Over the years I have seen some of Gary Dutko’s fantastic custom work on eBay. Gary lives in Gettysburg, PA. I met him at the last toy soldier show in Gettysburg. He is now retired and NOT making any new customs. He is still selling the ones he has made over the years.
Unfortunately. he is at a moment when I guess all of us collectors will be at one time in our lives. He is starting to sell off his collection. Due to recent family deaths, he wants to sell off his collection. He is looking for Dealer or Collector to buy his whole collection.
You can see some of his items for sale on eBay at dutkotoys. Maybe he has something that you are looking for that is not shown right now, so send him a message.
I think most of his conversion figures are of Conte and TSSD.
The recent and unexpected death of my brother (he was only ill for 5 weeks) on Nov 12, 2017 and now the sudden death of my brother-in-law (my sister’s husband) on Feb 10, 2018 has reinforced my need to liquidate my 30 year collection as quickly as possible. I am currently looking to find a major toy soldier dealer who will buy my entire collection. However in the meantime I decided to list some of my personal custom conversion figures in larger lots (these WILL NOT be sold individually). But for now all single figure auctions will continue until further notice. So if you see something you like I suggest you buy it now! Many thanks for all your support since I started selling on eBay in 1999. Best Regards, Gary
Since I am now RETIRED from the toy soldier hobby I decided to sell off a majority of my buildings, accessories, stock figures and custom converted figures that I had in my personal collection for a number of years.
I also added Gary to the Toy Show Vendors page. If you have not see it yet, click over here Toy Soldier Show Vendors.
Collector’s Corner is a new feature on my page. I will have a story from time to time about different collectors. Thank you for reading.
Hi guys, here is another post about some news on the hobby. Plus some other odds and ends. But first I wanted to say something about Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is a day to remember, show respect, and honor the brave men and women who DIED while in service to our country. They paid the ultimate sacrifice and are missed by spouses, children, parents, and extended family, friends, and their comrades every day of the year. This day encourages other Americans to reflect on their sacrifice.
The other day I ran out to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies to help me with displays and crafting & customizing things. When I was leaving I met some Vietnam Veterans. They were taking donations and making people aware of the “Vietnam Veterans of America”. My Father is a Navy Veteran from 1954-59 and my Uncle is a Vietnam Army Veteran. So after I had made a donation I talked for over a half hour with these Gentleman on different topics. I fully support their goals, which are below.
Vietnam Veterans of America goals are to promote and support the full range of issues important to Vietnam veterans, to create a new identity for this generation of veterans, and to change public perception of Vietnam veterans.
So if you know someone who is a Vietnam Veteran let them know about the “Vietnam Veterans of America” group. You can read more about them here Vietnam Veterans of America.
Now on with some hobby news. One of the things that I purchased at Hobby Lobby was some figures by Safari. It was the Safari Jamestown Settlers Toob set. It cost $9.99. I purchased this because it contained mainly villagers. I am going to repaint these and use them as either Colonial or as Medieval villagers.
The figures are about the same size as Conte Vikings and Barzso/LOD American Revolution figures. The toob I purchased didn’t have the ship or figure firing a musket. So take a look at the toob before you purchase it if you are interested in a certain figure. They have different toobs too, you can see more here Safari Ltd Toobs
The other day on Stad’s Stuff there was a conversion about Evan Oelrichs . He was looking for some advice on starting a new toy soldier company. His Idea was to make toy soldiers about World War One. You can read more and join the conversion over there Stad’s Stuff – Potential New Company Has Question on Their Plans.
The same or next day I came across this custom set on eBay. It looks really exciting, except for the price. Full of action. An excellent idea of what a playset should look like. ebay auction
I saw this the other day on Igor Basevich FB page. It is the first look at the new Chintoy’s Conquistadors and Mixtec & Zapotecs Warriors. Igor made the said the figures are about the same size as the Barzso Aztecs and Conquistadors.
Important information !!!!!
The first set of Conquistadors CHINTOYS’s in size is oriented to the soldiers of Barzso on a similar theme “Aztecs” and “Conquistadors”, on a scale closer to 1/35. ( that is, less than the usual 😎CHINTOYS)
Please take this into consideration!!!!!
Here is an update right after I posted this article. I got some pictures of the John Jenkins prototypes for the “Battle of Saratoga” line from Treefrog Treasures FB page.
I like the way the John Jenkins figures are starting to look. I might have to get a few of the new American Revolution figures. I have picked up a few of his French & Indian figures over the years.
I have not heard anything about the Paragon Plains Indians. I don’t know if they got them in time for the Texas Toy Soldier Show that just passed this weekend. I hope to order some of them soon.
That is it for now. I continue to work on things with my figures. My Playmobil friends will be happy to see new customs soon. I am working on some unfinished things and some new ideas too. Plus some new additions to the web site. Take Care for now, thanks for reading.
Every once in a while I order something online and then I’m pleasantly surprised when I get them. This is the case with the Warhansa Vikings. About a month ago I went to the Warhansa website and ordered these Vikings. From what I saw on the internet I expected some decent sculpted figures. But they looked a little crude from some of the pictures that I saw. But was surprised with the amount of detail done to these figures. They are not perfect, but they make a fine addition to my collection.
This set came with 5 figures. One of the first things that I noticed was the color of these figures. They are an orange/beige color and look different from the pictures on the Warhansa website. Also these figures feel like the American Revolution Barzso figures. They are a stiff, but flexible too. Harder than the old Conte figures. I thought they would be a hard resin type plastic. They are listed 1/32 in scale. They would be better listed as 1/30 in scale as they are big. They mix well with Conte, Barzso, Publius and Engineer Basevich figures. I really like 4 out of 5 of the poses. The least favorite figure is the berserker figure.
The first two figures that I really like form a shield wall when placed next to each other. This is a big plus for me when I am looking for new figures to add to my Vikings and Saxons. The “Shield Wall” was a main tactic that the Vikings and Saxons would use in battle.
The next figure is a Viking with a Dane Axe. Usually the Dane Axe was used by a very skilled warrior. The Dane Axe was used by both the Vikings and Saxons. This figure could also be used as a Saxon Huscarl too. One of the reasons that I like this pose so much is that it makes you wonder the next action the figure will take. It looks like he is ready to smash a shield to pieces or split someones skull in half.
Another figure that I really like it the one of the Viking Leader. He has a sword raised and is blowing a horn. He is giving the signal to ATTACK!!!! I like everything about this guy. He has the look of grizzled veteran. He has lead many raiding parties over the years.
The last figure is the berserker. It is a mixed bag here. I like the sculpted body, but I think the pose could have been better. I would have liked to see more emotion with this figure. Like if he was going to explode. It looks like he is doing a rain dance. I think two axes would have been better too.
All in all I like these figures and they shall make nice additions to my warbands. Some of these figures can be used as Saxons too. I am going to order some more in the future. If these figures were scaled down a little the would be great. The weapons are over sized, but not overly distracting. I like the small details and facial expressions. Plus the action poses of most of them.
I will use these figures as character figures for my medieval armies. The are bigger than most of my other figures. But they are not giants, but are big men.
I will paint the first batch of figures that I have and mix them with my metal figures. When compared to my Conte metal figures they seam to be the same size and should mix well when they are painted.
Let’s hope that Warhansa does some Saxons in the future to go with these Vikings. Take a look at there figures over here at Warhansa.
Take a closer look at the details of these figures. I hope this helps out with making a decision in spending your money on these figures. They are not cheap, but to me are worth the price of $32. Thanks for reading and looking at my blog page. Take care for now.
I have a report here of some new and old news on the hobby of Toys Soldiers. If you have been following my blog you know that I have been pushing for the Hat crowdfunding effort of the Seven Years Wars Austrians in 1/32 for a while now. Yesterday they announced that the project has been approved! This is great news for us plastic collectors. Not only for us collectors to this time period, but in general for us collectors of plastic in the 1/32 scale. The last few projects that Hat was trying to produce were canceled.
There will be 3 different sets #9329 7YW Austrian Fusiliers, #9330 7YW Austrian Grenadiers and #9331 7YW Austrian Command. The is no release date as of yet. I will give a review when I finally get the sets, hopefully sometime by the end of the year.
In other news, TSSD or Toy Soldiers of San Diego is offering their business for sale. Nick Versteeg is going to retire because of health issues. It’s a sad day for us. I hope his health returns and he can enjoy his retirement. Hobby Bunker is interested in taken over. We shall see what happens.
“The 12th annual Texas Toy Soldier Show is being held in downtown San Antonio, TX inside The Menger Hotel ballroom. Dates are Saturday May 26, 2018 and Sunday May 27, 2018 Tickets are $10 and good for both days. Call Kings X Toy Soldiers at (210) 226-7000 or email sales@kingsx.com for more information.”
The LOD Enterprise Toy Soldiers American Revolution Americans and British figures are getting closer to being released. Here are some test shots of the figures. They look great, I can’t wait to set something up later this year with these guys.
I should be getting these Warhansa Vikings any day now. They are in 1/32 scale. I will do a review later this month.
Here are some pictures of Engineer Basevich set #23 “Nomads” or “Polovtsy, Pechenegs and Khazars”. These figures look really nice, they are the opposing set against the “Slavic Warriors” that they had done.
Chintoys has two news sets that should be released later this year. They are set CHT009 Conquistadors and CHT015 Mixtecs & Zapotecs Warriors. They look nice too. Looks like it is a busy year again for plastic. Lest see what else comes out later this year. Thanks for reading.
I hope to continue this summer with some interviews, previews & reviews and projects that I am working on. Thanks again for your interest in this page.
One of the other items that I got from Atherton Scenics was the Small Longhouse. It is just like the Longhouse from the Barzso Ranger’s Playset but smaller. The Longhouse about measures 12 inches Long, 3 & ½ inches Wide, 3 & 1/8 inches Tall. I am surprised of the amount of detail, it is really nice. This is a great way to expand your village at great price of under $18.00.
The other day I finally purchased some foam pieces from Atherton Scenics to help me with some of my displays for my toy soldier collection. One of the things I purchased were a few Small Teepees. These teepees measure about 4 & 1/2 inches in diameter and 4 & 1/4 inches in height. The cost was under $8.00 with free shipping. They mix well with my other teepees.
They come unpainted painted with a white coat, I started painting a couple and they look nice.
I took a few pictures with my other teepees and some 1/32 in scale figures. I think the teepees mix well with the others.
These should go well with the new figures coming out from Paragon Scenics and X-Force.
I purchased a few other items from Atherton Scenics and will do some more reviews in the future on those. Go to the to Atherton Scenics to see more products.
Here are some of the prototypes of the Expeditionary Force Woodland Indians. These could be used for early American Conflicts. They look really nice. There should be a lot of room for customizing these figures too.
Here is another show coming to the Philadelphia area later this week. This is the Miniature Figure Collectors of America Show and Mart. Collector’s sculptures and painted Figures, Ordnance, Vignettes and Dioramas are judged. There is some truly amazing figures and dioramas to be seen. I went there last year as a last minute thing and was glad I did. It is has a lot of metal figures but some quality plastic dealers. I might not be able to attend, but will try. If you stop by tell George from Minutemen Toy Soldiers I said hello.
The Show and Mart will be open to collectors on Friday from noon till 5:00 PM and Saturday from 9:00 AM, until 4:00 PM.
We will be holding our 77th Annual Show and Mart on Friday, May 4th and Saturday, May 5th, 2018 and will be returning to the Radisson Hotel Philadelphia Northeast at 2400 Old Lincoln Highway in Trevose, PA.
“Year after year MFCA offers everyone the opportunity to shop in the largest vendor area in the country. If you need figures, models, toy soldiers, books, paints, brushes or bases, you can be sure you’ll find them here. Come see why we are the show of choice for one-stop shopping.”
**** NEW LINE OF FIGURES PREMIERED BY JOHN JENKINS ****
“We are pleased and honored to announce that John Jenkins, owner of John Jenkins Designs, will be attending our show and premiering his new line of American Revolutionary War subjects. John is renowned for his skill as a sculptor and painter, and his figures are prized by collectors for their quality. John has also generously donated several of his sets, to be raffled off through the course of the show. We’d like to express our thanks to John for the donation and extend him a warm welcome!”
Besides George from Minutemen Toy Soldiers there are some other quality dealers coming. Hobby Bunker, Treefrog Treasures and Rick Eber’s with all his quality vintage plastic playsets of mainly Marx. Besides these dealers that are a bunch more listed below.
Johnny’s Memphis Toy Soldiers LLC Military History Shop Birch Tree Enterprise Studio Miniatures Last Cavalry Sentinel Miniatures Michael Jones Christopher Durham Relic Golden Amusement, Inc. The Little Tin Soldier The Model Cellar Molenaro B & M Miniatures LLC Luis Vasquez Dearth Company Frank Leo Picacho Peak Collectibles Carthage Miniatures Kenneth R. Mick Treefrog Treasures Rick Eber’s Quality Play sets Carl L. Hoegermeyer Dan Jones Counterpane Paul Boyd Trains & Toy Soldiers A Toy in Time Minutemen Toy Soldiers Keller Enterprises Armand P. Bayardi-Model Maker Charles O’Brien Hobby Bunker, Inc. Red Lancers Hand Held Warriors Richard DiBenedetto Bill Neustadt William Davis & Son, Booksellers
You can read more about the show at the MFCA site.
