Steve Zubel contacted me wondering if there would be a market for new Peco style figures. I thought I would to get feedback from you the readers to help Steve in deciding whether it was a viable project or not.
Hi Paul,
I’d like your advice on an idea please. There are castable urethane rubbers that can be dyed different colors and used for designer toys to replicate PVC.
Do you think there would be a market for “Peco style” figures complete with accessories?
I think if I did Americana type themes like more pirates, and gold rush figures, maybe a 49’ers pack mule. More Indians and cowboys. For military, maybe the Revolution, the Civil war; maybe WW2 Germans or Korean war enemy soldiers.
Do you think there might be Peco collectors that would want this?
Regards,
Steve
In a word…Nope.
I doubt it as the Pecos figures were never big sellers and not common. Due to their somewhat rarity they bring good money in the after market. Only the armymen, cowboys and Indians sell for $5 or less each. So few collectors have large collections of Pecos and their larger size means that they don’t blend well with the 54 or 60mm figures most of us collect.
I don’t have any, and see them so infrequently at shows I had to look them up on Kent Sprecher’s website. True, they wouldn’t fit in with battle dioramas of 54mm or 60mm figures, but I still think they’re kind of neat and would like to have a collection of them — especially pirates and 49ers with a nice mule and covered wagon, and other American history themes.
I would say probably not, at least not as a mass produced money maker. Me, I like them and I had a collection which I mostly sold off, I still have some. If they made them smaller and were for periods that are popular I could see some decent sales. However, in their original size, I would say they wouldn’t draw much interest.
If they are downsized to 54mm-60mm and the web gear/holsters are molded on it would be unique to have removable hats/helmets and weapons. An American toy soldier with a para-style uniform could pass for WW2 to the Vietnam War given Garands, M-14’s, and M-16’s as weapon sets and helmets with mesh, camo covers and Berets, Marine caps, Castro-like 1950’s style US army caps, and Boonie jungle caps. These could then be glued on or whatever preference. I think the maker could sell more in this style because of the variety it offers the buyer.
I appreciate everyone’s input, and I want to thank our host Stad for posting the idea. I’ve decided to scrap Peco style figures and focus on 1/32 scale figures in colored urethane resin.
stez
What era? Going to have a business like Plastic Underground and P & P? Silicone molds and poured figures? Plastic Underground started reinforcing the weapons with metal and since then his figures are almost unbreakable.
I’m starting with WW2 Soviet women at war. Then will come the early war years, Poland, France, Greece.
Resin to start with, but enventually to be injection molded LDPE like Replicants.
stez
Skip the d**n resin and go straight to “plastic”.
Oh And FLAT bases eh no mini mountains!!
I decided some time ago that I wasn’t going to purchase any more resin figures from Barzso, only plastic. I’ve actually bought every playset Ron Barzso has released, resin figures and all, but his plastic figures are so absolutely superior that they are the only things I want anymore, and I will forego his next playset if the figures are resin.
What is wrong with resin?
I don’t have any urethane resin figures, so I’m unfamiliar with their foibles.
stez
Steve, did you ever get round to making resin figures?
Yes whatever became of this?Never heard anything since these posts.
I can only comment on the Barzso figures I have of Battle of New Orleans, Woodland Indians and others. They get brittle, smell awful and are hard to trim for painting. These Barszo figures were bought about 10 years ago and the resin material out now may be better quality. I don’t mean to knock Barszo figures they are nicely sculpted but I wish they could re-do their older figures in plastic. I like your choice of early WW2 Polish and French troops are long overdue. The Greeks would be interesting also. Not so sure if a set of all woman Russians would be a big seller though. Korean War Chinese and N. Koreans would also be nice.
There were appx 1,500,000 women out of appx 12,000,000 soldiers in the Russian army in WW2.
I’m doing them because I want to. I think they’re cool. Plus, it’s not the sort of thing the bigger companies will do.
stez
Yes woman serve a lot the men in the Russian army ,some were” great snipers” and pilots too according to Russian accountability. Others -most cookers/else. The Russian army from 1940-1945 enlisted 33.5 million soldiers not 12 000 millions.
I think few companies had depicted then before in plastic, among then starlux.
Doing it will increase the variety of then as were used more than any army in war at field. So it depend if including one woman pose in a set of 8 it won’t hurt at all in my opinion I guess!!
Which is exactly what TSSD did when it released its set of 8 WWII Soviet Army set a few years back — it included a female Soviet sniper pose.
yep,thanks Don.I forgot then..so I guess we got enough so far..
There was much propaganda value in showing off the female snipers, but in fact there were only a few thousand out of about 1 million who served as snipers throughout the war. There were a few entire infantry regiments composed of women, but the idea was discontinued. Later on, female tank drivers were released from the Chelyabinsk factory complex to crew tanks and SPGs. I’m not sure of how many did that, but I bet Erwin will know. There was a large amount of females in the medical corps, right on down to what the US would call a Combat Medic (or Corpsman in the Navy). Pretty much all armies used females in the clerical services and the USSR was no exception there, either. Females served in a lot of ‘home guard’ type units that often did see combat. They were used a lot for Anti Air crews. Use in communications was also extensive and an unknown number jumped in with teams behind enemy lines as radio operators / interceptors. Info about any Soviet airborne operations is still a close hold in Russia and most of what we know is from German sources. Before things got squirrely after the Glasnost period, a book came out (available in English) called ‘Unfulfilled Promise – Story of the Soviet Paras’. It had more info in it than we ever knew before, but it was not terribly detailed.
100% correct Greg; was more propaganda than actual mass enlisted front line female role in the RED army. Even German from 1943 till war end use entire female units as AA crews and ammunition carrier troopers in trucks on top of regular all armies female role as nurse, cookers ,field communication/else.UK suffer the most highest single lost of female personal in 1941 when the battle of Britain in two bomb attack on radar installation. None was front line but radio/radar military female royal attached personal.
Most WW2 snipers account were also miss interpreted and exaggerated to bust morale and post war soviet propaganda ,the same to rest of countries/armies. Most female soviet snipers act in team of three ,but give credit to one by politic/else supervision on kill count. This has come out in resent old archive release from war diaries. I’m not take off any credit of female Russian soldiers but just mention a more realist observation of the veracity. Any ways is all about toy soldiers and not history.
I bet you knew this; the whole Zeitsev-Koenig sniper duel was a Soviet propaganda story. There is NO record of this Major Koenig in the German sniper schools and an officer would not be a sniper, anyhow. His job is ‘management’ in loose civilian equivalent. I guess we’re all into toy soldiers for our own reasons, but even as a kid, the toys made me look into the History and the History now makes me look into the toys. For me, I can’t understand why you wouldn’t be spurred on with curiosity. I’m guessing you feel this way, too.
Has anyone in the hobby considered 3-D printing of figures in LDPE ? You could print all sorts of figures and accessories , even re-scale your favourite figures or accessories to a different size or scale.
I have look at it and feel it will be the way our hobby goes because to make molds for plastic figures is too expensive. Problem is the time it takes to make a figure. I do not have the time to spend on it as I have too many other projects demanding my attention.
I wonder if this is the process TSSD used to make their Romans?
I have just started to try and build a collection of Peco figures. If there is anyone out there wanting to sell their Peco figures of Pirates, Cowboys, Indians, and GIs, I’m interested. Thanks for any help.
Dan St. John
If anyone can help Dan contact me and I will put you in touch with Dan.
Thank you, very much.
When I was much younger, these guys were my companions and I thought very much of them. I went off to ‘life’ and I think my mother misplaced them.
(As Mother’s tend to sometimes do.)
So now, I would like to make re-acqaintance with some of these guys from my past. (Kind of closing a circle or something.)
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
As to the question above, — which has already been decided— I would have said that someone should try to produce figures like Peco’s. But my bias would have been showing.
The favorite figures today– by my account— are the Hasbro Marvel 6″ action figures. With Marvel on a roll with their movies, action figures of Marvel characters ARE somewhat popular. How popular I don’t know.
Production of new action figures must compete with these figures. Hasbro also has the Star Wars franchise.
Cowboys, Indians, GIs, and Pirates are probably ‘old news’ to today’s collectors and I’m not sure how, in today’s market, you appeal to this contemporary audience.
The DC action figure characters were address by the DC Classic Universe line by Mattel and continues to be addressed by Mattel’s DC Multiverse.
I would love to see these figures made or re-issued. What the draw is– is probably the sculpting of the figures (see the Pirate figures- Great stuff) and the accessories. The hats, the gun-belts, the guns, — there was a lot of fun to be had by boys of seven or eight who would execute western dramas or action-packed serials from the Saturday matinees.
Fantasy never had better friends than these Peco figures at my house.
Thanks for any help in closing my circle.!!
Dan,I love the Peco pirates also (( they were before my time,but I now have a few Peco figures ) they are a little cartoonish but they have their own attractive caricature,I also like the Davy Crockett and to a lesser extent the Indians,cowboys and army figures. I have some ideas about Peco figures you might be interested.
Hi, Mark:
I guess we have something in common; the Peco figures– and especially the Davy Crockett figure.
He was my favorite, too.
I’m interested in your ideas.
Sincerely,
Thank you for your response.
Dan
I sold all my Pecos except Davey Crocket, I need his knife in brown to 100% complete him. I did like the pirates a lot, but I sold them anyway.
Oh, Ed–
Wished I knew you before you sold those ‘guys’.
Darn. LOL.
Thanks for a response.
I liked the Davy Crockett figure, too. If I find an extra knife in brown, I will know who to contact.
(My Davy was brown and his accessories were green. He didn’t always play the part of Davy Crockett, — sometimes he had to play the part of Range Rider …. ala’ Jock Mahoney… with encouragement from the director. Me.!! He was good at playing his parts after a little coaxing.!!)
Best to you,
Dan
Dan
I closely examined TSSD’s female sniper and noted a couple of things, she has the butt of her sniper rifle in the crook of her elbow (ouch!!!) and she’s not even looking in the scope. Oh well, it is a toy.
Good observation!!! May be she was posing for propaganda picture or learning to shoot!!.LOL!!.Yep toys ;but latest production I thought should be more historical accurate!!??
Even marx back in time use some very good sculptors who know how to do a proper pose. Airfix ‘s sculptor was another great one too. Most companies today do generally good accurate poses, some like AIP “pure toy” soldiers were anatomy get lost in the 2 D mold style.
Metal figures generally are more great but when paint job take over some times they look like clown too!!
Well, she was accurate, she just wasn’t prepared to shoot. I mean she looks fine anatomically and probably historically, just the pose a bit off. She portrays a female sniper and it’s just that if she takes that shot it’s going to hurt and I don’t think she’ll hit anything. I had a shotgun once where the stock was too long and when I would fire it the stock would actually rest of my biceps, not only could I not hit anything after a few shots I had a bruise the size of a baseball on my biceps, ouch. Needless to say I had it trimmed down.
Ed,that shotgun experience was painful but made me laugh, remain me my first time with one as boy too ,I gut hurt too.
Dan,
Mine is green with brown accessories, I was missing the rifle too, but I picked it up at OTSN for $5.00. I got the figure and most of the accessories in Texas for $40.00. I think Kent Sprecher still has some pirates for sale on his site. He did the last time I checked. Toy Soldiers Headquarters , a search on that name should get you there.
ed,
Yes, thanks. I went there and raided the place and got Captain Kidd and some army gear.
I got Davy with a brown hat that, I think, was probably on a Miner figure– which pleased me to no end. That’s how I had him back in the old days. Anyway, I’m now looking for the Pecos kid and gear for the Miner figure that I have. I’m making progress, so thanks for the tip.
Can you think of any other line of figures in that scale — that would be compatible with those Peco figures. (Always trying to expand my world.)
I used to have Archer’s Spacemen, too. But I can’t seem to think of any other toy line that might have Western heroes in that scale.
You??
Dan
It was a 12 gauge so it had a decent kick too. Just thinking about it makes my arm hurt.
Dan,
Glad to help. I do know a guy that sells re-cast equipment for Pecos figures. I should see him a week from this coming Sunday at the Kane County show. Last show he didn’t bring any with him. He is expensive though. I’ll keep my eye out for Pecos for you. As a matter of fact I sold my last 6 Pecos figures with equipment at that show in the fall. I do have some Indians with no accessories, a couple anyway.
Wow.!! Yes, ed,— the guy that sells re-cast equipment for Pecos figures sounds really hopeful. I hope you see him at the Kane County show. I would be interested in ‘equipment’ if he’s not toooo steep.!!
Thanks. I really appreciate it.
Dan
Ed, that sounds great, I would greatly appreciate it if you could help in getting in contact with him !
Mark
I’ll get his card, I probably have it somewhere already. I think he charges like $5.00 for a sword or a pistol. He also does re-casts of the Gun Smoke figures and he wants a lot for them.
Thanks ED !
Ed,
Are you saying you think he could ‘re-cast’ Peco’s Hats, gun-belts, and guns.?? $5.oo certainly seems ‘reasonable’. I can’t seem to find Pecos Kid’s guns. Maybe they were so small that almost everyone lost them.!! Geeeesh.!!
I hope you’re saying he can… because I’ll have Army Guys, Pirates, and Cowboys badly in need of ‘equipment’!!
Dan
What do you guys, you and Mark, usually collect??
He had a bit of everything the last time he brought items to the show. The show is next Sunday so I’ll see what he has, if it’s reasonable I’ll pick up a bunch, give me a wish list. I know he re-cast guns, I believe hats , knives and things like that. I don’t think he re-cast belts, but I didn’t check that close. I had two fully equipped cowboys, the miner and some GI’s as well. Now I have Davey and two Indians with no accessories.
I collect 60mm Marx mainly cav , pioneers and Indians. I have about 50 Ausleys cowboys and Indians. Quite a few Barzso character figures, two Gibbs Custers, lots of various stuff, more into figures than play sets. I have a lot of stuff, but I turned into more of a dealer than a collector it seems. Almost everything I have is for sale. I do quite a bit of Alamo conversions. I have two mostly complete Fort Apache’s for sale one Rin Tin Tin and one stockade, Barzso’s Battle of New Orleans, A Canadian Fort Apache with 54mm figures, A heritage Alamo. I have figures everywhere, but barely anything past the Custer era.
Ed,
I’m a little boggled with the ‘possibilities’.
Anyway, ….right now I’ve got one each of Miner, Davy, and Pecos Kid. I plan to get more.
The ones I have are green or greenish-blue… so …
I could use more than> (2) -Miner hats …. in black and brown.
…. more than> (2) Pecos Kid hats …. in black and brown.
If he can do gun-belts …. (2) gun-belts from the Pecos Kid… in black and brown.
And if he can do guns…. (4) pistols from the Pecos Kid… in black and brown. Two @.
At least, two rifles for the Miner. I may need a bunch more rifles for the Army guys and either western hats or Army helmets. (Yet to be decided.)
And when I get more Pirates, — I would like to deck them out in Western garb. Hats, gun belts and guns.
So, after I see what this guy can do, I will probably need a lot more.!!
Man, if he can do this– it will be so great!!
Dan– “o’ he of high hopes.”
Thanks, Ed,— you’ve just injected a great deal of excitement into my world.
Do you know how many colors these western guys come in??
Blue, Green, Brown, Red ….. and what else?? Anything.?? I’ve seen some Indians that are Yellow… but no cowboys.
I had a brown Miner, a yellow Indian and a blue Pecos Kid –years … and a Century ago.!!
Well, I had a blue cowboys, a green Davey, red and brown Indians. I had a light tan color too I believe in the GI’s. Those are the only colors I have seen. Not too sure what color weapons and hats he has in stock, or even what weapons. I’ll probably just get his card and let you contact him, maybe he can make special orders I don’t know. I’ll talk to him and find out what details I can.
Ed ,I collected from about 1988 – 2001,right now I’m not so much collecting except in a few cases such as Peco figures ( I would like to see if I can enlarge them to ” 6 inch size ” and sell a few , I also have to find a good hard/strong Rubber casting material ), I just started going to Flea Markets searching for figures I might be able to sell, I still love looking at old figures, seeing rare figures/accessories I have not seen before and seeing the new figures coming out, I ‘am working on some my own original sculpts and also conversions ,
Thanks for asking !
Mark
Ed,
That sounds great. My wish list is at the beginning stage.
What about your pirates??
My Captain Kidd & Blackbeard were blue with black accessories.
My Morgan and Long John Silver were red with black accessories.
And yes, –I forgot about that light tan on the Army G.I.s. I had that tan on a couple of my Fighting G.I.’s and dark green on others.
Were there “knock-offs” of the Peco figures?? Do somebody produce ‘bad copies’ in white and light blue of G.I.’s that I’ve seen .??
(I’m really hoping this guy can help us. (Ah, … me and Mark..) I would like to have my figures with hats, rifles, gun-belts, and pistols…. like you have your Davy Crockett.)
Dan
Dan
My pirate accessories were red. I do remember seeing any of the pirate accessories in black in my wonderings.
Mark,
How about the colors of the Peco Figures that you know of.??
The idea of getting the Pecos into a 6″ scale sounds really interesting. — Especially since most of my figure Collection are in the 6″ scale.
I have some DCUC with the DC comic characters and Hasbro’s Marvel Legends with some of the Marvel comics characters. The Hasbro figures are getting pretty nice in the last year or so.
Daredevil is just out as is Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Scarlet Witch, and others — and they are looking pretty nice.
You say you’ve been collecting since about ’88….
I’ve been collecting, I guess, on and off since the ’50’s… mostly off …. jumped on Super Powers in the early ’80’s… then off for a while… then, back on with DC Universe Classics and now Hasbro Marvel Legends.
My pitch goes out to you, too. I am really looking for those Pico figures …. so, if you find any that you don’t want, …. I hope you think of me.!!
The idea of making those Peco figures in 6″ is really interesting to me, too.
I wonder if we could find out the material used to make the original Peco figures.??
My brother lives in Portland, Oregon…. so, I asked him to look around for figures for me. You know, since Portland was the headquarters of Peco!!
Dan —(The Peco Man??) — rhymes but I may have to ‘work’ on it. LOL.!!
Will keep an eye open for Peco figures for you Dan, I sold my better ones years ago ( including one of the mint Davey Crockett in package,cannot remember the color though I think it was either tan or maybe green ?) ,now I’m back to collecting some again,I guess the hunting part is a lot of the fun ! I have seen Peco in different browns/tans, light blue, reddish, green there was probably other colors also.
I bought mine on ebay, not cheap but if you want them bad enough you pay for them, I see a Blackbeard on ebay now,no accessories starting at $ 45.00.
I doubt it but I might still have a pirate or two in storage missing some accessories,I’ll have to look for them ?
It would be great to get the recast accessories ( what accessories/quality ?) !
I need a Blackbeard and various accessories,good hunting Dan !
I’m not familiar with PECOS but the pirates always are the best for me.Now I have few question about then(pirates)
How many poses were done and if name character based or not!?
What price range the sale usually as I had seen then on shows and eBay for some high end bid price per one figure more than any other Peco figure??
I’m not an expert Erwin,but from what I know there were four different pirates,Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Morgan and Longjohn Silver, each it appears with it’s own accessories,they are kind of cartoonish but they still have a wonderful attraction to them ( in my opinion anyways ) I recommend Richard O’Brien’s great book Collecting American Made Toy Soldiers for more info.
I just paid about $82.00 for a Longjohn Silver on ebay missing the peg leg accessory another Peco pirate went for $ 91.oo I believe with all accessories ( correct me if I’m wrong anybody ) but I think each might of had a total of eight accessories.
You can find Peco pirates and other Peco figures if you use Google Images .
Mark
Thank you Mark, you answer all and send me in right direction too. I appreciate your quick response. Yes I do love the pirates most!!-indeed they are attractive..
Payton made knocks offs of the Peco’s GI’s. They were strange colors and had stranger colored equipment. I think they were a tad smaller and a very different type of plastic. I know had aqua blue weapons and white weapons and equipment.
I think my pirates were the same colors blue and red. I think I had two of each color.
Peco’s had 2 or 3 series of GI’s the later series you hardly ever see, like the prone firing a machine gun guy. I had one, but no machine gun.
Kent Sprecher should have pictures of the pirates on his site if you have trouble finding them. ( toy soldiers headquarters) He may have pictures of all the peco’s figures I’m not sure.
Right Ed, I have some of the copies and Kent does have some nice photos of the Peco figures not to mention many other fine photos of many other plastic figures on his great site , I highly recommend checking it out !
Dan and Mark
The next issue of Playset is suppose to have an article on Peco.
“admin says:
April 19, 2015 at 10:28 PM
Dan
My pirate accessories were red. I do remember seeing any of the pirate accessories in black in my wonderings.”
Reply: Yes, admin., we are familiar with those black and red pirate Accessories. I have seen and did have some red accessories.
“admin says:
April 19, 2015 at 10:25 PM
Dan and Mark
The next issue of Playset is suppose to have an article on Peco.”
Thanks for the tip. I’ll be looking for it.
Hey, you guys, —
by posting on this site, am I making it harder or easier to find my Peco Figures.??
Dan
I have removed part of your comment as we do not need to bash a seller for prices. As pointed out by Mark Peco pirates have shot up in price. The dealer that you complained about has sold two pirates around the $85.00. I am amazed at the prices that they are getting and kick myself for passing over one recently.
I do not agree on the use of rare on items in listings as it has been over used.
My philosophy on items is I set a limit if I get it at my price fine if not I will wait as it will come up again.
Right Dan, how bad do you want it, I paid about $ 82.00 0r $ 83.00 for a Longjohn Silver the other day ( because I wanted then ) I’m happy with it , if you want just be patient,just keep looking everywhere,check dealer lists,toy shows,flea markets, magazine ads, wherever and you will probably find something at a lower price !
The Hunt is a big part of the fun,Good Luck !
P.S. A lot of times when someone lists something as rare on ebay,don’t be surprised to see a couple more on the same page !
Mark says:
April 19, 2015 at 7:16 PM
“Will keep an eye open for Peco figures for you Dan, I sold my better ones years ago ( including one of the mint Davey Crockett in package,cannot remember the color though I think it was either tan or maybe green ?) ,now I’m back to collecting some again,I guess the hunting part is a lot of the fun ! I have seen Peco in different browns/tans, light blue, reddish, green there was probably other colors also.
I bought mine on ebay, not cheap but if you want them bad enough you pay for them, I see a Blackbeard on ebay now,no accessories starting at $ 45.00.
I doubt it but I might still have a pirate or two in storage missing some accessories,I’ll have to look for them ?
It would be great to get the recast accessories ( what accessories/quality ?) !
I need a Blackbeard and various accessories,good hunting Dan !”
Reply:
Yes, thanks, Mark. I would really appreciate any help in finding those Peco guys.
It really was my prize collection of figures.
I, also, had a few other western figures that I’ve renewed my interest in. Stuart’s Roy Rogers Stuff.
I just bought Roy, Dale, Pat, Bullet, ….and saddle and harness…. so, now, I’m after a good Trigger and a couple other horses.
Know what.?? You’re right. The search is a lot of the fun.
Owwwww.?? You sold your Davy … and it could have been tan.!!? I’m sorry I missed that. I sure would like to find a Crockett that was tan. Even if he doesn’t have all of his accessories. (Even if they were green. LOL.!!)
Life sure is strange:
“One man’s discarded toy … is another’s dream-full-fillment.”
I would love to “replace” my old collection with the same colors and accessories that I once had. But, I’m seeing that it’s not so easy.
“I have seen Peco in different browns/tans, light blue, reddish, green there was probably other colors also.”
Yes. I was wondering just how many colors the Pecos were in.
I’ve seen, like you said, browns/tans, light blues, red, reddish, greens … and I had an Indian that was Yellow (the Indian with his hand raised)… but I wondered if any of the western guys were colored yellow.??
Were there other colored accessories that were other than brown, red and black??
Is that inclusive.??
“ed borris says:
April 19, 2015 at 8:45 PM
Payton made knocks offs of the Peco’s GI’s. They were strange colors and had stranger colored equipment. I think they were a tad smaller and a very different type of plastic. I know had aqua blue weapons and white weapons and equipment.
I think my pirates were the same colors blue and red. I think I had two of each color.
Peco’s had 2 or 3 series of GI’s the later series you hardly ever see, like the prone firing a machine gun guy. I had one, but no machine gun.
Kent Sprecher should have pictures of the pirates on his site if you have trouble finding them. ( toy soldiers headquarters) He may have pictures of all the peco’s figures I’m not sure.
Reply: Yes. It was Payton that did those ‘knock-offs”.
I think I just got some of those figures when I bought a bunch of army figures in a “lot”.
I don’t know what I’ll do with them. I don’t think I’ll find them very attractive to have.
I’ll know a little better when I have them in hand.
Kent has a Captain Kidd with pistol for sale if Mark or anyone needs one.
I bought Kidd there with some equipment. Even a Black Parrot.!! Wow.!!
And, yes, Kent has pictures of the Pirates and the Cowboys and Indians— and G.I.s.
Wished I had them all.
My focus is on the Western Cowboys, a (tan) Davy, and the Three Pirates.
Life is good.!!
Ed,
And yes, some of those army guys in that second wave that was released, — are somewhat ‘rare’.
I had that one that was running with his rifle— and that one lying prone— but I don’t remember what happened to his machine gun, either.
There was one there — I never saw.
(and I was pretty astute seven year old when it came to figures.) My big mistake was not following my impulse to go back to Woolworth’s and buy more Peco figures.
I dreamed that there existed a black Peco’s Kid.
Never saw such a figure…. unless I saw it at the store– in a package.
Could there be such a figure.?? Black with brown accessories.?? Dreamin’, I think.
Dan
“admin says:
April 20, 2015 at 8:28 PM
Dan
I have removed part of your comment as we do not need to bash a seller for prices. As pointed out by Mark Peco pirates have shot up in price. The dealer that you complained about has sold two pirates around the $85.00. I am amazed at the prices that they are getting and kick myself for passing over one recently.
I do not agree on the use of rare on items in listings as it has been over used.
My philosophy on items is I set a limit if I get it at my price fine if not I will wait as it will come up again.”
Reply: Yes, I’m surprised at the prices on the Peco Pirates, myself.
I think your: “…I set a limit and if I get it at my price, — fine.”
Yeap, that sounds like a good approach.
I would say finding any Pecos figure with all the accessories is indeed a rare thing. It would be extremely easy for a kid to lose some of those accessories, the spurs, the hand grenades, the knives, the pistols they are all relatively small. You forget to put them away or a piece drops out and they are claimed by the vacuum cleaner monster. Many a small accessories I’m sure were claimed by the vacuum cleaner monster. The patience required to play with them as a child was extraordinary, just like the ring hands. You could place all the weapons and equipment on them, but once you move them, egads hats pop off, weapons fall, very frustrating for an adult let alone a kid. I think the only time ever that I wanted ring hand figures was the space guys, otherwise they were okay, but a major pain to play with.
Ed B
I lost most of my accessories for the Peco figures except for a hat. I used to give a Winchester to the Blackbeard figure. LOL My MPC ring hand figures suffered worse as I had no weapons for them and they ended up with tooth picks for spears.
My MPC’s usually ended up as POW’s or Gun Crews.
LOL. Yes, Ed,
I think you’re right. The ‘vacuum cleaner monster’ must have gotten a lot of those accessories. Small hand guns, spurs, and a host of other things. My family’s couch probably got some more of them. What was finally left, at my house, was just the figures and the hats and a couple of rifles.
Some of my figures were lost when I took the figures outside… and played with friends.
About 20 years later an old friend and playmate came up to me at a bar and admitted to me that he had ‘pocketed’ a couple of figures ….and kept them.
I easily forgave him because he had become a lawyer…. and, I figured, he had to get some of his ‘training’ and ‘experience’ someplace.!! (But I still felt a little bad about it.)
But, yeah, those ring hand guys were a pain.
The Peco guys held together a little better…. but those guns(of the Pecos Kid) were hard to keep tracked off. …. and the spurs, knives, and grenades… as you say.
Ed, what fun memories.!!
Yeah I too had friends that pocketed some of my treasured figures. I actually caught one guy once only because he took like 10 of them at one time. Of course he claimed to have found them on the street, they just so happened to end up in his box of toy soldiers. Made me wonder how many others he had taken over the years. At least he had good taste he took 10 of my battleground figures. I wasn’t his only victim I’m sure he used to end up with other figures , somehow he managed to end up with like 6 of the battleground Germans from someone else and various Fort Apache figures which I got from him in trades. Now I feel like a fence.
PLAYSET MAGAZINE ISSUE 81: The Pecos Story!
WELCOME FRIENDS to a springtime fabulous issue filled with surprise after surprise! Such a long winter just begs for a sunny morning at the flea market for the search, and you’ll read about some great finds this issue.
A bit of housekeeping before we go on, and this is the sort of thing our webmaster presents so well, without having to wait for the press issues to alert you — there was some news from the warehouse following our annual count of back issues. Three issues had far fewer supply than anticipated. Here are the results:
PM 29 The Untouchables & 30 Ben-Hur are both joining the premium section with about 75 copies left. Only 5 copies were found of PM27 The Charge of the Light Brigade issue, far less than expected, sending it immediately to the premium section If you are lacking these, you may wish to consider this the time to order. We’ll honor the old price until the new issues (with the new premium back issue section in print) arrives.
A carton of PM14 Fort Apache Part II has been found, adding to its dwindling supply, but it will stay with the others for now and there’s only 4 left of Issue 16, Fort Apache Part III.
“THIS ISSUE On our cover is Captain Kidd, heralding our feature story, set against a map of the Caribbean and some tiny coves and cays of the Pirating area. It’s another first — the only time the entire line of Peco’s famous figures hasever been shown in mint condition and packaging. These are rather obscure, but their tale is awesome, a real David and Goliath as a small line of figures comes up with a brilliant idea: “Interchangeable Accessories” and goes up against the big guys.
You can see the effort in the Army, Western, Pirating and other lines. But it is the sheer genius of a smart Irish factory man named Ralph McGilvra, and the fellow who would become the “Father of Interchangeable Accessories”, predating them all, John Benneth, without whom a whole range of toys would not have been made.
Pecos has never been fully covered before because they are so hard to acquire — but now, thanks to the incredible collection and efforts of Mark Hegeman, you’ll see for yourself just what you’ve been missing. I mean, you just never see really nice complete figures all set up with their rare accessories, much less in original packaging from the 1950’s — much less again their boxes and advertising material. We found this to be a fascinating experience, and gained a lot of insight ourselves, putting this it together. Mark has an encyclopedic knowledge of the tinniest details which we have tried to bring you in equal detail and photos.
And that would have been quite enough, but through a bit of diligent searching and using the best contacts we could, the very sculptor and creator of the Pecos line of figures, Mr. John Benneth himself, has been found. In this issue he contributes his background and experiences first hand, making this the full spectrum Pecos story we always wanted. The story is told with rich insights and stories about Peco’s figures’ creation in exciting, authoritative detail. And for the first time ever, you’ll know exactly what sword or gun or helmet goes with which figure.
These sculptures are so powerful in facial expression and with such cleverly devised accessories, it had a lasting effect on kids. That glowering glare of Blackbeard for instance will shiver yer timbers!
We add our thanks and first-time applause to John Penzer and Richard Carroll who deliver some great research to fill out the stories.”
Wow!! Talk about timing.!! On the cover of PLAYSET, Captain Kidd has YELLOW COLORED accessories!! Wow.!! He looks great. A blue parrot, blue pistol, yellow sword, …. it looks great.
Google Playset!! Ah… geeesh. Now I really want the Pirates and the Western guys.
And I Really hope that guy can ‘re-cast’ those accessories.!!
Life is good.!!
Dan
Dan
Sounds like a great issue and to hear from the sculptor will be great.
Hello Daniel and thank you for your order-we expect our shipment at the end of the week, so I’ll be sending you your issue as soon as I can.
With best regards,
Kathy
Kathy Kern
Editor and Subscriber Services
Playset Magazine
729 Crown Ridge Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80904
You can order from the site … or the address above.
I hope we see a variety of colored figures and accessories!!
He has re-cast accessories for sure, which ones, what color and if he has any left is the question.
Ed,
Fingers crossed. Hope he can or has Peco.!!
So, you know that ‘pain’ of a friend taking ( kinda stealing) your action figures.
It kinda sucks, doesn’t it. For me, it was kind of ‘shocking’. I was providing the action figures for playing…. and he took advantage. Man, — some people’s kids.
You have my condolences.
What do you think of that cover picture on Playset Magazine #81: Captain Kidd with the yellow hat, yellow Sword, yellow bandolero, blue pistol, Blue Parrot, and something blue stuck in his belt. !! Kinda kool!!
OK, this is the first time I’ve seen yellow and blue accessories. I wonder what else is in that magazine. I ordered it just to see the colorful characters… of the line…
And I’ll probably drool on the pages. What a rush.!!
Thanks, admin., for the heads-up on Playset Magazine. That cover is really exciting to me. My mind runs in all kinds of directions.
I was slow to check it out…. but so glad I did.
Now that I’ve seen yellow and blue accessories, I’m wonder what else this issue might hold in store.
And… of course, … if there IS a black Pecos Kid — I’m sure to see it there. If there is no such thing, … I’ll have resolved another ‘mystery’ in my life.
I don’t know why I didn’t go after the Peco figures before. They were my ‘first great action figure line’… that I loved playing with when I was young.
My parents had a bit of a troubled marriage and I think to escape all that — I ‘stole away’ into a fantasy world with these guys.
I’m not sure why I didn’t try to find them sooner.
Maybe I didn’t think I could EVER find them again…. and just ‘gave up’ before even trying.
Then, one day, … I decided to start a search… and finally stumbled into this site and others. I’m really glad I did. It’s been really rewarding.
It has dredged up a lot of great feelings.
Without these guys, I probably wouldn’t have collected the action figures I have.
Peco was at the very base of my Action Figure collecting. They were such a satisfying experience that …. well, I waited from the ’50’s to…. the 1980’s to get back into it. LOL.!!
Ed, what got you into collecting??
Admin, ….??
Mark….??
and Any body else… guys??
Dan — of the ‘searchers’
Did these Soviet female figures ever happen?
Jeremy
As far as we know the Soviet female figures have not been made.
I do not collect plastic figures much now,except a rare example like my recent interest in Peco,I sort of evolved into working on my own original sculpts and some converting, I have been recently been collecting some Children’s plaster casting sets and molds ,some from maybe the 1930’s or 40’s to late 1990’s.
I do still love looking at plastic figures ( it’s in my blood ), accessories and seeing the wonderful new stuff that is being made ,it is a great time for plastic collectors !
Mark
I lost more friends over catching them stealing my toy soldiers. I might not have always called them on it (though there were one or two good fights), but I never played with them again.
I was always disappointed to get ringhand guys in a set; it seemed there were never enough accessories to fully equip them all and those you got disappeared no matter how careful you were. I still have a bunch of them – I used them for artillery crew, too. Some years back I was able to get some recast MPC sprues, but really don’t use them much anymore anyway. Still they are sentimental favorites – they saw a lot of action when I was growing up.
Guys,
Really glad to hear your stories …. and to know I’m not alone in this “Collector’s World”.
Wayne: what’s:” I was able to get some recast MPC sprues,”….??
Did somebody re-make some of the figures you collected….??
What is “MPC sprues”??
Mark: What’s the best stuff now being made in plastic.??
I just buy a bag of Western Figures called: Austin Miniatures that look like they have reasonable decent sculpting on. Are they any ‘good’.??
What is better..?? And Why??
Dan
Dan
MPC Sprues are the MPC weapons and accessories connected to a single pole.
Austin Miniatures are very good sculpts.
I wrote: I just ‘buy’…. I sound pretty dopey. I meant: I just Bought…
Is there an ‘edit’ button somewhere on this site… or am I going to just sound foolish.
Dan there is no edit button on your side. I can edit on my side if I see a post needs help.
Dan
Dan there is no edit button on your side. I can edit on my side if I see a post needs help.
Caught a buddy of mine stealing a Marx Foreign Legion firing, I “stoled” it back from him, once my family and I came back from vacation to find someone had broke into our house, noticed they had stolen my bag of all my Marx Civil War figures ,never saw them again but I think it may have been the same Buddy that took the Foreign Legionnaire !
P.S. Better news, I just ordered the Playset Magazine Peco issue !
Jeremy:
Where can I find pictures of these Russian — Soviet— female figures??
Where the prototypes well sculpted.??
Dan
Jeremy is talking I believe about some figures that Steve Zobel was planning on making. At the moment nothing more has been done or photos of the propose figures.
Oh, Mark, — that’s a sad story of loosing so many good figures and never finding them again. Big Bummer.!! It’s such a loss … especially when it was time to get them out again and you could only feel the loss. Man, I hate it when they do that stuff.
I’m glad you’re getting the new issue of Playset. Let me know what you think.
Doesn’t that Captain Kidd on the cover look cool.??
Have you ever seen … or any body out there… seen the yellow and blue accessories???
What the …heck.!! I tried to bring a picture in but evidently we can’t post pictures here.
I tried j-peg or whatever… but no luck.
In April I decided to start my search for Peco. You guys on this site and Now the magazine. The stars must be aligning.!! LOL.!!
Admin: What are other good ‘action figures’ being put out on the market that are as good as … or better than the AUSTIN MINIATURES.?? I haven’t gotten them out of the package yet, … but it does look like a shoot-out will ensue if and when I open the package. Definitely gun smoke will be in the air.
ARE there other well sculpted figures in this scale …. that go with these.??
What else is out there that is well done.?? Are there exceptional figures that are worth having.?? In today’s market.??
Mark’s story reminds me that I once had a Captain Gallant figure … and some other figures from that Foreign Legion group, too. Cubby.?? And a couple of Legionnaires
with rifles…. I can’t remember very much about them… but I remember watching Captain Gallant on TV and playing with the figures. The Gallant figure was pretty well done.
Dan
I do not let readers post photos directly. They can send them to me at pestad@gmail.com. I will normally post them unless there is a copyright or some other problem. In the case of copyright we will contact the holder of the copyright for permission.
I like the yellow accessories on the pirates, never saw that color but it looks good. You guys are going to get me started on looking for Peco’s again, I know it.
I always like toy soldiers my entire life. What got me back in I guess was E-Bay, one day I started searching on there and saw all the toy soldiers I had as a kid and I was hooked again. This all happened after my divorce and after the kids were mostly grown and started moving out of my house, yes I raised my kids. Just more time on my hands I guess. Besides it mostly keeps me out of trouble too, I rarely go to the bar anymore and that used to be a nightly adventure.
ed; pretty much same happen, eBay had help me to find many and most old stock plus some not that new, the good part is deals as many sellers does not know what they sale. In the other hand eBay affect a lot of toy shows too.
Last you should be proud of been raising your kids, a hard to do but an awesome example that few in this world like to do.
I agree Ed like the yellow color too! One day I’ll tell my story about growing up with plastic figures and what got me started collecting ! One thing I will say is as I got older and remembered some of my toys I had like a Marx Child’s size m-16 or Marx child’s WW2 German helmet or my beloved Marx Child’s size cavalry sword or my brother’s and mine 2 Marx race car pedal cars, I wondered what the heck happened to them ,it was like they just vanished,probably my Mother sold them in a tag sale or took them to Goodwill when I was at school ?
Same thing probably happened to most of us !
Ed,
yes, I think that’s really commendable of you to raise your kids.
For that alone, you should take great pride. Some parents aren’t as responsible as that.
‘Good job’. You SHOULD be proud.
As far as the collecting keeping you out of the ‘alluring’ night life of the bar scene…
I think that’s a ‘win’, too.!!
My collection has kept me out of a lot of ‘trouble’, too!!
What we do when we have free time can make or break us ….. sometimes.
I think a good hobby can save us from a lot of trouble.
AS far as the Peco guys, — I really hoped—- for a Pecos Kid to have a black outfit. Strange what a collector envisions. If there is no such thing– I may have to paint one of my Pecos Kids with a black shirt, black pants, and black boots… and maybe paint the yoke silver … as well as the designs on his boots.
(Does anyone remember the western “Blazing Saddles”.!??) Maybe that’s where I got the idea of a western cowboy that should have a black outfit. — No, I distinctly remember that I thought maybe there WAS a Pecos Kid in a black cowboy outfit…
AND I should go back to Woolworth’s to see if he was there. But I can’t remember if it was just a thought… or a dream. So much to sort through.!! LOL.!!
Well, all that aside,– the yellow and blue accessories just point to the fact that there just may be some figures in colors that we may not be aware of.
None of us could come up with other colors than: brown/tan, green, blue, yellow and red for the figures.
And We, collectively, thought the accessories only came in red, green, and black.
(Somebody stop me if I’m rambling…. ) LOL..!!
The cover of Playset has me excited about the possibilities.
Blue!! Who ever thought of Blue for accessories!!?? And yellow blows my mind.!!
Hey, so does anyone know of really well sculpted figures that are on today’s market being sold to the collectors … that are worth buying.??
Oh, and wouldn’t it have been GREAT if Peco had NOT folded…. and continued to make other figures in the Pirate, Western, and Fighting G.I. lines.!!??
The sculpting was so great…. and the idea of adding accessories to the well-sculpted figures was, in my way of thinking, just brilliant.
(Hey, do I sound like a spokesman for a Peco revival.??
I wished someone could put the Peco Company together again…. and start to re-make those figures …. and then, expand the line.
Why the heck can’t somebody do that?? Geeeesh!!
Today, all we have is ‘under-achievers’!! LOL.!!
What is: Diefladercolb.??
When you google Peco figures… and go to flicker …. this name is a the bottom of some very interesting pictures.
Where is that toy room ??? And how do I get there??
DAN…
Sorry Dan, I don’t know what Diefladercolb. is computors are not a strong point of mine !
There are quite a few nicely sculpted figures today, I mean none would seem to stand up to some of our perfectionists in this hobby, but, Paragon, TSSD, Barzso. XForce, Austin, CTS, Plastic Underground just to name a few off the top of my head all do creditable figures with nice sculpting.
I’ve seen a lot of Pecos in my life, but never did I see yellow or blue accessories before those pictures on the cover of the magazine are really eye catching. The pirates are by far the best figures in their line.
That’s ok, Mark,— the pictures at that site have pictures of the Peco figures. Quite a few. It shows pictures of a LOT of toys…. and the Peco are lined up with the others.
I thought maybe we could track down this guy… but it would have been a long shot.
Ed,
Do you …or Mark… or anyone collect from these lines??
Dan,If memory serves he used to own a toy store. Again if that’s the same one as I remember seeing before . And did sold on eBay from 2006-2012
His name goes as Colbie Todd. Listing his photos using server (Diefladercolb) private right reserved name domain. Look for him to be a member and made chat with him if he still run the store.
Indeed he is still at ebay here is the link
http://www.ebay.com/usr/diefladercolb
id name is same diefladercolb
from TX and pretty much buy more than sale ,I imagine to resale at his store.
hope this help
erwin,
Thanks so much. I’ll give it a try.
erwin,
Well, thanks. I sent him a post.
Man, it would be so great if…..
I really appreciate your help.
And everyone else’s. I’m glad I stumbled upon this site.
All of you guys have been really helpful and I appreciate it.
I’ll let you guys know what I find out.
(I hope I’m not boring you guys to death.)
So, who is collecting any of the contemporary figures that are being produced today?? —
And are there any western figures that may go with my Austin Miniatures ?? (Cowboys Set #1.??) Is there a Set #2… has it been released.?? Will it be.??
Are there other sets in size and quality of sculpting.??
Do you guys paint your figures??
I know so little about Contemporary Figures that are being produced today.
Because I ‘loved’ the Pecos so much, …. I started collecting today’s ‘action figures’.
What I have gravitated to has been the DC Universe Classics figures when Mattel was producing them.
When that line ended, I started collecting Hasbro’s Marvel Legends… action figures of the Marvel Universe characters.
For some reason, Hasbro has upped their ‘game’ and are now producing good, quality (for the most part) figures.
The Marvel movies have stimulated the line. The Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, …. and the up-coming movies of The Avengers (in May), Ant Man, Doctor Strange …. and others will certainly help the sales of the Hasbro figures.
Oh, and my Roy Rogers figures came today. Glad about that. Although they were in a little ‘rougher’ condition than I had hope. They’ve seen a lot of wear. Dale and Pat’s faces are just about gone. I may have to look for others down the road.
Got them from Toy Soldier HQ.
I collect many of the new figures especially TSSD and Paragon. I also have quite a few barzso and Plastic Underground figures. In fact I’m somewhat of a regional dealer for TSSD and Paragon, we also stock the Austin Gunfighters. I checked the Kane County roster last night and the guy that does the Peco’s re-casts is scheduled to attend I believe. I think his name is Bob Overfield, but I need to verify that. Me and my partner also carry many vintage figures from various companies. as well as some play sets both vintage and some of the Paragon and TSSD sets.
Ed,
I’ll check into them and see if I can find some I like …. maybe I can buy some from you.
Because you stock the Austin gun-fighter figures… Are there more than 1 cowboy set.??
There must be, right.?? I bought that Cowboys Set #1. Looks a bit like Clint Eastwood’s ‘Man with no name’…. and other cowboys with guns cocked and ready to go.
Sure, you can get them from me if we have them you can get them.
Only one set of 8 cowboys. Complete with John Wayne and Clint. TSSD also has a 2 different sets of 4 cowboys each.
There are 3 Peco pirates on ebay !
How did you find them? What did you search on?
If you look to the left of the blue search button ( at the top right side ) and use the categories button, you could find it under Toys ( then look to the blue categories on the left side ) Toy Soldiers then pre 1970, I type in Peco or Peco pirates etc.
Mark
You should be able to get them to come up without going through all these categories just by typing in Peco or Peco pirates into the search on the ebay homepage .
Mark
Yes, I think all you have to do is type in: Peco’s Toy figures…. or Peco figures….
and all of the figures that are being offered show up.
I was a little unsuccessful at getting those pirates with all of their accessories but maybe next time.
At least, we know they are out there.
Well, it seems that getting the Pirates with accessories is a bit expensive.
PLAYSET MAGAZINE’S article on The Pecos Story was a great, and fun read.
All of the Peco’s figures seemed to be there… plus all of the accessories.
It has been a wonderful month.
To see all of the figures was a thrill for me.
I hadn’t seen all of them in quite some time.
I had all of the Combat Soldiers in the first wave, the Indian Chiefs… Red Hawk and Wild Horse…
and the Western cowboys: the Gold Miner, The Pecos Kid, and Davy Crockett….
and the four Pirates. It was fun to see all the pictures of the Pecos figures in packages and out… and all of the accessories.
Can anyone please tell me of any other figures that were better than these.??
Better sculpting, … better accessories… ??
MPC had 6 inch cowboys,Indians and Gi’s ( too bad no Japanese or Germans adversaries )
Forgot to mention ,they had separate accessories we probably all have seen them !
Mark
Well, I’m back.
I was able to round up a few of the Peco guys– so, thank you– to all who helped and gave me suggestions of where to go.
I’m still looking for a couple of the figures.
I’m looking for a tan Davy Crockett …
and a blue Blackbeard and Captain Kidd.
Maybe it will just take some time…. and searching.
Everything around here has been pretty quiet since May…
Any help???
Suggestions??
Dan You are in luck. I have mint 4 Peco’s with the cards and about 20 loose figures.
Crockett, Pecos Kid, Blackbeard and Morgan.
Check out the pix on this forum.
oh, great, Bill.
Thanks so much.!!
I’m interested in the Crockett if you want to sell him.
Oh, Wonderful, Bill—
now if I can find it.
Found the pictures, Bill.
Do they look great.
And on cards.!!! Wow.!!
What a find.!!
I’m hoping that there might be a tan Davy Crockett in the mix.!!
Hey, do any of you guys go to ATS Toy Soldiers to get Playsets or toy soldiers re-cast there.??
They have Ideal, Marx, and others.
Where is better??
I think somebody should find the molds for the Peco figures, get a small factory… and start recasting Peco figures.
And even though John Benneth is in his 80’s… I’d like to encourage him to TRY to sculpt more figures… for production.
If somebody knew where the original molds are…. why couldn’t the figures be sold on a site like ATS??
Ok, I’m dreamin’. But so did a lot of other people. Bill Gates. Donald Trump.
Why can’t somebody put it all together.?? (Nothing but under-achievers out there.??)
I think just the exceptionalism of the figures would sell them. A little advertising in Playset Magazine and other Toy Soldier sites… and Wa-La!!
Steve Zubel… are you listening???
*Chirping of crickets*
I would live to see it also , Daniel, as I mentioned before, I would like to do the pirates in 6 inch size, I got a lot of other projects going now but I hope one day I can get to them, it would be cool to have some WW2 ,Japanese and Germans to go against the U.S. guys or go against the MPC 6 inch guys with removable accesories !