Finally the Wagon is on its place… Steadfast Wagon and Ducal and Tradition mounted Officers.Finished Collection on this Cabinet. A lifelong achievement…
I could still squeeze a couple more of Gordon Highlanders but all depends on REPLICA (read Andrew Stevenson). I am quite satisfied as it is. And YES it took me years… 11 shelves: top 3 French Foreign Legion (in the 1st Cavalry and Mules Mounted Infantry); 4-6 REPLICA Second Anglo-Afghan second war; 7 Artillery; 8 Tel el Kebir; 9-10 Royal West Kent; 11 Colonial Cavalry. Nothing post 1900 interests me as a collector.
The whole setting.
Nowadays (2025) 95% of this Toy Soldiers are now in Andorra la Vella, in Pal only remains the display&marching units or ceremonial one’s. My intention is to wargame in 54mm again!
See recent pic below (still mising items under construction or modeling)
It lacks the Band of the French Foreign Legion (half painted), the 4 Feathers display and probably Scot Grey’s will exchange places with the Bengal Lancers… still thinking about it! IF I ever get a Dilley figure it will go to Pal.
I added two gunners on the left so to make a crew of 4, bought two nice guns (if guns can be considered “nice”) and completed the crews set with 3 more gunners… and added a sailor and an officer to the right. That was all I needed and they are at last in place. Tradition of London on the back (Two mountain guns on mules marching…). Enjoy (even if you probably had to zoom on them).
Guess it is better if I provide the zooms myself.
The finally completed Artillery set… thanks to Steadfast pieces.Zoom 1Zoom 2Zoom 3
For those really observant… the “white towel” around the body of the Maxim is a putty “repair” because years and eons ago it came broken and I was unable to glue in place in other way… there… all explained.
Britain’s extra large set (two trays) Coldstream Guards… fantastic gift from my parents!detail
On a trip to London (UK) my parents had the great idea of bringing to me this awesome set of BRITAINS… one of the last produced treditional lead stes before they went “plastic”!
I was really pampered because I had been sick for quite a time.
Now, that picture in Facebook brought along a lot of reminiscences… just seen in an Auction in the USA… (not that I am going to bid at all…) I had the real thing at the time it was needed… and what is more… I played with them, my small brother (10 years gap) played with them, my sister’s young boy played with them… guess those Toy Soldiers delivered in spades!
Many many years later on a visit to my mother I inspected the remains of the lot… took them home, sprayed them black and repaint them all (of what was left), then once displayed again I detected a bit of lead rot… cleaned… varnished… tried to mend… whatever… sent finally to Bonham’s where James Opie put a price on them and said farewell to collect “antiques” forever…
I already had a lot of plastic, rubber and aluminium toy soldiers… but that box suddenly become the apex of my loot! I am glad I was so young that I did not thought for a second to “preserve them” or “collect them”… they went to war on the floor with unfurled colurs and the band gaily playing!
Sorry for the poor quality of the pics but they were really small and have not found others…
As a result you all know I was hooked on Toy Soldiers for life…
