Well the Plastic Warrior Show has come and gone for another year, after all the build up and anxiety it's suddenly all over as though it had never happened. As usual Replicants showcased their new product at the show, this year there are just two new figures to add to their range depicting the Battle of Lewes in 1264. Only two? I hear you ask. Yes, the sculptor Peter Cole has been working on a cartoon booklet and set of postcards depicting actions from the battle (using Replicants figures and conversions from various makers) for the Lewes Castle Museum. So here are the latest:
The two new figures from Replicants, on the left is Prince Edward and on the right is Silas a mounted Man at Arms who features as a character in Peter Cole's booklet.
The same two figures seen from the other side, the rearing horse is a particularly nice sculpt.
So what else did I buy.........well not a lot really. There was plenty to see, lots of rare stuff and lots of bargains had by other people but I had decided to run a stall myself to shift some of the surplus that invariably builds up over the years and that kept me so busy I didn't have the time or mental faculty to go around buying. Ah well there'll always be another show or ebay or whatever to spend the money I took. More pics of the show etc. to follow in another post.
The annual Plastic Warrior Show was held on May 4th 2013 and it has become something of a tradition for Replicants to launch new product at this event each year, this time around they had ten new figures and here they are:
The new Replicants figures, painted, on their stall at the PW Show, the photo didn't come out that great so clearer pics are below. Back left are four Culloden Scots, back right two ACW and front centre four new medieval knights with the existing figure of Simon de Montfort that they were made to accompany.
The four new Jacobite Scots, executed in true swashbuckling poses full of action and originality. Sculpted by Peter Cole who constantly strives to defy and confound the limitations imposed on producing figures from a two part mould, the chap clubbing with rifle is probably my favourite and the one with two pistols is straight out of the old Rob Roy comic strip.
Along with the previous four Replicants in this series, the six Cherilea highlanders and a clutch of various AWI militiamen that will stand in as lowland Scots I have about thirty figures ready to portray the Jacobites for the expanding C18th project, and that's before delving into the realm of conversions, so this interest is beginning to gather it's own momentum, much encouraged by this:
The Battle of Culloden in 54mm as portrayed by Dirk Donvil's Belgian group PMCD Mobilisatie. Enjoy.
Actually I would prefer to be directing my attention towards the Jacobite Rising in Ireland but I don't think the figures above would fit the bill and I can't find anything much in the way of uniform sources. Anyone out there able to give me a steer in the right direction?
The four C13th knights to go with the previously issued figure of Simon de Montford at the Battle of Lewes in the 2nd Barons War. Great animation, the bases are sculptured in the style of the old Britains "Wars of the Roses" knights, which has become something of a signature for Replicants figures.
No extra photos of the new ACW standing and kneeling figures, I didn't get them because frankly I am awash with such poses, but there must be a big demand for them or they wouldn't have bothered to bring them out. The two figures are suitable for either side and look very similar to earlier Replicants/Marksman issues. All Replicants figurees are distributed by Steve Weston's Plasticsoldiers
Other new figures at the Plastic Warrior Show were a range of Marlburians sculpted by Mr Len Cooksey of Ivanhoe figures, moulded in resin. Sadly I can't show you them because by the time I'd battled my way through to his stall they were all sold out! No doubt they will reappear at the London Show in June (but sadly I may not be able to attend this)
Amongst many other things I picked up a couple of sets of Barzo Conquistadors for a C16th/Wars of Religion project that has been simmering away for a while now, the musketeers and crossbowmen will be useful but the rest of the poses are a bit odd and will need some work before they see the light of day again.
And finally..............a gratuitous shot of tables groaning under the weight of plastic.
The Plastic Warrior Show moved to a new venue this year just a couple of miles up the road from Richmond, West London, where it has been held for the past twenty years (yes it really has been that long) and there was a fair bit of anxiety about how the new site would be received. Happily it seems to have gone down very well with the dealers and attendance through the door was way up on previous years, so our fears about people finding the place were groundless. In addition to the horde of Continental European dealers and collectors who made it (far to many to mention individually), we welcomed Ron Barzo and Jim McGough, Paul and Laurie Stadinger all from the U.S.A. and Brenton Hoffman all the way from Australia.
In fact there was only one person who complained that the new venue was too difficult to get to and he had come all the way from.................. you guessed it. London!
Toy Castles and Knights - A Guide to Toy Castles and Knights from Around the World. Written by Joseph W. Svec III, published by Infinity Publishing, ISBN 978 0 7414 7323 3. A4 softcover, 104 pages illustrated in full colour throughout. I bought my copy through ebay where it costs US$ 26.95 (GBP £17.00) plus postage.
This is a very big subject to tackle in just over 100 pages and this book is an enjoyable romp through what appears to be the authors own collection rather than a purely academic history. Over 100 Castles from ten different countries are featured ranging from the traditional King Arthur/Camelot/Robin Hood types to Sword & Sorcery/Lord of the Rings up to the 90mm Schleich and Papo types. There is also a nice chapter on the Spanish made Exin castle building sets, which are like Lego but for making medieval and wild west buildings.
The majority of castles included are of the plastic clip together or vacuformed types and it's good to see these documented as many are already no longer available, there are also some tin litho and wooden examples. The book is packed full of colour pictures showing the castles, often under state of siege by their attendant figures, and the box art they came in. My only criticism would be that some of the pictures are a little dark, so overall a fun book at a reasonable price and lets face it how many of us would have the room to store 100 castles?
I would have liked to see more of the earlier wooden makes of castle but that leaves room for a Book 2, until then you can see more on the history of Toy Forts and Castles at the toyforts website
Just a quick look at some more of the rather sumptuous dioramas by King and Country seen at the London Show last month
You need plenty of standard bearers for your medieval armies, if like me, you can't afford their figures you can always take inspiration and make something similar by downloading flags from free sites such as Flags and Banners or Alex's Flags
These Chinese troops are from the Imperial Collection series based on the Imperial Court from 1865 to 1904, I never tire of looking at them.
I went along to the London Toy Soldier Show on Saturday and among the sights were these rather lovely 20mm masterpieces by John Niblett, they really are hard to find and in fact these are the first I have ever seen in the flesh.........so to speak.
John Niblett is probably best known for his work on the Airfix HO/OO figures but apart from his own 20mm range shown here he also sculpted 54mm figures for Malleable Mouldings and a range of historical figures in armour under his Modelmakers brand which were sold through the Tower of London.
Malleable Mouldings are best known for their early plastic figures made from designs by Holger Eriksson at the Treeforest Mouldings works in Wales around 1946 but when this didn't take off they moved to Deal in Kent where they started making metal figures for the collectors market, still using Eriksson designs but now also some by Niblett who was based just up the road in Sidcup. Their catalogue boasted that they could make figures of any regiment to order and the Christmas 1952 edition of the Illustrated London News carried a full colour article showing 25 of their figures depicting the evolution of the Coldstream Guards from 1650 to 1950. In 1957 they were still on sale at Hamleys, the famous London toy store, alongside collectors models by Carman, Argosy (whoever they were) and Greenwood.
Niblett was still advertising his design and casting services (now moved to Herne Bay) in Military Modelling magazine up to the end of 1978, there is a picture of the figure of Robert the Bruce that he produced through Modelmakers on my old website (now dormant) HERE
A selection of 20mm Romans, Normans and Medievals, at top right is a 30mm figure (also by Niblett) of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, the bodyguards to the British Monarch.
The picture belies the fact that the foot figures are little bigger than the size of my thumbnail and given that they were originally sold through Hummels of Burlington Arcade (where you can buy all kinds of stuff you never knew you needed at prices that will have you clutching at your chest and gasping for breath), alongside Courtneys and Pings, it does make me wonder if they were ever actually meant to be wargaming figures? Well Niblett also sold them unpainted and after he died in 1980 they continued to be sold under the Tribute Figures brand, for more detail about Niblett visit the Vintage 20Mil website
The figures were on the table of dealer Adrian Little who trades as Mercator Trading priced at £10 foot and £25 mounted. Adrian told me that he usually takes Nibletts to the shows in the US, where there is a healthy appetite for them, because they give a good return relative to the weight and room they take up. A bit like smuggling diamonds then.
In hindsight I should have bought some, well one at least. Maybe I will, next time. Perhaps.
PZG the Polish Union for the Deaf produced a lot of original and unique figures in their workshops to provide employment for deaf people. Most were made a toys for children but some of the better ones were gilded, set on plinths and sold as ornaments for the tourist market. The most spectacular set, to my mind, was based on the Polish army during the Great Turkish War of the late 17th Century, so far I have identified seven mounted figures: King Jan Sobieski, officer, standard bearer, trumpeter, kettle drummer, winged lancer and dragoon.
The standard bearer, showing the engraved detail of the flag, frankly I'm amazed this has remained intact through the years.
The horse is well sculpted in a rather elegant pose, the original plinth it was mounted on has been removed, I rather prefer it this way.
The armour and composite bow have a distinctly Mongol style to them.
Detail showing the armament, 2 pistols, long broadsword strapped to flank of horse, shorter sabre, shield and composite bow
I have only ever seen the King and the Lancer fully painted, the rest are always coated in gilt as shown above, I think this chap will be a contender for a repaint. Such a shame they never made the Turks to oppose them.
These plastic Samurai were made in Poland, probably during the 1960's and possibly by PZG, the Polish society for the Deaf, they stand about 60/65mm high. I don't know if the brown paint is original but it may be that they were painted to make them look like terracota, I am sorely tempted to strip and repaint them and it is only the backlog of existing painting projects that prevents me entering into this act of vandalism.
Peter Cole had two new sets of Replicants figures, four new medievals and three English poses for the Jacobite Rebellion, these last come with a choice of two heads, a tricorn and a grenadier mitre so you can effectively make six figures, the mitre heads could also be usefully used to convert Barzo French Indian War figures to give even greater variety to the firing line. These pics didn't come out too sharp, sorry about that.
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