In remembrance of Memorial Day, we Americans honor all of those who have died in service to the United States during war and peace.
In the beginning of the month, we attended the 81st Annual MFCA Show & Mart. It was over two days. This show is not like the toy soldier shows we attend. The competition is the highlight of this event. The mart is just part of it. The cost of the show was $20 for both days. It is more expensive than toy soldier shows. It includes the competition too. You will find a lot of unpainted metal & resin figures. Some painted metal toy soldiers and a few plastic toys soldiers. But you can find some nice items. That being said let us begin the review.
Aaron Elson was at the show again selling military related books about WWII veterans, including his Father. The stories they had to tell about their experiences from the war.
Digital Realms Models and Toys was selling vintage toys, model kits and books.
Eugene Hanin of DVH Design or Tin Toy Soldiers, was at the show this year. He had a bunch of metal casted miniatures from Russia. The details were really sharp and at a good price.
Foggy Bottom Miniatures had casted metal miniatures from brands like Sanderson, Monarch, Rose and other brands. He is getting more Sanderson molds and from other brands. The castings are really nice.
Next, we have Hobby Bunker. Matt had his mobile store with him again. There were vintage plastic toy soldier sets, new plastic & painted metal toy soldier and everything else the hobby offers.
Military Matters was there with a bunch of military reference books.
George from Minutemen Toy Soldiers had painted medal toy soldiers from all the major brands.
Northern Warden Gaming had a bunch of plastic bits so you could build custom miniatures.
Dr. Christian Keller of Old Toy Soldiers had a bunch of antique toys and toy soldiers.
Here are some pictures of random vendors.
The Patriot of Lake George store had some nice military weapons and items. Plus, some nice toy soldiers too. You can see more at their website over here, http://www.patriotoflakegeorge.com/.
W. Britain was present too. They had some of the latest products and previews of what was to come. I took the opportunity to rejoin the Collector’s club. They are my favorite brand of painted metal toy soldiers.
We did well at this show. Warhorse Miniatures is a medium between a toy soldier and a military miniature. We try to be historically accurate but have some characteristics of a toy soldier like the bigger heads and hands. We had our latest products from the Plains Indian theme and French & Indian War theme.
I was only able to take a few pictures of the competition.
Our friend Steve Pyle won a few more awards again this year. Congratulations Steve!!
The Artist Keith Rocco was here also. He had some of his work available.
We added some new products to the web store this week and have acquired some of the Butternut & Blue Civil War products recently too. You can check out all the products available right now over here, Warhorse Miniatures Store page.
We wrap up another post. Over the next few months, we will be releasing new products and some of the older sets will get updated or re-run into production again. We are starting to use a new resin mixture that is stronger, more flexible and looks better too. The best part is the price has stayed the samefor our products.
See you in August at Gettysburg. Thank you for reading.
The day started at 3:30am. We were on the road around 4:20am. Around 7:30am we started setting up our tables for the Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show.
Around 9:30am the tables were set up and I was able to walk around to take some pictures. Here are a few before the show started. I was busy for most of the show and was able to take some more pictures again around 2pm.
While we were setting up, I would take a look at some of the tables near to me. To the right of us was Nate’s Garage, to the left was McShaun’s Closet. And across from us was Fast Eddie and a vendor selling Britians Deetail Toy Soldiers.
One of the Vendors near Steve Connell was selling a Conte Saxon Medieval Cog. This is the second year in a row someone was selling this ship. I purchased one last year. The seller was asking $750.
Rick Eber had a bunch of the vintage plastic toy soldiers and playsets again.
Eddie Gries had with him his usually mixture of Osprey military reference books, vintage painted metal toy soldiers, new painted metal toy soldiers, and vintage plastic toy soldiers.
TheGettysburg Miniature Soldiers Store, was setup with some W. Britians toy soldiers and plastic tanks. If you spend some time in Gettysburg you have to visit their store.
Matt from Hobby Bunker was present with his usual selection of everything the hobby has to offer.
Rob Hornung had his hand crafted & painted miniatures with him. Some really unique themes. I like the color schemes and selection of the poses he picks.
Some pictures of random vendors.
Eric Kohl had some artwork, old reference magazines and modern & old painted metal toy soldiers.
David & Kim Cook of MicShaun’s Closet had a bunch of foam buildings, terrain pieces, castles & forts and a lot of the TSSD plastic toy soldiers with them.
Frank had some models and figurines that he had painted for sale.
Here are more random dealers from the show.
Nate’s Garage was right next to me, so I was able to take a lot of pictures of his incredible products.Most of his items are hand crafted or repurposed. He paints everything too.
Here are two pictures of a storage bin that was picked through, throughout the show.
Here were some unique action figures that I never saw before…
Steve Pyle had with him a bunch of his hand painted dioramas. He will convert most of his toy soldiers to make new poses. He also hand crafts most of his props used in the displays. He will be at the MFCA Show on May 3rd & 4th. We will be there too.
Steve also had some of my Warhorse Miniatures painted and displayed.
Here are some random pictures of plastic toy soldiers. You usually can find some vendors that have storage bins to search through. They are usually priced cheap.
Here are some more pictures of random vendors.
Rick Lipp had a nice Navarone set and vintage Marx toy soldiers.
Here are some pictures of vintage playsets.
Jack Eagan had a bunch of painted metal toy soldiers. Some were loose and there were others with the original boxes. He was selling some for $30 or I think it was $25 each if purchased 4 figures.
Lastly, we have a few pictures of our table. Here are some of the latest products we are producing. For the French & Indian War era series, the new sets were the Native Mothers and Gatherers, Huron Indians and 1755 Virginia Regiment in blue. We also did them in red to depict the British 60th Regiment or Royal Americans and in brown for a colonial militia. For the Plains Indian series, we had 5 different types of Teepees, Sioux Indian Warriors and some woman villagers.
All in all, it was a good show. It was well attended, and collectors were buying.We noticed a lot of new people and the crowd was made up of all ages. One collector said he had been collecting for about 30 years and this was the first time he came to a show.
This coming Friday, May 3rd & Saturday, May 4th we will be in Trevose, PA outside of Philadelphia for the MFCA Show. For more information click over here, https://www.mfcaclub.com/2024-show.
We had fun at the Gettysburg Show and will be back there on August 25th for the 2nd Show this year. That is it for now. Thanks for reading.
The Gettysburg Toy Soldier show is this Sunday, April 21st 2024. We will be there with our Warhorse resin miniatures and Barzso resin toy soldiers.This is the premier toy soldier show on the east coast now. The show has a mixture of everything the hobby has to offer. You can find new & old painted metal toy soldiers. There are vintage plastic playsets, plastic toy soldiers both old & new from all over the world. Plus, resin miniatures and unique collectibles. Besides the toys you will find historical related items and books.
Here are some of the new products that I will have available at the show this week. I have some new British French & Indian War sets. The Virginian Provincial Regiment in Blue, 60th Regiment (Royal Americans) in Red and Colonial State Militia in Brown. I was thinking of making them in Green in the future so they could represent Pennsylvania Provincials. There are some new poses to go with the Confederate Marchers, there are 3 wounded poses now. I have other French & Indian War sets of Canadians and Woodland Indians. Plus, all the new Plains Indian sets.
It should be another great show. There will be vendors like Hobby Bunker and then small-time venders selling items from their collections. You never know what you will find. We hope to see you on Sunday. Thank you for reading, that is it for now.
Here is the part two of the review for the Midwest Toy Soldier Show. The show started off slow, but it picked up about an hour after the doors opened. We met a lot of new collectors. I wish I was able to take more pictures. But I did not have the time.
We start with Bill Richardson’s table. He had some nice Auburn Army men and a lot of vintage vehicles.
David & Kim Cook had a bunch of tables full of plastic toy soldiers and foam pieces. David said “We are bringing back some of the previous TSSD playsets, updating and improving them. By adding new foam pieces, accessories and figures. And we are in the process of creating new playsets Looking forward to seeing everyone at Gettysburg.”
Also, if you are interested in anything particular, send him a message so he can bring it with him to the Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show that is on Saturday, April 21st.
Doug Wood had a lot of nice vintage plastic toys with him. He is in Grand Rapids, MI. If you see anything that you are interested in, give him a call at 616-204-2298.
Rich Egan had some nice Barzso & Conte products. Some bagged sets and loose figures to pick through. Some were painted too. There were some Marx prototypes in rare colors too. Plus the playsets. The Conte Stamford Bridge set was $450 I believe, and the Barzso Braddock’s Defeat playset was $650.
Some random pictures of the hallway outside the main room of the show.
Jack Eagan was the vendor/collector with the John Jenkins toy soldiers for sale. He will be at Gettysburg too.
Karl Diener had some nice Marx and other brands of vintage plastic toys. He only sets up at the Midwest Toy Soldier Show. But you can contact him at kmkcd4@frontier.com.
Some random pictures of the show.
Here is some pictures of Mike Kutnick’s tables. He had a bunch of the original Barzso products with him.
Nate’s Garage produces some really nice toys. He hand makes his war machines and paints them too.
More random pictures from the hallway.
Dave Pittman had some storage boxes of plastic toys to sort through.
As usual, Rick Eber had some really nice Marx toy soldiers, playsets and other vintage plastic toys.
More random pictures of the show.
Rob Hornung hand makes and paints his products too.He has some unique themes for his sets. He is a true craftsman.
Joe Saine had some really nice vintage/antique toys. He also had a lot of Barzso playsets.
Steve Connell had some plastic soldiers, playsets and painted metal figures. He sold most of the painted metal soldiers to one young collector.
We end the show with my tables. I had a small display of the Plains Indians and Woodland Indians. I almost forgot to take pictures of my tables. I took a few as we were packing up. That is it with the review. We had a great time and will be back next year. The numbers were down some, but many vendors did really good in sales. I will now show some of the other stuff I found at the show.
Here is a lot of toy soldiers that I got from John Anderson too. In a small box was mainly Accurate Colonial toy soldiers in different shades of blue. Around 75 of them. There we some other figures like the Marx figures. Plus, some plastic women figures with what looks like a fire in one hand. I never have seen this model before. I would like to find out more about them. This lot of figures cost me $10.
Also in the lot of Accurate colonial soldiers was this plastic Britians British Artillery figures. Plus the small cannon.I set them up with one of my metal cannons. I have the same set as the picture of them painted. But never knew you could find them unpainted.
I traded some sets of my Warhorse Soldiers for these Barzso British Soldiers in the Whale boat.
I found this Bulldog miniature. I have another one somewhere that I found years ago.
I got this Conte German Officer from Steve Connell for $20.
I picked up some Marx Viking recasts for $20 from Rick Keller.
Collector Eric Burden gave me this Crusaders as a gift. They are from the Russian company Runecraft. They are around 65mm or 1/28 in scale.
I will try to have another post up before the Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show that is on Sunday April 21st. I will have some updates and hobby news. That is it for now, Thanks for reading.
We had a great time at the Midwest Toy Soldier Show. We left Pennsylvania on Thursday morning around 4:45am and arrived in Lafayette, Indiana a little after 3pm.The trip was not too bad. There were no traffic delays, but some rain. There was a tornado in the southern part of Indiana that did not affect us. We took everything to the room and then got something to eat. Afterwards, I walked around the 1st floor as some of the vendors were room trading already.
Across from our room was Rick Keller & Rick Lipp. They had a bunch of playsets and vintage Marx toy soldiers. Plus, some HO scale Atlantic figure sets. At one point on Saturday, a collector came and purchased about 15 playsets & some other things from them.
After I said Hello to Keller & Lipp, I went to see Mike Kutnick. As usual he had a bunch of Barzso and some unique things. I picked up some Barzso accessories to add to my collection for the Woodland Indians. Mike had a bunch of accessories to pick through and some Barzso figure sets. I also found some Austin Miniature WWII Japanese and Marines.
Next to Mike was Rod Chapman’s room. He had some vintage plastic and dime store toy soldiers.
Doug Wood had a bunch of vintage plastic toy soldiers, playsets and vehicles. There were Bags of Marx Germans at good prices. Plus, some Marx American & German Soldiers with some minor damage at great prices too.
Rich Egan had a bunch of Conte and Barzso products. He always has some quality playsets or figures with him.
There was another collector that was selling off John Jenkins toy soldiers and some other brands. I think they were around $25 to $30 each. I forgot his name; I will try to update this later. He will be selling things again at the Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show on April 21st.
We took part in the room trading on Friday & Saturday. Each morning, we opened between 9am & 10am. We took a 3 hour break mid-day and were open to around 9pm each night. The crowds were a lot less this year. But we had more sales than the last time we were here two years ago. I talked to a lot of collectors and other vendors. There was a lot of interest in the new Plains Indians that I am making. Because the foot traffic was slow, I started walking around to see what other vendors had. I found some nice things and good prices.
John Anderson had a fire sale going on. At first, I wasn’t really interested in looking through a bunch of boxes and small storage containers that he had.I saw a lot of Marx playsets and boxes with Marx or other vintage plastic stuff. I am not a big Marx collector. John kept on telling me to take a look, things were cheap. So, I did and I found a few things that I liked. The first was this Airfix Footballers boxed set. There were 47 soccer figures in 1/32 scale or 54mm. The box came with 29 figures and the rest were extra. All of this for $10. This was actually a set that I was looking for to add to my Airfix collection. It is a hard set to find over here in the states.
I found this Aurora Camelot set from John too. I paid $5 for this set. It is rare and hard to find. I love sculpting and poses with this set. The models are 54mm and made in a hard model plastic.
Mike Kutnick had some Austin Miniatures World War II sets that I purchased. I got this Japanese set for $35. I have two sets already. I like the sculpting on these figures too. They are around 58mm and made out a hard resin. They are painted a beige color. The weapons are made out of metal. Maybe one day they will do them in plastic.
The second Austin Set was another limited edition set, World War II US Marines. I also paid $35 for this one too. There were 8 toy soldiers in this container. I think two were Character figures. The one with the Cigar is “Gunny”, I believe. The last pictured figure with the pistol and Thompson is an Officer. These were around 58mm and made out of resin with the metal weapons too. Some of these models look like they will be made into plastic in the near future.
Well this wraps up the first part of our two-part review of the Midwest Toy Soldier Show. I wish I was able to take more pictures of the room trading. They were a lot of good deals. A collector sold his Barzso Playset collection of 14 playsets. They went for $200 to $300 a piece. We missed this sale while we were out eating on Saturday. I will have more updates about the show and the other things I picked up at the show too in the next post this weekend.
In a few weeks we will be attending the Midwest Toy Soldier Show in Lafayette, Indiana. As usual, we will be bringing the latest Warhorse Miniatures products, Barzso Resin Toy Soldiers and some vintage toys. The Room Trading starts on Friday, March 15th and then continue on Saturday, March 16th. The show itself will be on Sunday, March 17th from 10am to 3pm. For more information about the show click on the link here, http://www.mwtoysoldier.com/.
The past few months we have been busy testing things and filling orders. Plus making things for the next show. The main theme of this year will be the Wild West.
I am having different Plains Indian tribes created. The first tribe will be the Sioux Indian tribe. The Plains Indians will be scaled to match the TSSD Plains Indians with is around 57mm. Also, later on they will be made to match the Barzso & Airfix Indians with are around 54mm. The 57mm set with be $48. The cost for the set in 54mm will be $40.
I am creating a Plains Indian village with different teepees and villager sets throughout the year. The cost of the “Buffalo Skinners” will be $25. It will consist of 2 Native Women and 2 different Buffalo skin props. I am still working on things, so some things might change. Like in the “Open Teepee”, I am thinking of adding a few miniatures to go with it.
Here are some more different variants of the teepee. Some are made out of canvas and others with Buffalo skins. The sizes vary from 155mm to 165mm. The price for the teepees will be $45 a piece.
We are also continuing to work on the French & Indian War theme. There will be a new Huron Indian set, Marching British Grenadier & Foot sets, Canadian Militia set, Prone Canadian figure, wounded Natives and more. There will be more British & Natives in a couple of months.
Lastly, here is an update on the long-term project of the WWII US Paratrooper. We have spent a lot of time on this project. Things are coming along nicely. I hope to have a set or two ready by the fall of 2024.
Time is flying by this year. When we get back from the Midwest Show we will be attending the Gettysburg show about a month later.
Carolyn and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I am writing a short post before the end of the year. It is about updates with production and some previews of what is to come.
Earlier in the year I was selling some Confederate Marching sets at the Gettysburg Toy Soldier shows. I later resized the heads on half of the models. They are now ready for production. I was thinking of producing these in a few different scales. I tested the 54mm and 60mm figures yesterday.
Here are some of my Warhorse Confederates compared to other brands like Conte, Imex and Marx. The Brown Confederates above are around 60mm and the Grey are around 54mm.
Here are a few prototypes of some different teepees that I am working on. I am making a few changes, but they are just about finished. They will be made in two different sizes. The cost of the Teepees is $35 for the small ones and $50 for the bigger ones.
Here are some pictures of the teepee with different brands of plastic Native American Indians.
This is the Native American Gathers set. I might add another figure to this. So, the price will be either $30 for 6 miniatures or $35 if I add another. The scale is close to the Barzso villagers set. I will have some more Native American sets coming out earlier next year. You can use this set with for the Woodland Indians or Plains Indians.I was thinking of making these miniatures in a bigger scale, like 57mm to match some of the TSSD Plains Indians.
Here are the first 3 “Battle Sets” that I have been working on. These sets have been made to bring your dioramas alive. As time goes on, I will create more sets like this.The cost of each will be $15.
Things are coming along with the 3D workshop. I will start adding some sets in January & February. The Teepees will be available in March. I will have some at the Midwest Toy Soldier Show and probably 5 to 6 new sets by then. I am going over my older sets and will be revising some of them. Some will be discontinued and replaced altogether. That is it for now. Thank you for reading.
We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The last few months have been really busy.We had to find a new place to live, then pack, move and settle in.I am now ready to start production again with the Warhorse miniatures. I have some new sets in development. We will get to that later in this post.
But first we will look at some new plastic sets coming out next year. Austin Miniatures is going to release a new set of World War II American Marines for Pacific theater. The are 1/32 in scale.
Here are two new sets from the Russian company called Beleriand. The first set is of Crusaders and the second set is of Hussites. They made out of a rubbish type of resin and are in 1/32 scale.
Here are some French, British and Native Indians for the Battle of Snowshoes by Plastic Platoon. They are made out of the rubbish resin and the big 1/32 scale.
And lastly here is “Ivar the Boneless”, the son of Ragnar Lodbrok the famous Viking. Created by Tihon, made in Russia. I like the historical depiction of these miniatures.
I like to get pictures of how the collectors paint the miniatures that I have created. Here are some from a collector named Bruno from Switzerland.
Here are some pictures of the Warhorse French Marines and Canadian militia painted by Scott Campbell.
Here are some new prototypes of some Woodland Indian natives that I have been working on.I made these about two weeks ago in the new workshop. Things will be a little slower with the production because I am limited on the space to do the post prep work. Besides that, I am going to do less testing with different resins and just work with what I have. That will be mainly the grey, brown, green and blue resin mixtures that I have been using. It will be like this for another 2 years until I retire, and we move again.
Besides these figures, I am working on more French & Indian related projects. Plus,a bunch of other stuff that we will see next year.
We will be in Lafayette, Indiana on March 17th for the Midwest Toy Soldier Show, plus on March 15th & 16th for the Room trading too. I will start updating the website again with new products and some of the older sets.That is it for now. Thanks for reading.
Greetings everyone. In this post we will be looking at two different toy shows. Plus, some hobby news. So let us begin…
Bucyrus Toy Soldier Show
We packed the car Friday night and started our trek to Bucyrus, Ohio early Saturday morning. The trip was about a 7-hour drive. We stopped at a few antique stores once we got to Ohio. After we checked in, we drove around the area of Marion and discovered a few places to check out. We made it a little adventure. We like to see different parts of the country. As collectors we are always on the hunt to find something in the wild.
We got up early the next morning and drove about 25 minutes to the Bucyrus Fairgrounds. We started setting up in a building that held about 60 tables. There was a small kitchen that was serving breakfast and lunch. The room was clean and well lit. The first vendor across from us was setup already as we walked in. He had all kinds of vintage toys.
All the vendors at this show were collectors, except for me. Either they were professional dealers that buy collections to resale or collectors downsizing.You can find some good deals from collectors looking to let go of things.
Besides the toy soldiers & related items there was also vintage toys, action figures, comics and some trains.
There was a lot of plastic toy soldiers at this show. A lot of vintage Marx sets to search through too.
There was some Barzso toy soldiers too. Plus, a lot of loose figures to go through from all different brands.
There were some old metal toy soldiers too.
They were different kinds of collectibles like comics and sports cards. Not much though. It was mostly plastic toy soldiers.
There were some nice playsets too.
Larry Lovely was the promoter of this show, and he did a good job. For being the first year the crowd was not that bad. It was small but it was not the worse show that I have done. The show should be better next year. They will change it to be on Saturday. It will be the same day as a fair that takes place there.
We end the review of the show with my tables. I had a mixture of my Warhorse Miniatures, LOD/Barzso toy soldiers and foam terrain pieces. We now will see some of the things that I picked up for myself below.
This time I found some vintage Airfix British 8th Army toy soldiers. These are some of the most iconic toy soldiers in my own opinion. I had a bunch of these guys growing up, both originals and knockoffs. The Officer figure was missing.
Here are some Barzso Daniel Boone figures. Daniel Boone, Mingo and I think Daniel Boone’s dog with a baby. The other items are part of the Blacksmith shop.
Here are some Barzso Davy Crockett character figures. First is Davy fighting a bear. The other figures are George Russell and Polly Crockett. The last picture has one of my latest protypes in blue next to Polly.
Here are the Barzso Gladiators. I have a bunch of Gladiators from different brands. This was the only ones that I needed to finish that mini collection for now. I was lucky enough to get them for $10. One day I will make some new figures for the Coliseum.
Here are some more Barzso fence sections. I actually got these at Gettysburg. All of the Barzso items I had purchased from Steve Connell.
I found this at a garage sale. I think it is part of a G.I. Joe set. It was marked Milton Bradley.
I found this tree in an antique store for $2.50. I think it was made to go with trains.
I found a bunch of plastic Star Wars toy soldiers in an antique store in Ohio for $20. They are 1/32 in scale. The Snowtroopers are some of my favorite Star War figures.
Last week was the Chicago Toy Soldier Show or as it was relabeled the Chicagoland Toy Soldier Show.In February the Garfield family announced that due to problems with the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg they were cancelling the show. It shocked the toy soldier community.Some were hoping that the Garfield family would continue the show somewhere else. But it did not happen. Matt Murphy came to the rescue with setting up a new show in a new place not that far from the original spot. Some people where concerned on how the new location would be.
The Chicago Toy Soldier Show was on Sunday, September 24th. But before the show they had started room trading on Wednesday September 20th. Most of the pictures I have were either taken by Jason Evans, Hobby Bunker or fellow collectors. I was not present at the show. I hope to be there 2025.
Here are some signs in the lobby of the hotel. Now let’s see some pictures of the room trading.
AeroArt and Hobby Bunker had their own “store” set up on the 2nd floor. They were open from Wednesday through Sunday.
The first room we have pictures is of David Cook. MicShaun’s Closet own’s the TSSD line of Plastic Toy Soldiers. They sell most other brands of Plastic figures from around the world. Plus, a bunch of foam products.
Here are some random pictures of different rooms.
Ron Barzso was back to do some room trading. He had some old stock and a few playsets to sell. Plus, as always he made a lot of memories. He signed the Barzso Playset book for Jason Evans. I have to get Ron to sign the copy of the book I have.
Here are some pictures of the rooms belonging to Steve Connell, Kirk Larson and Agan Jack.
Here are some more random pictures of the room trading.
Here are some pictures of Robert Hornung’s room.He creates everything by hand and paints them too.
Rob’s son had created a 1930’s radio show. A radio serial that was called Zip Carson and The Death Ray of Mars. Zip Carson and Margaret Allen were the main characters.
Here are some pictures of Mike Kutnick’s room. He always has some great stuff. A really nice guy.
Here is another guy that creates and paints everything. Nate’s Garage makes some awesome toys.
Here is another good guy, Scott Canady. He brings a bunch of vintage toy soldiers and playsets to the shows.
Here are some pictures of Treefrog Treasures’ room.
Rusty Kern of Playset Magazine had his room set up for everyone to visit and to pick up some magazines.That is it for the pictures of the room trading. This is just a fraction of what was going on. I heard that there was around 100 rooms setup.
In between the days of room trading there were other events going on. One of those events was the raffle of 3 Playset boxes for charity. Two were empty custom boxes. Scotty Canady, Mark Murphy& Rick Egan won a custom playset boxes.The artwork was done by Ron Lizorty. The box that Rich won was signed by Clint Eastwood. It was a custom made playset with toy soldiers inside.
There was a collector that had a Mint Marx Playset from 1957 that was opened and displayed for all to see.
There was a social media campaign to make collectors aware of the change with the show and what companies would be there.
Here are some pictures of the collector’s lining up for the show. I heard that the show was really busy this year. Probably the best attendance in a very long time. Around 800 people or so attended.It was nice to see this show survive after being in limbo. Some thought that the show would be less than what it was. From what I heard it was very successful thanks to Matt Murphy.
Here is the hallway leading up to the main show room.
W. Britain’s tables.
Here are some pictures of different vendors. Scott Canady is in the first picture.
David & Kim Cook of MicShaun’s closet.
Treefrog Treasures.
Here is Warring Warbirds. I think the planes are carved from wood. They are really creative.
Here are a bunch of random pictures of the show. Some show Ron Barzso & Ken Ciak.
Here are a more random pictures of the show.
I heard George RR Martin was at the show?? He is a collector of miniatures. That is it for the Chicago show. It should be even better next year. I can’t wait to attend in 2025.
Here is a video of an American Civil War diorama that fellow collector Vic Badd Guy created. He painted a bunch of Speira Miniatures. He also created the burning house effects and the terrain.
Some of you might have noticed that I have shut down the store page on the website. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we are in the process of moving. Production has been paused until we are settled in the new house. Hopefully by the end of November we can start again.
Today would have been my Father’s 88th birthday. He was a navy veteran, served 28 years in the NYPD as a Lieutenant and a Great Dad. Happy Birthday in Heaven Dad.
I hope everyone enjoyed the summer. We ended it by being in Gettysburg last weekend.
One of Steve Pyle’s displays for the Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show.
We attended the second show in Gettysburg last Sunday. The crowd was lighter than the first one this year. But it was nice to see everyone. There were more collector’s selling things from their collections. Good deals were to be found. I was not really looking to make any major purchases, but I did…
Besides Steve Pyle’s creations, there were other collectors with their own painted figures.
There were different types of old painted metal toy soldiers. I have a few of the old painted metal Indians in my collection.But I really do not know too much the old metal miniatures.
There were some modern painted toy soldiers for sale also. One collector had a bunch of the John Jenkins figures for sale. With and without boxes.
There was a lot of boxes of loose toy soldiers available to pick through. Mainly plastic toy soldiers, but there were metal ones too.
One of the great things about the shows is seeing things that you rarely see or items on your wish list. You can also find them at good or fair price.
Joseph Saine had a bunch of the Barzso Playsets with him. I purchased one from him towards the end of the show. Besides that he had a lot of antique toys. You can check out his website over here, https://www.josephsaine.com/.
Here are a couple of pictures before the show started.
Collector Steve Pyle likes to paint and modify toy soldiers for the displays he creates. He makes a lot of the terrain pieces too.Steve was telling me that he is related to artist & author Howard Pyle.
There were bags of vintage Marx & original Barzso figures at good prices. Plus, some loose figures to pick through.
Here are some more of the old painted metal soldiers.
And more pictures of vintage plastic.
We end with my table, here are some pictures of my Warhorse Miniatures and some of the Russian made toy soldiers. We will now talk about some of the things I got at the show.
Here are some plastic Airfix WWII American and British toy soldiers that I picked up. I have a bunch of these that I have picked up over the years. There was one French Marx soldier painted in grey.They are 1/32 in scale. I purchased this lot for $10. The plastic WWII Airfix figures are some of my favorite toy soldiers in my collection.
I got some more Barzso Redcoats. Here is one compared to one of my Colonial Longhunters.
I picked up these two Marx Teepee. Here is one of the new Native figures I am working on.
I scratched another item off my wish list to join my collection. I purchased this Ron Barzso Daniel Boone Playset for $450. I will take some pictures of everything one day.
Next weekend We will be setting up as a vendor at the 1st New Bucyrus Toy Soldier Show. It takes place on Sunday September 10th, 2023.Show is 10am to 3pm. Crawford County Fairgrounds, 610 Whetstone St, Bucyrus, Ohio 44820. Inside the Fairgrounds Youth Building. Early Admission at 9AM $5, KIDS FREE w/ adult. There will be dealers from over 5 different states with a variety of toy soldiers, vintage toys and collectibles.
September 24th is the biggest toy soldier show in the world! Over 100 dealers from the USA, Canada, Belgium, France and the UK.
The show is at the Schaumburg Marriott, 50 N Martingale Rd Schaumburg, IL 60173. September 24, 2023 10AM-3PM. Admission $10.00, Kids 12 and under Free. Plus 3 days of room trading leading up to the show. Just walk right in the hotel and browse through peoples sleeping rooms and buy, trade and socialize. Free. Contact: Matt Murphy – Hobby Bunker, Inc. www.chicagotoysoldiershow.com matt@hobbybunker.com Ph. 781 321-8855.
Here is the latest update from BMC. They have a lot of exciting news. A lot of Marx & CTS recasts are coming later this year. You can read more about this over here, BMC Toys Production Roundup September 2023.
I will have some updates and review of the Bucyrus Toy Show in my next post. That is it for now, thank you for reading.
