Some unprepossessing modern pound store plastic ‘penny’ figures (£1 for a tub of 100 or more recently 80 figures from Poundland) have proved great conversion potential for my skirmish games, at the slightly odd size of roughly 36mm.
Over the last few months I have been busy creating small skirmish forces of 25 to 30 figures a side for my portable hex game boards.
Strange modern Rambo-ish machine gunner figures become a set of Desert Warrior Spearman, to join my previous Desert Warrior riflemen shown here:
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2017/11/06/pound-store-desert-warrior-unit-completed/
Some work in progress / ‘how to’ photos about these figures are shown here:
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2017/12/12/work-in-progress-from-pound-store-plastic-rambos-to-spear-warriors/
It has been interesting comparing how many simple conversions are possible with these same 12 sometimes crudely moulded figures, explored in this blogpost:
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/pound-store-plastic-warrior-conversions-and-comparisons/
Some kilted Colonial Highlanders conversions to join my Redcoats, straight out of my favourite Carry On film, Carry On Up The Khyber with Private Jimmy Widdle of the 3rd Foot and Mouth, the ‘Devils in Skirts’ no less!
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/pound-store-plastic-carry-on-up-the-khyber-colonial-highlanders/
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2017/11/26/pound-store-plastic-colonial-infantry-on-the-painting-table/
Some figures become Boers, Cowboys or Confederates to complement my 19th Century Colonial conversions. The hats? Label or paper hole reinforcers.
The same figures can be painted and converted into many different figures, like this versatile rifleman. This was another of the figures that attracted me to these pound store figure tubs.
And finally, a host of Little Green Men in orange and gold space suits to take on my silver and blue Space Marines
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/little-green-men-pound-store-plastic-space-warriors/
Coming soon to a hex game board near me …
Blog posted by Mark, Man of TIN, featuring posts from his Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog, 28 January 2018
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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 ...
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Man of Tin blog 
Excellent progress Mark! The Highlanders are fantastic, and I really like the Boers too. Very creative use of hole-reinforcing things.
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MJT
It’s been great fun although I wouldn’t want to make hundreds of the more fiddly ones. Fine for small Skirmish units or forces.
Mark, Man of TIN
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Very Impressive. You need to find a few horses now. Some of those pound store figures look !like they could sit a horse and become officers and cavalry. I think those Toob horses might be the right size.
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Doug I have a few 40mm Zinnbrigade cavalry horses that I will try out with the pound store figures. They might be slightly oversize of these 36/37mm figures. If they work, the homecast moulds are still available. Sadly The Toob Horses have no saddles. Mark Man of TIN
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I usually carve the figure’s inside legs and/or the horses back to fit, then use a drill to fix the figure to the horse with a length of wire.
I build up a “saddle” around the figure with plasticine.
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Thanks for the tips – I used to dislike Airfix cavalry figures for this fiddly fixing reason. I have also seen an unsaddled standing 40mm HE homecast horse or foal on the Prince August website which may be suitable.
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