire
Samurai figure and North American Indian busts by Julian Lamb
Julian Lamb Ray Lamb's son did a very fine Samurai figure in the early 1980s.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Julian began producing some of the superbly sculpted North American busts: a Pawnee, Rainy Mountain Charlie (old geezer smoking a pipe, wrapped in a trade blanket); Blood Warrior (this is the only one with a lot of native gear and it's a cracker); a Mandan in a Brit coat and top hat; and the last one was the mother and child duo titled Charlie's Woman.
The busts were re-released again in 2014 by Julian under Lamb & Flag Miniatures.
Poste Militaire also produced some very fine yew wood bases and a figure modelling vise “The Vise Squad” in 1993.
Poste Militaire - moulding, casting and white metal alloys
Poste Militaire regularly made new mould all the time, Ray would not “milk” the last "drop" out of every mould but would cast from new fresh moulds as soon as that was necessary. Poste Militaire took their time to cast properly. Cast parts were cooled down before being taken out of the mould.
The moulding process that Ray used was vulcanising rubber discs within a metal ring. The process involves building up layers of soft rubber and positioning the figure parts within this. The skill is to understand the properties of the metal used when it is to be poured (correct metal temperature is critical) so that it flows correctly into the mould when it is spun in the centrifugal casting machine and gives a clean, crisp casting. When the parts are sandwiched between the layers of rubber, the whole thing is put into a press consisting of two hot plates which reach a temperature of around 100 degrees and a pressure of 13 tonnes. Some masters don't survive this process intact, particularly if they are made of multiple materials such as metal, Milliput, etc. For example, Richard Almond used to solder all the braiding onto a hussar jacket and occasionally the solder would melt during the mould making process, so sometimes just the one mould is all that exists. Alternatives to this problem included making a cold cast version of the original master for use in the vulcanised mould but invariably resulted in a loss of detail and impacted on the perfect fit of parts. (Quotes from Alex Long)
Some had said Poste Militaire used Cadmium in their alloys. Cadmium guarantees the soundness of the alloy, precision and minimal shrinkage in volume, increased strength, and improved corrosion resistance. Other figure companies do not use it because it is highly toxic and classified as a known human carcinogen. The standard materials used for such high-detail, historical miniatures during the 1970s and 1980s were typically "white metal" alloys, which generally consist of tin, lead, and antimony or bismuth.
Links to Poste Militaire Catalogue in PDF file:
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