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.
Krampu verus the Warlord…
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.
The New “Frontier Raid” set.
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.
Saxon Cottage
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.
Saxon Potter
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.
Publius Franks and Moors.
Publius Franks
Publius Moors
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.
Today we remember the Brave American, British, Canadian & other allied Soldiers that gave their lives when they stormed the beaches of Normandy to fight the forces of Germany.
The Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.
Today I am doing a quick post about some new products from Warhansa and then a figure from Publius. The first Warhansa set is called “Friends of Robin Hood”. There are 6 figures included. It looks like we get Little John, Friar Tuck, a Merry man with a pitchfork, Will Scarlet, a Jester and Maid Mirian.
The figures look really sharp. List as 1/32 in scale. They are nice size and will blend very well with Conte & Barzso medieval figures. The poses are good too. Weapons are to scale. I give them an A. The only figure I don’t need is the Jester. But he has his use in a court some where…
The other set is called “Forest Camp”. It has a camp fire and an animal spit roasting above it. Plus some barrels and chest. Some much needed accessories that we need a ton more for displays.
Here is a new figure by Publius. He is a mounted Native American or a Plains Indian on a horse. This figure is very nice. Again 1/32 in scale. He is a little bigger than the TSSD figures. But will make a nice leader for you figures.
I found these trees in a train hobby shop last month. I purchase about all that they had. Not bad for about $3.00 a piece.
I am still working on some new figures. We are testing different designs and resins. I hope to be able to share something new in a few weeks. That is it for now. Thank you for reading.
It has been a while since my last post. I have been busy working extra and dealing with the weather for the most part in January. I have gathered some things that have occurred over the last month into one post.So let us begin with some news from Airfix.
Airfix is releasing 6 of there classic World War II sets this summer. British Paratroops, German Infantry, US Infantry, US Paratroops, German Paratroops and British Infantry. I think these are now being produced in India. I wonder if they will be in a soft plastic again?
Conte’s plastic Romans are in production and should be available before the end of this year. Hopefully by the summer if we are lucky we shall see Roman Legion Set #1. They will come in bagged sets of Gold, Silver & Red.
Some of the figures require assembly. You will have a some choices with the poses. This is a nice feature when building armies. Also the hot & cold water solution to straighten the spear might be needed. Head over to the Conte website over here, https://contecostore.myshopify.com/.
Next we visit CHELOVECHEK / LITTLE MAN.Set №8, which is called “The Missing Expedition of Franklin – EREBUS (1845-1847).” In the set are 6 men in 1/32 scale made in rubber plastic. Here is a short description: – Captain John Franklin with Capuchin the monkey, Private of the Marine Corps armed with a capsule shotgun, Ice Master with hook and pistol, Diver with bogor, Cook with a heavy look, and an old sailor with a ice ax.
Plastic Platoon is very busy these days. They have a new set coming out soon. It is Indian Warriors of the Battle of Little Bighorn #3.
Plastic platoon. Soviet scouts 1943. 1/32 + Master model. Planned for release in Spring 2021.
Here are some 3D rendered Indian figures for the new American Revolution theme sets being developed.
Here are more renders of the figures of the series American Revolution. This time, the figures are from the Artillery Revolution set. The girl is Molly Pitcher.
Next we see what Publius is up too. Here are a few of the new sets being released.There is a crusader set, Greeks and Knights.
The last thing I have to report about Publius is the prototype of an Amazon.
Mars has two new sets coming out later this year. They are World War II German Paratroop Artillery and Mortar sets.
David and Kim at MicShaun’s Closet have some new foam pieces in development.Here are the photos of their new North Africa Building in three paint schemes.
PlusPalisade Walls for the Alamo and other dioramas. Three different pieces – plain wall, angled section (more for Alamo) and and artillery section.Check out more of their products at https://micshaunscloset.com/.
Last time I previewed the English Archer set by Warhansa. They have continued with some new medieval themed sets. They are English medieval themed sets. I really like these sets.
They also have a new Viking themed set.You can see more at their website over here, https://www.warhansa.com/.
FOUND AFTER 14 YEARS
One of my favorite projects was the Robin Hood Set. After the set came out in 2007 I had 5 more Merry Men sculpted by the brilliant Jay Richardson of Ft. Worth , Texas. They were to be the basis for a small add on set called the Men of Sherwood Forest. The figures were in various camp poses , seated , standing around, etc. One guy was designed to carry a variety of items , like firewood , a cask, etc. I got involved with other projects and put the originals away for safe keeping. I put them away in such a safe place that I forgot where they were! From time to time I would mount a determined search , but always without success. Years went by, with no Merry Men in sight.
Fast forward to last Saturday night. I was moving some boxes around and found one labeled ” Original Sculpts .” even though I had looked in the box before , I thought I would check each small box inside. Each box contained a set of original figures that I sent to the mold makers and which they had returned, Aztecs, 1805 Marines, Hurons …and then I opened a box labeled British Grenadiers figures #1-#4. But within the box was the set of long lost, misplaced , missing in action Merry Men in Camp ! I immediately called my old buddy Jim Clouse and told him the happy news . We met the next day at a McDonalds parking lot so I could hand them over for some professional photographs. (In addition to his sculpting skills Jim is also an accomplished photographer.
Finally, I communicated with the new owner of Barzso Playsets, Ken Ciak. Ken was excited too and plans to finally produce these figures along with maybe a surprise or two. ( I had planned to include a Maid Marion and Ken makes great female figures and , well, you get the idea.
So there is the story of the missing Merry Men. I can hardly wait until they come out. Can you ?
~ Ron Barzso
Photos were taken byJim Clouse.These figures will probably be out sometime in the summer or early fall.You can see more of the LOD products over here, https://lodtoysoldiers.com/.
Total War announced that they will be releasing Warhammer III late this year. It is a PC video game. Game Workshop is also developing new miniatures bring back the Warhammer Fantasy tabletop game.
Now for some news. I will not be attending the Midwest Toy Soldier Show this year. I will be at the Gettysburg and Columbus Toy Soldier Shows. Maybe some other shows too. But we shall see. I will have some of the Russian based figure sets at these shows. Companies like Prikaz, Warhansa and Publius. Plus the LOD resin sets and some foam products. I should also have my figures ready sometime late spring. That is all for now. Thank you for reading.
