Sold As-is | 1930-50s | Elastolin | Wild West set | 38pc | defective

As-Is | Vintage Elastolin Composition Wild West Set – 38 Pieces – Cowboys, Native American Figures, Horses & Scenery

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Era and identification :

Estimated production period: 1930s–1950s.

Vintage Elastolin Wild West figure and scenery collection, manufactured by the German toy company O&M Hausser.

38 pieces in total, including Native American figures, cowboys/frontiersmen, horses and larger scenery pieces.

These are earlier composition / Masse Elastolin figures, from the period before the company moved extensively into plastic figure production.

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Material :

Painted composition / Masse material with internal metal-wire reinforcement.

Metal details are used for weapons and other projecting elements.

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Design :

A large and visually impressive Elastolin Western collection with a particularly broad mixture of characters and scenery.

The figures appear in numerous action poses: mounted riders, riflemen, archers, musicians, seated figures, standing figures and characters wearing elaborate feathered headdresses. Several horses are included, allowing different mounted scenes to be arranged.

The scenery is an especially attractive part of the group. It includes a log-cabin scene with a large tree, a tipi, tall painted totem pole, campfire scene and rocky landscape element. Together with the figures and horses, these pieces make it possible to arrange the collection as a complete miniature Western scene rather than simply displaying isolated figures.

The original painted decoration survives extensively across the collection, with strong reds, blues, greens, yellows and earth tones. Age, surface wear and paint loss have created the unmistakable appearance associated with old composition toys.

The figures shown on the horses were placed there for presentation. With the exception of one, the figures can be removed from the horses.

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Condition and wear :

Strictly sold as-is.

This is an old collection with substantial age-related wear and various damages.

Several pieces have missing or broken components. A few figures are missing heads and legs or other body. Other examples show broken or missing weapons and accessories, cracks, chips, paint loss, surface wear and exposed internal metal wire.

The scenery pieces also have various areas of damage and wear.

Despite the damage, the scenery and many of the figures still retain their recognizable original forms and painted details, making the collection very attractive as an aged display group.

The horses and riders have not been matched as guaranteed original combinations. Apart from one mounted example, the riders shown in the photographs were simply placed on the horses for presentation and can be removed.

From the second photograph onward, a maximum of five pieces are shown in each photograph so that the individual figures and their condition can be inspected more clearly.

All 38 pieces are sold together exactly as shown.

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History :

Elastolin was the celebrated figure brand of the German manufacturer O&M Hausser, founded by brothers Otto and Max Hausser in the early twentieth century. The company became one of Germany’s major producers of miniature figures and developed an enormous catalogue ranging from soldiers and historical subjects to animals, knights and Wild West characters.

The early Elastolin figures are particularly recognizable for their composition construction, commonly called Masse by German collectors. Rather than being molded entirely from plastic, the figures were produced from a composite material formed around an internal wire armature and subsequently painted. This construction allowed Hausser to create remarkably animated poses, but it also explains why surviving examples frequently develop cracking, material loss and exposed wire after many decades. Several damaged figures in this collection reveal that internal construction directly.

Wild West subjects became an important part of German popular culture during the twentieth century. Germany already had a remarkable fascination with the American frontier through adventure literature, most famously the novels of Karl May, whose stories helped establish an enduring fictional image of the West for German-speaking audiences.

Elastolin transformed that fascination into miniature form. The company produced not only cowboys and Native American characters but horses, tipis, cabins, campfires, totem poles and other accessories, allowing children to construct elaborate Western scenes. The extensive scenery represented in this collection is a particularly good illustration of that approach.

Today, surviving composition Elastolin pieces are collected both as antique toys and as examples of early German figure manufacture. Complete pristine examples naturally occupy a different collecting category, but worn collections such as this one have their own character: broken weapons, exposed wire, faded paint and decades of handling make the age and construction of the objects immediately apparent.

With 38 pieces including figures, horses and substantial scenery, this is still a wonderfully evocative old Elastolin group despite its numerous imperfections.

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Important vintage note :

This is a vintage second-hand item. Minor imperfections, slight color differences, light wear, and variations due to screen settings are natural and expected with age. These characteristics are part of the item’s history and authenticity. Post-purchase discount requests based on minor vintage traits will not be accepted. If you are looking for a perfect, mint condition item, please avoid this.

2LW-26H4