Category: Military Modeling

Military Modelling

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Crimean Highlanders 120mm aprox scale.

In my time I did indulge in Military Modeling, but not that much really, as I wrote in my book I have tried all the approaches to the hobby. Those chaps in Matt finish look very nice indeed but once you have finished them they are eminently “decorative” meaning by that there is no way to play “games” with them. Some I painted myself, some I bought already painted and based in a shop.

This is the biggest soldier I own and it is a china/porcelain item, quite big in fact, say 250mm. Quite a Chasseur a Cheval of the Imperial Guard from Napoleon. A very fragile thing,

I will show next a mounted officer from the Spanish Army in the same scale as the Highlanders.

1910 is a bit a late period for me but as long it is pre WWI it is OK.

And finally a Greek Warrior, Prince Valiant and Richard Sharpe all in 54mm.

I think they are from the Andrea Miniatures Range but not sure at all. 54mm. ( a greek hoplite, Prince Valiant and Richard Sharpe).

I stopped collecting them because they are quite fragile and when cleaning the bookshelves they are exposed to heavy damage, not if I clean myself mind, but sometimes the “hired help” are not careful enough. Did do some repairs on them several times.

Last but not least… Capitán Alatriste ( Vigo Mortensen), John Wayne (Fort Apache) and Gary Cooper (Beau Geste)…54mm.

I also have a Custer Last Stand model but I deleted the post Little Big Horn.

Small Conversions, as part of collecting.

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Now, this could possibly go under “Collecting Toy Soldiers” or even “Conversions” alone… a post I deleted once… and going to use in part to show what I mean for conversions.

Life is not perfect sometimes (we all learn to live with that), and mistakes or omissions appear in your collecting hobby. For example on my last order to Andrew (REPLICA METAL SOLDIERS&MODELS 54mm) I did not specify that I wanted my 92nd Highlanders pipers 1878 with pith helmet (Khaki)… to my surprise they come with a different headgear… a bit out of place when campaigning in Afghanistan… but not historically imposible… anyway after much thinking about it I have decided to change those heads. Andrew did loyally commented that they were (and are) one-piece castings, so the process would be “cutting off” and drilling a new hole on the neck to acomodate the new head (painted and supplied by Andrew) which of course implies the use of special tools I did buy long time ago for doing the same thing in 25/28 mm scale. Finally I did NOT convert those I love them as they are!

Here are some of my OLD conversions of Foundry 28mm figures for the Crimean War, I still have in my possesion a Nolan figure (left of pic) for sentimental reasons. Do not ask for them and pester FOUNDRY, they are not in the catalogue, I wanted a mounted Highlander officer, a mounted colonel of Rifles, a general based on Raglan (the one wawing sword and some other assorted pieces. I used horses from their range and some heads from REDOUBT (those with havelock).
My most “convoluted conversions” Tim Tyler’s Ivory Patrol minis in 28mm. Maybe too long to explain how I did them because the use of parts was really complicated.
A very simple swap of headgear and another general (it was a Turk originally) added to my collection (now sold out). FOUNDRY 28mm.
I was really obssesed with doing “conversions” at that stage of my wargaming life.
And for RolePlay and skirmish games I did make a lot of versions of mounted and dismounted pairs of characters in 28mm.
See what I mean?… the sky is the limit…
Another example… the RED CAVALIER…
Another mixed lot… in 28mm. It shows on the right the Swedish mounted chap that started the obsession originally…
A sample of the scales I messed up with in my wargaming life… and a couple of my childhood toy soldiers… the one in the bike and the mounted RCMP. Both from Spanish manufacture in some kind of cautxuc or rubber composition. (REAMSA and JECSAN)