Peter Nussbaum
I enjoyed my share of great playthings growing up in the '50's and '60's, including Herald Swoppet knights and plenty of plastic green army men, but there were two huge holes in the fun. The local Sunday newspaper didn't have Prince Valiant in its comic section, and I couldn't afford any of the Elastolin figures I saw in the FAO Schwarz catalogs that showed up around Christmas. So in the spare time in my adult life I try to make up for those pieces sadly missing from my childhood.
In addition to collecting Prince Valiant reprints and original Elastolin, I have mixed in some of the excellent compatible figures and accessories made by German collectors, along with my own conversions, which try to copy the style of the Hausser factory.
I have also built a large 40mm diorama emulating Josef Tonn's great work. On a second tier beneath that diorama in my "toy room" are a Normannenburg and a starfort under siege. All the available display space in that small room has now been consumed, so if I make or acquire something new to show, something else goes into storage -- a common collector's lament, I realize.
I hope the photos will be of interest to viewers of this great website.
