Blurry

Thanks for the well wishes on my recent surgery. It really wasn't much of a surgery, but it was a surgery, including post-op drugs and everything. On wednesday I had corrective eye surgery done. Everything is still a bit blurry, but I'm healing nicely and should have 20/20 vision within the end of the month. This wasn't Lasik, but rather a process known as PKR... or PRK... I kind of forget which. So, I can drive and walk up stairs, but reading is rather tough right now. Being a Librarian, reading is one of those necessary things, so, don't expect stellar reference service at the Tipton County Public Library for a few weeks.

And I'll have some updated pictures of my room sometime soon. All the wallpaper is gone!! Three walls are painted and complete. Only one wall remains. Then I can put my colllection back in order.

Off to check the Internet for any news on toy soldiers, that's if my eyes don't give out first.

On The Horizon...

You can check out TSSD's Coming Attractions page to see news about Pegasus figures and a teaser for the next TSSD figure set. I ain't gonna lie, TSSD's figures are top notch, and I have and will continue to buy every set. The release date they mentioned was Memorial Day weekend, to coincide with the Texas Show. Hopefully the fates are with them and delays are avoided.

I keep checking the Conte website, but nothing has been posted recently about the plastic Spartans. The site has been focused on the new Zulu range, which I assume will be done in metal. I'll just have to settle for watching 300 again to get my Spartan fix.

Still haven't seen the new 21st Century American Arty or Chinese figures at my Wal-Mart yet, and they are usually right on top of things. They have a TON of the 1/18th sized Platoon figures. When I was a kid, I loved my G.I. Joe figures, and still have most of them. I always wanted actual historical soldier figures made, and now they finally are, but I just can't get interested in them. I'm sure it's my problem, and not the figures, because they are pretty cool, just not within my collecting parameters.

I'm also looking forward to the Weston Mexican Bandits. I liked their cowboys a lot, and coupled with the Barzso Fortified Hacienda set, it makes for a pretty good Old West Shootout. Now I just need those Mexican Bandits to spice things up.

If my postings are few and far between for the next few days, it's because I'm going in for surgery on Wednesday (nothing serious). Also, my home Internet is down... its an intriguing story involving a lovely lady and her garden tiller... but it's cool. Because of the surgery, I'll be worthless for a few days anyway, so having Internet wouldn't be helpful, so of all times for it to go down, this is the perfect time.

The Shelves Go Up!

And the Shelves Go Up!!! Finally! Now, this is just one wall done. Below you'll see the next wall that we need to tackle. Stuff moved, wallpaper stripped, painting... blarg. But it'll look good once it's done. You can see my little shrine to Star Wars there. Hopefully the posters will be able to be relocated to a new side of the room. I'd hate to roll em' up and put em' in storage.

While emptying out some drawers that I haven't opened up for a couple of years, I stumbled upon my Gummi Army Men. It's crazy what you feel the need to keep around.

One wall is almost done

We're gettin' close to havin' one wall complete. Once we got the wallpaper off, we painted it a nice blue color. Then we went out and bought the shelves, tracks, and brackets tonight. As you can see in the picture below, the plan is to have 3 tracks that mount seven shelves, about ten inches apart, stretching from the corner to the window. The shelves are 73 inches long. So thats 511 inches of soldier space I'm going to have on that wall. The idea is to do the same thing on the opposite wall, but we haven't quite got to it yet... still have to strip the wallpaper. We're just doing one wall at a time. My wife is a real trooper, but she actually enjoys this type of thing.

And thanks for the tip about the wall steamer. Saved me HOURS!!

Home Improvement / Manny the Dog

My wife had an idea for my room. It involves new shelving, a new paint job, some curtains, some display nooks, and.... taking down the old wallpaper. I think it's really gonna look good once it's done, but for now, it looks like a disaster area. And stripping wallpaper is an awful, awful chore.

And of course, with all my former shelves gone, there ain't much room for my stuff, so a bunch of it is simply living on my display table for now.

And on a different note, you may remember my dog Manny. Well, instead of him chewing on something, this time something chewed on him. Yesterday, an unleashed Rottweiler got ahold of him. My wife, being the loving dog mother that she is, actually wrestled the Rottweiler until it let go of Manny, but not before it added a few new holes too him. We took him to the Pet Emergency Center and they put a staple in his side. He's doing pretty good right now, being doped up on Pain meds, and pretty much sleeping the day away. But it was a close call!! Don't underestimate the tenacity of a Poodle or the craziness of a dog lover (thankfully the Rottweiler didn't turn on her!!!).

21st Century, Bringin' it

My assumptions that the 21st Century Chinese might not make it to market have proven totally wrong. Some of you pointed out that a few dealers are now carrying them, plus, they are showing up on Ebay. And not just the Chinese, but a few sets of the American Arty crew have been available on Ebay in playset form. I've yet to see any of this new stuff at my local Wally World. Rock on 21st Century.

The Barzso Inn

As promised, here are a couple pictures of the new Barzso Inn. You can see how it matches the style of the other townhouse, just larger, and a bit more detailed. The third picture shows off some of my new Barzso casualties that I got.

Creating the WORST figure ever

I've talked about good figures, pointing out such things as dynamic poses, crisp sculpting, unique topics, ect. ect. ect. But what about the things that bring a figure down? You know, those unsightly aspects of these special little figures that we wish we could change. So lets for a minute imagine that we were setting out to make the WORST toy soldier ever. How would we do it?

1. Claim they are 1/32, but make sure they are way too small or way to big to be used with other figures.

2. Make sure that they are packaged using those plasticy wire wraps that Forces of Valor uses, making it impossible to get them out of the box. Man, everybody loves those.

3. If the army wore Red uniforms, make sure you only offer them in Blue.

4. Make sure at least one figure in the set is not capable of standing on it's own.

5. All pistols should be sculpted to look like bananas.

6. Gumby cartoons should be your standard anatomy reference.

7. Each set should contain 1 shooter, and 5 mine sweepers.

8. Make sure to choose a really popular topic, such as the Guelph-Ghibelline War.

9. Give all your figures smiles.

10. People should have to ask "is that a spyglass, or a rifle?"

Can ya think of anymore?

Indy Show, New Barzso stuff, and.... Schleich Smurfs

As always, the Indy show was a ton of fun. I enjoyed talking with several other collectors and meeting some new people. My wife, mom, and my dad all went with me, and each of them found something they needed. My dad is into the Britains Civil War figures, my mom found some TimMee animals that she used to have, and my wife found out that Schleich makes .... Smurfs. I have a feeling that our house will soon be invaded by those evil little blue creatures. I always sympathized with Gargamel.

My purchases included the new Inn that Ron Barzso brought with him, the smaller townhouse that goes with the castle, and a couple sets of his Civil War casualty figures. I also picked up a Plastic Underground figure, who belongs in the Alamo, but will probably find himself in Confederate ranks.

One new piece that really caught my eye was the Barzso river. They had some all painted up and set up with their castle display. Rivers have always been hard to do for non-diorama builders like myself, and these would really help a guy out. They sell unpainted for $20, and you can buy a couple different types to make any shaped river you need. It beats using a strip of old blue material that you stole out of your wife's sewing basket.

I'll try to post some pictures of the Barzso Inn either tonight or tomorrow. It really is a nice looking piece, and would work great in all sorts of European settings. It matches the style of the castle townhouse.

Rule #1 for toy soldier shows: If you see something that you want, and it only costs $1, I don't care what it is, GET IT. It WILL NOT be there when you go back.

Sales and New 21st Century

Thanks to the person who left a comment about the Conte sale! Buy 1 get 2 free on plastic blister cards. So, if you need to stock up a crazy amount of Mexicans, G.I.s, or Civil War troops, nows the time.

Looks like we'll be having some new 21st Century Allied crewmen available before too long. I never did get the Long Tom or the Howitzer, but not for lack of wanting. I've really enjoyed 21st Century's latest infantry figures, being able to buy them in the three packs. It's kind of fun seeing all the different packs hanging on the pegs. I just wish they had a more varied selection at any given time.

I still haven't seen the 21st Century Chinese figures anywhere yet. Could it be possible that there wasn't enough interest shown, and they may never see the light of day? Now, I ain't saying I wouldn't have bought them, because I would have, or should I say, I will when they are released. But I can't imagine many people chompin' at the bit to start their Chinese Army collection. I think I've said it before, I love the fact that 21st Century is willing to do something outside of the box. I wish they could do more unique subjects. I guess that's why I'm not the CEO of a some major toy company.