Last Sunday I went to the 36th Annual East Coast Toy Soldier Show. Bill Lango had passed away earlier this year. He had been the promoter of the show for 35 years. The show seemed to be busy. A few times I thought I saw Bill, it was weird not seeing him there. There were rumors that this could be the last show, at least at the current location. We shall see what happens next year. 

I got to the show early and was one of the first one in line to get in. This year the sky was clear and that cold. I talked to a few fellow collectors about different hobby related things for about 50 minutes while we wait for the show to start. When they opened the door there were about a 100 people behind me. I stayed for about 5 hours. One of my co-workers attended the show too. After I ran around and took care of my business, I helped him with a few things. Most of the things I found were vintage plastic western toy soldiers. At the end of the review of the show I will show some of the things that I did find.

I would say that this year the show was about 85% toy soldiers related. The other dealers had some vintage toys, history related items, books or movies, Hess trucks and some art work. There was a mixture of plastic toy soldiers and painted metal toy soldiers. When I walked in I first saw Treefrog Treasures Military Miniatures. 

Next I saw Mike Russo. He had some Barzso sets at the current prices that you will see on eBay. I didn’t get any of these even though I was tempted. He also had some other vintage toys and many painted metal sets.

When I get to these shows I usually walk around quickly and scan the tables. If I see something that interests me or something that I am looking for I will stop. After I do my walk thru I start again and see if I missed something. Here a few random pictures below. There were a bunch of boxes to go through that had either plastic or painted metal figures.

Another dealer that I saw was George’s Toy Chest. He had some vintage painted metal and plastic figures.

Next I saw Scott Schleh’s table. He had some nice painted figures and custom display pieces. Scott does not have a website but he can be reached by email. Some of his pieces are amazing. This is what is great about going to the shows. There are small dealers or collectors that just sell their products at the shows. You can see some great things first hand. 

Look at the picture below for his contact information if you are interested in anything he has.

Next I saw Crown Military Miniatures. They sell mainly painted metal figures. 

Arley L. Pett Antiques was another dealer of old painted metal figures.

Doug Dearth was at the show with his amazing artwork. He also does commissions. You can see more at his website DearthCo. 

Francis Turner who used to run the Marx Museum was at the show too. He had loose figures, bagged sets of figures and boxed playsets.

There was Hess Truck Collectors table again with plenty of Hess trucks and information.

Some of the vendors were at different locations from past shows. I think there were less vendors too. Here are some more pictures of various tables.

Rick Eber of Marx Playsets was at the show also. As usual he had plenty of Marx Playsets and figures. He even had some Marx figures in original bags. It is amazing how he finds all of these sets and figures in excellent condition.

Next I met Steven & Shelby from the Armchair Emperor. They offer a painting service for toy soldiers and 28mm Warhammer figures. They also are developing a war game for historical 54mm miniatures. They were real friendly. Check out the website for more information.

John Stengel Jr the Marx-Man was at the show too. He had plenty of plastic toy soldiers. I got a few Barzso figures and some other things. If everything goes right he will have his World War II German Paratroops next spring. He said he should also have the marching American Civil War figures too. John produces figures because of the passion he has for the hobby. He has many other responsibilities and life tends to get in the way with many of his projects. His figures are a limited run  production and you will have to find him at one of the shows he attends if your interested in his work. 

Paul Stadinger of Stad’s Stuff was at the show too. It’s always nice to see him. We talked about the show and other hobby related topics.

Paul and his wife Laurie were at Gerry Watts table. Gerry had a bunch of vintage plastic figures. I spent some time digging through a few different boxes. He had different prices on his boxes. Some where $2 a figure, $5 a figure or $10 a figure. Gerry does not have a website but sells at the shows.

I saw George Guerriero of Minuteman Toy Soldiers. George always has great displays of the different painted metal figures that he sells. I don’t buy many painted metal figures but when I do it is from George.

The next table I saw was some of the Russian painted Military Miniatures. These are amazing and the price reflects that. For more information check out Aero Art International.

Another dealer named Josh had a bunch of vintage plastic figures and toys. He had boxes of figures at different prices also.

Here are some more pictures of the show.

There were some nice custom made toys made out of metal at table belonging to Remsons. For more information go to Remsonsec.com. 

Philip of Lord Tankervilles Knights was selling some Medieval themed toys. He had some castles, figures and books for sale.

The last dealer that I went to was Hobby Bunker. They always bring both vintage and current products. Both plastic and painted metal sets.

I saw a Barzso Conquistador playset that was going for $1,200. That was way too much for me and I think anyone else at the show. I forgot to take a picture of that but I took a few pictures of some other vintage playsets. There was a Barzso Lexington Green playset for $450 which I would have purchased if I didn’t have it already.

I was not really looking for anything in particular except for some Airfix Paratroops that were recasted from the last batch they made. Here are a few Armymen that I did get. I picked up most of these for a dollar or two. There was a 60mm Auburn Soldier, a Conte painted American Paratrooper, 45mm Marx Marine, 3 60mm Marx Academy Cadets and a 60mm Timmee Soldier. 

I picked up a big bag of mainly BMC Plains Indians from the Battle of Little Big Horn set for $20. There were some recast Marx Indians too. Even through the figures are not the best sculpted, I like them. Most of the figures are about the same scale as Airfix Plain Indians.

Here are some of the vintage Marx figures that I found at Gerry Watts table for $2.00 each.

I picked up a few Barzso figures, some accessories and some split rail fences from the Marxman. Some were Pirates. One was of Robert Rogers.

I also picked up a few Britain figures.

I found some Crescent Cowboys & Indians at Gerry Watts table. They were also $2.00 each. The last Cowboy is made by Jean Hoefler of Germany.

Here are some 45mm Marx Indians that I got for about $10.00. These figures have a certain charm. I have a few of them in my collection. 

Here are some Marx recast Indians that were part of the lot of BMC Indians.

At Francis Turner’s table I found a bag of Reisler Western figures. I paid $20.00 for the bag. It had Cowboys, Indians and Mexicans. I really like these figures. The poses are filled with action. These figures are 1/32 in scale. They are hard to find.

Here are some other vintage figures that I picked up.

I picked up a box of the Expeditionary Force Celtic Barbarians. They look like they are about 65mm. I will have to put them together and then compare them to some other figures that I have. The details on the figures look great. I wanted to see if I could convert them to look like Vikings or Saxons. They appear to be bigger than Conte Viking figures. I will have a future post on these guys soon.

Here is a figure that Paul Stadinger had commissioned for himself. He gave it to me at the show. It looks like a pioneer or western woman shooting a pistol. It is pretty cool and will fit nicely in my western collection. She looks to be about 54mm. Thanks again, Paul.

I hope they continue to have this show. There is something for everyone. I didn’t find what I was looking for. But I found things that I didn’t think would be there. That is it for now. Thanks for reading.