mini Minesweeper stickpin

[Norm F]

Hello all,

This just arrived today, purchased from a fellow WAF member (many thanks!). I really like the detail on this very small 16 mm minesweeper stickpin, seen here blown up considerably (no pun intended).

Haven't found a lot of info about them.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

more details

Here are obliques, and a view of the pin. Notice the sheer marks on the edges.

[Norm F]

others?

A search of the forum garners very few postings of mini-minesweepers. I found 2 postings of 9 mm and 2 postings of 16 mm. For the 16 mm size specifically I see only these two:
Bob Hritz's http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...14&postcount=1
David Kane's http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...light=stickpin

Interestingly both of those previously posted seem to be by the same maker, which is different from mine.
Any thoughts about the makers of these? Probably hard to compare to features of the full-size versions...

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

compared with Deumer?

Just for fun, I went through the Minesweeper database thread and compared my mini with the various full-sized makers.
Interestingly enough, more so than any of the other pics, quite a striking similarity to the photo of Tim Ball's horizontal pin Deumer.
Hm. Food for thought.

[Norm F]

And here's a shot comparing the mini to my unmarked zinc Deumer.

So far I'm aware of 3 or 4 makers of the 16 mm. Mine, the unmarked version mentioned before that Bob Hritz has, a marked L/21 and a blurry marked L/15 (can't tell if it's different from the other 3)

Anyone have any 16 mm minesweeper stickpins to post, either marked or unmarked?

Best regards,
---Norm

[JustinG]

The detailing in that pin Minesweeper is amazing.

Regards,
JustinG

[Norm F]

anyone?

So does anyone have any other 16 mm Minesweeper stickpins to post...?

Cheers.
---Norm

[Andy B.]

Here is mine (unmarked).....

[Andy B.]

and the reverse.

I thought your mini did favor the unmarked Deumer. Nice work.

Andy

[Norm F]

Beautiful pin, Andy.
Apparently a different maker. Do you by any chance have a higher resolution blowup on which we could do a similar comparison?
Best regards,
---Norm

[Andy B.]

Thanks Norm, I will try and rescan it, but it will have to be tomorrow. Turning in now (sorry).
Nice thread. Keep the minis coming

[Norm F]

Souval perhaps?

Hey Andy, even at this resolution I think your mini, unlike mine, is either a Rudolf Souval or a WH -- probably a Rudolf Souval would be a more common maker. A higher resolution scan may be helpful but you can already see similarities in the eagle and in the characteristic flat area on the water spout seen in the full-size badges.
(By the way, although WH is often said to be Walter & Heinlein of Gablonz, I suspect it may actually be W. Hobacher from Vienna. This makes sense to me because of the close similarity between WH and RS in the cut of their minesweepers, RS being also from Vienna. For what it's worth, Jamie Cross said in his Infantry Assault Badge article that an original WH Assault badge turned up in a Hobacher Wien envelope. Hard to say of course.)

Here's a blowup of your mini atop of a fullsized WH from the database thread and an RS from Collector's Guild.

[Steve P]

Nice minis here guys!

[Andy B.]

Norm, I think you could be right. Sorry for the delay in the scan, been slammed at work and now packing for a weekend trip.
However, my good friend Peter J. sent these to be posted for your enjoyment. He is one of the more knowledgable mini collectors I know (and all around good egg)

Andy

[Norm F]

Norm, I think you could be right. Sorry for the delay in the scan, been slammed at work and now packing for a weekend trip.
However, my good friend Peter J. sent these to be posted for your enjoyment. He is one of the more knowledgable mini collectors I know (and all around good egg)

Andy

Please thank Peter J. for me for contributing his photo. His mini on the right of his photo is clearly the same maker as the one posted by David Kane in 2004
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...light=stickpin

It's interesting that Peter's 2 mini's side by side look so much alike in many ways and yet differ in others. I wonder about the rougher one on the left --- at first I thought they're the same maker but have been trimmed down in different ways - for example the trimming of the top waves to the right of the water spout creating different levels there. But then, the detail is so poor on that one and there's an odd ridge on the inner edge of the reverse which made me wonder if it was a cast copy. I'd like to know what Peter makes of that.

Anyway, to continue our attempts to match minis with similar full-sized minesweepers, for this one I pick Tim Ball's B.H. Mayer badge from the reference thread. It's a bit of a stretch but I was drawn to the deep cut nature of the spout and oak leaves, the eagle's knees and, most compellingly, the wave detail shown with the arrows.
These comparisons are all speculation of course, but they are quite fun and interesting.

Best regards.
---Norm

Peter's mini on the left and Tim Ball's fullsized B. H. Mayer on the right, from the reference thread.