Hi Guys, I become interested in collecting toy soldiers now. How do you guys consider the size of the figures? What size is good for collection? And i know there are different material used in production such as metal, plastic, clay; which one should I go for?
^&confuse
Thank you all the advice
Welcome to the forum, Jjbeau! Bath, UK, or Bath PA?
To your questions...
First, you must ask yourself, "What interests me?" Are you interested in history? In any specific period or periods? Ancient history, medieval, 18th century, 19th century, modern?
Then, to the question of size or scale, it may be driven by such things as availability of figures that interest you--what scale or size is used by the maker of figures I like? Do you want to make static displays, or dioramas? That will also have an impact--what accessories are available in this scale or that? It may also be impacted by your available display space. Will you have simple cabinet displays, or, if you want to do something more, that may rule out one scale/size or another.
As for the materials of which figures are made, a majority of miniature figures made for the collector market, are made of metal, with a good number of makers using plastic. Kit figures made for you to assemble and paint yourself are in metal, resin or styrene. There are advantages and disadvantages to each material, from the manufacturer's perspective, and preferences on our part as collectors. I know of no modern figures made of clay, though clay and terra cotta were used in the past, by the Romans, for example, or by the ancient Chinese, to make miniature figures. Those of us who sculpt, though, do use clays, or more accurately, putties, to sculpt figures, but those are either one-offs for our own collections, or masters from which we can make molds and then cast copies in metal or resin. I don't think you'll find any figures made of clay or putty on the retail market, though.
Now, a practical example to illustrate what I'm talking about. I'm interested in a lot of periods of history, but as far as toy soldiers are concerned, I focus on the 18th century and the Imperial German army. I got into collecting toy soldiers first through the purchase of a set of homecast Imperial German Prussians, and through experimenting with making plaster molds of some Airfix figures and casting them in lead. I bought books on toy soldiers, learned more about the figures I had bought, and about more makers. Since I was interest in casting, I learned about the molds sold by Prins August to cast Frederick the Great's army, and I bought them. I learned about other makers' figures, and gradually expanded my collection to include various makers' figures. Along the way, I also found makers who made figures from the Imperial German army, both kit figures and finished figures, and I've amassed a small collection of that subject, too.
I like to paint, so that affects my searches and purchases, too. I'll buy old figures for my collections, figures that are in a bad way, because I know I can repair and modify them, then paint them. Most of my collection, I have painted myself, with the exception of some Imperial Germans who were sold back in the 90s.
Since I started with 54mm, I have kept to it as my size of choice, though a collection based on a theme (WWII US paratroopers, say) might include figures of various scales. I like a consistent display, so I stick pretty much to the same scale/size.
I've also collected items that are related to these subjects, like books on the period, prints of uniforms, and artifacts. Many collectors do the same, and you might wind up doing so, too, as you go on in the hobby.
The important thing is to decide what you like, and then look for things that you like, and the rest falls into place.
Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad
