Plastic Toy Soldier Pictures

Apache Assault

2011-11-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

Some Apaches attack a small squad of Cavalry (figures by Paragon Scenics). Stockade fence is from the Barzso Treasure Island playset.

Frogmen vs. Radioactive Octopus!

2011-11-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

Here's a neat little set a friend picked up for me about five years ago. The Frog Men are recasts of Marx figures, I'm not sure if the Radioactive Octopus is a recast of some earlier toy. As it says on the box: "created by nature or science?"

Below the picture of the box is an action shot featuring some very early photoshop work by myself.

Marx Pirate

2011-11-03T04:16:00.000-07:00

Reissue 60mm Marx Pirate. This is from one of those bags from Mexico that also have figures in blue and purple.

M3 Halftrack

2011-08-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of Classic Toy Soldiers' M3 Halftrack.

Scotland the Brave

2011-07-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of an early Conte playset, "Scotland the Brave." It's a nice little set, with well-sculpted Afghan tribesman and Scottish Highlanders and a cool two-piece desert building and courtyard. I threw some recast Marx palm trees in the background to add a little color.

Sorry the pictures aren't too good. I just got a new lens and my flash seems to have a hard time talking to it. And it's too damn hot to take these outdoors. I promise better shots when it cools off!

Woodland Battle

2011-06-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

These two figures came with the 1978 Ft. Apache with the big free-standing blockhouse. At first I kind of though "blech" when I say the colors, but I kind the blue of the cavalryman now.

Marx Prehistoric Times

2011-04-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

Prehistoric Times Playset #3390, series 1000. This was the first dinosaur playset issued by Marx Toys, 1957. This set has a really neat vacuform terrain piece, and this example is in really nice shape. It was pretty easily damaged.

French Foreign Legion

2011-04-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Some Conte French Foreign Legion figures defend Classic Toy Soldiers' Desert Oasis.

Barzso Pirates

2011-03-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of the figures and stockade from Ron Barzso's Treasure Island playset. If you're really interested in that set, I have mine for sale on Ebay until Monday, April 4. Also the Barzso Mike Fink Keelboat playset.

Character figures, L to R: Dr. Livesy, Ben Gunn, Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins

A couple of pirates on the attack.

A couple of defenders from the Barzso Treasure Island playset. I really like the guy on the left.

Airfix and Classic Toy Soldiers

2011-03-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Below are a couple little setups with pieces from my recently acquired Classic Toy Soldiers Desert Fox Playset. The figures are all Airfix, the vehicles are by CST.

Conte Alamo Figures

2011-03-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

It's been all about the Alamo around here recently. Here's some shots of some Conte figures in front of a Classic Toys Soldiers Alamo fort. The Mexican Lancer and the Mexican with the bayonet are the single-color metal figures.

Battle of the Bulge

2010-12-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

We had some snow here yesterday, so I had to take some of my Toy Soldiers of San Diego figures outside...

German Soldier

2010-11-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

Toy German soldier by Conte Collectibles.

Army Men Explode and Lit On Fire!!

2010-11-24T03:52:00.000-08:00

Conte Spartans

2010-11-12T12:59:00.000-08:00

I originally got the Conte Spartan figures in red because that was the only color you could get at the time, and I sure wasn't going to wait for the other colors.

Then I got some of the gold ones, and was a little disappointed, the colors were off some of the figures. Third time's a charm I guess, I got some of the silver colored figures, and they are definitely the best. It's just a nice looking color I haven't seen since the old Marx Knights, and it seems to photograph well too.

Conte Pewter Figures

2010-11-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple pictures of two of Conte Collectibles single-color pewter figures that were exclusive to the Civil War playsets. They're selling some of these along with some resin figures now.

Union Flagbearer

General Robert E. Lee

TSSD Mounted Sioux Warriors

2010-10-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple shots of the mounted Sioux Warriors by Toy Soldiers of San Diego:

Stonewall's Foot Cavalry

2010-10-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

A Marx Toys Confederate figure moves along the Blue Ridge.

Lookout Mountain

2010-08-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of Marx Civil War soldiers posing on Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee. I know they could be almost anywhere, you just have to take my word for it that they are on Lookout Mountain.

Charge!

2010-07-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

Figures by Toy Soldiers of San Diego.

French Foreign Legion

2010-07-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

French Foreign Legion figures by Conte Collectibles standing on a Classic Toy Soldiers Alamo wall with some reissue Marx Palm Trees in the background.

Jim Bowie at the Alamo

2010-06-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of proud of this shot. Figures are by Conte Collectibles. The background is a piece of the Alamo from Classic Toy Soldiers.

Pirates!

2010-06-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

I was visiting a friend and he showed me these neat but odd-looking pirate figures. I took a few quick snapshots on his front porch and posted a pic to the Yahoo Marx Playsets group. A member identified them as "copies of the original Fontanini pirates made by GPS Gavichi of Italy. GPS Gavichi were notorious for copying other companies products, apart from Fontanini they copied Marx and Elastolin." They are about 70mm in size.

The above guy with his pet monkey seems to be everybody's favorite. It's a pain trying to get the detail with the cheesy translucent plastic.

Giant Farm Woman

2010-06-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

These are from a Marx farm playset, 1950's. I was looking through some of my old shots and was shocked by the giant farm woman.

Marx Frontiersman

2010-05-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Marx 45mm Frontiersman. This guy came with the early Ft. Apache and Alamo sets.

Custer's Last Stand

2010-05-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I got the Custer's Last Stand playset produced by Toy Soldiers of San Diego. TSSD is quickly becoming one of my favorite producers of toy soldiers. The quality of sculpting, poses and level of detail on the figures are fantastic. Very high quality, but at the same time, they retain an element of "toyness" where I'm not afraid to get them outside in the dirt, and wouldn't haven't a problem with a young child playing with them.

Another great thing about this playset, is you get so damn much stuff with it. The wonderfully sculpted foam hill, lots of cavalry figures and horses, and of course tons of Indians. When putting together a playset, Indians at Custer's Last Stand are like Mexicans at the Alamo: you can never have too many.

When I first got it I set it up on my dining room table. Not enough room for everything:

Last weekend I got these guys outside and got a few more shots:

Crazy Marx Army Men Poses

2010-05-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the blog post The Five Worst Army of All Time [via], I took some snapshots to explain some of this to the fine folks at Metafilter.

If you've read this far, you probably already know this, but below is illustrated one of the great mysteries of my childhood, and I suspect of a few other folks.

I never knew what to do with the guy below. Weird karate dude? What's going on? I didn't have a clue.

Then there was the guy below. At least I could imagine he was flying through the air. I usually ended up hanging on some of the barb wire coils.

The light finally came on when I got the special "Battleground" edition of Plastic Figure and Playset Collector magazine:

Cunnyngham's Confederates

2010-04-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple shots of the Confederate infantry set released by Cunnyngham Collectibles. I really like everything about these figures, detail, facial expressions, and poses are all great. Good color and plastic too.

Hanging Out at the Space Academy

2010-04-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Some space cadets at the Tom Corbett Space Academy. Marx Toys, c1953.

Alamo Mexicans

2010-04-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

Alamo Mexicans and gatehouse by Classic Toy Soldiers.

Cunnyngham Collectibles Figures Available

2009-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Cunnyngham Collectibles first set of Civil War is available now. I got a set of these awhile back and they come highly recommended. Great sculpting and inventive poses. They'll fit in well with TSSD or Conte figures. Cunnyngham Colliectibles web page is here, order online here.

I've been wanting to get some pictures, there just hasn't been a combination of no rain, sun on my back deck and me being awake!

IPMS Regional, Fayetteville NC

2009-11-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

A little off the track from plastic toy soldiers, but not too far off...

Here's some shots from the IPMS (International Plastic Modeler's Society) R-12 Regional show I attended today. None of these models are my work. I wish I could build models this good.

Iron Brigade

2009-10-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

Iron Brigade figure by Conte Collectibles.

Indian Chief

2009-10-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

Figures by Marx Toys. I like the flat yellow color of these figures.

German Soldier

2009-10-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Figure by Toy Soldiers of San Diego.

North State Toy & Hobby Show

2009-09-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a few snapshots from the 72nd North State Toy & Hobby Show held on Sept. 26-27, 2009 in Raleigh, NC.

Taking a Break

2009-07-06T18:51:00.001-07:00

I'm taking a break for the rest of the month. I need to get up another backlog of pictures and I've been trying to devote more time to my comic book and fantasy art blog Fantasy Ink.

Marx #51 Tank

2009-07-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

Marx large #51 Tank and a crouching Marx Marine.

On to Concord

2009-07-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

54mm Accurate British regulars on the march. Another of my early attempts. Marx trees and fence in the background.

Show Off

2009-07-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

A 60mm Marx cowboy and cowgirl pose on a Marx hotel side streetfront.

Marx Zorro Mexicans

2009-06-30T19:30:00.001-07:00

Some figures from the Marx Toys Zorro playset running around in front of some Lincoln Logs.

Yankee Rifleman

2009-06-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Marx Warriors of the World figure. They all came with names, this one was named "Mike Burns."

Ambush!

2009-06-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of Barszo Indians prepare to ambush some pioneers in their canoe. One of my early efforts.

Anchors Awiegh: the U.S> Navy

2009-06-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Marx Toys 45mm U.S. Navy figures. From the Armed Forces Training Center playset, 1956.

Marx Outlaw

2009-06-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

Wild West outlaw by Marx Toys. This is one of my favorite Marx figures.

Swamp Monster!

2009-06-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

A Marx pirate fights a Lemax Toys swamp monster. Don't ask me to explain.

The Cornfield

2009-06-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Conte Civil War soldiers in a reissue Marx cornfield.

Dollar Store Monsters

2009-06-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Happiness

2009-06-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

A Marx Anklyosaur poses in front of a smiley face mug.

Follow Me!

2009-06-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

A Conte Confederate charges to glory over a Marx Toys' Burnside's Bridge.

Honest Abe

2009-06-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Abraham Lincoln figure by Marx Toys.

Plains Indians Warriors by Toy Soldiers of San Diego

2009-06-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Last week I received Toy Soldiers of San Diego's newest figure set: the Plains Indian Warriors.

I haven't been this happy with a toy soldier purchase for quite awhile. The figures are superlative in just about every way. They really tread that fine line I like: they are nicely detailed, but not so fancy you feel like you can only put them on a shelf and not touch them. If I had a sandbox, I wouldn't be afraid to put these guys in it.

The figures are cast in a nice light brown "buckskin" color. Their finish is flat, which I really like. They photograph a lot better than some of the more shiny figures on the market. The plastic is soft enough they are not too delicate, but they still hold their shape well (except for maybe the guy lunging with the spear). This initial offering consists of twelve figures in six poses:

Toy Soldiers of San Diego promises another set of Indians in later this summer. Also a set of dismounted cavalry. All this will culminate in a "Custer's Last Stand" playset that I'm really looking forward to.

Point Man

2009-06-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Plastic toy soldier by Conte Collectibles.

Spaceman vs. Dinosaur

2009-06-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

A Marx Astronaut battles a Marx Dinosaur.

Indian Camp

2009-06-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Early 1950's Marx 60mm Indians and accessories. Lincoln Logs in the background.

Fighting Knight

2009-06-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Marx Toys 1st series Knight.

Proud Marines

2009-06-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

45mm Marines from the Marx Toys Army Training Center Playset, 1956.

Fred & Barney

2009-06-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. From a 1990's reissue Marx Flintstones set.

Yankee Flagbearer

2009-06-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

Toy soldier by Awesome Kids.

Ride Out With Me

2009-06-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

Marx 45mm Cavalryman with Rin Tin Tin Ft. Apache in the background.

Company A

2009-06-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

Marx 45mm Army Man figure and Armed Forces Training Center barracks in the background, 1956.

Aarrgh!

2009-06-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

A Marx Toys 54mm Cavalryman buys the farm.

Rebel Pickets

2009-06-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Confederate soldier figures by Conte Collectibles.

On the Warpath

2009-06-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

Indian by Marx Toys. Nice detail on this figure.

Turok

2009-06-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

A Timmee Indian goes up against a $1 Wal-Mart dinosaur.

Noah's Ark

2009-06-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

CMP Toys, 1970's. Originally produced by Marx Toys in the 1960's. Box cover below:

Spirit of '76

2009-06-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

Marx Warriors of the World Patriots march in front of the Sons of Liberty Tavern.

Cowboys

2009-06-02T03:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of Timmee Cowboys.

Civil War Artillery

2009-06-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

30 lb Parrot Gun and two crew members, by Armies in Plastic.

MPC Ringhand Indians

2009-05-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

MPC Ringhand Indians. It was nice to finally get some of there guys with accessories to put in their hands.

Jungle War

2009-05-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of Marx Army Men in a Marx jungle. One of my early attempts.

Night Attack!

2009-05-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

Marx 45mm Training Center GI's with Marx Battleground accessories in the background.

Wall of Spartans

2009-05-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Line of Spartans by Conte Collectibles.

American Militia

2009-05-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of Accurate American Revolutionary War figures posing if in front of an Airfix 1/72nd Scale "Washington's Army" box.

Marx Cavalry

2009-05-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

54mm Cavalry figure by Marx Toys.

Cunnyngham Collectibles

2009-05-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

No photo today. Instead, run, don't walk over to the web page for Cunnyngham Collectibles. Bookmark the page and keep your eyes for the first anticipated release of U.S. Civil War Confederates in the last quarter of 2009. If the photo of the prototype is any indication, these are going to be some quality figures.

Showdown!

2009-05-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

A couple of 60mm Marx Cowboys face off on the Hotel side streetfront.

Squad Leader

2009-05-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

WWII G.I.s by Conte Collectibles.

Farmer w/Pigs and Horse

2009-05-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Marx Toy's Modern Farm set, 1950's.

Pirate Battle

2009-05-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Pirate figures and cannon by 21st Century Toys.

Andersonville

2009-05-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

Andersonville Playset by BMC. Marx flag thrown in for a spot of color.

Wiliam Howard Taft

2009-05-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States. Figure by Marx Toys.

Night Attack!

2009-05-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Figures and accessories by Marx Toys.

Lasoo This

2009-05-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

A Timmee cowboy tries to rope a $1 Wal-Mart dinosaur.

Creeping Menace

2009-05-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

A Marx Toys 60mm Indian warrior creeps up on a Marx pioneer woman. Marx trees and ladder, Lincoln Logs in the background.

Those Little Soldiers From the Backs of Comic Books

2009-05-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

Many kids who grew up in the 1960's and 1970's saw ads like this on the backs of comic books:

A lot of us just looked at them and wished we had the scratch to get them. At some point my brother and I were lucky enough to get our parents to order us a couple sets of these guys. I've heard some people complaining about disappointed when they got their soldiers, but we loved our sets and spent many happy hours setting these 1" tall figures and fighting imaginary battles. According to The World of Comic Book Toy Soldiers these figures came from Lucky Products or a "Nameless Mail Drop Company" and not one of the better known companies like Helen of Toy. Actually, the above page seems to cover this subject pretty well.

Even luckier, these little guys survived. Below are a few photos of them:

A couple of patriots pose in front of a pile of dead lobsterbacks.

The Continental Line. As a kid, I spent a lot of time getting these guys lined up just so. The figure are from both mine and brother's sets. That accounts for the different colors.

Here is a shot of all the poses. The British were just the same (except they were red, of course).

My pile o' toy soldiers.

Below is another ad for these soldiers with an actual photograph of them. Some of them look a little different than mine. Some of them, particularly the artillery and cavalry look like the much maligned "flats" that I hear resentful baby-boomer complain about when they talk about sending away for these toys.

Here's a fun page from 2004 that contains a review of a new incarnation of Helen of Toy's Classic Army Men Footlocker. Unfortunately, the 2004 version of Helen of Toy didn't seem to last. Below are some more toy soldier ads from the backs of comic books, click on them for larger images.

The Rogers Family

2009-05-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

L to R: Dale Evans, Bullet, Roy Rogers. Character figures by Marx Toys.

Patrol

2009-05-13T04:04:00.000-07:00

Army Men by Conte Collectibles.

Marx Robin Hood Figures

2009-05-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

60mm Robin Hood figures by Marx Toys.

Red, Yellow and Green

2009-05-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Auburn, Ideal, Marx, MPC, plus Oscar the Grouch!

Stalking

2009-05-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Toy indian figure by Tim-mee Toys.

Ideal Ft. Cheyenne

2009-05-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

This vinyl covered suitcase set was released by Ideal Toys sometime in the early 1970's. I had this as a kid and really enjoyed it. By time I got this set, I think our Marx Ft. Apache set had been retired. Ft. Cheyenne served as a great satellite outpost to my Jean Hoeffler Ft. Independence set (I'd love to get my hand on one of those sometime). I've been keeping my eye out for Ft. Cheyenne, but every one I've seen for sale has had the vacu-form teepees or the blockhouse caps all smashed up. I got this one on Ebay for what I consider a bargain price. It did not have all the poses of the red indians, but I'm very happy with it.

According to the Toy Soldier HQ, the figures are all copies of figures by other makers: "The 45mm figures were made in Hong Kong and were not original Ideal poses but rather 45mm copies of various British company figures. The Indians are copies of; Crescent, Lone Star and Britians poses, while the foot cavalry are copies of Britains Herald figures and the mounted cavalry copies of Timpo poses." The cavalry figures I got with this set are molded in a light, waxy gray color. I still have a couple of them left from childhood set that are flat, darker gray and look much nicer.

I set this up on my dining room table and snapped a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Rifleman Ranch

2009-05-08T04:05:00.000-07:00

Rifleman Ranch playset by Marx Toys.

Prehistoric Terror

2009-05-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

Not a toy soldier by any stretch of the imagination. The damsel in distress is from a set of figures called the Horrified B-Movie Victims and the dinosaur cost $1 at Wal-Mart.

Armored Advance

2009-05-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Factory painted figure by Toy Soldiers of San Diego with a 21st Century Toys tank in the background.

General George Washington

2009-05-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

George Washington figure by Marx Toys.

FIght at the Wall

2009-05-04T04:20:00.000-07:00

Normans and Saxons battle it out over a stone wall. Figures by Conte Collectibles.

Brave Knight

2009-05-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Medieval Knight figure by W. Britain.

Council of War

2009-05-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

President Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant meet at Grant's headquarters at City Point, Va. Figures and accessories by Marx Toys.

Marx Viking

2009-04-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

54mm Viking warrior by Marx Toys.