I hope everyone is enjoying the Labor Day weekend. Now that the summer is over I am returning to my normal work schedule and will have more time to do some things. In this post I have a few updates and some pictures of some items that I have picked up over the summer. We shall start with some news first.

THE CHICAGO TOY SOLDIER SHOW IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER! Join us at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg Chicago, Sunday, September 22nd, 10 am – 3:30 pm. This show is the biggest show in the world. All the newest products, prototypes and news can be found here. Plus hard to find vintage toys, custom one of a kind and limited edition sets. You can read more about the show at their website over here, https://chicagotoysoldiershow.com/.

Here is what Conte had post on his FB site in his words below.

Thought you’d like to see 6 ( of 8) poses from Roman Set 1 ‘in action’ .
Please note that the ‘gobs’ supporting shields and such are only ‘there’ to temporarily hold up separately molded parts. They will NOT (obviously) be part of the finished product.

Also, the pila/spears have been artificially made a tad thicker than we’d wanted and designed( so that they inject properly and do not bend or twist) We are hopeful that their thickness will be reduced a bit for the final production while still avoiding any bending…it’s all about compromise when the functioning of the molds vs. playability & original design come into debate….

A different view which gives some idea of the full-round nature of these figures. The photos were sent to us this morning BY THE FACTORY. These are actual photos of prototypes for RC’s approval/comment sent to us from THE FACTORY.

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7th & 8th poses from Set 1

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Centurion almost complete; might make some adjustments to the cape ; also working on alternate head and alternate arms. Hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this fellow progress…the problem always is that the large shield hides so much detail.

Austin Miniatures will have the new Japanese Infantry & US Marine figures and playset available at the Chicago Toy Soldier Show. I will have more information soon about the details of these sets. 

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Forces of Valor is starting to release more new products in 1/32 scale now. The new Russian tanks will available this month. The German tank above should be released next year in March. We should see new items come out on a regular basis now. Next year will see a lot of German, American and some more Russian armored vehicles. There will be more items released other than the ones shown below. 

Soviet T-34/85 Model 1944 Medium Tank – 55th Guards Tank Brigade, 7th Guards Tank Corps, Berlin, 1945 [Bonus Model V-2 Diesel-Fueled 12-Cylinder Engine] (1:32 Scale)

Soviet T-34/85 Model 1944 Medium Tank – 95th Guards Tank Brigade, 9th Tank Corps, Berlin, 1945 [Bonus Model V-2 Diesel-Fueled 12-Cylinder Engine] (1:32 Scale)

Here is the famous “Whittmann” Panzer. German Late Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank – Michael Wittmann, “007”, schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 101, Cintheaux, France, 1944 [Bonus Maybach HL 230 TRM P45 Engine] (1:32 Scale)

German Sd. Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer – “332”, schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 654, Normandy, 1944 [Bonus Maybach HL230 P30 Engine] (1:32 Scale)

German 88mm Flak 36 Anti-Aircraft Gun with FLaK Rohr 36 Gun Barrel and Sd. 202 Towing Vehicle – Unidentified Unit, Stalingrad, 1942 (1:32 Scale)

German Sd. Kfz. 186 Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger Heavy Tank Destroyer with Henschel Suspension – schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653, Germany, 1945 [Bonus Maybach V-12 HL 230 P30 Engine] (1:32 Scale)

German Sd. Kfz. 184 Elefant Heavy Tank Destroyer with Zimmerit – schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653, Italy, 1944 [Bonus Two 300 PS Maybach HL 120 TRM Engines] (1:32 Scale)

German Mid Production Sd. Kfz. 181 PzKpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Heavy Tank with Zimmerit – 3/schwere Panzer Abteilung 501, Orsha, Russia, June 1944 [Bonus Maybach HL 230 TRM P45 Engine] (1:32 Scale)

You can find these new Tanks at https://www.themotorpool.net/Forces-of-Valor-Tanks-and-Diecast-Military-Vehicles-s/50.htm, https://www.hobbybunker.com/products/forces-of-valor-16/mfg or eBay, Amazon and other places. Also https://www.michtoy.com/vendors-Forces%20of%20Valor.html sells them too.

Here are some items that I picked up over the summer. In my last post I mentioned that I picked up a Barzso/TSSD “Road To Stalingrad” playset. After I picked up that set I found a few die cast tanks to add to it. Most of them were made by Ultimate Soldier, 21st Century, Unimax or Forces of Valor.

Here are two WWII Russian tanks by Unimax and Forces of Valor. Plus WWII Russian Infantry by TSSD. All of them are nicely detailed. They are all in 1/32 scale.

Here are the TSSD Russians in olive green. The T34 tank is made by Unimax.

Here are the TSSD Russians in Maroon. The KV-1 tank is made by Forces of Valor. 

Here are some of the TSSD WWII Germans in long coats for the Russian Invasion. 

These are early set cast in white gray color.

The first Tank is made by W. Britain. I found it for $34. It was damaged, but I was able to fix some of it. The barrel on the gun turret was warped. Probably from some accident when it fell and hit the ground. There was a small crack on the bottom of the track. I was able to heat up the gun barrel and straighten it out.

Here is another German tank. I think this one is a Panther. It was made by 21st Century toys.

The half-track is made by Forces of Valor. The figures that came with this set are really nice. They make an epic piece in any collection. The look nice with other brands of toy soldiers in 1/32 scale.

I ordered some trees about a month ago from Micshaun’s Closet. Each tree was $12.99. The details are great. It is a nice size. The tree measures about 9 & 1/2 inches tall.

So if you need any Germans, Russians or trees head over to https://micshaunscloset.com/, they carry plenty of different sets from multiple companies.

These die cast tanks are great. But they can also cost a lot of money. But if you are patient you find these die cast vehicles at good to fair prices. The Forces of Valor are the best in my opinion.

Over the summer I have purchased a few figure lots. In these lots there was either different sets from the same brand or different brands mixed together. I picked up a few vintage WWII Russian Infantry figures in different colors.

Here are some of the orange Airfix Russians that I think were made in the late 1980’s. 

These Marx recast Russian figures I think were cast in the 1990’s??

I have never seen these in yellow before until I got them in a figure lot. They are nicely cast. They are marked Marx on the bottom. They are 1/32 in scale.

It is a few weeks away from the big show. I can’t wait to hear about and see the newest products that are going to be released. I should have a post before or maybe two post before the show. That is it for now. Thank you for reading.