Toy Soldier Collector 2016 10-11 [72]

TOY SOLDIER

COLLECTOR Editor: Mark Avery Chairman: Regis Auckland ([email protected]) Sales & Marketing Director: Tom Foxon ([email protected] and [email protected]) Tel: 07540 153368 Contributors: Mike Blake, Paul Stocker, George Phillips, Keith NairnMunro, Jon Rooke, James Opie, John Staniforth and Chris Bartlett

Welcome

Sub Editor: Emma Whittaker Editorial Assistant: Gemma Avery Design: Andy Whittaker Printing: Regal Litho (www.regallitho.co.uk)

Issue 72

Toy Soldier Collector ISSN 1745-5804 Toy Soldier Collector is published bi-monthly by: Guideline Publications Unit 3 Enigma Building, Bilton Road, Denbigh East, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, MK1 1HW Tel: 01908 274433 Fax: 01908 270614 Email: [email protected] www.guidelinepublications.co.uk Please direct all purchasing, editorial and subscription enquiries to our head office. Subscription rates: UK £27, Europe £36.50, ROW £40 (all prices include shipping and postage) Front cover: Various sets by Britains. Top image courtesy of Vectis Auctions. Bottom image courtesy of John Staniforth)

www.toysoldiercollector.com All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden but may be granted upon application to Guideline Publications. All submissions to Toy Soldier Collector are welcomed and we will do our best to return these to you free of charge, however to guarantee return please include a stamped addresses envelope. All submissions should be mailed to the main Guideline office address as listed above. Copyright of published articles will belong to Toy Soldier Collector unless a prior agreement is reached. Toy Soldier Collector can accept no responsibility for lost or damaged submissions.

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CONSUMING ISSUES LET’S GO TO AN AUCTION James Opie, well-known antique figure expert, tells us why the auction houses still play a pivotal role

10 NEW RELEASES PART 1 20 CASTING AROUND 25 ALYMER REBORN George Phillips spoke to Antonio Martí. to hear about his vision for the Alymer brand

31 LEIPZIG Roving reporter Jon Rooke recently travelled to Leipzig and was lucky enough to pay a visit to the city’s monument, museum and toy soldier collection

34 WHAT THE DICKENS 35 BRITAINS – THE YEARS BETWEEN THE WARS Keith Nairn-Munro continues his series of articles looking at the history of the Britains toy soldier company

42 FANTASTIC PLASTICS 47 PLAYING WITH TOY SOLDIERS Mike Blake begins a new series of articles on 54mm wargaming with a brief history of the hobby

53 SHOW DATES/ BOOK REVIEW 56 BRITAINS SET 72 Life Guards past and present, but with a modern twist!

60 CHANGING TIMES FOR KING & COUNTRY An exclusive interview with K&C founder, Andy Neilson, about his plans to serve the UK market going forward

63 NEW RELEASES PART 2 70 FINAL WORD Britains dalliance with Waterloo

So last issue I pondered what would be happening by the time you were reading that copy of the magazine and well, it turns out the interest rates were cut, sterling has dropped (that’s the polite way of putting it) and we seem no clearer on the Brexit issue than we did straight after the vote. On the bright side, and I’m always a glass half full man, we’ve finally had some great summer days meaning I’ve been able to get outside with my kids, play sports, go camping and get away from my computer and the hobby in general. Don’t get me wrong, I love this hobby and I love writing for this magazine but when the sun’s shining it gets me off my behind and out into the world with the kids, something I love just a little bit more than toy soldiers. Also, this summer has been great if you’re a sports fan. Firstly, there was the Euros (let’s just not talk about England’s awful performance - thankfully I'm half Welsh) and then, of course, the Olympics. The Olympics made me wonder if any company has ever really portrayed the world famous games. I know plenty of makers have done football figures and a few have done athletes from various sports (boxing immediately springs to mind) but has anyone ever fully covered the games? I’m probably going to look daft now as somebody will write in and tell me Britains did it back in their heyday, and if anyone is going to set me straight it’ll probably be respected Britains and antique figure expert James Opie who it just so happens has a new book out (see page 53). He has also contributed a great article on visiting an auction for this issue. As well as James contributing, we also have some great articles from the regular team, including Mike Blake’s first feature in a series on wargaming in 1:32 scale and Keith Nairn-Munro’s look at Britains in the years between WWI and WWII. Enjoy the issue and see you back here in another couple of months for more news, reviews and features from your favourite magazine. All the best Mark Avery Editor

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 3

LETTERS

Consuming issues

A chance for readers to air their views on the magazine, and the hobby as a whole The future of the hobby I recently bought a back issue (60) of the magazine and was interested to see the reference to wartime fire engines. I have long been a student of wartime fire service history and its equipment and I contributed a chapter on the vehicles to the masterwork, The Blitz Then and Now, published some years ago by Battle of Britain Publications. Before WWII, there were in Britain over 1000 separate fire brigades varying from the huge and up to date London Fire Brigade to small village fire brigades still using steam pumps though by then either mounted on or towed by trucks. Two big changes took place just before the War. Firstly, new legislation led to the replacement of the smaller village fire brigades by rural district brigades. Secondly, as part of the preparation for war, an Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was created using initially volunteers. Equipment for the AFS was issued by the Government and the pumps were painted grey. Each civilian fire brigade was required to train its AFS component but the degree of integration varied widely. It was a mixture of prewar regular firemen and AFS men which tackled the major Blitz fires and both were on a steep learning curve since not even a regular brigade had faced fires on that scale 4 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

in peacetime. The need to send reinforcements to blitzed areas demonstrated the problems of having so many independent fire brigades. There were no national standards so often hose couplings and hydrant fixings did not match and different uniform markings and rank titles caused confusion. This led to more emergency legislation, creating in August 1941 the National Fire Service (NFS) which combined all the regular brigades and the AFS into one service. From its formation the NFS never

had to endure a blitz on the scale of that in 1940/41 as the Luftwaffe was busy in Russia and the Mediterranean areas. Later in the War the biggest challenge was the V1 and V2 attacks on, mainly, London. From its beginning the NFS set new standards for ranks, uniforms, hose couplings training systems and fire fighting drills, etc. New vehicles delivered after the change continued to be in grey but the NFS ruled that any prewar machines could remain red but with NFS markings. Already some

brigades had painted some of their prewar machines in grey and the Taylor and Barrett model shows one of these. Prior to August 1941 some civilian pattern machines were delivered as a result of prewar orders which had taken a long time to build. Some of these were still in red and some, such as London’s dual purpose Leylands, were in grey. Shortly after the War, the NFS was still concerned with standardisation and having by then a surplus of the standard Austin K2 towing vehicles, it was decided to convert a batch into standard canteen vans to replace a number of converted cars and trailers currently in use. The K2 canteens seem only to have come into service after the NFS ended in April 1948 and researchers have so far only found photos of them in service with the newly formed county brigades or with the new postwar AFS created in 1948 as a response to the Cold War. Remarkably, about half a dozen of these canteen vans survived and some are rallied as NAAFI vans or even US Red Cross vans. There is no photographic evidence so far of them being used by NAAFI and certainly not in WWII before they were converted. Certainly NAAFI had some military vehicle based canteens as did other canteen services run by various charities and churches and some of these were on

lockers or at least open bins to prevent them falling off the machine when in motion. The high rear bar on the vehicle was the hand hold for the American crewmen who travelled on the back step. Although the model in red with NFS markings is authentic, the body style is totally wrong. The vehicle should also have headlamp masks for wartime use but often there was a black masking on the right hand lamp showing clear or in yellow the letter F for fire. This was to identify the vehicle in the blackout for police or other civil defence workers. The figures of men holding the ‘branch’, the brass part on the end of the hose, have the typical model makers error of gripping the hose like a thin garden hose. Firemen are taught to place their whole left arm around the hose and the right hand flat on the top to counter the upward kick of a charged hose with water at high pressure trying to travel in a straight line. This upward pressure could break or sprain a thumb. If a hose was dropped it would thrash about like a wild animal and the brass branch could break a limb. The dividing line between toys and models is an increas-

NEWS

the larger Austin K3 military 3 tonner chassis. I was interested to see King and Country’s advert for the Bedford fire engine. Assuming the figures are 54mm the vehicle must have been based on a design in 1:50 scale made years ago by Matchbox and reappearing in similar style in the part work series by Del Prado. The chassis, with single rear tyres represents a Bedford model K ¾ ton truck initially appearing about 1939 but with twin rear tyres it would be the Model MS 3 ton chassis in its short wheelbase option. There were a few fire engines produced on this chassis, some just before the War, but evidence so far indicates they were open topped. The Matchbox model sadly was a typical manufacturer’s attempt to get as many different items out of one casting as possible, a sound business ploy but not good for collectors of accurate models. The body is mainly an American style pumper though they had a pump face on each side rather than two on the same side. The open well at the rear is where an American pumper carried lengths of flaked hose. In Britain we mainly used hose rolled in separate lengths and the rolls were stowed in enclosed

ingly grey area but if models are advertised as such with claims to historical accuracy then they ought to be accurate. I hope these observations will not give offence as they are intended to be informative and helpful. Regards Brian Baxter, Technical Historian Via email

Andy Neilson of King & Country replies: Thankyou for taking the time and effort to 'critique' our Bedford Fire Engine Brian. Your knowledge and expertise of the

subject is great! I wish we had known of you before we made the model. At the time, we did the best we could with the limited info that we could find and source. In future, should we ever do another wartime fire appliance/engine, I would like to be able to contact you for additional help, knowledge and assistance in making a better and more authentic model. Please send us your contact details privately. Thanks in advance and personal best wishes. Andy C. Neilson. Co Founder & Creative Director King & Country HK

Write in! To have your say on any toy soldier related subject please send all letters marked for the attention of the Editor to: Toy Soldier Collector, Guideline Publications, Unit 3 Enigma Building, Bilton Road, Denbigh East, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, MK1 1HW. Alternatively if you’d prefer to email in your views please send them to: [email protected].

Plastics news from Mike Blake Plastic Warrior

‘Publishing For Plastics’ I like to mention PW now and again. It isn’t the latest issue here in front of me, issue 158, but its contents are typical of the enjoyment to be got from the magazine: News and Views and Other Stuff, What’s In Your Fishtank, Star Wars Command, Popular plastics Fort, Converter’s Corner, Thirty years On, Elastolin At 40 – part 4, Green Army men, Whatever Happened To…?, ABC, plus reader’s Letter and What’s New? What’s In Your Fishtank by Brian Carrick is all about checking out finding 54mm scale buildings and structures in the aquarium and aquatics section of garden centres and pet stores. This is one after my own heart – I never miss an opportunity and have had some excellent finds. Brian presents some of his but shows how, with some nicely painted figures they can be transformed into marvellous dioramas.

Master modeller Les White has two articles in this issue; the Star Wars one, which is an extensive collector’s guide, and the Converter’s Corner which shows how he made some ‘London Policemen’ from various unsuspecting Armies In Plastic figures. The illustrations show where the various parts for the Late Victorian/Edwardian era police figures ‘Armed to fight Anarchists/Communists and werewolves!’ come from and the finished result, all in Les’ ultraneat style. There were tears in my eyes when I read ‘Thirty years On’. Peter Cole, Peter Evans, Paul Morehead, Barrie Blood and Brian Carrick swing the lamp (reminisce) about their years as plastic figure collectors – Britains ECW mounted figures for 15p! Every issue is packed with interesting reading – find out more at www.plasticwarrior.com.

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 5

Lot 579, New Toy Soldiers in the Sudan, 1884, over a hundred of them, sold for £292

Let’s go to an auction

James Opie, well known antique figure expert, tells us why the auction houses still play a pivotal role in our hobby

I

n these days of distance selling there are still plenty of advantages in actually attending an auction in person. The two most important are to properly examine the figures, and then, once bought, to take them safely (and inexpensively) home. C & T Auctioneers are one of the few auction houses still holding ‘proper’ old fashioned toy soldier and figure sales with a printed and colour illustrated catalogue, everything available to look at, and auctioneers performing in front of a substantial live audience. It is also noticeable that a high proportion of the lots do go to the people who are there in the room. There are several ways to reach the very comfortable four star Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells where the

sales are held. Some people make a mini-break of it and stay overnight. The train service from London is very good, and the hotel is a short taxi ride or a 20-minute walk from the station. Tunbridge Wells is a fairly tricky town for traffic, so it is as well to start early if coming by car on the day. Viewing starts at 8.30am, with the sale beginning at 10.30am, but viewing and clearing takes place throughout the day. Thus, it is possi-

ble to estimate roughly when the things you are interested in will come up, arrive in good time to see them and then sit in the auction room. Bidding usually proceeds at about a hundred lots an hour. By 9.00am, there are a fair number of people at the viewing counter being delivered things to see. Those who have made up their minds to bid on just a few things will be able to see them in a few minutes, and then enjoy a tea

or coffee with biscuits after registering at the desk to get their paddle number. At this point, it is also possible to purchase a catalogue if you haven’t already been sent one via subscription. Most people are pretty private about what they are looking for, so the order of the day is to talk generalities before bidding, and wait until afterwards to be delighted with the successful bids! Before the start of the sale,

Lot 330 Boxed set of Britains St John’s Ambulance bid up by two telephone bidders, sold for £912

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Lots 1 to 608 have been laid out in aisles behind the viewing counter. Isabelle Chapman, Eddie Mayne and Leigh Gotch start handing out lots to view at 8.30am.

At this point, Leigh Gotch is taking the sale. He takes it in turn with Matt Tredwen (the T of C & T). Not many people sit at the front. Isabelle is clerking, and Hannah Vigors is operating the online bidding system with the lot screen

Leading dealers Adrian Little (near left) and Andy Morant prefer to sit at the back of the auction room

Celia Mayne takes the money and gives out the delivery forms at the end of the sale. In spite of the availability of clearance throughout the sale there are still plenty of buyers waiting at the end!

or the part where you are going to participate, settle down comfortably in your preferred seat, front, back or middle of the room. The auctioneer will be taking bids from his book of commissions, the reserve price on the lot, the telephones, the internet screen in front of him and everyone in the room, as well as trying to keep up an entertaining flow of patter. I leave my colleagues at C & T, Matt Tredwen and Leigh Gotch, to do all this much better than I would be able to. At this last sale (on June 8, 2016), over 150 people registered to bid. The auctions that I put together normally start with an Early Britains section, going on to the Golden Age as I call the period of manufacture between the World Wars, and then the twilight of hollow-

casting until 1966. This, with any specific named collections, usually fills about two hundred lots. Other British hollowcast manufacturers are included in these sections. After this there may be a section of repainted and converted figures, very popular with collectors seeking to enliven their display shelves with something different. Next comes the civilian section, the foreign-made section, the more recently made soldiers and the models. At the end are the plastic figures, and a mixed miscellaneous section where any late

entries form an interesting final few possibilities. The people in the room ebb and flow as they follow their interests and have a break during the lots they are not interested in. When you take a break, be sure to be back in good time for the next lot you want! At the end of the sale, everyone can relax a bit. The auction staff will be busy collecting the remaining money from those in the room, and packing up everything bought by 

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 7

Lot 199 Britains set 1641, rare second version heavy duty lorry, in even rarer dark blue finish, only offered in 1948, with two drivers in blue uniform, sold for £584

 people not present as well as the unsolds. Once you have paid, looked at, signed for and packed your purchases, you can go home without a care in the world, knowing that you don’t have to wait or depend on anyone else to expensively deliver what you have bought. You can even brag a bit to your friends, and point out the goodies in a lot that they may not have noticed.

Auction tips The auction usually goes online on the-saleroom.com a fortnight in advance, so you can research the lots with plenty of photographs before you ever get to the auction. This means that on the day you can concentrate on viewing the ones you most want to look at. Everyone has their own system for bidding. In my buying days, I preferred to decide what my maximum bid would be, write it in my catalogue, then put a star against the ones where I felt I might go a little higher if necessary. Trying not to be undecided at this point is vital, as the lot may have gone before you make up your mind (this especially applies to those bidding online). In deciding how much to pay for a lot, try to figure

Lot 79 Britains Special 15th Hussars, sold for £134

in the ‘buyer’s premium (18% plus VAT = 21.6% at C & T currently) and also the extra 5% if there is an overseas seller premium to be added. I used to enjoy having some ‘reserve’ lots as consolation prizes if I missed some of the things I really wanted because they simply went far too high. I set my top bid for these ‘reserves’ fairly low, so that I would be really pleased with the bargains if I bought some. Looking carefully at all the lots you are interested in is important, as even if the online photographs have awakened your interest, you may notice something that either puts you off or makes you more excited when you actually handle the figures. There really is no substitute for weighing and turning figures carefully in your hand. After the sale, it is possible

Lot 139 Noris No.2 Size set of Indian Empire Cavalry, sold for £365

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to buy any unsold lots at the reserve price straight away, or even to make offers below the reserve which will have to be advised to the owner before a deal can be struck. This is also the time to have a word with a dealer who you noticed was buying a lot out of which you would have liked to buy one or two figures. It may be that he will

need to charge you almost the entire price of the lot to sell you these, but it is worth a try. The next toy Soldier and figure sale to take place at C & T is on Wednesday October 19, 2016. Prices quoted in the captions for lots pictured include Buyer’s Premium and VAT, rounded to the nearest £. END

Lot 27 Rare early Britains Whitejackets at the slope, set 80, sold for £97

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REVIEWS

New Releases 1

Reviews of new metal figures to arrive in the hobby by George Phillips

John Jenkins Designs Various new releases The JJD Wars of The Roses range distributed exclusively in the UK by Grey Goose Collectibles has expanded in recent months, with the addition of some excellent banner bearers and ‘personality’ figures depicting some of the English nobility engaged in the war for the British crown. As we have come to expect from the Hong Kong-based company, the sculpting, posing and paintwork of the new figures is outstanding. “Once again, the armour has that ‘blue-silver’ tinge to it, that

is very authentic-looking,” added Clive Gande of Grey Goose. The figures include a depiction of John De Vere, the 13th Earl of Oxford, who was one of the principal Lancastrian commanders during the English Wars of the Roses. The tunic of the JJD piece is decked out in the vivid orange and yellow heraldic devices of the De Vere family, along with three bright red feather plumes extending from the helmet. The figure seems to be signalling by hand or perhaps accepting a salute. This terrific – and

John De Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk

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Yorkist knight with pole-axe

From the Retinue of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk knight with heraldic banner

the price of £43. The final new piece on review is a standard bearer to rally the knights and men-atarms of the Yorkist cause. The standard mirrors the tunic of John Howard in its depiction of the Howard family coat of arms. And this flag man is all business: visor down and with war hammer raised to defend the colours! This piece retails at £60. The other JJD item under review this issue is one of a new range of flying machines representing aircraft development in the period 1918-1939. The Inter-War Aviation series includes the Boeing P-26 ‘Peashooter’ of the 34th Pursuit Squadron. The P-26 was the first allmetal US production fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. The prototype first flew in 1932, and the type was still in use with the U.S. Army Air Corps as late as 1941 in the Philippines. The JJD model captures the sheer chunkiness of the P26, a characteristic of the aircraft that survived into later US fighter models such as the Brewster Buffalo. With its very 

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 11

REVIEWS

From the retinue of John De Vere, Man at Arms with Battle Standard

historically accurate – piece retails for £43. To accompany the Lancastrian nobleman is a standard bearer whose standard reflects the orange of the De Vere family. This is another very nice piece with strong, defiant posing of the figure who is clutching a broadsword and yelling orders or commands . This two-piece set (knight plus banner) would add colour and interest to any display and is on sale for £57. From the Yorkist side is a character figure of John Howard, an English nobleman and soldier and the first Howard Duke of Norfolk. He was a close friend and loyal supporter of King Richard III, with whom he was slain at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. With the visor of his helmet up to enable him to shout commands, the JJD rendering of Howard has a solid military bearing and his tunic reflects his family’s livery. Another historically accurate miniature to grace your War of the Roses display or diorama at

REVIEWS  racy 1930s colour scheme, the model retails at £205. From the 1930s to the final year of The Great War and a potent German war bird. Another JJD aircraft release from the Knights of the Sky series depicts the Albatross DIII of Franz Ray, an air ace credited with 17 victories. Ray’s aircraft resembled an enormous, predatory moth: the narrow fuselage was painted mostly black, creating a sharp contrast to the distinctive ‘lozenge’ camouflage that covered the wings. 12 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

CONTACT John Jenkins Designs

According to JJD, large, irregular blotches with two or three colours were used on the upper surfaces of the wings of German fighters which led to the development of the Buntfarbenanstrich – the lozenge camouflage – made up of repeating patterns of irregularly shaped four, five or six-sided polygons. Because the painting of such a pattern was very time consuming – and the paint

added considerably to the weight of the aircraft – the patterns were printed on fabric, and the fabric was then used to cover the aircraft. This printed fabric was used in various forms and colours from late 1916 until the end of the war. The singular paint job on this model which identifies it as Ray’s aircraft in my opinion makes it very desirable and collectable. The piece retails at £230.

Unit 6E, Tower 2 King Ley Industrial Building 33-35 Yip Kan Street Wong Chuk Hang Hong Kong Tel: +852 9041 9065 www.johnjenkinsdesigns.com In the UK: Grey Goose Collectables Sparrow Wycke Farm Maldon Road Mundon Essex CM9 6PB Tel: 01621 743815 www.grey-goose.co.uk

REVIEWS

Alymer Various new releases Under the guidance of Antonio Marti of Military Models, SL the celebrated Spanish toy soldier brand Alymer is on the ascendancy again (see feature on page 25). New releases this summer included a pair of cracking 24th Regiment of Foot sets from the Natal Campaign

of 1879. In addition to the standard marching and combat poses, Alymer produces sets that represent the logistics and supply chains that are essential to maintaining successful military campaigns. The first item is grey mule carrying medical supplies

connoted by a large red cross. The animal is being led by a private of the 24th who holds its reins in one hand and his tea-stained pith helmet in the other. The set has good movement and animation and the gloss paint job is simple but workmanlike. The set

retails for £30. The other new item represents what must have been a welcome site for British soldiers on campaign under the blazing southern African sun: a large wooden water barrel pulled by a mule! This is another great little set. The beast is being led by a private of the 24th who has a muslin cloth in place under his pith helmet to protect his neck from the sun. A nice touch is the detachable steel water bucket that swings freely from the base of the barrel. Again, the gloss paint work with this item is quite basic but the set represents excellent value for money at £40.

CONTACT Alymer Military Models SL Calle Benicadell no 26 46015 Valencia Spain Tel: +34 963 234 504 www.alymer.com

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REVIEWS

GNM Miniatures Various new releases Graham Mollard of GNM Miniatures has been busy bringing new items to market and it was with great pleasure that we took delivery of a number of new releases from his Napoleonic and Medieval ranges. First up are a pair of mounted Mameluk musicians from the Middle Eastern cavalry unit that fought alongside Napoleon’s Imperial Guard. These two figures – a cymbals player and a trumpeter – are a veritable explosion of colour, with authentically painted uniforms and horse livery that really captures the savage flamboyance of the unit.

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The Mameluk cavalry squadrons of Napoleon’s army had a fearsome reputation and were armed with curved, scimitar-like swords that struck terror into the hearts of the infantry that faced them. The style and form of the Mameluk blade was imitated by the swordsmiths of a number of European countries

The base of the new GNM models has been textured and painted to look like grey flagstones, suggesting a ceremonial performance as the musicians pass through the streets of Paris, perhaps. The numnahs on which the horses’ saddles are placed and the blanket roles are particularly strik-

REVIEWS

ing and it’s clear that a lot of thought, time and effort has gone into making these two pieces as impressive as they are. Worth £110 a piece of anyone’s money, in my opinion. Collectors who like to build dioramas for their Hundred Years War archers will appreciate a new scenic piece from GNM. Sets of six archers’ stakes – used in medieval times to defend against enemy cavalry attacks – can be butted together to form a defensive line of a length that collectors can choose themselves, notwithstanding their other financial commitments! A really nice touch with these pieces is the inclusion of the English archers’ goosefletched arrows that were routinely stuck into the soil for ease of acquisition and according to some historians, to improve the chances of a non-fatal arrow wound becoming infected. Very nasty, if true. These pieces retail at £30 each and the excellent

GNM archers that appear with them in our picture are priced at £35. I’ve deliberately chosen to keep the best ‘til last in this review. I have to admit to being totally gobsmacked by the final new item from GNM. This is a rendering of Edward Plantagenet astride a caparisoned war horse. What’s so appealing about this piece is the incredible brushwork required to represent the coat of arms and livery of the English king. The intricate heraldic devices representing lions, Fleurs-de-lis and other symbols on the king’s shield and the horse’s caparison are beautifully executed. The

model is also chunky and pleasing to hold. The knights of this period in full battle order and moving en masse must have looked simply awesome. For a very reasonable, £130 you can add this striking miniature of Edward Longshanks to your collection. Fit for a king, you might say.

CONTACT GNM Miniatures The Old Chapel Selby Road Camblesforth Selby, North Yorkshire YO8 8HX Tel: 01757 611485 E: [email protected]

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 15

REVIEWS

Thomas Gunn Miniatures Various new releases In the last issue of TSC I reviewed a two-piece set from the Thomas Gunn Miniatures (TG) Roman Empire range depicting a section of a Roman anti-cavalry formation. If you liked that piece you are going to love some of the new releases! The success of the armies of Rome on the battlefields of the ancient world was often down to their superior tactics and formations. The new additions to the Roman Empire range provide the potential to build up your infantry units and create some eye-catching offensive or defensive positions. The first figure is a kneeling legionnaire with a doubleedged gladius short sword at the ready. This figure will sit perfectly with the item I mentioned above (ROM004) and will be a very useful addition to any display featuring legionnaires waiting to repel the Barbarian hordes. TG has also produced new figures in attacking poses, including a Legionnaire launching his pilum at the enemy. The pilum was a javelintype weapon that was generally around two metres 16 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

long. It consisted of a narrow iron shank about seven millimetres in diameter and 60 centimetres long with pyramidal head. The shank was joined to the wooded shaft by a socket. The thin iron shank was the key to the function of the pilum. The weapon had a hard pointed tip but the shank itself was made of softer iron. This softness would cause the shank to bend after impact, rendering the weapon useless to any enemy who might try to throw it back: it would not fly straight or true The figure is a brand new sculpt with the legionnaire wearing the shorter trousers and also minus his cape and leg greaves. This gives him a distinctly different look to a previously released figure which is has now been discontinued. Another new release depicts a kneeling legionnaire with his pilum lowered waiting in reserve before going into battle. This figure works extremely well with other TG figures in more relaxed poses as you can see from the attached photos. The final new Roman figure

is a legionnaire taking cover beneath his curved rectangular shield as enemy arrows rain down on him. The Legionnaires’ shield (scutum) was over a metre high and almost half a metre wide. Fabricated from three sheets of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather – usually with a spindle shaped boss along the vertical length – it could provide its user with plenty of protection. All the above figures come in TG’s three normal versions for Roman Empire figures. The A versions with traditional Imperial Rome red shields are generally not limited. The B version are the black shield 30th legion and the C version are the black shield 9th Legion (white bull), which are both limited to 100 pieces worldwide. As you can see from the photos that accompany this review, the paintwork on these figures is terrific and the first rate sculpting/posing brings the military might of Rome to life very convincingly. All of the new Legionnaires released above are priced £39.

REVIEWS

CONTACT Thomas Gunn Miniatures Unit 21, Deverill Road Trading Estate Sutton Veny, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7BZ Tel : 01985 840539 [email protected] www.tomgunn.co.uk

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/30 www.tomgunN.co.uk • email: [email protected] T

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Peter Nathan Toy Soldiers We offer the widest variety of elite [email protected] miniatures, email:

toy soldiers and diorama accessories available for your visual hobby. Peter Nathan Toy Soldiers has been in business over 20 years and all the products displayed Available direct from us in our new store are available online.

and from all good quality toy soldier stockists throughout the world.

Shop 18, level 2, Queen Victoria Building, 455 George Street, Sydney, Australia. Tel: (+612) 9267 5591 Email: [email protected] Thomas Gunn Miniatures, Website: www.toysoldiers.com.au Unit 21, Deverill Road Trading Estate, Sutton Veny, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 7BZ

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Tel: 01985 219472

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REVIEWS

Casting around Paul Stocker takes a look at the latest toy soldier castings to arrive on the market

Irregular Miniatures New Zealand Wars

The latest releases from Ian Kay are four figures depicting Maori warriors and British troops of the New Zealand Wars. The warriors are a chief standing and a warrior performing the haka and the troops depict infantry of the 1840s and 1860s. The Maori or New Zealand Wars were a series of armed conflicts between British troops and the indigenous Maori between 1845 and 1872. They started as local 20 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

Castings of Maori warriors and British soldiers

Various new releases

Painted Maori warriors

tactics in later campaigns, frequently in dense bush. The fall-out from the conflict and the issues which lead to it persist even today. The new figures are cleanly cast, three of them in one piece and one of the soldiers cast with a separate rifle. They cost £3.75 each. Postage: UK 10%, Europe 20%, Rest of the World 20% (Surface) or 30% (Airmail) (40% for scenery). Ian can now accept PayPal but please add 3% or add 5% for conversion charges if not paying in GB £’s.

conflicts caused by disputed land purchases but they escalated after 1860 as the government became convinced it was facing a united Maori resistance to land sales and the sovereignty of the British Crown. The government summoned thousands of British troops to mount major campaigns against the Maori and at the height of hostilities in the 1860s, 18,000 British troops, supported by artillery, cavalry and local militia, engaged about 4,000 Māori warriors. Although outnumbered, the Maori proved highly adaptable and used firearms and fortifications very effectively. Both sides used guerilla

Painted British Soldiers

CONTACT Irregular Miniatures Ltd 41 Lesley Avenue York YO10 4JR Tel: 01904 671101 www.irregularminiatures.co.uk

Guards marching and marking time

Sadly, Giles Brown’s normally prolific output of new releases was interrupted by a computer crash (don’t you just love computers?) so there are only two new figures to feature this issue, but they are typically useful and interesting. They are conversions of a basic Britains marching figure and depict soldiers in high collar tunics, one marching with the head in the ‘eyes right’ position and one standing marking time. They are shown here as Guardsmen and the poses would be perfect for a Trooping the Colour diorama but head changes could turn them into any other troops in the same sort of tunics. Giles’ new releases measure 54mm approx and both figures cost £3.70 each as castings and £9.50 painted gloss. Postage in the UK is an additional 10% with a minimum of £3.00, 15% for Europe with a minimum of £5.00 and 25% for the rest of the world with a minimum of £5.00. Giles sets a mini-

mum value of £10.00 for all orders. If anyone wants an update to their castings list Giles will be happy to provide one on request. Not exactly stop press but important news is that, by the time you read this Giles expects Dorset Soldiers to be owned by Peter James and Andy Gibbs. Giles will be offering them full support over the next few months to ensure continuity of production and service to collectors. Further details including full contact details will be available in due course but in the meantime use the usual contact details listed here.

CONTACT Dorset Soldiers 48 Fortuneswell Portland DT51LZ Tel: 01305 823003 www.dorsetsoldiers.com

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 21

REVIEWS

Dorset Soldiers

REVIEWS

Tradition of London

Castings of Kaiser Wilhelm II and officers of the Imperial German Army

Various new releases

These rather beautiful figures depicting Kaiser Wilhelm II and his senior army officers are not strictly new releases as they were originally designed some time ago by the late, great Alan Caton and sold as part of Tradition’s

22

model soldier range. What is new is that in their re-issued form they are now part of the toy soldier range and when sold as a painted set they are painted gloss. The German Empire was the German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in November 1918. The Imperial German Army was the name given to the combined land and air forces (excluding the maritime aviation units) of the German Empire as formed in 1871. There are eight figures making up the painted set (Toy Soldier set 097) and they look splendid whether painted gloss or matt. The castings shown here are Kaiser Wilhelm, general officers in Uhlan (lancer) and Hussar uni-

forms and Prussian infantry generals, one in a greatcoat. The quality of the castings gives no hint of their age and assembly is very straightforward. In most case only a left arm or a sword need to be fixed in place although the figures in the hussar uniform is cast with a separate pelisse

to be fixed on his shoulder. The eight figures display a height of military fashion at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries which would soon be rendered redundant by WWI. Most readers are probably aware that 2016 marks the centenary of the Battle of

CONTACT www.traditionoflondon.com

Toy Set A Trad 5 - The Battle of the Somme

Tradition of London (RP World Models)

the Somme. It was one of the largest battles of the First World War and cost more than one million casualties. Allied forces attempted to break through the German

lines along a twenty-five mile front north and south of the Somme, partly to draw German forces away from the battle of Verdun. By its end the losses on the Somme actually

All the King’s Men American War of Independence skirmish rules A new skirmish version of the All the King’s Men wargame rules is now available from the ATKM site. Ken Cliff describes this as a smaller scale but grittier version of the earlier rules which should be easily used by those familiar with that earlier version. Ken’s aim is to provide rules dealing with ambushes and forest fighting

and the sort of tough man to man combat that was a feature of the AWI conflict when, for example, light infantry and Native Americans were engaged in forest areas. The rules are available from the ATKM site as a free PDF. They do assume some familiarity with the older rules and so are not completely standalone but Ken hopes that

exceeded those at Verdun. With the centenary in mind Tradition have issued a commemorative painted set (Toy Set A Trad 5) of British infantry figures made up of

The Barracks Maville Works Beech Avenue Basford Nottingham NG7 7LU Tel: 0115 9427462 www.rpworldmodels.net

both sets of rules are simple enough to be easily digested by newcomers. The new rules are at the following link, and include design notes and charts: http://allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com/documents/ATQM. Rules.Charts.for.Posting.pdf The original ATKM rules are still available as a free PDF if you want them: http://allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com/documents/ATKMRules2ndEditionOnline.pdf

CONTACT All the King’s Men Toy Soldiers LLC 2456 Hewatt Rd Snellville GA 30039 USA Tel: +1 770 978 1645 www.allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 23

REVIEWS

Toy Set 097 - Kaiser Wilhelm and his officers painted

four privates, an officer and a sergeant wearing covered helmets. The figures are drawn from Tradition’s large selection of toy British, American, French and German WWI figures and they were issued in a slightly larger set some time ago. Individual figures are available as castings and gloss painted. The Imperial German Army castings, supplied with the usual coloured painting guide, measure 56mm approx and cost £8.95 each. The eight figure Toy Set 097 costs £149.75. The Battle of the Somme figures are cast in traditional toy soldier style with separate arms and the painted set costs £98.75. Individual figures cost £8.95 each as castings and £21.76 painted gloss. Postage costs: UK15%, minimum £3.95; 10%; EC Countries 20%, minimum £6.00; Overseas 25%, minimum £7.50.

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Alymer reborn One of Spain’s best-known toy soldier brands is in the ascendancy again under the guidance of a passionate new proprietor who was handed the reins of the company by the late founder’s family. George Phillips spoke to Antonio Martí of Military Models S.L. to hear about his vision for the Alymer brand

I

n recent years, the Alymer brand of collectable toy soldiers has made a return to the London Toy Soldier Show on the tables of Antonio Martí of Military Models S.L based in Valencia, Spain. A collector of toy soldiers since boyhood, Antonio acquired and resurrected the Alymer brand in 2014. “Like most collectors, my journey with the hobby started in childhood when my mother bought me a bag of Spanish-made Montaplex toy soldiers,” Antonio says. “These were used in battles on my bedroom floor, with marbles often providing the firepower to smash through the ranks of plastic figures.” Another milestone for

Antonio Martí

Antonio was when, at six years of age, his elder brothers returned from a study trip to Ireland with prized Airfix plastic construction kits. “I was forbidden to touch the assembled models but my brothers realised how much I liked them and on

Abraham Lincoln casting and painted figure. Sculpting by David Scheinmann

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 25



gave me a copy of the latest Alymer catalogue which became my bedside reading for a while. I would sometimes fall asleep and dream of owning some of the soldiers that at the time, were beyond my reach.”

Collecting milestones Other milestones in the hobby for Antonio include receiving some aluminium Russian toy soldiers from an uncle who fought on the Eastern Front as part of the 250th Blue Division of the German army. Designated as the División Española de Voluntarios in Spain, as its name suggests, the unit was formed from Spanish volunteers who wanted to join the fight against communism. After he was married at the age of 30 Antonio only bought soldiers as souvenirs when travelling and pretty much stopped collecting when his sons were born, though his interest in military miniatures remained.

Unique opportunity In 2014 following the sad passing of Angel Comes, Antonio was offered a large number Motor gunboat diorama at the Alymer workshop.

 their next trip, they brought me one home. It was quickly assembled but held together – and covered with – globs of Imedio glue!” As a teenager, Antonio found a local model shop and began to build Spanish armoured fighting vehicles in 1:35 scale, as well as fostering his interest in model soldiers. In addition, he discovered the Valencia Modellers Association and found kindred spirits who shared his interest in the precision and detail of miniature figures and enjoyed the ageless appeal of the hobby.

Important meeting It was at the group that Antonio met Angel Comes who had founded the respected Spanish toy soldier brand Aly26 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

mer in 1947. The company name was created by placing some of the first letters in the names of his daughters, Alicia and Mercedes either side of ‘y’, the Spanish word for ‘and’. Antonio also met Alvaro Noguera, founder of the Museo L’Iber, who at the time was considered to have the world’s largest private toy soldier collection, with some 1,400,000 figures. “Most of the members were older than me but they all shared my enthusiasm. We would organise exhibitions and events and our weekly meetings – in which we discussed model soldiers, military history and collecting military items – always seemed to go too fast! “On one occasion, Mr Angel

The new square base (above) with which the latest Aylmer figures are fitted. This can be seen on the Egyptian figure on the far left, versus an earlier version with a 'pedestal' base

of Alymer figures for his collection by the Comes family. But he was prepared to go a step further and take on the ownership and operation of the Alymer brand, which had stopped trading some years before. “The opportunity presented by the Comes family came at exactly the right time as I was looking for a new business venture and what could be better than working in an industry associated with the hobby you love?” In the acquiring business, Antonio became the custodian of a large amount of model soldier assets. “Alymer had a very big product range, from 20mm

including Prince Aki-Hito of Japan. For these reasons, you will find Alymer figures in many private collections around the world.”

Getting started

‘Alymer has enjoyed the distinction of having been appointed as the maker of military miniatures for the Spanish royal family. The former King Juan Carlos I has an extensive collection and while reigning monarch, presented Alymer sets to foreign ambassadors and dignitaries’

‘Miniploms’ figures to 33mm, 54mm, 77mm and 90mm ranges. This included infantry, cavalry and war chariots in a number of different scales. The company also produced many items for other customers such as Franklin Mint and The Art Gallery and others,” he said. “I acquired all the 33mm, 54mm, 77mm and 90mm master figures and more than 650 casting moulds, many containing more than ten figures. Alymer has enjoyed the distinction of having been appointed as the maker of military miniatures for the Spanish royal family. The former King Juan Carlos I has an extensive collection and while reigning monarch, presented Alymer sets to foreign ambassadors and dignitaries,

With the acquisition of the business complete, Antonio had the task of relocating all the equipment, moulds and stock to a new workshop five miles away from the old Alymer factory in Valencia. Machinery was tested and the casting moulds carefully checked before production got underway again. This process took around four months. In addition to maintaining the strong historical heritage of the Alymer range, Antonio has begun the production of brand new stock. Along with the traditional figures in the various scales, he offers a new range of resin busts and 1:32 resin vignettes and dioramas. “Since 2015 we have been working with a range of very well-known sculptors including Angel Terol, Antonio Meseguer and David Scheinmann, as well as rising talents such as Pascual Sales, Alfredo Chaves and Alfonso Miquel.” All figures are produced end-to-end in the new workshop by Antonio, working with his casting master Vicente Mallol, the son of Spain’s sole flat toy soldier manufacturer. “I manage the office, handle  sales, maintain the web-

On the move. Foreign Legion figures from Alymer

Figure moulds and other equipment at the Alymer workshop

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 27

Alymer timeline 1947 – Creation of the company. Valencian entrepreneur Angel Comes founds Alymer to produce figures for one of his great passions: strategy games. The company name was created by placing some of the first letters in the names of his daughters, Alicia and Mercedes either side of ‘y’, the Spanish word for ‘and’. The first figures were made of lead and in 30mm scale.

1949 —Aluminium. Aylmer briefly produced 60mm figures in aluminium representing the international armies of WWII. The moulds eventually surrendered to the ravages of time and the rare aluminium figures are highly coveted by collectors.

1955 – Miniploms. A big fan of model railways, Angel Comes could not find decent figures to display with his HO scale trains. So he began to produce 20mm lead figures. These were the famous Miniploms that rapidly achieved worldwide success. Hundreds of different figures were produced representing a wide range of historical themes. In 1956, a diorama made using Miniploms by the artist Regino Mas entitled Hannibal destroying Sagunto received rave reviews. The diorama was subsequently donated by Alymer to the Spanish Army Museum in Madrid.

1960 – Plastics. Plastic figures were becoming increasingly popular with collectors, so Alymer began producing figures in this new material. The cost of hand-painting the figures was the same as for metal figures, but the latter had a higher perceived value, so the production of plastics was abandoned. Today these figures are virtually unknown among collectors.

1963 – Historical Series. After the disappointment with plastics, the production of the 54mm Historical Series got underway. This was a broad range of figures covering many historical periods and the figures proved extremely popular. They were soon complemented by Alymer boxed sets, presented in elegant, handmade green boxes.

2014 – Military Models. Passionate collector Antonio Martí forms Military Models with the goal of continuing the production of Alymer figures: high-quality, hand-made products once again produced in Valencia, Spain. Boxed sets are also available in the traditional hand-made green boxes.

‘I’d like people to think of us as collectors running a toy soldier company for other collectors’ 28 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

 site and do the bulk of the painting work,” Antonio said. “Eventually, if the business grows in line with my expectations, I’m going to need more painters. Unfortunately, there are many unemployed people in the area who had previously worked in the pottery industry. But if the business grows, we will hopefully be able to employ some good local artists.”

Brand characteristics I ask Antionio what characteristic he would like collectors to associate with the Alymer brand. “I’d like people to think of us as collectors running a toy soldier company for Castle turret and wall scenic piece in resin by Alymer

other collectors,” he says. “A company that seeks to satisfy its customers by offering quality products at competitive prices.”

New production The new Alymer figures differ slightly from the older ranges in that they are now cast with smaller, square bases. “This makes it easier for collectors to mix our figures with those of other manufacturers,” Antonio said. “We also produce our 54mm ranges solely in a gloss finish now, although we offer most of our figures as castings and can provide matt paint jobs for special orders. Another refinement is that I have

Indian Border Security Force camel band

used my knowledge as a keen gun collector to ensure that the weapons with which our figures are equipped are 100% historically accurate. This wasn’t always the case with some of the earliest figures.” Bestselling lines include Alymer’s vividly painted military bands along with historical figures. The company produces only around 100 figures a week as Antonio still has a stake in a separate textile business. “I’m especially proud of my Bersaglieri marching band which has a lot of movement and animation and also my Indian Border Security Camel Band, which I think is just spectacular,” he says. Antonio was delighted to tell me that during the short time he has been producing Alymer figures, he has built a customer base in his native Spain, along with France, Italy, Gibraltar, Andorra, Canada, the UK, the USA, Australia, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Looking ahead While he acknowledges that

Horse-drawn military boiler unit

toy soIdier collecting in Spain is less popular now than in the past, Antonio says he’s aware that many young boys are involved in wargaming with metal figures and that these young men could go on to become the collectors of the future. Either way, Antonio is committed to ensuring that high-quality, Spanish-made collectable figures are available for collectors today and for many years to come. END

Trench section in resin

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 29

KATIE HINES WILLIA BRITAIN

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edgbastOn stadium, Sponsored by the W. Britain’s Collectors Club edgbastOn rOad, birmingham. and supported by Toy Soldier Collector Magazine b5 7Qu STEVE WESTON LOUISE The only central show for model figures lotsR C O L H I S T O R I C A L M I N I A T U RTOYESOLDIERS S and FO L E -C T O R HANDLEY LOGGERof brands old and new in metal and plastic.

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Buy online: www.centuriontoysoldiers.co.uk Email: [email protected] 30 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

S

LOUISE HANDLE LOGGER HEADS MILITAR STUDIO

Leipzig monument to the Battle of the Nations

Leipzig Roving reporter Jon Rooke recently travelled to Leipzig and was lucky enough to pay a visit to the city’s monument, museum and toy soldier collection

I

n October 1813, Napoleon’s army was roundly beaten by a coalition of Prussian, Russian, Austrian and Swedish troops at Leipzig in Germany. The Germans call it The Battle of the Nations. Half a million armed men from all over Europe concentrated in the plains around the city. It was a hammer blow from which Napoleon was never able to recover. There are three must-sees for the collector with an interest in history. Leipzig has a monument and a museum commemorating the largest Napoleonic battle and an understated but superb small toy soldier museum specialising in flat tin soldier figures.

The Monument The monument to the Battle of the Nations is an imposing stone structure that looks as if it could have inspired a Lord of the Rings film set. It towers 91 metres into the sky. A huge armed knight stands sentinel over the entrance. Enormous stone lions sit on either side of the steps that lead up to the dome where knights stand, bare headed, as if in prayer and contemplation. Inside there is an interesting panoramic film explaining the building of the monument, stone chambers with knights at rest, heads bowed, and huge seated figures representing German values. A viewing platform with a nar-

The saddle and saddlecloth of Prince Jozef Poniatowski

The museum at the base of the monument known as Forum 1813

row walkway at the top of the monument allows visitors to see the fields upon which the Battle of Leipzig was fought. It is by no means an elegant sight but it is set in beautiful parkland with green trees and lush grass surrounding it while a pond in front of it lends it an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

The Museum A display of toy soldiers inside Forum 1813

Beneath the monument is Forum 1813. It is a small mu-

The dome within the monument which is surrounded by the stone knights

seum, very well presented, with a judicious choice of exhibits to present the battle from the point of view of the smaller German States in the Confederation of the Rhine. The museum tells the story of what the Germans call the Battle of Nations in the  War of Liberation. TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 31

Various exhibits within the Forum 1813 museum

The Torhaus Dolitz Zinnfigurenmuseum



In the entrance gallery are uniforms of the Confederation of the Rhine, an early British rocket system and the drum and bearskin of a French Imperial Guard. Upstairs, cabinets present uniforms of the German and Prussian soldiers who took part in the battle. A superb diorama of painted flat tin soldiers shows the burning of the flags before the French army crossed the Berezina in 1812. The highlight of the whole museum must be the

A display of some ‘round’ toy soldiers in the Torhaus museum

32 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

saddle and saddlecloth of Prince Jozef Poniatowski, which was rescued after he tried to cross the river while fleeing from the battlefield. It is in such good condition, the rich crimson and green conjuring up the Napoleonic era magnificently. A further chamber displays uniforms from various participating armies showing the range and variety of nations and cultures who gathered at Leipzig in 1813. The explanation of the battle is cleverly

presented as a live modern news broadcast with reporters giving live commentaries from different phases of the battle. Impressive uniforms from Prussia, Westphalia Austria, Russia and France are gathered together not so much to present a historical record but to tell a story of the battle uniting a group of German kingdoms and regions into a single nation state. The final exhibit is a huge, well -it diorama of the Frenchheld city of Leipzig under siege by the allied nations. It gives a sense of the destruction of the city and the desperate fighting that took place there.

The Torhaus Dölitz Zinnfigurenmuseum Take a short and easy ride on trams 15 and 11 and you find yourself at the Torhaus Dolitz Zinnfigurenmuseum. It is tucked away at the edge of a quiet park in the south of the city and is populated by 100,000 beautifully pre-

sented flat tin soldiers beloved by continental toy soldier enthusiasts. It is impressive on two levels: the large-scale dioramas of significant battles in Leipzig’s history with thousands of figures maneuvering around the battlefields and the charming small scale human encounters that are reproduced with handfuls of delicately painted and convincingly animated figures with beautiful backdrops. The basic model for each of the three floors is a series of glass -fronted boxes embedded in the walls, each filled with exquisite scenes from civilian and military life. It is like peering into three-dimensional paintings. There are striking and often humorous civilian scenes from across different periods of history. The Seven Years War is particularly well represented. Upstairs is one of the finest toy soldier galleries collectors will have the pleasure to visit. Wooden floors, dark-beamed white walls and ceilings lend this exhibition a charm reflecting the Napoleonic period. The lead-up to the Battle of Leipzig is portrayed in a series of smallboxed dioramas and then the visitor is met by a vast diorama of the battle itself. Such a diorama as this can really help a historically minded collector to understand the geography of the battlefield. The story of the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813 is told from the point of view of the Prus-

sians, Russians, Swedish and Austrians. Visitors gaze down onto the besieged city where Napoleon’s troops struggle to hold their positions. It gives a sense of the grand scale of the battle. What makes it special? The use of flats. Flats are painted to a much higher standard than the round figures seen in Napoleonic dioramas in England. The figures are bigger than 20/25 mm plastics that are commonly used so the level of detail is richer. These flat figures have more individual character and artistic flair. The tradition

Close ups of some of the figures within the Battle of Leipzig diorama

CONTACT Torhaus Dölitz Zinnfigurenmuseum Helenenstrasse 24 D-04279 Leipzig Germany Phone: +49 (0) 341 3389107 Website: torhaus-doelitz.eu

Close ups of other flat figures on display in the Torhaus museum

of small dramatic scenes, a strong feature in the boxed dioramas, is here embedded in the battlefield itself, the field hospital, the artillery park and the command headquarters. It is full of life and verve. So many little stories are told within the vast three-dimensional canvas. It is a delightful museum with a great variety of interesting scenes from many periods of history that the whole family can enjoy.

Opening hours: Every Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday 10am – 5pm with additional opening during the holidays (check before visting)

Leipzig Monument to the Battle of the Nations and Forum 1813 Stressed des 18. Oktober 100 D-04299 Leipzig Germany Phone: +49 (0) 341 2416870 Website: stadtgeschichtlichesmuseum-Leipzig.de Opening hours: April – October daily 10am - 6pm. November – March daily 10am - 4pm

END

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 33

Britains Cocoa Cubs produced as giveaways with Cadbury’s Cocoa

The years between the wars Keith Nairn-Munro continues his series of articles looking at the history of the Britains toy soldier company

W

WI was over and slowly the returning men filtered back to the jobs they had held before the conflict. The men who had worked for Britains were no different and they returned to join colleagues who had done different but, nonetheless, crucial work during the war. Britains was once again ready to enter the commercial fray. The early years of the war had been challenging due to shortages of raw materials. These had been diverted for military purposes instigating severe production problems for the company. The few figures that had been made with alternative materials were not a success and this had caused the directors to consider ceasing production altogether and closing the factory. It was the Munitions Department of the War Office that was to be the company’s saviour. Their realisation that the makeup of the lead mix that Britains used to produce its figures was exactly what they required to produce shrapnel balls prevented the factory’s demise. Thus, for the duration of the war the skilled workforce of the firm contributed to the war effort by producing the aforementioned. The company’s circumstances were still not encouraging at the cessation of hostilities but as with at other crucial moments in its history the guiding hand of providence came to rest on the metaphorical shoulder of the business. Post the armistice the War Office was left with many hundreds of tons of shrapnel balls for which there was no longer a use. As a result Britains was able to buy them from the Government at a bargain price. With this and the supply of brass now being readily available again for making moulds, it was not long before production was again in full swing. Britains realised that the post war attitude towards soldiers and conflict had changed radically from the jingoistic nature of the early 1900s. Reminders of the last four years were for the most part avenues that people wished to avoid. Nonetheless, from a commercial point of view, the company needed to boost peacetime sales.

Thus the company, by a wonderful piece of lateral thinking, diverted from their solely military-themed products and in 1923 caused a sensation when they launched their Home Farm Series at the British Industries Fair in London. Over half of the company’s display space was given over to the promotion of this new product range. It had models of a village and a farm providing the background for these newly released figures. These included a farmer, a parson, a shepherd, a ploughman and all the livestock expected in this rural setting. A number of figures had moveable arms utilising the plug mechanism seen on thousands of their military counterparts. When the Royal party visited the show, upon perusing the display, Queen Mary noted that there was no village idiot. In respect of her opinion a figure was rapidly sculpted and joined his agrarian counterparts on the display. It was a very canny move on Britain’s part as not only did they gain Royal patronage and approval, which was much more important in those days, but they were now assured of royal customers in the ¼ future.

The Coronation State Coach Set with a single figure

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 35

This house was specially made by FAO Schwartz to promote the Hunt Series in the USA

¼

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI became regular purchasers of Britain’s products, whilst Princess Elizabeth the future Queen Elizabeth II, was reputedly to have collected all the pre-war issues of the Scottish Regiments. Britains also created numerous ‘add ons’ to the series with hedges, trees and farm machinery, each addition connecting with and complementing the young person’s previous purchases. Farm buildings such as barns, rabbit hutches, cowsheds and pigsties were also provided to enhance the country scene. Unfortunately due to their construction being made of wood and composite materials very few have survived the test of time. Thus the company had achieved at a stroke a wonderful new range which would be a bestseller for years to come. To the public they had shown an empathetic regard by launching a non-military series and by gaining Royal approval they had accomplished universal media interest which translated into many column inches of free publicity. What the public was less aware of was that the clamour for their toy soldiers had gone on unabated with the demands of the young Britains customers being unaffected by the political or moral climate of the day. In order to help kick start their post war business, they also fashioned figures to the requirements of individual clients, I would suspect charging a premium for this particular service. In one instance, an officer who had served with the 17th Lancers and the Royal Scots Greys during WWI asked for sets of these regiments to be specially made.

Farmer in a gig from the Home Farm Series

36 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

Promotional figure for Johnnie Walker Whiskey

The company also invited patrons to afford themselves of a special painting service where more detail could be added to the desired figures. There was, I believe, quite an uptake from many of the people returning from India who were very keen to replicate the intricate details of the Indian cavalry uniforms. In any company, a man of energy and drive is needed to take it forward and adapt to the changes and vagaries that any market will display over time. The likes and dislikes of children can be notoriously fickle and although there were perhaps not as many competing elements as can be found today, nonetheless it takes commercial dexterity to navigate through such unpredictable waters.

Set 1436 Italian Infantry

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Set

This Manor House with an unusual straw roof was one of two types made by FAO Schwartz to promote the Hunt Series in the USA

Special order Royal Scots Greys

An extremely colourful band of the Royal Marines released in 1938

Such a man was Dennis Britain, the grandson of the founder of the company. He joined Britains at the age of 19 in 1922 and proceeded to work in all the departments of the factory to learn the business properly. With the exception of four years’ absence during WWII he would spend 57 years in the company retiring on Christmas Eve 1978. It was this understanding of the nuts and bolts of the business that aided him in assessing the feasibility of drawing board designs being translated into profitable success stories. He himself took an active part in design with The Hunting Series and the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves set being two of his contributions. He was also the guiding hand behind the expansion of the Zoo Animal series. Reliance on one core market is always steeped with potential risk, therefore Dennis Britain looked to capture other sources of revenue. Thus, in the 1930’s, he formed a relationship with Cadbury’s, the chocolate maker, to create a series of colourfully dressed human-like animals to be called Cocoa Cubs. These were to be put into packets of cocoa to attract customers, particularly children. They were given names like Gussie Robin, Captain Kangaroo, Tubby Bear, Mrs Cacklegoose, Henrietta Fussy Feathers and Nutty Squirrel. Both companies were totally unprepared for the public’s reaction. The demand was so great that it threatened the production of Britain’s core range. In response the company opened a new factory in Colne, Lancashire, in the North of England which stayed open until 1939. Britains would also produce thousands of small ‘Johnny Walker’ figures to promote the Scotch Whiskey company and for Sharp’s Toffees a figure called Sir Kreemy Knut was created. Dennis also astutely took advantage of events of the time

that had captured the public’s imagination. The unveiling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves set around the time of the film and the release of the Bluebird Set 1400 in 1935, to mark the attempt at the World Land Speed Record by Donald Campbell, were just two examples. The company however did slip up with one of their launches. In anticipation of the coronation of Edward VIII in 1937 they produced a coach in which Edward was seated. Due to his abdication, this version had to be hastily removed from production. It was then re-released with the figures of his younger brother and his wife when the aforementioned was crowned as King George. As now, the power of football in the 1930s was very strong, this being reflected by the large crowds who every Saturday would cheer on their team. To exploit the fiscal potential of such loyalty the company produced the Famous Football Team Series. This enabled any supporter to have his favourite football team displayed in his bedroom demonstrating his particular allegiance for all to see. By 1931 the firm was employing 450 workers at its London A painter at the factory

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 37

Special order 17th Lancers

Clapton Orient Football Team

The Village Idiot

Sir Kreemy Knut was packed into tins of Sharp’s Toffees

The Scots Guards Band Presentation Box

Boy Scouts Presentation Set

factory and their catalogue of sets had grown to 435 resulting in a production total of 20,000,000 figures a year. The company’s export sales to the Commonwealth were also a major source of income and the USA was to provide a very welcome additional destination for Britains figures. The American FAO Schwartz toy company had a special Manor house made to display the Hunt Series of figures. Britains also made up various selections of figures boxed exclusively for Schwartz which were promoted under the title of Historic Soldier Collections. They were also exporting successfully to Germany however Britain’s sales would decline in direct proportion to the rise of Hitler. The likes of Elastolin whose figure range acted as a vehicle for the Nazi propaganda machine became a far more attractive toy purchase for parents and children of the Reich. In the early thirties Britains began to introduce a number of vehicles into their range, a large proportion of which were military. In fact, they were to embrace the khaki figure and vehicle wholeheartedly and a great many of their sets of this period would be issued in this style. The company also during this time released a wide variety of figures depicting foreign army personnel to increase their range of sets. In one instance questions were raised on how the firm had managed to paint the uniforms of the Italian contingent in the most recent versions of Italian military dress. Britains cast a wry smile when challenged, explaining the information had been sourced from a propaganda booklet issued by the Italian government. I mentioned briefly in an earlier article the contribution made by a freelance artist called Fred Whisstock. It cannot ¼ be overemphasised just how important this man was to the TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 38

The Cierva C 30 Auto Gyro

The 18-inch ¼ success of the Britains brand, making it instantly recognisable Heavy Howitzer throughout the world. with firing Recruited by Fred Britain, Whisstock’s simplistic but drashells matic and easily recognised style made customer perception of the contents a straightforward process, even for the least literate. The simpler you make the process of buying for the customer, the greater the sales achieved and Whisstock certainly was a major factor in accomplishing that aim. During the thirties in conjunction to their military releases Britains also launched a varied multitude of standalone sets. Boy Scouts, Road Signs, Petrol Pumps and a Cricket Team. People have been dismissive of the simplicity of construction of Britain’s toy soldiers but they should always be reminded that these were the days pace but the dark clouds of war were before machinery dominated mass looming. As it grew closer the preparaproduction techniques. tions being undertaken by the country Nonetheless, Britains was capable were reflected by the releases coming of manufacturing some beautifully from Britains, which included Anti engineered products. Their breech loadAircraft and Barrage Balloon sets, ing Howitzer that fired real shells was a aircraft spotters and fire fighters in superb example of design and construcfull flameproof suits. tion. This and other pieces of ordnance After war was declared the factory however must have been responsible for managed to continue to produce figthe destruction of more Britains figures ures for a further two years, albeit at than we could possibly imagine. For the a much reduced rate. Some of the company however, what better way to models were altered due to diffigenerate more sales than by the customer’s culties obtaining raw materials, for need to replace the resultant causalities. example, the Mechanical Artillery They also created an Autogiro (the foreSet first released in 1936 had had runner of the helicopter). This set included a Caterpillar Tractor with rubber a brass pulley wheel assembly which altreads. The release in 1940 featured lowed the model to travel down a fixed wire George V at the British Industries Fair in 1922 a ten-wheel tender instead. Britain’s enabling the propeller and rotor blades to used a cover-all explanation for these wartime anomalies rotate. Other ingenious offerings included a clockwork trailer by producing what was called a ‘War Shortages’ lid on which that pushed the ‘towing’ truck from behind and a flatbed lorry was stated ‘the contents may vary’. with a working searchlight. As a way of earning extra dollars at the beginning of WWII What was amazing during this period was how the prices of much of the production was sent to America. However this the sets hardly moved from the original price of one shilling was curtailed with immediate effect when during a debate (five pence) for a box of eight single figures or five cavalry on the lend lease programme, a congressman held up a figures. For example in 1938 the price of the RHA set had only Britain’s Grenadier Guardsman as a sarcastic reference to the increased by 50% from its launch in 1895 to nine shillings and United Kingdom’s supposed war effort. nine pence (less than fifty pence in today’s money). As time moved on the quality of the figures suffered due to In 1935 Dennis Britain became managing director of the thinner metal and poor paint and finally in 1942 the factory company and production carried on at its normal frenetic

39 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

A mobile searchlight, military vehicle releases became more frequent as the war approached

Pre-war Caterpillar Gun Unit

The Barrage Balloon part of the home defence range

went over to full wartime production. For the duration of the war the company would manufacture zinc die castings for bombs and mines and fuses for shells. When the war was over Britains would embark on another chapter in their fascinating history. The years between the wars had been incredibly lucrative for them but the next epoch would see them having to deal with new challenges as the market transformed and their hollowcast lead figures would be consigned to history.

The Gas Cylinder Lorry, a support vehicle for the Barrage Balloon

END

All photographs courtesy of Vectis Auctions

The Bluebird Set released in 1935

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 40

REVIEWS

Fantastic Plastics

Mike Blake reviews all the latest and greatest plastic figures to be released into the hobby for collectors

Expeditionary Force Colonial Wars 1878-1902 The Zulu Army Xforce continues to surprise and delight with their adventurous programme of new releases. The latest venture is into the Colonial Period, a great favourite with collectors and wargamers. I have mentioned their ambitious plans for coverage of this fascinating period in previous issues. They have started with the classic era of the period, the early Victorian Imperialist 1870s, with the British in their iconic redcoats, and one of their tough42 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

est opponents, the Zulus. Just about everyone will have heard of these muscular, battle-hardened Black warriors for the part they played in the 1879 AngloZulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. The presence of the independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand did not fit in with British plans for the region. In December 1878, with the deliberate intent of starting a

war with the Zulus so as to defeat them in battle, the British presented an impossible ultimatum to the Zulu king Cetshwayo. When he could not comply, a British army under Lord Chelmsford was sent to invade Zululand.

heavy-bladed, short-shafted stabbing spear. The older throwing spear was carried as a missile weapon to be thrown before contact. Small numbers of firearms, usually obsolete muskets and rifles, were obtained by the Zulus from Europeans by trade. After the Battle of Isandlwana many MartiniHenry rifles were captured by the Zulus, together with considerable amounts of ammunition. The possession of firearms did little to change Zulu tactics, which continued to consist of a swift approach to the enemy to bring him into close combat. The shields made of ox hide (hair retained, with a central stiffening shaft of wood) carried by all warriors were actually the property of

the king; they were stored in specialised structures, raised off the ground for protection from vermin. The large isihlangu shield, about five feet in length was partially replaced by the smaller umbumbuluzo, a shield of identical manufacture but around three and a half feet long. Close combat used the spear and shield in combination; the edge of the shield was thrust behind the edge of the enemy’s shield, so it could be pulled to the side to open him to a thrust with the iklwa into the abdomen or chest. The first two Xforce sets are ‘Zulu In War Dress Unmarried’ and ‘Zulu In War Dress Married’. Both sets are of nine figures in two basic poses (left or right foot forward),

variations being cleverly created by different weapon, arm and head combinations. The Married figures have the married head ring, the unmarried figures do not, and within each there are a couple of variations in the style of headdress, with some bare headed. Detail is very sharp, anatomy spot on, and there is virtually no mould line. All the shields are separate, meaning that they do not obscure body detail but do have to be glued into the figures left hand, and both sizes are provided. Almost all the weapons are separate (one figure has a stabbing spear moulded into his hand) and include all the various types, cleverly cast in hard plastic so they do not bend. Two more great sets of figures from Xforce. There are the two good films of the war, Zulu (1964), based on the Battle at Rorke’s Drift and is the ‘better’ film, and Zulu Dawn (1979), which deals with the Battle of Isandlwana, and suffers from a need to follow the historical narrative (though still playing Hollywood fast and loose with some of the facts). Watching them in historical order back to back is well worth doing.

CONTACT www.expeditionaryforce.com.sg In the UK (and thank you for supplying sample figures): Steve Weston Toy Soldiers 14 Limburg Road Canvey Island Essex SS8 0QJ Tel: 01268 680117 www.plasticsoldiers.co.uk

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 43

REVIEWS

The war is notable for several particularly bloody battles, most famously an unexpected total victory by the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana, and then the gallant last stand defence by the British at Rorke’s Drift. Inevitably the war resulted in British victory and the end of the independent Zulu nation.. Though ibutho in Zulu, impi (actually Zulu for any armed body of men), is usually used to describe a Zulu regiment into which the Zulu army was organised. As weapons the Zulu warrior carried the iklwa stabbing spear and a hardwood club or cudgel iwisa, knobkerrie to the English. Zulu officers often carried an axe as a symbol of rank. The iklwa (imaginatively so named from the sucking sound it made when withdrawn from a human body), had a long (circa 25cm, 9.5”) broad blade and relatively short handle making it ideal for close combat. King Shaka is credited with introducing this

REVIEWS

Replicants Battle of Hastings Set

Replicants have made a couple of sets of Normans and Saxons over the years, including some mounted Norman knights. Latest in this period are four new figures which look like the best yet. As I always confess when looking at Replicants figures, I am an admirer of Pete Coles’ design and sculpting work for the Replicants’ originals. This set is another example of him on top form. Everybody knows this one date in history, well the year anyway: the Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. Duke William II of Normandy’s Norman-French army took on and defeated Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson’s English army. The four-figure set has four poses, all very action orientated. Three are silver grey (all these wear some chainmail) and one is pale brown plastic, with good detail and realistic 44 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

anatomical poses which convey men engaged in real physical effort. My favourite is the bare headed axeman, standing legs wide apart, feet firmly planted, swinging his weapon with two hands and about to slice an opponent in two. I also particularly like the longbow man, in a stance which has the arrow correctly raised as it would need to be to carry the distance. He is unarmoured, with a soft cap, a knife hanging in a sheath from his waistbelt, which also supports the quiver of arrows. The other two figures are dressed similarly in mail coats, metal cone helmets, one with a round shield and one with the long teardrop shaped shield so familiar from the depictions of the battle. This latter one is armed with a sword and is thrusting it forward, the other has a spear.

The battle came about because King Edward the Confessor died childless, and although Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward’s death, he faced invasions by his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada and by William. Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered English army at Fulford on 20 September 1066, but were then defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge five days later. Tostig and Hardrada were killed, leaving William as Harold’s only rival. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went. Around 10,000 men under William, about half infantry, with the rest split equally between cavalry and archers clashed with Harold’s 7,000, almost entirely infantry with few archers. The battle lasted from about 9am to dusk. Early

attacks by the Normans to break the English battle lines were easily beaten off; then the Normans resorted to a ruse, pretending to panic and flee. The English shieldwall went off in pursuit, whereupon the unshaken Normans turned on their pursuers. Harold’s death heralded to the English defeat. William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066; the Norman occupation had begun.

CONTACT For sales: Steve Weston Toy Soldiers (and thank you for supplying sample figures) 14 Limburg Road Canvey Island Essex SS8 0QJ Tel: 01268 680117 www.plasticsoldiers.co.uk Replicants website: www.replastic.com

REVIEWS

Warlord Games Motorbike Gang Boss And Moll This really is something completely different, and another larger scale offering from a primarily wargames figure maker. Warlord Games make plastic and metal figures, mostly in 28mm, across a wide range of periods. Latest are figure sets for a range called Project Z, in the currently very popular Zombie genre. Project Z is a skirmish wargame for one to three players taking control of Survivors or a Street Gang fighting to survive against the environment and an ever-growing

horde of Zombies. Marketed as a fast and easy to learn game, the starter set contains

39 detailed self-assembly plastic models, rules, counters and specially designed dice and cards. As with all Warlord products, this one is extremely attractively done, if one can say that about killing zombies! However, the interesting thing from a figure collector’s viewpoint is that, along with the smaller size figures, Warlord have included a larger size figure in the range. This is a special display model and is limited to one per customer. It comes with a standard 28mm scale version. The large scale biker Gang Boss is not identified to a specific scale; the model on his bike stands at 6.5cm high, 10cm long, and 5cm wide depending on how you build him and his pillion passenger. Comparing the figure to others, the boss and his moll (or whatever biker gang bosses girlfriends are called) is at the top end of 1:30 scale, and would stand about 65-70mm tall if standing (he is sat on his big motorbike). Moulded in grey plastic, this is a multipart figure, all the

parts for both figures being on one sprue. Both the bodies come in six parts; two arms, two legs, body and head. The bike is in six or seven parts, handlebars in the rider’s hands. There are then various separate weapons (no less than two machineguns and a Bazooka) and ammo pouches etc, with a rather plain, unexciting round-ended rectangular base. The detail is really sharp and crisp, some of the parts are very delicate and fiddly but the resultant model is a real gem. There is no mention of it but the biker boss reminds me more than a little of eye-patched anti-hero Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) of the cult ‘Escape From’ films. With his Bazooka-armed girlfriend riding pillion, this is one mean, tough dude and not to be messed with. Finally, thanks to Warlord Games who supplied the sample figures.

CONTACT www.warlordgames.com

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 45

REVIEWS

Tehnolog 54mm ‘Nomads’ (High Elves)

Another set of this Russian maker's’figures which are useful beyond their name and appearance. They are branded as fantasy figures and have the immediate look of some kind of ‘high elf’. They all wear helmets and long robes which are ‘textured’ and which could be chainmail. Looking beyond the obvious, there is potential for these figures to be used as medieval and renaissance period eastern cavalry. My first thoughts were Pancerni. ‘Towarzysz pancerny’, (armoured companion; plural: towarzysze pancerni) were medium-cavalrymen in 16th to 18th century Poland, named for their chainmail armour (pancerz). They were the second most important cavalry arm in the Polish army, after the winged hussars. Most were recruited from the middle or lower classes of the szlachta (nobility). They were organized in 46 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

companies, each of between 60 and 200 men. During the rule of Mieszko I and Bolesław I Chrobry, pancerni were members of the prince’s personal forces and they alone in the whole army wore mail armour. Once again the wide legged pose of the figures makes them eminently suitable for having their crotches Dremelled out so that they can sit on a horse. The figures have a feather each side of their helmets, and whilst these might look ok for an officer, they were not normally worn by pancerni. The neckcove is right, though, as are the shield and sabre (though these do look rather too scimitar-like and would be better replaced with Helmet Soldiers sabres, which means the missing scabbards can be added too). The bow is a little anachronistic but was used very

late in Eastern Europe and so could be retained, but shortened a little. A bow case and a quiver would also need adding. The ‘dimpling’ on the outer robe comes down to the bottom and whilst shorter mail coats were more frequent, long ones like these do appear in some depictions of these hardy cavalrymen. There are five figures in five poses in a set, and they can be found in both hard and soft plastic; each has its own advantages and disadvantages, some prefer one and some the other. The softer versions are cheaper.

CONTACT Search for ‘Tehnolog figures’ on the internet and eBay

Catalogue £7.95

DORSET

(£10 Overseas) or free download from the website

‘Up spirits!’

£67 painted, £27 castings. P & P 10% UK minimum £3, 15% Europe minimum £5, 25% rest of world minimum £5.

www.dorsetsoldiers.com

SOLDIERS

Siege of Mafeking: Boer Long Tom Set This is our first new, major release for Imperial Miniatures and depicts the Boer Long Tom gun at the Siege of Mafeking modelled on the famous photograph of the gun in action. The set consists of the Long Tom, 7 crew figures and a scenic base painted in glossy Toy Soldier style for £200.00 The Gun and crew are available as castings for £35 for each set; the scenic base only comes with the painted set. Please see our website, or send an SSAE, for a catalogue listing all of our Colonial and Indian sets from the All the Queen’s Men range available as painted sets or castings. Imperial Miniatures, Nyetimber, Norfolk Farm Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 8LF, England Tel: 01483 855757

www.imperialminiatures.co.uk

Tel: 01305 823003 Email: [email protected] 48 Fortuneswell, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1LZ

Advertise in TSC • Only publications with significant Facebook pages • With our Facebook and circulation we offer you the largest reach/readership than any other publication • Continued growth in our news stand, digital and subscriber sales • Guaranteed editorial support • Sponsorship opportunities

• All advertisers who book 6 issues get a free web banner 200px X 150px High • Exceptional editorial & Production quality • All advertisers have free access to our Facebook pages... simply send me some pictures and text and we will post onto our pages, the more you send the more posts you receive

Contact Tom Foxon, Group Marketing and PR Director [email protected] or call on 07540153368

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 47

Playing with toy soldiers Mike Blake begins a new series of articles on 54mm wargaming with a brief history of the hobby

A

cquiring and manoeuvring miniature soldiers in mock battle has been around for millennia, from the pharaohs of Egypt, through the war room of Frederick the Great, the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson and HG Wells, via the literary efforts of Donald Featherstone in the 20th Century, to modern wargaming in clubs, shows and conventions worldwide. When the editor asked me to contribute something on 54mm wargaming, I jumped at the chance. The hobby has been close to my heart for most of my life and the idea of exposing the readership of this magazine to the fun and pleasure to be had was too good to miss. So, over the next few issues we will take a look at this other aspect of toy soldiers – actually playing with them rather than just collecting and looking at them. We begin with a look back and a little history.

One of US maker All The King’s Men’s games in progress

48 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

Floor Games with HG Wells

The ‘Grandfathers’ of modern wargaming? Oddly enough, whilst nowadays the collecting and gaming aspects of toy soldiers seem to have drifted apart, back in the late 19th century they shared their origins in the 54mm painted lead toy soldiers available at the time. What little we know about wargaming then comes from the works of Robert Louis

Stevenson and HG Wells. These two writers were early exponents of the wargame. Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer Stevenson, famous for his classic works of adventure literature as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, was less well known as a dedicated wargamer. In Scribner’s Magazine, from December 1898, the article Stevenson at Play describes a complex strategic wargame that the author and his stepson, Samuel Lloyd Osbourne, played. This is the first published account of gaming with miniatures and has been reprinted with Osbourne’s introduction and several

WWII US Paras clash with Luftwaffe Field Division troops in a Bolt Action Skirmish at the writer's home

period pieces of art, including some hand-drawn sketches by Stevenson himself. It is clear from Osborne’s introductory reminiscences that the wargames the boy and his stepfather played together were a positive bonding experience and something the younger man would carry with him throughout the rest of his life. He explains: “This game of tin soldiers, an intricate ‘kriegspiel,’ involving rules innumerable, prolonged arithmetical calculations, constant measuring with foot-rules and the throwing of dice, sprang from the humblest beginnings — a row of soldiers on either side and a deadly marble. From such a start it grew in size and complexity until it became mimic war indeed, modelled closely upon real conditions and actual warfare, requiring, on Mr. Stevenson’s part, the use of text books and long conversations with military invalids...” The article mentions Stevenson keeping a notebook that contained rules, formulae and detailed accounts of

A 54mm ECW Skirmish Wargamers Group game on scratchbuilt terrain

Another view of the WWII game on the previous page, showing the mix of trees used, including some very old W Britains

many battles he had played, but whatever rules were used they are not included and have unfortunately been lost. It appears to have been a strategy-based game, with four miniatures representing a single regiment, enabling thousands of virtual troops on each side to be represented with a modest number of figures (a mechanism still used in modern wargaming). The figures themselves were, of course, the very same 54mm painted lead toy soldiers so avidly collected nowadays.

The original ‘Little Wars’ An equally famous author, Wells not only played with gloss painted toy soldiers by W Britains, but had books about these games published. ‘Little Wars: a game for boys

from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girls who like boys’ games and books’ came first, followed by ‘Floor Wars’. They contained the rules, thus enabling modern gamers who wish to emulate Wells to do so using his rules. Little Wars is considered by some to be the first modern table top war game.

The game involved nicely painted lead soldiers, but the battlefields over which they fought were made from whatever materials were on hand. Games were therefore easy to set up; the terrain was very simple and stylised, with books for hills, boxes for buildings and perhaps a few simple trees from a farm set. The rules covered infantry, cavalry and artillery. They were very simple and the main activity was actually firing projectiles from toy cannon at the serried ranks of 54mm painted lead figures to see how many could be physically knocked over and thus become casualties! Whilst Wells used what we now call 54mm figures, he almost grudgingly recognised that the game could also be played with smaller sizes. The rules had this to say about the figures used: ‘The soldiers used should be all of one size. The best British makers have standardised sizes, and sell infantry and cavalry in exactly proportioned dimensions; the infantry being nearly two inches tall. There is a lighter, cheaper make of perhaps an inch and a half high that is also available. Foreign-made soldiers are of variable sizes.’ It is ironic that the originally most popular size has not kept its premier position, but been overtaken by the

smaller scales. Not everyone could afford figures in the way famous authors can and smaller scales had other advantages of course: less room to store and smaller playing area required. We will return to these issues later. That the projectiles could actually break the figures was of no concern then, since such figures were relatively cheap to replace. This kind of game is great fun because it has an appeal that takes us back to our childhood – and legitimises that lurking desire to get down on the floor and play just like we did when we were kids.

One interesting comment in Wells’ book is: ‘Our next step was to abolish the tedium due to the elaborate aiming of the guns, by fixing a time limit for every move. We made this an outside limit at first, ten minutes, but afterwards we discovered that it made the game much  TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 49

Boxer Uprising game, with AIP figures converted to Imperial Chinese and RMLI. Scenery from aquarium plastic plants. cotton wool smoke to show the Marine’s fire

 more warlike to cut the time down to a length that would barely permit a slow-moving player to fire all his guns and move all his men. This led to small bodies of men lagging and “getting left,” to careless exposures, to rapid, less accurate shooting and just that eventfulness one would expect in the hurry and passion of real fighting. It also made the game brisker. We have since also made a limit, sometimes of four minutes, sometimes of five minutes, to the interval for adjustment and deliberation after one move is finished and before the next move begins. This further removes the game from the chess category, and approximates it to the likeness of active service. Most of a general’s decisions, once a fight has begun, must be made in such brief intervals of time. (but we leave unlimited time at the outset for the planning).’ Part of the problem was that all the figures were individuals, making movement of them time consuming. Modern gamers usually overcome this problem by either mounting more than 50 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

All The King’s Men AWI figures. Photo from ATKM

one figure on a single base, often called stands, or by using ‘movement trays’ designed to hold a number of figures. The other concepts of not having enough time to fire or move all the figures is one we will return to when looking at our own rules. Much has changed in the decades since these two famous authors’ experiences. One of the biggest differences is that they had far less available to them in the form of rules, miniatures and models (indeed apart from lead figures virtually nothing at all). Now there is a plethora of figures and all the supporting materiel needed to play 54mm wargames, as we will explore.

Another ATKM game in progress at a convention. Photo ATKM

Shared Memories? “Rank after rank of troops in brilliant colours arrayed before you. Flags waving above the martial din proclaiming regiments’ allegiances. Bellowing cannons, musket volleys and pounding hooves as soldiers persevere in their resolute march toward each other. The thrill of standing in a general’s shoes and reliving history. It’s warfare…but no one gets hurt, because this warfare is fought with toy soldiers.” These evocative words from Ken Cliffe, US wargamer and 54mm figure maker, All The King’s Men, will stir the memories of many readers,

as they did mine. Memories of being on the bedroom floor or out in the garden with their toy soldiers (quite possibly cowboys and Indians, or even a mix – limited resources meant having to use all the figures one had, even if Indians had to fight WWII Germans) will come flooding back. At the start you had no ‘rules’ for these combats – your favourite figures simply always won. As time went by, ingenious young minds might adapt ideas from other games. Dice from the Ludo set might be commandeered and rolled for how far the figures moved, how they did at shooting and fighting. We also

used the same working guns as Wells, and even catapults and air pistols (well I did, I am sorry to say!). The good news is that the enjoyment can be felt again – just read on and I hope to lead you back to your second childhood. Then, as we grew up, we put away such childish things. If, in adulthood, we were lucky enough to rediscover the world of toy soldiers, it was to see them in a quite different light – as ‘collectables’. Now they were part of a serious and grown-up hobby of great respectability. Some even saw them simply as an investment, hoping to realise a profit from them when sold on later. Shame really – there is still such a lot of enjoyment to be had from playing with toy soldiers! Wells’ books were the very first attempt at popularising the hobby. In the 1960s in the UK, the mantle of popularising UK wargaming was taken up by Don Featherstone, a Hampshire physiotherapist, who led a campaign aimed at creating a resurgence in wargaming. He was a prolific writer, producing over 20 books on wargaming and others on military modelling and history as well as some fiction. The monthly Wargamers’ Newsletter he produced from 1962 until January 1980 was a mecca for wargamers around the world, a place to share thoughts on the hobby, write game reports and rules ideas and learn about new figures, rules, etc. It was through the newsletter that I met him and we became firm friends. Don appeared on the BBC and in national and local newspapers to promote the hobby. In 1961 he organised the first UK wargames convention at his home and two years later the first National Wargames Championships Convention, attended by about a hundred wargamers from all over the country. From these modest beginnings came the world of wargames shows (UK)

The pioneering 'Old West Skirmish Rules’, which kicked off the acceptance of OW games as a wargames genre, long OOP but they may return under John Curry’s guidance

or conventions (US), such that you can go to one every weekend in the UK if you are so inclined.

It began with a gunfight Featherstone wrote for the small scale figures, primarily 20mm Airfix plastic ones, the

In The Grand manner!’ A large 54mm Napoleonic battle using Black Powder rules, staged by the Skirmish Wargamers Collective at Warfare, Reading, one of the premier UK shows

arrival of which was also critical to the growth of the hobby. But wargaming with the ‘original scale’ of figures did not disappear entirely. It was given a shot in the arm in the late 70s, when two gamers in

Bristol were given a challenge. Wheelchair wargamer Steve Curtis wanted to refight the famous ‘Gunfight at the OK Corral’ in miniature. Whilst Airfix made a set of cowboys (Wagon Train), the size just 

Another shot from one of the many very colourful Boxer Uprising games the Skirmish Wargames Collective has staged over the years, showing Imperial Chinese Tigermen apparently seeing off some Russian Cossack cavalry and the Royal Marines! Converted Armies In Plastic figures again

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 51

Napoleonic again, with Russian Dragoons riding down a French battery in a town square. Gun and crew AIP again, Russian cavalry converted Italeri/Supreme/Tiger Hobbies British Light Dragoons

 did not seem right for such a small action involving a handful of figures on a 1:1 basis of figures to men. Timpo and Britain 54mm Swoppet plastic cowboys and buildings were, however, perfect for the task. Some were repainted with model railway enamels and some even converted (using Plasticine and nail varnish) to make unique figures. The rules Ian Colwill, Steve and I wrote, called the ‘Western Gunfight Rules’, were printed by Steve and sold all around the world, kick-starting a trend in the wider world of wargaming for what is still called ‘Western Gunfight’ as a wargames period in its own right, but played with 15mm, 20mm and 28mm figures. It has grown to become a major genre, with Old West games at most shows and a plethora of buildings, figures, accessories and rules sets being made for it. We remained hooked by the concept of using larger scale figures for what we called Skirmish Wargaming, and went on to both refine and improve the original crude and simplistic rules to become the ‘Old West Wargames Rules’, and to expand into other periods. ‘Colonial 52 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

54mm Wargaming nowadays

A game literally on a table top – showing how enjoyable wargames can be played with minimal terrain

Period Skirmish Wargame Rules’ followed, then ‘Flintlock & Ramrod: Skirmish Rules for the Horse and Musket period, and finally the ‘20th Century Skirmish Wargames Rules’ for modern games. All these were specifically ‘Skirmish’ rules designed for small numbers of figures using a one to one figure to man ratio. We played many with Airfix, Britains, Timpo and other makers' plastic 54mm figures but also other sizes because of figure availability, eg Colonial games in 20mm Airfix and metal 30mm Stadden and Willie figures. Nowadays we mainly use our ‘Tales of Derring-Do!’ (TODD) rules, which have the advantage of being multifigure scale and multi-period, meaning you only need to remember one simple mechanism – a real bonus at my age!

When Swoppets moved up into the Collector category, their place was taken by a new kind of Britain’s Plastic figure, the Deetail range. Alongside these figures were Airfix, Timpo, Crescent, Lone Star and Cherilea. We used these figures for 54mm games across all those time periods, especially the ACW, Napoleonic and WWII. These were the most readily available and all featured in our games, which had taken a definite lurch into 54mm. Steve died tragically young from Muscular Dystrophy, but what he started is still going strong, more than 40 years later. The Skirmish Wargames Group (actually more like a Collective) still likes 54mm for skirmish wargaming (and even the odd large battle), its members all play games in other scales too. The group continues to put on 1:32 scale wargames across all periods from Ancient to SF at conventions and toy soldier shows across the UK, and has even ventured across the Pond to stage 54mm games at the premier US wargames convention Historicon. That the larger scale is growing in popularity for war-

games is evidenced by the increasing number of 54mm (1:30/60mm is included in this definition, as are 1:35 scale figures which are widely used for WWII games because so many kits are available for the period) games at shows and conventions, and of the rules sets mentioning their suitability for use with figures that size. There was a parallel growth in the numbers of new plastic 54mm/60mm figures being produced too. Readers will know that unfortunately that trend has slowed over the last couple of years because of the dip in the world economy. Fewer sets are coming out, but there are still some new ones appearing, albeit less frequently than before. The good news is that the quality of the figures in terms of sculpting, detail, animation and historical accuracy is of a very high standard, especially when compared with some of the older offerings. Next issue, we will take a look at the basic concepts of wargames rules, how it is possible to simulate warfare on the table top, and some specific challenges and delights of gaming in the larger scale. END

All photos by the author except when noted.

Show dates October Sunday 16th October

18th Annual Columbus Ohio Toy Soldier Show, Tall Timbers Banquet and Conference Center, 1381 National Road SW. Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068, USA. Doors open at 10am and close at 3pm. Admission $5. Organiser: Rod Chapman, Tel: +1 740 924 2531.

Details of the shows happening in your area

Museum closes at 5pm). Admission: $5.00 per car, or $2 before 10am (fill the car with as many people it can carry and admission covers the show and park/ museum). Organiser: Nick Albanese, Tel: 920 261 1323 or email: [email protected] or for more on the park visit: www.cantigny.org Friday 18th and Saturday 19st November

The Birmingham Central Toy Soldier Fair, Edgebaston Stadium, Edgebaston Road, Birmingham B5 7QU. Doors open at 10.30am and close at 4pm. Admission £5, children under 14 free. Organiser: Patrick Adams, Tel: 07588 224961, toysoldierfairbirmingham.com or email: [email protected].

33rd Annual The Long Island Show, Freeport Recreation Center, 130 E. Merrick Rd., Freeport, NY 11520, USA. Doors open at 6pm Friday and 9am Saturday and close at 9pm Friday and 4.30pm Saturday. Admission: $10 General Public, $15 Exhibitors, Children Under 12 are Free. Organiser: Long Island Historical Miniature Collectors Society www.longislandmodelsoldiers.com.

Sunday 30th October

December

Sunday 23rd October

34th Annual East Coast Toy Soldier Show, Rothman Center, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Off of Route 4 West and Hackensack Avenue South, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA. Doors open at 9am and close at 3pm. Admission: $6, children under 12 free. Organiser: Vintage Castings, Tel: 973 831 8900 or www.eastcoasttoysoldiershow.com

November Sunday 6th November

17th Annual Cantigny Park Toy Soldier Show, Cantigny Park and Museum, Winfield Road, Wheaton, Illinois, USA. Doors open at 9am and close at 4pm (Park and

Saturday 3rd December

The Toy Soldier Show London (Presented by Guideline Publications and Toy Soldier Collector magazine), The Islington Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London, N1 0QH, England. Doors open at 10.30am and close at 4pm. Admission: Early bird (9.30am onwards) £10, general admission (10.30am onwards) £6 (£5 for prepaid tickets which can be ordered by phone or mail from the Guideline office), children under 14 FREE. Organiser: Guideline Publications/Toy Soldier Collector magazine (www.toysoldiercollector.com and www.thetoysoldiershow.com), tel: 01908 274433. (TSC)

If you organise a show, or know of one other collectors would be interested in, then please either post us the details or email: tsceditor@ darkmedialtd.com. Information we require is the date of the event, full address of where it will be held, admission times, ticket prices and all relevant organiser info, including contact telephone number. All shows listed which are followed by (TSC) means the magazine will have a table at these events. TSC editors or contributors may be in attendance at other shows, but the magazine may not have a table.

Book review Britains Toy Soldiers Books in our hobby are fairly rare, yes admittedly over the years there have actually been quite a few published but what I’m referring to is their frequency, We’re lucky if a new one comes out every couple of years! Last year, when exchanging emails with well-known authority of all things, Britains' James Opie, he mentioned he had a new book coming out, and so I was rather pleased when publisher Pen & Sword Books got in touch recently to let me know the book was now available and a copy was on the way to me. The book's full/official title is Britains Toy Soldiers – The History and Handbook 1893 – 2013. If you’ve already got some of James’ other books, such as the very well-respect-

ed Great Book of Britains then yes, obviously some of the information, etc, will be the same or similar, but what I like about this latest offering by James is the fact that it brings you bang up to date with Britains (well 2013) and as such, covers the history of the

brand under the previous two owners, Racing Champions/ RC2 and First Gear. A lot has been written over the years about Britains history (including our own series of articles in the magazine) but James, having lived and breathed Britains for the past ..... years (I’ll let James tell you how many if you see him at a show!), the details he has really brings to life the story of this iconic company. Given however that I’m a child of the 70s who played with Deetail and the odd Swoppet and then got back into the hobby in 1996, I love the fact that with this book, James dedicates an even amount of coverage to the last 40 years as he does to the early years.

Equally impressive is the way the plastic and diecast, collectors club models and collectors models (modern toy soldiers to us) are given their own specific well-covered sections. The book is hardback, full colour throughout and runs to 480 pages if you include the index. Priced at £35, it’s not exactly cheap but it is a very good reference book and one I know I’ll be using a lot in the future. If you want a copy, check with your local bookshop or visit www.pen-andsword.co.uk and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 53

Tradition of London 2016 Christmas set

The German Army The First World War 1914-1918 - 54mm

Kaiser Wilhelm II, General Staff Officer, Manfred Von Richtofen - Red Baron, Pilot Private carrying a machine gun and Private carrying hack and spade.

World War I, WWI or WW1, also known as the First World War, or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918.

victims of a number of genocides, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents’ technological and industrial sophistication, and the tactical stalemate caused by gruelling trench warfare.

More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war including the

It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.

This special limited edition “Christmas 2016 Set” is only available during the year of issue. Size 54mm - Painted in Gloss - Price code D

Tradition of London is happy to announce;

The Armoury of St. James’s 17 Piccadilly Arcade London SW1Y 6NH United Kingdom

The Armoury of St. James’s is now stocking our Toy Soldiers

Tel: +44 (0)20 7493 5082 Fax: +44 (0))20 7499 4422 Website: www.armoury.co.uk

Tradition of London Toy Soldiers are available from the following retailers in Europe Au Plat d'Etain 16 Rue Guisarde 75006 Paris France

Berliner Zinnfiguren Knesebeckstr. 88 10623 Berlin Germany

Soldiers of Rye 110, High St.,Rye East Sussex, TN317JE United kingdom

Patricia Hebert Phone: 01 43 54 32 06 E-mail: auplatdetain@ orange.fr www.cbgmignot.com/

Phone: 0049 30 315 700 0 Fax: 0049 30 315 700 77 E-mail: info@zinnfigur. com www.zinnfigur.com

Mr.Chris Viner E-mail: soldiers.of.rye @hotmail.co.uk

Manufacture Belge de Dentelle SA Galerie de la Reine 6-8 1000 Brussels Belgium Phone: 32 (0) 2 511 44 77 Fax: 32 (0) 2 513 09 17 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.mbd.be/ index.html

Serneels Avenue Louise, 69 1050 Brussels Belgium

S.P.R.L Rayve 48 AV Albertyn 1200 Bruxelles Belgium

Saimex di Stefano Allorini via guicciardini 24 41012 Carpi (mo) Italy Phone 0039059699788 Phone: +32 (0) 2 538 30 66 Phone: 0032 2513 2422 [email protected] Fax: +32 (0) 2 538 05 37 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.saimextoys.com E-mail: [email protected] www.rayve.be And shop at the following www.serneels.be

Available in Europe

address;

IL SALOTTO DEL SOLDATINO VIA ASSISI, 19 ROMA [email protected]

www.traditionoflondonshop.com e.mail [email protected] For telephone enquires contact Bob Prati of RP World Models on 0115 9427462 who are working with Tradition RP World Models Ltd, Chelsea House, Chelsea Street, New Basford, Nottingham, NG7 7HP

E IN GR

(MANCHESTER HOUSE) HOUSE) LTD LTD (MANCHESTER We carry a large stock of soldiers We carry a large stock of soldiers from W. W. Britain, Britain, King King & & Country, Country from and Thomas Gunn. First Legion and Thomas Gunn.

TB EA RI IN TA

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AD

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MAGPIE

DOWNED FRENCH 9TH CUIRASSIER

Also stockists of: Corgi/Hornby/Scalectrix/Airfix/ Britains Farm & Steiff. We also sell: Militaria/ Antiques/Collectibles/ Also stockists of: Corgi/Hornby/Airfix/Britains Jewellery & Toys.

£39.50 inc p+p UK

Farm & Steiff. We also sell: Militaria/ Antiques/Collectibles/Jewellery & Toys.

W. BRITAIN EXCLUSIVE Limited Edition of 300 pieces only available here!

M. Norris, 7, Albert Road, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, CF64 1BX Wales, U.K. Tel: (029) 20704331 www.littlelegion.co.uk

Mounted Scots Grey (36060)

£64.99 plus P&P P&P: £4 UK, £9 Europe, £13 rest of the world orld d

Mail Order Worldwide Mail Order Worldwide

on

Opening Times – 9.00am to 5.30pm Closed Wednesday and Sunday High Street, Street, Evesham Evesham 11 High Worcestershire, WR11 4DA. England UK UK Worcestershire, WR11 4DA. England Tel/Fax: 01386 01386 41631 41631 Tel/Fax: eBay shop: shop: Manchester Manchester House House Collectables Collectables eBay Email: [email protected] [email protected] Email: www.magpieantiques.co.uk www.magpieantiques.co.uk

Auctioneers

adition

C&T

New Releases

Valuers

JAMES OPIE AT C&T AUCTIONS FOURTH TOY SOLDIER SALE 19th OCTOBER 2016 For Further Details Contact James Opie Tel: +44 (0) 207 7947 447 Email:[email protected]

Auction includes 500 lots of boxed and unboxed Britains, early and late hollowcast, civilians, recent issues, Timpo and other plastics, Elastolin, CBG, Noris, Fine Models and much more, featuring: THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE JOHN NORRIS WOOD (Part II) THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE TREVOR WARTON ESQ. (Part II)

Coldstream Guards, marching, Crimean War

s

Officer, sergeant & 6 Guardsmen £85.75 painted plus p & p kits available

CATALOGUES, BIDS & INFORMATION: Call: +44 (0) 1233 510 050 Email: [email protected]

avalry of the Seven Year War

4.00 U.K. £4.75 Europe £6.00 Rest of World g some reductions SAE for copy, or on website.

herd Street . Mayfair . London W1J 7HW . England

0 7355 1224 Email: [email protected]

Lot 4: An early (1901) and near complete seven-row Britains display set 73 with first version Royal Horse Artillery, Pony Horse ‘Ulundi’ 17th Lancers etc. Estimate £500-700

www.candtauctions.co.uk

www.traditionoflondon.com Auction Venue: The Spa Hotel, Mount Ephriam, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8XJ o Friday 9.00-5.30, Saturday 9.30-4.30 mail please add postage - Please allow 28 days delivery in UK

SALES LIVE ONLINE AT: the-saleroom.com TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 55

A typical lot won on ebay

Britains Set 72 Life Guards past and present, but with a modern twist!

W

ell, we’ve all been there I suppose. On holiday, visiting relatives, away from the workbench and missing toy soldiers. There I was in New Zealand without a paintbrush in sight. It was a slightly damp day so I was browsing the internet and looking at what toy soldiers were on offer. ‘Hello’, I thought, that’s another set of slightly moth-eaten old Britains’ Life Guards on offer. Then came another set, rather similar. Hmmmmm..... nice figures under all that old and grotty paintwork, even some slightly damaged figures – so not too expensive. You see, my interest had been aroused earlier on in the week. as I had been reading about one of the old Britains most iconic vintage sets. Set 72 titled ‘Life Guards Past and Present’ which they issued as a 12-piece set way back in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. She acceded the throne in 1837 and 70 years forward, had her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. I read that Britains produced the original set from using just two existing castings (from their Set 1, Life 56 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

Guards), the trooper on a trotting horse and an Officer on a prancing mount. They quite simply modified half of the new set of figures, by changing some of the ‘Albert Helmet’ heads and some paintwork (painting up to the cuirass with white paint over the base of the tunic) for the earlier figure. The head on the 1837 figures was a newly cast part, a magnificent Romanesque helmet, which they simply replaced and the figures looked just awesome, and still do! And that’s when an idea hit me!

Why not buy up some of these old Life Guard figures and try to recreate Set 72, just as Britains did? But where to get the all important heads, and some of the spare parts that I would require for the conversions? My thoughts went immediately to Giles Brown at Dorset Soldiers. I thought that I vaguely remembered on one of my annual visits seeing on Giles’ workbench some heads that looked vaguely like that romanesque shape. So a quick email to Dorset and off to bed, as it was getting quite late.

Next morning, I found the positive reply that I had been hoping for. There in my email box was the good news that all parts that I might require, including that head, were available as replacement castings parts, from that magnificent stock room in Dorset – including both heads, for both dates, if required. Without further delay, I could safely start bidding on various lots that I’d seen earlier on ebay. I figured that I would need two Officers on the prancing horse figures and ten Troopers on the trotting horse with left fore-leg off the ground for a lookalike set. Now, despite their age, both of these figures are not uncommon as they continued to be sold for many years and were very popular. They were also extensively copied by some of Britains’ early competitors, and the Johillco figure was a very close copy indeed (as I was to find out later). I started bidding often concluding in the very early hours, due to the time difference between the UK (the main source of my raw

material) and NZ. I won some and I lost some, as usual, but within a month or so I had won enough of my Troopers to make up the ten I required. Many were in need of some repairs. All had arms which had lost swords at the slope, some figures had snapped off scabbards (fixed to the horse in this figure) and some horse legs were missing but nothing was purchased more seriously damaged than this and most at very reasonable prices. I asked for them to be delivered to my other daughter in the UK to await my return before Xmas. My daughter also sent me pictures via email of each figure, as it arrived for me to check out what spares I might need. As the Life Guard and horse guard figures use the same casting,, it helped me amass my hoard much quicker. More emails to Dorset Soldiers provided the two Officers on prancing horses which I needed from Giles’ stock. So, before I even got back home I had collected all of my figures and ordered most of the spare parts I thought I would need. In the meantime, I dug deeper and deeper into any internet source that I could find regarding Life Guard Uniform in the years of Victoria’s reign. I had considerable help from two Treefroggers of note. My (late) great friend Alan Caton sent me links to pictures of uniforms of Life Guards around 1837, whilst another friend and toy soldier sculptor Martin Tabony also helped out with advice and suggested that I might add in a trumpeter for each era which of course, Britains

My cleaned-up Troopers

Front and rear views of the Life Guard Mounted Officer 1837 - showing Britains added sabretache

never did. This proved to be a very good idea indeed and sent me down another research road altogether. Very soon, I had unearthed enough material to be able to add in my two Trumpeter figures and my tally had now grown to 14 for the proposed new set. I decided to buy a few extra figures for and quickly added them from another ebay source and even added a ‘spare’ figure with no head, one arm on a three-legged horse (that I quickly named ‘Lucky’). I now had the rare luxury of a spare figure for a project!

Catching a plane, I was soon back home and I was able to view my troops for the very first time. A quick bath of oven cleaner soon got them all back to clean castings and I was able to better assess just what I had. I visited Dorset Soldiers premises a week or so later to collect my order and whilst chatting about my project, found that Giles also produced a Farriers Arm with an axe for the Britains Farrier figure. Better yet, it was the Victorian version of the axe. My thoughts went immediately to my ‘spare’ figure and I also knew from my previous research, where to find a picture of a Victorian mounted Farrier c.1896 (see on the wonderful Household Cavalry website: www.householdcavalry.info/horses.html) So now up to 15 figures, as regrettably the only illustration that I (and others more expert than me) knew of for an earlier Farrier figure for 1837 was not mounted, wearing an apron and frankly a rather ugly shako, covered in black fur. Apparently, he would follow the troopers with a cart full of horse shoes (which I strongly suspect also contained a portable forge!). So, not wanting a horse and

cart in my set, I parked the idea (for now). One Farrier would do for 1897. Next, I began refurbishing and repairing the figures I had. I first sorted what would become my earlier and later groups. Some were without heads at all, so my earlier group who had the ‘Albert’ helmet were beheaded (as these would get the Romanesque helmet), and these were used wherever required on my other later-date figures. The most common repair turned out to be a simple replacement arm wearing a gauntlet at the ‘Low Carry’, just as the original figure had and I ensured that I had one new spare for each figure that required one. Some had the loose arm missing, though many had just the arm, with sword broken off to a stump. As all of the original figures produced by Britains in 1897 had a fixed arm, this wasn’t a problem. I cut back the soft metal rivet on each of my figures to remove all arms and found to my surprise, that one arm and tin-strip sword was intact, so believing in keeping as much original material as possible, I kept it and used it for the Officer figure of 1837. Now, this is where I got a big surprise. Even though all of my figures purchased on ebay were advertised as  TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 57

 ‘Britains Life Guards’, not all of them turned out to be from that manufacturer on closer inspection. Only five of my Troopers were made by Britains (and marked under the belly of each horse figure as such). The rest turned out to be the ‘very close copy’ made by Johillco and were mostly copies of the early ‘one-eared horse’ variety, which were originally produced very early on in Britains history (for ease of extraction of the figure from the mould). So five of my figures weren’t really ‘true’ Britains at all but copies made by one of their competitors, though it does take some close inspection to tell, one of the main clues being that there are no Britains trademarks under the belly of the horse. This proved ideal for me, as I could use my five ‘oneeared horse’ figures for the earlier group of 1837 and the Britains ‘two-eared horses’ for the 1897 figures. Both Officer horses are Britains though, and both horses have the later, two-ear casting. Research indicated that there was a historical uniform error made by Britains with the LG Officer casting as both featured a sabretache already cast-in to the figure. I found the somewhat surprising detail that the 1st Life Guards had ceased using sabretaches by around 1830 yet Britains had continued using the figure for both eras (ie 1837 and 1897). I decided, as a nod in Britains' direction, to keep the sabretache on the earlier figure but to remove the one cast-in to the 1897 figure, which was definitely incorrect, and rework the figure. I did this by surgery, removing the sabretache and re-making the figure with milliput. I then had to replace a new empty scabbard which vanished with the removed material. This was an easy fix as I had a small stock of these from my Dorset Soldiers spare-parts anyway. I tried, wherever possible, 58 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

My 1st LG Trumpeter 1837

The picture kindly sent to me by ‘Trooper’ (aka Alan Caton)

to keep to Britains original colour scheme, though I used images that I had found online to check out some of the finer details to some of my added figures. Probably the most tricky of these was my 1837 trumpeter which, at first, defied my finding anything about at all. A plea for help in finding some illustrations brought forth help from my late friend, Alan Caton or ‘Trooper’ as most Treefroggers knew him. He was first to provide a link to a Life Guard wearing the Romanesque helmet, though this illustration was in the more formal State dress and was a member of 2nd Life Guards (so detail differences in uniform and equipment). This picture originally comes from a painting illustrated by Drahonnet in ‘Military Paintings of the Royal Collection’. Further discussion and help from Martin Tabony for this figure helped me find yet another excellent source of pictures and a wonderful example of a 1st LG Trumpeter in the uniform worn in 1832 which showed all of the details I required for this figure (take a look at: www.britishempire.co.uk/

Life Guard Trooper c.1832 (courtesy of: www.britishempire.co.uk)

forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/thelifeguards.htm). My thanks go to both guys (though sadly too late for my great friend Alan to see the results of his help and advice. I miss him greatly). So my eventual Trumpeter figure (1837) is a combination of the real uniformed trumpeter mounted on a conjectured horse figure from about that time but converted to a 1st LG by changing

‘So....at the end of a very pleasant few weeks of hobby-work, using mostly Humbrol Enamel colours, I now have my very own version of Britains Set 72 – or Set 72 Plus as I call it, due to my extra figures’

the colour of the sheepskin saddle cover from the white of 2nd LG to black of the 1st. I also changed the empty scabbard, which comes on the casting for a scabbarded sword (Dorset spare). The rest of my Trooper figures are simply straightforward copies of the Britains original figures from both eras, repaired where necessary and re-painted. I did mask the joint where the white trousers meet the Tunic jacket for the earlier figures with a small fillet of milliput, unlike Britains who merely painted over the join and up to the plates with white paint. I think my joint ‘vanishes’ better this way. Note that I was lucky enough to find that some of my early figures had cast-in aguillettes (and are therefore NCO’s) though oddly enough these were mostly found on the Johillco figures. Also, at some point in the history of this casting, Britains reworked their original casting to a two-eared horse and removed the aguillettes and carbine in saddle holster, which is just behind the rider’s right leg, at the same time. A simple enough modification to replace the carbine with a Dorset Soldier spare-part though funnily enough the Johillco copies

still had their carbine integral to the casting! I drilled and pinned each of the 13 figures that required them to a new metal stand that I made up for them as they only stood on three legs originally (officers are cast-in). So, at the end of a very pleasant few weeks of hobbywork, using mostly Humbrol Enamel colours, I now have my very own version of Britains Set 72 – or Set 72 Plus as I call it, due to my extra figures. I see from looking at some of the internet auction sites, that the original set can attract quite high prices nowadays, even though many of which are beginning to look their age (119 years old). Mine cost just a fraction of that using mostly tired, damaged and broken parts as my base material and now repainted look brand new. All were capable of modification and repair with the aid of spare parts easily obtainable from Dorset Soldiers, and I am now the very pleased possessor of a slightly different and larger version of Set 72. I just loved making them up and I hope you like them too. END

Text by John Staniforth. Photographs by John Staniforth and Giles Brown The completed set

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 59

Changing times for King & Country The news that King & Country (K&C) UK had ceased trading in June sent shockwaves through the British collecting community. In an exclusive interview with K&C founder, Andy Neilson, TSC learned more about plans to serve the UK market going forward TSC: How important is the UK market to K&C? Andy: All of our markets are important to us and for several years, the UK was one of the biggest and most important.

it to a different level. However, I do know that running a small to mediumsized business in the UK is extremely hard work and the general tax situation and all kinds of other levies, duties and restrictions make it even harder. Also, in business, you have your good years and, alas, your not-so- good ones. Most times you battle your way through, sometimes it’s all just too much. At the end of the day, Mike and Tony obviously had to make the most difficult decision. I thank the entire Neville family for their friendship and sterling work over 20 years and wish them all happiness, good health and success in whatever they choose to do next.

TSC: It was recently announced that K&C UK has stopped trading. What is the reason for this development? Andy: To be honest, we were as surprised as every K&C collector in the UK. Mike Neville phoned me personally in Hong Kong in early June to tell me that the company was ceasing trading with immediate effect the following morning – which was less than 24 TSC: What are your plans hours away! K&C’s cofounder and creative director, Andy C. Neilson stands alongside the for how the K&C brand will It was a huge company’s Managing Director, Mrs. Helen Mok Sargent. The backdrop is K&C’s be represented in the UK and totally showroom in the head office in Hong Kong going forward? unexpected Andy: Obviously this is a shock. We huge transition for all of us. At had worked this time we are not seeking a together national distributor for the UK very happily market. After much thought for almost and discussion, we would like 21 years and to have a small, select group watched the UK of retailers with ‘bricks and operation grow mortar’ shops in some key locations and supply them directly. from a small, back bedroom business into having Walking We are in talks with several well-known names at the moment. its own warehouse and showroom and attending wounded For individual UK collectors, there are also a number of welland organising toy soldier shows around the UK. (MG070) known authorised K&C dealers across Europe and elsewhere in Mike and Sue Neville and their sons Tony and the world that can supply all the latest products and provide an Bob were – and are – fantastic people who put excellent service. And, of course, there is K&C Hong Kong that their heart and soul into the business and took

‘I got into this business because I loved the hobby and found that the toy soldiers I wanted were not being made by anyone else’

60 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

The Wonton seller (HK252)

can also supply all of the products directly. We most certainly plan on having a continued presence in the UK toy soldier scene and meeting all the challenges that entails. TSC: How and when will all this happen? Andy: Hopefully before the end of this year. TSC: Do you have any message for K&C collectors in the UK? Andy: First of all, a huge thank you for your support and loyalty over the years. We’ve also got a raft of terrific ideas and products in the works and in development that we believe will have a strong appeal to the UK collector market. In the meantime, please continue to look in on our K&C Hong Kong website [www.kingandcountry.com] for all the latest releases, announcements and appointments with regard to new product information and UK dealers. TSC: Finally, what is your future vision for K&C, in the UK and in the rest of the world? Andy: That’s an awfully big question. K&C began in Hong Kong almost 35 years ago. During that time we’ve weathered many a storm and, like all companies, had our fair share of successes and disasters! But we’re optimists at heart and we always come back. I got into this business because I loved the hobby and found that the toy soldiers I wanted were not being made by anyone else. So with my partner, Laura McAllister Johnson, I decided to start up K&C back in 1983.

soldiers: tanks, trucks, landing craft, fighter planes and much, much more. Our company also goes out of its way to actually meet the collectors and dealers in different countries and continents. This past May, our managing director, Helen, and I were in the US helping to organise and take part in the Texas Toy Soldier Show. Last July, I was in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, meeting collectors and dealers in a series of events in each city. Late September will see K&C in both California and Chicago displaying the latest and upcoming releases and then in midNovember, we will have a special ‘Gathering of Collectors’ in Singapore. Shortly after that, it’s off to Europe and events in Italy, Paris and I’m delighted to say, the London Christmas show in early December. So, we’re certainly not slowing up or resting on our laurels – and that’s just the remaining part of this year. As for 2017, well, that’s a whole other story and I can’t say too much at this moment about what we’re up to but I can tell you – it’s very, very exciting! TSC: Andy, thanks very much Andy: Thank you. END

JagdPanzer Pz.Kpfw. IV L/70 (WH047)

As a company, we’ve always invested in people and the future. K&C was the first company to really develop the matt-painted figure as the ‘toy soldier norm’. We also chose historical subject matter that was either ignored or under-represented by other makers. This includes ranges like Streets of Old Hong Kong and all the battlefields of WWII. We have even tackled contemporary conflicts like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. K&C also pioneered the fighting accessories that go with toy TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 61

E J S

ErrolJohn Studios

Miniature World

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Lists sent post free. Catalogue £10 post free (UK only). All Overseas £15 post free. Cheque/IMO payments in £ Sterling payable to E.J.Pace.

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A growing range of late 19th Century 54mm Toy Soldiers available as multi-part castings or assembled and painted. Covers British, German and French subjects starting at £2 a casting. Please send an SSAE for an illustrated catalogue. Black hat Miniatures, Nyetimber, Norfolk Farm Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 8LF, England LWR500 Little Wars Revisited £5 for a casting, £20 painted

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Reviews of new metal figures to arrive in the hobby by Mark Avery

Ready 4 Action

WWII jeep and Paras by R4A

Jeep & Paras The partnership between Bruce Murray (painter) and Martin Tabony (sculptor) seems to be going from strength to strength as every time we bump in to Bruce at the London show the R4A tables seem to be covered in more and more figures. At the last show in June, Bruce was proudly displaying the pair's latest offering, a WWII era jeep with driver (available as British or Polish) along with some really nice looking Paras. As with almost all of Martin’s

figures, these new releases are 1:32 scale (54mm) and as such I’m not sure how well they’ll fit with the ‘big boys’ of the hobby who primarily use 1:30 scale for their WWII offerings. The jeep is well detailed and with Bruce’s subtle shading, it looks well used rather than being too stylised as I feel some modern pieces can occasionally suffer from. Priced at £110 including a driver, it’s reasonable value for money especially when you consider this is a two-man

cottage industry rather than one of the larger mainstream producers. The Paras, like the jeep, are well made and there are various figures available including three ‘regulars’, an officer and a sergeant. Again Bruce’s subtle paintwork helps bring these hardy warriors to life. Each figure is priced at £29.50 and all are available individually, something I like about R4A as it means you can literally build your ‘army’ with their figures any way you want!

‘The jeep is well detailed and with Bruce’s subtle shading it looks well used rather than being too stylised’

CONTACT Ready4Action Miniatures Salisbury House Front Street Longframlington Morpeth Northumberland NE65 8DQ Tel: 01665 570497 www.r4a.info

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 63

REVIEWS

New Releases 2

REVIEWS

King & Country Various new releases

EA115 Attack Jeep $179

For this issue, I have 12 new pieces from K&C which are spread across numerous periods of both military and civilian history, so let’s get started. The Long Range Desert Group or LRDG for short has been covered by K&C before, in fact back in 2007 the company released a small grouping - possibly a ‘mini-series’ of men and vehicles - and now, nine years later, Andy Neilson and his talented team have decided to delve a bit deeper. EA114 titled ‘Double Trouble’ depicts an LRDG officer consulting his map while his driver examines a captured MP40 “Schmeisser” machine pistol, a cracking little set and the use of a mish mash of uniform style works well. Next up is an ‘attack jeep’ (EA115) which has a mounted .50 calibre machine gun opposite the front passenger seat and a pair of Vickers .303 machine guns on the back. Apparently, this is the first of two versions K&C will be producing. A well detailed model and the additions of water and petrol cans ,etc, help bring it to life. The two figures that accompany the jeep are also well sculpted and painted in K&C inimitable style. 64 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

Staying with WWII, there are few other new releases added to various areas within the wider conflict. For the Pacific arena of the war, there’s a really smart looking Type 95 ‘Ha-Go’ Light Tank (JN040) which signifies the start of a new mini-series titled ‘The fall of Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong’. This tank saw extensive action during this part of the conflict and the Japanese army advanced rapidly on the British strongholds in the Far East. A well produced K&C model that features typical Japanese camouflage and comes with tank commander figure. Sticking with WWII vehicles but jumping back to mainland Europe, there’s MG068 ‘Under

EA114 Double Trouble $95

new ownership’, a set which depicts a captured Airborne jeep being used by a German soldier to ferry his two injured and unhappy-looking Paras back to the nearest

POW camp. Of course, without his mate to guard them, I have a feeling these two Paras, even injured, would be trying their best to make a run for it! Set MG073 ‘Comparing Notes’ is a useful little two-piece set featuring a Wehrmacht officer showing his map to an NCO to find out where exactly the enemy is, or maybe it’s to try and figure out exactly where they are as after all it’s not unheard of for soldiers to sometimes end up in the wrong place!

JN040 Type 95 ‘HaGo’ Light Tank $189

MG068 Under New Ownership $249

REVIEWS

RH013 Arthur a Bland $49

RH014 Robin In Disguise $49

Moving away from WWII there is a re-release worth mentioning - SP036, a section of village wall which is a useful scenic accessory. This was available some years ago and then subsequently retired. Now, due to collector demand (via the Treefrog forum I am told), it has been reissued. It’s not overly exciting but then scenery doesn’t need to be as it’s there to help ‘set off’ the figures which this piece does well, especially as it can be used for so many time periods!

A new addition to the Ancient Greeks range is AG033 Odysseus, the man who thought up the idea of the ‘Wooden Horse of Troy’ and brought an end to the tenyear-long Trojan War, another well executed figure who’s also being accompanied by some newly released Hoplite warriors (not shown). The next releases for this month are a couple more additions to Robin’s band of merry men, in fact one of them is a

SP036 The Desert Village Wall $139

different version of the man himself. RH014 is ‘Robin in Disguise’ and depicts the legendary man in his famous disguise as an old tinker about to take aim at the target which will win him the prize in the Sheriff’s archery contest. Also joining the merry men this issue is Arthur a Bland (RH013). And finally, how about something from the street of Old Hong Kong, a range which I rarely cover but one that I know is popular the world over, and having spent a lot of time in HK over the past few years, I can see why as it really is a fascinating city. The latest addition, or maybe that should be re-addition as it’s an updated version of an old figure, is HK253 ‘Mother & Child’. I remember seeing a few ladies carrying their babies like this the first time I visited the city in the very early 90s. A great little set and one which I’m sure will prove popular with the thousands of collectors that love this range.

MG073 Comparing Notes $95

HK253 Mother & Child $75

AG033 Odysseus $59

CONTACT King & Country Room 2301 No. Lockhart Road Wanchai Hong Kong Tel: + 852 2861 3450 www.kingandcountry.com

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 65

REVIEWS

Tommy Atkins Victorian street entertainers

Victorian era clowns and stilt walkers

When I cover sets by TA, they’re often pretty sombre pieces either reflecting the Napoleonic War or WWI. This issue though, I’m pleased to have something very different and a lot more cheery to review! These Victorian street entertainers are certainly unusual but I absolutely love their bright colours, creative poses and not to mention their faithful four legged companion. Street entertainment has been around as long as 66 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

anyone can remember and is still very popular today. You only need take a trip to Covent Garden on any day of the week to witness the current crop of street entertainers plying their trade some, shall we say, with more success than others! The two figures TA have created, which then they have clearly done conversions from to give them, and in turn us, more collecting options are a stilt walker and clown. There are three

main variations with the stilt walker (ignoring the clothing changes) and these are just balancing (arms out), playing a tambourine and holding balloons. The clowns have four options, carrying a bucket, walking with a stick, carrying balloons and playing the tambourine. The figures are all well sculpted and truer to the 1:32 scale. With the bright gloss paintwork, they should fit in well with any civilian street scene from the end of the 19th

and early 20th centuries. Pricing is £18 painted or £6 casting for the clowns and £20 to £22 painted or £8 to £9 for the stilt walkers.

CONTACT Tommy Atkins 1 Repton Close Gosport Hampshire PO12 2RY Tel: 02392 585925 www.fusilier-miniatures.

REVIEWS

Sarum Soldiers Ladies barbershop quartet

‘An interesting release from Sarum and it’s great to see Dave carrying on and developing the brand after Patrick decided to retire’

So there I was thinking, when I first saw Tommy Atkins' street entertainers, that they’d be the most unusual figures to cover this issue, but how wrong I was! Dave Palmer (who now owns Sarum after buying it from original founder, Patrick Willis, a couple of years ago) had these charming ladies on offer at the June show. Of course, a female barbershop quartet may not be everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ but I think these simplistic looking ladies in their brightly coloured gowns are rather intriguing. Priced at £30 for a set of four painted figures,

it is exceptionally good value and the four castings for £15 also seems fairly reasonable. The one thing (yes shoot me) I forgot to check with Dave is if these ladies are available as singles as, although designed to be a quartet, any of these would work well on their own in a civilian display (or possibly military soirée) for most, if not all, of the last century as with the plain, long dress, they are fairly timeless with possibly only their hairstyles dating them. Sculpting is simple which works perfectly, given these figures have no need to be

flamboyant or showy, after all, they are most likely going to be ‘background players’ in any scene/diorama they’re placed into. An interesting release from Sarum and it’s great to see Dave carrying on and developing the brand after Patrick decided to retire.

CONTACT Sarum Soldiers 13 Farnham Court Great Holm Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire MK8 9DY Tel: 07708 442665 www.sarumsoldiers.net

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 67

REVIEWS

NAP0514 French Sledge Carrying Hussar, ADC, and General de Division $415.00

First Legion Vikings & Napoleonics

Matt Pavone, co-owner of FL, sent me his usual email with details of FL’s new releases and asked me what I wanted to cover. There was one range I knew straight away I wanted to feature, but I’ll come on to that in a minute. First, let’s take a look at some new additions for the Napoleonic wars. There are two new mounted personalities in the form of French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessieres and French Aide de Camp d’Ordonance. If you’re collecting either the mini series, titled (funnily

NAP0529 French Marshal JeanBaptiste Bessieres $179.95

68 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

enough) ‘Mounted Personalities’ or the wider/much larger Napoleon’s Europe then I’m sure you’ll be wanting to add these two characters to your collection. As you would expect with FL mounted pieces, these have extremely detailed sculpting and painting., I’d say possibly the lesser detailed , or maybe that should be less ornate figure, d’Ordonance, is my personal favourite as the grey horse and electric blue uniform with white piping is a real attention grabber! Expect to pay around $180 each for these mounted beauties.

In addition to the two mounted personalities,Matt and his team have also released an add-on to the very popular Retreat from Moscow series, a French sledge carrying a Hussar, ADC and General de Division. With a hefty, but not unjustified, price tag of $415, this may not be within everyone’s budget but trust me, the detail in this piece is incredible. I remember when I first spoke with Matt many many years ago as he was about to launch FL and him telling me he wanted to bring Russian

quality figures to the mass market by producing in China to keep unit prices more affordable. Yes, $415 is not the budget end of the market but he really has delivered on what he said as the quality is as good as I used to buy from Russia myself and the price is way below what something similar would now cost you from one of the Russian studios. A great set and, put simply, if you can afford it, buy it! Now let’s take a look at the figures that got me a little too excited when Matt’s email arrived - the Vikings.

NAP0530 French Aide de Camp d’Ordonance $179.95

VIK003 Viking Warrior Swinging Axe $69.95 VIK001 Viking Warrior Chieftain $69.95 VIK002 Viking Warrior Blowing Horn $69.95

VIK010 Viking Warrior Beserker $69.95

VIK008b Viking Warrior Archer #2 $64.95 VIK009 One Eyed Viking Warrior with Sword and Axe $69.95

VIK008a Viking Warrior Archer #1 $64.95

VIK005 Viking Warrior Shieldwall with Axe $69.95

VIK004 Viking Warrior Shieldwall with Sword $69.95

I mean, who doesn’t love a Viking? It’s interesting how cyclical this hobby can be sometimes, as I remember around 15 years ago when Conte Collectibles first launched its Vikings, Saxons, etc, and there was a real buzz about this period. Then all went quiet and now, in the last few months, both FL and Britains have decided to return to this period of history along with some of the smaller producers like Morgan Miniatures. Both

VIK007 Viking Warrior Shieldwall with Spear $69.95

Britains and Morgans figures are very good but once again FL have pushed the boundary as to the level of detailing that can be achieved in a toy figure. All of the figures are excellent and I particularly like the way the chainmail and shield decorations have been done. My personal favourite is ‘oneeyed’ warrior with a steely look of determination etched across his face. These 11 figures are a great

start to what I hope will be a rapidly growing series and I can’t wait to see exactly what opposition Matt and his team decide to give these guys first.

CONTACT First Legion Ltd PO Box 1540 Newburyport MA 01950 USA Tel: +1 978 925 5067 www.firstlegionltd.com UK stockists are Magpie (Manchester House) Ltd, Maison Militaire, Piers Christian & The Treasure Bunker (contact details for most of these can be found in their respective adverts within this magazine).

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 69

REVIEWS

VIK006 Viking Warrior Shieldwall with Sword $69.95

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Final word Britains' dalliance with Waterloo

O

n one of those relentlessly windy days that beset Scotland in winter, I decided I might as well do one of the jobs that I had been putting off for ages, the tidying of my study. Unfortunately, I did not get very far as I came across some notes I had made ages ago about Britains' brief dalliance into the world of Waterloo. When one looks back, the whole tenor of Britains military offerings in terms of foreign service revolved around the colonial period. I suspect that in the early days of the company, this provided them with more than enough subject matter. Nonetheless, with their very wily appreciation that colour equalled sales, the Napoleonic period might have seemed the obvious avenue down which to proceed as the company grew. However, the key element that can be so easily forgotten is that children, not collectors, were the main customers. With the underlying empire spirit that suffused their middle class homes and the normal children’s desire for the now rather than the past, I suspect the company was acutely conscious of the need to maintain its original product brief. What changed the company’s mind actually began with what seemed a very minor event and probably went unnoticed except by the people concerned. On July 6, 1935 in a restaurant in Soho, London, a group of fifteen toy soldier collectors met to form a society called The British Society of Collectors of Model Soldiers. In 1948, it changed its name to the one we know today as the British Model Soldier Society. Unlike the children, they brought a different approach to the

Britains Historical Series Line Infantry 1815

Casting of Historical Series Line Infantry 1815

collecting of miniature figures. Reading between the lines, they set out to be much more proactive with regard to what they wished to be produced, particularly by Britains. At this time, from a Waterloo perspective, the French company CBG Mignot reigned supreme. Unfortunately, the partisan nature of the French psyche dictated that all of their extensive range replicated figures of the Grande Armee. This bias prompted the BMSS to approach Britains with the idea of producing some British opponents for the Mignot figures. Britains acceded to this request and in 1937 they marketed two sets of infantry, one of the Gordon Highlanders and one of Line Infantry. The company released them as the first sets under the guise of their new Historical Series. These sets would remain in the catalogue until 1959, being joined in the early fifties by a set of artillery. What was notable about these releases was that they were done as a joint project with the BMSS, whose members were also 

Highlanders produced for FOA Schwartz in 1940

TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR 71

Historical Series Artillery 1815

 provided with castings to paint. The other unusual aspect of this venture was that the castings were solid rather than hollow cast. I do not know if this had been a particular request to synergise with the solid castings of the Mignot/Lucotte soldiers. Sadly these were the only releases of Waterloo figures by Britains. Perhaps the momentum went out of the project due to the onset of WWII. Nevertheless, someone must have kept the embers smouldering to some extent, this being reflected by the release of the artillery. However overall with the inevitable changes in personnel due to the attrition of the war and the differing priorities of the new era at Britains, it is very feasible that this whole project was quietly side-lined. In addition, post war, others had taken up the baton of creating model figures at a more specialised level to slake the thirst of the collectors. Obviously in the modern era, this incongruity with regard to the creation of British figures representative at Waterloo has been redressed dramatically, reflecting the enormous interest in the period. Many of the figures are striking and sophisticated in the extreme. Nonetheless, when I look at the troops that were produced in conjunction with the BMSS, they have a beguiling and innocent charm about them, something that is quite often missing in the offerings of today. As with all things, when you begin to delve a little deeper into any subject, particularly Britains, you can find something quite unexpected. In 1940/41 as one of a series of unlisted sets, Britains produced seven Gordon Highlanders all holding pikes plus an officer for their distributor, FAO Schwartz of New York. The original combination released in the UK had been a mixture of pikes and muskets. In addition, although under the banner of the Historical Series, the set destined for the USA was in

Grenadiers de la Garde Courtesy of Mignot

72 TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR

Historical Series Gordon Highlanders 1815

totally different packaging. I am afraid I do not know the reason for the changes in pose, composition or packaging, but it is yet again, an example of one of Britains' delightful anomalies. A thought that did occur to me as the rain lashed at my study window was, I wonder what would have happened if Britains had not exited Paris in 1923. Possibly, in a bid to gain further leverage in the French market, might we have seen them take on Mignot with a raft of figure releases from the Waterloo era? If that had happened conceivably the character of Britains range would have evolved in a very different way to the one we can reflect upon today. END

Text by Keith Nairn-Munro. Photographs courtesy of Vectis Auctions.

History in Miniature since 1893

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B23113 1916-18 British Infantry Walking with ‘Pig Tails’ and Walking with Barbed Wire Roll

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