This past year I embarked upon a review of how I store and display the unruly mass of toy soldiers accumulated in a largely haphazard way over the past six plus decades.
Everything is being separated out between collectables and figures for wargaming, the former to stand safely on a shelf gathering dust and looking pretty, the latter boxed securely in their units and ranks ready to be deployed on the tabletop at a moments notice.
I started picking up Britains and Timpo American War of Independence Swoppets with the intention of using them for wargaming, back then they were the only figures available for the period, but they were hard to find and by the time I'd acquire enough they were getting too brittle and delicate for the amount of handling involved. I aught to let them all go but I don't feel quite ready for that yet.
The building in the background is the tinplate "Revolutionary War Tavern" made in America by Louis Marx, the mounted figure of George Washington to the front left of it is an old composition piece made by Elastolin.
In amongst the Britains and Timpo Swoppet AWI are a smattering of figures from other manufacturers such as: Shell Liberty Men of '76, Louis Marx Warriors of the World, A Call to Arms, Res Plastics for Kinder Eggs, Awesome Toys, Casualties of War, Airfix, and a couple of white metal models.
The building shown here is the Louis Marx tinplate "Civil War Mansion" from their "Battle of the Blue and Gray" playset.
Native American allies are provided by Mohicans from Britains Herald range and Charbens.
These figures have all spent far too long languishing in boxes so it was nice to get them out and put on display where I can appreciate them a bit more.
Thank you for sharing these! I have fond memories of getting the AWI Swoppet figures fairly frequently when I was very young (maybe 5 or 6? I took them apart far more than probably was intended), including one rainy day when we had to be out of our house due to a very large hornet's nest that required professional removal. Also love the tavern!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked them John, they are rather elegant figures, far to nice for us rough kids to play with ;)
DeleteYes--great collection! I had only a few of the AWI Swoppets as a kid in the 60's, but these photos trigger some great memories. I still have the figures. Post some more :) Thanks, Gary in Texas
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the pics Gary, this hobby is all about the memories, well mostly.
DeleteAn excellent collection indeed Brian, and it's set off so well by the "Sons of Liberty Tavern!" And the fact that you still have all the pieces, rifles, swords, etc. is truly amazing! It's really great to see them displayed, thanks for a brilliant blast from the past!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brad, it's a shame I never did get around to wargaming with them but they do make a nice display.
DeleteSuperb collection, brings back good memories as I had a few back in the day. Your collection is lovely and very nice to see it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen them myself for a while so it was good to get them all together again.
DeleteGreat collection.
ReplyDeleteAs a boy the AWI & ACW Swoppets were the good guys and Timpo cowboys and Mexicans the baddies in all my games…
Alan Tradgardland
In my boyhood games the Confederates fought the Vikings, I was always a bit chronologically challenged.
DeleteNice buildings Brian. I have a soft spot for the Timpo AWI and got very excited when they were reissued back in the late 90's. The lack of usable poses for wargaming however soon struck home and I abandoned the idea. They still stir my imagination however. Maybe I should reacquire a handful to fill the corner of a shelf somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThanks Graham, when the Toyway reissues came out I tried to get Richard Morris to run them in green, white and light blue so they could be used for the 7 Years War but he wasn't keen.
DeleteBrian, I had a fair number of Timpo Swoppets in my childhood, mainly cowboys and knights, but they just don't work for me now. So I'm the odd man out. But I do remember and still like the Herald Indians, particularly the Mohawk figure. Now that brought back childhood memories, and lovely to see a wargame unit of them. Also, love the tinplate tavern, beautiful artwork.
ReplyDeleteMichael (Wargaming with..)
The Mohawk was always my favourite even though it was the odd one out of the series. The interiors of the tinplate buildings are also litho printed with furnishing, drapes and curtains etc. it's a shame I'm not able to display them better.
DeleteAn impressive muster of AWI figures. Airfix AWI was the closest I got to this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark, they were some of my favourites at the time but always a bit too delicate to play with.
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