2023 ~ Happy New Year! New Warhorse Miniatures French & Indian War Updates, Previews and Hobby News.

January 1, 2023January 2, 2023 / Warhorse Miniatures / 4 Comments

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. So far, so good. I have wanted to make a post the last two months, but I have been too busy lately. Anyway, it is time for some updates and hobby related news.

When we last left off, I was heading to Ohio for the Columbus Toy Soldier show. There were a lot of good deals. I picked up a few Barzso foam pieces for a really good deal. Most of the show was vintage plastic. There were some painted metal toy soldiers available too. But no big metal dealer. The attendance was low this year. Here are some random pictures that I took.

I had set up a few displays of my latest products and some prototypes were for sale too. Plus, I had a bunch of different LOD/Barzso resin sets. Here are a few pictures of that.

I was a good boy for Christmas. Carolyn got me a few nice gifts. Here are some more pictures.

Here are some of the latest products that I add to my store page. Since November I have been focused on creating sets that are related to the French & Indian War. Besides the French Marines we now have Pack Horses, Teamsters, a group of Frontier homesteaders and some trees. There are now 30 different products available in the store page, Warhorse Miniatures | Product categories | Warhorse Miniatures.

The French Marines are now in being made in a new resin mixture. The color is a better and it is stronger now. I dropped some of these on a hard tiled floor from over 4 feet and they did not break. They are not unbreakable but now have a better chance of surviving a small fall of a table.

Here is an update to the Pack Horse Team Set. I am replacing one of the figures with this one. It is the same model, but now is reposed. I had to many problems with the production of the other pose. In this version the colonial teamster is stopping the horse with a big stick that he was carrying driving the animals forward. The musket is on his back and a blanket roll was added.

The Sheep set will be getting an update too. I am adding this Shepherd boy. The price will now be $25.

When I designed the Frontier Raid set it was to show how life along the frontier was. War parties of Native American Indians and Canadians would raid the homesteads. Here are some pictures below of some prototypes I am working on at the moment. I should have two different sets ready in February. The first will be the French Canadian & Indian War Party. The second will be Woodland Indians.

Here are a few random pictures of the Warhorse Miniatures and Barzso Playset miniatures to show the size comparison.

Here are two new sets by Chintoys. They are based on the movie “The Untouchables”. I pre-ordered some sets from Hobby Bunker. The first is a Police Officer set, Police–eight American figures in eight poses (The Untouchables) – CHT032 – Plastic Soldiers – Products (hobbybunker.com). The second set is Gangsters, Gangsters–eight American gangster figures in eight poses (The Untouchables) – CHT031 – Plastic Soldiers – Products (hobbybunker.com). Steve Weston is also selling them, Plasticsoldiers.co.uk: Chintoys. I will do a review when I get them.

I noticed that the Petite Guerre website was down the other day. So, I sent Nino an email to see how things were going. Right now, production has stopped. He is still active creating things and thinking of using a different platform or making a blog page in the future. I will keep you updated.

Here are pictures of some Normans by Prikaz. I don’t know how to order any sets from him at the moment.

Here are some new World War One German and Russian sets by Publius. They look really nice. So nice I want to start a World War One collection…

Well, we are just about finished with this post. Besides all the French & Indian War sets, I am still working on some medieval things. I should have the Potter set available this month some of the houses. I will release another Viking set in the near future too. Take Care for now. Thank you for reading.

The Latest News!! 10/13/2022 ~ Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show, Toy Soldier Review: Publius Franks and Moors, Warhorse Miniatures Updates!

October 13, 2022 / Warhorse Miniatures / 8 Comments

**Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show October 16th, 2022**

The Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show is a few days away. On Sunday October 16th, I will be attending & selling my Warhorse Miniatures, Barzso Playset and other toy soldier products there.

Here is the Krampus figurine that I had made last year. I will have several Krampuses with me at the show. The fantasy Viking Warlord figure will be available in the near future.

I have been working on a new early colonial American set. The set is titled “Frontier Raid”. It depicts settlers reacting to a raid by some Natives or Canadians. Some of the models are new and some have been repurposed from the Saxon raid set. The idea came when a few collectors said they could be used for different settings. I am designing a new French Canadian & Native American Raider set now. The Frontier Raid set is scaled to the 54mm Barzso miniatures. It should be released in a week or so. I am trying to adjust the color to match the Barzso American Militia set.

The new Saxon houses are almost finished. This is the first house, another three being designed. The small cottage should be added to the store in a couple of weeks.

I am retooling the Saxon Potter Shop. There is a new model for the Potter. I really like the way he turned out. I am changing a few other things now. I think this set will be ready in a couple of months.

The new Publius sets look really nice. The details are amazing. I like the colors they have used. The only thing I did not like is the scale. They are smaller than some of their past medieval figures. They are a little bigger than the Britain Deetail figures and a little smaller than the Conte figures. The heads are smaller too. A lot of toy soldiers have bigger heads and hands than a sculpture/model of a human. It looks like the new Publius figures are 3d sculpted and not hand sculpted like they used to be. Not that I have a problem with that for obvious reasons. But instead of a toy soldier design, they look like a sculpture design. This is one thing I had a problem with initially, in the beginning of my designs.

The show should be fun. It is one of the last shows of the year. Well, that is it for now. 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.

Fellow collector Scott Campbell showed me some of his Barzso figures that he had painted. I always like to talk to fellow collectors to see what they are working on. I sometimes learn some tips or am able to share my own.

Rick Eber had about half of Barzso Playsets available at the show yesterday. There were about 15 total playsets spread out with different vendors. Rick also had plenty of vintage Marx plastic toy soldiers.

John Hamilton had some vintage plastic toy soldiers and other vintage toys.

Here are some more pictures of various vendors.

Robert Horning had his hand crafted & hand painted figures with him. He produces a bunch of different themes from Aliens, Ancients, WWII and even Golf. Plus much more.

Rick Keller had plenty of vintage plastic toys soldiers. Mostly Marx. He had loose figures, bagged sets and some playsets.

Larry Lovely had some loose figures to rummage through. He also had a Barzso Treasure Island playset and some foam pieces.

Mike Lonigro had a mixture of Tin Litho buildings, plastic figures and some playsets.

Todd Nace also had some playsets and storage containers full of vintage plastic toy soldiers. He also had a customized Barzso kneelboat. I think it was the Lewis & Clark boat.

Here was the vendor next to Rick Eber. I didn’t catch his name. He had some vintage figures and other toys.

Rod Chapman had a bunch of antique painted metal dimestore toy soldiers & other antique toys. His Grandson was very kind to help us pack up after the show.

Steve Connell had a combination of different toys. Some painted metal figures and plastic toy soldiers.

Here are some more various pictures of vintage toy soldiers.

I did enjoy the show. I sold the Duke’s Tower to a lucky collector at a good price. It was a little below retail cost. I was surprised that more collectors didn’t come out. They missed out on a lot of good stuff. Most of the vendors will now get ready for next year. Most of us keep our products off the internet. We save them for the shows. I will be at more shows next year.

I would like to thank all the collectors that have shown interest in my work in creating a 11th Century early Medieval world. Thank you for the feedback also. It helps me with the further development of things to come.

In the next part of the review I will have some updates about Warhorse Miniatures. That is it for now. Thank you for reading.