Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.  We with try to catch up on things since the cruise.  I will talk more about the cruise hopefully in the future.  The ship had to sail through the Hurricane Hermine. It got rough at one point that ship was on a 45 degree angle.   Our two side tables  fell over and the bed’s mattress moved 18 inches.  It was different.

So we have a number of items to cover. First up is a rare Lone Star box. Next we some conversions from Greg Liska. We will follow that up with some other odds and ends.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.  Lone Star Knights

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.

We have from Bill Nevins a rare Lone Star  large box.  We can see that the set contain the Lone Star knights, Robin Hood with Merry Men and Sheriff of Nottingham with his men. The set is finished off with two metal siege pieces.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc. The set is missing one figure and two of the knights are damaged. What makes this set interesting is the box. As I stated earlier this a large box which very like been purchased as birthday or Christmas gift in England.  Bill got this set in Long Island area which being close to New York City. New York in the 50’s got a lot of imports of figures.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.  Conversions

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc. Greg Liska has been hard at work on doing caisson conversions. Here is what he had to say. Here are the restored Marx Limbers and guns. These were given to me to ‘see what you can do with them’. I got 4 good gun and limber combinations. Painted the wheels grey to make them match. The Rel Battery manned by the Feds are recasts I got from Kent Sprecher ata great price.  There is a pic of a close up of the Rel guns with replacement cannon barrels, too.  As always, the limbers were converted to 4-horse rigs. 

Here are more photos of Greg’s work.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc. Remade FFL

Two photos from CTS of their remade Marx French Foreign Legion show size comparisons.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.

The first figure shows  an original Marx French Foreign Legion next to a remade figure.

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc. As you can see they are smaller than the original figures. Let know what you think of them?

Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc. Odds and Ends

A show from our childhood is Green Hornet. It only lasted one year, but it left an impression on many people like this one here. As we all know it was the starting point for Bruce Lee.  I got to meet Van Williams  at a small conventions years ago. He was nice and fun to talk to.

Laurie and I will not be at Chicago Toy Soldier Show this year.  Our schedules do not allow us to attend.  I will be watching from afar and will report what we hear. If you have any photos from the show and you want to share. You can send them to me at pestad@gmail.com

 

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56 Responses to Odds Ends September 2016 Lone Star. Greg Liska Etc.

  1. erwin says:

    Great find in Shard see around here in that condition.It is missing the third ram machine too I think…LS did 4 machines.
    I believe is missing one server and one extra knight too.!?
    The Marx recast FFL come smaller than Arabs new recast in about 54 mm .Something odd …. The non mate color in plastic tint erases much detail too.
    Personally I’m not too impress!!
    Greg your artillery looks awesome, great job, good combination like always, colors are realistic.
    Keep the great job-fun

  2. erwin says:

    sorry I mean great find in LS box,the word was fix by silly word system.lol

  3. TDBarnecut says:

    The Rel batteries look great. One observation, the barrels have too many rings, can you file these off? I have read that ACW Federal gun carriages, limbers, caissons, etc. were painted a color called ‘liquid olive’ to protect the wood from weathering & decay. Interesting that none of the toy makers ever use the proper color for these.
    The Lone Star figures are really nice – have these ever been re-issued?

  4. Greg Liska says:

    Thanks for the kind words, guys. There are some very non-realistic things about the guns and limbers. Yes, the rings on the 2 replacement barrels are of an older time period. I had a tough time finding barrels for those 2 casemates, so I figures the older guns would go to the Confederates, who were using anything they could find. I imagine them as 2 guns from some militia unit. The paint job on Federal caissons and limbers would have been a green color. I admit, I just don’t want to make them green. I know it’s not ‘right’, but at least I know what right looks like. I want the flexibility to use these guns with Mexicans, British or whomever.
    The Marx limbers were real cripples. Almost everything on the 2 brown limbers is pieced back together or made from other pieces. The all black Rel guns and limbers were a mess sent to me as trash to do with as I please. Having saved 5 gun and limbers was more than I thought I could do. I still have parts to do one more Marx limber, 2 more Rel limbers and one Rel gun, but these would take a whole lot of part fabricating to manage.

  5. Wayne W says:

    I bought the remade Marx Arabs just to have them; was waiting on the final scoop on the FFL; now I think I’ll make the plunge, considering they’ll mingle with what I already have. Thanks for the info – always worth “stopping by.”

  6. bill nevins says:

    I’ve been finding a lot of stuff from people who moved to the USA in the 70’s and 80’s at the market. Almost all of it is cleanouts from people who have passed away. It’s amazing just how much of European plastic was brought with them. I sold a huge lot of East German and Polish figures to Ric B. And one of the largest finds I ever made was from a Merchant Marine sailor who collected soldiers from everwhere. I got several thousand figures from his estate.
    A lot of these immigrants moved to Long Island from NYC. Luckily, they took their toys with them.

    I sent Erwin pictures of the Comansi Western Town set that I found, in the box, with the Bonanza character figures and Bret Maverick.
    That’s incredible that a boxed set in that condition should turn up on Long Island!!
    It has to be their biggest set and must have cost a fortune to purchase back then.

  7. ed borris says:

    It looks like a fair amount of detail was lost in the remake, noticable in the face and the buttons on the coat . Still pretty cool that they got them down to 54mm for the 54mm fans. Can’t have everything I guess.

    • Erwin says:

      Yes I notice it .Face is blurry,buttons gone,barrely fingers are noticed.
      Versus detail in arabs recast are way less detailed.
      Sice may match others in 54mm and great x it.
      But again will leave those increasing the marx army down.
      I had a similar issue w Amex brand.
      Was fix quick once change the plastic.
      But again depend in mold redone too.

  8. Andy says:

    Sounds like the Foreign Legion copies “frenzy” may be winding down?

  9. Don Perkins says:

    As someone who has ordered and received a total of 8 sets of Arabs, as well as 4 sets of Legionnaires, I don’t find myself agreeing with some of the comments.

    The new remake Legionnaires are the absolute equivalents of the earlier remake Arabs, both of them being slightly less than one quarter inch shorter than the original Marx figures, both in the same plastic, and both having the same level of detail.

    Regardless of what some may see from the photos, the buttons and facial features on these new FFL remakes are readily visible on the actual figures, in approximately 99% in the same detail as the Marx originals. Maybe just sightly less distinct, but really only to the same extent as details of the Marx Heritage waxy figures appear to be slightly less crisp than the details of flat-finish originals.

    Anyone (like Wayne W.) who’s contemplating ordering them shouldn’t hesitate. For Capt. Gallant/FFL enthusiasts, these are well worth having, and well worth being excited about. Andy, the only reason my initial “frenzy” has died down is that I now have them in my possession.

    And for those interested, TSSD now has up on their website (under “Vietnam”) photos of the new city wall sections going into their Vietnam War Playset — a total of 4 pieces: a large courtyard gate, a corner post, and two different wall sections (one intact, and one damaged along the top in an urban firefight. Combined with the first building, it has the makings of an excellent Vietnamese upper class house and courtyard in old Saigon, or the ancient imperial city of Hue — perfect for a Tet Offensive-type set-up.

    Of course, my understanding of the Tet Offensive was that, at least in Saigon and Hue, it was largely conducted by Viet Cong, rather than NVA regulars, which is what TSSD depicts in its new figures.

    But my countdown to OTSN is now 10 days, and I can hardly wait.

    • admin says:

      Don
      I have received photos from Jim McGough which I will be putting up shortly to show the height comparison. Also thank you for the update on the CTS Vietnam playset.

    • Erwin says:

      Don.I’m glad u happy and is not what pictures so far show.
      It is my impression base in the figure.So either photo is bad or figures in pictures were bad done.As we increase or magnify the photo it looks as none of those detail are seen.
      On the arabs some figures come with odd holes in plastic as defects.Not hard to miss.I kept two sets off sale x that and return two more to seller.Still few sold had it on.
      About size,again the angle of picture may show smaller figures than what really are.
      To all taking pictures please….
      When taking pictures for measures and scales details several things need to be take in consideration.Among it…
      Level camera with figure and table surface by no more less 12″ distance using automatic focus.
      Avoid flash and clear background if figures have gloss colors.
      Line all figures next each others not one space back other
      Do a photo frontal face front.Not in angle or partial angle.
      Use daylight window if possible.
      All that plus more should help x better photo in small figures.
      Best…

    • Wayne W says:

      Don, though both my dad and older brother were on AD at that time, neither was in country for Tet 68, but I had the opportunity to hear the experiences of guys who were – from those who served with my dad and my NCOs who “brought me up.” My best buddy in the Army was in 3rd Force Recon in country for Tet (prior service) – there were a LOT of NVA in country who participated in the operation. They had been coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail for months leading up to the offensive. The thing is, many of them dressed in black pajamas further south so they would be taken for VC and give the impression the VC was much stronger than they really were – thus giving folks in the USA the impression what was going on in South Vietnam was a “popular” movement of the citizenry rather than an invasion by an outside force, which was more true.

      My buddy said he faced a lot of NVA regulars in uniform in the north. At the same time, my dad and other vets with whom I spoke were of the general opinion (right or wrong) that Tet 68 virtually destroyed the VC as an effective fighting force in many areas of the country; again NVA and troops from other communist nations moved in to fill the void left by the VC in many areas and thus keep up the illusion of a popular front. This is not to say there were no VC left operating, but that they were crippled by Tet. Ironically, because Westmoreland and others in the MACV high command (and White House) chose to keep silent about the massive influx of movement of troops leading up to Tet even though (and I’m going off the top of my head here on memory after many years) intel told them there was a lot of activity along the trail (which led to an increase in bombing up to the DMZ but not beyond – almost useless) the Tet offensive, which appeared in the US as the entire nation of Vietnam exploding in our faces, was taken as a defeat even though we had killed at least ten commies for every US troop lost.

      Years later it was revealed that even Ho and Giap were about to throw in the towel after what they realized was a military disaster until they realized they had scored an enormous PR victory in the States (thank you, Walter Cronkite and others) – then they knew all they had to do was stall for time. There’s a story about (I think) Averell Harriman, the head of the US delegation to the Peace conference talking to Xuan Thuy, the chief negotiator for the North Vietnamese.

      Harriman told Thuy, (here I’m paraphrasing) “You know you haven’t won a single major battle.”

      Thuy smiled, “You know that doesn’t make a bit of difference.”

      Anyway, I’m going on here; I think if you wanted to recreated Tet 68 around Hue you would need both NVA regulars and a lot of black pj guys for both VC AND NVA regulars in disguise. For later campaigns, the NVA regulars would be even more useful.

      Hope this is helpful.

  10. Andy says:

    Here’s TSSD Viet Nam page (hope link works here):
    http://www.sdsoldiers.com/vietnam.htm
    Wish someone would do some good accessory sets like Ron Barzso used to do.

  11. Mike Kutnick says:

    Yep, the countdown is on to The Chicago Show! Ed and I should be in room 5203, right next door to TSSD and will have a room bursting at the seams with all kinds of TSSSD goodies while they concentrate on ” Viet Nam”. We will be open for business on Wed afternoon the 21st.
    Mike

    • Len Hardt says:

      Mike.
      I’ll be there Wednesday too – open for business (Lord willing) Thursday morning.
      I will definitely be hunting in your room – I always find something there.

      • ed borris says:

        Well, you can definetly find a beer there. Not to mention most everything under the sun and things that have never seen the sun.

  12. ed borris says:

    Yeah 5203 is the place you got to be, bring your wallet, bring you cash, look through our secret stash. Buy, buy, buy and spend , spend spend, you never when this hobby will come to an end.

    Oh yeah, and I’ll have beer.

  13. Wayne W says:

    I’m thinking the difference in style between the NVA and grunts might be one was done by a sculptor and the other might have been a computer? That was my first impression on seeing them.

    • Erwin says:

      The NVA do not look as battle were as the marines.Marines in my opinion are awesome realistic.But the bases.
      The vietnam are base in one propaganda photo soldier very well dresed like more out of fresh unit .
      The mars vietnam are more battle ready.
      Any how I like all and very well welcome.
      Because 99% Vietnam war was in jungle,wood villages. I’m not interested in spend in high price foam that I can cut my self easy w a saw.
      So I rather do jungle village.I have plenty asian houses I will show soon made of plastic suitable x it.
      Trenches and barricades are plenty in plastic from cheap choices all around.
      My preferred viet nam movie are
      Firebase glory ,we were soldiers and green berrets.
      As movies please……

      My thoughts….

      • Andy says:

        Airfix makes a nice 1/32 scale Bamboo House Jungle Hut that I think would work for Viet Nam.

        • admin says:

          Yes you are right it will work well for Vietnam

        • Erwin says:

          Yes as been reissues x long too.
          TSSD has it listed in the Vietnam war page.
          Thick tripical vegetation is other needed.Because most had been done flat it would not looks realistic.
          Train vegetation is not tropical enough.
          My best options had been using the aquarium topical plants bought at large lot discounted from suppliers.
          And mose from craft stores.
          Also vintage spanish brands with realist palms else are good.
          I sale good size plastic palms too.
          Not longer produced made in 90s x Amscan.they are in two sizes.
          I made my vietnam war set before using Argo.Timmee and converted figures with mattel GUTS figures .Were my best bet.
          Now the real armies have arrived.

        • erwin says:

          Another style that could be used is the Marx Jungle Jim reissue Elevated Jungle Hut .MPC jungle elevated hanging bridge and few others as well.

  14. ed borris says:

    Well, one other thought, maybe he didn’t want those sandal wearing dude stubbing their toes on rubble. I think I’ll find out on Wednesday for sure and pass on what I hear to the Stad man.

    • Erwin says:

      Yes I always worry about the sandals.I bet x water and jungle are better.For hills not that good.
      Any how the south asia people are natural born using it so I guess do not hurt them.
      They often carry extra pairs,many made w rubber tire parts.
      Any how plenty photos show them in boots too a lot.

  15. ed borris says:

    Well, I think I’d wear boots too if there were bamboo vipers around., No sense offering them up your pinkies.

  16. Mark T. says:

    I think these are some of the best figures yet from TSSD. I like the Marines a bit more than the NVA. They are more action packed while the NVA look just a little bit stiff. Also, there is no officer for the NVA, while the Marines have a nice heroic one brandishing his 1911. I do prefer the NVA flat bases.

    Were different sculptors used for the two sets?

  17. Tom Black says:

    As Nick noted, too bad no one made a plastic 1/32 Huey. I was hoping 21st Cent or FOV did one in 1/32. They are making a King Kong movie due in March 2017 and it is set in early 70’s with Huey’s involved. Could there be a 1/32 Huey in the works?

    • Erwin says:

      Mew Ray sold a a 1:35 scale Huey.
      I have two of it.Well done woth sliding doors
      Another chinese brand recently did other very alike but more 1.30 scale.

    • Andy says:

      The Revell model kits are very nicely made. I have a couple of trucks that have fantastic detail. I assume the Huey is well made, too. I’m acquiring more model kits as I go along and they blend well with playsets & toy soldiers. You may want to consider building it from a kit.

      • erwin says:

        Andy ,yes I agree revell/aurora/monogram 1.32 kits are more easy than airfix,esci and of course million pieces Tamiya insane kits
        I had several included(hueys), I take off small parts and seal with paste else, spray with glue all over so pieces stay together , then spray paint. You can drop from table nothing happen.
        of course don’t do too often please!!!neither I give to my dog x test.

        • Mark T. says:

          I’m very surprised at the low price of the 1/32 Revell Huey kit on eBay now. There are many of them available for under $20.00. Maybe it’s a liquidation, so anyone who wants one should act fast.

          • Erwin says:

            They were reissued in 2014.There plenty still from supliers.Amazon.craft and hobby store have then x low price as well.
            Testor launch in same year a 1:32 snap together ,no glue line in 1:32
            But most are modern.
            Only the Cobra modern verssion could be used if you do some minor adaptation and do not add the post vietnam features.
            It is sold very cheap at hobby,craft stores ,Amazon and ebay as well.

  18. Erwin says:

    I mean new ray.
    FV did the 1:48 scale only.
    Under NR new series former FV 1:48 is been resold too.
    Revell kit easy to assemble 1:32,not 1:35 could find east too.
    I got two and build one ,is not complicated.
    But is a kit.
    Kobiashi vintage japanese did a Cobra and Huey gun chopper.Both are very simple to build and have friction propelled system 1:32.these are less common but not expensive as not much interested.But very hard to come apprat as required screws .not vissible once finnish.
    Some tim mee and MPC are acceptable.
    Jecsan did both helipcopters in real 1.32.
    But extremely hard to get.I only have one.
    Just,give some ideas in case will like to search x…
    Best..

  19. Wayne W says:

    The old Timmee helicopter reminded me of a CH-46 “Jolly Green Giant” (USAF) or “Sea Stallion” (Navy & Marines); the Army used the CH-47 “Chinook” or “Sh–hook” ( in GI vernacular). The Timmee was a toy, but might dress up to be usable as a troop carrier as it seems we’re seeing Marines first anyway.

    Would love to see a Huey, though – it was the workhorse. Even if I didn’t buy any of the figures I’d love to have a decent 1/32 scale model (or even 1/35) just for sentimental reasons.

    • erwin says:

      Tim mee did almost exact replica well done(TOY) plastic Cobra gun chopper.it was sold as police chopper I have one mint,it is 14″ tip to nose.
      You can seat two MARX 60 mm or else figures one in each seat with open clear plastic cover cockpit .I have it and will pass photo in few days, Gay toys did the best economic Huey and is well in scale 12.5″ ,I have two ,but solid piece,only open small window and propellers .They did the Cessna recon/rescue interceptor plane too in good scale.Both could be open cut doors.
      I will dig all my preparation Viet nam era collection an d set x pictures.
      Tim mee jeep is the viet nam era,so the two trucks and two under scale jet. The C130 GUN SHIP is very well done if remove and seal few windows could easily well used x it too and is been reissue cheap with mountain and soldier in amazon, eBay else.
      The Tim mee water plane too is viet anm model used in rescue and seal mission.Forgot model now, sorry.
      is also easy to find in ebay.

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