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.
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
I have one of those strange artillery piece , but in a greeny-khaki shade .
ReplyDeleteHi 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.
DeleteMichael
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!
ReplyDeleteBrad, 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.
DeleteMichael
Great to have a link to the original owners - you could send them a link to the finished blog post?
ReplyDeleteIndeed 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.
DeleteMichael
Excellent purchases and a splendid note too.
ReplyDeleteThats how I feel Alan. There is magic in that note!
DeleteMichael