Category: Collecting Toy Soldiers

Spencer Smith’s

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I did never got into them in my wargaming period… and still I love them… so this is a kind of tribute to them and those who followed the path of wargaming a la Charles Grant (father and son… the grandson seems more WWII inclined)

Excellent pic. Enjoy

Have not a single one… but they really look great!

Found!

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Found, means the great joy of finding something you wanted… more about that in some days (I am afraid I am gonna develop this subject)… in this particular occasion see the pic and you’ll understand what I am talking about.

NO they are not mine… just seen in Facebook an Austrian transaction…

Lancers find!

John Firth’s Own (II)

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Lets have some cavalry from the same author.

Really you can field exotic uniforms of Yeomanry and Volunteers that way, curiously enough THE BATTLE OF DORKING intended as a “depressing and alerting” book is somehow revered by the wargames fraternity as an opportunity to turn the tables on the willy foe! (You need all sorts you know…)

Fancy uniforms… the stuff of ZENDA!
And again…

Maybe some more tomorrow. Enjoy.

The other side

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French Napoleonic figures are a joy to paint because the uniforms are gaudy … and the the plumed shakos are a must!… after a time you realize the changes in uniform in a span of 20 years… but who cares… even the design of the flags changed… look at a Carabinier (mounted) of the early times and of the Waterloo type… nothing in common… lol

A fantastic era for the painters!… so you pay your money and take your choice!

The pic is of Light Infantry of course!

If yesterday was the Brits… today is the French (both sides… pardon the pun)

British Napoleonics 28mm

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My first love when I discovered metal soldiers was the Waterloo battle (see elsewhere in this same web page), then I was convinced that it was a British/French affair (lol)… much later I discovered the King’s German Legion, The Hanoverians, The Dutch&Belgian, the Nassauers and of course the Prussians! (LOL). It was a long journey… and now at seventy I know that the main pleasure was in the “journey”… all those years buying books, reading about it, checking (and double-checking ) my Armies compositions etc etc etc.

It was a great hobby, and I was entertained for more or around thirty years by it!… I have no regrets. But I must comment that one of the things that put me out of it was when the “finish of the painting job” become Military Modeling like!… I have nothing against it mind… but in my mind the point was not there, the pic of today shows what can be achieved in that scale (and inferiors too) by extremely good painters. Transforming a wargames unit (I must admit I was more Toy Soldier focused) in a mini diorama. You need all sorts you know!… Suddenly my painfully researched and balanced Waterloo Armies looked as “past” as a British Two Seater if you know what I mean (my other hobby been cars). So I quitted.

Military Modeling like minis…

Not wargaming mind, I still have the thrills!, but you’ll need a magnifying glass to see my 6mm ACW paintjobs! (lol again)… seriously even having a permanent quite big table (see elsewhere in the webpage) I love to have more “room to manoeuvre”… “no secure flanks”… and “lines of supply”… I understand perfectly the trend to downsize the minis and have more fun with the game itself. Now I simply collect in the traditional 54mm scale (as I have always done), display them on cabinets ad hoc… and wargame in 6mm.

Mind, I still love those units as the pic of today shows but my time for them has passed away, nor I have the room to field them, nor the funds or time to get them “right” (I have abstained to enter in the argument of “parade look” versus “campaign look” on purpose… I always preferred the former…).

So, without much more to say today… I will let you ponder on it. Enjoy.

Der Alte Fritz minis (again)

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One of the successes of “Imperial” forces (not exclusive of the British Empire) is the raising, training and correctly use of “auxiliaries” or “allies”… good logistics and financing needed… in the end Empires crumble by financial overstretched reasons (and yes corruption too).

Lovely pic. Enjoy.

Sudanese and Egyptian Infantry 54mm

Repainted for the better…

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What a good paintjob can do for the castings (all of them) is wonderful.

Her Majesty’s Guards (or Household Division Troops) are a popular choice among collectors or simply aficionados whatever the level. It has much to do with that the daily exposure in such well know military procedures as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, The handing of the keys at the Tower of London, and similar at Windsor castle. The more “touristic attraction” the more popularity in children minds… So, let it be.

Hardly original subject… but a CLASSIC IMHO. As seen in Facebook.
Even with a bit of patience you can do it with Playmobils. (Those are my own).
By the end of your “collecting life” you would have gone megalomaniac (well, a bit). Those are mine.