The “Don’t Tell Him Pikes” – The first of the Bluecoats or Trained Band reinforcements for the Elizabethan Muster (Militia or Arma-Dad’s Army Home Guard) to see off the Spanish Armadas land invasion threat.
“They don’t like it up ’em!” “Show em the cold steel!” Says Mister Jones ye Butcher.
Also available for the English Civil War 50 years later … and for The Napoleon of Notting Hill 1904/ 1984.
Crossposted by Mark Man of TIN from my Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog:
Childishly delighted to see that Airfix are rereleasing six boxes of their classic 1:32 / 54mm scale WW2 figures in Summer 2021 – maybe in time for the 80th anniversaries of WW2 events over the next few years?
The 1960s beach buggy in 1:32 is available again – amphibious assault vehicle?
These classic 1:32 figures will be as welcome to military modellers, collectors and diorama makers as to 54mm Wargamers.
The 1:32 British Infantry set – different figures from the 1:72 scale ones
14 figure for £9.00 is a good deal these days, 64pence each compared to 8 Chintoys figures for £25 at £3 ish each, although Steve Weston Plastic Soldiers WW2 British are a very good deal.
64p each – Cheap joy! 1 Officer, 1 radioman, 12 infantry: The tactile shape of my childhood.
Some exciting skirmishes can be fought with Paratroops and Infantry.
Six sets of WW2 1:32 figures is a start. Thanks Airfix! What can we expect next?
Strangely there are no desert war figures – German British or Italians – for the 80th anniversary of the desert battles of 1941/42?
No Waterloo 1:32 figures? No Wild West ones? No Australians or the versatile Japanese figures for the anniversary of Pearl Harbor December 1941? No Russians for the 1941 Invasion of Russia anniversary?
Looking through the website now is like poring over the lovely Airfix catalogues of our youth.
The last release of 1:32 Airfix figures in the early 2010s are still around online and in some shops including British Infantry Heavy Weapons Support Set and German Mountain Troops.
There are no new releases in 1:72 just these classic figures for WW1 and a few still available for WW2, along with a lone Airfix Multipose German Infantry 1:32 starter set https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/figures.html
The current 2021 available 1:72 range, some now sold out, as of 2021. Sold out on the Airfix.com shop but ‘view stockists’ available from model shops and online stockists.
Christmas gifts for my Arma-Dad’s Army project 2021 – Chintoys 54mm, llamas, vintage Monarch Spaniards and books from heavy hints to the family and centre a Cherilea Elizabethan gift and mounted Conquistador from Alan Gruber
Thanks to all my blog readers and friends for their support, comments and distractions in 2020.
Here is my look back at this disrupted year of 2020 and some New Gaming Year Irresolutions of things I may or may not do in 2021:
The new BMC Plastic Army Women have arrived from America – the first Kickstarter I have ever backed. A snowball fight breaks out at Camp Benjamin on the parade and assault course amongst the new female recruits, watched by their officers on the rope bridge …
Crossposted with other snowball fight links and rules (including by Alan Gruber) posted by Mark Man of TIN on his Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog, 26/27 December 2020
Strange Carvings Amid the Jungle Ruins … uncovered by my favourite 1970s 54mm Airfix figure, WW2 Australian Officer, produced before the Indiana Jones films.
There is an unusually festive source for these strange and mysterious stone carvings in the South American jungles – a cheap terrain idea, crossposted from my sister blog Pound Store Plastic Warriors:
Six press out characters, Harlequin, Pierrot, Columbine, the Fairy, Toby Dog and sailor Boy
Each year we have a new advent calendar, as part of our recent family Christmas traditions. Other families like Marvin at the Subterranean, sorry Suburban Militarism blog have their Army of Advent Christmas figures. You might have some odd Christmas traditions of your own!
Our 2018 advent calendar from Art Angels designed by the fabulous British illustrator Emily Sutton was a fabulous toy shop.
This year’s advent calendar by Emily Sutton is a fabulous 3D Toy Theatre by Emily Sutton complete with stage and press out cardboard figures. She has previously done a tribute Pantomime print in Benjamin Pollock toy theatre style.
A stage? Victorian figures? I know a few talented toy figures (maybe even ex-soldiers) who seek such a venue.
Lawe and Awder, The Two Singing Bobbies, “Always on The Beat” … (my Prince August Home Casts)
It is an odd saying in our family that if someone has a peculiar or unusual talent or even embarrassing mishap that “if they could do that, they could have made a fortune on the variety stage”.
Alas those speciality acts and Variety stages are largely no more. The music halls have fallen silent, largely killed off by television and radio. Variety theatres, music hall and revues were the origin of many of the comic performers of the 1950s and 1960s that I admired on the radio and television whilst growing up, ranging from The Goons to Danny La Rue and Morecambe and Wise.
My beloved Muppets Show was set in a variety theatre with often desperate old time Vaudeville acts and hecklers. One of my first 45 rpm childhood records was The Muppets, Kermit and Miss Piggy singing Old time music hall – did anyone else find her a little disturbing in an undefined way?
The cheerful comic song of the old flower girl “Who’ll look at my lovely bloomers?”
A more serious tragic recitation by an acclaimed ‘Ac-tor’ of the proper ‘The-a-tre’
I like how Emily Sutton has captured the colourful “tuppence coloured penny plain” style of the old Victorian and Edwardian Toy Theatre sheets. I also notice how well the pink cheek dots of the old toy soldier figures works on the pit orchestra and audiences in the boxes.
This dapper old soldier with ‘tache could be a lively female impersonator like Vesta Tilley
Street Songs of Old London Town:The Musical Muffin Man, Lucky Sweep and Blind Fiddler.
The “Fan Mail” sketch from Fred the Singing Postman and Fanny our Variety Comedienne
William Shaxbeard’s dream of a magnificent theatre of the future …
The ‘skin’ role – Urson Wells our fine dancing & singing ‘bear’, musicians and Fido the singing dog …must be hot in that bear costume (new Tradition of London and old hollowcast figures)
A fine Military Band to lift the spirits! Mostly plastics of various makers Man of TIN salutes and sings a fine patriotic song! (My home cast Prince August ‘avatar’ )Man of TIN with small Guards Marching Band: my shiny painted Lone Star / Harvey plastics“The Relief Of Mafeking” a patriotic song by the “Three Jingo-ling JohnniesA jaunty Scottish musical number from Mac on the PipesWhistling Bob Nobbler, the Genial Gentleman of the Road and his comedy patter
“Aww, My Aching Feet!” A comedy musical number from Tweeny our “Maid of All Work”.
Figures are a mixture of plastic, my home cast Prince August metal, old lead hollowcast from various makers including newer metal figures from Asset Toy Soldiers, Tradition of London, Dorset Toy Soldiers.
Next post – some of the paper cut outs from my Suffra-fiti game tread the boards, with a little more on toy soldiers, early Wargamers and Toy Theatres (Theatres of War?)
RLS – “Penny Plain and Tuppence Coloured” famous essay on Toy Theatre –
There you were waiting for a bus or train that never comes and the next thing you know someone has rudely cut your head off and turned you into a terrifying Mixtec South American warrior queen …
Finally a dry warm enough day for spray varnishing in glossy toy soldier style these fabulously colourful Chintoys 54mm plastic Mixtec and Zapotec figures.
Individual pictures and conversions photographed on my Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog:
Some super cheap wargaming and scrap modelling using an old roll on deodorant – a handy ‘how to’ guide posted or crossposted from my Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog by Mark Man of TIN
Some super cheap wargaming and scrap modelling using an old roll on deodorant – a handy ‘how to’ guide posted or crossposted from my Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog by Mark Man of TIN
