Category: 54MM Toy Soldiers

54MM

Luiz Fleury collection Sudan/NWF and French Foreign Legion 54mm

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If you want to see the full collection of pics try to join the International Toy Soldier Club (ITSC) club 93 members but growing and if I may say so great quality (not talking about my contributions). And there you can comment and post and interact with other members.

Enjoy! I did

Mounted Officer.
A good observation post.
Very good DIORAMA.
Nice Artillery vignette.
Guess he is attracted by the same themes as me!
British Khaki Colonials is also a favourite of mine
Excellent mix of manufacturers

Of course one advantage is that as long as your scenery is a bit neutral it can be used very easily in the NWF and in North Africa.

See the French Foreign Legion pics below.

Legion on the march.
Smacks of March or Die… but who does not!
I thought I was the only one indulging in FFL manning Artillery!… suddenly I do not feel alone
Excellent models (or Toy Soldiers)… I guess mine are a bit more on the Toy Soldier side
Fantastic scenery and backdrop.

ROY DILLEY ARTWORK

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On the border line between Military Modeling (Scale Models) and Toy Soldiers (of the best quality), IMHO over the line and much more models than “toys” sure enough.

He did those works (artworks) in the fifties… with very limited materials at hand, to say nothing about paints and brushes.

A pioneer and a master of so many that he has become “the reference”.

Today he would have been a hundred years old and his heir Tony (see other posts about his work) posted those pics in Facebook.

They do not need comment or words from me… I just framed and polished a bit the pics.

Enjoy! (And get a copy of his book).

REPLICA does a magnificent set (a la BRITAINS) of the Royal Navy in 54mm

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Published in the web of the ITSC (The International Toy Soldier Club) this is an awesome set done by Andrew Stevenson for a customer (a lucky customer I will add full of positive envy!).

It reproduces one mythical set of Old Britains with figures ad hoc (many of them Britains never did I must clarify!).

Never have seen something so awesome in years of collecting.

Enjoy!

Naval Gun on wheels… for landing party.
Royal Marines Light Infantry… and Bluejackets pulling limber…
Second level of the box!
Command and Signals.
Great landing party!
Medical station.
Firing line.
The massive box and the superior tray… Awesome!

The Best Books about Collecting Toy Soldiers

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You will have in this quite complete list 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.

Thi 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)
Probably the best book on Britains Toy Soldiers 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!

Another excellent reference book (post WWII Britains) marred by the use of black&white pictures… the wrong approach I fear!
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…

REPLICA Season Greetings!… + the real thing!

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Find hereby some delightful vignettes done by Andrew Stevenson from REPLICA METAL MODEL SOLDIERS.

There are several years specials (for X’mas) mixed up.

Quite peaceful if you ask me…

Enjoy!

And now some real toy soldiers after the sugary season… original subjects to say the least!

54mm Cavalry Officer’s Minis bought already painted

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It is a pleasure to collect in 54MM… because it remains the Toy Soldier scale par excellence.

Sometimes I do order them by Post, sometimes I buy in Ebay (less frequently).

In any case the results have been quite satisfactory so far.

REPLICA and DORSET/IMPERIAL SOLDIERS are just two of the best manufacturers around.

Enjoy!

Bought on Ebay (expensive way of collecting).
General Wolseley painted by Andrew Stevenson (REPLICA) one of my first ever buys from REPLICA.
French ADC post 1870 painted by Antony Spencer (DORSET SOLDIERS or IMPERIAL MINIATURES)

REPLICA: My last Three Mounted 54MM Toy Soldiers (casts painted by me)

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I am getting older for all that. But for a last effort in 54MM they are not so bad… after all they ARE Toy Soldiers!

Next would be basing some 6mm Baccus 24th Colonial Zulu Wars Infantry and then to the wargames table.

I always seem to think I have finished my collection (in the sense that I won’t paint anymore excepting maintenance…)

Collecting already painted boxes of Toy Soldiers still goes on. And my orders for 2024 are done, sent and agreed upon… so in due time in the next months they would appear here.

Also plan to post some pics of the excellent work of Antony Spencer from Dorset Soldiers and Andrew Stevenson from REPLICA METAL MODEL SOLDIERS.

Enjoy!

PS: YES! they still lack the gloss varnish but I always wait about a week to do that… a lesson learned in 25mm (silver and gold colors tend to wash all over if not properly dried!)

From left to right: Scot Guards Brigadier (VC); HRH King Charles III; and last but not least W.S.Churchill as a 4th Hussar.
Detail
Detail
Another view.