paints brigs for the British fleet.
Grab your snuff boxes and take a seat for a gala night of block rock'in Baroque beats as The Age of Reason's coolest musicians embark on their sell-out European Tour! Headlining are renowned flautist Frederick the Great and that unsurpassed tinkler of the ivories, C P E Bach - along with their String Quartet backing band. And if music is not your thing, there will be philosophy debates with Voltaire during the interval.
The result of another successful 100 Club project (part of Eureka's customer-driven custom miniatures service), our 18th Century musicians join our Civilian Vignettes range of multipurpose miniatures for all occasions. Sculpted by Alan Marsh.
Put together, the figures represent a slice of life at Sanssouci, Frederick the Great's summer retreat in Potsdam, around the early 1750s. The elegant, but relatively modest, Sanssouci palace and its gardens were Frederick's sanctuary away from the pressures of state and the Berlin court. There he surrounded himself with his love of music and the arts, as well as a close circle of friends and some of the greatest minds of his day. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the son of the illustrious Johann Sebastian Bach, had been taken under Frederick's wing in the late 1730s as a promising composer who was already regarded as one of the foremost clavier-players in Europe. He became a member of the royal orchestra when Frederick succeeded to the throne in 1740, and was soon promoted to the post of chamber musician where he was to enjoy the continued favor of the king for more than two decades. We can assume that he and Frederick (an accomplished flute player) did a bit of jamming together, accompanied by the wealth of musical talent hanging around the palace! Also loitering around Sanssouci was the French philosopher Voltaire who stayed there on a permanent basis (with a salary from Frederick) between 1750 and 1753. His room at Sanssouci still bears his name to this day, and he and Frederick were a familiar sight roaming the rooms and gardens debating the various issues of the day.
Although not of a military subject, we believe these 28mm figures will inspire lots of interesting ideas for games and miniature dioramas. We suspect the 'Old School' wargamers fraternity will find all sorts of useful roles for them in their 18th Century 'Imagi-nations' campaigns. If anyone needs an audience for their musicians, they might wish to consider the other 18th Century sets in our Civilian Vignettes range - which include a number of characters sculpted by Alan Marsh in the style of Hogarth's drawings and the writings of Henry Fielding. There is even a country maid tickling a happy pig. Now every 18th Century collection needs one of those!
Here are the codes and details for the new figures and some limited new release offers:
28mm 18th Century Musicians
Sculpted by Alan Marsh
Figures are sold individually unless a set is indicated. The number in parentheses denotes the number of available variants for that product code. Variants are supplied randomly, but Eureka Miniatures will always endeavor to supply a representative sample.
100CIV27 - C. E. Bach, at the clavichord (1)
100CIV28 - Frederick the Great, playing the flute, with music stand and dogs (1)
100CIV29 - 18th Century String Quartet - four-figure set, with chairs and music stands
100CIV30 - Voltaire and Frederick the Great debate the issues of the day - two-figure set
For a strictly limited time (until our next new release), you can obtain the following special offers -
THE "Der alte Fritz's Greatest Hits" DEAL
A complete set of 18th Century musicians and Voltaire - all eight figures (plus two dogs), chairs, music stands and instruments from this new release for $27.00 AUD (normally $30.00 AUD).*
THE "Please turn off your ear trumpets during the performance" DEAL
A complete 'audience' set of our 18th Century civilian character sets - 16 figures and furniture for $60.00 AUD (normally $68.00 AUD).*
THE "Everyone! Keep it down - Voltaire is trying to think!" DEAL
A combined set of everyone from the above deals - 24 musicians and civilian characters and accessories for $80.00 AUD (normally $98.00 AUD).*
* Excluding shipping (and 'Goods and Services Tax' payable by Australian customers only)
Customers in the U.S.A. or the U.K. can choose to order our figures from our representatives Eureka Miniatures U.S.A. or Fighting 15s respectively, as well as directly from us.