RLS – Martial Elegy for Some Lead Soldiers

Posted on by 26soldiersoftin

RLS Robert Louis Stevenson, taken from the “Stevenson at Play” magazine article by Lloyd Osbourne, 1898.

Published by 26soldiersoftin

Hello I'm Mark Mr MIN, Man of TIN. Based in S.W. Britain, I'm a lifelong collector of "tiny men" and old toy soldiers, whether tin, lead or childhood vintage 1960s and 1970s plastic figures. I randomly collect all scales and periods and "imagi-nations" as well as lead civilians, farm and zoo animals. I enjoy the paint possibilities of cheap poundstore plastic figures as much as the patina of vintage metal figures. Befuddled by the maths of complex boardgames and wargames, I prefer the small scale skirmish simplicity of very early Donald Featherstone rules. To relax, I usually play solo games, often using hex boards. Gaming takes second place to making or convert my own gaming figures from polymer clay (Fimo), home-cast metal figures of many scales or plastic paint conversions. I also collect and game with vintage Peter Laing 15mm metal figures, wishing like many others that I had bought more in the 1980s ...

2 thoughts on “RLS – Martial Elegy for Some Lead Soldiers”

  1. I love the idea of a commemorative poem for someone’s toy soldiers! Mind you, can you imagine most wargamers these days risking their prize figures by actually firing things at them?!
    I well remember shooting at unloved airfix 1:32 figures in the garden with an air pistol in the early 1970s – but they would probably be considered vintage collectibles these days – let alone what the health and safety mob would have to say….

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    1. Ian
      Many are the confessional tales of Airfix abuse of kits and figures in blogs and Harry Pearson’s Achtung Schweinhund. Better in some ways this quick death than to slowly crumble away. Old toy soldiers never die, they slowly oxidise or deplasticise and snap at the knees …

      I like the idea of a commemorative poem in place of a game report, if you could only strangle the rhymes into submission. On second thoughts …

      Best wishes, Mark, Man of TIN blog

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