We checked all the figures, added a few lost items (very few), did some changes of headgear (mainly ADC’s), took a lot of pics, and enjoyed the time.
Their collections are in great shape as you can see in the pics. Armies usually have 4 line Infantry Units (regulars), 1 Light Company, 1 Grenadier Company; two units of Cavalry: Light Dragoons and Cuirassiers; Artillery (a couple of pieces); Sappers, and even a Doctor and assistants. Actually the Armies also have a mounted spy (masked) and a Religion Priest. Plenty of Generals and ADC’s too of course. Mainly the figures are straightaway from Playmobil figures and pieces (you are really spoilt for choice in the “tricorne period”) and apart from some resin headgear variations for the sake of shaking a bit the “uniformity” it is fairly easy to build your Armies. Old School Wargaming is probably the best approach IMHO
BTW the Red Army (British) is in the hands of the younger of my grandsons, but I do not mess with it because he is too young to take it too seriously and has to parade them a few years more I guess.
I reread the rules “Three Inch Glory” wargaming (XVIII Century) available for download free in google, recently they added a skirmish rules for 10/12 figures I must read too!
As usual an image is worth a thousand words, so here they are.
Enjoy
A set of rules (the only one I know).The back of the headgear of the Grenadiers.A basic unit, a company of regulars of the “white Army” (Spanish or Austrian is just a matter of clipping the right colours in the hands of the standard-bearers)Sorry for the “angle” but it was the only way to get a pic of the table.The White Army Light Dragoons.The White Army Cuirassiers.Cavalry Commander with guidon bearer.The Grenadiers of the Blue Army (French or Prussian if need be)The basic Unit a regular Company of Infantry.In the front facing left the Cavalry of the Blue Army (looking right you can see the backs of the White Army Cavalry Units).A close up.The Blue Army Light Dragoons (resin helmets by Javier Jimenez – MALONE-)
The Blue Army Cuirassiers.
The Blue Army Colours (French in this case)A French King with dog. (In fact is based on a Prussian King figure!)The White Army Colours (Spanish this time)
This is a summing up, there are more Posts in this present web page about Playmobil Toys… probably never intended to become Toy Soldiers (in the true sense) at all mind, but the GEOBRA brand did enjoy producing Pirate Ships and Romans (probably very reality hard core violent subjects in the real world)… so it is more a matter of deluding themselves I guess.
The Sport of Kings it was called, and small profesional Armies took rendez-vous (more or less) shooted a bit to each other and claimed victory (sometimes both sides) see Barry Lyndon film.
Football and TV had not yet been invented so you had to do something completely different if you follow my thoughts.
Seriously, the potential as entertaining friendly wargaming is there, I recognized, collected, customized, and give as a gift to my grandchildren (I am more into lead Toy Soldiers myself). But still have kept some in my own collection!
Yesterday, we took a look at their collections, well preserved (to my surprise!) and reorganized the whole lot. It was my intention (completely wrong) to buy from them instead from ebay the imaginary “scraps” of the lot because I feared once interest outgrown it is always the bin nowadays… LOL… WHAT A SURPRISE!… Now I will probably buy some items (the less interesting that anyway they will inherit no matter what!) to give them pocket money… but will preserve their collections (the best parts)… and stop messing about with them. Sometimes with the best of intentions you are proved completely wrong!
If I have time (and interest) I will probably write a fastplay set of rules for them. (I only know about the “3,5 inch rules” that are not bad at all… but I love them more concise and not so complicated.
Have some pics (I will add more today I think!) as a summing up.
Shades of TOMBSTONE…Tim Tyler’s LuckDid those customs myself long agoI added a RSM todayColonel Le Sage et the three Geste brothersSome characters Union ACWTexas Light Cavalry Company C (Dusty Fog’s own)Yesterday pic, nice Spanish Grenadiers with custom headgear. More pics today.Finally displayed on a bookshelve.Detailadded a bugleadded my personal avataradded a painted by me dogHow time flies!… I remember showing themselves how to parade them… they have grown up a lot! the elders are 17 and 15 this year… and I thought (maybe wrongly) that their interest would have faded and toys forgotten… LOL. I did not mess up with the small boy in the middle and his even younger sister because they still play with them from time to time I have been told.I heavily customized some characters in their collections, and it was FUN!Those are my personal pets (I still have some in my collection… YES… I have a small collection myself too!)The Band of the Guards took me a lot of time to complete… hard to find Tubas I remember.Trooping the Colour is one of my pet subjects in any scale…The drummer’s callThe Escort to the ColourFrontal viewPresenting the ColourSuiteGoping to give to the EnsignHere it isCarry On!Going to Troop the Colour…Ready to goClose upRSMAerial viewLateral viewDetailA nice one!Guess you get the idea!Have changed the eapulettes of the Officer’s… they look better now.More changes…Even the HRH Queen (Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip (and other officers have been also modified thanks to the counsel of Mr. Angus Mac Legol)French Foreign Legion (I sold some of them)… the rest are for keeps.
I once sold a collection of ACW Playmobils because I did not want my grandchildren to fight brother against brother… LOL… if I had new they will enjoy playing videogames with plenty of shooting and killing with machine/laser/guns… oh dear!… I feel like a Neanderthal sometimes…
Recently have bought Playmobils (AGAIN) Prussians to fight the Brits at Dorking à la Wells… missile launched from canons… hope that the smaller of my grandchildren will appreciate… have my doubts (sometimes he thinks older than me).
Enjoy.
Big Table of course!
See the chairs!… For ONCE! this is not an estatic DIORAMA!… I thought I was the only fool that indulged in that!
What about something different today? I was feeling adventurous somehow… I guess they are semiflat figures that have an appeal of their own (and always look better from the side pics)… excellent flag BTW. French troops if you ask me. And I forgot to say… Prince August (they sell moulds too!)… with some additions from Front Rank!… and, of course, 40mm scale!
Enjoy!
It smacks of Barry Lyndon’s times (or even earlier)Great painting job!… semiflats?
There seems to be a lot of Prussians lately… but that’s what it is… sometimes wargamers do have to follow a fashion no matter what (me included). Prussia had a span of 30 years before integrating Great Germany after 1870… and still… they are very popular (as anything before WWI and WWII)… LOL
Enjoy!
A lot of Prussians advancing…The French opposition!
Followers of this webpage, Blog, or whatever this is knows it is my favourite period.
Strangely enough I do not have a single 54MM Toy Soldier figure myself in my collection.
I have a Military Modeling one in 54MM (John Wayne in USA Cavalry uniform… but it can be a much later period… aka Indian Wars 1876… She Wore a Yellow Ribbon like… but could have been THE HORSE SOLDIERS with a black hat too! I think I have already shown that pic several times so…
