Mike Tarantino's Toy Soldier Collection (2 Viewers)

[ucla1967]

My February Hiriart shipment also included this unusual Hiriart non-catalog set of EJERCITO ARGENTINO INFANTERIA, 1950. They are wearing Swiss helmets which the Argentine Army briefly used afterworld War II replacing their previous issue German stahlhelms. Note the Argentine colors on the sides of their helmets.

 

[ucla1967]

Continuing with my February Hiriart delivery, this is my new set 1219 WORLD WAR II PRINZ EUGEN GERBIRGSJAGER SS DIVISION, 1943. This was an actual German mountain division which was reputed to be the best German division serving in the Balkans. Interestingly, its men were recruited from native Germans living in the various Balkan countries. NB: The fifth image is a stock photo.

 

[ucla1967]

This is my new Hiriart set 1261 KHYBER PASS INDIAN MOUNTAIN ARTILLERY with mules. The last image is a stock photo of this set. I also have the other version of this set with oxen rather than mules.

 

[ucla1967]

This is a special version of Hiriart set 1220 DEUTSCHES AFRIKA KORPS, 1940 - 1943 with a Rommel personality figure. I also have the regular 1220 catalog set which is a double set that includes a Panzer II tank, PAK 35/36 anti-tank gun, a MG42 machine gun motorcycle sidecar, a palm tree, plus assorted DAK figures and Rommel. The catalog set has the DAK figures in khaki with both soft caps and helmets, but I wanted this special version with all helmets that included goggles and with light green tunics. Although I already had a Rommel figure, I ordered it this way since Tom D., who also ordered this set, is collecting the Hiriart World War II personality sets. If I was ordering it just for me, I would have omitted Rommel.

 

[theBaron]

This is my new Hiriart set 1256 WORLD WAR I DEUTSCHE GENERALSTAB, 1914 with HINDENBURG and LUDENDORFF. Actually, Fred really liked this set, so I let him have it and have reordered it for me. So, I only had it for about week...

I'm not sure, but from the photos, it looks like the Adjutant der Jäger is giving the Hitlergruss.

Prost!
Brad

 

[ucla1967]

I'm not sure, but from the photos, it looks like the Adjutant der Jäger is giving the Hitlergruss.

Prost!
Brad

Hmm. You could be right Brad. Mike

 

[ucla1967]

This is my new Hiriart set 1351 REGIMENTO NO. 11 DE INFANTERIA "CAZADORES DE LOS ANDES," ARGENTINA that I received last month. The last image is a stock photo.

 

[ucla1967]

This is my new Hiriart non-catalog set of RUSSIAN IMPERIAL GUARD DRAGOONS, 1815.

 

[ucla1967]

This is my new Hiriart non-catalog set ROYAL ARTILLERY GUN TEAM with ESCORTS, ZULU WAR.

 

[ucla1967]

This is my new Hiriart non-catalog set XIX CENTURY TURKISH ARTILLERY.

 

[thebritfarmer]

Nice additions, love the Zulu artillery set.

 

[ucla1967]

Nice additions, love the Zulu artillery set.

Thanks Scott. I had neglected to pick up this set made by other manufacturers (e.g., Trophy, Alymer, etc) in the past, so I commissioned this one from Hiriart. Now I finally have one.

Mike

 

[ROUGH RIDER]

I always look forward to seeing the latest additions to your collection.

 

[ucla1967]

I always look forward to seeing the latest additions to your collection.

Thank you for your kind words, I am glad you like them.

Mike

 

[ucla1967]

In the past month, I have picked up six World War II mahogany warbirds to add to the nine others I already have. The first mahogany warbirds I bought some 20 years ago were King & Country's versions which had wheels down and sold for about $125. The wheels down were problematic to me since they were very fragile, so I switched over to mahogany warbirds with wheels up which came from the Philippines (as did the early K&C models) and were distributed by Toys & Models Corporation, Pacific Aircraft, etc. I attempt to collect the fighters in 1/32 scale, including the two engine versions (e.g., P-38, ME-110, Mosquito, etc.), and the two engine bombers (e.g., B-25, He-111 H2, etc.) in 1/48 scale. I don't collect the warbirds offered by a number of current toy soldier companies that are not made of mahogany.

Here is my 1/32 scale, mahogany Luftwaffe Bf-109 that I bought from Mastercraft Collections on eBay displayed among my Solido 1/50th scale die cast WWII AFV vehicles.

 

[ucla1967]

I recently bought this Beau Geste set from Bill Schomer in Florida on eBay: BG 273 ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMENT, SINAI, 1916, WWI.

 

[Al Fisher]

Wonderful set from the Middle East! Would that we had more from that arena.

Bosun Al

 

[ucla1967]

Wonderful set from the Middle East! Would that we had more from that arena.

Bosun Al

Thanks Al, it is a great set from an area that is not covered much. It looks like I will need to find out what paint color and brand Ana uses on their helmets, since the medic's helmet needs touching up.

 

[ucla1967]

The second mahogany World War II warbird that I picked up last month on eBay is a 1/48 scale Heinkel HE-111 H2 bomber with a 18 1/2 inch wingspan. I always liked the camouflage on this particular version which was originally imported by Toys & Model Corporation. The photos are slightly out of focus.

 

[ucla1967]

This is my new 1/32 scale mahogany World War II Supermarine Spitfire with a 13 3/4 inch wingspan. All my new warbird photos are slightly out of focus since I forgot how to use my camera (i.e., I needed to wait until the viewfinder red brackets turned green to be in focus). Sorry about that, it must have been a senior moment.