Austin sent us these two pictures of his father’s figures. The figures are shown painted, they will be sold unpainted. From the pictures we have learn that the figure kneeling firing the rifle will not be in the first release. The first release will have three new poses which are in the first photo. The first photo has a pose of an Indian scout. He is in the back of the photo and will be in a later release of cavalry figures. The figures will be available at OTS in September.
Those D**N bases ruin some good figures!!
Very good looking figures. Gotta love the Eastwood figure. Good to hear they are going to do Cavalry in the future but I wonder which maker they’ll be comparable with TSSD or Paragon? The bases don’t bother me.
I like what I see. Very good job. Cavalry figures? Always acceptable. Even Custer figures. One thing I found out about doing figures of Custer, doesn’t matter if you like him or not, he sells!
Do three different ones from the movies. Flynn from “They Died With Their Boots On”, Lamond from Walt Disney’s “Tonka”, and Maunder from t.v.’s “Legend of Custer” series.
Gives you a choice and can set up different scenes.
Also, if they would like to build a fort, do not do a stockade. 90% of them were not stockaded but were just a cluster of buildings around a parade ground.
I always like to suggest the 1960 kid’s book, “Long Knife” by Glenn Dines. His illustrations are great and wonderful to use as a guide. Plus his sketch of a fort out on the plains would be fantastic to recreate for these plastic figures.
I have the book if Austin wants to see some pics of these.
I managed to pick up the Austin Miniatures figures in plastic resin at the Indy show. The new sculpts are very nice, great detail, good action poses, the stands are a bit big on the new poses as you can see, but they are very nice quality figures. As has been reported by others the kneeling firing rifle pose seems like it will be excluded from the first production run.
The Indy show was a bit of a disappointment this year, the crowd was down presumably due to the forcasted blizzard. so the show was slow to say the least and found some of the dealers packing up with and hour and one half to go. The Saturday traffic when the weather was beautiful was also slow in my opinion. Despite all this I had a good time and was able to replenish my stock of figures for resale and conversions. I did make a number of sales, nothing big , but enough to defray my costs. I think I brokered more sales for others then I did for myself. Despite the fact I didn’t make millions, I still enjoy this show. I do a lot if trading with the other dealers and because of the lack of crowds I get to talk to the guys I only see 3 or 4 times a year.
The Indy Show was fun, as the toy soldier shows always are. I also noticed the reduced attendance, especially on Sunday, the day of the show itself. But I got what I was looking for: 80 loose 60mm Atlantic Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians (from Fred Bauer), as well as 3 separate MIB Atlantic Greeks, Greek Cavalry, and Trojans, respectively (from Rich Eagan and Ed Borris). I also obtained a MIB Atlantic 60mm Buffalo Bill Western Set, and an Atlantic WWII Indian Army MIB (from MarxMan John Stengle). From Toymeister I got the Timmee and Lido Knights I was looking for, and from another dealer I got 10 blue Marx Cpt. Gallant Legionairres, and another 10 in silver. This many vintage figures can be a little expensive, but overall I noticed that prices were down from the heyday of the 80s and 90s. Ron Barzso was there on Sunday morning with his wife, and mentioned that his playsets are not selling as well as they used to. He said he’s worried there may be the same ageing decline in the numbers of collectors of 1950s and 1960s plastic, as there has already been in the number of collectors of metal dimestores from the 1930s and 1940s.
John Stengle also felt the number of plastic buyers was down (and that comment was made before he saw the anemic Sunday morning attendance). From him I bought his last 4 bags of Cherilea Saxon and Viking reissues, because I thought they might go well with TSSD’s somewhat tallish Romans. I also got his last Dulcop mounted Zorro accompanied by a Dulcop Zorro on foot. Both these Zorros have nice flowing capes, and I’m putting them in with my Barzso Zorro set of 3-4 years back.
Of course, I enjoy my plastic toy soldier collection, but I recognize that when I try to sell it in 15 – 20 years there may be few people who are interested in it. For right now, though, I’m still enjoying the hobby, including the shows where we all get to see each other again.
Hi Don
You got a lot of good stuff at the show, good for you. I love the Dulcop Zorro figures especially the foot.
In regards to Ron Barzso’s comments yes our age group is declining. The problem is the next age group grew up with action figures and the action figure market is stilll getting new blood. We are not. For me, plastic is still selling well on Ebay. The problem at shows is the people who go to the shows are the same ones who have been going for years. On Ebay I am selling to people I would never meet. I have sold twice to a party in North Pole Alaska. (No his name is not Santa Claus LOL) I do not know how long it will last, I will run with it as long as I can.
” Ron Barzso was there on Sunday morning with his wife, and mentioned that his playsets are not selling as well as they used to. He said he’s worried there may be the same ageing decline in the numbers of collectors of 1950s and 1960s plastic, as there has already been in the number of collectors of metal dimestores from the 1930s and 1940s.”
Very intuitive statements. This March I’ve participated in a show (train or toy soldier) every weekend and the consensus between my dealer buddies mirror the above comments. But regardless, shows are fun. They are more than money making opportunities, they are means to get out and about and throw the bull with your toy buddies. Bill
Hi Bill
I agree the toy shows are more than just buying and selling. It is a chance to see old friends and for a little forget the crazy world we are in.
My causal observation from shows is that the general public for the most part is interested in the newer items. There are still some vintage collectors, but the walk ins on Sunday seem to pay very little attnetion to the vintage items. I would say that most of my vintage sales are to other dealers or the savvy collector like Don Perkins.
Ed
More collectors are looking for new items to ehance their sets. They are missing some great old items.