Military Modeling – My Toy Soldiers & Me

PLAYMOBIL: ACW skirmish games build up (I)

After a long interval I decided to play some skirmishing with small units, got plenty of yankees but no Rebs remaining in my collection, so a bit from here and there (grey kepis still in transit), and here we are, nearly ready to play!

Dusty Fog rides again!… but also the Michigan Brigade & G.A.Custer… I also am going to modify the guidon of the Rebs to enhance a bit.

They are perfect for small scale wargames.

Enjoy

Two versions of G.A. Custer (if I have to choose I prefer been a Custerophile)

BRITAINS new (late XXth) cavalry sets from the Indian Raj (edited to show repairs)

I did not bought all of the sets or individual figures, only some, and I am glad I stopped because they are quite brittle (not a problem if you do not mess with them… but I do). I had a set of Central India Lancers with very bad stability -the horses had a tendency to tumble sideways- not all the 3 legs “touched” the ground at the same time… and I tried to fix them as I do with other commercial Toy Soldiers… OMG!… how easily broken (I stopped after 4 disasters!) -now trying to solder or weld them professionally- In fact I am interested in seeing if they can be mend at all.

As a thoroughly obsessed collector I even placed an order with London Bridge spare parts to see (if the ironworks repairing process does not work) if I can try another tack myself. A tangent on collecting and painting not much explored yet!

Will keep you posted. In fact see below!

Detail of a bad repair! (the near rear leg has now three parts instead of two so it is too long… the horse stability is great though!) the eagle eyed among you surely did notice

Mended joints with Plasticine (or Milliput)

I bought three replacements just in case… lol

Just to get the right shade and there you are…

Curiously (as bought in ebay.co.uk) some of the sets more than a quarter of a century old are very well preserved, on the contrary some were not. The true nature of ebay sellers is not revealed until packages delivered, some are true optimists about items descriptions… but the majority of them are OK.

Look at the pictures and you will understand.

Hope you enjoy the info.

Disaster!… really imposible to bend the leg at all… the painting of the Toy Soldier was quite good mind!

I stopped after 4 “breaks” in a couple of minutes… Now sent to an ironworks place to see what happens…

Two sets of Hodson’s Horse in very good condition… had to paint some little “chipping” but very few and small areas. I painted the guidons dark blue under the red top to be more historical. The level of finition of the original Toy Soldiers I did find very good!

Did some works on the “sash” ends… lancers just plain dark red.

Another view. I am considering now (maybe tomorrow) to complete the sash on the right side of the rider (overpainted blue originally)… see what I’ll do… not decided yet.

On the left the original paint, on the right once modified.

Next unit to be checked and repaired: Skinner’s Horse (Yes both units are now with lances upright), the yellow coats were badly chipped off and it was difficult to match the original colour (in the end mixing yellow and orange Vallejo paints did the trick. Not as beautiful as Hodson’s Horse (IMHO) and have prevented me buying more sets. Work in progress.

The 8 sets of the 21st lancers were a complete success!… horse stability is fantastic… and repainting the horses was easy and fair. Still waiting for three figures to come to me from a profesional manufacturer (Dorset Soldiers – aka Antony Spencer)… he will supply Colonel Martin, Lieutenant Churchill and a non historical standard-bearer because I fancied one! Will add pics when they are all gloss varnished.

You can read more about them in the Post 21st Lancers at Omdurman in this same web page.

TRADITION OF LONDON: Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Regimental Sergeant Major 54mm small conversion

Curiously enough this cast (unpainted) was one of the first minis I ever painted myself (as it was mean to be… red tunic & all… and there it is still in my collection). One day I noticed I did not have thought of buying from DUCAL a RSM… so… I bought from Tradition of London the kit again and have painted in a new version with pace stick (a bit of steel paper clip).

There you have it hope you like it.

There… it only lacks the gloss finish… will add when dry!

Gloss varnished… project finished!

REPLICA Season Greetings!… + the real thing!

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 Toy Soldier (a cast from REPLICA): HRH King Charles III

Finally decided to change the command figure of my Trooping the Colour display.

It took me almost two years to decide.

HRH the late Queen Elizabeth II has been moved to another shelve. She is still on display, but certainly not on a central role.

Time moves on.

The new figure (a REPLICA cast) painted by me.

54MM BRITAINS (modern) And the last change of facings done (V and last)

This post ends the series of repairs and refections (including change of facings on two units) of my compulsive sentimental buys in ebay.co.uk… authentic Britains (from the early nineties… time really flashes by)… very good state of conservation (minor chipping of paint etc).

I am through but varnishing … now already done!

Enjoy!

Unit with white facings lacking a drummer

54MM Toy Soldier’s buying experiences on ebay.co.uk (II)

Sellers and postage etc went without a hitch… tip top all the way! (I clarify this because I forgot to mention). Kudos to them.

You see I was (very) busy at the beginning of the 90’s and did not notice at all when William Britains (the new owners I guess) did those soldiers in 54MM… Busy working on my real life and not much time for the hobby in that “fighting stances scale”… after a deep crisis with wargaming in 25/28MM (which caused the collection to be sold) I was going into 6MM wargaming (still are and satisfied of my decision) but indulging in Playmobils Hard Plastic 75MM… I still collected in 54MM but quite display and ceremonial sets (still have them no fear).

The acquisition of the book A GENTLEMAN’S WAR provoked an interest on wargaming in 54MM a la Wells (very old classic stuff) and I decided to reshuffle my collection. The French (mainly French Foreign Legion were transported to Andorra la Vella and left Pal forever… so did the Second Afghan War Replica Collection… and then I completed those sets (still at it mind) to play my FASHODA went wrong scenario… pitching one against the other… a part of playing them solo in colonial semi-historical more correctly. Later on even the white helmet British sets were transferred to Andorra la Vella and only ceremonial sets remain in PAL.

Then one day Andrew Stevenson published a pic of his units in full SIMKIN uniforms splendid array… and I was hooked… so I am now building a purely DORKING scenario British Army. BUT no Prussians at all… the French will do the trick again! (being the “enemy” I mean). Nearly there…

The tribulations of a loony collector should I have titled this post!

And of course 30 years later you need to search for them on ebay!

Guards should be on the right of the line but I was in a hurry!

Yes those are the Guards but I finally added the white frontal stripe.

Those are the ebay.co.uk buys… read the text for more detail.

The “oversized drummer will go out” to another cabinet… a miss…

In the process of exchanging “colours”…no way I am going to field two Union Jacks…

Third and last unit (have to paint new facings) at least the drummer is the right proportion.

See the difference?… even the base is too “tall” on the big drummer… part of a Band set I guess….

The changing of the arm was easy and swift the second time… the first one still shows the stress of the first conversion.

6MM Baccus: indulgence with the “spares box” or a bit of proxies

I am waiting for a small parcel from “Greg” (yet again), it would contain some carts with bullocks and some Natal Mounted Police & Carbineers + Durnford and Vereker (If they are spelled like that which I doubt)… too many visualizations of ZULU DAWN I guess… has little mistakes but a much better film that the recent Ridley-Scott NAPOLEON extravaganza… (I would have written a much better script myself & other thousands of armchair generals/History buffs).

So, getting to the point… I perused in the “spares box in 6MM” (never throw away anything is the correct approach in any scale) and rescued some ACW Rapier cavalry that I painted as NNC Cavalry (both mounted and dismounted); but as it is I found a lot of surplus of Prussian Dragoons Standard-bearers and with very little customization are now converted into the 17th lancers (of ULUNDI policing the Empire fame).

And what’s more!… found a half painted Romans Command figures that I complemented with an Arab Lancer posing as a Numidian Prince… and what not!…

I even went as far as converting with a paint job only of the figure three 21st lancers to make up the numbers of the 17th (from kakhi to dark blue)… they are the first case of doing a “transfer of men between Regiments” (LOL).

Have some pics!… BTW it is really easy to paint 6MM… believe me… just a matter of practicing a bit… and they are so cheap!

Enjoy!

My 21st lancers (the three figures in the rear rank-middle are now converted)

Here they are (A pic too big maybe but this way you see the “painting job”

They will be based differently… maybe like this (The 17th I mean)

New Roman stands before “finishing” the flocking.

Dave Mitchel’s Diorama (ISANDLWANA)

It has been a while since I first saw this pics from an awesome diorama.

I have been delaying getting into it and making a Post because in a way it is so much Military Modeling and sculpting that the term Toy Soldier did not seem to apply to it.

After much reflection I decided to make a Post… it deserves it in spades.

There are no comments on the five pics… they are self explanatory I guess.

Enjoy!

Dilley’s (Senior) art works

Always have admired the work of the Dilley’s (father & son)… even bought the book (the original one in e-bay or amazon second hand shops… not sure exactly) done years ago and it is a treasured one in my collection.

I do not paint in mat, more Toy Soldier Classical gloss varnish for me… but as with Military Modeling I do appreciate CRAFTSMANSHIP!…

So…

Enjoy!