SPECIAL THANKS. I would like to thank Paul Watson for his sponsorship of several lead figure collections on this blog. Having decided to clear his spare/surplus figures, he generously forwarded them on with no other requirement than they deserved to be restored. I would also like to mention George S. Mills, who kindly furnished a quantity of plastic figures which allowed me to complete another five or six military units, serving in several collections.

Thursday 22 April 2021

EBAY ACQUISITIONS, quite a variety!

Have recently picked up a real assortment of items on Ebay. The first is a box of broken artillery pieces. There is a Britains Garrison Howitzer made between 1924-39. This will need a lot of work to restore. And there was an Astra Pharos field gun, it too will take some effort to complete. Total cost £5. Noteworthy, the box arrived with the following note. 'Much loved toys of my father Colonel J.G. Mileham, 16th Foot, born 1912, much played with.' Wonderful, when these are repaired I will label them underneath with this information.

I put a bid in on three Belgium WW1 soldiers, also by Britains. Have already attached these restored figures to my Franco-Spanish army. Total cost £8.95. (They are now serving with some French marines in khaki uniforms.)


OK, just purchased this for the wheels, but now I'm thinking of converting the vehicle into an armoured car, using plasticard. This will be a fun project. Total cost £5.20.


This caught my eye because of the bold colour. Size-wise, its about 2cms longer than the Britains naval gun, and about the same height. My plan is to just give it a clean and then attach it to my Franco-Spanish army. It will be a nice contrast to the British army counterpart. Total cost £8.20.

Picked up a batch of six broken cavalry for £10.35. A bit on the high side but the seller kindly added another two castings. Yesterday, using these figures, I completed my Ruritanian Horseguards, based on the 1952 Prisoner of Zenda movie. 



MGB

8 comments:

  1. I have one of those strange artillery piece , but in a greeny-khaki shade .

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    1. Hi Tony, is that the pale blue gun? I just like the idea of having something of a similar size that could serve with my French-Spanish army, and its colour looks good with the figures.
      Michael

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  2. Oh boy, I can't wait to see the newest addition to your armoured car collection! Judging by past performance, it should be a real gem! That pale blue gun looks like it has knocked over a lot of toy soldiers in its time! It should look great with your French-Spanish army! Your new infantry and cavalry figures are wonderful as usual!

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    1. Brad, Thanks for the morale boost. I'm definitely slowing down in painting figures, want to drift towards more games, but I'm still enjoying the sorting out of guns and vehicles. I think that pale blue gun will look great on the table. I've also seen a working Britains howitzer. It will be a powerful piece in any game.
      Michael

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  3. Great to have a link to the original owners - you could send them a link to the finished blog post?

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    1. Indeed Mark, thats my plan. Have communicated with them on my intensions/blog, and they were very nice people. As far as I'm concerned, the actual provenance only adds to the nostalgic value of gaming with these toys.
      Michael

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  4. Excellent purchases and a splendid note too.

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    1. Thats how I feel Alan. There is magic in that note!
      Michael

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