How you got into the hobby (1 Viewer)

[Peter Reuss]

At the Chicago Show there was much talk about expanding the hobby, with much of the discussion focused on getting kids interested.

I'm curious to hear how many of you had toy soldiers as a kid...and how many only found them later in life.

 

[Peter Reuss]

Re: How you got into the hobby: a marketing poll

If these don't quite fit your story...feel free to comment!

 

[Rob]

As a kid I was very much part of the generation that were still totally hooked on WW2. Classic War films, Commando comics, Action man etc etc and Toy Soldiers were very much part of the whole thing. We all had hundreds of Airfix plastic soldiers of either 1/32 or 1/72 , many of them probably still lie where they fell in the woods and fields around my childhood home!

Then I discovered other things as young men do when they grow up and went to school got a job etc etc...until about ten or more years ago I found I could now afford to buy ' grown up' Toy Soldiers and discovered Toy Army Workshop , after building a large collection of these I met the young man who goes by the title of Mike Neville....and well you know the rest!^&grin:wink2:

Rob

 

[lancer]

To paraphrase a book title, I was doomed from the start.:wink2: I have had toy soldiers from virtually my earliest memories, with my childhood centered around never ending battles on the floor or outside in the dirt. Plastics were supplemented with metal when my father gave me his Britain hollowcasts from his childhood. The natural progression continued as I collected and painted my own armies in both plastic and metal and I then went into the pre-painted figures from there when I could afford to buy them. Sometimes it was one figure here and there, sometimes a set or two at shows. Then the internet allowed access on a level I hadn't experienced in terms of 24/7 as oppossed to once or twice a year at shows. Doomed from the start.{sm2}^&grin -- Al

 

[binder001]

I answered "Yes...and when I saw modern toy soldiers it reminded me of my childhood and got me hooked again", but I would have to qualify that - The toy soldiers I grew up with were only a little like I collect now. I had lots of Timmee, Peyton and what i called "Ideal" at the time (apparently they were early Marx molds that were marketed by others). I really loved the MPC "ring hands" in their different era series. When I saw my first Marx figures (ca.1960) from the "Battleground Play Set" I saw a different world of what a toy soldier could look like. I even bought Marx GIs into my teens, but drifted away from the toys as I became more proficient at models. One major service of some of my Marx troops was to teach me to paint figures. I used them as practice to build my skills towards model construction and finishing. I got into some lead figures in the late 1960s via Monogram Merite (which came with EXCELLENT painting guides) then Imrie-Risley, Valiant, Monarch, etc. As 1/35th scale came to dominate modelling I moved away from 54mm size, but always appreciated a nicely painted figure. I built many models in many scales over the years, mostly WW2 US stuff. To me the "toy" soldiers looked poorly posed and inaccurately painted. One day I was reading Military Modeling magazine from England and an ad showed a new line of GI figures from some outfit called "King & Country". The photo showed accurately painted figures in very lifelike poses with a few vehicles. I remained mildly curious about them until I went to a professional conference in Charleston, SC. I got to visit Toy Soldiers of Charleston and saw a variety of K&C, Britains, and many other fine figures from many eras. We don't have any sort of toy soldier shop anywhere in my area, so this was the first time I got to see a "real" toy soldier shop. I bought a StuG III diorama piece and was hooked on K&C. So the stuff that I played with as a child had only a little to do with my afectation for the "collectibles" of today. They just steered me into a life-long fascination for things military.

Gary B.

 

[The Military Workshop]

I grew up playing with Airfix and Timpo figures of all types and still have them.

 

[Peter Reuss]

I'm also curious to know if there is a 'generation gap' in this. I suspect younger collectors are less likely to have had soldiers as a kid...but that may be another poll for another day!

 

[theBaron]

I'm just young enough (Jahrgang 1964) to have missed the age of classic toy soldiers. I do remember seeing Britains Deetail figures in at Christmas in Hess' department store in Allentown, when I was 3 or 4, but otherwise, toy soldiers for me were green army men. It wasn't till I was a senior in high school that I expanded from scale models and painting Airfix HO and 1/72 figures, to making molds of plaster and casting copies of them. Then in college, when I lived in Munich, I discovered German half-round figures as a flea market find, and that was the start for me. I bought more books, learned about casting, joined a club, and got to where I am today in the hobby.

Prost!
Brad

 

[jazzeum]

I'm also curious to know if there is a 'generation gap' in this. I suspect younger collectors are less likely to have had soldiers as a kid...but that may be another poll for another day!

Considering the world we live in today and some parents not wishing kids to have soldiers, that's entirely possible.

 

[Currahee Chris]

I'm also curious to know if there is a 'generation gap' in this. I suspect younger collectors are less likely to have had soldiers as a kid...but that may be another poll for another day!

Nice thread Peter. Here are my thoughts as I believe you and I are closer in age vs some of these other dudes.

I got hooked onto toy soldiers when I lived in Nuremburg from 79-82. I played with plastic Atlantic figures and Britains Deetails. Dad got his orders and we moved to the states right as the 4" GI Joes got released (1982). I played with them till I literally shipped off to the service.

It was only by dumb (but great) luck I rediscovered the hobby, in particular the matte figures. I bought some of the KC Yanks, Britains glossy knights, East of India samurai and Conte Vikings/Warlord figures. I have been hooked ever since.

Generation gap- I do believe it does exist. Toy soldiers have faded to the basic green plastic figures we see. I still think there are a lot of generic military action figures that in my mind qualify as toy soldiers. My take on it is that this hobby is really a European hobby and there are some of us oddballs here in the States that got attached. Boys are very impressionable at ages 7-12 and I spent a bulk of that time in Germany- I saw all the WW2 sites, memorials and then saw tanks and stuff driving all around- you dont see these types of things in the states- plus- my grandfather and dad are both my heroes and they were career military so I sort of was always immersed in this stuff.

As I have aged, I dont really connect to my childhood with todays toy soldiers- they are light years apart. I do still have some of them and enjoy them for nostalgia sake. I like to setup my 101st guys to celebrate my Currahee lineage and to honor my grandfather in some way. My modern troopers give me very vivid memories of my time in the service. Rome, Egypt and the Samurai are simply fascinating to me and draw me in that way.

What I am finding now is that I have been Blessed to have a very respectable collection. Im spending less these days on toy soldiers as other hobbies seem more appealing (I am saving to buy a telescope and get into astronomy). Im sort of an odd bird like that- I have many interests and the intensity on any particular interest ebss and flows. Toy soldiers are ebbing at the mo.

 

[theBaron]

I remember those Atlantic sets, Chris. I got the Greek and Trojan figure sets, and got an early introduction to trying to fit sets of different scales together, when I tried to use them with my Airfix Romans and Britons, who were HO. I never got the diorama sets Atlantic offered, but I remember how cool they looked.

Prost!
Brad

 

[TomNT]

I have always been interested in military vehicles (especially WW2) from an early age and this led to me getting interested in making 1:35 scale WW2 Tamiya plastic kits as well as collect plastic toy soldiers as a boy. I still have a few of the assembled Tamiya models in the cupboard and even some of my plastic soldiers have survived the yearly crackers nights, hungry hounds and invading lawnmower which have struck down their comrades! Once i got into my teens and young adulthood i found a new passion called partying, alcohol and women which dominated my life for many years! In my late 30's i came across a shop that sold FV vehicles and my interest in the hobby was rekindled to the many different brands that i collect today.

Tom

 

[ROUGH RIDER]

I remember in the 60s and 70s having Marx WW2 figures and then Airfix 1/72 sets. From there to model kits and now the present day figures and armor. This is a great time to be a collector.

 

[W T Allison II]

When I was in the 3rd grade(just after the Wright Brothers took off) a friend of my mother gave me a set of Britains 16th/5th Lancers(cost $1.95) for my birthday. I have been collecting ever since then and still do. Great hobby and great friends! Tommy

 

[sammy719]

A great thread Pete,

I was hooked on toy soldiers after recieving the Marx battleground playset when I was 6 years old and nothing ever brought me as much joy as I did when playing with my playset, it also sparked my interest in WWII, reading, writing, it didn't matter as long as it was WWII related, while most kids were checking out Dr. Suess books at the school library I was reading up on the Normandy invasion or Iwo Jima!!!

Later in life of course I found WWII Conte/K&C/First legion metal figures which brought that same joyful feeling as I had as a child, I may not roll around on the carpet with them for hours on end but I truly enjoy collecting each and every piece that I have, what's that saying?? reliving my childhood, yea, and I'm all for it...Sammy

 

[Wraith]

Nice thread Peter. Here are my thoughts as I believe you and I are closer in age vs some of these other dudes.

Dude, hate to break it to you, but with yours and Petes recent milestones, you have now joined the 'other dudes' Don't fight it, just find yourself a piano, start belting out 'Great Balls of Fire' and accept it gracefully.{sm4}

I guess I don't really hit any of the criteria set by Pete. I started dustying off a few of my original Airfix 1/32s for my (then) 1 year old son, fully intent on converting / corrupting him at an early age. Then I checked ebay. Mistake. Got more Airfix, then ended up over a number of years getting pretty much the entire range of box sets from all eras and designs before discovering Conte plastics. Conte Plastics led to Conte metal, which led to K&C, Britains, NMA, HB, Figarti, CS, FL and so on.

Now I'm a dribbling wreck of my former self. So it's my sons' fault. And somehow, and I haven't figured out how, but somehow, I feel Rob has to be blamed as well.

 

[Buster]

Dude, hate to break it to you, but with yours and Petes recent milestones, you have now joined the 'other dudes' Don't fight it, just find yourself a piano, start belting out 'Great Balls of Fire' and accept it gracefully.{sm4}

I guess I don't really hit any of the criteria set by Pete. I started dustying off a few of my original Airfix 1/32s for my (then) 1 year old son, fully intent on converting / corrupting him at an early age. Then I checked ebay. Mistake. Got more Airfix, then ended up over a number of years getting pretty much the entire range of box sets from all eras and designs before discovering Conte plastics. Conte Plastics led to Conte metal, which led to K&C, Britains, NMA, HB, Figarti, CS, FL and so on.

Now I'm a dribbling wreck of my former self. So it's my sons' fault. And somehow, and I haven't figured out how, but somehow, I feel Rob has to be blamed as well.

So you've come full circle then? :tongue:

And yes, Rob is always to blame ..... no matter what. ^&grin

And didn't we agree you weren't going to use the word "dude" any more ..... so disappointed in you :rolleyes2:

B.

 

[Wraith]

So you've come full circle then? :tongue:

And yes, Rob is always to blame ..... no matter what. ^&grin

And didn't we agree you weren't going to use the word "dude" any more ..... so disappointed in you :rolleyes2:

B.

Actually, I've regressed over the years. Rob's fault.
Disappointed in me? I trust your standards were set at a pretty low level. :wink2:

 

[Currahee Chris]

I remember those Atlantic sets, Chris. I got the Greek and Trojan figure sets, and got an early introduction to trying to fit sets of different scales together, when I tried to use them with my Airfix Romans and Britons, who were HO. I never got the diorama sets Atlantic offered, but I remember how cool they looked.

Prost!
Brad

I never knew they had the big playsets till like a few years ago. The really cool thing was getting the booklet as well. I was one really well informed 8 year old legionaire!! {sm4}{sm3}

I still think those sets stand the test of time and have some of the most dynamic poses of any ancients to date.

Prost!!
CC

 

[Currahee Chris]

I hear a lot of collectors claiming this is the "Golden age of Collecting"- I would certainly agree it is,,,,,,if you got the cash to make it that way. I guess it's a lot in how you define "Golden age". My opinion is that the hobby has forgotten its roots- this was a hobby for children for the bulk of it's existence as a hobby- sure, adults could get involved but things were never like they are today. We have morphed at warp speed into my opinion, an exclusive club. As prices go up, people either refuse to pay or cut purchases on other items. Recognizing this manufacturers have cut production on a number of their items. Slow moving inventory is the death knell to these guys.

We certainly arent spoilt for choices today though imo we weren't 20-30-50 years ago- plastic companies were still making WW1 guys, zulus, ACW, WW2, Cowboys and Indians, knights- the mainstays/core collector interest has always been there since day 1. We certainly have seen an intense increase in the quality of figures but that came with a price.

Its not all doom and gloom, times change sure but the days of kids passing away their afternoons and nights playing with toy soldiers and airplanes are long gone. The cottage industrys and producers are still out there but getting pushed to the side by the corporate pomp and circumstance surrounding the hobby. Even the notion of what to do with your toy soldiers has changed- you used to take them outside and play but now you gotta sink cash into getting the right displays to go with and then you better have a good camera too.