21st Century Toys - Toy Soldiers

21st Century Toys began releasing toy soldiers in 1/32 in the early 2000s. They first came out with German Infantry and GIs to complement their new line of vehicles. Their first figures were a bit brittle, with weapons that broke easily. The fact that their figures were factory-painted made them stand out from the regular plastic toy soldiers. Gradually their choice of materials got better and over time their sculpting and design for their bases also improved. Towards the end of their run in the toy soldier industry, they were producing very nice figures as you will see in this post. They even produced a couple sets representing mortar teams. Unfortunately they went out of business a few years back and with them we lost the potential for what could have been several more nicely detailed sets of WWII figures.  

21C Toys German Infantry - Part I

These are the guys that had brittle weapons.

21C Toys German Infantry - Part II

These initial sets came with figures that were glued to the base, which made some of them look off-balance if they had not been glued well.

21C Toys German Infantry - Part III

Some of their bases contained some 'interesting' elements like fences and so on. I did not like that in particular as it makes it harder to place that figure in other settings.

21C Toys German Infantry - Part IV

This was the last of the German series. It is then that they switched to the new base system (the figure came attached to the base) and their sculpting and paint work also improved substantially.

21st Century Toys German Infantry - A conversion

This is a guy that came with along with a building I bought. It's put together well enough that I think it deserves a spot on the page. It's really just the lower body from one guy with the upper body from another, but it turned out nicely.

21C Toys German Infantry PAK crew

These are some nice figures to staff your PAK or most other small caliber artillery pieces in your armies. The sculpting is of the same quality as the later 21C sets, which means that they are well proportioned and detailed. In terms of the poses, I definitely like the guy holding the shell, but the other two are very similar. It would have been good if one of them was posed as if more actively operating the equipment. Anyhow, I am still glad I came across them. I did not know they existed back when 21C was in production. 

21C Toys US Infantry - Part I

Some of the initial GIs. I don't have them grouped exactly in the batches that they were released.

21C Toys US Infantry - Part II

These guys also suffered from soft weapons.

21C Toys US Infantry - Part III

Note how they come on the same bases as the German Infantry.

21C Toys US Infantry - Part IV

21C Toys German Paratroops

Nice figures, but most of them came glued to their bases way off-balance.

21st Century Toys German Afrika Korps - Part I

An early set of AK figures. Fairly decent, but still a few odd things, like the bases. The took the same bases that were attached to the other figures which have cobblestones and other things that feel out of place in the desert. 

21st Century Toys German Afrika Korps - Part II

My favorite man here is the one on the left. I wonder if the one in the middle is asking for quarter or charging forward in a very unusual way? The man on the right seems to be missing a grenade or something in his right hand. 

21C Toys German Afrika Korps - Part III

Here's a later series of German Afrika Korps. Initially I only found two of the six figures, but by now you can start to see the improvements in all areas. Definitely better than the earlier guys.

21C Toys German Afrika Korps - Part IV

Here are the rest of the set. The one thing I don't like is how the paint color varies so much from one set to the next. Primarily that of the boots. I like the colors on the picture above better. The officer's face could have been done slightly better also. Other than that, the figures display a good deal of action, just the way I like them.

21C Toys Italian Infantry

From here on, the sets are all really nice...

21C Toys Japanese Infantry

I don't know if the prone guy required such a big base though.

21C Toys Soviet Infantry

Similar situation with the Soviet figures.

21st Century Toys British Paratroops
I was not aware that 21C Toys had made this set until I ran into it by chance on eBay. They are actually quite nice. I bought 3 sets and the paint job varies from one set to the next, but overall they are nicely finished. The poses are the kind of action pose that I prefer and I also like the variety of weapons that they carry into action. A good addition to the collection!

21st Century Toys Chinese Infantry

This might be the last set that they produced. One of my favorites.

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry - Part I

This set was sold as British Infantry, but from the short trousers, it seems to me like they are 8th Army troopers. This set was produced after the Germans and the Americans, and you can see the new bases and slightly better sculpting, although not as good with the later sets. 

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry - Part II

The guy running is a good action pose. A bit off balance, but nice enough. The guy on the right does not really grab me. There is something about how he is holding his weapon and how he is standing... The man in the center is a nice middle ground.

21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry Series 2 - Part I

This is a set that I had totally missed. I wasn't even aware it existed. Chronologically, it seems to be one of their middle sets, with the sculpting being fairly decent at this stage -take a look at the facial expressions-, the bases not yet so bulky, and already integrated into the figures instead of glued to them. 

 21st Century Toys British 8th Army Infantry Series 2 - Part II

As you can see, the set is comprised of all fighting poses with a good degree of action put into the sculpting. The more a guy is leaning the more I like him. Note also how they have given us figures with both short and long trousers. All in all a nice set from 21C.

21C Toys US Mortar Team - Part I

The figures that come with the mortar sets are not as nice as the regular infantry figures, but the set is still quite nice as it comes with a prepared position that looks quite real and no other previous mortar figures come close to looking this good.

21C Toys US Mortar Team - Part II

21C Toys US Mortar Team - Part III

21C Toys German Mortar Team - Part I

This is the German counterpart. The pit is quite nice. I almost like it more than the figures.

21C Toys German Mortar Team - Part II

I feel that the faces of the figures in this set look too much alike.

21C Toys German Mortar Team - Part III

The pit definitely affords them more protection compared to the US mortar set.

21C Toys German Afrika Korps Mortar Team

I think these guys are a mix of the artillery crew set and the mortar team. The standing guy is the same as the one for the regular infantry's mortar team, except for the uniform colors, but the two kneeling guys are different. I have seen those also in the PAK 40 crew. Now, I don't know if the mortar team included thee figures, or maybe the collector who sold them to me mixed the sets. 

21C Toys US Artillery Crew

This set is actually sold by Four Star Military. I have a feeling it was one of the last sets made by 21C before they went out of business, but you can clearly see that the style and sculpting is the same. This is a five man crew to operate a big gun, like the Long Tom in this picture. It comes with a few extras, such as shells and casings. The one odd pose is the guy who has his foot high up. I had a hard time finding a place to put him where he would look like he was doing something that made sense. Overall a pretty nice set, that will help man quite a few guns.

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Click here to see other Mortar Teams

Introducing the Italian Paratroops

Italy raised a few airborne units, but to my knowledge it did not carry out any airborne operations during the war. At some point, an airborne invasion of Malta was considered, but later the plan was dropped. The different airborne units were La Spezia, Nembo, Ciclone and Folgore. La Spezia, formed in 1941 and originally intended for the Malta operation eventually fought and surrendered in Tunsia. Nembo was formed shortly before the 1943 armistice and then it was crippled by malaria before it could see any action. A new unit on allied side was later formed with the same name. Ciclone was also being formed when the armistice was signed and did not see any action. The Folgore division was the most famous of them all. It in North Africa with distinction. During the second battle of El Alamein in the fall of '42, it held back the allied attacks of more than 5 divisions for about two weeks, inflicting heavy casualties to the Commonwealth's infantry and tank units, fighting on until it was out of ammunition. Most of the Italian men were either killed or captured by the end of the battle. The survivors were organized into an independent battalion and fought on in Tunisia until they were also captured by mid 1943. In terms of toy soldiers, we have a couple sets from Waterloo 1815 and one from Atlantic. Let's take a look.

Waterloo 1815 Folgore Division

A good set for the West Desert campaign. I like how they reflect the relaxed dress code that existed in the North African desert. Note however how most of them retain their para helmets. The only thing I don't quite like about these guys are their bases, which make them a bit wobbly.

Waterloo 1815 Folgore Division Light Artillery 1942 - Part I

These figures are manning a heavy machine gun. The man with the bullets does not quite get to feed them into the MG, but he's still useful to have close by. The spotter with the binoculars is doing a good job. I might just try to remove the plastic that joins the cap to the hands which looks a bit odd. The machine gun itself looks like it could take out more than just infantry. It could easily knock out soft-skin vehicles and maybe even some lightly armored ones, but probably not very effective against some British 8th army Grant and Matilda tanks.

Waterloo 1815 Folgore Division Light Artillery 1942 - Part II

These other guys are the crew for the small howitzer. I am not sure about the caliber of the gun. I thought it might be a 37mm which is what was often issued to the paratroopers as it was easier to drop along with them during an airborne operation. However a reader recently commented that it's likely a 47mm Bohler gun. Apparently the wheels were detachable and it could be mounted on a tripod. It might not be clear from the picture, but all these figures come without a base, but they still manage to stand well on their own. One thing I don't quite like about the gun is that you can't change the elevation without messing around with the peg that inserts into the wheel carriage. All in all a good addition to the Folgore infantry.

Atlantic Italian Paratroops - Part I

This is an interesting set from Atlantic. The poses show more action than their average set. I am not a big fan of the guy jumping over the tree stump, or the guy who is just standing straight, but overall it is a very decent set.

Atlantic Italian Paratroops - Part II

It's good that they gave them an anti-tank weapon. I don't know however about the guy dragging the parachute since they did not really take part in any actual combat missions. I guess you can use him for a fictitious operation or some training scene. When you buy these guys, be aware that they come in a couple different boxes. The blue box only has 6 figures. The yellow box contains all 10 poses.

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New Figure Sets from CTS and TSSD

It had been a while since we had had some new figure releases, but today I learned of two vendors with new sets:

Firts, I got an email from CTS about a new German Medical Set. It looks well done. Not great for gaming but a good set to have if you like setting up scenes or dioramas. Here is a link with some pictures: http://www.classictoysoldiers.com/cgi-bin/ctsc6/rtl/phd.cgi?Autoincrement=005150&tag_rf=54mm

I also found out today that TSSD is enhancing their WWII figure line with some mini-sets of 3-4 figures for the GIs, Marines, Germans, Japanese and Soviets. Here is a link to the announcement and some pictures of the figures:  http://www.sdsoldiers.com/very_new_products_and_hobby_news.htm

Here is also an excerpt from their page:
"ADD-ON MINI-SETS" OF 3 OR 4 FIGURES IN NEW POSES, THAT WILL COMPLIMENT (sic)OUR ORIGINAL SETS:
....WE ARE STARTING WITH WWII GERMANS.
.... THEN, WE WILL RELEASE A SMALL SET OF U.S. GI's.
THESE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY U.S. MARINE AND JAPANESE INFANTRY SETS.
WE WILL ALSO HAVE SOME WWII RUSSIANS."

Definitely a good day for the hobby!

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The Aftermath?

Recently, while working on a post about casting soldiers, I took this picture to illustrate how the result looks when things don't go quite right. Later though, it struck me that this image could also be an allegory for the aftermath of war, whether it is physical, psychological, or even metaphysical.

What about you, what do you see?

Click here to see a post about the Italian Infantry
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UPDATE: One of our readers with a keen eye commented on the Facebook page: 'instantly reminded me of a book i once saw, by Ernst Friedrich, which displays soldiers horrendously maimed during WWI'. I looked up the pictures -the book is called War against War- and I have to say that his observation was right on the mark. Definitely adequate for the physical consequences of War. A reminder that there are worse injuries and wounds than losing an arm or a leg.

Mold Making and Casting

If you landed here inadvertently, but like toy soldiers and vehicles, check out the following links:

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Else, go on and find out how to make your own toy soldiers!

 

Some years back I got the itch to learn how to cast figures on my own. What prompted me to try this was the fact that I was having trouble finding more Airfix Italian guys. These figures have been out of production for many years and they are really hard to come by. At the time I had not really discovered eBay's scheduled searches, so this seemed like a good alternative. I had a handful of original figures which I had purchased at a local toy soldier show which could be used to seed my army. Out of principle I would never copy a figure that is still in production, and certainly never with the intent of reselling, regardless of whether it is still in production or not. The best way to keep the hobby going is to support the manufacturers that continue to produce figures today. Having said that, if you ever need to clone a figure that you can't get some other way, this is one way it can be done. Note that I have only attempted this once (it is a good amount of work), so I am by no means an expert. I am just passing on the knowledge I acquired. And I should also give credit, where it is due: Sheperd Paine's book 'How to Build Dioramas'. It is a great resource. 

Part I - Making the Mold

The first thing you need to do is make a 'bed' of modeling clay into which you will insert the figures you want to copy. The picture here shows the one I used (the original figures would also be present). I cut it into three parts when I put it away, but in reality it would be one whole piece. You will need to be careful to insert the figures in a way that none of the resulting mold will be trapped under the figure. This means that figures are sunk into the clay at different depths. While the natural inclination might be to leave half of the figure above the clay, in reality sometimes more and sometimes less than half the figure sticks out of the clay, and sometimes a part of a figure needs to be deeper than the rest of the body and viceversa. The original figure usually has a fine line showing where the two halves of the original mold met, so that will give you an idea of how to set the figures in the clay. You will also need to make a few indentations that will serve to lock the two halves of your mold in place (see vertical arrow). The other thing that you will need, is a strip of plastic or clay (not shown in the picture) to place where the horizontal arrow is, which will create the necessary space for the 'pouring sprue'.

The next thing you need is to build a box around the clay with enough elevation to hold the liquid rubber that will be poured on top of it. There are several ways of building such a box. This worked well for me since I was making a long mold. BTW, I should probably mention here that in retrospective it might be better to make individual molds for each figure. I initially thought that it would be more efficient to make a big one for the whole set. While it is true that making individual molds will use up more time and material, it will also be easier/cheaper to make a second mold of one figure if the first one does not turn out 100% to your satisfaction, which is likely be the case with your first tries.

To keep the box in place you can use a set of clamps. You really want to keep it all stable and tight.

Then you need your liquid rubber.  I used a product made by Smooth-On. They used to have a great starter kit that they would mail you for free with all the substances that you need and lots of instruction material. This box contained enough liquid rubber to make one half of the mold, so I still had to purchase a second box.

The liquid rubber comes in two bottles that will turn into solid when you mix them. The curing time for the rubber was fairly long that you do not need to worry about pouring it super quickly. The liquid plastic is another story, but we will get to that further below.

As I said, the Smooth-On products come with plenty of instructions. From a simple high-level summary in the back of the box to more detailed printed materials that guide you through the process.

Before you pour the liquid rubber on top of the clay/figures, you will want to coat then with the Sealing Agent (also from the Smooth-On starter kit), which makes sure that the rubber won't stick to the clay or the figures.

After pouring you will let it cure for several hours (see rubber instructions for precise time). This is how the first half looks after you flip it upside down and remove the layer of clay. Note that you should leave the figures in there. If you remove them it will be hard to set them back exactly as they were. Also the plastic or clay for the pouring sprue should remain in place.

Next you will want to assemble your super box around the first half of the mold in preparation for pouring another batch of liquid rubber to make the second half of the mold.

This time you will want to cover the lower half of the mold with the Mold Release Agent (bottle on the right). BTW, they both come with a spray cap.

After pouring the second batch of liquid rubber and letting it cure, you can then remove the figures and the plastic or clay for the pouring sprue and you should have two halves that match each other nicely. The  pegs that stick out on one of them fit into the holes on the other one and keep it all well in place.

Then comes a scary part. You will need to cut pouring channels into your mold, joining the figure cavity to the pouring sprue. As you can see, I cut two per figure. One of them is to pour in the liquid plastic. The second one is to let the air escape. I cut them large to allow the plastic to go in quickly. What I later realized is that it wasted quite a bit of plastic and also made it hard to cut them off from the final figure. So perhaps shorter  (setting the figures closer to the pouring sprue) and thinner might have worked out better.

It was after I cast my first figures that I ran into the real challenges. I kept getting air bubbles in my cast figures. The liquid plastic that I was pouring was quickly blocking both ducts, preventing the air from escaping. So I had to cut additional air escape ducts from where the air was getting trapped, usually the lowest points in the figures, or places where the plastic has to flow back up. If I were to do it all over again, I might have cut the air escape ducts in a better way. It got a bit messy and complicated, but hey, I was learning on the fly and I was really scared of ruining the molds.

Part II - Casting the Figures

OK, so next comes the step about pouring the liquid plastic. You will need to assemble your two halves into one, and hold it tight in place. To do that I made another wooden box that was held in place with a bigger set of clamps. Remember to coat both halves of your mold with the Release Agent. This will not only make it easy to remove the figures, but it will also preserve your mold, otherwise it starts to get little tears each time you remove a figure and those marks will show on the next figures you cast.

Then you are ready to pour. You will want to do so through one of the holes that you made on each figure. The liquid plastic also comes with the Smooth-On starter kit in two separate bottles that harden when you mix them. Note that they react within minutes, so you really need to work very fast. BTW, when you mix the liquid plastic that is also when you add a few drops of the color that you want for your figures. The plastic is some shade of white, so I added a handful of black drops into the mix which resulted in a light grey.  

So here is another mistake I made. The first time I poured the plastic I just emptied my mixing container on top of the pouring sprue. This was a bad idea. The first problem is that it blocked the air escape ducts, so the plastic never made it in. The second problem is that it created this block of wasted plastic the size of the pouring sprue.

Then I switched to injecting the plastic. I had to get a bigger syringe to hold enough plastic for all the figures. This was not without complications. If I was not fast enough and the plastic hardened within the syringe it was very difficult to clean up and after a while the tip of the rubber plunger stopped working properly (it would remain inside when I pulled the plunger out). But if you work quickly and can replace the syringe a few times, then this method worked OK. I would also recommend getting a plastic type with a longer curing time, even it it means waiting longer between each batch of figures that you cast (had I known better at the time!). Anyhow, after you pour the plastic, then you just wait the prescribed time, disassemble your box/mold and remove your figures. You will then need to cut off any plastic that remains attached to them from the injection/air ducts.

Part III - The Result

The clone is on the right. All the casts I made of this figure have that bubble on the chin. I think that was a defect on the mold, rather than an actual air bubble. After I took the picture I noticed that the house on the background (which is made of injected foam) also has similar defects on its stones.

It would be misleading to only show the pictures of the figures that turned out well. For every one that turned out acceptable, there were two or three that had some unacceptable defect. I believe I could get the success rate higher with a few adjustments, but for now I have the figures I wanted so no need to keep experimenting. And about casting other hard-to-find sets, if I can find them on eBay I'll gladly spare myself all this effort!

This is just another type of box that you can use to make your mold. It is too deep and too big for an individual figure, but the concept of how the parts fit with each other works well.

Here is a closer look at how it is built.

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