What will 2022 bring?

Anyone else made any foolish unachievable resolutions for this year’s gaming?

Battling Bronte Sisters (Bad Squiddo 28mm Little Wolves Amazons) meet 25mm Prince August Homecast cavemen boggarts. As close as I will get to Silver Bayonet?

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It’s that time of the year when New Year’s Resolutions are optimistically made … but maybe not in this house.

My New Gaming Year’s Irresolutions for 2021 were kept deliberately vague …

https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2020/12/31/new-gaming-year-irresolutions-2021/

but even then my vaguest plans for New Gaming Year NGY 2021 often went awry, mostly due to COVID.

The local village Spring Flower and Craft show 2021 never happened so no #FEMBruary figures from Bad Squiddo painted as planned but I did paint some later in the year – The Battling Bronte sisters.

Thanks to Covid levels, I never made it to the Woking 2021 54mm Little Wars Revisited Games Day when it finally happened. Covid dependent of course, but hopefully I might make it in 2022 with my Boy Scouts and snowball fighters who need more gaming time https://littlewarsrevisited.boards.net/thread/847/woking-games-saturday-march-correct.

My local history research project talk on WW2 in my local area (as a fundraiser) was postponed by COVID from autumn 2021 to late May 2022.

I think the NGY Irresolutions 2020 will still stand after a year or two interrupted but who knows what might happen in 2022?

New Gaming Year’s Irresolutions 2022

In no particular order

1. Cataloguing Peter Laing 15mm figures as part of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the now out-of-production Peter Laing figures, possibly the first 15mm figures when they launched in October 1972.

https://collectingpeterlaing15mmfigures.wordpress.com

As well as cataloguing what I have over the next ten months, fellow members of the Peter Laing collectors circle on MeWe have been helping me identify figures and supplying photos of figures I don’t have. Then there’s painting and basing more of my unpainted Laing figure stash and getting in some more 15mm skirmish games?

Peter Laing 15mm Chasseurs d’Alpins (WW1 Range) complete with walking sticks!

2. England or Cornwall invaded – Variations on Operation Sealion / Leon Marino

Still playing around with skirmish ideas as part of my Look Duck and Varnish Blog ongoing Operation Sealion Home Guard games, but also found out more about the WW1 ‘Gorgeous Wrecks’ or Volunteer Training Corps, good for future VTC Wide Games and Victorian / Edwardian / WW1 era ‘what if’ games.

Arma-Dads Army! 1590s Home Guard Elizabethan Muster of conversions and ECW figures against the Spanish Fury, Chintoys Conquistadors and pound store Pirates …

https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/arma-dads-army-elizabethan-home-guard-1580s-1590s-operacion-leon-marino/

3. More Close Little Wars forest skirmishes and Close Little Space Wars Games in 54mm … I didn’t get a backyard garden galaxy game in this year.

My lovely Bold Frontiers cardboard trees didn’t get enough of an outing in 2021…

Two Britain’s Ltd. broken Scots charging – a favourite pose – with part repaired rifles, two more figures from the Waifs and Strays group of figures 2021 – “Waifs and Strays” sounds like it should be a Victorian Regimental nickname.

4. I look forward to some more enjoyable tinkering with 54mm repairs of broken lead figures to add to various units. Over the years I have been stashing away battered and broken figures from various donations – cowboys, Indians, redcoats, Scots and Khaki figures – along with the odd intriguing figure bought online.

Arrived last year and put away for Christmas – some very heavy, solid lead and fairly paint distressed Terraton 54mm-ish German semiflats to repair and rebase. Indians, redcoats, trees and farm animals …

5. What else might happen?

Weather permitting maybe will even get some more home casting done outdoors?

Pound Store Plastic figures, Early War Miniatures 1940 Range (for Svenmarck invaded!) and vintage Airfix OOHO figures to restore or rebase for some skirmish games.

More time for Bronte ImagiNations?

My Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Snowball Games need attention!

My skateboarders could do with painting!

Not going to run out of fun things to do …

What are your New Gaming Year plans?

I hope that your gaming plans for 2022 go agreeably awry as well.

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, NYE 31 December 2021 / 1st January 2022

The Elizabethan Home Guard – A Spanish Armada Muster in 54mm shiny toy soldier plastic

Watching the sea for Spanish ships from those Cornish granite cliffs … they’re behind you!

Work in Progress on the painting table.

Crossposted by Mark Man of TIN from his ‘sister blog’, Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog – enjoy!

https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2020/10/11/elizabethan-muster-for-the-spanish-armada-in-shiny-54mm/

More Cereal Killers?

After posting pictures of my non April Fools cereal based gaming figures, I was reminded of Kellogg’s again by Alan Tradgardmastre Gruber’s spirited conversions of Crescent figures.

http://tradgardland.blogspot.com/2020/04/simple-conversions.html

http://tradgardland.blogspot.com/2020/04/simple-conversions-painted.html

I’m sure some of my Guardsmen came out of cereal packets.

I checked. Amongst the many toy soldiers in my family collection or that have turned up in job lots are these free guardsmen from Kellogg’s cereals in the 1960s.

I vaguely recalled that our family collection of cereal figures received firing, shooting and bayoneting guardsmen.

Looking through the bases of my tatty collection, it appears that the guardsmen with rifles are Crescent toy soldiers from the late 1950s to 1960s and the Bandsmen are both Crescent and Kellogg’s.

Crescent were not around for sale in the toy shops when I was young with pocket money in the 1970s, whereas Britain’s Herald and Deetail delightfully were.

The Kellogg’s freebie by Crescent is the second from the left, the others Crescent plastic ones.

Bandsmen – Not quite the “cereal killers” I remember!

Crescent appear to have manufactured exact unpainted copies of their bandsmen for Kellogg’s, c. 1958 dated according to the CerealOffers website.

Kellogg’s bandsmen – part of my childhood parades …

I found these fine bandsmen shown online with original box backs and adverts whilst spending happy hours last week on the cereal ‘premium’ website http://cerealoffers.com, where I found again the cardboard Asterix figures and Weetabix scenes of my childhood.

“FREE IN THIS PACKET at the bottom of the inner bag” – free toy soldiers in your cornflakes – imagine that today!

Screenshot image of the fabulous CerealOffers Premiums website – Kellogg’s Guardsman page.

For example this box back and screenshot of the figures is interesting, as it picks up on the earlier ceremonial craze of the 1953 Coronation when lead soldiers were still around. By 1958 / the early 1960s “Unbreakable” coloured plastic “smart as paint” was taking over for many Toy Soldier manufacturers as hollowcast lead was phased out.

Worth looking at the whole Kelloggs Guardsman page on CerealOffers page for further atmospheric adverts.http://cerealoffers.com/Kelloggs/Cornflakes/1950s/Model_Guards_Bandsmen/model_guards_bandsmen.html

Being late 1950s they remind me of the first offerings of Airfix tiny small scale OO/HO Guards Band and Guards Colour Party. A curious choice in many ways, these first few early Airfix figures but mirroring maybe part of that shift from lead figures into plastic ones in profitable, established or traditional themes of toy soldiers, farms, zoos, railways, cowboys, civilians and then military topics.

1959/60 Guards Band http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=530

1959/60 Guards Colour Party http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=24

Deadliest Cereal Killers?

“He’ll lead your toy soldiers in and out of battle, on the parade ground, in processions …”

All very well for parades, pomp and processions but maybe the deadliest Kellogg’s “cereal killers” would have to be one of these sets:

1960s Kellogg’s / Crescent Robin Hood Set? http://cerealoffers.com/Kelloggs/Cornflakes/1960s/Robin_Hood_Figures/robin_hood_figures.html

or the Knights in Armour?

http://cerealoffers.com/Kelloggs/Rice_Krispies/1950s/Knights_in_Armour/knights_in_armour.html

And the Cowboys and Indians here?

Cowboys http://cerealoffers.com/Kelloggs/Frosties/1950s/Cowboys_of_the_West/cowboys_of_the_west.html

Indians http://cerealoffers.com/Kelloggs/Frosties/1950s/Indian_Warriors/indian_warriors.html

All in all, some very familiar Crescent figures – free. What a delight to get these in your cereals!

Not forgetting Warriors through the Ages: http://cerealoffers.com/Kelloggs/Variations/Puffa_Puffa_Rice/Warriors_Through_The_Ages/warriors_through_the_ages.html

Hugh at Small Scale World has a blog post on these Cereal Guardsmen:

http://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2012/07/b-is-for-best-of-british-bandsmen.html

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN 3 April 2020.

Paperboy Martians Have Landed on my Doormat

They’re here!

Man of TIN, scouts and my own Cath Kidston cut out paper Guards greet the Paperboys arrival.

At last! They’re here at last! Huzzah! Or Ulla?

They’re all utterly gorgeous. You have to buy a copy or two!

Somewhere in paper soldier Valhalla, the late and much missed Stuart Asquith is smiling.

My favourite of all pages are the Civilians. As lively and full of character as Tintin or the work of Raymond Briggs like Ethel and Ernest. I hope Peter Dennis takes that as a complement!

But, crowding round my copy as I opened it, fresh from Helion thought the post, a gasp went up from the tiny men (and women) – “Where were the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts?”

In times of peril such as Martian or Franco / Prussian invasion, England expects everyone to step up and be counted – Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts too!

Hopefully in time Peter Dennis will amend this omission and put some Edwardian Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts on his Paperboys Little Wars website page, if only to keep an eye on the Prussians there!

https://m.facebook.com/pg/thePaperboysPage/posts/

https://peterspaperboys.com/collections/little-wars

Hint: Peter, there’s plenty of early scout uniform details, if you want on my Scouting Wide Games for the Tabletop website blog and Man of TIN blog:

https://tabletopscoutingwidegames.wordpress.com

https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/27/easter-eggs-wide-games-and-the-cloak-of-romance/

Early ‘Paperboys’!? Some of my Edwardian scraps of Scouts (probably printed in Germany)

Surrey scouts c. WW1 Copyright: my Scoutingwidegames for the Tabletop photo collection.

Making my Paperboys up might have to wait!

Probably until after I have to finish working with Alan ‘Tradgardland’ Gruber on our 54mm Scouting Wide Games and Snowball Fight offerings for the Little Wars Revisited 54mm gaming day.

This takes place on Saturday March 14th 2020 in Martian invaded Woking, no less! (still spaces available) see here for details –

https://littlewarsrevisited.boards.net/thread/404/lwr-forum-games-day-2020

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN (not Boy of PAPER) 21 February 2020

Packing Sugar at Freddie! Snowball Fight Wide Games Scenario

Crossposted from my Tabletop Scouting Wide Games blog:

https://tabletopscoutingwidegames.wordpress.com/2019/10/29/packing-sugar-at-freddy-street-gang-snowball-fight-scenario-write-up/

Figures here:

https://tabletopscoutingwidegames.wordpress.com/2019/10/28/good-grief-more-snow-forts-snowball-fight-figures-for-scouting-wide-games/

Resin Christmas Village snowballing 54 to 60mm figures from Lemax:

https://tabletopscoutingwidegames.wordpress.com/2019/10/28/good-grief-more-snow-forts-snowball-fight-figures-for-scouting-wide-games/

Blog posted by Mark, (snow) Man of TIN, 29 October 2019.

On the Repair Desk

A varied selection of broken figures. 

Here are some more bashed and broken 54mm lead hollowcast figures that are on the repair bench.

A real mix from various manufacturers – some tribal warriors, Britain’s native Indian warriors on guard, a Robin Hood archer, a Hilco spaceman, an Eskimo and Assyrians …

The Timpo Eskimo will make a fine WW1 pilot.

They are sharing the painting desk with some Peter Laing 7th Cavalry figure recruits from the Duchy of Tradgardland.

Blog posted by Mark, Man of TIN, 16 September 2018.

Skeletons, Sir, Farsunds of ‘Em!

Don’t shoot until you see the dark sockets of their eyes!

Crossposted from my other blog, Pound Store Plastic Warriors

https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2018/09/08/pound-bag-skeleton-warriors-1-a-bag/

Blog posted by Mark, Man of TIN, for Pound Store Plastic Warriors, 8 September 2018.

Timpo Desert Fort pictures

Using my blog as a scrapbook (kind of what Pinterest was invented for), here are a couple of cheeky screen shots from an online auction site of the Timpo Desert Fort.

Never had this fort or knew it existed. However I still have my childhood Timpo Arabs and Foreign Legion, some of them in need of repair from brittle joints.

I have been slowly collecting the odd beaten up Timpo cowboy buildings for 54mm games.

There are lots more Timpo buildings at this site for some Timpo Nostalgia:

http://www.spanglefish.com/hallmarkstoysoldiers/index.asp?pageid=169845

Blogposted by Mark, Man of TIN, 29 August 2018.

TSAF Aircraft Repaint Part 1

First undercoat paint layers on these planes  and recently repaired Crescent pilot with flight plans, repaired with new feet.

Like many bloggers, with the current heatwave I have done little figure painting this week.

However I  have started repainting or undercoating  the first two of the three Moshi aircraft.

Interwar Silver has replaced pink, whilst Desert brown with a silver belly has replaced the orange and red.

They started out like this in pink and orange. https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/06/tsaf-toy-soldier-air-force/

The eye and shark teeth decals are worth keeping on the desert brown aircraft. Eventually a darker  brown camo disruption pattern will be overpainted, to get the look of a Curtiss Tomahawk.

Several more coats of paint, some Imagi-Nations decals and a finish with Gloss varnish are all required before these aircraft are game and garden ready. Once it cools down …

Blogposted by Mark Man of TIN 26 July 2018

Wilko Wild Western Express Train

In between planning airplane conversions, I have been repairing Broken Britain’s hollowcast 54mm Indians and casting more Prince August 40mm Cowboys and Indians ready for some garden skirmish games soon.

So adding a Western train set isn’t so surprising …

Vintage 54mm Pound Store Plastic Cowboys and Indians fight over the cargo and caboose of my new Wilko Western Express train.

A snip of a plastic battery operated railway set at £10. Read more at:

https://sidetracked2017blog.wordpress.com/2018/07/14/the-wild-wilko-western-express/

Blogposted by Mark, Man of TIN on 14 / 15 July 2018.