Medieval figures on display.

 Slowly getting around to putting figures back on display after they had to be packed away for work on the house a few years ago, a change is as good as a rest and it's good to see them out again.

Medieval figures always add a good splash of colour and and these are some of my favourites, lots of conversions and some will get pulled out from time to time to serve in a wargame but mostly their purpose is to please the eye.  

The Playmobil ship is crewed by Einar and his men from "The Vikings" movie, as portrayed here in plastic by the French firm Ougen, Matt Thair has now produced the set in metal and you can see it here: White Tower Miniatures  

The castle walls and towers are from a Foreign Legion fort gifted to me by another friend Barrie Blood who commissioned it from a chap called John Russell, who exhibited his wargame buildings at the first Plastic Warrior Show and built the Spanish Town shown in the previous post One Hour Wargames - Double Delay

 The fort was built in scale for 54mm toy soldiers and rather large so I solved the storage problem by incorporating it into this display, it should come out without to much difficulty if needed for a wargame.

In the foreground an assortment of figures made in Poland by PZG (Polski Związek Głuchych - The Polish Association of the Deaf), rear right a mounted knight made in Italy by Nardi and Joan of Arc made in France by Starlux.

Two Elastolin siege engines, behind them a group of crossbowmen made in France by RF (Rene Fisher).

Lords and Ladies of the Court, too many to list but included are figures by Elastolin and Starlux with many conversions and also a few chessmen.

More conversions with a resin model of Joan of Arc (mounted) sold in France as a tourist item.

Some folk heroes are dotted around in this corner, including Robin Hood figures made in England by Crescent and Italy by Res Plastics, some of the Wiliam Tell set from REAMSA of Spain (Resinas Artificiales Moldeadas S.A.- Moulded Artificial Resins Ltd.) and yet another Joan of Arc on foot which is a Starlux conversion.

In another corner the musicians and jesters strike up the band.  The larger yellow jester was made in Germany by Heinerle, Manurba, Domplast (take your pick) the smaller one beside him is a ceramic knick knack and the seated piper is a shepherd boy made by Elastolin.

In the foreground a group of crossbowmen made by Res Plastics and offered in Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs, there are four figures each with different styles of armour, pavise and bows.

In the foreground various footmen made by Starlux, behind them Edward The Black Prince is a Starlux conversion made by Vince Mattocks and the mounted knight to his right was made in France by Guilbert.

In the tower are three figures from the Alexander Nevsky set made in Russia at the Progress factory in Moscow, I bought these at the second Plastic Warrior Show back in 1987 from a chap who was importing figures made in the old Iron Curtain countries, I think he was the only dealer at the show that year.  To the right of the standard bearer is the portrait figure of Albrecht Gessler from the William Tell set made in Spain by REAMSA (Resinas Artificiales Moldeadas S.A.- Moulded Artificial Resins Ltd.), this is the later reissue made by Oliver.

You can never have enough archers, the front row kneeling are Starlux behind them are mostly figures by Rene Fisher.

Lots of toy soldiers at the Plastic Warrior Show 2025

 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 1986 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 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.

Assorted Ancients now on display.

 Following on from the previous post, here are closeups of the second new shelf.  The shelves are inside a pine wardrobe built into a chimney alcove, long since unfit for purpose but I'm averse to ripping out period features so it now houses toy soldiers and the original doors provide some protection from the dust.

In the background are a group of  Neanderthals made in France by Starlux.  

In front of them are hoplites made in Greece by PAL and later versions made by Athena (Aohna), the easiest way to tell them apart is the earlier PAL figures have a flat square base with no markings underneath while the Athena ones have a sculptured base marked Aohna underneath, the PAL versions also have metal pins attaching their arms.  

In the left foreground are Greeks/Romans made in Italy by Tibidabo (green bases) and to their right are two made in France by Clairet (tan bases)

In the centre, various Roman signifiers by Atlantic, REAMSA, Marx and Elastolin, in front of them are three large rubber figures made in Italy by Xiloplasto.

The large colourful figure in the sentre is one of the Louis Marx Ancient Chinese Warriors.  The large blue Romans beside him are reissues made in Spain by Oliver. 

The two Samurai at rear left were made in Poland by PZG (the Polish Association of the Deaf), in front of them are Ancient Egyptians made in Spain by Jecsan, with more Samurai to the forefront, these ones made in Italy by Res Plastics for Kinder eggs.

A better view of the Res Plastics Samurai, I started picking these up with the intention of creating a wargames army with them but the fiddly parts and loose weapons made them impractical for this, so they are now consigned to the shelf and my Samurai armies are now made up from Technolog, Furuta, gashapon and various kit figures.

In the centre the unpainted Roman and Tribune in red cloak were sculpted by Peter Evans and cast in Resin by Peter Cole (before he set up his company Replicants to make figures in plastic), the idea was that they would make additional poses to go with the Louis Marx Ben Hur playset which had just been reissued from the original moulds by a company in Mexico.  

To their right are two coffee premiums made in Belgium by Cafe Storme.

The four Carolingians marching in the foreground are 45mm solid lead figures made in Germany by Heyde.

The large mounted Roman on the left was originally made France in hollowcast lead by JSF (Jouets Standard Francais), this is a plastic version made form the original mould.  On th right next to him is another mounted Roman, made in Hong Kong it is a copy of a Crescent foot figure on a copy of a Herald horse.

This is the set of four made by Res Plastics for Kinder eggs, they are often described as being Samurai but I am advised (by someone to knows vastly more than I do about ancient armour) that they are in fact Ancient Chinese (they still look like Samurai to me, what do you think?)

Fleamarket finds from the weekend.

 It always seems to be feast or famine at the local car boot sale but last weekend I managed a reasonable haul:

This lot set me back £20, which I thought was very fair, there's nothing rare or special but it's quite a nice mix and they will add to several of my existing projects.

A few more Conte Normans are always welcome, my existing ones have been painted up as they came so I can afford to use some of these ones for conversions.  They are made from a firm rubber which leaves the weapons prone to bending, after straightening by hot water treatment I give the bendy parts a coat of wood glue (which is an industrial strength PVA used by carpenters) to keep them from reverting to their previous shape.

The four Timpo Vikings all need repair so I will have no qualms about basing them for wargaming, the two AWI have been added to a display shelf and I have suitable mounts for all the others.  The Marx reissue of Paul Revere in white is very versatile for conversion to many periods.

REAMSA remoulds from the Willian Tell set, I think the figure of Landburgher Gessler is particularly well sculpted, he looks just like the character played by Willoughby Goddard in the 1950's "Adventures of William Tell" TV series.

The more collectable items: a Franciscan monk and Mousquetaire du Roi made by Starlux, the grenadier drummer made by Cavendish is rarely found in white plastic so is probably an early example. The Cherilea Numidian, Lone Star African Native and Crescent Sheriff of Nottingham on the bottom row are all destined to be converted.

Malcolm III and William Rufus 1093 - Battle Ravens 54mm Wargame

Since discovering that the boardgame Battle Ravens translates so well to the tabletop for a wargame with 54mm toy soldiers we thought we'd give it another outing.

  Our first trial of the game was a standard shieldwall encounter between Vikings and Saxons, but the game also offers sets of cards to portray the national characteristics of Scots, Welsh and Normans so we decided to try something different. 

  For a scenario I chose the border raid in 1093 by the Scots of Malcolm III, in support of Saxon refugees, against a frontier outpost held by the Normans of William Rufus. 

A Frisian trader has beached his ship alongside the Norman keep and is unloading his trade goods in exchange for Saxon slaves, when the alarm is sounded!  A Scottish warband has been spotted approaching the stronghold.

The Frisian crew join the Norman garrison and form shieldwall outside the stockade to protect the ship from the Scots and their Saxon allies.

Lessons learned from our previous encounter meant that the action flowed much faster and furiously this time around, more risks were taken and the subtle nuances in the rule system became more apparent. 

The game is played from two static shieldwalls and despite the lack of manoeuvre there is still a great deal of movement as warriors are pushed back and forth to reinforce holes in the line.  

The Playmobil viking ship with sail down serves as the Frisian merchant vessel, it only acts as set dressing but adds depth to the scenario.

The Scots command group, King Malcolm with his retainers and priest.  The standard bearers here and below are conversions by Eric Kemp acquired at the Plastic Warrior Show in May.

There is a temptation to press heavily on one sector of the enemy line and attempt a breakthrough but this can have repercussions later on, in the long run it's often better to give ground and degrade your opponent's forces.  

The game plays comfortably in a couple of hours but you could easily expand it by allowing reinforcements to be fed in at set points.  It would make a great demonstration game at a convention, easy to transport, limited number of figures involved, several participants could take different sections of the shieldwall and the larger figures add a bit of spectacle for the spectators.

It was a close run thing and looked as though honours were even but on closer inspection and a recount the Normans carried the day by one point.

Those with sharp eyes will recognise figures by Timpo, Johilco, DSG, TSSD, Emhar, Cherilea, Del Prado, Jean Hoefler, Elastolin, Jecsan, Reamsa, Oliver, Conte, Fontanini, Replicants, Marx, Armies in Plastic, Starlux, and Cafe Storme.

Feast and Famine.

 We're already heading towards the end of the car boot season, and this year the pickings have been very thin, but last weekend there was a bumper crop:

The complete haul above cost less than £20 in total, particularly pleased to get the Tudor houses in the background which are ceramic ornaments and in scale for 28mm figures (but will work fine with 54mm).  The vast bulk of WW2 Airfix are conversion fodder destined to become medieval footmen.

I needed some French para's to go with my Viet Minh for the Indochina project but don't like to mess about with vintage Starlux if I can help it so these Hugennot copies will do the job just fine.

Some of the better odds and ends will be gifted or end up in the junk boxes at the Plastic Warrior Show next year.

At first I though the crude hollowcast copies of Britains Zulus were homecast and planned to repaint them but when I checked the markings under the base I saw they were made by Hanks, so I'll probably keep them as they are. 

French made Matelots

I have always had a particular fondness for toy soldiers made in France, they produce them in every conceivable material, and while the sculpting isn't always the sharpest, the poses are always very imaginative.  Here are a few examples:

The first two above were made by Miniajouet, the first is an early figure made in rubber during the 1950's the second is later manufacture in hard plastic.  The third figure was made by JSF (Jouets Standard Francaise) and was originally made in hollowcast lead.

Two helmsmen from JSF and one from Miniajouet, all of the figures shown in this post were originally produced in both white and blue plastic.

The Naval officer with pistol is a first series plastic figure by Starlux, who originally made toy soldiers in a plaster composition material called "blanc de meudon" hence the rather chunky design.  A Naval Aviator made in rubber and a later plastic Captain with sextant from Miniajouet.

The Matelot dragging an anchor is from the same Miniajouet set as the others shown in this post, they were originally made in hollowcast by HR (Henri Roger) there are a few more in the set but I don't have them (yet).  The middle two are by Domage & Cie who sold aluminium figures under the trade name Aludo and plastics (acetate) as here under the name Acedo, the first figure with the bucket of water is a soft plastic copy.  The last chap is sitting on a pile of rope eating his dinner, he has lost the spoon which he should be holding in his right hand, made by JSF and from the same series as the others in this post.

If figures like these float your boat you can see lots more on the French 1/32 Plastic Toy Soldier Forum, there is a link to it in the header bar of this blog.  You have to register to join and the text is mostly in French but there are lots of pictures and it is by far and away the best resource on the internet for all types of old toy soldiers.