About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Friday, July 14, 2017

A is for Awfully Angry Armed Americans Aggressively Attacking Aitch'urrtherr

So to my favourites after the 'Modern Infantry' and along with the AWI; the largest set as far as poses go, although not that many they did at least touch all the bases, with the inclusion of artillerymen. Also doing the listings, just now, I realised they need a re-numbering table like the connoisseur range?

They were never split (in the catalogues) into Union and Confederate, and while there was the whole 'old school' kepi vs. slouch-hat rule going on, it was only in the mind of the painter/wargame if he wanted it to be!

These are the kepi infantry poses; three figures in the standard walking forward stance of so much of Eriksson's output, and you can see they came in various colours over the years, the unpainted five being Norfolk production, the painted ones being older, a couple even coming back from Italy via Darius - a Blog reader.

The Sloch-hat infantry, as far as I know there were only the two - similar - poses (pack or blanket-roll) and I would be interested to know if there was a third plastic pose? Below them is a slouch-hat cavalryman, there is a kepi version listed in the metal range still available, but he's never been listed as having been available in the plastic range?

This chap is himself a late addition, the 'staff officer' being the only cavalryman in the ACW range for 15/20-odd years; and he seems to have been converted from the Napoleonic lancer by Ron Spencer Smith or Peter Johnson rather than Ericsson?

Speaking of 'staff', these are the command and control elements with a slouched-hat officer, kepied junior/field officer or SNCO and a bugler, the 1860's equivalent of the platoon radioman!

Which - closing the 'staff' circle - brings us back to the chap mentioned above. Originally the ACW cavalryman, he is now known as the staff officer and only available in metal, he is a much nicer sculpt than the replacement who is too skinny, almost semi-flat.

What the Napoleonics are missing - gunners! I love the beard on the moving-wheel guy; he wouldn't look out of place in a Hoxton coffee bar, this weekend, having all-day 'brunch' and plotting Remain, or a dot-com start-up!! While the flash on the tip of the swab-guy makes it look like he's weaponised his ramrod - with a pen-knife.

Listing
Mid 1970’s Production (approximately 1974)
Standard Range
American Civil War
- Bag of 24 Cavalry (walking pose suitable also as staff officer)
- Bag of 80 Infantry (12 officers, 6 buglers plus enlisted men)
- Bag of 30 Artillerymen (officers, buglers and gunners)

Early 1980’s Production (approximately 1981?)
Standard Range (1980’s)
American Civil War
- Bag of 8 Cavalry (walking pose suitable also as staff officer)
- Bag of 30 Infantry (officers, buglers plus enlisted men)
- Bag of 30 Artillerymen (officers, buglers and gunners)
- Bag of 2 Cannon (field)
- Bag of 2 Cannon (howitzer)

Move to Norfolk
Plastic Range
American Civil War
P1 - 30 Infantry in Kepi (charging, Running, Advancing)
P2 - 30 Infantry in Slouch-hat (advancing, walking at the ready) Hard Plastic
P3 - 20 Officers and 10 Buglers
P4 - 8 Mounted Staff Officers (original cavalryman sculpt, switched to metal mid-run)
P5 - 8 Cavalrymen Sabres Drawn - Hard Plastic (later; soft plastic, converted from Napoleonic lancer)
P6 - 24 Artillerymen
P7 - 2 Guns (1 each of 2 designs? Can be used as Napoleonic Howitzers and Field-guns)
P8 - 30 Indians
P9 - 30 Frontiersmen
P10 - 4 limber wheels (all one size, smaller than all gun wheels)
Plastic Sample Packs (contents differ)
SP3 - Standard - American Civil War (11 foot, 1 mounted, 1 gun)
Metal Range
Metal Sample Packs (6 foot, 1 mounted)
SM3 - Standard - American Civil War
American Civil War
C1 Infantry in Kepi Advancing
C2 Infantry in Kepi Charging
C3 Infantry in Kepi Running
C4 Infantry in Kepi Standing Firing
C5 Infantry in Kepi Marching
C6 Infantry in Slouch-hat Advancing (became C7a)
C7 Infantry in Slouch-hat with Blanket-roll
C8 Zouave Advancing
C9 Officers (pack of 2)
C10 Bugler
C11 Drummer
C12 Flag Bearer
CC1 Mounted Staff Officer
CC2 Mounted Cavalryman with Sabre Dawn
CC3 Dismounted Cavalryman (ex-AWI backwoodsman)
CR1 Artilleryman (pack of 3)
CR2 Cannon (duplicates as Napoleonic British 9-lbr.)
Metal Additions to ACW Range
P4 - 8 Mounted Staff Officers (originals were plastic)
P11 - 4 Wagon Wheels (2 large, 2 small)
Other Items
P28 - ACW Beginners Pack (270 foot, inc. gunners, 66 mounted, 4 guns, rules, some metal)

Internet/Metal Years
Standard Range
Civil War Range
C1 - Infantry in kepi advancing
C2 - Infantry in kepi charging
C3 - Infantry in kepi running
C4 - Infantry in kepi standing firing
C5 - Infantry in kepi marching
C6 - Infantry in slouch hat marching
C7 - Infantry in slouch hat (with rolled blanket) advancing
C7a - Infantry in slouch hat advancing (with pack - previously C6)
C8 - Infantry in slouch hat standing firing (with pack)
C9 - Infantry in slouch hat standing firing (no pack)
C10 - Zouave advancing (previously C8)
C11 - Officer in kepi (previously 50% of C9)
C12 - Staff Officer standing, sword raised (previously 50% of C9)
C13 - Bugler (previously C10)
C14 - Flag bearer (previously C12)
C15 - Drummer (previously C11)
CC1 - Staff Officer on horse
CC2 - Cavalryman with saber drawn (on horse) Confederate
CC3 - Cavalryman with saber drawn (on horse) Union
CC4 - Dismounted cavalryman (ex-AWI backwoodsman, previously CC3)
CR1 - Artillerymen (pack of 3)
CR2 - Cannon (duplicates as Napoleonic British 9-lbr.)

 Knocked-up between editing and publishing!

2 comments:

Gisby said...

Oddly enough, in the 1950's/60's there was a range of metal moulds for kids, allowing them to cast copies of 54mm Marx ACW figures - 2 of which moulds had what appears to be a copy of an Ericsson ACW cavalryman, 1 in hat, 1 in kepi. The moulds are still available, so you can further augment your armies.

Hugh Walter said...

Cheers Tim - got your eMail too, at some point I think Prinze August carried Eriksson moulds? All replaced with better ones now I think? And the Japanese copied the style - looked at on the blog ages ago - which may be the flag-bearer in the moulds you sent?

H