Toy Soldier Collector

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

October 2013
Hornung book

Bob Hornung was one of America’s most respected producers of miniature heraldic knights, therefore it should come as no surprise that a book has just been released by author Philip Bennett which features ten chapters including a history of Bob Hornung and his company, Hornung Art, and also features chapters on the various ranges of Bob's knights and accessories.

The book is a hard cover US size/format of 8.5 inches by 11 inches and has 125 pages with over 250 photos. Although I’ve yet to see a copy personally, if this book is full of colour photos of Bob’s work, like those shown here, then for the price of $75 (plus shipping outside of the US) it will be well worth adding to your toy soldier library. For further information visit www.lordtankervillesknights.com

Below: Book 1 AND 2) The type of imagery found within the new book Hornung Art by Philip Bennett

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

July 2013
Noticeboard

The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby
Large or small

When I was at the last show in London I was tackled by the Whites (the father and son duo that own and operate Scarlet and Gold) about why we don’t feature more of their work. I was a little surprised by this, mainly because we have featured their work a number of times before. However that said we don’t feature S&G as much as many other makers for one reason, size.

For those of you that don’t know S&G figures are 40mm rather than our hobbies preferred 54-60mm. Personally I don’t have an issue with 40mm figures although we don't usually ‘review’ them as it wouldn’t be fair for me to start comparing the sculpting on these figures to the more standard sized figures as no matter how good the sculptor the detailing will never be as good. So my question is this, what is our readers view (in other words you reading this), would you like more reviews of smaller scale figures or would you prefer I just briefly mention S&G (and any other smaller scale makers) in here in the new section? Please write in and let me know.

And for more information on the S&G range, including the new sets shown here, go to: homepage.ntlworld.com/glenn.turner/ or call 01252 622604.

MG_3573 & 5) The latest 40mm scale releases from Scarlet & Gold

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

Tony Burley is best known for his figures depicting the scouting movement throughout history however he broke with tradition at the March show and was offering something completely different. First up was a classic looking rickshaw, useful for an Empire themed civilian display (£45) and secondly was a pair of boxers (£25).

National Army Museum event

The NAM are holding a special toy soldier weekend on July 27th and 28th, as with the museum itself, the event is free to get in and will feature displays as well as, I believe, a number of makers/traders being in attendance (I know W. Britain are definitely going to be there). So if you live in, or close to, London then it’ll no doubt be a worthwhile trip.
For further information visit:

www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/events/toy-soldier-weekend

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

March 2013
Tinplate models

Through my 'proper' job I was lucky enough to go to the Canton Fair in China late last year. This twice yearly event features makers from all over the Far East selling everything imaginable.
Whilst there I came across a stand by a company called R&D Company who specialise in the manufacture of tinplate toys/models, although not relevant for my day job I had a quick look around and grabbed a copy of their catalogue as the models on show were so good.

They literally make hundred, if not thousands of different items from push bikes to tanks to planes, many of which are military themed and look about the size for us toy soldier collectors.
I didn’t see prices, and I suspect they are only interested in trade/bulk orders but hopefully our retailers who read the magazine might get in touch and start stocking some of these models as I believe they’d sell rather well in our hobby if the price is right.

News item by Mark Avery

Contact:
R&D Company Limited (Changchun)
Room 1003 Shenghao Building
5445 Linhe Street CETDZ
Changchun
China 130033
Tel: +86 431 81970802
Email: kdaccc@vip.sina.com

R&D1 and R&D2) Just one the planes and tanks made by R&D Company in China

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

January 2013
Eighth Winter gathering for Britains faithful

Can it really have been a whole year since members of the W. Britain Collectors Club gathered in Central London to celebrate the forward march of England’s oldest toy soldier maker?

The venue for the eighth winter gathering on November 30, 2012 was once again the Victory Services Club near Marble Arch and visitors were treated to another enjoyable evening of military history, world-beating figures and insights into the future direction of the company.

Centre stage in the club’s Carisbrooke Suite was a Vickers .303 machine gun of WWI vintage and on hand to discuss its deadly effectiveness were re-enactors dressed as British and German troops from the Great War.

After club members had enjoyed some delicious hot canapés and a drink or two, W. Britain General Manager Richard Walker thanked them for their enduring loyalty to the iconic Britains brand. He admitted 2012 had been challenging at times in some markets as a result of prevailing macro economic conditions, but reassured his guests that new horizons and exciting new developments for the company would come into focus in 2013.

The audience also heard from W. Britain Brand manager, Malcolm Watson, who assured assembled guests that the company will strive to hit published release dates for new figures as it brings exciting new collectables onto the market.

News item by George Phillips

Photo: Club members mingle at the Victory Services Club

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News for plastic collectors from Mike Blake

November 2012
Expeditionary Force

Makers of prepainted 40mm figures, this Singapore based company has now ventured into 54mm too. First up are some ACW figures, infantry, cavalry and artillery. Test shots show they are comparable in size to Accurate, Imex and Marx. The photo was taken on some of the test shots on Steve Weston’s stand at the Birmingham Toy Soldier show. Full review as soon as I have samples. It’s not entirely clear whether they will be available painted and/or unpainted.

Contact:
Expeditionary Force
Alexandra PO Box 70
Singapore 911503

http://www.expeditionaryforce.com.sg

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

October 2012
W. Britain news

The folks at W. Britain, in both the UK and US, have been keeping themselves pretty busy over the past couple of months. Firstly in the US there was the sad news that the Military History Weekend that W. Britain has organised for a few years was cancelled due to venue issues, the good news is just before going to press we learnt that the show was back on at the new venue of the Holiday Inn Patriot in Williamsburg and as with previous years it will run over the weekend of October 13 and 14, 2012.
For further information on the event simply visit
www.militaryhistoryweekend.com
In addition to the show W. Britain will be holding a special Club Event on the Saturday evening.

Back on this side of the Atlantic the UK distributor for W. Britain, Bachmann Europe, have been busy preparing for the London Collector Event which takes place on the evening of Friday November 30, 2012, the night before the London Show, at the Victory Services Club in, of course, London.

Tickets for both special evening events are now on sale
(visit www.wbritaincollectorsclub.com for further details),
and as each event has a limited amount of tickets you better order early if you want to attend or get your hands on either of the special figures that come with a ticket.

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W. Britain news

August 2012
W. Britain retailer exclusive

At the recent London show new European distributor Bachmann certainly showed they meant business at the June London show by putting on a huge display of new figures and sets from the recent W. Britain catalogues including the striking Zulu War gun limber and 1916 Somme range.
Also on show, and released just in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics were these two new W. Britain London themed gift sets. Ordinarily TSC doesn’t cover the ‘tourist’ ranges W. Britain put out as it is a vastly different market, however as this year is such an important one for the UK, and the fact that the oldest name in toy soldiers is trying to push our hobby in front of a few thousand more people who will be in our capital this summer I thought it only right they were given a mention.

The first set, aptly named the ‘London Gift Set’, includes a figure of a Blues and Royals (mounted), Lifeguard (mounted), a Beefeater and a Scots Guard and is priced at £34.99/$60. The other set, simply called ‘The Guards Boxed Set’ features a single figure representing the five Guards regiments: Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh and is priced at £29.99/$55. I just hope these sell well for WB and encourage a few more people to discover our hobby.

Final news for fans of W. Britain who didn’t make it to London, but live in the Evesham area, is that Bachmann will be having a WB open day at retailer Magpie (Manchester House) Ltd on September 8, 2012, between 10am and 4pm (see Magpie’s advert in this issue for full address details).

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

June 2012
W. Britain retailer exclusive

W. Britain limited editions have always been popular, and since First Gear took over the company in 2005 even more so. Every time a new limited edition figure is released it sells out almost immediately so it was interesting to receive the latest issue of The Standard (the W. Britain Collectors Club magazine) and come across an advert for a new WWI limited edition which has been made exclusively for retailer The Card Box. The set features two Tommies carrying their Vickers 303 Mk1 into the action. A great looking set and priced at £59.99 (plus P&P) offers good value for money.

Contact:

The Card Box
Unit 8 Greevegate
Hunstanton
Norfolk
PE36 6BJ

Tel: 01485 534466
www.britains-soldiers.com

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The latest news from the global toy soldier hobby

March 2012
W. Britain European distribution

News arrived with us at the end of January concerning W. Britain and its UK operation. Since First Gear bought the famous company back in 2005 it had its own UK operation which was based in Luffenham, Leicestershire.
It appears the company has now decided to streamline its UK/European operation whilst also hopefully expanding its market share by using a well established distributor, Bachmann Europe.

Graham Hubbard, MD of Bachmann Europe stated “Bachmann is absolutely thrilled with this opportunity, the esteemed W. Britain brand fits beautifully with our other classic British brands such as Graham Farrish and dovetails nicely with our existing sales and marketing focus and philosophy.”
For those of you who have not heard of the company Bachmann Europe is a well established manufacturer and distributor of train and related hobby products in the UK and Europe which prides itself on excellent customer service.
As of the date of the press release, January 30, Bachmann Europe Plc has taken over the distribution of all W. Britain products in the UK and Continental Europe, however W. Britain remains wholly owned and operated by First Gear, its parent company since 2005 and this is not a change of ownership.

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