Plastic Warrior 2023 - New stuff

 Peter Cole of Replicants usually launches his new figures at the Plastic Warrior Show and here is this year's offering.  Two sets (4 figures in each) of medieval peasants, and they are revolting, as they did!

Rising up from their labours are a builder with giant mallet, fishwife with a cleaver, serf with a sickle and a minstrel to tell the tale of revolution in a ballad.

The second lot are better armed and mean business, I picked up a couple of sets of these, a chap with slingshot that could easily be used for any ancients army, one with a flail who will be joining my band of Japanese Illo-Ikki, a farmhand with pitchfork and his wife with, I'm not sure what but lets just say a rolling pin.

Steve Weston had a few of the new Chintoys sets, I thought these were made in Russia but I'm told they're produced in Ukraine (I haven't checked this out), which makes me feel a lot easier about buying them.  These are the Saracen Warriors, beautiful sculpts but on the large side, about 57mm and chunky with a very thick base which makes them look more like 60mm figures.  

Steve also had sets of the new Gangsters and Police but I passed on them, again they are nice figures but not my thing and way to big to go with my existing Marx Untouchables figures.

This is my first 3d printed figure, another medieval peasant though not revolting this time, a forester with felled tree and chopped woodpile.  I guess this is the future of the hobby and it certainly opens up whole new possibilities, this figure is made by Warhorse Miniatures and came courtesy of Paul Stadinger who came over from USA.

Plastic Warrior Show 2023

 The PW Show has been running annually since 1985 (2 years COVID lockdown excepted), and on Saturday someone said to me "It pretty much runs itself now doesn't it".  Well, no it doesn't, there are always problems, there are so many things outside of our control, and the Gods love to have fun with mortals who make plans.  This year they had a lot of fun and we had a lot of challenges but the support and camaraderie of the enthusiasts who overcame the travel problems and turned up carried the day.  So if you were one of them, thank you, you're the ones who really make the show.

I always use the show as an opportunity to clear out stuff I no longer need, stuff that has sat in a cupboard unloved, unlooked at and unused for years.  I wanted it when I bought it, perhaps on a whim, or maybe for a project that never came to fruition (plenty of them!), some stuff was just picked up to save it from the skip or the ravages of tiny fingers, whatever.  

The important thing is that it gives someone else some pleasure in acquisition, takes up their storage space and ultimately becomes their problem.  It also frees up space in my cupboards and in my head for me to get more stuff.  This was my haul for the day (plus several bags of Hing Fat WW2 out of the pic), by coincidence I ended the day with as much cash in my pocket as I started it, so in my personal microeconomic view I got all this stuff for nothing.

This is the Garibaldi Red Shirt set made in Italy by Co-Ma, I've only been searching 40 years for them so I expect they'll be turning up all over the place now.  Very similar to Atlantic in style but a bit smaller at about 50mm tall, four of them should have muskets in black plastic, I'll give them Timpo ones.

I do like to see English cavalry in a pillbox cap, this composition figure was made in France by Bon Dufour, badly damaged but condition has never been an issue for me.

Some odds and ends for various collections, a couple of Natives from PZG of Poland, some composition figures gifted from Andreas Dittmann who came over with the collectors from Germany and some French infantry by Toumoulage that will find employment in the International Brigade for my Spanish Civil War project.

I usually try to get lots of photos of the tables to encourage more people to come to the show, this year I didn't really have time to wander around taking pics but here are a few bits that give a flavour of what it's all about.  

When I got home I took a few more pics of the stuff I bought and I'll try to get them posted up over the next few days.

Recent additions.

 A couple of hollowcast lead finds from last month's show in London, the bugler with articulated arm is marked Japan, the wounded man was made in England by Crescent.

Battle Cry Vitoria 2

 Here are the rest of the pictures I took of last year's game of Vitoria, which Anthony played using the Battle Cry rules system.

The Highlanders have pushed the French back across the River Zadorra and now prepare to cross in the face of opposition from an Italian regiment.

The French come under pressure in the centre.........

........while things go from bad to worse on their right flank.

The French take a hard pounding in the centre of the line......

.......and the Highlanders break through to isolate their right flank......

.......and as the Allies cross the river in force it's all over for the French.

I got along to the Spring Model Show yesterday, this is the rebranded name for the March event formerly known as the London toy Soldier Show.  There is still a hardcore of toy soldier dealers while the slack has been taken up by sellers of model kits and modelling materials, the later were doing a brisk trade and it is hoped that this shot in the arm will enable the event to continue, certainly there was a good stream of buyers coming in through the door.

I took the opportunity to stock up on acrylic paints made by ICM in the Ukraine and a few other bits which will no doubt find their way onto this page in due course.

Battle Cry Vitoria

 About this time last year Anthony and I played this game, based on the Battle of Vitoria in 1813, using the Battle Cry rules system.  With the passage of time I can't remember the details too well, suffice it to say that I commanded the French and took a good trouncing, so at least we managed to keep the correct historical perspective!  I did however take lots of pictures, so here over two post are lots of toy soldiers with few words to interrupt them.

The initial set up, the French defending behind a bend in the River Zadorra face the Britsh and Portuguese attack.

The allies move up through the woods to threaten the French left flank.......

........while the French have fortified a position on the north bank to protect the river crossing.

I think we found the scenario for this and numerous other Napoleonic battles on the Command & Colours website

Events in the real world coupled with domestic upheaval have taken their toll on my enthusiasm for the hobby this past twelve months.  I did continue to attend collectors events but the Central London Toy Soldier Show has never really recovered from the Covid lockdown and the affairs last June and December were so poorly supported I have nothing to report on them.  The Plastic Warrior show last May by contrast was something of celebration of the faithful with so many old familiar faces making an appearance and at some point I'll put up the photographs I took.