Wee Men Plastic Toy Soldiers

1:32 Airfix British 8th Army on  crumpled paper terrain. 1:32 Airfix British 8th Army on  crumpled paper terrain.

I got lucky at my hobby shop's bargain bin. Released by Aifix model kits from England in 1975 I think, this is a 1:32 scale plastic set of the German Afrika Korps as they appeared in the North African theater of WW2. They are 'multipose' meaning that they come with extra parts to custom pose the figures.

1:32 Napoleonic British Infantry from ESCI. The British Army during the Napoleonic Wars experienced a time of rapid change. At the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, the army was a small, awkwardly administered force of barely 40,000 men.[1] By the end of the period, the numbers had vastly increased. At its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. The British infantry was "the only military force not to suffer a major reverse at the hands of Napoleonic France." Life for a redcoat soldier was often tough and challenging. Plenty of training was needed before a soldier could enter the battlefield; drills and exercises had to be strictly followed as punishments were applied for even the most minor of mistakes. A well trained soldier could fire up to four rounds per minute, and the use of the platoon formation by the British army meant that a constant volley of fire could be employed. There was much that could go wrong with the...

1:32 French Napoleonic Guard from ESCI.  "La Garde meurt mais ne se rend pas!" ( The Guard dies but does not surrender! ) The Imperial Guard (French: Garde Impériale) was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle. The Guard was divided into the staff, infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, as well as battalions of sappers and marines. Another division existed in distinguishing the experienced veterans from less experienced members of the Guard the group's division into the Old Guard, Middle Guard and Young Guard. Napoleon took great care of his Guard, particularly the Old Guard. The Grenadiers of Old Guard were known to complain in the presence of the Emperor, giving them the nickname Les Grognards, the Grumblers. The Guard received better pay, rations, q...

Clones/recasts of the Matchbox WW2 British infantry. When I was a kid, I'd tag along with my mom when she went to the wet/dry market of our town. Down the dry goods area were a few stalls selling general merchandise and plastics such as plates, stools, bins, pails, etc. Plastic toys such as these toy soldiers were kept in large sacks and bins and were sold per scoop of a large "tabo" -- a large, bowl-like water dipper.  There are still a few places here that sell toys in that manner, mainly of recast plastic. I'll try to take a picture or at least find one I took some time ago.

ESCI French infantryman in 1:32. Part of ESCI's Modern NATO Troops set.

British Infantrymen circa 80's from ESCI. Part of ESCI's Modern NATO Troops set.

54mm Knight, probably 15th century armor. Unknown maker.

HäT Industrie Persians with figures from various sets ( 8050 Persian Heavy Cavalry; 8057 Persian Light Infantry; 8059 Persian Heavy Infantry; 8077 Persian Light Cavalry) More figures soon!

These are a few of the painted mounted Saracens from Italeri in 1:72. These were some o the first italeri figure sets I bought and completed painting/basing for wargaming. Unfortunately, a large portion of these were chewed up by my dog :(  

These are a mix of Revell and Italeri figures in 1:72