The battle of Dorking is the fundamental or quintessential scare of the XIXth Century in Britain, based on the book namesake after 1870… the Prussian Army concerned a lot of the fears on the Island (silly without a Navy who could slip the Royal Navy at all of course!)… but the scenarios you can build around the them are FUN!
I am currently waiting for three parcels to arrive to complete the small units I need to play them. The British are finished but the Prussians lack Cavalry and some “touchs”.
Enjoy!
Basic Prussian unit (still in process)Another one…Still organizing those…two units that with a simple change of hat become French Foreign Legion… LOLAbove the British… below the slowly building of the Prussians…
You know I am a 6mm orthodox (more or less) solo wargamer… a collector of 54mm Toy Soldiers (part of them used in traditional old style games)… but also a Playmobil fan with my grandchildren. Let me explain why… probably you do not care at all for those german toys (mainly quite pacific oriented!)… but some of us perversily used them in wargames and role-playing… LOL
As always a picture is worth a thousand words so here have some… have in mind I collected Playmobil soldiers mainly for years without knowing they could be dissembled and rebuilt exchanging parts!… quite easy once you know how… the method of kitchen scissors and a towel is my own as seen in YouTube!
Lets start with the US Cavalry (You all know I have a fixation with the French Foreign Legion thanks to P.C.Wren) but this is not my only obsession… John Ford and John Wayne (and Richard Widmark, Ben Johnson and a lot of other mainly from Ford’s stock company) plunged my young imagination into it… as Errol Flynn of course!
Well, here is a theme overdone by Playmobil thanks God! See some pics:
A tyiycall US Cavalry Trooper (1876) 7th Cavalry. Black hat.Same as above dissembled (18 parts you can exchange at will) The only part not Playmobil standard is the resin carabine hand painted by me. Steiner models produces a range of weapons.
The head act as a plug that keeps the lot together (german engineering), actually a great idea that permits personalization.
A typical Comapny of US Cavalry.
More pics:
Same figure with kepi and saber goes to the ACW and the Michigan Brigade in a flash!You like the Cavalry trilogy? a change of hat and there you are… as you have deduced the choice of weapons is a must… saber, revolver, carbine… you name it… bugle etc.Another hat and the Apache wars comes to mind!
Many times only a change of hat does the trick! In subsequent entries you will be introduced to my battle of Dorking outfit (not related to Dorca at all) and will see how my French Foreign Legion Playmobils double as Prussians with the change of hat!
More will follow.
Enjoy!
The whole 7th (nearly sold them once! happy I did not.)
I have a lot of ideas and pics to post this days… but those arrived yesterday and have got priority no matter what… My FFL order to complete an Army is underway and in good hands… simply ask Antony!… he will deliver… this is as silly as commending a good Restaurant… afterwards no way to book a table for you!… but he deserves it in spades… ask Scott Lesch if in doubt!
Hope you enjoy the pics as much as I do.
FFL bugler charging!Another view of the same figure!FFL ensign or standard bearer charging!FFL Officer charging on foot!
I must say all this posts are against my own interests… my orders get delayed and delayed because new orders arrive daily at DORSET/IMPERIAL HQ’s… LOL but I must admit they deserve “the plug”… those lovely figures once painted would be proud pieces of a collector… no doubt about that… in the meantime I guess I would have to email Antony asking what about mine? LOL (again)… now seriously one must be patient dealing with the world of conversions and Toy Soldiers “a la carte”… it is not the same to ask for ready made sets than to ask for special pieces… this take time… but the results are worth the wait!
Enjoy!
A Dorset/Imperial Conversion for a german customer…Other conversions using the same basic body…
No it is not The Crimean War… by the presence of some Portuguese it must be Peninsular War… as seen in Facebook… and kept in the Vault… for the size of the red dice surely 28mm (in those days of yore just “big” 25mm) and I’ll risk Peter Gilder’s Connoisseur range… but I can be mistaken you know…
A forgotten pic on the vault… I also forgot who was the gentleman who took the pic… but you get the idea… there are still places where the hobby is taken seriously and they dedicate space and cabinets to show beautiful collections… so… not all is lost!
Enjoy!
The chap who posted this in Facebook had a lovely day at a museum of Toy Soldiers
