Arms collecting and nostalgia

corrado26 · 21st January 2025, 12:01 PM

The only firearm I can remember and which has been very impressiv for me as a youngster was the "silverrifle" of Winnetou, the chief of Apaches, written by Karl May

Jim McDougall · 21st January 2025, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corrado26

The only firearm I can remember and which has been very impressiv for me as a youngster was the "silverrifle" of Winnetou, the chief of Apaches, written by Karl May

This is a fascinating entry Udo!!! The best thing about this kind of discussion is not just sharing memories and inspirations from sources we recall as kids, but learning about things we may not have known about.
I honestly had never heard of these stories, but it explains a lot about the European fascination with the 'wild west' in the late 19th century.

I wonder what type of rifle or gun was being depicted in the illustrations, and what I could find described it as a 'double barrel' gun, yet it has the artists rendering appearing to be in the form of a Kentucky long rifle.
While not nit picking with accuracy in the historicity of the wonderful literature and movies we saw as youngsters, it is interesting to look into what models or influences might have affected writers, artists and producers of films.

Thank you for adding this! Excited to learn more on "Winnetou" !

gp · 23rd January 2025, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corrado26

The only firearm I can remember and which has been very impressiv for me as a youngster was the "silverrifle" of Winnetou, the chief of Apaches, written by Karl May

did you not see "Lederstrumpf" with Hellmut Lange.....?

or am I too old...☺☻☺

werecow · 24th January 2025, 03:01 AM

As a Dutchie, I also grew up with Floris, and Ivanhoe of course! And of course there were the three musketeers.

And I think various versions of Robin Hood instilled a moderate bow and arrow obsession in me. My sword collecting elementary school friend and I used to shoot bamboo shoots from the yard into the air randomly with his bow (it's kind of amazing we survived childhood now that I'm thinking about all the weaponry again, even if most of it was fake) - which in hindsight I think may have been some form of Indonesian traditional bow; I remember it was small but too heavy for us to fully draw, and had a quiver attached in front of the grip, kind of like the one below (but I think smaller and with a different curvature). I've just recently started dabbling in archery again.

10thRoyal · 5th February 2025, 01:30 PM

As someone born in the 90's, and I know I am going to get laughed out of here for calling this nostalgia, but I have to give some love to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. I am sorry Ralph Bakshi fans but it is the superior version.

Lord of the Rings was probably my first intro to arms and armor, and I watched those movies so many times that it's burned into my brain. And they weren't totally made up weapons either! They were semi-functional looking. And it lead me to reading a ton of Wikipedia pages on weapons and armor. And then i bought books on arms and armor. And now I'm here!

My brother asked for a chainmail hauberk for Christmas shortly after the second movie. I also received a cheap "El Cid" sword. I'm pretty sure that hauberk is the only reason my brother isn't full of holes.

And now I can watch those moviea and go "oh, I love Anglo-Saxon motifs on those swords guards". And I still love those movies.

Jim McDougall · 5th February 2025, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10thRoyal

As someone born in the 90's, and I know I am going to get laughed out of here for calling this nostalgia, but I have to give some love to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. I am sorry Ralph Bakshi fans but it is the superior version.

Lord of the Rings was probably my first intro to arms and armor, and I watched those movies so many times that it's burned into my brain. And they weren't totally made up weapons either! They were semi-functional looking. And it lead me to reading a ton of Wikipedia pages on weapons and armor. And then i bought books on arms and armor. And now I'm here!

My brother asked for a chainmail hauberk for Christmas shortly after the second movie. I also received a cheap "El Cid" sword. I'm pretty sure that hauberk is the only reason my brother isn't full of holes.

And now I can watch those moviea and go "oh, I love Anglo-Saxon motifs on those swords guards". And I still love those movies.

NOT at all 10th!!! This is about nostalgia and what things from when we were kids drove us into these arms collecting obsessions. The other thread that has been running for some time is on actual vintage arms used in movies as props. In many cases actual antique weapon forms directly influenced the fantasy weapons of these kinds of films, games and literature.
It seems like there were weapons in this category in "Dungeons and Dragons" and others.
I think most if us still watch those old movies, and smile as we look at how far we've come as we hold 'the real thing'. !!
While we study the REAL weapons, we all try to keep the magic!

Jim McDougall · 5th February 2025, 11:47 PM

Among the many old films I loved watching were the Errol Flynn swashbucklers, notably "Captain Blood" (1935).
I was captivated by the amazing cup hilt rapiers!! and dashing sword fights.
Years later I took fencing for a short time, and much of the course had to do with 'stage combat'. I recall my dad as I told him I was taking this...."GREAT Jim! something you can always use!" he groused.

Naturally the cost of a genuine rapier was pretty far out of reach, but one day through amazing luck, I was able to get one! The Spanish cup hilt c. 1650s and I had literally found my way back to those wonderful films as I held it!
I would have not made it as a pirate...........who cares about doubloons and treasure? check out this cuphilt!

While rewatching this and other pirate movies of those times, technically many of the swords in the scenes were not cuphilts, but close enough for a wide eyed kid, and some scenes DID have the distinctive cuphilts.

Just added a letter from movie studio official re: Errol Flynns rapier used in the movie "Against All Flags"......found this in a post by our late colleague Fernando, who truly knew these weapons. A rapier thread came to life with his input.

leicanthrope · 9th March 2025, 05:08 AM

Nowhere near as far back as most, but I ended up with a number of firearms as a direct result of Red Dead Redemption 2. (I'm normally pretty focused on WWI-WWII stuff.)

21st January 2025, 12:01 PM	#1
corrado26 Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Black Forest, Germany Posts: 1,231	The only firearm I can remember and which has been very impressiv for me as a youngster was the "silverrifle" of Winnetou, the chief of Apaches, written by Karl May Attached Images

24th January 2025, 03:01 AM	#4
werecow Member Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Leiden, NL Posts: 565	As a Dutchie, I also grew up with Floris, and Ivanhoe of course! And of course there were the three musketeers. And I think various versions of Robin Hood instilled a moderate bow and arrow obsession in me. My sword collecting elementary school friend and I used to shoot bamboo shoots from the yard into the air randomly with his bow (it's kind of amazing we survived childhood now that I'm thinking about all the weaponry again, even if most of it was fake) - which in hindsight I think may have been some form of Indonesian traditional bow; I remember it was small but too heavy for us to fully draw, and had a quiver attached in front of the grip, kind of like the one below (but I think smaller and with a different curvature). I've just recently started dabbling in archery again. Attached Images

5th February 2025, 11:47 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	Captain Blood Among the many old films I loved watching were the Errol Flynn swashbucklers, notably "Captain Blood" (1935). I was captivated by the amazing cup hilt rapiers!! and dashing sword fights. Years later I took fencing for a short time, and much of the course had to do with 'stage combat'. I recall my dad as I told him I was taking this...."GREAT Jim! something you can always use!" he groused. Naturally the cost of a genuine rapier was pretty far out of reach, but one day through amazing luck, I was able to get one! The Spanish cup hilt c. 1650s and I had literally found my way back to those wonderful films as I held it! I would have not made it as a pirate...........who cares about doubloons and treasure? check out this cuphilt! While rewatching this and other pirate movies of those times, technically many of the swords in the scenes were not cuphilts, but close enough for a wide eyed kid, and some scenes DID have the distinctive cuphilts. Just added a letter from movie studio official re: Errol Flynns rapier used in the movie "Against All Flags"......found this in a post by our late colleague Fernando, who truly knew these weapons. A rapier thread came to life with his input. Attached Images Last edited by Jim McDougall; 6th February 2025 at 06:28 PM.

5th February 2025, 01:30 PM	#5
10thRoyal Member Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 82	As someone born in the 90's, and I know I am going to get laughed out of here for calling this nostalgia, but I have to give some love to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. I am sorry Ralph Bakshi fans but it is the superior version. Lord of the Rings was probably my first intro to arms and armor, and I watched those movies so many times that it's burned into my brain. And they weren't totally made up weapons either! They were semi-functional looking. And it lead me to reading a ton of Wikipedia pages on weapons and armor. And then i bought books on arms and armor. And now I'm here! My brother asked for a chainmail hauberk for Christmas shortly after the second movie. I also received a cheap "El Cid" sword. I'm pretty sure that hauberk is the only reason my brother isn't full of holes. And now I can watch those moviea and go "oh, I love Anglo-Saxon motifs on those swords guards". And I still love those movies.

9th March 2025, 05:08 AM	#8
leicanthrope Member Join Date: Mar 2025 Location: Georgia Posts: 6	Nowhere near as far back as most, but I ended up with a number of firearms as a direct result of Red Dead Redemption 2. (I'm normally pretty focused on WWI-WWII stuff.)