V is for Vikings, Vandals, Varangians, Visigoths and err . . . Goths!

Plain old Goths . . . with a G! The same comments re. this post apply as to the Roman post - mixed lot on eBay about a year ago, posted a few elsewhere, a couple of unrelated photo-shoots, finding the Heimo/54mm's while putting them away in the loft, shooting them against the small scale before they all went to storage and then having to be a bit vicious with the pile of images but still ending up with some duplication!

We'll start with a comparison line-up this time; on the left is the Warriors of the World, hard polystyrene plastic 60mm Marx original with full factory paint. Then an unpainted copy from the former Soviet Union or post-Soviet Ukraine.

As the former they can be the Ukrainian DZI,  Донецький Завод Іграшок - Donetsʹkyy Zavod Ihrashok (Донецкая фабрика игрушек - Donetskaya fabrika igrushek in Russian) whether Russia steals it again or not - Slava Ukraine! 

As the latter: Ark Models, where they are often described as "recast Marx", well, firstly you cast metal not plastic (you run, shoot, inject, 'push-through' or mould plastic) and secondly, they are copies, possibly stolen from the German Charmore production, not even reissues, although Ark are reissues of DZI! More on DZI here.

You can see however, they are very good copies, even down to the blemish on the spear shaft, and there may have been a nod-&-a-wink, from Marx, via East Germany (?), but they are too small to be 'from Marx mould tools', a very good example of the pantographer's art, but the size difference can't be explained by the [marginally] greater shrinkage of polyethylene, over polystyrene!

Then we have a 54mm Viking from Marx (with home paint) and finally a pair of the Miniature Masterpiece ones which led to the confusion of my thinking I'd also shot 30mm Romans the other day! Of note here is that the right-hand (late, soft plastic version) figure has had his spear re-tooled, I think the back-end of the shaft may be 'short-shot', but the pointy-end has been re-done, with a new spear-tip, placed short off/of the base

Last year's additions, allowing for front and back shots of two, and these are often found damaged, due to the fine sections and frangibility of polystyrene. They're fun, and while as Verangians, the Vikings were enemies of Rome, it wasn't the Rome of Marx's legionnaires, but rather the Arthurian/Dark Age, late-Rome, beloved of fantasy set-dressers.

Again, what can I say, it's a good shot! Note the arrows are threaded behind the bow, not as you would sport-shoot today.

Base marking and plastic colour, one white the other a cloudy/marbled neutral-granule grey, neither have the full Marx-X of the Romans, but just a HONG KONG, which makes them look bought-in!

The other chap, I rather like him, he looks like he doesn't take nonsense from fuckwits, which is not a bad life philosophy! It's like he's daring you to say something . . . anything untoward!

The Ukrainian copies, I don't have the whole/complete lot in any type, but I have them all in 30mm, and I thought I had at least one larger example of each in larger iterations, but I am actually missing one - guy with a sword and shield, similar to the clubbing guy, top middle!

An equally incomplete set of the 54mm's, but a mixture of originals (top row) and reissues (bottom row). I think we all know by now that horns and wings were more of a ceremonial/burial-goods thing, rather than a practical feature of war-fighting, skull protection!

Miniature Masterpieces, all eight, for some years, from childhood until taking the hobby up again after the Army, I only had the chap on the left and always thought he was an Assyrian or something else more Biblical . . . Hittite or something! And with that cone shield he would/does make an excellent Goliath with HäT Industries Assyrians!

And there's a nice diminutive slinger in the Revell scale-downs of Elastolin Romans, who can be David!

In the putting-away I found a Heimo licensed-production figure in PVC; with the white beard he looks like an avenging God! Full Marx-X marks on the small scale figures and some size comparisons, the Heimo has no marks.

How they went away! Hard polystyrene and soft polyethylene go together, reissues, copy and PVC are in with the Rojas y Malaret elephant for some reason - enough room for an elephant I suppose! The PVC figures get a separate bag, as they have a chemical effect which can affect other plastics or paints and I don't want to find a tub of sticky goo, next time I go into it!

T is for Two - Marx's Mischievous Maritime Men

Just a quick one to make-up the numbers this year, the alturnative was to squeese them into the first post, but it would have started to get unwieldy, and with the two to look at, it makes sense to have a separate quick post, as with the diggers earlier!

We've seen the better versions of hard polystyrene Marx, looked at them way back, but this chap on the left (re-issue of original on the right) is from Wilton's cake decoration range, although also issued as a carded Treasure Island rack-toy., he's lost most of the meaningful detail of the original sculpt and his pistol has become no more than a pointing finger, although it has a dash of silver!

This is the Marx pose included with the Ideal re-issues in the Glencoe set a while ago, I think we've seen my original (on the left), but Peter Evan sent the other in one of his parcels and I think he may have painted it, although it's got a bit flakey.

That's it; a couple of Marx smallies to look at!

T is for Two - German Infantry - ΕΠΑ and Marx

These two are very short on completeness, but give a flavour of the full sets, although in the case of the latter we'll see them all in small scale sometime (if we haven't already) here at Small Scale World, while the former figures are part of a larger set of about . . . err; let's look at them first;

ΕΠΑ, or EPA (Epsilon, Pi, Alpha), which might be Epia . . . which might translate to Epic? I'm winging it there - I know - so don't quote me! . . . Google says PSC!

Rather crude figures out of Greece, which look more like some Turkish production; to be honest. They copied several (most?) of the Crescent 60mm Khaki Infantry set (far right figure), and several other figures (two of whom can be seen here) and which look to be ex-composition sculpts, so - set pose-total is at least six, but may be eight or even ten?

Here painted as Germans, I've seen them in other colours and - to my knowledge - they also come in green, UN helmets, white (snow troops?) and brown, possibly for Turks? They were sold in long window-boxes with sentry posts, possibly aiming for tourist traffic against PAL/Athena's better-quality figures?

Having had some success with the British Warriors of the World's, I have failed totally on the Marx German front, with only four and two of them the same pose! 60mm and hard polystyrene plastic, factory painted.

The helmet strap seems to be a batch-thing with some having them painted-in and some not? And possibly only on earlier figures, note the poor delineation of the flesh-painting on the right-hand figure; such slackness is usually a sign of later production.

E is for Esoteric

If Airfix and Deetail are too 'clean' or Lido too 'Toy' for your liking, while Atlantic may be too big or Esci too small, then what the hell are we supposed to make of this set? Marx's first entry into the British infantry field, was not as pleasing as the latter 54mm sextuplet, and that's for sure! But there is good and bad, useful and not so useful.

My sample is half-and-half Warriors of the World originals and Rado Industries (Ri-Toys) re-issues (which can be labelled Marksmen here in the UK), giving ten poses, but not all complete, due to the polystyrene of the originals being a tad frangible, and the figures over 60-years old?

My styrene officer has lost a thumb, but in war that's probably quite common, and once the stitches have been removed you may get sent back up the line, especially if you're right-handed and the problem is your left thumb, so he stays!

The pack on the grenade thrower is more inter-war period US Army, as is the 'bread-bag' (or is it supposed to be filled with Mills bombs?) but these are OK as 'toy' British WWII soldiers.

As are these, but one is clearly Home Guard or BEF (top left, damaged but I haven't tracked down a Marksmen replacement yet), another seems to be on the range (top right) while a third is in the Western Dessert (bottom right)! But - gasmask case with shorts = Mesopotamia, World War One! Bottom left has a couple of more reasonable poses though.

The standing firer has an - obviously - bent rifle, but I won't be trying to fix it, this old Marx polystyrene is getting very brittle now and complete figures are to be savoured, whatever their condition, not mucked-about with! Also, note the size difference (and sculpting) of the shooter and Tommy-gunner against the figures to their respective lefts.

Again, this guy is more BEF or even WWI'ish and appears to be wearing shoes! he's compared with the 'Britain' figure from the Soldiers of the World set (all marching) and another Frog RAF Regiment chap who's turned-up.

I've lost count of these Frog's now, I think I have nine, a set of four, and five duplicates in three poses? I keep meaning to start a swaps page, when I do they'll go up there, unless Chris Smith or Nazar want to add them to their wants' lists?

Another one which has survived damage and is from the desert, but Mesopotamia again, WWI again, not WWII! That's the trouble with these, they are from all over the place, and that's if you ignore the worst of the anachronistic equipment and the brown boots (please Louis; we've had black boots since . . . nearly forever!), yet they are undeniably charming toy soldiers, even as polypropylene or tinny ethylene re-issues! And the boots thing is inexplicable as they've got the charcoal helmets just right?

The other trio are the rest of the Soldiers of the World marching set, being Canada, Turkey and [South] Korea I think - I've put them away now! We looked at one the other day, another;  the Frenchman, when we looked at French stuff years ago and should have looked at the US ones a while back? The Canadian - in a tam' o-shanter (?) - has brought an elephant-gun to the parade!

Stop Press Image

This turned-up when sorting and putting-away!