Conversions – Page 8 – My Toy Soldiers & Me

Winston Spencer Churchill as a young lieutenant

I promised yesterday… so…

It was a poor attempt to “model with miliput” because it is never been “my thing”… but I was tempted to try to do a “Toy Soldier piece unique” (as I can not match the “true” Bill Horan’s in our miniature world).

It all started simply enough, I had a redundant arm with pistol… a couple of horses (Empty Horses David Niven would say in his memoirs) with no rider… and I asked Antony Spencer from DORSET SOLDIERS to send me a British Colonial Rider without right arm. Still planning to do a French ADC (mounted) for the other horse…

Once I got it… I decided to try my hand at what Antony Stevens does effortlessly, meaning adding binocular case and a haversack to a rather “plain figure”… I also worked a bit on the horse (which was already painted since many years ago) adding valise and equipment… I showed all that to you in a Post not so long ago (about end of December 2022).

Well here it is the result of my job in some pics… and YES he is standing on the stirrups!… not at a 100% satisfied but not bad for a first try since God knows when… Never thought “minimalist” Toy Soldiers would be so difficult to do!

Enjoy! (not so easy today!)

Toy Soldiers “in action” by Scott Lesch!

Nowadays a hard core of aficionados has rediscovered the charm of wargaming (without throwing pellets) in 54mm scale with Toy Soldiers. After all it is a normal consequence of 28mm skirmish type of games… I am in it in spades… you will see in a couple of days when I post my “new” additions to an Army of French Foreign Legion figures by DORSET SOLDIERS… painted by myself because once retired it is a rediscovery (not exclusively for the less money involved.. because you get it exactly right!… and even fastest than to wait fot them to paint them).

Not that I do not buy painted one’s… in general they do paint better than me (specially Andrew Stevens who seems to get his shop REPLICA ready for business again!… and that is a piece of excellent news!). Dorset Soldiers (now amalgamated with IMPERIAL MINIATURES and ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN) do paint better than me too!… bu I have the patience and the time (Or whatever amount of time remains… LOL).

Enjoy!

Custer & Little Big Horn

Since I saw Errol Flynn killed by Anthony Quinn in THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON it become a lifelong interest… I was puzzled as a child because it seemed to me the US Cavalry HAD to WIN no matter what… of course real life is not like that… I guess I have already mentioned that on other Posts in this Blog but nevertheless…

It has been a rewarding passion mainly reading&collecting books about it and trying to understand what happened that 25th of June… of course all films (but Little big man) related to and hundreds (literally) of miniatures for wargames purposes (in 28mm, 15mm and 6mm to do not mention my 75mm Playmobils).

After 70 years exposed to it I have come to the conclusion that Custer was put on a NO WIN – NO WIN situation… mainly by fate and circumstances but also for bad scouting, not believing his own scouts, and betrayed by his own experience fighting Plains Indians… the whole Reno Benteen paranoia is simply that a paranoia… the Native Americans where there in enough numbers (ask Crook), interior lines of communication, perfect ground for his tactics, and the will to fight for survival. The Indians Won. That’s that.

A magnificent American drama for the Centennial of the Nation.

Not much to enjoy about that of course… but a fascinating subject. There are a lot of trash books about it (and films too)… I can recommend the opus of Frederick Wagner III THE STRATEGY OF DEFEAT and the novel (fictional-history but it reads as History) A ROAD WE DO NOT KNOW.

Be impartial!

John Clarke Toy Soldier Conversion

There is something fascinating in that process… to mend, repare, adjust and polish and “create” a piece unique… it gives you satisfaction.

Not that big projects have not charm… but sometimes a single figure gives you the whole catarsis condensed… guess you know what I mean.

I liked it… hope you enjoy too!

Graham Hilditch’s Band!

No Band of Brothers I guess… but a tour de force! doing or printing in 3D those instruments in 42mm is an small wonder. Congratulations on a job well done!

Enjoy!

Britains style B scale Cheshire Regiment band. As Britains never made smaller scale 42mm band figures, these are all converts and homecasts. Musical instruments in this scale were difficult to source. Some are scratch made and others 3D printed.

NWMP (II)

My first post of 2023… well… I guess it would be a continuation of a theme… a la Oliver Curwood (if you know who he is)… as a child I was fascinated by the North West Mounted Police… and recently got the sledge I was waiting for… so here it is… on the trail up North!

Enjoy!

An eskimo guide
opens the trail for the NWMP

Playmobil NWMP Customs

You know I also indulge in Playmobils… do not ask me why… I explained in my book no longer in print (LOL)… Actually waiting for a sledge from a standard set to go patrol up North… he always get his man… And YES I will post a pic of the mountie on his sledge once received…

Seriously they are fun to manipulate and even role playing with them.

Enjoy!

PS: I achieved (the Blog) 130.000 visitors today… I must thank those who do assiduously!

Using two different figures you obtain two new one’s to go North!… mind, the eskimo head has gone to increase the ranks of the French Foreign Legion…

Another view… the headgear on the left one is a resin custom, the rest is standard Playmobil pieces.

French Foreign Legion Customs

I sold half of them to an ex-legionnaire, but the main thing was to experiment with a black&white pic for a change!

Hope nobody comes restless again… I just love the films about it… romantic and post-romantic stuff (see BEAU GESTE all versions and also BEAU IDEAL… BEAU SABREUR -with Gary Cooper_ has been “lost” for decades… UNDER TWO FLAGS… MARCH OR DIE… spectacular “irreal” battle scenes (the “arbis” would have shot them away from a safe distance) in full colour and a great Gene Hackman and a very subdued and nuanced performance by Terence Hill in one of his best roles)

Curiously enough I still have a couple of dozens of Playmobils to play with… habits die hard!

Enjoy!

I thought… why not a bit of black&white?

Toy Soldiers Cavalry!

Love the background too!

Never seen round bases for the cavalry before… each day you discover new things!

Enjoy!

Playmobil by GEOBRA

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.

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!