The 12th Annual Gettysburg ended this year with the lights on. There was a good crowd at the show. They came in at a steady rate throughout the show. This year was the first year that I attended as a vendor. It was a fun experience.

 

I got up at 5:00am. Me and my girlfriend had arrived the day before and stayed at the Eisenhower Hotel. That was where the show was being held. I unpacked and put the bagged figures that I had in different boxes on the table. After that I took out the Prikaz & Austin figures to display.

It was interesting to watch the other vendors set up their tables. They put together shelves and huge displays. Gary of the Army Group Center even wheeled his shelves in already filled with boxed sets of toy soldiers.

 

The first vendor I saw was me…. I had a mixture of mainly vintage figures and some recasts. I really didn’t sell too much.

 

 

The main reason I went was to promote the Moscow based company Prikaz. I had 4 of the medieval based sets displayed. I had some of the sets in plastic display cases and others displayed with some Conte figures. The collectors that stopped to check them out where impressed with the amount of detail. They liked the unique poses.

They also liked the Austin WW II Japanese prototypes that I had on display. A lot of collectors can’t wait until September to buy some bagged sets of Japanese Infantry. Me too.

 

One of the promoters of the show is John Stengel Jr. He came through the back door to avoid the press. He had most of the tables towards the back of the show. I was right next to him. His tables had bins filled with plastic figures. They were either in plastic bags or loose. Most were vintage, but some where new bagged sets. He also had some playsets. Every show he digs out boxes of old vintage plastic figures. You never know what he will have. He hopes to have 100 to 150 sets of the his new World War II German Paratroopers ready to sell at the Chicago Toy Soldier Show later this year. After some setbacks he hopes to have a few sets produced next year.

 

 

Carl Hoegermeyer was the other promoter of the show. They had a lot of painted metal sets. Check out his website here, https://quartermaster-collectibles.com/.

 

George Guerriero of Minutemen Toy Soldiers always has the best displays of painted toy soldiers for sale. He brings a huge selection from different companies. I collect mainly plastic or resin figures. Most of the metal figures that I have I purchased from George.

 

Hand Held Warriors was at the show with their beautifully painted metal miniatures.

 

 Army Group Center Wargaming was at the show again with hordes of plastic figures in boxed sets, plastic bags filled with figures and loose figures in plastic bins to search through.

 

Calvin is one of the Toy Soldier Show vendors that I have mentioned in the past. He always has a nice selection of vintage and hard to find toys.

 

Stephen Connell was present at this show again too. He had a nice selection of painted metal figures at very good prices.

 

Rick Eber of http://www.marxplaysets.com/ always has a great selection of vintage Marx playsets and figures. Plus vintage figures from other brands.

 

Frank Wakely had a nice selection of vintage toys for sale. He is one of these collectors selling off his collection.

 

Another dealer of painted metal figures was Al Green of Green’s Collectibles. He also had a nice selection of metal figures.

 

For the Historian is a local Gettysburg store that sells books & miniatures. 

 

Michael Jones had a nice selection of painted metal figures too.

 

Memphis Toy Soldier is another dealer of painted metal figures. They had a nice selection too.

 

Some more old toy soldiers that Mr. Keller was selling.

One of the nice things about the Gettysburg show is the great selection of both plastic & metal figures. Both new and old. Vendor after vendor had quality products. Each one had something different to offer. Each year is always different when you come. This year was great if you were looking for tanks. There were two vendors that had huge selection of tanks at very good prices. 

 

There was one collector that was selling off a huge selection of tanks and Conte sets. He was selling loose tanks starting at $25.00. Boxed tanks starting at $45.00. He was asking $600 the Conte sets. He said he will go to a few more shows and then eventually sell whatever is left on eBay from his daughter’s account. I think he will be at the East Coast Toy Soldier show if he still has a lot of things to sell.

 

Tom Dubel was selling some painted metal figures too. He also had a nice selection to choose from.

 

Joe Wallis knows a lot about lead toy soldiers, hey he wrote the book… He is very knowledgeable about old toy soldiers and had a nice selection of them for sale.

 

Fred Sassin had a nice selection of vintage toys for sale too. Both metal and plastic.

 

Gerardo of Toy Soldier Depot had a nice selection of tanks and other military vehicles. He also had some playsets and some bins with loose Conte figures for sale. 

That is all I have to show about the show itself. I had a good time talking to fellow collectors about the Prikaz Toy Soldiers, the Austin prototypes and some future projects that I am working on. I am slowing down on with collecting things for now and want to focus on customizing, painting and creating original things. Here are some of the items that I did pick up at the show. 

I got these W. Britain and Conte figures from Stephen Connell. He was asking $20.00 a piece for them.

 

Here are some Replicant Saxons that I picked up from John Stengel Jr. I like how the base of the figures match up so you can “lock” them in place to form a shield wall. I got these for S4.00 a piece. I got a few more Saxons too.

 

 I got these Conte Spartans from the Toy Soldier Depot for $2.50 a piece.

 

Here are some other items that I picked up at the show for good prices. I got some Barzso foam pieces, an Engineer Basevich Nomads set, a few loose Conte GI’s, an Auburn Horse and an Imex American Revolution Artillery set.

That’s it for the review. Don’t forget to check out the Prikaz Toy Soldiers page.

If you could not make it to the Gettysburg show there is another show with some of the same dealers coming up in a couple of weeks in Ohio.

May 18, 2019 – May 19, 2019 is the 2019 W.Britain Open House, Show and Diorama Workshop. For more information check out the flyer here, https://www.wbritain.com/media/cms/Ericka_Good_Soldier_Show_2019_Flyer_F561B97F38B9F.pdf.

 

Take Care and thank you for reading.