Pech Hermanos / Oliver World War Two Figures we take a look at Pech Hermanos then Olivver who reissue their figures. Pech Hermanos was a very proflic company. Over the course of their history they started with lead figure before moving over to plastic. Besides the military they did western, Tarzan, animals and much more.
Pech Hermanos / Oliver World War Two Figures History
Peach Hermanos was a toy company from Spain. It was started by Jose and Manuel Pech two brothers in 1945. They started with lead figures helped by Capell who gave them some lead figure molds in 45mm.
In the mid 1950’s they changed over to plastic as other companies in Spain were doing plastic. Their first figures were made by Goma from old Capell molds. The first figures were in a rubber material. Later Pech Hermanos had figures made by Saqquez. The company continued until the 60’s due to disagreement between the brothers. The molds were purchased by Oliver who put a bigger base on the figures.
Pech Hermanos / Oliver World War Two Figures Figures
We will take a look at sample of the the Pech Hermanos / Oliver World War Two Figures. I have acquired these over the years. The first photo is three Russian soldiers. As I mention earlier These figures have the wide Oliver base. Update I mixed some other figures in oops.
Next we have three 60mm World War II Germans. I like the German soldier in steel helmet with pistol.
Here we have two British soldiers with American soldier. The British soldier kneeling firing pistol is a really dynamic pose in book.
In this photo we have a Russian officer, Jescan Japanese Soldier and Japanese firing machine gun. The figure is in rubber so it is an original Pech figure.
Final photo show Jescan American soldier painted as a black person, American soldier and British soldier. The British soldier is an original Pech.
Pech Hermanos / Oliver World War Two Figures Final Comments
When Oliver first reissued the Pech Hermanos they did them painted. They later sold them unpainted such as the French Foreign Legion. At the moment I believe they have stopped producing the military figures. Bum did reissues of some of their artillery sets along with western and pirates.
I will add some update as is one of my favorite collection and brands.
With respect please and not as matter of correction please….
First picture are Russians WW2 .
Every PH foot poses WW2 and rest are 12 poses each with the 4 artillery crew add one for each army made and 2 machine-mortar crew poses made too.
In WW2 They did US army (painted and used as marines too in green cammo).
The black soldier is original JECSAN later edition (blue helmets OR Cazcos Azules multinational force set) AKA-UN forces
It was intentional made as that as part of African UN set made by Jecsan sold often with truck or tank in late 60s early 70.The pose is indeed a Japanese from Jecsan set with machete.
However JECSAN was first Spaniard brand to introduce MARINES and US soldiers WW2set with black African painted soldiers(1 or 2 poses) in their set .
I have the entire set with then paint as that from factory and not hard to see often on sale either.
The pose next to Soviet officer with blue helmet and sword is a Jecsan brand Japanese officer used as same UN sets too
The pose in middle bottom last picture with plant in base is a Gi for the African/Italian camping sets.
They painted the US soldier set in 4 styles. Marines,Africa and two green shades for Europe theaters.
Last pose British is original early PH because oval base.
Also PECH HERMANOS did WW2 Germans,Japanese,Soviets-Russian,British 8th army , AUSTRALIAN -also sold as NEW Zealand or ANZAC and German AK 12 poses sets.
They did a different cannon ,machine gun and mortar in real scale for each army crew set and most are WW2 models in plastic with firing mechanism x cannon.
Early sets were of hard rubber as MARX ,then change to soft plastic.
The resemblance in many of the poses from PH to Jecsan in WW2 sets indicated that the artist most had work x both or just copied then.
Yet Jecsan did less WW2 sets. Only Japanese,British and Marines
PH German set is unique as only ever having a telle mine Dog and a rifle grenade firing pose .
I have most PH full sets and can supply pictures if like.
Also PH did an IBERIAN Napoleonic war set of the Spaniards and french armies made with another nicer than Reamsa Augustina Aragon set .
Part of then were posted in PW magazine not identified as far I red .
They copied some (such their knights are a mix of TIMPO and french brand poses,While Saracen are 12 unique poses.
They also did original designed King Salomon African 12 poses,explorers plus Tarzan,pirates,cowboys Indians and US cavalry double 12 poses seat each. Animals,circus ,frogmen and rare Space man -aliens that are top $$$.
PH sets mold were split acquired between INDUSTRIAS PUCHOL and Oliver.
BUM rented for short time few of the mold only and sold only 4 poses each ,this is due to fact that most Bronze PH molds sets are split in 2 to 4 poses set halves .
Terrain non regular ,Round and oval bases are original PH .
ROUND -OVAL bases mounted over rectangular base are transition take over from PH to Oliver ,it was done manual assembling during hot process.
Rectangular plain base figures are redone mold by OLIVER .
About History of PH from above link
Please note …
I’m doing this as correct translation of above link please as Spanish is my birth first language,not to correct admin or else please ,just to help and clarify .
Hope it is OK with admin.!!
What link says is as follow pretty much resumed in less words
PH started making lead Nativity ,cowboys and marching soldiers as well Spanish 1936-39 civil war action sets.
Sanquez was a original factory that Pech Hermanos first copied and elaborated their first sets from lead figures not plastic,Sanquez did not produce for PH.
PH copied from Sanquez early lead sets only.
PH had their own artist that worked for Capell before .
PH enter in late 50s with rubber figures ,then in to plastic together with Reamsa and others. In same years..
Company dissipated or close because families differences and competition with main Reamsa among others.
Best regards…
Thanks Admin for post and Erwin for additional info. Pech Hermanos made some nice looking sculptures. Pirates are my favorite but I also like the Oliver recast of the FFL. I picked up a couple of the painted FFL figures last year which I like very much.
The information about why BUM only did 4-figure reissues was interesting; due to mold cavity groupings in 2’s or 4’s. The total pirate group from PH is really nice. I wish BUM had reissued the entire set! I think I saw the entire set on a Spanish Collector’s website.
This link has drawings and photos of the PH pirates and FFL.
http://montaplex.mforos.com/1592429/7832656-pech-hermanos/?pag=4
The 4 pages at this site have quite a bit of the PH catalog and there are a lot of great sculpts in a wide variety of subjects. They also have some beautifully painted figures.
I bought the ATS reissues of the Oliver French Foreign Legion set back in the late1990s. I might get the Japanese some day if they are still available. I wish some of these other figures were reissued. The Russian officer with cap and pistol is a great figure. He reminds me very much of the sinister looking actor who played a Mexican Federale officer in Sergio Leone’s “Duck, You Sucker” and a German officer in “The Wind and the Lion”.
http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/c/c3/C96.jpg/800px-C96.jpg
Mark T., indeed it does; thanks for sharing the movie image.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0231452/?ref_=tt_cl_t7
A Frenchman, but as an actor he has a great evil German look.
The Black American looks more like a Japanese soldier from his uniform, although the slung weapon does remind me of a BAR, however it could be the Japanese light machine gun. His uniform looks identical to the Japanese officer in the earlier picture.
Anyway, I like the Brits and the Germans aren’t bad either. The German poses aren’t typical, but I like them. The rest of the various nations figures you can keep.
I’ve always liked Oliver’s FFL and WW2 Japanese – just wish the Japanese were in a smaller scale, though I can make their FFL work well enough with Conte’s guys… Some of the other poses aren’t bad either – just got to watch the scale.
Jecsan WW sets .included Japanese are smaller than PH.
I have the japanese and marines plus prisioners.
Too bad never reissued while mold still exist .But no one intersted as involve too much expenses plus adjust to new machinery.
Maybe one day ….who knows..
Best…
What’s with the FFL guy with the rifle over his head? Is he wading the massive Algerian river? Giving instructions to the helicopter to land? Doing some sort of weird punishment drills during the battle? Or, is it just a dumb pose?
Well if he wasn’t a Legionnaire would say he’s practising his “I Surrender ” pose.LOL,Apologies to any French collectors here.
I think he’d drop the rifle and raise his hands. Used rifles only dropped once.
The pose is been repeated by many PH,JECSAN and other countries makers, included running.
In my opinion is clearly surrendering just before drop weapon, same way Cherilea,Lone Star ,Marx and others made other surrendering with out ;included the very unusual and unrealistic Japanese soldier that in my opinion considering is Japanese from WW2 was a waste of pose.
My thoughts.
Best..
The Japanese did have quite a few surrender, on Luzon over 12k surrendered.
What was I thinking no one ever did a dumb pose.
LUZON-1945, over 9000 were captured while wounded ,starved or sick according to all records.
Only 274 officially surrender after Japan surrender in late august 1945.
Wile 178 continues fighting with 7 till late 1960s and last surrendering in 1970s
For me The Marx Japanese with hand back neck is complete unrealistic for after action captured of Japanese in WW2 were most were strip of clothes and show rise hands at all time .This was actually in camp training x marines/soldiers by 1943 .
He looks like a very calm well uniformed soldiers from Europe army in WW1 or before .So I see it dumb too .But I understand Marx was never historical and these as any others made before 1980s were toy soldiers x kids.
That was my personal point too.
Best
I often wonder why Marx did a surrendering Japanese pose but not a German.
Cut off the base and you have prone crawling or dead , wounded ?
I still like the idea of the guy wading through a river…. can also be submerged neck high in a pet turtle bowl. Trying to determine a final, definitive explanation of what a sculptor had in mind 50 years ago with a specific figure is kind of like interpreting Beatles’ lyrics REGARDLESS of what the Beatles themselves said:
e.g. (L)ucy in the (S)ky with (D)iamonds???????? Just a random thought…
Unless he personally gives you an explanation. Otherwise it’s like interpreting a Picasso. Not that they are fine works of art, at least not all of them. Personally, I doubt that he is surrendering, but I can’t say with any certainty. FFL surrender? That may be more unlikely than the Japanese surrendering. I suppose someone will look up every battle the FFL ever fought and come back with numbers supporting how often they surrendered or an interview with the sculptor saying exactly what he had in mind when he made that pose. No matter what though, I will always think it’s a dumb pose and out of place with the rest of the poses.
LOL!!!!!!!!!! I still like the turtle bowl conversion.
I can see him wading in between Cuff and Link.
Maybe he’s signalling, or expressing triumph? There are some old Japanese newsreels showing Japanese troops hoisting their rifles like this while shouting “Banzai!” Maybe he’s just doing the “Vive la Legion!” variant.
Each person has their own opinion on a figure. While one person will see it a waste pose. Other people can see a use for it.
I like the FFL, yes some poses are less useful than others. The WWII stuff is mostly poop. The ‘Russians’ look like Brits, nobody’s weapons look even remotely like what they are supposed to be. Some are worse than others, but personally I never thought the WWII stuff worth seeking out. Then you got the scale to deal with. OK Ed, I can’t disappoint you – here comes the FFL rifle over head pose comment….. I wouldn’t say that’s a great pose, but I could see having 9 of them set up crossing a stream in Indo-China or a flooded Wadi in North Africa. Not completely useless.
Greg ,yes ,weapons are not a strong in any Spaniard maker at all in most sets .
While they have largest poses sets and a lot dynamism in many.
On PH brand I have all full sets of 7 armies WW2 sets. The German have some nice poses with close MP38/40 and a MINE-Dog plus nice Rifle grenade launcher kneeling pose.
The artillery set sold by BUM as Italian is actually the Russian artillery set.
The cannons made in most are very realistic WW2 pieces and in true scale.
Almost all sets have a flamethrower pose and are well done. So the marine bazooka man .
The Russian were designed with odd uniform as straps boots not used in 1941 but by few units only and extra pockets in coats that were being eliminated by 1938.
The Russian by Comansi were done almost same way .
All poses with Grenade are nice as well those with rifles .Prone too.
PH soldiers uniforms most had been extracted from a mix of Spain Civil War war era designed ,if look close by artist I will think .
Jecsan brand WW2 sets are more in accord with tall 56 mm scales other brands, But they only did marines, Japanese and POW large set.
Yet Jecsan did and nice in scale Sherman and US-MACK truck, While PH-OLIVER did not do any tanks or trucks in scale or close to WW2.
Your idea in pose in FFL could well be used ,I agree.
The Marx Japanese surrendering has always seemed an unlikely pose for me, too – my uncle who fought them in World War 2 even before he finally opened up right before he died would comment on how they would choose death over surrender. But there WERE some who surrendered – as said before, they were usually stripped almost naked (or down to their loincloths) because they had a nasty habit of concealing all sorts of weapons on their bodies. A favorite tactic was to hide a hand grenade and blow themselves and as many GIs or Marines (and I have no doubt, other Allies as well) as they could thus saving face. But Marx WAS creating figures for kids and how many sets would they sell with naked Japanese prisoners. I always figured the guys were massaging a cramp in their necks or, I would place them around a suitable artillery piece (while wishing for a true Japanese gun) – after all, a squint of the eye and a little imagination and one could think of them covering their ears as the gun goes off.
As far as the weapon over the head poses? I think they were a rather mismanaged and poorly realized attempt at showing hand to hand combat. Totally impractical – not to mention deadly to the guy who tries it – but the folks who produced them either didn’t know or care or thought we wouldn’t.
I remember reading one story of a Japanese soldier happily surrendering. When they asked him why. He replied his commander said to fight to the last man. He was the last man.
there are many poses you wonder why Marx and other companies did them. We could go on for hours on that.