"Toy Soldiers - 1/32, etc?" Topic

Is there a forum on here to talk about this kind of stuff? I can't remember.

The Miniature Page doesn't seem to attract the collector-types who like King & Country, Figarti, Britains, etc – does it?

There should be a 54mm board. Just start a topic and see what you get. Oh, you did it!

I collect some K&C Afrika Korps. They are nice. 21st Century stuff which I let my son play with and all the pcs are missing. Little Damien is who he really is. Gotta check his head for 666.

K&C have some new stuff-French on camels which are very nice. A bit pricey for me. My excitement usually doesn't last that long since I don't game in 54mm

There is a "Traditional Toy Soldiers" board on TMP:

TMP link

Ah -- buried in "Toy Gaming" -- thanks! I THOUGHT I had seen that one time, but when I looked under General, nothing popped up.

Thanks Sumo Boy!

Ooh -- and look-- Bill was clever (see Back to – on the left) -- and didn't even tell us!

And yes, we're here. I collect "really traditional" toy soldiers (i.e. mostly Britains, almost exclusively Victorian British types, and mostly the Guards & Household Cavalry).

I'm still in the 'cheap toy soldier' crowd myself- lots of AIP, some old AirFix, converted BMC stuff- and of course my own line of French Indian war 45 & 54mm stuff.

I like that the traditional toy soldier stuff is around and I window shop a lot of pages each day, but they always seem to have high prices for subpar glossy 'traditional' paintjobs- which means painted little better than Wizkids it seems. I'm someone who likes painting and cant see paying more than $5 USD for a 54mm pewter figure…

A lot of people prefer the "toy soldier" style paintjobs, myself included at times. It depends how its done. I have a lot of examples of both style in my collection. Right now im working on a series of home sculpted and cast figures in a Britains-esque style, but of modern subjects, like Vietnam or the Falklands. I think the contrast is pretty cool.
the littlewars yahoo group is a good one for the subject, and the treefrog treasures (i know) message board is also great, with a lot of manufacturers posting advance product photos.

:o I never knew about the treefrog page! thanks! :D

Dont get me wrong its not the quality of the paintjobs that bugs me- my own paint jobs are to the same standard lol. It is the gloss that I dislike- for my own plastics I typically spray em with a varethane finish- then repaint the parts I want dull and leave the boots etc shiny.

Matt- any pics of your fellows you've made?

Not yet, its still a purely personal project and progressing slowly. Hopefully the master will be done soon and I can get some picture up of the end results. I do a lot of homecasting, and typically like to make buildings and vehicles out of wood to go with them. The end result is very toy soldierish, very "Little Wars", but i like it.
As to the gloss style, my opinion is that anything done in an old time "Britains" style sculpting looks better with a gloss finish, but with the modern scuplting style, line like Frontline, King and Country and Figarti are better served with modern, matte, sometimes called "Chinese" style paintjobs. If you want a nice old toy soldier feel, check out the Tommy Atkins line, still handmade by a family in England, or the Wm. Hocker line, done in the Britians style and painted by i believe immigrants from the Vietnamese Hmong ethnic group employed by the sculptor in California. They are great, with an incredible variety.

There are a couple of Yahoo groups on the subject (wargaming with them as well…). Also, e-mail this fellow (editor of "Plastic Warrior" magazine), an he will send you a package about the magazine with subscription rates etc:

pw.editor@ntlworld.com

Here is the link for their site:

link

Now, that is generally for plastics, but could be a good place to start.

I've got to agree with mdriscoll – toy soldiers must be gloss (Britains et al)! Whereas military miniatures are matte (King & Country et al)

Like Matt I have scuplted and drop cast my own 54mm soldiers – quite time consuming and limited to early Australian forces (colonial volunteers etc).

I also collect 54mm toy soldiers (glossy Britains old and new, and Mignot are probably my favorites, but I also like many of the "new" toy soldier companies), and I also game with them (well, not with my collection, but with my homecast Prince August and Dutkins traditionals). After painting a few thousand 6, 10, 15, and 25mm wargames figures, it's a nice change of pace.

I have put together a list of links which focus on the old-style glossy traditional toy soldiers:

link

It's surprising how many companies out there are still making toy soldiers in the old style, as opposed to the newer matte "connoisseur" style.