What makers did you collect? (1 Viewer)

[nysoldiers]

For collectors in North America (others are welcome to give their input) I am curious what makers you think dominated a time period during your collecting years.

I started collecting in the late 50's and BRITAINS and HAUSSER/ELASTOLIN were my main interest.

In the 60's BRITAINS and IMRIE/RISELY (I did some of my own painting).

In the 70's I built plastic models (TAMAIYA, AIRFIX and MONOGRAM).

The 80's brought TROPHY, IMPERIAL and ALYMER.

90's continued with TROPHY and IMPERIAL with K&C coming on.
I also started collecting MULBERRY, TOMMY ATKINS, FRONTLINE, SOMERSET, BRIGADE, MINIMEN and LEMANS.

2000 to current TROPHY came to an end, K&C picked up, CONTE arrived and LITTLE LEGION, ATS , TEDTOY, FUSILIER and JOHN JENKINS filled my shelves

 

[kilted vampire]

I started out with some marx guys at first. Little green army men. Then Marx 6 inch Plastic. Britains Deetail Knights. Maybe a couple of other Britains deetail Army men. Later I found out about my fathers Metal Britains. Later in the 90's received some Trophy from my father again. still have those along with Imperial Civil War also a gift. made some Prince August. Then 5 years ago all H**l broke loose with K&C and everything else.

 

[lancer]

started with Marx in late 50's and into 60's. added plastic Britains and Tempos. recieved my fathers metal Britains somewhere in there and also built plastic models along with painting metal figures from Hinchcliffe, Squadron, Imrie and others. collecting lagged during late 70's thru 80's. started again around 1990 with Trophy, Somerset, Union Jacks, Toy Army Workshop. slow going until year 2000 when i discovered King & Country and there has been no looking back since then. have also added Honour Bound and many new style Britains. favorite are the John Jenkins discovered about June 2007. what a great hobby. a life long addiction.- lancer

 

[thebritfarmer]

Started with Britains about 1976 and still with Britains 30 years later

 

[Njja]

Started with Britians, then Barclay, Manoil, Elastolin, Private figures from

shop in New Orleans, Lionel figures, Russian Federation, Figarti, and my

main manufacter King & Country.

 

[marco55]

Started with 25mm in 90's then went to Conte,some Britains a few K&C now mostly Jenkins and Conte.
Mark

 

[damian]

I would agree with you assessment. I do not remeber the 1950's and 1960's but growing up in the 1970's it was the plastics Airfix, Tamiya and Britain's Deetail that kept the flag flying. I was too busy in the late 1980's being a teenager to wotty much about toy soldiers, but when I rediscoverd them in 1996 it was WB and then Trophy and K and C. Trophy is sadly no longer with us but K and C is now all pervasive and WB is making a string come back.
Regards
Damian

 

[Deitz]

I had Marx sets in the seventies, but I wouldn't say I was a collector then, I also had some Timpo Knights and Britain Deetails. I stopped when I was a teenager. My marx sets were given away to the kids next door.

When I started up again I collected Timpo, then I started collecting LL, I also collect KC tanks any other figures that I like.

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

My earliest recollection was of receiving a few Britains swoppet knights and American Revolution sets for Christmas and that was circa 1966, I would say. I also, got some Marx playsets (Fort Apache and Daniel Boone sets)around the same time period. I only started actual "collecting" around 1999. Funny thing was, I was browsing eBay and saw some of the swoppet figures I had still at home from my childhood and was astonished by the prices that they would sell for. I decided at that time that I would put my own figures up for sale but instead, I found myself bidding on more Britains swoppet auctions for ACW, AWI and knights. That's when I realized that I had become a collector. At that time, I restricted my purchases to Britains swoppet figures, mainly ACW and AWI and amassed a sizable collection of both these ranges. A couple of years later, I attended my first Toy Soldier show in Chicago and got bitten by the bug which has now turned into a full-fledged flu... I now have several metal maufacturers in my collection beginning with Tradition (Napoleonics), Britains (ACW, AWI, Napoleonics), Lemans (AWI), Figurine Emporium (Napoleonics), Conte (ACW, Alamo), East of India (Greeks, Persians), TedToy (ACW), Monarch Regalia (Samurai), recently K&C (Napoleonics, Crusaders & Saracens, Alamo, ACW) and finally John Jenkins (Monogahala, Plains of Abraham, Snowshoes and 1812). I also, have a large number of painted ACW plastic (just about every plastic manufacturer out there) for my Gettysburg diorama. That's my history!!!

 

[jac28]

At first I wasn't a "collector" just a kid, who like toy soldiers (like most of us I would imagine). I had mainly Marx, but also Auburn, Lido, etc.

I started collecting in the early '90s - here's what I collect today:

1. Marx
2. Barzso
3. Timpo Kinghts
4. Misc. vintage figures
5. Misc.recast stuff to fit in with my interests

Jim

 

[eborris]

As a kid I enjoyed playing with toy soldiers, I had some from basically every manufacturer.

What started me in collecting was buying the things I never had as a kid, things I wanted, but never seemed to find under the tree. The one item that always escaped me was a Gibbs Custer set, my cousin got one, but I never did. Can't figure out what attracted me to that set, but I always wanted one. Now I have like 7 of them.

Funny thing, as a kid I always wanted a Battleground set, but never got one. However today I have no interest in that set at all.

Today outside of the Gibbs sets, I collect mainly Marx 60mm cavalry and revised pioneer poses. I do branch out into different things, more or less whatever strikes my fancy. I started out as mainly a plastics, but I have gone over to the dark side and have quite a bit of metal.

 

[bromhead]

aftre the gift of a marx army training center and a close kresge-woolworth I was hooked,,in a few years Britains loomed and then it was trips to downtown chicago,,Vaughns seed store- a wonderful multi floor mostly military toy store,,whenever an occasion came up and I could influence the family. after losing most of a vast 1/72 collection in a fla hurricane ,its now mostly 54mm as to soldiers. A great lesson is discovering how little homeowners insurance covers as to collections,books etc of any kind.

 

[Leadmen]

I also grown up in Chicago. When I was old enough to ride the "EL' from the South Side downtown to Vaughn's Seed Store and spend hours looking at Britains and buying a few with my paper route money. I had some playsets and always liked toy soldiers. I collected Britains, Dimestores and other plastic like Betons and metal. After I was married I built the model kits, Tamiya and stuff for years.

A friend at work told me about a toy soldier show and I think it was the first one by OTSN. I went and was hooked the rest of my life. Now I am going for twenty plus years to the show and enjoy it every time I go. The figures now days are outstanding miniatures that were really expensive years ago. I still like painting figures and some plastic guys I collect like Barzso and Conte. This is a hobby you can enjoy at all ages and stages of life. John

 

[bromhead]

Re: What makers did you collect?-vaughns

Outstanding avatar,I have most every episode and a member of the hey boy fan club. Unfortunate Vaughns closed in the early 60s,,it could be the subject of a book,,what an amazing tho frustrating experience for a young soldier fanatic,,could be a thread,the turntable-parade in the window was a work of art. The castle displays I can see now.

 

[4th Hussar]

As a kid in the 50s it was Marx play sets - the Alamo and Ft Apache I clearly remember. I also , like everybody else, had the bags of little green men. When I started collecting in the 80s it was Britain's and anything else I could find in the North West. My current collection includes Britain's, Mark time, British Bulldog, AQM, Trophy etc.

Obviously I like glossy toy soldiers