Indy Show

The Indianapolis Toy Soldier was yesterday and I was able to attend and take some pictures, though not as many as I should have. I did see Jim, the photographer for the Indy page for Playset Magazine, taking lots of pictures, so be sure to check out that site for more photos.

I did take some pictures of Ron Barzso's display table and the new foam Blockhouse that is now available to go along with his new fort. It is an excellent piece. I probably should have gotten two of them. They even give you the option to name your fort by custom carving your name onto a plaque that fits onto the front of the Fort. "Fort Beau". Hmmm... sounds French.

There were several cool items at the show, and several familiar faces. They even opened up an extra room to accomodate some extra vendors. Not sure if there were actually more vendors, or the extra room simply allowed them to spread out a bit more. It did seem as though the crowds were down a bit, but I was not there the whole time, so I probably didn't have a good feel for it.

I spent most of my time rummaging through the 50 cent and dollar buckets as usual looking for odd or unusual pieces, or simply poses to finish out collections. I came home with about 60 Marx Knights that I truly didn't need, and some reverse colored marx Yankees. As always it was a fun show, and as always, I managed to spend all my money.

Hat Napoleonic Range

First I moved all my ESCI Napoleonics off my shelf. Then went the Call to Arms Cavalry back into the box. Finally, I moved all my Airfix, Timpo, and Italeri Napoleonics into the closet. I was done. Napoleonics just weren't my thing....And then Hat has to start coming out with awesome sets like this!!

The sculpting is crisp and the poses are life-like. Does anyone know whether these fall into 1/35, traditional 1/32, or the new larger 1/32? Hat seems pretty determined to put together a pretty stunning range of 1/32 Napoleonics. It's really what the era needed after being just touched on by so many different companies through the years.

Indianapolis Show, 2009

We're getting closer to the Indianapolis Show. As posted on the Hobby Bunker forum, here is a link to see pictures from past shows and a vendor list for this year. The show is always a lot of fun, and Mr. Barzso's display is always fantastic. No indication that there will be "new" product there, but you never know. I can't make it to the Saturday room trading because of a prior commitment (I'm going to have paintballs shot at me), but I'm sure that whatever cash I save myself because of missing the room trading, I'll spend at the Sunday show.

Yes, paintball. I've played before. Several years ago. It was 4 hours of lying prone on the ground cursing the fogged mask that obscured my vision. I managed to never get hit by getting lost and wandering off the battlefield. Not only did I not get hit, I never even fired a shot!!! Hopefully this weekend I'll fare a bit better. So if I show up at the show on Sunday, obviously sore, you'll know why.

Conte "Scotland the Brave" set at TSSD

This is very cool. I haven't seen many pictures or ever knew much about this set, besides the fact that it was a very early set by Mr. Conte, and that the figures were done in resin. TSSD has a supersized version for sale at their site. For you deep pocketed collectors, might just be the thing you're looking for.

Rock on!

Tim-Mee Antique Store Find

Stephanie and I went antique shopping yesterday and I came home with a few more troops. You can see that these are the Tim-Mee Vietnam era figures. The nice things about these two are that they from the earlier sets that still included both the grenade thrower (instead of simply waving) and the marching figure. Notice on the marching figure that the tip of the rifle is still attached. I have several with the rifle tip broken off. I got the whole bag for $5. As I've probably mentioned before, these are the figures that I grew up with, and thus, have a special place in my collecting heart. I got more than I know what to do with, but I'm always on the hunt for them.

A Box Too Far

Now, I know I ain't no big time playset collector, and that most of you could fill a garage with your playset boxes. And, that may be the answer to my question, but what I want to know is... WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ALL THOSE BOXES?? I mean, I ain't going to throw them away. They are way too cool and decorated for that. And maybe most of ya'll keep the actual set in the box. Not me. I have the actual contents out on display most of the time. So I'm left with this stack of boxes that is difficult to find storage for. Ah, the difficulties of toy soldier collecting.

Take Command: 2nd Manassas PC game

I'm always interested in finding new computer games, and I've found one that had me up playing it till about 2:00 am last night. It's called Take Command: 2nd Manassas. It's a real-time strategy game, based in a 3D world. Some would probably find it terribly boring, but if you're into "Napoleonic" tactics, including battle lines, formations, wheels, blah blah blah, you'd probably enjoy this. Here's a link to their website with a free demo of it, which is all I've gotten so far.

New Info for The Plains Wars

Check out TSSD's latest offering here. I'm really digging how they are presenting this. You can tell, simply from the page and the bits of history given, that they are excited about this range, and in turn that gets me excited.

For me, unless I am intriqued by the history of it, I usually can't get excited about the figures. Take Napoleonics for example. I've never done much studying on the era. I'm sure if I would, the history would get to me and I would start buying figures left and right. But as it is, I'm fairly "meh" on the subject.

The old west has always been a little off my radar as well, but a simple "teaser" page like what TSSD put up is enough to get me started. I find myself doing an Internet search on Kit Carson and Santanta, reading up on the different Native American tribes, figuring out how Native Americans waged war against each other, and how they fought the U.S. army. And once I'm that far into, it's becomes a certainty that the Toy Soldiers are going to find a place in my collection.

So rock on to TSSD, and I'm hoping this range proves to be lucrative for them. And thanks again for lowering the price point to $16!! How awesome is that?

TSSD Indians and Plains Wars figures

Nick has posted that he's going to be putting a page on his site devoted to the new Plains Wars series they are undertaking. There are some pictures of the Indians over at the Treefrog Treasures website forum as well. They look awesome, which doesn't surprise me.

One nice aspect of this set, at least in my opinion, is that there are only six figures. Now I know that in this hobby, less is less and more is more, but in these tough economic times, and jobs are becoming a real issue for folks, putting out these smaller sets will help people be able to afford their favorite toys. Prices haven't been announced yet, but with prices going up all over the place, I'd assume that the $20 per bag of 16 figures is a thing of the past. Now if you are like me, $20 has always been a serious chunk, and laying down more than that really tears at your insides. Again, I'm not sure what Nick's prices are going to be, but personally, I'll gladly take these smaller sets at a more affordable prices.

Looking foward to seeing what the Plains War playset is going to look like!

Conte Posting

A HUGE new posting over at the Conte main site. It gives some reasons why releases have been slow, and seems to indictate a steadier schedule in the future. And, most meaningful to me, and I'm sure a few of you, it does throw a tidbit in there about Plastic Immortals, which in my view, lets us know that they are still in the plans. The amount of teaser pictures thrown in there should be enough to get anyone excited about the future of Conte products. Wild West, Scottish Independence, FFL, and some dude in a loin cloth. Fun times to be sure.

Mr. Conte can stir up this hobby like no one else, and I'm wishing him best of luck with his move and all of his new product. And after the seeming demise of 21st Century, it makes me appreciate the manufacturers that we have all that much more. Between Conte, TSSD, Ron Barzso, Steve Weston, Hat, Italeri, AIP, Pegasus, and the several others, we can continue to grow our crazy and obsessive collections.

Hey, are there any pictures of those new TSSD Indians anywhere online yet?

New TSSD Set

Some news from the TSSD website... Looks like Plains Indian Warriors will be their next set. They will be showing test shots at the West Coast show, with the rest of the figures showing up in April. Very cool. Hopefully some pictures start showing up soon. If anybody sees some anywhere on the net, please let me know.

Airfix Italians 1/32 scale

A real nice find on ebay right now. It's a 28 figure box of Airfix Italian 1/32 figures. Not easy to find, and not been recast. I'd assume the mold is lost or damaged, though I don't know for sure. As I'm writing this, the price is at $27, which in my humble opinion, ain't bad for box and figures. The seller is Conte, so you know it's coming from a reputable source. Just thought I'd throw it out there, in case anyone has been on the hunt for these.

Marx Gung Ho Commando Outfit

I was so born in the wrong decade. The best part is that Machine Gun! GUNG HO!!

West Coaster

The big West Coast show is almost here, and as always, it's a bit out of my range to attend. But it should be awesome. Reading TSSD's page, I saw that they were going to have "test shots" of their new set there, and that they should be available by April 1st. Awesome. I haven't seen any indication of what the set might be, but one can assume that it will be well worth the price of admission.

Those of you that take awesome pictures of your toy soldiers... I appreciate your skill. My pictures come out blurry and just plain awful. I'm thinking I need a tripod to steady my hand. And some sort of lighting besides the ole' ceiling fan light. Anyway, was playing with my Spartans again last night.