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Showing posts with label Maker - SWTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maker - SWTS. Show all posts

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Marx 54mm versions of 6" Toy Soldiers

Usually, in this type of posts I like to give a bit of background and history about the manufacturer, but in this case, the manufacturer of these figures is a bit of a mystery to me. Back in the 70's Marx produced these figures in 6" scale. They were big and solid. A few years back though I ran into them in 54mm scale -albeit on the smaller side of 54mm. They were being resold by Minute Men Toy Soldiers as 'SWTS' sets. SWTS -Steve Weston Toy Soldiers is a dealer that also manufactures some figures. However its figures are originals, so I don't really know if SWTS was simply reselling them or if they were the ones that issued them in this smaller scale. BTW, since that time, I have also seen them advertised as DSG figures. DSG is the firm from Argentina that has recently reissued some of the Britains Deetail sets. So as you can see it is a real puzzle who makes them. If you happen to know, please leave a comment!
UPDATE: I recently had the good fortune of getting referred to Steve Weston who clarified that he bought them from DSG, and simply re-packaged them wih a SWTS label and sold them. 

Reproductions of Marx 6" figures - Japanse Infantry
As you can see that they have a very close resemblance to the Glencoe/Marx figures, which makes sense given their common origin. They are nice, action poses which fit well with other Japanese troops. 


Reproductions of Marx 6" figures - German Infantry
Several of these guys have a strong resemblance with the CTS German Infantry. One thing that I don't like is that the guy who is running carrying the ammo box used to have one foot off the ground in the 6" version, but in this scale they forced it to have the back foot on the base, and to lower the rest of the figure they shaved the bottom of the front foot.

Reproductions of Marx 6" figures - German Infantry - Painted
In this picture you might be able to see what I was talking about the front foot of the guy on the left. I did not paint the rest of the set because I had already painted the equivalent poses from CTS and they are almost identical. 


Reproductions of Marx 6" Figures - Soviet Infantry - Part I
Another decent set, but again, they are on the smaller side of 54mm. I like them however as much or more as the other 54mm Marx guys. 


Reproductions of Marx 6" Figures - Soviet Infantry - Part II
Here is the last one of the Soviet guys. I did not paint this one as it is, except for the base, almost exactly like one of the 54mm Marx guys.


Reproductions of Marx 6" Figures - US Infantry - Part I
These guys are OK, but there were a couple things I did not quite like. The first one is the size. They are definitely small and skinny. Another one is the weapon of the man on the right. It is short and stubby. One thing that I did like is a nice detail on the middle man. Notice how the straps of his helmet flap in the air as he runs forward!


Reproductions of Marx 6" Figure - US Infantry - Part II
This guy is the sixth in the set. I actually find him acceptable when I look at him. Not quite sure why I left him out when I painted the other guys.


Click here to see a post about Marx figures
Click here to see some Marx figures in action
Click here to see a post about SWTS figures

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Steve Weston Toy Soldiers - Toy Soldiers

Steve Weston Toy Soldiers is a British Business. It is both a dealer of toy soldiers from all periods and other manufacturers, as well as being a manufacturer of its own line of 54mm figures. At present, its product line is rather small, as they have only been producing their own figures for a few years and the range is mostly focused on the Wild West, however, they do have one interesting WWII set as you will see below. The other really unique and interesting offering that they have is a 1/32 British WWI Mark IV 'Tadpole' tank and its German counterpart the A7V tank. Those of course, are beyond the scope of this blog, however they do deserve a mention due to the uniqueness factor if you are into WWI, you might want to get some of those. 

Steve Weston Toy Soldiers British Infantry
This is their sinlge WWII set. As you can see, overall it is nicely sculpted. I like how the figures are standing with their weight shifted off-center as the poses look more realistic that way. They also come with a good amount of equipment on them, which shows that they pay attention to detail. Perhaps the only thing to criticize is how wide the helmets are. The helmets on a couple of them, like the guy on the very left, remind me of the helmets used by the Star Wars troops protecting the Emperor. Overall, a decent set to add to the collection. As you can see, at the time I took this picture I was in the process of painting them. Once they are fully painted they look better!


Click here to see British Infantry in action