Toy Soldier Collector International 2016-02-03 (068).pdf

(33438 KB) Pobierz
COLLECTOR
Editor:
Mark Avery
Chairman:
Regis Auckland
(reg@regallitho.co.uk)
Sales & Marketing Director:
Tom Foxon
(tom@regallitho.co.uk
and t.foxon@sky.com)
Tel: 07540 153368
Contributors:
Mike Blake, Martin
Ainscough, Paul Stocker, George
Phillips, Keith Nairn-Munro, Chris
Bartlett, AJ Mergenthaler and Dr
Martin Kerby
Sub Editor:
Emma Whittaker
Editorial Assistant:
Gemma Avery
Design:
Andy Whittaker
Printing:
Regal Litho
(www.regallitho.co.uk)
Toy Soldier Collector ISSN
1745-5804
Toy Soldier Collector is published
bi-monthly by:
Guideline Publications
Unit 3 Enigma Building, Bilton
Road, Denbigh East, Bletchley,
Buckinghamshire, MK1 1HW
Tel:
01908 274433
Fax:
01908 270614
Email:
guidelines@regallitho.co.uk
www.guidelinepublications.co.uk
Please direct all purchasing,
editorial and subscription
enquiries to our head office.
Subscription rates:
UK £27, Europe £36.50, ROW £40
(all prices include shipping and
postage)
Front cover:
24th Foot by Empire
Military Miniatures
TOY SOLDIER
Welcome
So the December show came and went
(see the full report later in this issue) as did
Christmas and New Year, and here we are
at the start of 2016! So what does this new
year herald?
For any of you reading this who are based
in the very North of our country, or just
over the border in Scotland, then hopefully
some much needed improvement in the
weather. The scenes over the Christmas
holidays of all the villages and towns that
were hit by the storms and horrific flooding
really were terrible. I hope not one of you
was affected, but given our wide readership
these days, I am guessing the odds are
against us and at least a few of you may
have been caught up in the misery. If you
were affected then I can only hope that
by the time you’re reading this the worst
is well behind you, that things are getting
back to normality and that, of course, your
miniature troops also survived unscathed.
Christmas in the Avery house revolved
around our kids as they’re at the perfect
age for all the fun the festive season brings,
my son in particular (aged six) was ‘wide
eyed’ the whole time and funnily enough,
one of his presents got me thinking again
about how to get kids more interested in
our hobby. My son had asked for a new
Xbox game from Santa, a game called
Skylanders, which not only involves
paying on the screen, but also, to progress
in the game, you need to buy additional
characters. These ‘characters’ cost around
£15 each and are basically plastic figures
which have a microchip in them so they
can interact with the games console and
become part of the game. Now I know it
would involve some serious investment,
but as I sat there watching him playing this
game, I realised that a military version of
this, aimed at possibly a slightly older age
group (teenagers), would probably be very
popular and it would combine the preferred
toy of the modern age, the console, with
figure collecting (either metal or plastic as
they thing would be the combination of the
microchip) of the past. Anyway food for
thought for any of the ‘big boys’ within our
hobby reading this!
As for this issue, there’s plenty to read
including our interview with Anne Randall
of Asset Miniatures, a feature on the
early days of the W. Britain company
as well as a memorial piece on a man
without whom the UK hobby wouldn’t
be where it is today, Mr Alan Caton. As
always, enjoy the issue. See you all back
here in another couple of months.
Issue 68
4
6
NOTICEBOARD
ALAN CATON –
A TRIBUTE
Master sculptor Alan Caton
was well known and very
well liked within the hobby.
Here, many of his friends
share their thoughts on
the great man who sadly
passed away in November
35
SIGNING OFF
The December London
Toy Soldier Show brought
the collecting year to a
satisfying close and here
we take a look at some of
the highlights
42
FANTASTIC PLASTICS
48
PRICELESS ASSET
George Phillips spoke
to co-owner of Asset
Miniatures, Anne Randall,
to find out more about the
past present and future of
the company
10
NEW RELEASES PART 1
19
CASTING AROUND
26
BRITAINS LTD – FROM
SMALL BEGINNINGS
In the first of a series of
articles, Keith Nairn-Munro
takes a look back at the
history at one of the most
famous names in toy
soldiers
www.toysoldiercollector.com
All rights reserved. Reproduction in
whole or in part is forbidden but may be
granted upon application to Guideline
Publications. All submissions to Toy
Soldier Collector are welcomed and we
will do our best to return these to you
free of charge, however to guarantee
return please include a stamped
addresses envelope. All submissions
should be mailed to the main Guideline
office address as listed above. Copyright
of published articles will belong to
Toy Soldier Collector unless a prior
agreement is reached. Toy Soldier
Collector can accept no responsibility for
lost or damaged submissions.
55
SHOW DATES
56
SOME CORNER OF A
FOREIGN FIELD
Dr Martin Kerby gives us
an overview of the new
exhibition in Brisbane
which features a lot of toy
soldiers!
30
THE ROYAL GUARD
OF SPAIN
A. J. Mergenthaler looks
at the history of the Royal
Guard of Spain and some
of the figures made to
represent it
62
NEW RELEASES PART 2
72
TO RESTORE OR NOT
TO RESTORE
All the best
Mark Avery
Editor
TOY SOLDIER
COLLECTOR
3
Noticeboard
The
latest news
from around the global toy soldier hobby
Email any hobby related news to the Editor at tsceditor@darkmedialtd.com
or alternatively write in to: Guideline Publications Unit 3 Enigma Building, Bilton Road, Denbigh East, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, MK1 1HW.
NEWS
Glebe Miniatures
Glebe is a company that
rarely gets a mention, simply
because owner, Peter Turner,
is truly a ‘one man band’ and
as such keeps very busy
without too much promotion.
I caught up with Peter over
the Christmas holidays and
he let me know that he has
been reissuing/remaking his
Balkan Wars/Russo-Japanese
War 1904/05 (and some of his
other established ranges) into
boxed sets of six or eight fig-
ures (with or without Flags or
Mounted Officers). For those
of you that don’t know, Peter’s
Glebe range is mostly based
on recast solid old Britains
figures which are converted
by suitable Head changes/
addition of packs and other
equipment/plus appropriate
or converted arms. All the
figures are are finished in the
traditional gloss paint style
(with or without moustaches!)
in marching or action poses.
For further information, see
Peter’s ad elsewhere in this
issue or send him a large SAE
and he’ll send you back his
current lists.
Birmingham
show success
The Birmingham Central Toy Soldier Show, supported by the
W. Britain Collectors Club, took place at Edgbaston Cricket
Centre on October 11, 2015, the second year at this new venue.
It is pleasing to report that the number of visitors was up on last
year. The usual mix of metal and plastic was represented by
new and familiar brands including King & Country, Grey Goose
Collectables and Steve Weston’s usual impressive plastics selec-
tion. New exhibitors came from as far afield as Spain in the case
of Alymer. Others attending for the first time included Louise
Handley of Loggerheads Military Studio, John Gittins of JG
Miniatures and also Marlborough/Sarum Soldiers.
Also in attendance were Katie Hines from W. Britain and Carl
Robinson (representing this magazine) whose joint support
Patrick Adams, organiser of the show, helped make the event
possible. Make sure you put Sunday October 23 2016 in your
diary as that’s the date of this year’s show (one week later than
usual to avoid the Birmingham Half Marathon).
CONTACT
Glebe Miniatures
Retreat House
Dorchester Road
Broadwey
Weymouth
Dorset
DT3 5LN
Tel: 01305 815300
Examples of Glebe Miniatures
available figures
Maison Militaire sold
It was quite a shock to learn from Ken Jackson at the
December show that he had sold his Maison Militaire retail
business. Ken founded MM way back in 1982 but has now
sold the business, including all stock as I understand it, to
Robin Kelly who is in the process of relocating MM from its
original base in Yorkshire to near his home in Kent. TSC will
bring you further news on this change as we get the details
from Robin. The good news is although Ken has sold MM
he will continue to be involved in the hobby and will now
be focusing his efforts on his own ranges of figures Heritage
and Trophy, so watch this space!
Ready 4 Action
Bruce Murray, owner of R4A, got in touch after
seeing the article in issue 66 on refurbishing
old diecast vehicles. It appears Bruce is rather
a ‘dab hand’ at this as you’ll see from the
photo, where he has turned an old Britains
Daimler Scout car (the same as the one used
in the article) into an 8th Army vehicle.
4
TOY SOLDIER COLLECTOR
Britains collectors enjoy
seasonal gathering
Devotees of the W. Britain
brand enjoyed their annual
Collectors Club gathering
last December in a brand
new Central London venue.
Members gathered at the
headquarters of the London
Scottish Regiment in Horse-
ferry Road, SW1 to meet fellow
collectors, enjoy a seasonal
tipple or two and hear the
latest news from Ken Osen,
General Manager and Crea-
tive Director for W. Britain.
The evening was hosted in
the drill hall, which featured
all the usual trappings of a
regimental headquarters:
paintings, regimental colours
and memorial installations to
remember fallen comrades.
The regimental museum
is hosted in two balconies
above the drill hall and
includes uniforms, per-
sonal equipment, small arms,
medals, paintings and other
memorabilia.
After some drinks and a
nice selection of canapés,
members were treated to
a short talk and tour of the
museum by the regimental
curator.
There is always an edu-
cational dimension to the
Collectors Club evenings and
in 2015, Britains rustled up
something slightly different.
To mark the launch of a
new range of Viking figures,
two enactors put on a display
of Dark Ages combat in the
form of a Holmganger --- a
duel between two Vikings to
settle a matter of honour.
In their respective Viking
personas of Ingver Silver-
tongue and Haesten Sword
Dancer, Mike Everest and
Greg Jones laid into each
other with swords, spears and
long handled axes, and the
action was fast and furious.
Some club members looked
genuinely stunned at the
ferocity of the duel and in
my view, it was only skill and
careful choreography that
prevented an eye or finger
being lost.
Craig Appleton offered a
more conventional historical
presentation alongside Ian
Church, who was dressed in
the uniform of an 1815 British
infantrymen and packing a
replica Brown Bess Musket.
Ian demonstrated the firing
cycle of the musket and Craig
described how British red
coats had engaged Napo-
leon’s Old Guard at Waterloo.
It was a truly fascinating talk
which had more than one
audience member swelling
with nationalistic pride!
The evening ended with
Ken Osen offering some
insights into the painstaking
research that is undertaken to
ensure that W. Britain figures
are as historically accurate as
possible.
Military history is clearly
Ken’s life’s passion and
through his involvement with
W. Britain, he is able to share
that passion with thousands
of other enthusiasts across
the globe.
A great evening and it
promises to be another excit-
ing year for W. Britain in 2016.
Text by George Phillips
Plastics
news
by Mike Blake
Paragon Scenics
Plains Indians with
exchangeable hands/
weapons and Alamo Mexican
Regulars are all promised
from Paragon. There are some
photos on their website in the
Coming Attractions section
at: http://paragon-scenics.
com/miniatures/Coming_
Attractions.html, so take a look.
Also, there are photos of
their playsets and the great
looking buildings included in
them. The fort has separate
Headquarters, Commanding
Officer’s Quarters, two Adobe
Barracks, Stone Storehouse,
Blockhouse, Gate House with
Working Gate, and Stockade
sections, making multiple
configurations possible.
Looks stunning, see it at:
http://paragon-scenics.com/
miniatures/FORT_APACHE.
html .
NEWS
Publius
I have not seen the new
Russian maker Publius set
of 1:32 scale plastic Japanese
Samurai Warriors, but
they look promising. The
set contains six figures in
six action poses in cherry
colour plastic. They are
"extremely detailed and
very well sculpted. True 1:32
scale. Looking good with
other famous brands such
as Armies in Plastic, Dulcop,
X-Force and others," according
to the advert. Photos at: http://
www.treefrogtreasures.com/
forum/showthread.php?56515-
Pvblivs-Samoura%C3%AF and
available to buy at: http://www.
ebay.com/itm/15190636049
9?ssPageName=STRK:MESE
LX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.
l2649.
TOY SOLDIER
COLLECTOR
5
Obituary
Lt. Col. E. Joe Shimek (Ret.) of Potsdamer
Zinnsoldaten (PZ) fame sadly passed away
on October 1, 2015. A person of great wit,
sharp humour and intelligence, this bagpipe
playing man was a proud 1957 graduate of
West Point Military Academy. His fascina-
tion with casting began with an A.C. Gilbert
casting set at age eight, having previously
begun playing with and collecting military
figures as a younger boy. During his military
service in the Cold War, one of his assign-
ments was that of US Army/Soviet Forces
liaison in Potsdam (hence the future name
of his firm). While in Germany, he devel-
oped his encyclopedic knowledge of many
manufacturers in all formats of flats, semi-
rounds and rounds. Some of the manufac-
turers included Heyde, Spenkuch, Krause,
Bischoff, Haffner and more.
PZ was founded on the base of Heyde’s
catalog offerings of Size 2, but its production
in a labeled box began with PZ-1 Askaris
in 54mm which looked on Britains for
inspiration. PZ was obviously not limited
to Heyde’s Size 2. Joe drew on multiple
manufacturers including their various parts
as well as those of his own creation. At times
Joe was assisted by his late dear friend Neal
Crowley along with PZ’s out of house paint-
ing staff if he did not paint it himself.
Joe and PZ left a delightful legacy that
makes collecting a joy. So Herr Oberst mein
Freund, our corner of the world is dimin-
ished by your absence. Danke viemals,
Hochachtungsvoll, Servus und Prost!
Written by Joe’s good friend Michael Henry

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin