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.
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.
I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer so far. I have been busy working, creating sets for orders and testing things out. I had some problems with a couple of my machines which has caused some delays with things. But I hope to straighten those things out shortly.I have been testing new designs and resin mixtures. I will touch on that later in the post.
Later this month we will be returning to Gettysburg for the 2nd Toy Soldier Show this year hosted by the Midwest Toy Soldier Group. I will be selling my resin Warhorse Miniatures, LOD/Barzso Toy Soldiers and have some storage containers of loose plastic toy soldiers. I am starting to clear out my collections of stuff that I have gathered over the years. For more information about the show, click here https://warhorseminiatures.com/gettysburg-toy-soldier-show/.
A few weeks later we will be setting up as a vendor at the 1st New Bucyrus Toy Soldier Show. It takes place on 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.
If you are interested in setting up for this show, some tables might still be available. RESERVE TABLES: $40. Call LARRY LOVELY (419) 468-7719for more information.
I have been testing out different resins on some new designs of the British Redcoats that I have been working on. I have been getting different shades of red. It still is a work in progress.
Besides the Red color, I have been testing a Biege color too. This is also a work in progress. These resin mixtures can change quickly because the colors are sometimes different with each batch that I get. Also, there are times where some of the resins that I use are unavailable. The most important part of the resin mixture is the durability for me. I try my best to get close to colors that some collectors want. But at the end of the day, I will use a quality resin over a lesser quality resin because of the color.
I am working on some Firing Line Sets and Marching Sets for both the Regiments of Foot & Grenadiers. The designs for the Officers can be a little different. I am still testing out a few different versions.
Last but not least, the designing of other figures & props continues at different stages. Things have slowed down the past couple of months because of resin shortages and maintenace of the machines. I was testing the British the past month and the Canadians. But not the other things pictured above. So, if you are interested in what I am working on, then stop by one of the shows. I usually have prototypes for sale there.I should have some sets of the British Firing Line figures, Canadians and Wigwams with me at the Gettysburg Show and New Bucyrus Show too. The Officer figure will be sold separately for now.
Last weekend we were in Virginia for the “Heart of the South” Toy Soldier & Military Miniature show. We drove down to Virginia on Friday and checked out a few antique stores. On Saturday we setup as a vendor for the toy show and then went back to Pennsylvania on Sunday. It was an extended weekend getaway. We stopped at a few different antique stores on the way back too.
The show started at 9am. A collector named Todd stopped by to chat and purchase some products. I had just finished making another Blacksmith shop a couple days before the show and it lasted about 10 minutes. I will bring a few to the next show.There was a good crowd at the show up until a little past noon. Then it got really quiet. But it was worth it for me to attend. It was nice to talk to collectors like Todd & Carl. Also, to have new collectors discover our resin miniatures.
I like the room that the show was in. It was clean, air conditioned and well lit. There were about 75 tables, so it was a medium sized show. There was a nice selection of painted metal miniatures and some plastic toy soldiers. Gerry Watts was behind us. He had some storage containers filled with loose plastic toy soldiers.
I took some pictures of various vendors around the room. We will begin with AeroArt International. They had an impressive collection of finely painted historical miniatures. You can check out their website over here, https://www.aeroartinc.com/.
There was a vendor that had a bunch of plastic model sets and some plastic toy soldiers. He had a Conte Zulu collection for $225. Not my period to collect, but I did think about purchasing it…
Another vendor had a huge selection of 21st century tanks, figure sets & planes. He said he was going to try to make it to the next Gettysburg Show that takes place on August 27th.
Mike Jones was set up with a bunch of painted metal toy soldiers.
Here was a vendor with old metal painted toy soldiers. I have seen him before at different shows. I will try to get his name next time.
Another vendor had a bunch of vintage toy soldiers and toys. I purchased a metal cannon from him. I was tempted to get the Pork Chop Hill. That was one of the sets I had as a kid. I think it had Airfix WWII British clones, if I remember.He also mentioned about trying to setup at Gettysburg.
“Fast” Eddie Gries had a lot of old toy soldiers sold separately for different prices. He also had a lot of books and different toy soldier collections available.
One of the toy soldier collections of Eddie had all these painted metal figures representing the French Foreign Legion and Arabs from the Beau Geste movie.
Matt Murphy from Hobby Bunker was present too. He had a bunch of tables with just about everything the hobby represents, plastic toys soldiers, magazines, paints, old metal painted toy soldiers, 3d printed walls & house and new painted metal toy soldiers.
Eric Kohl was present too. He usually has some new & old painted metal toy soldiers. He also brings military related books and artwork.
Here are some random pictures of mainly old painted toy soldiers.
More random pictures from the show.
Here are some random pictures of Plastic toy soldiers and playsets. The first picture has some of what Gerry Watts was selling.
Here are some pictures of the show itself.
Some more random pictures from the show.
Lastly, we take a look at my tables for the show. I brought mainly the Warhorse resin miniatures & the LOD/Barzso toy soldiers. Also, some foam houses and Russian made toy soldiers.
I enjoyed the show and will return most likely in December and next in June. They usually have this show 4 times a year. There was a little of everything to see.
We stopped at a few different antique stores in Virginia and Maryland. Here are a few things I saw. I rarely see any Conte or Barzso toy soldiers in the wild. The figure sets were overpriced.
Here are a few things that I picked up at the show and a few different antique places in Virginia. The Barzso Buffalo set is hard to find. I paid about $32 for that. The Auburn Motorcycle I paid $18, metal cannon was $5, Gnome was $12, and magazines were $3 a piece. At a flea market I found D&D miniatures, Warhammer miniature, plastic toys solders and Star Wars toy in a bag for a $1.
I am happy to announce that in the May/June 2023 issue of Toy Soldier Collector magazinethey did a 3-page article about Warhorse Miniatures.
The next show I attend should be the 2nd Gettysburg show this year, which is Sunday August 27th.
Right now, I am working a few things that are in different stages. From just the planning stage to almost complete. Plus working on new resin mixtures.People like to ask about the 3d printing. It is not easy. When everything works it is great, but when everything doesn’t work it is not. A lot of maintenance and the proper work environment is needed.Then sometimes the resin changes or you cannot get a certain type that you are using.It is always a challenge. I hope to be able to finish some of the things that I have be working this year by the end of the summer.
Two more weeks to go until the Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show. I will setup as a vendor again. Besides all of my Warhorse resin miniatures, I will also be selling the LOD/Barzso resin toy soldiers.The town of Gettysburg makes a nice weekend getaway. There is so much history to explore. Plus, all the shops to check out too.
Every year the toy shows are a little different. There might be a new release that everyone wants or a rare collectible that a collector is letting go. This year looks promising for a few rare pieces that you could pick up. Thomas, a fellow collector is selling some of his collection. “Expertly painted plastic Indians and cavalry, Saxons, Normans, and Vikings. Scenery pieces, the Conte Cog ship, and more…“. I wonder what the other vendors are bringing.
Here are a few of the latest releases by Publius. The Western figures look like new sculpts, but the some of the medieval figures have been available in metal already. The look really nice. I guess you can find them on eBay.
Next are some new miniatures by Runecraft. They usually have some nicely detailed and unique figures. And like their brother company Publius, you can probably find these on eBay.
Beleriand Toy Soldiers, another company out of Russia has a new set. These Apache Indians look fantastic.
And our last preview from Russia is this set of Vandals by Soldiers of Hanomaka. And like the others you will have to search on eBay, unless you know someone who sells them. Most of these toy soldiers are made out of a flexible rubber type plastic. The scales are usually around 58mm. The big 1/32 or small 1/30, somewhere in between.
In my last post I was talking about the new British Infantry that I am working on. I made two prototypes and then did some tweaking to them.The musket was adjusted and a few other things. I am working on a few reposes of the model and some new models. Next will be a firing line set. One of the new models will be an Officer. He will probably be sold separately or maybe in a small group. I was thinking of making a drummer and maybe another musician. We shall see. The first British sets will be the Marching sets, that will be in May. I might have a few sets at the Gettysburg show. And maybe another Marching set too and some prototypes.
That is, it for now. Thank you for reading and I will see you in Gettysburg.
Hi everyone. It is already February and soon it will be spring. Which means Toy Soldier Shows. In my last post we learned that the Chicago Toy Solider show is cancelled this year, and maybe forever. So, if you like the show, then try to make it to ones that are still around. In about two weeks from now is the West Coast Toy Soldier show. If you are near California, then this is the show for you.There will be room trading on February 24th & 25th. The show is one the 26th.
The past few months I have been working on some new sets. All of them are based on the French & Indian War. They should be in production in a week or so.The miniatures are 1/32 in scale or around 54mm. The were made to be the around the same size as the Barzso playset toy soldiers. All these sets were made to be used in the Battle of Monongahela.
The first new set is called “French Canadian & Woodland Indian Raiding Party”. French-Canadian raiding parties made up of Indians and Militia, stormed across the mountains and attacked farms and small towns in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, causing thousands of deaths.The set includes 9 miniatures, 1 French Marine officer, 4 Canadian militia and 4 Woodland Indians. This set will cost $54.00.
The next set is titled “Ottawa Indian War Party”. The Ottawa were part of a long-term alliance, called the Council of Three Fires, with the Ojibwe and Potawatomi, who had shared or similar language, manners, and customs. These three tribes fought the Iroquois Confederacy and the Dakota people. They were also enemies with the Wyandot because of their ties to the Iroquois.They were allied with the French against the British.The set includes 8 Ottawa Indian warriors in 8 different poses.The scale is also 1/32 or around 54mm. The price for this set is $48.00.
The last set is titled “On the Warpath”. The ‘war path’ was the literal ‘path to war‘ taken by native Americans when travelling to an enemy’s territory to engage in battle.This set includes 8 different Woodland Indians. 1/32 in scale or around 54mm. The price for this set is $48.00.
Over the next few months, I will try to release one or two new sets that will also be related to the French & Indian War.That is it for now. Thanks for reading.
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.
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.
Sunday October 16th is the Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show. I will be there with a bunch of the Warhorse miniatures. I will be posting some pictures of the latest sets I am working on below. I will have these at the Columbus show. I will also have the LOD/Barzso toy soldiers, some foreign and vintage plastic toy soldiers.You can check out more information about the show over here, http://www.mwtoysoldier.com/Shows.html.
The Viking Raider Camp is finally finished. The set includes 9 new Viking poses, 3 tents, 3 wooden stake terrain pieces, a campfire and supplies. The cost is $200 for everything. You also have the option to get the set without the Wooden stake defense for $150. As usually the figures are about 57mm. The colors will vary from Beige to Brown.
Saxon Archers
Here is the new Saxon Archer set. The set is made up of 6 miniatures. The price of the set is $42.00.
Saxon Storage Hut Set
The Storage Hut set contains one hut and two peasants. The cart guy has two different cargo options to put inside the cart. The price of this set is $75.00.
Dead Saxons
Another new set is the Dead Saxons. This set contains 3 figures. The price on this set is $20. They could be dead drunk too…
The Raid set
Here is another set that is in production, The Raid set. It depicts Saxon peasants reacting to a Viking raid. The set includes 7 figures for the cost of $45.00.
Here are some new Vikings from Korchagin Studio. A new company from Russia. I like the way they look. I will let you know more details when they come in.
Beleriand Toy Soldiers “Childern of Hurin” set
I finally was able to get my hands on this set from Beleriand Toy Soldiers. The name of the set is “Childern of Hurin”. Based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Being a fan of Tolkien, I had to get these. The Character figures are based on the 1st age.They are about 65mm or so.I really like the details and style. Plus, the color is really nice.
Publius
In the next post I will review the Publius Franks and Moors. That is, it for now. Thank you for reading.
Anglo Saxons miniatures that are in production or near production.
I am in the process of adding more Saxons sets for production soon. Sometime in May I will add two Saxon (Fyrd) Shield Wall sets and a set of Archers. The Armed Saxon Peasants are already in production.Beginning in May, all the Saxons will be printed in Brown!!!
On Sunday, May 1st is the Gettysburg Toy Soldier show.It is a great show. There is mixture of plastic and painted metal toy soldiers. Both new and vintage. I will have the French Marines and Saxon Shield Wall sets available for purchase.Plus, some prototypes and Barzso/LOD products.
Krampus and the Wild Hunt…
There is a lot going on with Warhorse Miniatures these days. We have the new Saxon and French & Indian War sets coming out this spring. Then some Viking sets this summer. We will return to the Saxons this Fall and then for the Winter some more French & Indian War sets. Besides that, I continue to work on some older projects.Like the Blacksmith & Potter shops and the Viking Raiders camp. My workshop continues to expand. Soon I will be able to produce the tents, shops and other bigger things.
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.
Viking Raiders Prototypes.
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.
Me busy researching my next move.
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 Marinewill 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.
