American Frontier Miniatures website: www.american-frontier-miniatures.com source of information on the miniature guns of the Hunzinger Collection and some more.
Armstrong, Robin: British miniature gun artist who specialized in 1:3 scale pistols, muskets and rifles with flintlock and percussion ignition manufactured during the 18th and 19th century by British and U.S. armories and gun makers. A few years ago he passed away.
The assortment comprises the famous British Brown Bess musket with bayonet, a Tower Sea Service or Scottish all metal flintlock pistol as well as the United States' Harpers Ferry Model 1805 and 1819 North Flintlock pistols or 1855 Springfield percussion pistol carbine.
Auctions: miniatures guns can be found occasionally at auction houses like CMR International Classic Firearms & Accessories (www.cmrfirearms.com), Ebay (www.ebay.com), Egun (www.egun.de), GunBroker (www.gunbroker.com), Hermann Historica (www.hermann-historica.de), invaluable (www.invaluable.com), RIA Rock Island Auction Company (www.rockislandauction.com), etc.
Try key words like "Robin Armstrong miniature", "Hiroshi Goto miniature", "japanese miniature gun", "Kaziyuki Iinume miniature", "Kimiaki Ohba minature", "K-Ohba Minifacturing", "miniature gun", "Uberti miniature" etc.
Deutsches Waffen Journal (DWJ): leading monthly German language gun journal since 1965 from dwj-Verlag, Blaufelden, Germany (www.dwj.de).
Driskill, Wayne: owner of Wayne Driskill Miniature Firearms a leading dealer of a broad range of miniatures guns and accessories from different miniature gun artists. Driskill is selling them out of his shop in Pearland, TX, U.S.A. or at U.S. gun shows. More importantly, he is a great source of information on the subject and good friend, too (www.waynedriskillminiatures.com).
Driskill is President of the Miniature Arms Collectors and Makers Society (www.miniaturearms.org).
Goto, Hiroshi: miniature gun artist from Kyoto, Japan. Goto manufactures or manufactured a broad range of miniature mostly in 1:5 and 1:6 scale (www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~kyozan21) like Colt models 1873 SAA, Detective Special, Phyton, Woodsman; Ingram submachine gun MAC10; Japanese WWII paratrooper rifle; Mauser C96 Broomhandle; Nambu models 14, Baby Nambu; Smith & Wesson models Chief Special M36 & M60, M29, M19 Combat Magnum, Model 2 Army; Thompson submachine gun M1928; also Japanese swords, knifes, scissors, tools, etc.
HEGE Jagd & Sport: leading German Uberti wholesaler and dealer in Messkirch, Germany. HEGE was formerly working out of Überlingen and Schwäbich Hall, Germany (www.hege-arms.com). During the 1980s and 1990s HEGE sold the Uberti miniatures and offered a subscription program for them, too.
Hunzinger Collection: check www.american-frontier-miniatures.com.
Hunzinger, Prof. Dr. phil. h.c. Moritz: owner of the Hunzinger Collection, resides in Frankfurt, Germany. You can reach him at mh@american-frontier-miniatures.com.
Iinume, Kaziyuki: miniature gun artist of Aquapolis, Japan. Iinume makes or made a great line of 1:6 scale of miniature guns including the Colt 1911A1 auto pistol and the Smith & Wesson Military & Police revolver. His pieces of gun art can be obtained through K-Ohba Minifacturing (www.ohbakobo.ja).
K-Ohba Minifacturing: Kimiaki Ohba's miniature gun export outlet is offering International sales and distribution of miniature guns for different Japanese miniature gun makers (www.ohbakobo.jp).
Lander, Udo: certified German gun expert, authority on miniature guns (www.lander-historic-arms.de), former curator of Wehrgeschichtliches Museum im Schloss, Rastatt, Germany (www.wgm-rastatt.de).
Lankoff, Frank: noted collector of 18th and early 19th century flintlock pistols with special knowledge in miniature guns. Lankoff lives in Achern, Germany with activities as a curator of Wehrgeschichtliches Museum im Schloss, Rastatt, Germany (www.wgm-rastatt.de).
Miniature Arms Collectors and Makers Society (MAS): founded in 1973, the society is a group of miniature arms enthusiasts who have joined together to promote and encourage interest in making and collecting miniature arms of all kinds, i.e. pistols, rifles, cannons, suits of armor, knives, swords etc.. Emphasis is on artistic beauty and craftsmanship. Due to the rarity of most of the pieces, the investment value is a factor also as items of fine craftsmanship made in limited numbers have historically increased in value at a rate that outplaces inflation. Their website www.miniaturearms.org offers membership information and a gallery of photos of some of the fine pieces available.
Niederastroth, Wolf D.: of Hofheim, Germany. Curator of the Hunzinger Collection, cowboy gun collector & shooter. Reach him at wn@american-frontier-miniatures.com.
Ohba, Kimiaki: miniature gun artist from Tokyo, Japan. Ohba's miniatures are mostly in 1:4 scale. They are available through his K-Ohba Minifacturing (www.ohbakobo.jp) comprising Colt 1851 Navy, Beretta M1934 and 92F auto pistols, Browning M1910 auto pistol, Iver Johnson Pocket revolver, Mauser M1934 auto pistol miniatures among others.
Smith, Larry H.: Miniature master gun artist from Parrish, FL, U.S.A. Smith's miniatures are in 1:3 scale, comprising early American percussion revolvers, pepperbox and pocket pistols and derringers.
Sources for miniature guns: try major or specialized gun shows in Europe or the U.S.A. A few antiques and/or gun dealers regularly carry specimens like Antique Firearms Hartmut Burger, Dommershausen-Sabershausen, Germany (www.antique-firearms.de); Udo Lander's Historic Arms, Forbach, Germany (www.lander-historic–arms.de); Art Antiques & Armour Philippe Leemans, Enghien, Belgium (www.proantic.com/en/galerie/art-antiques-et-armour); Collectors Firearms, Houston, TX, U.S.A. (www.collectorsfirearms.com); Driskill Miniature Firearms, Pearland, TX, U.S.A. (www.waynedriskillminiatures.com).
Tishchenko, Alexey: webmaster of www.american-frontier-miniatures.com. You can reach him at at@hunzinger.de.
Uberti, Aldo: for his first replica gun manufacturing business weapons' engineer Uberti partnered in 1959 in Gardone, Italy, with Vittorio Gregorelli. They produced percussion revolver replicas for Val J. Forgett Jr's Navy Arms company in the U.S.A.. By the early 1963 the partnership had ended when Aldo's Aldo Uberti SrL got fully operational providing the global shooters', reenactors' and collectors' market with his high end replicas of American caplock and cartridge guns of the period from 1836 to the end of the 19th century.
Aldo Uberti was born on June 30, 1924 and passed away on March 21, 1998.
A. Uberti SpA: leading replica gun manufacturer in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy with global distribution activities. Uberti produces high end guns of the periods Mexican, Civil War and Expansion of the West. Since 2000 Uberti is a subsidiary of Beretta Firearms. (www.ubertireplicas.it).
Between 1982 and 2008 Uberti manufactured a wide range of 1:2.125 scale miniatures of Civil War and cowboy guns in parallel to their full size replicas. The miniatures were sold through the global Uberti dealer network. Selected models were available through the subscription programs of HEGE in Germany and the United States Historical Society (USHS), U.S.A., see chapter 1 of this website.
Unites States Historical Society (USHS): previous organization which marketed subcontracted historically significant firearms, blackpowder reproductions and miniature guns until some time in the 1990s. Offering subscriptions and consumer direct sales they were located in Richmond, VA, U.S.A.
The Antique Arms Division of USHS was acquired by America Remembers of Mechanicsville, VA, U.S.A.
VISIER: monthly German language gun journal (www.visier.de) available through VS Medien, Bad Ems, Germany.
February 25, 2019/WDN