"54mm or 1:32 Wild West toy soldier style figures" Topic

Bitten by the Wild West bug. I know about Britains Deetail and some Airfix figures. Who else makes or made such figures? Where might I get some?

Looking for cowboys (Mexicans and Americans),Indians,cavalry,townsfolk, buildings, wagons, steers, dogs, etc.

Rules suggestions (want fun, simple, quick ones).

"The Rules With No Name" meet your criteria splendidly, and the rule book itself is excellent resource for Old West games. Amazon has it right here: link

As for 54's--I think they are God's Gift to the Skirmish gamer. Not only can one impart distinctive character onto a figure by a proper paint job, but also by conversions made easier by the figure size.

There are many sources for these figures, and compared to most 28mm castings, they are dirt cheap.

Try Classic Toy Soldiers via this classictoysoldiers.com

Also Toy Soldiers of San Diego here: sdsoldiers.com

The Holy Grail of Old West figures was Timpo. When I first started Old West gaming back in 1971, it was with their outstanding figures. You should actively search for them on E-Bay or even post requests here at TMP and elsewhere.

I'm already working on a range of 54mm card stock building designs which, sold as PDF's for self printing, assembly, will be FAR less expensive than the few alternatives otherwise available. If interested, you can PM me.

Best of luck to you, and welcome to when men were men, and stood 2 1/2" tall in the saddle!

TVAG

Another lover of 54mm goodness here. TVAG has already given you some splendid advice, and I second his recommendation for those two sites/companies. I haven't ordered from TSSD, but can tell you the service and products available from Classic Toy Soldiers are superb. They are very friendly and helpful as well – if you have questions, don't hesitate to call them.

Another fantastic source is The Toy Soldier Company: toysoldierco.com Jamie Delson, the proprietor, is a real gentleman is always very willing to spend time with advice on how to get started in the wonderful world of 54's. He also has one of the deepest catalogues around.

As for makers and brands to check, here are a couple of manufacturers you might want to check out (all available from The Toy Soldier Company):

Airfix made some classic cowboys, well worth checking out. Be warned, however, they are a little smaller than the average these days. They also made some cracking Indians.

Dulcop: an Italian maker. Some of the poses are a little odd, but they have a charm to them. They made cowboys and, if you're okay stretching eras a bit, a superb Zorro and Mexican opponents, which might be the best sculpt of the Masked Man in any scale. Really superb.

Reisler: made the best Banditos ever for the scale. Lovely sculpts and a joy to paint. Their cowboys also look nice, though several are prone, which I don't care for personally.

Paragon: some excellent Apaches and Cavalry figures.

Britains: if you like Mexican bandits, be sure to check the current Deetails tag at the Toy Soldier Company. The original Banditos are available unpainted for quite a good price ($18 for six). They are MUCH cheaper than the factory painted chaps, and paint up very well.

Jean Hoefler: made some of the best cowboys and Indians around, in a rather charming, cinematic, style. The Indians in particular are expensive, but they have tons of character. I recommend them highly.

Austin Toy Soldiers: you can find these on e-bay if you type in Austin cowboys or something similar. Simply amazing sculpts. dead cheap, and one of them is a spitting image of Clint's Blondie. There's also John Wayne and several other familiar faces from the big screen. Don't miss these. auction

Replicants made some nice, unusual types, including bounty hunters, saloon types and Pinkerton men. Best source for these might be: link

As for rules, take a look at Desperado as well. Dead simple and loads of fun for players of all ages: link

Best of luck with your search. Keep us posted how it goes, and welcome to the wonderful world of 54's!

Edit: Here's a link to the Britains unpainted Banditos: link Also neglected to mention that for the month of May The Toy Soldier is offering free shipping. Might be of interest!

Michael's craft stores have serviceable barns and log cabins in the unfinished wood sections.

CTS and Armies in plastic make good Native American figs.

One more note and I'll shut up. I have quite a few Timpo swoppets Indians and Banditos I'd be willing to sell very cheap, if interested.

You might try here: link

These are pre-painted metals(pricey). I believe they are geared more towards collectors than gamers though.

TMP link

Here's some conversions made from all different brands.

Don't forget that Britains and Lincoln Log made cowboys and Indians in their old metal ranges. Old hollow cast Mounties would make a neat addition to a Western game.

The old Marx playsets add more cowboys, Indians and cavalry to the mix as well the buildings and forts would be the right background.

Both of these are still collectable and might make them expensive, but if you watch they sometimes show up reasonable because they need a little rehab work. The Marx stuff has been reproduced and is much cheaper than the originals.

Allen,

You might want to check out Steve Weston's Toy soldiers;

plasticsoldiers.co.uk

Specifically:- link

I made some Figures for him that might suit your needs.

Regards

Mike

Thanks to all for your suggestions.

Al

Marx Western

GONE FISHING email me about TIMPO

althegamerATyahooDOTcom

thanks,

Allen

I am also bitten.

Unlike my big sprawling 28mm western tables, I realized that a pile of 54mm buildings would exceed my storage capacity. I am thinking of making a western town scene focused on Main Street with a set of facades ( or buildings with only 2 or 3 inches of depth ) lining the board edge ( similar to the Marx Western Town facades ) .

I have been considering making thes 54mm Building Flats in a similar fashion to these ( noelsbigfour.com/flats.html ) , but using card stock wild west buildings instead. So far, I have been playing to re-size some of the Whitewash City buildings, but I think dedicated 54mm printable buildings would be even better.