Shogun/Samurai Toy Soldiers (1 Viewer)

[oberstoskar]

Since East of India's Ken has gone AWOL, no manufacturer had focused on producing Shogun/Samuria Toy soldiers. I know 1st Legion made some, and they're quite good.

I talked to John Jenkins (unofficially) and he said that he was advised not to get into Samurai.

I wonder why this subject has so little interest? Lack of good movies on this subject (I can only think of Ran and Heaven & Earth in the 80's and 90's)? Lack of interest in Oriental themes in general? (But K&C Streets of Hong Kong is doing well) Rumors had that East of India went out of business coz too many toy soldiers were produced without profit

K&C also deliberately stayed away from this subject, although from time to time few members from the forum would prompt Andy on starting a Samurai line.

I recently searched for some East of India samurai online, not much left. The ones that I got were impressive! Their colorful armors and flags are very very good Toy Soldier subject. I really regretted for not taking an interest a decade ago (probably because I couldn't afford them at that time)...

Anyone in this forum can comment?

 

[lancer]

Monarch makes a beautiful, glossy Samurai line. Del Prado also makes a more limited line in matte. -- Al

 

[theBaron]

Interesting, I wonder who advised John not to produce samurai. I wonder if it has to do with producing figures in Red China. 21st Century wouldn't include the Nationalist roundels in their Flying Tiger P-40s, for example, and recently there was a flap on one of the airplane modeler sites, regarding a kit of James Swett's Guadalcanal F4F, produced in the PRC, which had the Japanese kill markings inked out on the box art and decal sheet.

King-White had samurai in their catalog, sold most visibly by Reeves, Intl. There is an eBay vendor, toysoldierfactory, who I believe is also a member of the forum, who has old King-White molds, including some samurai. I have a couple of the figures, and while they're relatively chunky and painted in the early Chinese style, they fit well with the Del Prado samurai.

There was also a seller named Ed Collara (sp?) who marketed a line of samurai. I saw them in the old Armchair General mail order auctions. Stylistically, from the sculpting and the painting, I suspect that they, too, were produced in Hong Kong by King-White. I have some of those figures, including archers, arquebusiers, standard bearers, and clan leaders/generals.

I think the subject is more of a narrower niche, though, compared to subjects like WWII, the Civil War and Napoleonics.

Prost!
Brad

 

[lenswerks]

I have most of the Oda Nobaunaga Army series Ken made. They are very nice figures.

Donnie

 

[RedBaron]

I have most of the Oda Nobaunaga Army series Ken made. They are very nice figures.

Donnie

View attachment 91385

Hi Donnie,

Who made these figures?

Jose

 

[lenswerks]

East of India.

 

[oberstoskar]

I have most of the Oda Nobaunaga Army series Ken made. They are very nice figures.

Donnie

View attachment 91385

this is impressive! thanks for showing off

I really wish i could still find the standard bearers and archers.

 

[wds0855]

Is East of India no longer in business?

Walt

 

[lancer]

Is East of India no longer in business?

Walt

No. They went OOB a couple of years ago, with no warning. -- Al

 

[hsm]

DelPado had almost 100 Samurais- most are still available i believe- Not my thing but I have 3 of them in my collection-
andrea did a nice samurai in their ready to show series- the scale is smaller but the painting is high quality.
toysoldiertoronto can order in Delprado Samurais on request-

Grant

 

[Peter Reuss]

We have about 40 Del Prado Samurai on our website...with 30 of them in stock at the moment. It's quite a nice range (especially for the price):

http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=1843&view=all

 

[oberstoskar]

What is the scale of Del Prado Samurai?

Are they 1/30 (like K&C)? 1/32 (like britain's)? or 1/35 (scale matching East of India)?

 

[theBaron]

What is the scale of Del Prado Samurai?

Are they 1/30 (like K&C)? 1/32 (like britain's)? or 1/35 (scale matching East of India)?

Hi, Oskar, I have a couple of them, and they're very close if not equivalent to K&C.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Peter Reuss]

I held one next to a K&C Greek figure this morning...fits that scale well.

 

[lenswerks]

For those who may not have seen these before here are a few stock photos so that you can see the detail better..

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

It's too bad that East of India went out of business. They had a great line of figures. I have their Greek phalanx and it looks very impressive as a standalone piece! Their samurai range was extensive but, I never collected any of those.

If you like the matte painting style, you can't beat First Legion's samurai range with new mounted figures coming out this year! If you prefer a glossy "Toy Soldier" style, Monarch Reglia is my pick. I have collected samples from both companies.