Two weeks after the event and I am just recovering from the toy soldier overload that is the annual Plastic Warrior Show, I still haven't unpacked the bags and boxes of plunder I acquired but no doubt they'll surface here sooner or later. In the meantime here are a few gratuitous pictures of plastic toy soldiers to remind those those who were there on the day and to drool over for those who were not.
Typical of the rummage boxes to be found at the show.
A nice little box with Timpo West Point Cadets, Cavendish C18th Grenadiers, a Kentoys Dan Dare figure, Cherilea Maid Marian, and Nardi Bersaglieri, all in good unbroken condition with original paint.
An assortment of Starlux Sailors and Napoleonics.
Mostly Lone Star figures in this pic with a few Timpo GI's and Bundeswehr in the background.
Too many early English makers to mention here but includes Speedwell WW2, Sacul bandsmen, and Johilco knights.
More to rummage through!
Mostly modern makers, nicely painted and displayed in a more orderly fashion!
It wasn't all plastic though, this is a Sherman tank hand carved in wood circa 1943/44 by Italian Prisoners of War. The body is carved from at least two varieties of wood with gun barrels and wheel hubs made from brass rod and rivets, the surprise feature is that the turret and top plate lift off to reveal it's true purpose which is a cigarette box!
The very first Plastic Warrior show was held on 1st June 1985 but it was a very different event from the swapmeet it has become today, it was announced as an Open Day to promote a wider interest in collecting, modelling and wargaming with 54mm plastic toy soldiers. At that time PW was just a newsletter and had been in existence for less than a year, we called ourselves members because we had become a close knit group of friends but it wasn't actually a club and never has been, it just felt like one. At the Open Day we only had four people through the door because everyone else involved with the group was already inside displaying their collections and other such activities.
Forty years on and the newsletter has become a magazine while the Open Day has become a Swapmeet which aims to promote and support it. We are often asked why we don't hold the show more often or let it grow larger? We have considered both options but the answer is that PW is a hobby for us not a business, holding the show annually keeps it special, like Christmas, while keeping it small maintains our original vision of it being a social event rather than a commercial one.
It wouldn't be the Plastic Warrior show without an element of chaos each year, as befits an unashamedly amateur operation, compounded by the fact that we are now 40 years older with all the infirmities that accompany great age. With that in mind we would like to thank all the dealers who pitched in to help set up the tables on the morning and especially those stout hearted chaps who helped us to pack them away at the end, without such support the show would not be viable.
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