A is for And so to Bed . . . No! 'London' - A is for And so to London . . .

. . . where we three and thirty, and thirty-three, and more that thirty-more did meet again!

And even some new faces turned-up and a bloody good time was had by all! The weather would have taken some beating (especially after what it gave us today!), the company was fine, the merchandise was piled-high and smelt of old plastic, it had to be the Annual (pandemic's allowing) Plastic Warrior Toy Soldier Show!

Now, I'm not going to bore you with the minutiae; if you were there you know how good it was, if you've been before you have a good idea what you missed, and don't want to be told (it was better - better than ever!), and if you've never been and didn't go, you probably shouldn't be reading this! But one of the features of the show, is the annual release of the latest 'Special Publication'  . . . or even two - in a good year!

Well, this was a vintage year, so we got four! And if you missed them, or the show, or both, I'm here to plug them!

Two volumes on the die-cast accessories that came with or for toy soldiers from the same makers, and the Modern Army Series from Lone Star was one, with all the variations, even the daft blue and chrome ones, a very useful addition to the library.

Crescent was the other maker getting the once over and I must confess I didn't know all the vehicles in the fleet, the M109 for instance, looks excellent, and how many are there in 54mm-compatable, die-cast?

This - however - is essential reading for any British plastics aficionado, it's years since the last black & white version was released, and this all new, all colour edition is a real treat, with lots of new stuff, hard to know where to start, and this is only a quick promo, but yeah . . . if you didn't get one yesterday, you need to get one!

And if the Trojan work is welcome, this in-depth look at BR Moulds is a fantastic volume, some of us suspected it was in the works, the ephemera hinted at in the previous articles we've seen in the magazine clearly pointed at 'more to come' and here it all is, and I mean 'all'; full listings, most known figures, now illustrated with multiple examples, a few unknowns thrown in for good measure, side-by-side comparisons and much conjecture - it is not only a joy of a quick-read, it's genuinely fascinating, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

For all four volumes the contact details are many and available as soon as you've read this;

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PlasticWarrior?fref=ts

Blogger - http://plasticwarrioreditor.blogspot.co.uk/

eMail  - mailto:pw.editor@ntlworld.com

Tel: 01483 722 778

Address;

The Editor

65 Walton Court

Woking

Surrey,

GU21 5EE

UK

 

And they are on Paypal

 

I'll also plug Matt Thier's White Tower Miniatures, Matt was one of the old faces seen yesterday, and he has two catalogues out at the moment;

Last year's Dark Ages catalogue is still available, but it was announced about now I think, back then, so may be in short supply. A very nice range, I follow the Faceplant page and when he posts a bunch en-mass with all the different shields and weapons, they are stunning. There's over 120 figure-castings now, several horses . . . and a bear!

This is  the new for 2022 listing of the Wild West range, and while I'm not a metal guy, I was tempted by some of the many character figures from TV, the movies and real life (each gets a thumbnail biography and either a still of the movie poster, or a picture of the real person), there are also character figures of named Native Americans, a lovely wagon and all the normal stuff.

 

Matt also showed me footage of a range of slot & peg-together building which are on the way, with removable roofs and interior floors etc.

 

Matt is findable here;

https://whitetowerminiatures.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/whitetowerminiatures

 

eMail: matthair7@hotmail.com

 

I also literally ran-into the  proprietor of Soldiers in Silloth as I was taking his flyer from the front table at the show, and promised to plug his toy soldier museum, and as I'm covering everything else (above) here, I'll give you the cover and a bit of blurb and try to do an A-Z entry with a bit more, I'm also going to try and visit this summer as it looks like an excellent day out!

The museum seems to contain all types of toy soldiers including metal and plastic, with cabinets of sample figures alongside vignettes and dioramas, and of course, it's just off the Hadrien's Wall way, so you could include it in a longer walking/camping holiday or make it part of a long-weekend?

Soldiers in Silloth

No.1 Marine Terrace

Criffel Street

Silloth

Cumbria

CA7 4BZ

UK

Tel: 01697 331 246

http://www.soldiersinsilloth.co.uk/

 

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And the post's tile? I overslept! Adrian had to ring me from the drive! Doh!