Classic Toy Soldiers Union Army (1 Viewer)

[Scott]

John Dierkes as Jocko....

 

[Ragnar]

Jocko in plastic....An old pic and not the best paint jobs back then might go back and fix up some of my early hack jobs {eek3}

 

[steve weston]

Conte has a Union soldier reaching for a cartridge. I've done it many times myself in reenactments. I thinks it's a pose worth doing as it is part of loading. The Replicant Marines are great for the War but waaaaaay off for Harpers Ferry for which they are supposed to represent. I had a chance to handle the Harpers Ferry sets last weekend and I'm disappointed that so many figures in that set are retreads of British sailors, cowboys and Confederates.

Scott,
You mean that the contents are exactly as advertised then regarding the mix of figures?
If you had the playset in front of you, it should have contained a page from which I have extracted the following statement:
Note
During our research we found conflicting reports of the uniforms worn by the US Marines at Harpers Ferry. The version of the uniform that we have chosen is the one that was standard during the civil war. This seems likely to be correct and it also enables collectors to use them in later civil war scenes if desired.
This was carried out by Replicants, and I can remember from my own research that the book 'Combat Uniforms of the Civil War' by Mark Lloyd, on page 59, the original photo clearly shows them wearing at least 4 different hat styles.

With this sort of evidence to work from, it must be difficult for them to acheive 100%accurracy, but as I keep on saying - remember that our hobby is just about TOY soldiers, not Military Masterpieces. A certain amount of imagination is required and is what must have attracted us all to this hobby in the first place.

 

[Scott]

Scott,
You mean that the contents are exactly as advertised then regarding the mix of figures?
If you had the playset in front of you, it should have contained a page from which I have extracted the following statement:
Note
During our research we found conflicting reports of the uniforms worn by the US Marines at Harpers Ferry. The version of the uniform that we have chosen is the one that was standard during the civil war. This seems likely to be correct and it also enables collectors to use them in later civil war scenes if desired.
This was carried out by Replicants, and I can remember from my own research that the book 'Combat Uniforms of the Civil War' by Mark Lloyd, on page 59, the original photo clearly shows them wearing at least 4 different hat styles.

With this sort of evidence to work from, it must be difficult for them to acheive 100%accurracy, but as I keep on saying - remember that our hobby is just about TOY soldiers, not Military Masterpieces. A certain amount of imagination is required and is what must have attracted us all to this hobby in the first place.

Right you are Steve. I use AIP WW I Germans as Prussians and Civil War Zouaves as French when I "play." But when I pay the 4-5 $$$ each for Replicants or Barszo or even 75 cents each for AIP I expect the contents of the box to be as advertized. YOUR figures and Tanks are as advertized, and pretty good to. I have about 100 of the Mexicans. The guys who pay 25 $ and more per painted metal figures should expect accuracy. I don't like the British sailors and Confederates stuck in as 1850s militia when there really is an1850s militia figure in the set. Conte goes that with their Alamo Texans stuck in Rev-War, Civil War, Zulu, and Rogers rangers in as 1830s Texans. AIP is calling WW I Russians, Crimean War. I wish they wouldn't do this at any price.

Let me add that I saw the Replicants sets as bagged figures rather than as the complete playset. With out any fine print.

 

[Warrior]

My stock on the CTS Union sets landed here today, most have been repacked and shipped right out, sales are great so far, can't wait to see the Confederates.......................

 

[Scott]

I may pick some up. You can build a nice firing line or skirmish line with most of the poses.

 

[steve weston]

Right you are Steve. I use AIP WW I Germans as Prussians and Civil War Zouaves as French when I "play." But when I pay the 4-5 $$$ each for Replicants or Barszo or even 75 cents each for AIP I expect the contents of the box to be as advertized. YOUR figures and Tanks are as advertized, and pretty good to. I have about 100 of the Mexicans. The guys who pay 25 $ and more per painted metal figures should expect accuracy. I don't like the British sailors and Confederates stuck in as 1850s militia when there really is an1850s militia figure in the set. Conte goes that with their Alamo Texans stuck in Rev-War, Civil War, Zulu, and Rogers rangers in as 1830s Texans. AIP is calling WW I Russians, Crimean War. I wish they wouldn't do this at any price.

Let me add that I saw the Replicants sets as bagged figures rather than as the complete playset. With out any fine print.

Scott,
I am in agreement with you up to a point. As I said, with the conflicting info that I found, I am glad that it was not me who had to make the call on what uniform to go with. Bearing in mind, this is a U.S. book, I would have expected to get more clarification. However, I don't know what they ended up using as their own source of reference.
As for pricing, you must realise that Replicants is the ONLY Company that makes their figures by hand - which is labour intensive and therefore costly, hence the marginally higher price. Also, Armies-in-Plastic, although good, are only 2-dimensional and the same poses are repeated throught most of the sets, unlike Replicants, our own, TSSD, Conte, etc.
Whilst representing excellent value for money and covering a multitude of periods, there is not a lot of dynamics to the AIP figures, but having said this they are hugely popular and sell like hot cakes! The style is reminiscent of Charbens and Wm. Britains and has caught the publics imagination with the great ranges that he produces.

I am surprised that you have only just gotten around to seeing the Replicants Harper's Ferry figures as the set has now been around for 21 months and is all but sold out. Probably 75% of the sales have gone to the U.S. and most of these have been at the OTSN in Chicago, and in Texas. These have been on my site for all of this time which clearly lists the contents and shows the figures, has also been featured in P.W. mag and both of the glossy mags, and also in Playset mag, I think.
Sales of the bagged figures has also been huge EVERYWHERE that we ship to, so the chances are that whoever you buy from has these in stock - certainly all the big dealers and a few who specialise in internet sales only.
As for use of the other figures, to me, this was quite an inspirational idea, as the Raiders were not yet in regular uniform and it is quite reasonable to assume that some would have been dressed as depicted by these additional figures i.e. fairly non-descript.
But that was not the sole reason for their inclusion; Peter cannot physically design, sculpt, make the molds for and inject more than 16/20 figures each year. bearing in mind there were already new releases in May, he had limited time to produce enough figures to make a decent Civil War diorama. We were pushing the boundaries and testing him to see what was possible - and he came up trumps according to our sales and general feedback.
However, you may be pleased to know that this years playset (he took a year off from making one in 2010) will contain ALL-NEW figures, no previously issued Replicants items but I have also added a certain twist! enough said, if you want to know more, you will have to wait until September-ish!

 

[Scott]

"..I am surprised that you have only just gotten around to seeing the Replicants Harper's Ferry figures as the set has now been around for 21 months and is all but sold out. .."

Thanks Steve, I was aware of the set at the first issue but I only got to have my hands on the bagged figures last weekend in the legendary "back room" of the Hobby Bunker in Malden, Mass. They were not on display in the front. I have almost 200 Marksman and Replicant figures I've picked up singley and in bagged sets. If you go to my linked blog, you'll set I have some fun with them. Generally I'm pleased with the subjects and figures themselves. I might get a few bags of the Marines.