Today, I started writing up this post. It is a review of the 2026 Chicago Toy Soldier Show. I decided to try to finish it today and get it post tonight. I would usually watch the Paul Knapp show, but he is taking a break from the show to take care of some personal things. Hopefully he is back in a few weeks. So, with that we will begin.

Paul Knapp thoughts on the show were, “Overall, I thought it was amazing. Seeing old friends again, meeting new ones, especially followers of my Toy Soldier Tuesday livestream show. Just an amazing experience. I didn’t have a table this year to sell stuff, so it was nice being able to room shop Friday and Saturday without having the stress of staying in one place all day selling. Last year I came as a dealer and was sort of trapped in my room most of the time. This was my first time seeing a vintage box opening by Rick Eber and Craig Remington. I can see why everyone loves it. As for the show it’s on Sunday and I bought many larger items that would normally cost me a lot of money to have shipped so I ended up saving those costs. I saw more 3d printed dealers this year than before and I think our hobby, at least the plastic collectors, are starting a new age of the hobby. But mostly it was seeing all the dealers and especially the people that watch my YouTube channel that made it a great weekend. Definitely worth the 15-hour drive.”

Here are some pictures of the show and Alex Baldwin. Here are his thoughts about the show, “In general I thought it was a better show than last year. I thought the room trading was strong and did most of my shopping there. I didn’t have much cash left over for the show. The best part for me was seeing everyone. We got a great haul but spent too much money and barely got it all home.”

Here are some pictures of the Austin Miniatures tables. They are working on a lot of new things for next year. Looks like it will be WWII products for the European theater.

Here are some pictures of the Battle Bricks table. Not everything at the show is Toy Soldiers.

Here is Brandon Helms from Castle Dehelmsman. Most of the 3d guys were in the same area. Here are his thoughts on the show, “Great room trading for me this year. Better than the show itself. I was pretty picked over by then . I made a lot of new contacts this year for more projects. I feel like I am getting closer to the community which is good. I have a better feel for what people want.“

Here is Evans Oelrichs of Combat Collectibles and his Grandfather Terry Durso. Right now, he is making World War I miniatures that are around 60mm. He has plans on making miniatures from different eras next year. Here are Evans’s thoughts on the show, “I had an excellent time at the Chicago show hanging out with you and Room trading, it was wonderful to see a lifelong dream come to fruition and great to see everyone & spend time with my grandpa.”

David & Kim Cook of MicShauns’s Closet had a bunch of foam products and plastic toy soldiers with them.

Here are a few pictures from the table of Rick Eber.

Here is Jason Finley on the right next to Brandon. His company is called Finley 3d. He makes terrain pieces & props with filament printers and miniatures with resin printers. Most of the products he makes are WWII based.

Here are some pictures from Gallaghers Gallery.

Some random pictures of the show.

Graig Remington had a bunch of tables filled with vintage playsets and plastic toy soldiers.

Hobby Bunker was setup in their private store in front of the ballroom where the show was. As usually they had a ton of different products from the hobby of Toy Soldiers. Here are some thoughts about the show from Matt, “Overall, I think the show was similar to the previous years. We had 393 paid attendees which is up from last year by about 20.
We had 71 registered room traders. We had 139 people staying in our group. The hotel was sold out. I know many collectors stayed at the Holiday Inn next door and some at the old Hyatt hotel.”

Rob Hornung was setup again with his handmade creations. Miniature works of art.

Here are some pictures that Jason Evans took. That is him in the first picture.

Here are a few pictures of Joe Bakers table. This is what Joe thought about the Show, “You’ll have to choose excerpts from it but here goes.
The Chicago Toy Soldier Show was both the best I have attended and the worst. It was the best because of the great interactions I had with the Marx playset collectors I’ve known for decades and the wonderful new friends I’ve made through the Toy Soldier Tuesday Live Stream show. It was by far the most fun I’ve had with the people in the hobby. It was the worst of shows on the selling front because I chose the wrong year to bring mid quality Marx playsets to sell. Several large collections of playsets were being sold at great prices and there was no market for what I brought. Conversely, I think it was a great show to be a buyer. The other thing that stood out to me was how much a part of the hobby 3d printing has become. Mike Prendergast, Brandon Helms and Jason Findlay all had great stuff that fires the diorama maker/story teller’s imagination. They were very busy making lots of people very happy. Room trading traffic seemed down this year, but that might be because of where my room was or because of what I brought to sell. Overall, the joy of the sense of actual friendship I experienced this year far overshadows the sadness of having to bring home so many great playsets to enjoy for another year. 😉

John Satatellis was setup next to Joe Baker. Here is what he thought, “As a collector and part-time content creator who resides in Canada, far away from all the hubs of toy soldiering, this show to me is like the 5 days of Christmas! Going on the 4th year now the experience never gets old or stale. In fact it gets better and better. At this point, going to Chicagoland is not only going shopping for toy soldiers but going to visit friends & family. The camaraderie with everyone at this event is unmatched. This year was even more special as it was the first time that all of the TST team was together physically in the same place.
And a blast was had! Huge thanks goes out firstly to Matt for all his tireless efforts in running this show. And to all of the countless vendors and collectors, who are now basically family.”

LOD Enterprises had their new Bunker Hill Playset and a bunch of the resin Barzso reissues toy soldiers.

The Waters were setup with a bunch of painted metal toy soldiers again.

Rick Berry of Michigan Toy Soldiers was setup too.

Nate’s garage had a bunch of his handcrafted creations at the show too.

More random pictures from the show.

Treefrog Treasures had a bunch of painted metal toy soldiers and some unique pieces for sale.

W. Britain was setup with a lot on nice painted toy soldiers. Their WWI and Apaches look really nice.

We finish with my tables of Warhorse Miniatures. I did well at the show too and had fun talking to everyone. It was a long week. I had a lot of fun spending time with my fellow collectors and vendors. I found a few things that I did not know that I needed with was nice. I can’t wait to go back next year.

This is Ben Meiinze from Ben’s War Room. This year marked my first venture to the Chicago Toy Soldier Show. For a bit of background, I only just reentered Toy Soldier collecting in early 2024 after a nearly 20-year hiatus. I had heard a lot about the Chicago show and was really looking forward to attending. I went there with a mindset on it being a shopping trip but found so much more. First and foremost, the show blew past my expectations. The hotel site was just great. The room trading leading up the Sunday show was beyond anything I’ve experienced before. In fact, I did most of my purchases, going from room to room. There were so many amazing vendors too! Hobby Bunker, Warhorse Miniatures, MicShaun’s Closet, Castle DeHelmsman, Finley 3D, Austin Miniatures, Royal Remington, and so many more. Needless to say I way overspent, but the selections were just too amazing to pass up. But the absolute best part was meeting everyone. People I had connected with on Facebook or through Toy Soldier Tuesday podcasts. I met so many great people that I had the privilege to hang out with and share a passion for collecting. Some of the nicest and warmest people you can imagine all in one place. And while the room shopping and the Sunday show were an absolute delight, I came away feeling like I had made new friends and that’s something that hasn’t occurred in a long time. I am already looking forward to attending again next year and hope to see everyone there!

Travis Gibson. It was my first Chicago show in 11 years. That was the last time we were there. I didn’t think it was that long. I thought the show was well attended. It also seemed that there is a resurgence in plastic/resin which is fantastic! A lot of new product was on display, From Austin, Finley 3D, W. Britain, LOD and of course Warhorse!
It was great talking with collectors and meeting people in person that you usually only speak to by phone or email. Like the fire service its tight community and some of the nicest people around. Definitely going back next year!

J.A. Vincent. Sure, it was my first time going to Chicago. I found amazing so many venders and displays. Everyone was so nice and so informative. If someone didn’t have what you wanted they knew where to get. This Show is like a childhood dreams come true, everyone was so great, my thanks to everyone who worked or practiced.

Eric Burden. Being my first time, It was even more than I expected. Incredible room trading experience. Meeting all of the vendors and seeing old friends! I just wish I would have saved more before going, lol.

Dave Carpenter. I think based coming for the past 25 years one of the best in the past 10 years.

Chris Shaw. Being a first timer to the Chicago toy solider show. I was super excited to attend. I arrived Friday afternoon. The room trading was in full swing. Going from room to room was such fun. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. I found many treasures on both Friday and Saturday hitting all the rooms multiple times. Sunday was the show their were several vendors I didn’t see in the room trading part. The show was big and very spread out with lots of room to move about. So many great things to see playsets lots of plastic and metal abound. I picked up some older Marx Germans some MPC Russians. Along with loose figures from Auburn and Conte Collectibles. Mike Prendergast had his new Marines and Japanese figures they were fantastic. The show was a great experience for me . Great vendors good and kind sales. I will definitely be back next year.

Here are some the toys I picked up at Chicago. I got the LOD Bunker Hill Playset for $350. I will one day unpack everything and set it up.

Graig Remington talked me into buying this playset for $125. He threw in some extra soldiers. I am not a big Marx collector, but there are some sets that I do like. This is one of them. I took most of the soldiers out for this quick set up.

Here are some Conte Alamo buildings that I had picked up. I got a really good deal on these.

Here are 2 new Asian huts made by Austin Miniatures. I think they are made to be used with 1/32 scaled Vietnam toy soldiers. But I will use them in my WWII Pacific war setups. The were $40 a piece.

Here are some Conte WWII toys soldiers that I got from Remington for around $50. I got Sgt Rock, 3 custom GI’s, and 5 Germans.

I picked up these Larry Patterson Miniatures from Mike Kutnick for $75. They are custom made 1/32 scaled Western figures. This is what I usually look for these days. At some point I am going paint this and fix a few of them up.

That is it for now. I will have some updates in the next post. Thank you for reading.