Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year!

 Another year is just about done, and I hope you all have a safe and happy one.

Just don’t over do the punch…

Here’s a few toys I’ve done, all ancients this time.

First up some Romans, mostly Airfix with new bingo chip shields. The originals went astray and I bought these guys sans scutum. I love those old Giant officer figures.

Next up is more Marx Madness. Captain Gallant figures manning Airfix Roman chariots as Persians, and some Persian cavalry from Giant knights.

And finally, a work in progress from a quarter century ago. Spartan hoplites from Marx Captain Gallant figures with plasticene shields, helmets and cloaks. The spears are florist wire and pop off if handled too much, so I made a special box just for them to be stored in. 

Well that’s it this time. Best wishes for the New Year!

Just A Curiosity

I recently was looking in a Dollar Store when I spied these:

It immediately reminded me of the Games Workshop 6 x 4 foot battle terrain they were selling a while back. I toyed with the idea but passed, as they were over $300.
But these are cheap!

So I bought a few and went home.
Here is what they are:

Sadly though, there is only one pattern. I was hoping there were a selection of three or four styles.
So these 1 foot by 1 foot plastic tiles are somewhat limited.
Anyway, I painted a couple just to see:

A basic desert sand being over ridden by my Caesar Hittites.
And a verdant green:

This time topped with some large 1/72 scale Romans, copies of Elastolin I think. Here's another shot, basic paint job with miracle dip.





Well that's it. A shame there aren't other terrain variations, it has potential beyond the price (less than $2 each). I had envisioned mounting 4 on a cardboard base and using putty or plasticene to smooth over the joins.

My Myceneans, Well..., Not Really Mine

Years ago there was quite a source of 20mm figures showing up on ebay fom a place in Sarasota Florida.
I bid on many of the items and managed to land a few. Those little mounted knights from Scruby were among my successes.
Well I won this lot, and set them aside and by passed them.
I was snooping downstairs when I rediscovered them and brought them up to base and finish.

The owner/creator referred to the figures as 26mm. What they are in fact are home cast copies of the Giant ancient Romans, which were themselves tiny copies of larger 54mm English made plastic figures.

There are some 200 miniatures, almost all are painted and are rather clever adaptations of the Giant figures.
A quick look at Peter Connolly's book "Greek Armies" shows the similarities:

Not too bad for homecast figures.

There are a few partially painted figures and some that are obviously personality/hero figures:

Also included in the lot were these Egyptian figures. A close inspection of the shield shows hieroglyphics on the shield with a peep hole near the top:

All in all a nice selection of toys that will fit in well with Atlantic/Nexus Greeks and Trojans.

I've also been up to other things. Here's a few pix:

English Civil War Regiments from various manufacturers.

A Hinchliffe French Marshal.
and  finally a project that never really got off the ground, the US/Mexican war. Plasticine conversions of cowboys on recast Giant horses.

The large bases are for hex boards I've been toying with.

Comic Book Toy Soldiers: Lucky Toys 104 King's Knights Set

This is another post detailing some of the comic book toy soldiers that were available long ago. Well, maybe not THAT long ago. I have to say that I never saw these ads in the comics I was buying:

They were made by the same people who made the flat Lucky 204 Revolutionary War Soldier Set and the Lucky flat Romans. These figures are similar in that the foot soldiers are a larger size than the cavalry. Here's the original box that also served as the mailer:

As you can see it is very similar to the box the 132 Roman Soldiers were packaged in. Once opened the contents were jumbled together:

The ad says you receive the following:

4 Kings on Horseback
12 Knights in armor on horseback with pikes
12 knights on horseback with banners
4 Buglers afoot
12 Knights on horseback with battle axes
20 Foot soldiers with Maces and side swords
20 Foot soldiers with swords and shields
20 Foot soldiers with long bows

The soldiers were divided equally into black and white pieces. Unlike the Roman set, there are no catapults or devices to knock them down. The set I possess is made of a very hard plastic, the detail is crisp and only some of the mounted knights' "pikes" have been damaged by handling over time. Also my set is incomplete, it is missing a few figures.

The 4 kings:

12 Knights in armor on Horseback with pikes (lances)

12 Knights on horseback with Banners

4 Buglers afoot

12 Knights on horseback with battle axes

20 Foot soldiers with Maces and side swords

20 Foot soldiers with swords and shields

20 Foot soldiers with long bows

All set up they look impressive:

As for the scale, the foot soldiers are the same size as the flat Romans, just over an inch and a half tall and too large to fit in with smaller plastics. The cavalry is the same size as the Roman cavalry and a suitable fit with modern 1/72 figures, albeit rather thin. Here's a picture showing the size differences between Airfix and Strelets 1/72 figures and these:

These figures are very nice, they have flat bases but they are susceptible to sudden domino like collapses if the table they are on is bumped.