Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow has been found. Last year our very good friend Erwin Sell caused some controversy when he stated that he had in his collection a Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow. This statement sent shock waves as people had never heard of this pose before. 

People cited our very good friend Peter Evans’ Roman Special. This booklet had been done for Plastic Warrior. This 46 page opus had covered various Roman figures done around the world.  The people felt it could not exists because Peter had not seen it or Barrie Blood another premier collector .

Sadly at the time Erwin could not find  the figure. So at the time he could prove the naysayers were wrong.

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow the Figure

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

Well this past weekend Erwin found the figure. It had been in a box marked Indians. When he pulled a mounted Indian from the box the mounted Roman came with it. Erwin also found other figures in the set.

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

The mounted Roman came another mounted Roman which is based Britains mounted Trojan general. The foot figures are copies of the Britains Trojan foot figures  as well. Those poses are with spear and shield and sword and shield.

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

The Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow is a copy of the Trojan firing bow.  The company that made this version of the pose did some major changes. First they gave a longer skirt and moved the quiver.  Next they changed the legs so it could be a  mounted figure.

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

Here in this photo you can see the legs of the mounted figure. I feel they used the legs from the Trojan general with the standard.

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow Final Thoughts

Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

Now that the figure has been found why have other collectors not seen this figure?  The answer may that the figure was not distributed in North America and Europe.  I believe Erwin got this figure when he was in Cuba. 

I know some people will say that the figure is a Trojan.  Many of the copies of the Britains Trojan figures were sold as Romans.

This is the interesting thing of our hobby. New figures are being found all the time.  Years ago at the last Plastic Warrior show I bought a Marx Jeep from our very good friend Barrie Blood.  In the box with jeep was hard plastic figure I had never seen.  I do not believe it was sold in the United States.  If it was it had a limited market like the large Marx Tom and Jerry figures I found.

So there are still figures to be discover. Before we say they do be not exist we must step back  and wait to see if they do or not.  We have a right to be skeptical as the world has made us so.

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34 Responses to Hong Kong Mounted Roman Firing Bow

  1. Don Perkins says:

    How is it determined the figure isn’t a Trojan?

    • admin says:

      I mention in the post that the Hong Kong Company very likely promoted the figures as Romans. The Britains Trojans were sold by Hong Kong companies as Roman figuring it would sell better. Giant in their Roman figures mixed Marx Romans and Britains Trojans as Romans. Looking at internet, I find any information the Trojans had mounted cavalry with bows.

      • erwin says:

        No use of mounted bowman in troy is till now historical accurate correct.
        No found other that ARCHERS in chariots, they use east Asian mercenaries cavalry previous the war with Greece. During Homer/others translated verse, not word is mention of such either.
        But the pose is cool I guess to be use x any if not that historical I guess or in my case as post era regular Greek mounted as well others.
        The position of the quiver is well done and clever I guess.

  2. Anth says:

    I’m going to say it. that is a mounted Trojan!

  3. Erwin says:

    Don.They were original sold as such by Britain/Herald.
    But HK copies of most greeks,roman else figures from any original company usually are labeled as Romans ,gladiators or warriors,some times call knights too.
    The original poses resemble classic era Greek more than Trojans by type or armor.
    One or two have romans type mix armor design.
    The original Marx 60 mm are not quite all romans and some are gradiators by armor depicted.
    The above poses are mix extrated from Herald changing body design .In other previews of my posting showed the one mix w MARX and Herald combined not common poses.
    There a lot copies.Some exact,others mixing poses from different that made then more unique.
    Herald original poses were also copied in HK umpainted verssion ,blue,green ,grey,yellow as far I had seen and recall.
    Best

  4. Wayne W says:

    In my opinion you’re dealing with two different sets of reality here – the historical and the hobby. Historically, the guy looks to me like Classical Greek or Trojan; but if the company that produced the figure(s) advertised them as Romans then for hobby accuracy you need to call it/them HK Romans – it wouldn’t be the first time a company got it wrong, either accidentally or on purpose figuring the kids wouldn’t care – and really, most of us didn’t at the time; we gobbled them up and played the heck out of them. I’ve mentioned before I remember using kepi’d ACW guys as Shako’d Mexicans in my Alamo dioramas. And if there weren’t so many usable Mexican poses available I might find myself doing the same today.

    • erwin says:

      HK often change name, before I post crescent knights HK copies converted as Romans and sold as such by HK.
      HK often did this as was producing copies or base in during or around same era British manufacture had already produced original sets to avoid conflict or license issues label the set as such or in ignorant way as well too.
      I had seen knights sets sold as romans as too.
      Lone Star Africans warriors were sold as Indians too .
      In US companies we had same issues too.
      Marx 60 mm were original label in boxes as romans soldiers or legionaries wile some are clear gladiator poses.
      Ideal revolutionary mix set were sold as revolution war, independence and Indian wars set too wile the figures represent three different eras as some have tricorn hat and wig,other 1812 uniform, other frontiersman clothing.
      Is just an not important thing I guess in my opinion.
      They should be name in hobby as what they were sold for by manufactures even though we know the correct name/brand just x the sake of identification set/figure purpose.
      The use is to the player like in my opinion.

    • admin says:

      Yes it was easier to get away with the non accuracy back then.

  5. ed borris says:

    Heck, when I was a kid the scale of figures didn’t matter much neither did the historical era’s. One of my favorite battles I used to create had every pioneer type guy along with the Rin Tin Tin cavalry against a combined force of Civil War guys, Rev War guys, cowboys and Indians. Of course since the pioneers and Cavalry were vastly out numbered they would defend a fort I’d make using blocks, the Auburn Cabin, the Ideal Mountie post and the Roy Rogers cabin. All those differences never stopped me from having a good time.

  6. Erwin says:

    I used my marx 60 mm skin indians x tartas or huns against my medieval,often attaching milk old glass bottles tap as shield and making helmets out plants seed… …

    • Greg Liska says:

      This is quite a find and I’m calling him a Greek, mostly because of the helmet, although the armor looks more Roman. I’m not buying Trojan for his nationality at all. Doesn’t look like what we know of their gear. We are pretty sure that the Trojans were Hellenic people, though. So, one could generalize that calling him Greek works for both. Another nit-picky moment brought to you by Greg Liska

      Side note – Erwin, if you EVER want to sell those guys, let me know. Also, was the pile of HK copy Greeks shown on another thread the same I picked up on Ebay or was another treasure trove discovered?

      • admin says:

        He is really a Greek, but the company that made and sold him put him as a Roman. Not accurate but it accomplish what they wanted.

        • Greg Liska says:

          Yup, I get it. I’m just itching to get my hands on one and paint him bronze to go with my others. Oh, yes.

      • Erwin says:

        Greg.
        Sorry ,not the mounted and others are not x sale and now more after took me long dig them out and so much skeptisism by few I rather kept them.
        I sold two lots of the other variant no long ago.I think u bough one.

        Others are from old sale I did
        about two years agot.I kept only one each color as samples.
        They were made in HK I think from 80s and are less common compered w painted early HK copies as far I had find out.

  7. ed borris says:

    Speaking of using different object to make figures seem more plausible. Today as I was going to make coffee and I reached in to grab a coffee filter, the filter escaped my grasp and fell upside down to the floor. Or, rather if fluttered much like a parachute. As that happened it occurred to me that if I was a kid and they had coffee filters back then I would have used them as parachutes for my toy soldiers. With a little work it seems like a workable plan.

    • Andy says:

      I can remember tying toy soldiers to big handkerchiefs at four corners, throwing them in the air or dropping them from the upstairs porch and watching them float down as the “chute” opened up. Coffee filter brought back this long forgotten memory!

      • Andy says:

        I guess ANY piece of cloth or even maybe plastic bags would work. I’d go out & try it, but what would the neighbors think? It would be like the Nationwide commercial..

    • Erwin says:

      Intersting ,I will try that as I live in the hills.Will have start w cheap army guys in case get lost w our gusty wind here of course.
      Looks like fun…

  8. Len Hardt says:

    About this time of the hot summer, we would collect empty cicada shells (Ed, you being a Chicagoan may know what I’m talking about) and create an army of horrifying, demonic creatures. Pitted against this horde of evil was a small unit of Marx 1st version, Prince Valiant knights. What was so cool about these battles was that the plastic swords and lances could actually pierce the cicada shells. When the battle was over, the ‘desert’ sand was strewn with crumbles and crumbles of the vile, evil remains. Oh what fun we made on summer, no air conditioning days!

  9. ed borris says:

    Len,

    Oh yeah, I know Cicadas, where I lived in the city we never got hit too bad with them. However, the forrest preserves and the Lake by Evanston there were millions of them. Those beady little red eyes were everywhere. Generall every summer though there would be a few shells clinging to the tree in front of my house. Sometimes one that was still occipied would still be climbing the tree.

  10. ed borris says:

    Andy,

    Yeah , that floating coffee filter brought back similar memories to me. What made this remind me is the coffee filters I buy have folds that reminded me of the sticthing on parachutes.

    It also reminded me of Riverview, a now defunct amuesement park within in the Chicago borders. It thad a huge parachute ride, I mean it had to be 150 feet tall or it seemed that way, you could see it looming there from blocks away. The kind of ride that wouldn’t fly today you sat on a little metal bar chained in somewhat and they would just hoist you up and let you drop.

    • Andy says:

      Ed, painted coffee filters and either thread or very fine wire sound like a good conversion project for a US Army Special Forces Airborne Division!! I don’t do military, but can picture little GIs with war painted faces jumping from Marx helicopters. Maybe Greg could pull this off???????????

      • Andy says:

        BOY!!! The forum with you guys helps me to be 8 years old again!!!

      • Greg Liska says:

        OK, but Greg has to be a downer on this. Army Special Forces are what you guys call ‘Green Berets’. They are organized into Groups. If all the groups got together in one spot, it would not be big enough to be a division. An Airborne Division (of which we only have one – 82nd- ) wears a maroon beret. Neither of us wears such headgear in the field. But yes, before you can go SF, you need to be Airborne. Actually, you need to be a Sergeant or a Captain before you can get in, too (waiverable to promotable status). OK, I’ve had my moment. Thank you.

    • Wayne W says:

      Ed, there are three towers like that at Ft Benning today – based off a similar ride at the 1938 (I think) World’s Fair. Two of them are used in actual Airborne Training to those lucky classes that get the chance these days (now it’s hit or miss – when I went through at least one satisfactory drop was mandatory).

      What they do now is haul you to the top of the 250 foot towers strapped in to an open parachute; once you are at the top and signal you are prepared (I don’t know if you are ever ready) the release you and you float to the ground under the “gentle” guidance of an Airborne instructor (Blackhat) on the ground giving instructions through a bullhorn.

      When I went through there was barely a place on Main Post Ft Benning you couldn’t see the Towers and knowing that was the last step before actually jumping was kind of intimidating as they hovered above you as you went in and out of your barracks. But the ride? Awesome!

      We had a Staff Sergeant going through with us when I went through. He summed it up after our first drop, “I’m never going back to sex!”

      • Greg Liska says:

        One of the little phrases that go around is: ”It’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on”. When I went through, the wind didn’t cooperate in my Tower Week. Only 1 guy got to do a landing from the 250 foot tower. Wayne, you MUST know where ol’ Building Snore is (Bld 4). We’re sandwhiched between Ground Week Tng site and Tower Week Tng site. I step out for a break and I can hear the commands…and punishments, “Beat your boots, Airborne. Beat ’em ’til I get tired”. Warms my heart.

  11. ed borris says:

    Well, 8 sure the heck beats being 65.

  12. ed borris says:

    Do they sail with the mighty Swiss Navy?

  13. ed borris says:

    A couple months ago I found this 40mm Indian in a lot of figures we purchased. He was odd looking , but kind of cool so I kept him. Yesterday I found out he was one of the figures from Britains Mini Sets made for it is believed one year , 1969. Until yesterday I never knew Britains made mini sets. Even more amazing is I found one figure in a large lot of junk.

  14. ed borris says:

    At least you were strapped into something, at Riverview you sat on a bar the same thickness as a chin up bar with the chain that would go between your legs chaining you in more or less. Didn’t look safe to me, of course at Riverview few things were safe. It basically closed besides the fact is was in shambles there were quite a few racial brawls. I remember going up the first typical hill of a rollercoaster and looking out my right and seeing a worker up about 70 feet in the air hammering nails into the roller coaster beams. A thrill a minute, had to be the last amusement park I ever saw with a freak show too. I’ll never forget the Alligator Lady.

  15. ed borris says:

    I underestimated:

    The Pair-O-Chutes was, in my estimation, one of the best attractions in Riverview Park, second only to the Bobs. The ride featured a high steel tower from which park visitors were parachuted approximately 180 feet to the midway below. A maximum of six parachutes could be run at a time, each of which held two persons, hence the “pair” in Pair-O-Chutes. From the tower arms, nearly 200 feet above,

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