Born in 1952.
Married in 1976. Two sons and a daughter. 4 grandsons to date, 3 boys and a girl.
Arquitect in 1978.
Retired in 2016 aprox.
Lifelong Toy Soldiers aficionado.
The games you play are equal to the games you make…
(or are involved in some way… nobody will propose “wargames” to you if you do not do “something” to be there…)
I could not resist it, saying farewell… knowing when to quit is very difficult (same in a game of poker).
I once painted a “new old toy soldier”… a 54mm (Replica Metal Soldiers Andrew Stevenson) a mounted Inspector General of the NWMP in a dark blue patrol jacket – I enjoyed so much the painting of it that this evolved in a new collecting frenzy! I am currently pestering Andrew to pay for my “last order” (it really is mind) – and all just because a childhood memory.
I was very young when I got a box of mounties (I already had a lot of them) but in that one proudly in front of the lot there he was… a mountie with a dark blue tunic -and yellow gauntlets!- of course it was the commander of the unit!… I always had a crush for that figure (and of course never found one alike)… so in the end I decided to make my own and quite satisfied even if I am going full circle. Of course the original one was lost forever, but I have still 3 “mounties” over 65 years old.
Slightly smaller than DUCAL but exactly as BRITAINS or DORSET SOLDIERS.They were like that… not mine but I had the same…Those are the boxes I had at X’mas (well the 6th of January back then because gifts were brought by the three wise men -aka “The Kings” in Spain) or whenever… never got those Life Guards though… Note the difference in size of the two rear ranks! Those were the days!
I am going to update this post with pics and slowly edit the rest, meaning that I think there is always room for improvement.
There he is on its proper place before saluting the flag of the parading mounties.
It was a pleasure comparting posts here… and sure I will post more pics!… and edit existing posts but that’s all. To elaborate would be just a copy/ paste of what I said in my book “My Toy Soldiers and Me” so just peruse sometimes to see editions to come (of the posts of the blog not my book!).
Editing this blog would be much more interesting that writing a lot of new entries…
Renaming and ordering the Posts of the Blog by subjects and categories nowadays. There is a Post explainig that…
Original pic of my DUCAL mounties in the garden (Pal in ANDORRA) not Canada at all I am afraid.
Summing up, my interests on “toy soldiers” were and are wide and large. I do not restrict my activities to a single field or even scale, neither period. No original at all, as you can imagine there is nothing more conservative than the Household Division to collect in 54mm,
Mainly DUCAL (or Fort Ducal), with some Tradition of London, a REPLICA cast painted by me, even some Marlborough and Dorset… and one lonely old Britains for nostalgia sake.
and the rest of my glossy 54’s are in themes: French Foreign Legion (with some Chasseurs d’Afrique and Spahis);
French Foreign Legio “square”… have a bit more of them but you get the idea…
As a result of renewing relation with DORSET/IMPERIAL MINIATURES to “square” my FFL I finally got (again) out of hand and finally got hold of a nice French Army! -mainly 99% Dorset-Imperial but with a REPLICA general too!- LOL…;
The French Army late XIXth Century.There are also 4 Paul Watson’s figures there…Have added some more Cavalry (Centenial Britains) but nearly all are there…
Tel el Kebir/Rorke’s Drift aka Brits colonials with red tunics and white sun helmets! before khaki;
Mainly Tradition of London with DUCAL Cavalry and a few Dorset (Giles Brown)
My discovery of REPLICA toy soldiers finally led to a Khaki clad British&Allies little Army… complemented with BRITAINS centenial sets as Bengal Lancers etc and even a Rolls Royce armoured car!…
NWF, Maiwand, Kandahar, The Sudan (Omdurman) etc. Mainly REPLICA, some Dorset, and 4 figures by Paul Watson… Britains Centenial sets of Bengal Cavalry in the rear ranks.
that I also indulged in getting a SIMKIN times red clad British “home army” about half and half REPLICA -well a bit more of REPLICA- and BRITAINS also centennial sets…
The pic was done without some units…Finally completed with the Naval Brigade.And the Cavalry (half REPLICA half Centenial sets by Britains)
and last but not least NWMP/RCMP; She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Captain Brittles last patrol; USA early sets (before WWI); Tradition of London Raj Lancers + conversions of BRITAINS Centenial sets… I even falled (again) for ttwo sets of Scot’s Greys LOL…
Tradition of London Royal West Kent with some conversions (minor) and some DUCAL (the Band and Mounted Officer’s)21st LancersI painted horses different colours…The “She wore a yellow ribbon” set… Mainly REPLICA and the ladies by Dorset.Always loved a bit of “colour”Never did a pic with the 4 units together…Even managed to do two “conversions”A better (and actual) pic I guess…My current last “rabbit hole” USA Marines USMC and Soldiers at the turn of the Century.
As you can see in Collecting Toy Soldiers I Post the minis collected in 54mm have been subject to buy/sell, Scot Grey’s cometh and goeth, same with US Cavalry in gala uniform, Denmark Royal Guard, and some mat finish Spanish miniatures I had because a compulsory swap was made. That is Collecting for me, something alive but with periods of lethargy. Not Original at all I am afraid but a rewarding pastime.
I dedicated a chapter of my book to Collecting (my own experience mind) but the books you need is the one by James Opie: Collecting Toy Soldiers, and THE COLLECTOR’S GUIDE TO NEW TOY SOLDIERS by Stuart Asquith. The former has written many excellent books about Britain’s but THIS ONE is the best of all his production IMHO.
Indispensable.By now it should be named The Collector’s Guide to “OLD” New Toy Soldiers. How time flies by…
Nowadays restricted to skirmishing with Playmobils on 75mm because orders com in a matter of DAYS!… not months as per 54mm glossies. That’s getting old for you!… have commented elsewhere that this is very funny indeed!
Of course British Guards… LOLThose are much more elaborated… not available commercially I guess! … moderate customs in 75mm
The very first game (or wargame) we played with dice was METAURUS (Great Battles of the World series). It was late fifties or early sixties I do not recall exactly (and do not care a lot about the exact date… could look at it on the net… but it really does not matter…).
It was a hit.
I keep buying boxes of plastic (quite hard) additional soldiers to increase the basic main box contingents. My rivals grew out of all historical proportion… I do not remember exactly if I got 7 or 11 elphants in the end! (guess it was 9!)… a silly disproportion… but got a lot of Roman Cavalry too!… sadly never found Carthaginian Cavalry which existed!… it never ocurred to me to paint Roman Cavalry as Carthaginians!… (I was too young and inexperienced)… (I never was lucky with those boxes of Carthaginian Cavalry!). Our battles were masive and cramped (an early symptom of the vice “IF I ONLY HAD ONE MORE BATTALION”)… I only stoped buying more troops when I run out of space on the “map”… LOL… now I know “those were the best days of my wargaming life”.
Fifty or Sixty years later my brother has produced a commemorative edition of limited number of copies (got number 33 if you are interested in those details), and I do not intend to break the seal of my copy. In that half century (or more) many things have happened… I still can remember how I teached the basic and crude rules to my (back then) little brother… that he will from there to build a company (with partners) that produces tabletop games was only a dream (his) but by now DEVIR (celebrating this days its 25 anniversary of existence) launches tabletop games expected to sell 140.000 copies in Spain alone… or 2.000.000 copies worldwide…
I must say that Mr. Rojas was strongly Roman biased, the games he produced (MEATURO and ZAMA) were Roman Republic highlights!… curiously enough Hannibal and the “Carthaginians Armies” are probably a lot more inspiring because they lost (mainly at sea as in all wars)… Europe is not “oriental” because the Romans won. Never Mr. Rojas produced a game about Ticino, Trebia, Trasimeno or Cannas… and he was probably right (mind!)… those were the ancient “big scare” of the ancient world.
With hindsight an Empire build with “business and commercial values at its core”… aka the Phoenician heirs of CARTHAGO… with mainly mercenary soldiers and dubious allies payed for their military services… with very few real carthaginian soldiers in their Armies was doomed from the start against the “citizen roman soldier of the republic” (probably half of a Republican Army was also Auxiliary troops… but they fought to became proper “roman citizens as a bonus in the end”)… It is a fascinating History. Got us all hooked when very young… we do understand it now. It is a matter of values… the higher values and sacrifices pay in the end.
I can also reflect that the “agrarian” Romans (Primary economical sector mainly) won over a “business commercial” carthaginians (Tertiary sector mainly)… both using the same technologies available (Second sector)… just mention this for fun of course. When Hannibal asked for more troops and supplies -basically money- the business decison of the Cartagho Senate was the wrong one… and that’s that.
But the “scare” was so big that the Romans had to erase Cartago from the face of the Earth… literally… DELENDA EST CARTHAGO!… raze the city and plant salt on their fields so they will never raise again… because it was a “Near Run Thing”. The languages we speak are mainly derived from greek and latin… no one cares about what “carthaginians” spoke…
We never looked back after that boardgame with 54mm plastic minis… of course more than fifty years later the plastic minis are gone and forgotten… years ago I bought metal minis to use the map with them… actually after several tries with Baccus 6mm correct figures (meaning Iberian, Gauls, Carthaginian -a few-, Elephants -small number-, and Republican Romans).
The private edition by my brother is not available commercially if I understood correctly!… will post actualizations once I got my complimentary copy! (After all it was me who introduced my little brother to wargames at a very early age… that he later will transform that passion into a business still puzzles me!).
Enjoy!
First sketches from a private reedition (100 copies) for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of DEVIR (a boardgames multinational company which has as CEO my brother!… LOL) fantastic expectations…My sixties old boardgame still in good shape!The Baccus 6mm I use with it nowadays…For a time I used Greek miniatures from Wargames Foundry in 28mm (that way both players had elephants!… but it was too symmetrical I guess…The “NEW” set…The modern basic “counters”… at least quite “soldiers like”Romans are Red… Carthaginians are Blue.The “NEW” map. (with very subtle diferences)The ZAMA game (I never got the original one!)… because I knew how it ended…
Well, 2026 has become a highmark for customizing XVIII century units to wargame a la Charles Grant (or even “CHARGE”)… but with a twist… I am now a kind of Scriptmaster… the idea is to have a new game every time with the challenge for decisions (sometimes quick) and no definite “countries” or “nations”… just different colourcoated units with a flavour… allies can be changed… same unit as the Jagers one day are fielded with a group and the next with another… some with militia… guess you get the point.
A general view of my well known wargames table with the several units under construction. More details on the main text.Another shot of the “works”. Do not be mistaken it looks as 20 units of Infantry, 2 of would be Cavalry and 3 of Artillery… but the figures may swap roles quite easily.Some characters… some of them are original GEOBRA PLAYMOBIL figures without need of customization at all… on the other hand you have on the second rank (extreme right) two Medicine Doctors and in the front rank the four figures on the right are Supplies Commisariat figures (Yes one is a woman!)Those are spies or traitors or double agents… whatever denomination you like best!… very useful addition for the Scripts and acting quite impredictable! (Had fun making them!)Two Queen’s and Three Kings (but of course depending on the game minus crown and sceptre they can become Dukes, Princes, Electors or whatever)… The Queen Elizabeth II from my Trooping the Colour set you are tired of seeing already… but would be present on some scripts too.White clad Command… here with Spanish Flags… but clip French or Austrian Flags and… that’s the beauty of the thing!Now, those are more difficult to “name” LOL… excellent characters (maybe some obscure slavonion Duchy!)Look a lot like American War of Independence… but as usual DO change the flags and… use your imagination…Black Prussian?… you already know the idea…Probably Austrians in your mind…Somehow very French…Red coated units look very much British (or English)… but why not Hanover?… all a matter of Flags if they are present!… NOT all the scripts have “Flags” in them…In a way those torsos (original Playmobil) started it all in a serious way… first and second rank units nave no stickers and all pieces are GEOBRA.Same here, but some stickers on the front rank Unit. Those two double up as Prussians with a change of headgear (pickelhaube).Those are also nearly 100% Playmobil originals (but for the white belt sticker in the front rank unit)Those are with torso stickers all round! Not available commercially at all but quite easy to do.Another bunch of redcoats… this time with torso stickers!… also quite easy to do.Those are also Playmobil (specially the second rank) but the first rank Unit has stickers on the torsos.Those I enjoyed doing!…Rifles or Jagers (torso stickers) and Bavarians or similar (torso stickers).Those two units double up as French Foreign legion or French Line 1870 with a change of headgear.A militia unit (originally inspired by Oliver Curwood’s RABBLE IN ARMS novel), the unit in the second rank look quite continental Army to me.More redcoats… always a temptation with new facings and sticker torsos. The Unit behind is quite Barry Lyndon times… will finally be used as Cavalry if I am not much mistaken.Had much fun with those Units (Cavalry for all nations). Dragoons and Hussars.A couple of Artillery Units or Batteries.Another Artillery Unit (still pending guns).I had 10 Units of 13 figures… I substracted one soldier of each one… and that new Unit will go to fight on THE AGE OF REASON.It is an interesting “old” book full of cliches but much to the point generally… I have always enjoyed!… somehow I have the feeling it is in the origin of that particular passion.
If you have read up to the end I will only add that some pics of elite units (on the way) would be added here and also interesting items like treasure and other accesoires and vehicles etc.
I got this Observation Balloon from my friend Paul Watson… he send it to me as a surprise gift!… Yes, this happens too somehow… and you will be at pains to think how to correspond! The 54mm Highlander Khaki clad is also a gift cast from Paul (I did the paintjob)
I am at the end of the collection frenzy… it was a happy experience… I do collect Toy Soldiers (all scales and materials are collectable as anything else).
Will probably do maintenance, substitution and small additions now and then… but the “frenzy” is over. The goals (mine) have been achieved.
It is quite useful to have a final objective or goal, or simply limit.
I do not want to die with orders on the Post if you know what I mean. I did not wanted to die over my drawing table doing just another project of a building or whatever… (read computer instead of drawing table if you must)… and I retired from the daily practice of my profession -architect- which does not mean I do not do some maintenance jobs and “little things” now and then.
So, after so long collecting Toy Soldiers, Books, Music, and Films. Here find a few tips I wish I had known myself in my time.
1.- If you want sometning (badly) as a collector go for it inside your budget (of course)… but do take other matters in consideration: a) Your age. b) The age of the company or individual who produces that “thing” you want to collect, considere the probability that they can get out of business before you are done collecting the items!
2.- Do not “pester” with requests about delivery time those that are “artists”, and it is not a derogatory name. You have to considere their personal situation, age, whims, list of other customers/patrons before you etc. It is very silly to send emails, letters, telegrams, notes in red ink pinned with a fancy dagger to his/her door won´t do either… simply wait for it.
I got this “special set” as a gift from a true artist, Andrew Stevenson owner and producer of the range REPLICA METAL MODEL SOLDIERS and founder of the ITSC (International Toy Soldier Club)… I was absolutely stunned by it!
3.- Be ready to compromise. Or even fell for some new proposal from friends you will have in the end of it. Example: My 54mm Dorset Soldiers French Foreign Legion modest collection was/is finished… then Antony Spencer designed a new legionnaire pose and posted the pic on Facebook… I saw it… “legionnaire standing loading round”… I contacted him (yet again)… a box of 4 figures + a new sergeant pointing (also “new”) and 3 other figures to fill the standard 8 figures box (a small reorganization of the collection is always ok)… and I expect them end of November 2026. Mind, not “casts” anymore, fully painted and gloss varnished if you please… no time at all for the chores I enjoy, need my time for others things and priorities.
The “new” loading chap.The “new” pointing sergeant!
4.- Do not blame the Postal Service… nowadays calling it “service” is a bit of a joke compared with how good it was long ago!… Yes! parcels get lost, arrive late, are dispatched with wrong addresses or instructions, parcels containing lead toy soldiers when scanned by security services are opened matter of fact sometimes fighting against terrorism (I agree with that practice even if it is frustrating for us collectors), some are even stolen… yes it has happened to me… in my case I was refunded and got a replacement order to the credit of Robert Prati (RP World Models). So… “what did you expect? all blessings and fun?” (a line borrowed from the song TOO TRUE TO BE GOOD (adb/adj)… unpublished and not in Spotify… not yet)
5.- It is not important at all if you display your collections or not, some do, some do not, some make it rotatory, some keep it in the sealed boxes forever! And all kinds are right… it is your decision and thankfully there are not “rules®ulations”… it is a hobby for fun!… never be patronizing! do not fool yourself… nobody cares at all
6.- The most important factor or consideration is “RESPECT”, understand that what you collect is your particular fancy, and even in fields so “minority interest” as this one, people do have very different tastes. Example 1 : period of interest (I do not like anything post 1900 more or less as rule… but neither periods before “uniforms where introduced” at all… have seen very nice “knights” I like them but I do not collect them!… I simply pass on them… not interested at all. I do not even think about WWI and WWII. Sorry, it is my personal mania. Love 54mm old Britains for old times sake but do not collect them at all… see? You will have too your personal pros and cons (or do and don’t) ask for respect and give it also back. IT IS A HOBBY! (not shouting… just emphasis). Example 2 : Debate is absolutely idiotic… neither lead against plastic is a debate at all… also size or scale you fancy 54mm gloss finish? perfect!; you like overdetailed 54mm military modeling in matt finish? perfect too!… Example 3 : you collect all scales and periods… great!; you only collect 15mm Napoleonic Wargame Armies! fantastic!; you do fantasy stuff be that Lord of the Rings or Star Wars… nothing to say against that! Guess the point is clear.
That’s Brigitte… a French Cantinniere… a gift from Antony Spencer from Dorset Soldiers/Imperial Miniatures. Also a surprise!
As everything in life including religion, politics, sex, and other very contoversial and subjective opinions… your own point of view will surely evolve with time (time flies believe me!)… now in my middle seventies I only do orders for anything be that toy soldiers, books, films or music… as if it did not matters if the parcel arrives to me or not. Let me explain, of course I want them!… why order them at all if not?… what I mean is the self-contained addition tactic… for example: you ask from Andrew Stevenson (REPLICA) some boxes of beautifully painted in his own style 54mm gloss varnished toy soldiers… make the order a completed addition item… it arrives? fantastic!… it does not?… no matter because your collection was already complete!… those were additions of a lead toy soldiers addict but not a complete idiot nevertheless. Same with that already mentioned box of French Foreign Legion chaps by Antony Spencer… will they come?… fantastic!… they do not?… I really do not care. A very small order for some MINIFIGS has been done a couple of months ago… no sign of them… have not bother to claim for them… Same with books: Have a small collection of books about Custer (and The Little Big Horn of course!) just ordered Bill Rini’s opus (and I know beforehand what it will say…) every year I dutifully buy the “new” ASTERIX… not as good as the Goscinny period but I am a collector… same with the last Paul McCartney CD (He was nice to us)… and even got two French Blu Rays with a “new” (sorry if I laugh) version of The Three Musketeers… I guess the collection (s) is ok as it is. I do not know if the point is well explained at all… probably yes. I do not mind the least what my heirs will do with that junk I collected… what happens after me does nor worry me I guess.
Funny things to do in the end are mainly nostalgia for nostalgia sake… I have recently ordered some 25/28mm figures (very few) Dixon arrived ok… still waiting for the MINIFIGS (some 15mm included too) update 16/06/28 parcel arrived today -as Murphy predicted-. I will paint them myself in memory of collections I sold in my time (after thirty years buying and painting myself MINIFIGS Napoleonic Armies in 25mm the wargaming scale faded as an interest because the bigger the battle the more room you needed and well 6mm was an option… then I sold my 25/28mm wargame armies (been so stupid that I did not kept some for display in the cabinet for nostalgia reasons… silly me!) As I have said before all of us make mistakes… specially when selling items you do not love anymore be that to make room or to get money back for other projects… did sell a music band of the Royal Danish Guard without a second thought (bloody mistake)… but also a fantastic Little Big Horn set in 15mm (MINIFIGS) with even a lot of Native Americans (Injuns in my time!) to concentrate in 6mm and rationalize my scales (another bloody mistake).
Also funny enough is my passion of dissembling and assembling Playmobils with spare parts… I am building units to play Old School Wargames a la Charles Grant (but with my own rules) because the orders and the parts arrive in a week or so (that is a great incentive in old age… no waiting forever I mean…) and it keeps me well entertained (all is about having fun remember?).
A recent addtion of Playmobils using stickers and spare parts… they do not exist commercially at all… I do my own thing… as usual!
A new approach is in the oven… the field of wargaming with Toy Soldiers, be that Old School 54MM, modern 6MM (modern does not mean the period at all mind), or Playmobils in 75MM… is I guess not overdone yet (maybe because we are very few around with that interest).
Whatever.
Once a couple of items out of my painting desk (only one remains now!)… I am going to try to do that, collecting NOT the objective at all… subscribe to “Scott’s Toy Soldiers” already on YouTube and be delighted and keep collecting… of course you will see MY Toy Soldiers in the videos… but my intention is not to explore how “Collecting” goes… very personal and up to you… BUT
How to get FUN once you have some Toy Soldiers?
Planning to explain my very personal experiences with them, no rules especific in mind (at all), but maybe with a little help of my grandsons I can produce something that does not bore to tears the passers by that stumbles upon them.
Will edit when more details available.
You must be a bit patient… not so easy to do the first one!
In the meantime… have for free… (and maybe sound)… an advice for your collecting if getting into your old age… it is my new policy!
Are your collection complete? (they never are)
Are you stressing because Mail does NOT arrive? (Usually gets late… or so it seems to me)
That parcel does not come at all?
SOLUTION (Brilliant!)
From now on do your orders “self-contained” and unnecessary no matter if they arrive or no…) Meaning your collections are complete but if you want to add something do it in a “have or have not does not matter” attitude. NO stress involved… be that 6mm, bespoke 54mm casts, traditional painted gloss soldiers, spare parts for customizing Playmobils (including stickers!)… whatever… You pay for them and forget about… maybe one day they will come… if not it does not matter… if yes EUREKA!
Sound advice for old collectors… never do an order that will implie another order later on… either you do it FULL the first time… or not at all… no time for half measures…
You are welcome!
Cheers!
DORSET SOLDIERS (Antony Spencer) Casts to be painted…Still working on the fictional Royal North Surrey of “THE FOUR FEATHERS” fame! Dorset Toy Soldiers casts by Antony Spencer in 54MM… in the very early stages… primed in black… etcSlowly getting there…Only lacks gloss varnish…And added to the Cabinet…
My “Blue Mountie” Inspector General in undress frock. REPLICA cast painted by me. The original REAMSA soldier was one of my first toys… see elsewhere in this website.
I originally wrote this Post about too many years ago… since then (now November 1 – 2025) many visits & visitors have graced this webpage, meaning there still is an interest on toy soldiers firmly on the XXIst Century… I have always been able to separate my collecting habits and passion from real war, if you read a lot of History (hobby related of course!) you will understand what a nasty thing is real war (and even more… it is highly ineficient as per military victims directly caused by heroics… colateral damage is much more important (brutal sometimes) and disease and plagues are quite more murderous!…)
SO: Collecting Toy Soldiers (in my case up to 1900 more or less) is like collecting stamps, matchboxes, silver cowcreamers or the like. I am also a wargamer up to 1900 again… but for Historical reenactment on the tabletop mainly… with time they have become no-competitive solo affairs with fly-on-the-wall purpose… and even in 6mm casualties are appalling and make you think a lot!
My motto below is still quite true I guess:
“An adult who plays is a child who has survived.”
I decided to create a Blog – obviously and not originally named https://www.mytoysoldiersandme.com – because “My Toy Soldiers and Me” was the title of my book autoedited in amazon. It is (and was) a mean to communicate with the rest of the wargaming/collecting world -and a posteriori with my grandchildren- and specially with my small band of readers!… nowadays you can have a free copy simple to download on the right top corner of this site.
Five years ago, on 28th October 2020 I created a Facebook Group, evidently enough called www.mytoysoldiersandme.com for you to ask questions etc. This present blog does not permit it to avoid spam. Sorry about that. But it is the only way to communicate or solve doubts… actually has an stable 2400 members and does not seem to going to grow much more… in fact members seem to get older by the day and young people are attracted by other hobbies I fear (quite rightly so).
You must forgive me because this is NOT an orthodox Blog, in fact it does not function at all as one, it is more a collection of Posts (but one of the posts IS a Blog since the 14th OCT 21… I finally stopped that!).
I do actualize those Posts when I have an idea or change my opinion about something, but not in the usual chronological way someone would expect. What is more I put them in order at my whim thinking how I would like to read them myself, now structured into groups using fictional years to avoid mixing “lines of interest”
I even wrote a book about it once, by now, a bit out of date because I have indulged in new recent adventures, specially concerning 6mm ACW armies… so here is the way to explain what happened next -after 2016- quite a lot of things in fact!
That is the cover and back cover of the second English edition. Hard to find a copy because I pulled it out of amazon due to the pestering of the IRS from the USA… you see I never got money from this adventure in autoediting and autopublishing… just the revision of my English by a pro costed me more that the benefits (lol) of the few copies sold… try to explain that to the IRS!
This book was what it started all. Well, to be exact -as it says in the caption- in fact this is the English second edition. IT IS FREE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF IT SEE ABOVE RIGHT. as I have said before!
Table of Contents (Extracts from the Chapters):
.- Introduction
quote: …/… There are collectors who never play, wargamers who have not painted a figure in their lives, experts in military history who do not even think for a second about buying toy soldiers, and finally professional painters of figures who do it for others and do not wargame or collect themselves. …/…
Between those extreme limits we live and thrive and in the span of life sometimes indulge more in one aspect and then another.
.- I .- History as the First Step.
quote: …/… For those of us who go on to recreate conflicts on tabletops, however, whether those conflicts are ancient (history) or imaginary, or we simply enjoy collecting toy soldiers (whatever the scale), the ability to suspend reality and obviate the more disagreable aspects of our favourite periods is essential. …/…
.- II .- Basic Influences.
quote: …/… Who in their childhood did not read adventure books? Or at least got his hands in an epic comic, or saw a swashbuckling movie or a war film? And then, after the experience, went to the toy box, whatever the size of it, and recreated the story with little or no care about matching exactly uniforms, weapons or other details in general? …/…
.- III .- Wargames and the Question What If?
quote …/… Among those who have indulged in wargaming, the percentage of time actually spent gaming on a tabletop is very low compared with the total time dedicated to the hobby as a whole. We spend a lot of time thinking about it, reading books, organizing and building armies, searching manufacturers, comparing scale benefits, painting figures, basing them, pondering which terrain we are going to use, and so on. …/…
.- IV .- Wargames with figures. A brief Historical Introduction.
quote …/… This book is maybe an exercise in self-satisfaction. But if some of you profit from my experiences and avoid making the most obvious mistakes I commited in my lifelong journey, so much the better for you. And always keep in mind that even after more than sixty years in this hobby, I still do heavily blunder sometimes. …/…
.- V .- Miniature Scales and the Suppression of Reality.
quote: …/… After so many years of buying, converting, painting, mixing and selling parts of my collection, with all the alternatives in between (like sending figures to a professional painting service), my personal experience is inclined to those counsels given in function of your particular situation. Remember that only what YOU think counts in the end. …/…
.- VI .- Scaling Down. Proportions, and the concept of Multipurpose Unit.
quote: …/… Believe me, specially at the beginning, and if you build your army slowly, the big temptation is to paint a favourite elite unit – maybe the Chasseurs a Cheval de la Garde Imperiale 1805-1815- of course!. We have all done it. Would it influence you if I said that the more time you spend in the hobby, the better your painting efforts will get, and that the order in which you paint the units is important? Why? Simply that you run the risk that the last unit you paint – e.g., an obscure militia unit you needed to paint because it was present in the field (and you want to be proportional) – will look better when painted than the first elite or fetish unit you painted a long time ago. …/…
.- VII.- Playing with other people or solo: Wargames and the Tabletop
quote: …/… Sometimes, I guess, the discharge of adrenaline that occurs during civilized tabletop games diminishes or helps control the aggressiveness of real life, or at least I like to think so. But I also think that the best wargames are those played in your head in anticipation of the actual game. I don’t know why, but things always seem to depart from the initial plan after the first move. …/…
.- VIII.- The Battle: Historical ORBAT, Army Points and variations.
quote: …/… One of the recurrent fears of the dedicated wargamer is being anachronistic, fielding on the tabletop units that were nonexistent at the time or simply not present at the battle. Everybody knows that there were no Polish lancers of the Imperial Guard at Austerlitz, and what is more, they did not have lances at their disposal for a long time. Nor did they have lances at their famous uphill charge at Somosierra in Spain in 1808. See what I mean? …/…
.- IX.- Figures, Terrain and Accessoires.
quote: …/… Before you fall in love with a particular size of wargame figure, keep in mind that if you are going to indulge in different periods, as we all do, then you will also need to choose carefully all the buildings, rivers, roads, barricades, trees, bridges, pontoons, mule trains, wagons, horses (to dismount cavalry), and many other things if you are to use them in multiple periods. If you do have armies in different scales or sizes, you will need to double up the scenery. So in a way, sticking to a wargame scale is also a money-saving process. …/…
.- X.- Hexagons, Grids or a Metric Ruler?
quote: …/… As with everything else in the hobby, it is a matter of gusto, personal experience, or even a function of the period played or the rules used. Try them all, and in the end you will stick to the one you like the most. But keep an open mind. Sometimes you find the best games where you least expect them. …/…
.- XI.- Rule sets and gamesmanship. Where’s the fun?
quote: …/… I must clarify that in many years of wargaming, I have collected many sets of rules, mainly but not exclusively dealing with my periods of interest, always searching tips that work here and there – Napoleonic, American Civil War – nearly anything concerning the nineteenth century and also Ancients intermittently. …/…
.- XII.- Collecting.
quote: …/… You will also learn that a collection is seldom a “quite thing”. You will have the tendency to exchange, sell, and buy items to consolidate the part you love the most, even if that entails discarding items no longer part of your main interest. With time, you will concentrate on some parts, expanding them or specializing in a theme, or you will change your objective, and that will affect the composition and structure of your collection. …/…
.- XIII.- Painting the figures, or the Painting Service Alternative.
quote: …/… As with everything else, there are various options when it comes to painting figures. There are the wargamers who paint the figures themselves, and some of them are very good at it. Others prefer to use professional painting services. A third possibility is those who simply buy the already-painted and based packs of figures available in the market, be those first or secondhand. …/…
.- XIV.- The Conversions.
quote: …/… I am not going to be a bore and harp on this particular subject, but here is the place to mention the astute mnaufacturers who have developped ranges that permit easier conversions, casting upper torsos, legs, and heads so that you can design your own figures. These include Dorset Soldiers (and REPLICA model soldiers) in 54mm and Redoubt in 25/28 mm. …/…
.- XV.- Museums and Public and Private Collections.
quote: …/… Those changes of location and “on” and “off” dates of visit are frustrating, so it’s always better to confirm beforehand. After all, a trip is expensive enough itself without indulging in deviations from the planned route to see nothing …/…
.- XVI.- Megalomania has its necessary limits.
quote: …/… Finally, let’s mention what I consider the most common sickness of the wargamer – the “if I only had another battalion” syndrome-. It is at the root of the very large armies built by wargamers, who are always thinking about a second or third chance in the game. …/…
.- XVII.- Summing up: To avoid mistakes.
quote: …/… It sound logical enough, but you will be amazed to discover how we all make sorry mistakes, especially at the beginning. Temptations are great, and you won’t be the first to do things in great disorder or without perspective. …/…
.- XVIII.- Playmobil.
quote: …/… Then suddenly I started to look at Playmobil figures in detail. With time and subsequent evolution, those crude toys from 1974 were slowly becoming less and less childish in design. I have to confess that …/… having in mind that I am a curious person by nature, I detected wargaming potential for adults. …/…
.- XIX.- Conclusion.
quote: …/… Enjoy whatever you do, and be your own guide Learn from others with more experience, copy whatever you like, adapt to your taste, convert to your needs, transform and work your own ideas to the last, but overall have fun with it, because any hobby is about having fun from beginning to end …/….
.- Update to the Second English Edition (Outro).
quote: …/… As it is, and especially from a certain age onwards, the “it is done” syndrome is present. At least this is what I thought around the month of August in 2008; at last I have finished my collections and pet projects, and I have written a guide about it. It’s a kind of self-help book for beginners, or “toy soldiers for dummies”, as those books are generally titled nowadays. I thought it was a fitting end, but as usual, time has proved it was not the end at all …/…
The reason of this Blog actually!
.- Acknowledgements and Final Note.
quote: …/… I think that the last words of the text need to clarify that entertainment with imaginary wargames on a tabletop is one thing, but real wars are a quite different thing. I have always admired the common foot soldier of any country, tribe, or nationality, – those who in history textbooks have been callously called “cannon fodder”- and I do include in this concept absolutely all of them. And I absolutely agree with the Duke of Wellington’s words after Waterloo: “Next to a battle lost, the saddest thing is a battle won”. This is why I love toy soldiers: they never die.
(Each Chapter has 4 or 5 colour pics at least).
Of course it does not mention LITTLE WARS TV for example (podcasts!), neither my current passion for the ACW in Baccus 6mm with Baccus and Leven scenery (renewed interest for a period). And some other collateral interests like the NWF, North of Africa Colonial French, LBH, Second Punic War -“counters” for a board game- Death Ride in the FPW etc. But this Blog hopefully makes up for it. In fact it complements the second edition in English nicely enough as an update.
As it is, I first wrote the book in Spanish because I was born in Spain and that was my first language.
Cover and Back cover of the Spanish second edition.
In fact I thought this “blog” would be useful because I can edit, add, reorder or delete!- and post the link to the blog in FB or twitter. I am having a lot of fun… started in December 2019 the blog has had more than 265.000 visitors… (counting robots&would be hackers! in them visits, and from 165 different countries… ) not bad as a whole for such a minority interest!
Recently arrived French Officer.A custom Playmobil done by Mazas Catapultas (it was a gift for my brother)
Finally done!… it took me a long time to put a bit of order but now you can look at Posts by theme and do not need to see/read those you are not interested on.
Once that done, will simplify Posts and edit a bit here and there because time flies!
Summing up:
2017 my personal Posts “my real toy soldiers and me” Posts;
2018 pics of Toy Soldiers and hobby related Posts found in Facebook;
2019 Other Collectors Collections ( many Facebook friends there… );
2020 Playmobil 75mm hard plastic by GEOBRA;
2021 6MM;
2022 Britains “B” scale;
2023 My own “painting casts on 54mm” quite step by step.
2024 Books recommended
Tidying up you may call it…
AS A DIRECT RESULT WHEN I EDIT A COMPLEMENT TO THE ORIGINAL POST OR ADD A NEW ONE IT REMAINS INTO THIS NEW STRUCTURE OF “YEARS BY THEME” (For example search for Sergeant Preston and you will find a brand new Post buried in a “fake” year… but I still prefer it that way) Thought better to clarify for hardcore aficionados.
You will have in this Post a quite complete list of the books I own (or have owned or going to get very soon!)… and those complementary on the subject. Sadly no “flats” or zinnfigurine oriented because I am not a fan of them… they appear on some of the books… but not my passion at all. Sorry about that.
I wish I had had a list like that many years ago!… would have saved time and trouble. BTW my comments are only my opinions (but frankly a bit tired of amazon publishing comments criteria… I have stopped trying to fairly review there… lol) but after more than 70 years I can be quite frank about it.
Get them all if you can, they are very informative (even if some do overlap with others)… maybe one day I will do a list of wargame books classics too! (Not that I do not use some of my 54mm gloss toy soldiers to wargame the Old School Way… but no marbles or rods involved… do not want to spoil the paint on them you know… just dice and fun).
Hope you enjoy this list.
This one is the book you need as a great generalist book about collecting toy soldiers (even if Britains centred the ideas and concepts are superb) Imprescindible even on paperback (actually I have the paperback edition myself). A MUST HAVE!Fairly useful as a general intro (mainly 54mm). It stops when NEW toy soldiers begun to be on the market (it deals mainly with Old Toy Soldiers)… HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.Probably his second best book. I bought first as a kindle book and afterwards ordered a real book.Simply lavish! A must have on the second Britains era. (Second Century) (different owners)Probably the best book on Britains Toy Soldiers (OLD) by James Opie. Imprescindible (and I do not collect Old Britains). Simply fantastic!It dissapoints at first read… but slowly grows upon you… an international reference. I nearly throw it away and now I am a fan!Now outdated but a classic nevertheless… he saw it coming! One of my personal favoutites as a DUCAL collector.The description of a Collection (quite fantastic if you want an opinion). Excellent pics even if a bit dark. VERY GOOD!Interesting book… from a British point of view.He tries very hard but fails a bit short… better stick to his BRITAINS books!… no idea at all about Playmobils or Legos outpout, but interesting nevertheless.Impressive and completionist but too many items are not Toy Soldiers I am afraid. (I bought at Hamleys and later sold my copy)Less known book… get it too! I do not own a copy myself yet… (and I have give up after two unsuccesful attempts via amazon… no luck at all I am afraid))On the limt (a very thin line) between Toy Soldier and MODEL (Military Modeling). A MUST HAVE!A better view of it.Probably one of the oldest on the list… but clever and advanced for its time. Recommended.Very short… but much to the point, recommended too. It come as a nice surprise.
It is what says on the cover, a guide on prices of Britains, if you collect them a must have! Sadly nothing of interest in it for me… and to add insult to injury it is a black&white book!
I missed this series of plastic figures because I was heavily compromised with Waterloo and 25mm MINIFIGS… they have a charm of their own… and I am not a sbob… so here they are!Published the 4th July 2026!… anything with Indians and Cowboys (my first love when a child) do interest me!… it is ultraspecific book and a mine of info on this particular subject… Enjoy!Another excellent reference book (post WWII Britains) marred by the use of black&white pictures… the wrong approach I fear! Why not a full colour edition eludes me!Lavish French Book about C.B.G. Mignot production. Had a copy for some time but sold it because I could not afford them (the toy soldiers I mean) as really vintage Old Britains… I am not into very expensive “Antiquarian things or items”Do not have this one… will try to get a copy someday.Another Norman Joplin book… do not own this one so I do not know how good it is.Not bad at all. But probably less isteresting and much a special subject.This one I owned but sold because did not find it a “Keeper”… maybe wrong mind! BIG FORMAT.A must read… just because it is GREAT!… very well written with tons of humour… it produced an allucination on my brain so to write a book about my toy soldiers myself…Put it on the list but I do not own a single one… and personally not interested (Same with Dime-Store Toy Soldiers)For those interested it contains the pics of the toy soldiers I had when a child! (LOL), mainly cautxuc toy soldiers… later plastic… It involved hours of sheer pleasure.The cover of the second edition of my book (in Spanish I fear)… later I went to create a Facebook group and this present webpage.And last but not least the second edition in English (FREE to DOWNLOAD in here top right corner!). I was fool enough to write it influenced by the autoedit promo in Amazon… and the opus ACHTUNG SCHWEINEDHUND! (see above).A view of one of my cabinets just to prove I am actually a collector!… this summer a vast reorganization would see deep changes on 7 shelves… That has been done and will do a Post of the new sets when finished!
The book to read imperatively…Perfect at Brigade level.So much detail… perfect if you would like to play a particular fase of the big battle at regimental level.Very helpful to paint your minis even in 6MMExcellent orders of battle.
