Greetings everyone, here is another blog article on the hobby. In this post we will cover some news about Toy Soldiers, yard sale finds and some products that I purchased off the internet.
Before I start I am sorry to say that William Lango has passed away at the age of 74. He was the promoter of the East Coast Toy Soldier Show for about 35 years. He also published the magazine Toy Soldier review for many years. I met him a few times over the years at the shows. He was a really nice guy. He will surely be missed. Gentlemen like Bill are the reason I started a blog page in the first place. He inspired me to continue promoting the hobby of Toy Soldiers.
I went out hunting again the past few weeks and here are a few things that I found. First I stopped at a few yard sales. I got these 4 trees about a minute away from my house for a twenty five cents each.
I got this Star Wars figure for $1.00, a nice find.
While at an antique store I found a bag of toys. Here are some of my favorite figures that I found inside.
Some Vintage 54mm Marx Indians and some green Hong Kong Indians that were a little smaller.
Some Vintage Marx Union Civil War Soldiers in powder blue and some other vintage western figures. They look like they are 54mm or 1/32 in scale.
Here is another picture of the cowboy, I never seen this one before.
Here are some 54mm Marx World War II Americans and Germans.
Here is a vintage Marx Robin Hood figure. This figure is 1/32 in scale.
Some more vintage World War II American toy soldiers. These figures are about 45mm.
This figure looks like Batman. This is 1/32 in scale.
This MPC Soldier looks like he is being attacked by some type of alien. I guess quality control was not that good back then. This figure is 1/32 in scale.
Those trees already came in handy for this picture. I think these deer are made by Marx. These figures are 1/32 in scale.
I found these on eBay the other day. They are a mixture of farm animals in 1/32 scale by Reisler of Denmark. I am always looking for things to add to make my displays come to life. These farm animals are great for that. I got these for about $13.00.
You don’t see to many cats in this scale. These are really nice.
These piglets are excellent too.
Some Rooster and Chickens.
You don’t see to many ducks either.
A few young horses.
Here are some lamb and rams.
Some young calves.
And lastly a Billy goat and a jumping kid.
Here are some 54mm Cowboys that were also made by Reisler. I also got these on eBay for $9.99. They look like ranch hands. The guy with the throwing knife is an unusual pose for a Cowboy.
After I got those Marx Indians last month I started searching on eBay to get a few more. I got lucky with this auction. 68 Vintage Indians for $9.99. Most of these figures are in very good condition. I bid on this auction for the brown 54mm Marx Indians. The other Indians were a pleasant surprise once I looked at them first hand.
I am planning on using some of these Indians with the Barzso Great Buffalo Hunt playset. They should mix well.
Here are some pictures of the other Indians that were in that lot. Some are also from Marx. Most of these have broken weapons. Some have some really nice details.
Now for some Toy Soldier news.
“The New Figures are coming!!!!”
“The New Figures are coming!!!!”
“There Is still time to Pre-Order!!!!!”
The figures are finally done. The color selection is really nice.
“The new Rev War sets are shipping next week from the factory and should be at LOD headquarters in early August. Pre-sale orders will be shipped shortly after they arrive.
There is still time to pre-order the sets to receive one free as well as earn an entry into the drawing for a Barzso Yorktown Playset.
The pre-sale will conclude at the end of the weekend after July 4th (official end time on 7/8). If you have not ordered your sets yet or want to increase your odds in the Playset drawing, visit us at www.lodtoysoldiers.com.“
These are still pictures of the prototypes, but test shots should be arriving next month that depict the characters in their production colors. They should be ready for the holidays. The size of these figures is 60mm.
“The full set with Santa, the elves, sleigh with reindeer, and gifts will retail for $22.50 and be packaged in a decorative box. The figure set is named Santa’s Christmas Delivery.”
“The smaller starter set includes Santa, the three elves, and two gifts. It will be packaged in a header bag and retail for $12.50. It is appropriately named Santa and his Elves.”
“The prototypes for the 6” figures have arrived and the details look great. Each figure will retail for $17.50 or you can purchase both for $30.00.”
“The original War at Troy set gets a small makeover as there will be limited bags available with grey Trojans. The Greeks remain in the beige hue they have been over the three sets. These figure sets will be available late summer for $27.00 per bag or included in the combo or super sets.”
As it was stated before the Hat 1/32 Seven Years War Austrian figures have been approved. You still can pre-order the sets at a discount. Hat 1/32 7YW Austrians
I can’t wait to get the sets that I pre-ordered. These figures should be really nice and cost efficient.
“New set on the Vietnamese war – Marines set 2. Battle of Hue of 1968. 6 figures in 6 poses. 1/32. Material of rezino-plasticity. Flexible and strong, real game miniature.”
You can now find these figures on eBay.
Engineer Basevich. New set 23 NOMADS. Polovtsy, Pechenegs and Khazars. plastic, 1:32.
You should be able to find this new set in the near future. The price is most likely around $60.
Here are some future pirate figures that Warhansa is working on. They said these figures are 1/32 in scale. The weapons seem to still be over sized. They should be available in a few months.
Toy Soldier Review ~ Paragon Sioux Indians
I finally got a few sets of the new Paragon Sioux Indians. For the price of around $30.00 you get 4 mounted Sioux Indians in 2 different poses. Plus another 8 figures on foot that you can get 5 different poses. Two of the figures have plug in hands. You can create 4 different combinations of weapons that these warrior could use. They are 1/32 in scale are about the same size as the TSSD Plains Indians.
Here was the first pose I made. I gave him a Tomahawk and knife to weld into battle.
Here is the next pose that I made. I gave this warrior a spear and shield to protect himself. The other poses would be a Tomahawk & Shield or Spear & knife.
Here is one of my favorite poses in this set. This warrior is running and shooting the bow. His face reminds me of Wes Studi a little.
This pose is unique and my least favorite pose. Only because I can not re-use this pose easily. I will try to convert these figures first one day…
Here is another nice pose. This warrior has a carbine.
Here are the two mounted poses. They are both very nice. The are mounted on TSSD horses.
I like this pose. It can be used in many different scenarios. A classic pose. I like the touch of having a quiver and bow on his back too. The figure can also be pushed so he is resting on the mane of the horse. These figures rest nicely on the horse’s back and you don’t have to be worried about them failing off easily.
I like this pose too. This is a realistic pose of getting close and have better odds of hitting someone after you shot the rifle. Plus doing more damage.
Here are the Paragon Sioux Indians raiding a TSSD Plains Indian camp.
The Paragon and TSSD Indians are a perfect match. I am glad that they use the same brand horses. I like the Paragon plastic better than the TSSD. They are less rubbery than the TSSD and it is easier to straightening the bent weapons using he hot/cold water treatment.
Here are some groupings of the different brands. The wait was worth it. Thanks again Paragon for making these figures. I can’t wait to see what they will look like painted.
Before I wrap up this latest installment I have one more item to show. This is a vintage staple box that my girlfriend got me. I love the art work. It will look nice in a display with some figures one day. Thanks for reading and enjoy the 4th of July holiday.
The other day I saw a blog article on Stad’s Stuff, Prikaz Medieval Sets Russian Prince Court Viking Life. It was preview of some Danish Vikings and Rus Slavic figures from a Russian company called Prikaz. The preview showed two different sets in 1/32 scale. The Viking figures depicted everyday life events. Either raiding, fighting or just waiting for a drink. The other set was of a Russian Prince’s Court. There is a Warlord, some merchants and a Sentry. Both of these sets caught my eye and I decided to purchase them.
I liked the fact that the figures showed everyday life poses from that era. Here are some pictures below of the Vikings sets.
Here are the first two figures. The Viking sitting down is Ragnar Lodbrok aka “Ragnar shaggy breeches”. Then there is a Danish Woman serving a horn of Mead.
The next two figures shows a Saxon woman being carried away by a Viking Raider.
The last figure shows a Viking Earl in a fighting pose. He can be added to a Shieldwall.
Now back to the Russian Medieval Court. Most of these figures depict everyday life too. There are three merchant type figures. It looks like some are haggling about the price of something.
The first figure is a Fur Merchant. The Second one is a called the “Money Changer.” The third figure is a old woman called the Klyuchnica (Old Slavic, literally “woman-intendant.”)
The next figure is the Rus Slavic Warlord. He is standing strong with his sword stabbing the ground. I think he is trying to make a point.
Here is the last figure. It is a Sentry leaning on an Axe. He looks like he is keeping an eye on everyone.
I have to say that these figures are not for everyone. Mainly because of the cost. Each set was about $55.00. I think only the die hard medieval fans like me are going to purchase a set like this. It fills a void for my collection. It brings a bunch of characters that I can use in a village setting.
Here are some of the Safari figures that I got the other day at Hobby Lobby. They look really good with these new Prikaz figures.
The sculpting is very good, a little crude at times. When I add a few of these figures to a diorama they add so much to the story being told.
The Prikaz figures are 1/32 in scale about the same size as Conte Medieval figures. Also like Conte that are casted in a hard rubber type plastic. These figures blend in very well with other companies like Conte Medieval figures, Barzso Medieval figures, Engineer Basevich and any figures that are around 56mm to 60mm.
I purchased these figures on eBay at Toy Soldiers for all Ages. I received the figures about 10 days after I purchased them.
I have a some more pictures below that show a few different angles and close ups. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the review.
Every once in a while I order something online and then I’m pleasantly surprised when I get them. This is the case with the Warhansa Vikings. About a month ago I went to the Warhansa website and ordered these Vikings. From what I saw on the internet I expected some decent sculpted figures. But they looked a little crude from some of the pictures that I saw. But was surprised with the amount of detail done to these figures. They are not perfect, but they make a fine addition to my collection.
This set came with 5 figures. One of the first things that I noticed was the color of these figures. They are an orange/beige color and look different from the pictures on the Warhansa website. Also these figures feel like the American Revolution Barzso figures. They are a stiff, but flexible too. Harder than the old Conte figures. I thought they would be a hard resin type plastic. They are listed 1/32 in scale. They would be better listed as 1/30 in scale as they are big. They mix well with Conte, Barzso, Publius and Engineer Basevich figures. I really like 4 out of 5 of the poses. The least favorite figure is the berserker figure.
The first two figures that I really like form a shield wall when placed next to each other. This is a big plus for me when I am looking for new figures to add to my Vikings and Saxons. The “Shield Wall” was a main tactic that the Vikings and Saxons would use in battle.
The next figure is a Viking with a Dane Axe. Usually the Dane Axe was used by a very skilled warrior. The Dane Axe was used by both the Vikings and Saxons. This figure could also be used as a Saxon Huscarl too. One of the reasons that I like this pose so much is that it makes you wonder the next action the figure will take. It looks like he is ready to smash a shield to pieces or split someones skull in half.
Another figure that I really like it the one of the Viking Leader. He has a sword raised and is blowing a horn. He is giving the signal to ATTACK!!!! I like everything about this guy. He has the look of grizzled veteran. He has lead many raiding parties over the years.
The last figure is the berserker. It is a mixed bag here. I like the sculpted body, but I think the pose could have been better. I would have liked to see more emotion with this figure. Like if he was going to explode. It looks like he is doing a rain dance. I think two axes would have been better too.
All in all I like these figures and they shall make nice additions to my warbands. Some of these figures can be used as Saxons too. I am going to order some more in the future. If these figures were scaled down a little the would be great. The weapons are over sized, but not overly distracting. I like the small details and facial expressions. Plus the action poses of most of them.
I will use these figures as character figures for my medieval armies. The are bigger than most of my other figures. But they are not giants, but are big men.
I will paint the first batch of figures that I have and mix them with my metal figures. When compared to my Conte metal figures they seam to be the same size and should mix well when they are painted.
Let’s hope that Warhansa does some Saxons in the future to go with these Vikings. Take a look at there figures over here at Warhansa.
Take a closer look at the details of these figures. I hope this helps out with making a decision in spending your money on these figures. They are not cheap, but to me are worth the price of $32. Thanks for reading and looking at my blog page. Take care for now.
One of the other items that I got from Atherton Scenics was the Small Longhouse. It is just like the Longhouse from the Barzso Ranger’s Playset but smaller. The Longhouse about measures 12 inches Long, 3 & ½ inches Wide, 3 & 1/8 inches Tall. I am surprised of the amount of detail, it is really nice. This is a great way to expand your village at great price of under $18.00.
The other day I finally purchased some foam pieces from Atherton Scenics to help me with some of my displays for my toy soldier collection. One of the things I purchased were a few Small Teepees. These teepees measure about 4 & 1/2 inches in diameter and 4 & 1/4 inches in height. The cost was under $8.00 with free shipping. They mix well with my other teepees.
They come unpainted painted with a white coat, I started painting a couple and they look nice.
I took a few pictures with my other teepees and some 1/32 in scale figures. I think the teepees mix well with the others.
These should go well with the new figures coming out from Paragon Scenics and X-Force.
I purchased a few other items from Atherton Scenics and will do some more reviews in the future on those. Go to the to Atherton Scenics to see more products.
Here is Atlantic set 2160. The German A.A. Gun-Flakvierling 38 in 1/32 Scale. I picked this up the other day for about $5.00. There are a few missing pieces, but most of it is here. It is an interesting set. The plastic from this set has become fragile over the years. One part broke off when I touched it. I never had this problem with any other Atlantic sets. It might just be the way it was stored.
After I read the article I went to the website and ordered some of their figures. The owner of Petite Guerre is Nino Serra, he is also the sculptor. They are located in Italy. Petite Guerre means “Little Wars”, which is the style of his figures.
“More specifically, my interest focuses on the Petite Guerre, the unconventional, small-scale warfare that played such an important role in the conflicts of the 1740s and 1750s: the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years War, and of course the French and Indian Wars.” ~ Nino Serra
So far they have some Native American Woodland Indians, Canadian Militia, British Infantry and now French Hussars.
After I emailed Nino and ordered some of his figures, we chatted as I waited and after I received them. I told him that I would do a review and he answered a few questions that I had. So here is a little interview we did.
Warhorse Miniatures: Greetings Nino, I am glad you have some time to answer a few questions. The first question I have with most creators or owners of companies is how did all this start?
Nino Serra:Greetings to you Mike, and thanks for the opportunity you are giving me to present my work on your blog!
I grew up playing with toy soldiers, and began attempting at making my own white-metal figures as a boy in the early 1970’s. At that time, I used the lost-wax method (non-reusable wax masters and plaster molds). The results were quite frustrating, though, and for many years I achieved nothing.
I then started using RTV silicon rubber to make the molds, and things gradually improved. By the time I went to college, I was able to sculpt and cast a few figures of my own. However, pressed by more important things, for many years I could spare only little time for the hobby…
About fifteen years ago, I decided to make some toy soldiers to play with my twin kids, then three years old, and in the process ended up with a small range of white-metal figures.
Having successfully experimented with resin / hard plastic, I am now perfecting and expanding my range of figures, and hope they may meet with the interest of other toy soldiers enthusiasts.
Warhorse Miniatures:After seeing your figures first hand, I am truly impressed. How many years did it take you to achieve the level that your at now?
Nino Serra:It certainly took some years until I could make decent enough figures.
At the beginning, I subscribed to a couple of military modeling magazines, bought a few books written by well-known military miniaturists, and gradually familiarized with different materials and sculpting techniques.
Warhorse Miniatures:I see you are fond of the French & Indian War era, is there any other theme that you are interested in?
Nino Serra:I have always been interested in 18th-Century military history and warfare. I think it all started with reading “Treasure Island” and “The Last of the Mohicans” as a small boy, and with a fascination for tricorne hats and flintlock muskets…
Beside the French-and-Indian Wars, I would like to also cover other conflicts of the mid 18th-Century, in particular the War of the Austrian Succession with its colorful variety of irregular warfare specialists.
Warhorse Miniatures:Are there any brands of figures that you collect, like Barzso?
Nino Serra:I am not a toy soldiers collector. Over the years, though, I have occasionally purchased plastic toy soldiers (Airfix, Italeri, Hat, Barzso, Accurate, TSSD, etc…) to study and use as a reference in order to improve my own figure design.
Warhorse Miniatures:I was reading your blog about the muskets you created. I noticed that you’re trying to stay historical accurate with your figures, right?
Nino Serra:Yes I try to stay historical as much as I can.
From the blogs and forums that I occasionally visit, I can see that most toy soldiers enthusiasts, collectors or wargamers, are indeed historically conscious and are usually put off by figures that are not accurate enough.
This said, I also like my figures to look a little naive, or “toy-like” (that is why, when I paint my figures, I keep the shading and highlighting at a minimum and finish them semi-gloss).
Warhorse Miniatures:What are your plans for the future?
Nino Serra:At the moment, I am working at a few more Canadian Militiamen and British regulars, as well as Highlanders and French regulars. I would also like to add some command figures to my range, as required to play skirmish wargames…
I am also working at more mounted Hussars, and possibly other irregular figures for the War of the Austrian Succession / Seven Years War period.
Warhorse Miniatures:And lastly I will conclude the interview by thanking you and asking you if there is anything else you would like to talk about or say.
Thanks again, Mike.
Nino Serra:Although I would love to do so, I do not have the facility to produce soft plastic toy soldiers, nor the the means to mass-produce figures for the wider public as industrial manufacturers can do. So, at least for the time being, I will keep operating at a hobby level and produce my figures in small batches upon demand.
Thanks again + kind regards, Nino.
Here is my review of Nino’s figures. I love them, to me they are a piece of art. I ordered the French Canadian Militia and Native Woodland Indians. One of my favorite Toy Soldier companies is Barzso Playsets. The French & Indian War and the Seven Years War are some of my favorite conflicts to study. So if you’re like me, you will have to get some of Nino’s figures. I like the appeal of a raiding or war band of mixed French & Indians.
With that said, the are for die hard collectors. I say that because of the cost, which is around 5 Euro each. But it seems that most new figures or the older Barzso figures can cost that much these days. One of the reasons for the high cost is these figures are hand cast and the molds have a short life. They are a Hobby based production, not an establish company. You can visit his blog and see how the process is done, it is very interesting.
The Petite Guerre figures match very well with most of the current Barzso figures. They vary from 54mm to 57mm tall, but are the same scale. The reason for this is to make them more natural or an accurate realism. Some people are 5 feet, some are 6 feet. Barzso’s earlier figures were on the small size, so they will not match well with the Petite Guerre figures. The most recent Barzso Indian sets match very well with the Petite Guerre Indians.
The Petite Guerre figures are not brittle, the weapons are strong. This resin mixture is very good. I like the sculpting of the Natives, it captures the look of the Huron or Iroquois people. One of my friends has the same shaped head.
Also the French Canadians look great, there are not too many figures sculpted that depict French Canadian Militia.
All in all, they are a welcome addition to my collection. When I finish painting these figures, I will take some more pictures and do another post. I purchased these figures to paint them. As of right now I think the colors are gray and black. The Vallejo paints that I used adhered very well. I am looking forward to seeing more of his Canadian Militia and French Regulars.
Paul sent me some of his pictures to use for the review. Erwin also got his British Infantry figures. Here are Erwin’s pictures.
Erwin Sell did a review too on Nino figures over at Stad’s Stuff check it out.
Well I finally got to opening and setting up a little display with the New Barzso building, The Duke’s Stronghold. Let me say, I was a little surprised on how big this tower is. Also I should have know, since it came in two boxes. And as always, this item was packed really well and arrived undamaged. Plus as a nice touch, a personal message on thanking me on the purchase. I never had a problem ordering from Barzso Playsets. Barzso Duke’s Stronghold
This stronghold as pictured above measures about 32 inches tall, 20 inches wide and 16 inches deep. You can purchase this set as pictured above or in parts, like the Stronghold tower, small tower or the base.
One day, I will include this tower in mega display that I am going to create. But that will be many years from now, when I retire and move. Right now I am gathering pieces and sets to add. But between the painting and learning how to build other terrain pieces, It will take me time to finish.
I am glad that Barzso made this set, it is a great stand alone piece or it can be incorporated into their Castle to expand that set.
This tower comes alive when you add some figures to it. Here are some of my Conte, Barzso, Replicants and other figures.
The other day while searching ebay for some Viking figures, I came across these figures from Kreza Modellbau. I never heard of this company and after a search on google I found their website. The company is from Germany and sells many different figures. The site sells mainly Medieval figures, I guess that about 75mm? They have a Elastolin section of figures and section of Kreza figures. So after a looking through there site, I came across what I was looking for. The Viking oarsmen, not to many companies made viking figures to use as rowers. You would think there would be more figures made to go with Viking ships, but that is a whole post on its own.
Even though I collect figures about 1/30 in scale, I figured that these Kreza figures would be close enough. So after a contacted them by email and ordering 8 figures, they arrived safely. I ordered 4 different poses, 2 of each pose either rowing from the left or right. The ironic part of this story is, the day after I had ordered these figures I found some resin Conte oarsmen for auction on eBay. Here is a comparison of 2 Conte oarsmen, with the Kreza figure in the middle. I have a ship that I am working on, it is like the Conte Viking ship that is made out of wood. I am going to add some of my Kreza figures with the Conte figures. The way I think, is you would have your biggest men as rowers. So here are a few that are a little bigger than a normal man. Plus maybe in the future I can use some of these figures for customizing. Most of the figures are in resin or metal, the resin figures that I got, where around $20.00 a piece. Thanks for reading.
You can go here to find the oarsmen Elite Wikinger. They are very helpful and easily to deal with.
I did a preview on these figures a few months ago, and recently got these delivered after I ordered from ebay. They are a welcome addition to my collection, Saxons are not to common compared to the number of Viking figures you can get. The only problem with these figures are the cost, which is more than I like to spend. But as a collector, I had to get these. Hopefully I will be able to paint these sometime before the summer, after I finish painting some of these Conte figures and other Publius Viking figures. But when I do, I will have a post on that. Ok, you can check out the pictures below to see the detail of the figures, they are excellent. Also see how they look with some Conte plastic and metal figures. These are about 1/30 in scale and go for about $49.99.
