Last weekend I got to attend the Heart of the South Toy Soldier Show. It is a relatively small event, but with a loyal set customers and vendors in attendance. I went there primarily looking for the new set of CTS GIs and the new Forces of Valor 6x6 1.5 Cargo Truck. I found both items and a few more things. The highlight of the shopping experience was digging into a large bin, the size of a whole table with thousands of soldiers. Everything was 50 cents and if you knew what you were looking for you could find some nice gems in there. Lately the demands of real life have kept me a bit busy, so rather than waiting for the opportunity to setup separate scenes with the new figures I've decided to take a few quick snapshots and share them with you now. Hopefully at some not so distant point I will be able to present them in a better setting.
Marx German Infantry
I already have a good number of these marching guys, but it does not hurt to have another couple squads to enhance the parade scene. They are not so easy to find, so it was a nice surprise to see that there were quite a few to be found in that bin!
Classic Toy Soldiers GIs Set 2
I got two bags of these. Each bag comes with 2 sets of figures in 8 poses. The main attraction for me were the artillery crew guys - see the three guys on the left. I have several Long Tom artillery pieces from 21st Century Toys which came without crews, so these guys will fill that role. But don't get me wrong, the other 5 guys are also nice decent poses which will look just fine either as GIs or marines.
Marx US GIs - Battleground Set - Part 1
Today you can buy Marx recast figures, but unfortunately they do not include some of these poses, so I was glad to run into them and pick up a few more of these guys.
Marx US GIs - Battleground Set - Part 2
I found six of these stretcher bearers and two of the wounded guys. Unfortunately I did not fnd any stretcher, but that's OK. Stretchers won't be hard to make. I did not have any of these guys in my collection, so they were a nice find.
Marx US GIs - Battleground Set - Part 3
The guy lying down is the one that goes on the stretcher. The man carrying his budy was also a great find. Actually, I found the guy who is being carried at a different vendor. He cost twice as much as the one who is carrying him, but I bought him without hesitation as I was quite happy to be able to find both of them on the same outing.
Airfix Italian Infantry
These two guys were also a good find. On eBay Italian Infantry usually sells for 3-4 dollars a piece. The officers sometimes for more, so these guys subsidized the rest of the purchase.
Timpo US Infantry
This guy is also a vintage figure. First I mistook him for a Britains Herald figure but Brian Carrick identified him as a Timpo guy. The rest of the Timpo figures look so good that now I am going to have to go hunt for the rest of the squad.
Unknown Soviet Infantry
I don't know who the manufacturer is but if I ever come across a figure that I have not seen before I pick it up and find out later! In the worst case I have a new pose. In the best case I found an odd collector's item. I suspect this might be a case of the former, but who knows...
Auburn US GIs
I was not familiar with these figures before the show, but a fellow collector who was also digging through the bin identified them for me. They are about 70 mm tall, so a bit beyond my scale however I liked the sculpting work, particularly that of the two guys on the left who look very confident. I was told they were Korean War figures, but I think they can pass for WWII guys.
I also found this little raft. I have no idea what figures it came with or who made it, but as with the Soviet guy, I hope to find out sooner or later.
MPC DUKW
This one did not come from the bin. I had been keeping an eye for one of these for a while to include it in the Marines scene that I am putting together in my head and when I saw it at the show -the only one there-I grabbed it! I plan on painting it so it will look even better.
Forces of Valor 6x6 1.5 Dodge Cargo Truck
This was the other item on my shopping list and I barely got it. It was the second to last. As you can see it comes with a little assortment of accessories. These are of not much use by themselves, but combined with the other things that come with the other vehicles they add a good dose of realism to your scenes. I have to say though that I am finding it harder and harder to justify buying the FOV vehicles. They have become quite pricey and the truck itself is not that special or different from the 2.5 ton truck they had previously released.
Conte German Waffen SS
This guy is actually a metal figure. I don't collect metal figures as they really push you to a whole different price range, but I certainly appreciate their look and feel -their extra weight makes them feel much sturdier and they usually come with a nice paint job out of the box. So how did I come home with this figure? I won it in a raffle! All the entrance tickets participate and vendors throw in the prices. They draw about a dozen numbers throughout the day and if you win, you get to pick one of the prizes. So this rounded up nicely a good and fun morning at the show!
Click here to see some more Marx German guys marching
Click here to see a twin of the Timpo radio man in action
Click here to see the rest of the Italian Infantry
