"AWI Cavalry" Topic

Here are some pix of my 54 MM AWI Cavalry collection.
More to follow.

Tarleton's Legion

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3276_zpseskxg0bt.jpg.html]

[/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3280_zpskiziquwf.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3282_zpstvnpoqde.jpg.html] [/URL]


SC Militia/State Dragoons

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3297_zpswjwchdeq.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3302_zpsg6f89y2l.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3303_zpsgp6hxonc.jpg.html] [/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3315_zpscjvrdi6n.jpg.html] [/URL]

Who is the manufacturer?

Nicely done. Is this some more of your conversion work?

"Who is the manufacturer?" – Looking at the horses I'm guessing Helmet?

Your photography just keeps getting better and better!

I like these a lot.

These are Helmet kit conversions.

Great job!
(can't say I've ever heard of this manufacturer but I'm new to the game)

Is there a website for Helmet?

Those horses, though, are originally Britains Eyes Right series of Civil War cavalry.

The site is helmetsoldiers.co.uk

The horses are Heralds, which was bought out by Britains.
The horses were used in some of their Eyes Right series.
ACW, Canadian Mounted Police and some Wild West.

Helmet bought out the remaining sock of leftover Heralds/Britains horses to use with the Helmet Nap kits.

I've been debating about changing up some of the horses. I have stock of Timpo swoppet horses and plenty of Britains Deetail mounts. I may try some of them just to see what they look like.

The horses are Heralds, which was bought out by Britains.
The horses were used in some of their Eyes Right series.
ACW, Canadian Mounted Police and some Wild West.

No.

The horses are Britains, not Herald, as the two companies had merged by the time those horses came out in the early 1960s. The Eyes Right Series, to which these horses belonged, were a Britains development, not Herald's.

There were two original Herald horses for the first cowboys and Indians, and then for the Swoppets.

The horse here first were used for the Civil War Eyes Right Series and then the one at the walk for the Mounted Police.

If you are interested, there are two books which are helpful on both Britains and Herald:

-The Great Book of Britains by James Opie.

-An Unauthorized History of Herald and Britains Plastic Figures.

Herald Miniatures name was established from its former name of MZang in 1955. It was done to facilitate its merger with Britains, which was finalized in 1959. The first Eyes Right figures came out in 1960 and were a Britains product. The Civil War cavalry came out in 1962, as did the Mountie. These figures have Britains LTD on the base, not the older Herald logo which are on their highlanders, modern figures, and the original cowboys and Indians.

I've been collecting Britains toy soldiers since I was five in 1957/1958. I'm an avid collector still, and my collection of about 10,000 pieces has roughly 5,000 Britains old metal toy soldiers, about 500 Herald and Britains Eyes Right figures, and about 1,000 of the new Britains. And I've done a lot of research on the figures and the firm, mostly through Opie's excellent books, but also have some from Henry Harris and other authors.

Oops! Almost forgot-well done on the figures.

Lucky,

Thanks for the website location.

Kevin, you can believe Opie, who is generally correct.
Yes, I have both books.
The Timpo A-Z book is better in my opinion.

OR…

You can believe the original owner, who told me directly, that he bought the horses from HERALDS, just before they went under and were taken over by Britains. He had several thousand at one time. He got these in a "side" deal from someone who worked for Heralds.
That's straight from the person who bought the horses.
Not from someone writing about Britains, years later.

The person selling these kits now is 3 owners removed from the original owner.

I spoke with the original owner dozens of times.
I heard it right from him!!
You didn't even know that these existed, until I showed them here. So, I'll stick with what he told me, not with what someone who wasn't involved, wrote.

Back Story:
I commissioned HTF toy soldiers in Florida, to make replacement bases for Britains ACW Swoppets back in the early '90's.
I had acquired a large collection of over 500 foot ACW figures without bases. So, I had replacements made. The bases work with most of the Britains Swoppet line. There are 2 different types.

Word spread that I had done this and the owner of the Helmet company contacted me and we arranged an agreement.
He got bases and I got what you see here.

I also replaced the bases on my "Men of '76" foot figures, which
allowed them to blend in better with my AWI swoppet collection.
And that's the story…….

link

This is the HTF website. Don Ducote designs and makes his own swoppet figures, as well as replacement parts.

He designed and produced the bases for me.

Don has a nice series of War of 1812 swoppets.
He also has some really nice Knights.

Check it out.

The only problem is that Herald did not exist when the horses you have in the pictures here were designed and produced.

Herald then had been completely absorbed by Britains and the horses in the pictures above have the Britains trademark on them, not the Herald one.

Sorry, but I believe my own research and what I have in my collection as well as who produced them and when. Herald actually only produced two horses that were Herald horses, both of them were running models, not the ones pictured above.

Again, those pictured above were designed by Britains after Herald was merged/absorbed by Britains and were sold as Eyes Right models with the Britains trademark.

This isn't AWI but it was done by using Helmet parts combined with Britains Deetail figures. The basic limber and cannon are from the Britains ACW gun and limber set. The mounted Officer comes from a Deetail Nap figure.

I do not collect Naps. I'm sure this will make someone's head explode, with all sorts of factual errors.
I don't really care. For me it's the conversion work.

I have several of the original ACW sets and I appreciate the work that went into making this.
Figure conversion is a skill and I appreciate that in itself. Even if it's not exactly historically correct.
These are TOY soldiers after all.

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3283_zpsfvsxk1yr.jpg.html]

[/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3284_zpsbwfewopr.jpg.html]

[/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3290_zps5yxgqtin.jpg.html]

[/URL]

[URL=http://s222.photobucket.com/user/nevinsrip/media/IMG_3293_zps1afazgv3.jpg.html]

[/URL]

It's too bad that you don't have the implements/sidearms for the Britains field piece.

I received my first one of that model for Christmas in 1965. The model came out first, the gun teams and gun crews later.

Great stuff!

It's too bad that you don't have the implements/sidearms for the Britains field piece.

I have the implements, as well as another 20-25 field pieces.