Eichhörnchen's Armies

[Aktungbby]

Yellow shirt looks like he's trying to stab himself in the butt....not just that; why would you be using an 'Arkansas toothpick' blade in your gun-hand...in a violent encounter; on the offchance of need to escalate the lethal 'level of force' suddenly in said close-quarters encounter?:doh:

[Eichhörnchen]

...not just that; why would you be using an 'Arkansas toothpick' blade in your gun-hand...in a violent encounter; on the offchance of need to escalate the lethal 'level of force' suddenly in said close-quarters encounter?:doh:

He ran out of bullets but - unlike in the movies - he didn't immediately throw his gun away

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/nyPxfi0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Kc91O2C.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rPfH1Zw.jpg Bounty hunter - looks a bit like Robert Redford?


https://i.imgur.com/9thli3p.jpg

Airfix's 1/32 scale cowboys look pretty good compared to Crescent and were produced much more recently (1975 through 1980s). They were more like model figures than toys, suited to a diorama perhaps. I've sat my mounted guy on a Britains "Black Beauty" horse which seems more fitting for his sedate pose than Airfix's own

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/CQjTMXE.jpg https://i.imgur.com/oTeh0pv.jpg

Not sure how old this cowpoke is - he appears to be made of acetate which would make him very early, maybe 1950's. He's by "Cyrnos" of France and you can see what he looked like when I got him in the smaller photo - starting to crack and becoming tacky as the acetate degenerates with age

So he better get a move on if he's fixing to hit the trail (just behind the cactus) and rope that good-fer-nuthin' crttter em2nought to collect the bounty

[em2nought]

https://i.imgur.com/CQjTMXE.jpg

So he better get a move on if he's fixing to hit the trail (just behind the cactus) and rope that good-fer-nuthin' crttter em2nought to collect the bounty

That feller apparently doesn't even live in the town where the gunsmith with the extreme nickel plating fetish lives. :D

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/rOc11nR.jpg He better watch out for these guys though

[Eisenwurst]

Scratchbuilt cactus ??? If so then good job. I got a big one ( cactus ) growing by the letterboxes. I think they flower very rarely. It shot up a big flowery stalk about 12 foot high ( true ) and had pretty yellow flowers. I got a photo somewhere, but the bastard building gardener cut it off. :wah:

http://i.imgur.com/4xT8hke.jpg

[Eichhörnchen]

:haha: Nah - that cactus behind the two chiefs is a plastic toy from "Timpo" - I've got quite a few cacti over the years

https://i.imgur.com/rBvbS8l.jpg

[Gorpet]

I was in the neighborhood and want to say Merry Christmas to your family, from Gorpet and his family.

[Eichhörnchen]

Right backatcha, buddy :Kaleun_Cheers:

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/Dy0znc0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5f9yyvH.jpg

Wm Britains Ltd. bought out the smaller comany 'Herald Toys' in the 1960's, bringing into their fold some of the nicest toys ever produced. These included wild west figures such as this cowpoke and - later on & clearly inspired by these - they introduced their own 'Swoppet' range featuring novelties like guns removable from holsters and interchangeable heads, legs and torsos, allowing for endless permutations; I'll post some of these later

[Aktungbby]

...allowing for endless permutations...interchangeable heads...no one actually dies of old age; but rather one of the 'endless permutations" suddenly... isn't!:/\\chop:rotfl2: :haha::()1::damn:

[Eichhörnchen]

^
I have enough permutations already - although I have a feeling they haven't done with me yet :timeout: I once told my doctor that I ought to be renamed "The King of Co-morbidity"

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/nLLapj0.jpg

Two of Cherilea's early 50mm plastics - completely different to the later 60mm figures

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/sHO6sLk.jpg

Crescent's medicine man dances around Herald Toys' totem pole

[Aktungbby]

what is an Eskimo, Kalispell or Lummi tribe totem-pole doing in a treeless Plains buffalo-hide teepee village?...Much less dancing a traditional pole raising 'potlatch' ceremonyhttps://www.donsmaps.com/images28/potlatch2img_1382.jpg in an eagle-feather'd warbonnet or cape? Just finding suitable long tent-poles also used for travois on tribal migrations in search of bison tenderloin, humps and hides was hard enough in them-thar daze much less toting 90' weighty wooden statuary on the trip!
:shucks: https://4306738.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/4306738/Imported_Blog_Media/Garceau-totem-1.jpg https://www.islandssounder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/25161300_web1_lummipole-ISJ-210519-totem2_1.jpg

[Buddahaid]

Cultural appropriation?

[Eichhörnchen]

^ It was probably all they had at Walmart

https://i.imgur.com/YN82VKL.jpg Now the posse is close on the heels of that bank-robbing varmint

https://i.imgur.com/oPqE70a.jpg When suddenly he's away, quicker than a jackrabbit

https://i.imgur.com/hOvkBwQ.jpg Shoulda not wore a bright yeller shirt?

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/WQXjih3.jpg

Later Swoppets were often produced in a bendy vinyl-like material, as was this one, and vinyl- based paints were used increasingly for better adhesion; polythene plastic figures were always prone to flaking paintwork

[Aktungbby]

https://i.imgur.com/YN82VKL.jpg https://i.imgur.com/oPqE70a.jpg



Gotta luv them https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/The_Naked_Spur_%281952_poster%29.jpg/330px-The_Naked_Spur_%281952_poster%29.jpgs!:yeah:

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/uwQpgzZ.jpg These horses were those originally issued by 'Herald'

https://i.imgur.com/AsnOidS.jpg

[Eichhörnchen]

These are all Britains 'Herald' figures - one piece mouldings with no removable parts such as guns. All are common

https://i.imgur.com/wFQvMKK.jpg Most of these I've stripped & repainted

https://i.imgur.com/JQwS1aF.jpg The guy swinging his rifle is in original paint

https://i.imgur.com/Pq7dKCP.jpg

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/32MlB0n.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6IFySzz.jpg

In both cases the Herald figures are on the right - but top left is a figure by Paramount and below left is Cherilea; this may well have come before the Herald figure but I think the Paramount cowboy was probably inspired by Herald's, I'm not too sure but I'll ask someone who knows. The hat on the Cherilea base is a nice touch

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/V06n1km.jpg This figure was always bareheaded but you can change that

https://i.imgur.com/mI1xihR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ekACKHI.jpeg

[Eisenwurst]

https://i.imgur.com/WQXjih3.jpg

Later Swoppets were often produced in a bendy vinyl-like material, as was this one, and vinyl- based paints were used increasingly for better adhesion; polythene plastic figures were always prone to flaking paintwork

Montezuma's Revenge ????

[Buddahaid]

^ It was probably all they had at Walmart...

Great Ceasar's Ghost!

[ET2SN]

https://i.imgur.com/6IFySzz.jpg



They may want to check the operating manual for those rifles.
I think they missed an important point. :hmmm::O:

With the vinyl figures, have you considered using them as masters for RTV molds?
Nothing sticks to vinyl forever. Maybe a re-cast in resin would work better?

[Eichhörnchen]

^ :haha:

I did a bit of RTV moulding years ago (for white metal casting) but as these figures are only kids' toys I wouldn't bother detailing them - realism takes a back seat here. And I'm only having a bit of fun with the diorama style backgrounds - I haven't done any serious model making for many years now

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/y9QJFFx.jpg

These are from Cherilea at a time when makers seemed to be using a mix of old lead-casting moulds as well as newer ones which produced figures of a slightly larger size; it looks to me as though the riflemen are of the latter kind as I'm sure the gunfighter originally appeared as a metal toy

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/EwQaggQ.jpg Crescent Toy Co.

https://i.imgur.com/drDMM5g.jpg

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/C1mK7L9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BWS6m3Z.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PzeUqCQ.jpg

[em2nought]

I dig the Indians & the cowpokes. :up:

[Eisenwurst]

Hi Glynn. Great stuff. Do you have any US Cavalry figures ? Wild West Period.

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/LTvbiYT.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5b6M3SQ.jpg

^ The only ones within my remit of vintage toy figures (there are probably some newer sets featuring US cavalry) came from Cherilea Toys (above) and Crescent (below) - there were probably two or more mounted troopers by Crescent but I never got any of these cavalry soldiers - these are someone else's pictures

Both these sets shown here are large 60mm scale - and some of them were released in grey plastic as "confederate civil war" soldiers, although they are clearly wild west in design

Funnily enough though, Cherilea also produced a scout figure in a similar fashion to this Crescent one (also in buckskins) and I do happen to have that one in the queue for painting as he's interesting just on his own; he's not shown here so I'll post him later

https://i.imgur.com/OzbHw3p.jpg Just found this: Crescent US Cavalry trooper

[Eisenwurst]

Good on you. History gets corrupted by Academics with an agenda, and Custer wasn't the buffoon he's made out to be nowadays.

I'm sure you'll do a great job on the Buckskin Scout. :)

[nikimcbee]

I've got some Revolutionary War figures, 54mm. Need to paint...Maybe we could have a painting party? :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

These days I reckon I'd use a paint spray gun :)


I started painting mine. I recently found a company that makes 54mm figures for the Rev War that are varied, so I'm going to give that a try.




Here's the metal figure company:
https://www.irminiatures.com/

[Jimbuna]

I started painting mine. I recently found a company that makes 54mm figures for the Rev War that are varied, so I'm going to give that a try.




Here's the metal figure company:
https://www.irminiatures.com/

54mm eh?

That'll make them as tall as you :)

:03:

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/xDVImOc.jpg

Hi Glynn. Great stuff. Do you have any US Cavalry figures ? Wild West Period.

I quite forgot about this set from the 1970's - very good poses but I never collected "Deetail" figures because of the ugly metal bases and the PVC plastic (which often resulted in any straight parts like spears or rifles ending up bent)

Look up the other figures under the 'Deetail' banner - especially the WW2 sets - the sculptor was very very talented and if these had been produced in polythene plastic and regular bases they would've been about the best toy soldiers ever (not my photo)

[Eisenwurst]

Just had a quick look at "Deetail", I'll do a proper look later. The figures look real good. lots of detail :) probably paint up a treat.

I must've painted well over 10k figures in my time, and had a reputation for outstanding work. But due to deteriorating eyesight ( laser beam damage :Kaleun_Mad: ) , all sold or given away, none left to show you :wah:

My favourites were Essex 25mm Macedonian/Punic War range in the late 80s very early 90s. God they were beautiful figures, a fair bit bigger than official 25mm, but the detail...wow, you could tell the sculptor was a real artist that loved his job. I used to paint up the faces to give them individual expressions. It was very satisfying to see people go "Wow, they're alive !! How do you do that ??"

P.S. Autie rides again.

[Eichhörnchen]

^ Endless choice in these crossover hobbies: I've done some military figure modelling and I believe that wargamers like to paint theirs up to the same standards. But some toy figures are so good that they invite more precise painting too, and 'Deetail' are sometimes used in dioramas - possibly to circumvent the tedious assembly of numerous model figures

I usually like to paint my toy figures as though they've been done by a conscientious outworker (who would be using a more limited palette than the average modeller) but I sometimes get carried away if the figure is a good one

Here are some of my model figures - both from Airfix 'Multipose' sets - waiting to go into a diorama one day. There are more models in my profile page album

https://i.imgur.com/r7iBqLl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/JP5l6GC.jpg

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/BkbFeJD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MaVRe61.jpg

More of Cherilea's rather rangy 60mm figures - awaiting a paint job (see also their Romans and vikings etc earlier). They had some equally lanky cowboys too but the great thing about these large Cherilea figures was always their great dynamism

[ForceGhost]

Some beautiful work!

Where do you usually source the figures from?

[Eichhörnchen]

^ Thanks, buddy. If you mean toy figures then the answer now is Ebay - I used to go to toy fairs before the internet came along. However, on Ebay you'll see that just about everything is "rare" - or even "RARE!!!" - but like any other collector you'll know yourself what to look out for and how much is a fair price :salute:

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/3Gfflik.jpg


I think these two sorry looking characters are the only 60mm Cherilea cowboys I have - they won't look half so bad once I've painted them up though.

I posted the wonderful saloon bar poker table set way back: https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2806256&postcount=21

And there are more great looking figures in this range (such as the gunfighter sheriff) so I better keep looking


https://i.imgur.com/k9hL5OG.jpeg

Edit: A few months on and I've painted them up & set them in front of the "Timpo Toys" bunkhouse

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/EDruZsI.jpeg

I think this motley group of "Lone Star" will represent the last of my Western figures here. They're shown in what's left of their old paint and I'll probably never get around to repainting them as they were not the best. Lone Star figures were always very common in the toy boxes of old and were (with some notable exceptions) rather poorly sculpted, so carpet cannon-fodder really. There were 1 or 2 others I never got and probably never will, unless they come as part of a job lot

[Eichhörnchen]

"Kellog's Sugar Smacks - the circus cereal" is stamped under the base of this circus ring master. Many and varied were the figures produced by the Crescent Toy Company for Kellogs breakfast cereal giveaways; it was a real thrill to dig down into the box and see whether it was one you hadn't got

I only have the ring master from this set since I prefer my figures to be armed - if he did have a gun then the first thing I'd get him to do would be to shoot the clowns as we never found them funny anyway

Sometimes these Kellogs figures were produced for general sale, in which case they'd be stamped with the Crescent Toy company name under the base - the Robin Hood figures are one such example

https://i.imgur.com/iM0kEOf.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/aUFYnzK.jpeg The rest of the gang - I think the strong-man must've been modelled on STEED when he was young and virile

[em2nought]

Fernando Botero used me as a model. :D I'm looking forward to the day obese women go out of style, and obese men become the latest "it" fad. :har:

https://cdn.britannica.com/42/194742-050-CFD81AF9.jpg

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/Wbzytw0.jpeg

There are three more figures in this beautifully modelled set from the 1960s which I've still to find. I believe one of them is taking a bullet and another charging with bayonet. I know that the bayonet lets that particuler figure down, looking more like one of my mum's knitting needles

Below: the same figures after I painted them up (the officer's huge left and is just camera distortion). Also produced by Crescent to go with these figures were the two dugout/trench sections showing detail I'd not really examined until now

https://i.imgur.com/AN4DCDQ.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/f7kGITY.jpeg


https://i.imgur.com/CngvAEn.jpeg

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/gVASgAS.jpeg


Cherilea Toys produced small cowboy figures and large ones in the 50s and 60s (see posts 279 and 294) but there were also a few figures somewhere in between, like this gunfighting lawman (Wyatt Burp) purchased recently and painted up by me. A figure I've been after for quite a while on and off, I just love the poses of Cherilea's plastic warriors