"Really Cheap Troops?" Topic

Suppose that, especially for beginning kids, you need LOTS of small, cheap and not prone to breakage. For horse & musket, you look for RISK replacement sets, of RISK games in thrift shops. But where do I look for Ancients, Medievals and Moderns? Used to be there were cheap Axis & Allies tanks everywhere, but now that I need them, they've gone away.

Thanks.

There is the Feudal game if it's still available. I think Memoir 44 may come with troops. Check plastic solider review. They've got a whole section on board game minis.

Here you go –

link

There is a medieval version of Risk, in conjunction with English Heritage, don't know about extra pieces and unlikely to be in charity shops yet.

Robert, look here for off-retail pricing and good service for 1/72nds:
scalehobbyist.com
These folks sell Axis and Allies types of figures as well as 1/72nds, though I'm not sure about the pricing on the Axis and Allies stuff. Good Service as well.
historicalboardgaming.com
Happy hunting!
Bob

Robert,sending you a PM.
Bob

I'd probably go with 1/72 plastics.

Robert I've got a "Feudal" game. It's in the attic. Would sell it if interested.

How accurate are you wanting? Are you open to some "free interpretation" and large scales? Discount stores have plastic tubs full of plastic toy soldiers, generally fairly large (1/32 or something close to that). I've seen these for "modern" forces, pirates (with skeletons), fantasy, and "medieval knights" (basically knights in full plate armor, probably not historically accurate).
Hobby Lobby, Walmart and similar places might have them; I'm pretty sure you can buy them on Amazon, too.

Hobby Lobby also carries the BMC repros in clear vinyl bags, typically labeled "Yorktown" or "Gettysburg" (and often found in their gift shops, too). These are for the AWI and ACW (obviously), but they also have medieval knights on occasion. You get all of the historical accuracy you should expect from these…

Slightly pricier are the "Toobs" by Safari Ltd. These are painted (not well), and include AWI, ACW, modern soldiers, and possibly others— I know I've seen knights in one.

I will second the recommendation of 1/72 scale figures. They are very inexpensive, per figure. Most boxed sets come with 32-48 figures per box, and boxed sets can be delivered to your home for typically $12 USD-$20!

As stated Plastic Soldier Review has good, detailed reviews, with photos of each figure within each set they review. They even cover fantasy, but the reviews are more commentary, as the owners do not play fantasy games. Best part about PSR, is that they tell you the average Height of the figures within each set!

I am a huge fan of Red Box. They have extensive historical lines of figures which they sell.

I am a fan of their fantasy line, Light and Dark Alliance figures.

I find the best prices for Red Box figures on e-Bay, from Red Box, direct, in Ukraine. In spite of the war there, I have had zero problems getting my toys from them. Cheers!

+1 for HistoricalBoardGaming.com, have gotten a fair amount of nifty stuff there.