Alejo Dorca – Page 30 – My Toy Soldiers & Me

Steadfast

I must say I have come very late in my collecting to unusual subjects (Heliograph party is in the offing too!)… but those are particularly well done.

Traditional Toy Soldiers in 54mm of course!

Taste in 54mm

Wonderful setting and ambiance (seen in Facebook)

You can achieve perfection in many fields… here is an example… you can almost hear the Band.

Feeling Classical today (54mm)

Not really much to add. Those are the stuff of childhood dreams…

Some real “toys”… (toy soldiers in a true sense)

Wargaming can be done in multiple ways… here is one! (Facebook)

Probably the 4 black spots on the horses are a bit too much a simplification… (loved them) but you need all sorts as you know… excellent buildings and scenography! H.W. must be pleased!

As a first entry see a group of pics of 54mm Toy Soldiers, probably the “IT” most collected traditional scale in gloss finish. For many it is the “true” Toy Soldier… for me any scale is OK mind… but had to mention nevertheless.

This is actually my first post with the new format of making a new Post each day (well, if you do not count yesterday’s joke)… I still think the true collecting scale is 54mm… and it will always be for me “the true size” of Toy Soldiers.

Zulu War minis (did I really needed to explain that?) film version of course! (as seen in FB)

Pics I Collected from Facebook over the years.

I did not want to “lose them”… everytime I found an interesting pic about my passion I published them daily in this webpage.

They are an eclectic mix to say the least… but it was conforting to see there were other gents publishing and posting pics of Toy Soldiers.

So here they are grouped under the 2018 date.

Hope you enjoy some.

Not my period at all… but sheer quality!

SALUTE 53 HIGHLIGHT!

I am too old to travel like that (on a whim), I do not fear flying at all do not be silly, but I do not like been treated like cattle at Airports, the delays, the inconfort, the reduced spaces, the lack of good manners of the general public, and enough of that… I only travel if I can drive my car to it.

So, why this Post at all?

Because I am giving you some shots and a link.

Tel el Kebir in glorious 54mm gloss toy soldiers sponsored by the ITSC (International Toy Soldier Club) and REPLICA METAL MODEL SOLDIERS (both of them in fact are Andrew Stevenson creations).

First the pics,

For once I am not modifying the pic… this is how it was! See Renato seated on the far right of the wargames table. The view is from the Egyptian side.

A close up of the Egyptian forces, 12 figures units as in the A GENTLEMANS WAR rules (not used) and fantastic movement trays also by Andrew Stevenson.

The British attack… I guess in real life (who cares about that anyway) it was not at all like that (better read Donals Featherstone classic Tel el Kebir from OSPREY books) but it looks as a lot of fun!

Now, the link to a YouTube where there is an interview of Andre Stevenson (on his Major General outfit -moustache is real-).

link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVnObdTkVRI

Interview runs from minute 7:21 to 9:02 (for those of you who are always “on the run”)

Splendid Toy Soldiers, active new original poses or stances in the cherished Old Britains style… BUT BRAND NEW!… no lead rot… no extravagant auction prices… bespoke orders!… Boy! was the find of my late collecting times!…

Curiously enough I have mentioned to Andrew many times the fact that he is doing the Toy Soldiers I (wrongly) asumed andthought Briatins did make when I was a child… and I could not get (no market in Spain, no Internet, no Mail Order, no nothing, this is pure anachronism I am rambling about!). It is funny!… THEY DID NOT EXIST!… can you remember or wish for something that did not exist?… so my NOSTALGIA was fake! LOL

Nonplussed nowadays with my modest collection of them.

Andrew went to the Chicago Toy Soldier Fair last year and will probably repeat the experience… the fact that some boxes of Toy Soldiers (USA Infantry) went from the UK to the USA and back again to the UK because not all of them sold (A thing that eludes me completely!)… made me have the “need” to get them of course (now they are in Andorra… a couple of boxes… and waiting for some reinforcements any day now!). Will add pics of them hereby.

My much travelled toy soldiers! USA Infantry late XIXth

My SIMKIN TIMES collection… more than half are REPLICA… some Dorset Soldiers and “modern” W.BRITAINS Centennial Sets

My Khaki Collectio 99% REPLICA… with some odd bespoke Dorset Soldiers, Paul Watson’s Own and W.Britains Cavalry sets.

ENJOY!

The 1939 film “The Four Feathers” inspired a set of casts to be painted by me (provided by DORSET SOLDIERS) Edited June 2026

I did them, even completed later on with some details… and completely forgot to make an special Post for them! (some pics are there in another Post)

Memory says I did not… but maybe I posted some pics of them elsewhere in this blog/vlog whatever… in fact I have found them quick enough!… but they deserve a single one for them.

Curiously in the 1939 film (the best one IMHO) the unit that parades in the streets of London is not the Royal North Surrey (remember?… more troops for Kitchener! says the newspapers…) it looks like a Guards Unit… but I decided to do my display for the Royal North Surrey and that is final!

Sorry if you have already seen them in Facebook… I am sure I published them there… LOL

The Regimental Fifes and Drums of the fictional Royal North Surrey… pre varnish.

The nearly finished whole set (I added a foot Officer and replaced an Ensign later on)

Finally into the cabinet (but it lacks the last version I will add below).

I once started a Blog (in the proper sense) but stopped very soon. That’s what remains of it! (Edited 2025)

15 Feb 2022

Todays pics are from the late Roy Dillon Collection, the absolute master of the thin red line (in more than two ways) between Toy Soldiers and Military Modeling. Wish I could buy soldiers of that level of craftsmanship… my own collection (Even if I am proud of it) pales in comparison. Judge from yourselves…

The real thing. (Even if the Union Jack should be on the right!)

14 Feb 2022

Conversions by John Firth… very good job!

This Blog is about a inoffensive hobby, but nowadays I can not take out of my mind the folly of the real world… I am glad I stopped my wanderings at 1900… I hate the wars of the XXth and hope I will not need to hate those in the XXIst too… I always enjoyed playing with toy soldiers, loved the gaudy uniforms of the XIXth Century but I am a realist War in the XIXth had no glamour at all… because real war is a nasty thing…

Thursday (if I ever live that long) is my birthday… 70 years old (going on 74 nowadays…)… somehow it would be fitting to stop this webpage then… probably… never got any feedback even if I published my email address several times (adb@andorra.ad)… but the Facebook group has nearly 250 members so… (in fact 2400 members quite stable in 2025) I guess we all know each other in this small interest trend.

Cheers.

13 Feb 2022

Some more pics from the Dilley’s… just love their work!

24 Jan 2022

Another of Tony Dilley’s efforts (Father and son are quite brilliant!)

Have to post later on the 23rd because the 24th would be a busy morning I guess, so for once I am in advance of the clock (quite meaningless in view of the different times zones of the visitors).

Detail from the above mentiones… fantastic detail.

23 Jan 2022

Andrew Stevenson REPLICA METAL MODEL SOLDIERS.

Just a pic today (again).

10 Jan 2022

I will give you two pics as an example of what can be achieved in 6mm (they are not my minis neither my work) both found in FaceBook. Will include the much seen pic of my Crimean Light Brigade to show you “the difference” lol.

Waterloo British Infantry. 6mm. AWESOME!

Blow up!… the minis are smaller… Wurtemberg cavalry Napoleonic convulse times… 6mm again.

That’s my work! Baccus proxies in 6mm and basing included. I am too old for that now.

9 Jan 2022

Look what you can do with mainly Plastic Soldiers and lots of taste! (meaning HARD WORK!)… of course it is the Anglo-Zulu disaster (or victory depending from which side you look upon it). Rather splendid work. Also found on FaceBook.

The pic of today is awfully inspiring… simply awesome. My own efforts were not up to par with this at all. I then was painting the minis myself as you can see on the pics below… nearly all MINIFIGS 25mm.

2 Jan 2022

Roy Dilley’s Opus (just bought a copy via amazon).

A classic that Idid not know of… well that’s been righted. Probably much more Military Modeling oriented than “Toy Soldier”… but divisory lines get blurred sometimes you know…

1 Jan 2022

29 Dec 2021

So… I collect Toy Soldiers… and what if I do?… today I will show you a pic that contains the earliest memories of my hobby… Spanish Toy Soldiers from the early Fifties (and among other things some soldiers done by my sons).

Left to right and clockwise: Policeman on a Bike (JECSAN); RCMP (REAMSA- aka resin); a german with binoculars painted by my eldest son (TAMIYA); two Highlanders by RPWorld Models 54mm lead toy soldiers from the UK; 1/300 Heroic&Ross Household Cavalry for Waterloo (painted by me); Peter Pig Plains Wars 15mm (done by MILI-ART); in the middle a Union Mounted Artillery Officer by OLD GLORY 28mm painted by my younger son. The first two are 70 years old like me… LOL

28 Dec 2021

I did promise… so here it is: the most predictable part of my 54mm collection. It all started with my parents gift of a very big double tray box of Britains when I was very young (Coldstream Guards). Ask James Opie for the number of the set I have forgotten and do not care at all.

The top three shelves: Bands of the Life Guards and Blues&Royals in State Dress; The Royal Horse Artillery; The Blues&Royals.

Special vignettes for the Trooping the Colour Parade; and the bottom one Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 11 shelves in total.

As you all know those are (like the Grenadiers of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard) the most produced Toy Soldiers around the world.

Mainly DUCAL (or Fort Ducal) with some splashes of Tradition of London and other brands (Marlborough and others)

27 Dec 2021

Today I will give you my small cabinet (the colonial one)… colonialism was not “right” seen with perspective… but as usual adventure and conquest has a mighty appeal on the moment… how crazy is History… well, never mind… it gave us brilliant moments and nasty defeats (also as usual). The cabinet was designed with 25mm in mind… it has contained 15mm too… and was finally recycled into the classic scale of the wonderful 54mm Toy Soldier (You will also notice some Military Modelling stuff on the top of it). Here we go:

Next two… Artillery and Egypt 1882 (in fact also Anglo-Zulu War too).

The last three for a total of eleven shelves… British red tunics… “MY” Royal West Kents and British Cavalry… they can go anywhere as per Victoria’s Little Wars.

So, in a nutshell a very eclectic collection built along so many years it is not worth detailing too much. FFL is mainly DORSET SOLDIERS with some REPLICA. Kakhi is all REPLICA, the rest Tradition of London, DUCAL and RPWORLD models… and yes there are some specials and conversions too.

Hopefully tomorrow the even more classical part of my collection on the “big” cabinet (under the stairs).

29 Nov 2021

I “stole” this drawing from faceBook… Daniel Hodgson posted it (REVEILLE) and I could not resist the memories it brought back..

26 Oct 2021

Yesterday was Balaklava day!… forgot to show you the different approaches I did in that long journey in wargaming. Did it in 28mm, 6mm and 75mm. The game in any scale did not include the Russians (firing off the table) the interesting part was the decision making process to see when, where to, how the Light Brigade would advance or charge or whatever… nearly rol-playing wargame.

28mm Foundry (or The Foundry or Wargames Foundry). Sold them long time ago.

Baccus 6mm proxies (there is not an especific range for the Crimean War… but plenty of lancers with czapska, hussars with busby and light dragoons with shako !). Nice game without need of guns, guns and more guns… Still in my collection. The only full unit painted by me on those days.

75mm PLAYMOBIL heavily customized… NO commercial figures I am afraid. Sold the figures but not the horses! The horses are now in the 7th Cavalry USA. LOL

25 Oct 2021

Not much time today. Just a pic of my Maiwand/Kandahar REPLICA collection.

The best pic I guess…

As Murphy really rules today have got confirmation the long lost book has arrived! (at the same time amazon has confirmed the invoice of a second copy!… I do not care better two than none!). It seems that with COVID19 long delays are the norm nowadays.

24 Oct 2021

Sunday, I have ordered again the ACW MILITARY MACHINE book, this time through another channel, the worst that can happen is that both books (copies) arrive!… but I do not think so. Somehow amazon deliveries are getting late more than ever!.

Some British Guards (Welsh) fr0m DUCAL, 54mm.

Fall is behaving itself, another sunny day! I do really have to start writing those “Chance Cards” for the ACW solo wargame (somehow I would like them to be multipurpose and not exclusively centered on the ACW… highly general “chances” applied to most periods… as for example YOUR LEFT FLANK IS SLOW TO REACT THEY DO NOT MOVE THIS TURN or similar… guess I will do a preliminary list, polish it, and then write them down on the blank cards i bought eons ago from amazon.com (BYCICLE STANDARD). Will keep you posted with that list!

23 Oct 2021

Naval Brigade by Andrew REPLICA METAL MODEL SOLDIERS… great stuff in 54mm classic toy soldier style. You can go wrong with Andrew Stevens. Slow but sure!

Decided to start with a pic from FaceBook today to lift the spirits. My own Sailors are from Tradition of London but found those irresistible.

Those Naval Landing parties are really great stuff. He recently did a double tray box for a customer (a lucky chap!) and that means months of work in those. A gun, the Band, Royal Marines wow! That is the perfect gift! Enjoy…

Variations on a theme… see “the” iconic Toy Soldier mounted officer

The real Old Britains ancestors… perhaps one of his best Toy Soldiers figures. (Those are NOT mine)

Actually – once you have finished collecting – you are able to review your prided/priced posessions and understand from where their origins come.

Of course this is evidence itself for anyone knowing a bit about “iconic pieces” (and I do not mean mine!), see also the WOW factor as described by Mr. James Opie one of the best authors on the toy soldier field.

Here in this post you can look at my 9 mounted officers based on Britains Officer of Lancers… changes of arms and heads etc have added “custom toy soldiers”… but they all come from that old BRITAINS masterpiece.

Some of the pics have nothing to do with those but are included as a sample of things you can ask for or convert yourself!

Enjoy! (I did)