My Toy Soldiers & Me

Napoleonic Playmobil Customized (75mm)

I never indulged in that (well, only two figures) because I did found the task herculean and complicated… but diorama makers do it to perfection and you must be aware of rhe cost of it too!

I think they represent a Swiss Regiment (Asociacion Napoleonica Española) seen in Facebook!

Some real “toys”… (toy soldiers in a true sense)

Wargaming can be done in multiple ways… here is one! (Facebook)

Probably the 4 black spots on the horses are a bit too much a simplification… (loved them) but you need all sorts as you know… excellent buildings and scenography! H.W. must be pleased!

54mm?… probably…

Guess they are 54mm and awfully well painted!

Seen in Facebook… nice display but have no more details…

Incidentally this web page has reached more than 85.000 Visitors and 275.000 Visits… really surprised myself… maybe I shall go along for a time…

Another vignette in 54mm

Crimean Vignette… after the Charge…(Facebook)

I must say W. Britain is lately spoiling us with delightful vignettes… well done!

Young Victoria 54mm

Now and then an original vignette is available… and then I post it matter of fact.

90mm

Not much to add, sometimes a picture says all.

Quite by chance yesterday I finished reading the Bruce Catton’s book on the ACW on the anniversary of Lee’s surrender -and the subsequent end of the ACW war to all purposes- I could quote from this concise (and to the point) resume the courage and bravery of the soldiers on both sides but as it is a well known fact there is not need. It is probably the best single book about the ACW I have ever read (do not search in it “Ride on you Wolverines” details…) it clearly puts on writing that it was a NO WIN NO WIN situation for the South from beginning to end… but it showed spirit and incredible feats (both faces: brilliancy and incompetence)… I have read Shelby Foote Trilogy and even him acknowledge the fact that the Union would have prevailed in the end no matter what. It is a recommended read that would leave you wanting for more… Enjoy

Incidentally yesterday was also the Shiloh anniversary.

Guess what’s the novel most used as a plot by Hollywood?

Multitude of versions black&white, silent, Technicolor… you name it… it has been done seriously, for fun, with songs… whatever really… so here it is a small tribute…

The Three Musketeers as seen in FaceBook… again Militay Modeling quality.

Playmobil 75mm

When I got my 25/28mm crisis (a deep one) that produced the effect of selling my whole collection on that scale (but for 3 or 4 sentimental minis) I was distraught… I was still reading History and Historical Fiction but wargaming in 25/28mm had lost its appeal… I thought my wargame days were over… I toyed with Playmobils as a distraction mainly having my grandchildren in mind (not that I had much success with that) but the original idea was there. For nearly a decade I collected, converted, added stickers, bought special headgear and weapons and what not… to get the Playmobils the trade mark NEVER PRODUCED!… LOL… in fact I was recreating, in the end, my old 25mm collection in 75mm… but it was FUN!… and there were “things” not possible to do with metal minis as mounting a horse or dismounting at will, getting weapons in hand or not, magnificent sailing ships, skirmishing games were possible and periods like the Lace Wars (Tricorne era… a la Charles Grant) which I never indulged on in 25/28mm were a joy to toy with (that part of my Playmobil collection is in the respective hands of my grandchildren). Of course at the same time I rediscovered 6mm (1/300 in the old days) and went wargaming again. Not that I stopped ever collecting 54mm Toy Soldiers mind…

Today’s pic (extracted from Facebook) is an example of what I mean… probably german readers will love their toys… if really interested see posts about Playmobil and Playmopics in this web page.

Customized Ancient Warriors (Facebbok source)… see what I meant?

God’s Own Scale

No blasphemy intended, 6mm is the scale to go IMHO to fight on the tabletop large scale Battles or Campaigns, the quality of the castings has improved a lot over the decades and even some truly amazing painters of minis achieve stunning feats of art with them!… but of course this is not the main point… gone are the secure flanks (aka border of the table), the lines of communication suddenly are there… you can even represent the tail of an Army… really a lot of things to ponder on. On the downside you lose detail (lovers of the last button would not be interested) and even your quite really good average painted minis lose detail on the distance (at naked eye view). As you know I am hooked on this scale and my passion is the ACW. See elsewhere on this web page under ACW.

Probably one of the best books so far readed by me is the single volume by Bruce Catton The American Civil War. A truly tour de force.

Napoleonic 6mm Opolchenie (Russians) by Glenn Pearce

In fact it was the Baccus concept of basing 24 minis (or 28 with skirmishers) in a single base measuring 60x30mm and calling the unit a brigade who appealed to me. A genius move. (I evolved from there but that is another story).