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Toy Soldier Collector New Releases Part 2 January 2013

New Releases Part 2

January 2013
Reviews of new metal figures to arrive in the hobby by Martin Ainscough

Little Legion
Sudan & Zulu War

As ever Mike Norris at Little Legion had a large array of new releases to tempt prospective collectors, not to mention a number of special commissions to be picked up by fans of the Little Legion mark when the London Show made its debut at its new venue back in December. Unfortunately the vast amount of releases from Little Legion on show are too numerous to fit into the pages of this issue of TSC, but no doubt most if not all will be covered in due course as we go through 2013.

The sets covered below are therefore just a snap shot of what Mike had on offer on the day, but I am sure that there will be something of interest to collectors of the periods in question and traditional gloss painted toy soldiers.

First up are a couple of new additions to Mike’s stalwart range covering the Zulu War which without fail features members of the 24th Foot desperately defending their position in the face of overwhelming odds from the advancing mass of the Zulu nation. A set of three members of the 24th foot stand ready to meet the imminent assault from the enemy head on. These figures are as one now expects from figures produced by Little Legion, well sculpted and painted to a high standard in the instantly recognisable style that has become one of Mike Norris’ trademarks. While two comrades cock their rifles ready for the command to fire an individual that has obviously been wounded in a previous clash, hence the blood stained bandage on his head braces himself for what the next few minutes might inflict on the three of him. This set is priced at £34.75 plus the usual post and packing charges applied.

The Final Act is yet another one of Mike’s excellently posed two figure vignettes and depicts a floored member of the 24th Foot desperately trying to despatch a Zulu warrior before he himself gets despatched! Again the collector is left to decide for themselves whether the Zulu is responsible for depositing his enemy on the floor or whether either of these adversaries will survive this episode or not. At a cost of £23.50 this particular two piece set would be a good addition to any diorama display of the period or would be equally at home if displayed on its own.

The next sets are all from a relatively new range for Little Legion and feature the forces from the Sudan War period. A couple of years ago now I stated that I thought the common theme for new releases across the hobby would be camels and while that was partly true Mike has been one producer who has continued to release camel related figures on a regular basis since then. It should therefore not be a surprise to learn that two more camels have joined the Sudan war catalogue in the form of a medical supply camel and camel corps handler which is complimented by an ammunitions camel complete with a guard’s camel corps handler. These ships of the desert are beautifully sculpted and give even more scope to the diorama options available for this particular period. Both of the loads are detachable, which again gives extra options when it comes to displaying these figures. Both camels are priced at £35, again plus post and packing.

Continuing the Sudan theme a number of sets have been released that feature The Madras Pioneers. The first set features six figures on the run and consists of an Officer and five ‘Ordinary’ ranks and is priced at £69.50. Further sets featuring the regiment in many other positions including standing or kneeling ready to fire, loading, prone firing and advancing are also available. Pictured here are a set of three standing ready to fire at a cost of £34.75 together with a set of three standing ready and three kneeling figures at the ready priced at £69.50. Again, with so many variations being available multiple displays of these figures can be achieved relatively easily.

Contact Mike to discuss any other possible combinations of these figures or just to discuss that one off special commission that you desire to add to your collection as you will find that he is very receptive to your ideas and will, if at all possible, try to accommodate your wishes.

Review by Martin Ainscough

Contact:
Little Legion
7 Albert Road
Penarth
Vale of Glamorgan
CF64 1BX
Tel: 02920 704331
http://www.littlelegion.co.uk

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