2023 ~ MFCA 2023 Show Review Part 1, and some Hobby News.

May 8, 2023May 9, 2023 / Warhorse Miniatures / 1 Comment

The past Friday & Saturday was the MFCA Annual Show & Mart. The exhibition is for painters, modelers and collectors of Toy Soldiers of all skill levels and interests.

The Marketplace also attracts hobby vendors from throughout the United States. Vendors providing everything from miniature figure kits, plastic and wood models, books, Toy Soldiers, Militaria, Art, and connoisseur figures.

This was a different type of show than we usually do. Most of the shows we have setup as a vendor have been traditional toy soldier shows. Since Warhorse Miniatures is can be collected as a toy soldier or a model to be painted for a diorama, we decided to check out this show. I have been to this show in the past, about 7 years ago. It is a good show for painted metal toy soldiers, resin miniatures, paints, historical books, and you can even find some plastic toy soldiers.

The show took place over two days. Here are some pictures from the first day. It was hard for me to get around the room. It seemed like every time I left, I had to return to my table to answer some questions. The first day Paul Stadinger stopped by to say hello and he spent some time with us behind the table.

I think this vendor was AC Models. He had resin figures and resin accessories.

Another Vendor that I saw had some old painted metal toy soldiers. Joe Wallis was the name I saw. He is an author of books about Britains toy soldiers. Here is a website about that, http://leadsoldierbooks.com/index.html.

The next vendor was Minutemen Toy Soldiers. George was busy setting up a bunch of the painted metal toy soldiers from brands such as King & Country, First Legion, J.J. Designs, W. Britian and others. You can check his website over here, http://www.mmtoysoldiers.com/.

Paul Amory had a huge selection of the finely detailed painted miniatures for sale. Works of art.

Here are some pictures of the vendor that was across from us.

Here are some pictures of the exhibit from the Artist and our friend, Steve Pyle. He does some amazing work.

Fast Eddie had large selection of mainly Osprey books.

Here are some random pictures from the show.

Here are some pictures of different exhibits from various artists. I was not able to take pictures of everything. The room was packed when I was trying to take some pictures.

Winged Hussar Publishing had a table setup too. I purchased some books from him. You can check them out over here, https://www.wingedhussarpublishing.com/.

We will end the first part of the review here with my table. We had a nice selection of the Warhorse Miniatures resin miniatures. When first opened we had a collector come straight to our table and request a Krampus figurine. We also had a nice selection of the LOD/Barzso resin miniatures, foam houses and plastic toy soldiers. I setup a small display of the Saxons. Mainly the village pieces. We had the Blacksmith shop, Potter shop and the Pig Farm setup with some of the Saxon prototype houses. It was a slow burn for most of the day, but we were able to sell some things that I had for a while now. It was fun to talk to new & old friends.

Here are a few of the different things that I had picked up at Gettysburg a couple of weeks ago. Most of it is Barzso. The Blacksmith shop, some French Tents, New Orleans character figures, a split rail fence and a teepee. The mounted British in the last few pictures are Replicants I think.

The second part of the review will be this weekend. Well, that is it for now. I will be in Annandale, Virginia on June 3rd. Then returning to Gettysburg on August 27th. Thank you for reading.

The Latest News!!! 02/21/2022 ~ Warhorse Miniatures Compagnies Franches de la Marine set, Vintage Britain Task Force Set, and more updates.

February 21, 2022 / Warhorse Miniatures / 7 Comments

In today’s post we will talk about some new sets that I am releasing soon. One is not a Medieval set, but it is based on the French & Indian War. I have a few more updates and some hobby news. Before that I found a vintage playset yesterday. So, this is where we will begin.

I stumbled across this Britain Task Force Playset yesterday. I don’t have to many Britain Deetail figures in my collection. Just a few WWII figures. But for less than $30 I couldn’t pass on this. I never saw this playset before. The terrain base is awesome. There are 6 figures and some accessories. The spring-loaded mines are a nice touch. The set has a Nato type theme to it. I will add some modern Britain figures over time to my collection now.

**Toy Soldier Collector & Historical Figures Magazine #103**

There is an article about Warhorse Miniatures in the Toy Soldier Collector & Historical Figures magazine #103. In the article Jim Clouse discusses my 1st set and my company. Steve Pyle & Scott Walter helped with taking some pictures.

Prikaz, Warhorse Miniatures & Conte

Talking about Steve Pyle, he sent me some pictures of my figures that he had painted. The first set of pictures is one of the Armed Saxon Peasants. The second set is a prototype of some Vikings with a deer.

**Two of the latest sets I am working on.**

In the coming weeks I will have some new set ready for production. The Saxon Hare Hunter set is $25, and the Saxon Wood Cutter set is $17. There are 4 different Wattle Fence sets. A round fence section with the gate open or closed. Then a straight fence section with the gate open or closed. I will have prices for the fence sets once the pre-orders start.

Here are some pictures of Prototypes. I hope to have the Viking Raider camp finished sometime next month. It will be sold in a few different sets. There will be a Raider figure set, a tent set, the Deer set with campfire and then the supply tent with some supplies. Some things can change.

**Another Viking prototype with some Conte Saxons.**

Here are some pictures of LOD/Barzso Merrymen figures in green with my Vikings & Saxons. They look good with the figures and accessories.

The **Compagnies Franches de la Marine** was the main organization for the defense of New France from 1683 to 1755. In 1683, the Naval Department of France began using the Compagnies to defend the fur trade and the local civilians.

The Compagnies Franches de la Marine will start production in March. The scale of the figures with be the same as Barzso figures or 54mm. The color will be in grey. The 1st set will be of 7 figures in 7 different poses. A second set will be released soon after the 1st set. It will be a firing line of 7 figures in 3 different poses.

That is it for now. More updates to come next month. Thank you for reading.

Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show 2021 Review Part 2 & Warhorse Miniatures Update

October 21, 2021October 21, 2021 / Warhorse Miniatures / Leave a comment

Here is the second part of the review. If you didn’t read the first part you can click the link over here, Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show 2021 Review Part 1.

If I drive more than 4 hours to attend a show I like to stay overnight a day or two. We try to make it an extended weekend getaway. We might visit some local attraction. Usually we check out the local antique malls. The Columbus show was under 8 hours. Me and Carolyn got up early on Friday. We hit a few antique places along the way and then checked in the hotel. Then we went a antique mall. Here are some of the things we saw.

The next day we got up and headed to the History Store in Chillicothe we stopped at the Buckeye Games Flea Market. It was a nice place full of collectibles. If you are in the area check it out, https://buckeyegamesfleamarket.com/.

We drove about an hour & a half to visit the History Store. I had heard some good things about the store. My main interest with collecting is history. The miniatures are just an extension of that. When we got to the store it is truly an impressive sight just from the outside. They have a really nice window display. You can check out there website for more information, https://www.thehistorystore.net/.

The store is full of painted metal figures from different brands. The main focus is W. Britain miniatures. Which is the main part of my metal painted figures. Besides the metal figures there was books, framed prints, some plastic & resin figures and hobby paint.

The owner of the store is Nathan Baer. I talked to him and another collector about my new range of Medieval figures. I showed them some of the prototypes. Nathan works for W. Britain too. They had a preview of some of the newest figures that have not be released yet. There are two new Viking figures that I really liked. I can’t wait to visit again.

Here are some of the stuff I had picked up at the different places I visited and the show itself. The Barzso cabin I actually got as a gift last year and forgot to take it out of the storage container full of foam products.

I found two vintage Airfix boxes of British Grenaiers in HO scale for about $5 a piece.

I found these original Barzso bagged sets $25 a piece.

I found this vintage Borax Twenty Mule Team for about $18. They are around 40mm.

I picked up two Russian painted metal figures for $36 a piece. Here are some other painted figures that I have.

I picked this W. Britain Saxon Archer for less than $40.

The last item I picked up was at the show. This is a Medieval Church made by Atherton Scenics. The church is really impressive. It was worth the whole trip to pick it up. You have come to the shows to see the price on this. I got a good deal 🙂

We have some updates on what is going on with Warhorse Miniatures. Here is a test print of the second design of an Anglo Saxon house we are working on. We continue to test some things out and are designing new things also. Some of our earlier creations have been pushed back to the end of the year or early next year. We are going to focus on figure sets for now.

We are designing seven new figures for our Armed Peasant set. The set is made up of Thralls, Bondsmen and Free Peasants.

This Thrall is fighting with a sickle and an deer antler that has been carved into a knife. Thrall were not free-folk and lacked all of their rights as a result; they were slaves. It was a state a person entered into through misadventure in most cases. The most common reason would be through being captured in war.

Here is another Thrall. He is armed with a wooden hammer.

I picture this Thrall as an Irish Warrior that was captured in battle and traded as a Thrall by the Danes. He is trying to win back his freedom by saving as much as possible and through acts of bravery. He is fighting with a wood club and a crude wood shield.

Here is the “Pig Guy” reposed. He is a free peasant and is renting land. He has the right to be armed. Which is why he is fighting with a spear.

Here is another Thrall. She is using a wood pitchfork to defend herself.

Here is the Wife of the “Pig Guy” She has been trained to use a bow.

Here is a Bondsman. He is a free man that has sold his service to another Saxon for a fixed term agreed in bond. He fights with a flail that was used to thresh the grains.

I think the next show I will be at is the Midwest Toy Soldier Show next year. I am going to be concentrating on developing the Warhorse Miniature product line until then. I hope to have a few more figure sets ready by December. Maybe the Craftsmen shops will be available by December too. The Viking Raider set has been pushed back. I am going to change a few things and rebrand the set to have two different versions. It will be the Raider or Trader set. You will choose which one you want. They will share some of the same figures and accessories. But will have their own unique features too. The delays are to insure that you get a quality product. It will be worth the wait!! That is it for now. Thank you for reading.

Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show 2021 Review Part 1

October 19, 2021March 30, 2022 / Warhorse Miniatures / 7 Comments

Sunday was the 2021 Columbus Toy Soldier Show. The vendors at the show were shouting “Covid, Give me back my Collectors….” Besides the low crowd it was actually not a bad show. There were plenty of vintage playsets, Barzso Playsets, painted metal toy soldiers and plastic figures galore. Plus my new resin miniatures.

I found a few vintage Airfix Toy Soldiers, Original Barzso bagged figure sets at original prices!!, W. Britain Saxons, Painted Russian metal Viking figures and an Atherton Medieval Church. The second part of the review will be on what I found over the weekend & some of the places where we went. Plus some updates about Warhorse Miniatures.

Paul Amody had a bunch of his Russian made metal miniatures with him. The painting is outstanding.

John Atherton & Shane Leonard brought plenty of their foam products. They are great to add to playsets or for display pieces.

Some various pictures from an unknown vendor.

Ted Deddens of W. Britain had bunch of painted metal figures. I re-joined the Collectors Club again. It is worth the price. You can take a look over here, https://www.wbritain.com/collectors-club.