New Cavalry for my Britains "B"s

    About the same time I found the last lot of Britains "B" series figures, there were two lots of cavalry, which said they were Britains "B". I'm not sure that is true; they seem smaller than the  Britains. However after thinking about it, as I am going for a toy soldier look, the difference in scale might not be a problem. Either way, they are nice figures.

The cavalry figures compared to one of the new infantry figures.

The useable figures from the lots. There were several broken figures.

The figures I was really interested in; the lancers.

4 nice hussar figures.

5 dragoon figures; I have at least another of these figures.

New Britains "B" Series Figures

It's been a while since I've gone on Ebay to look for toy soldiers. This week I've found a great lot of Britains "B" series, along with some figures identified as Hanks & Fry. In " The World Encyclopedia of Model Soldiers" by John G. Garratt, there is no listing of a Hanks & Fry, but there is a separate listing for Hanks Brothers & Co, and A.Fry, Ltd. No matter, this is a useful lot of new figures.

I am assuming the figures on the left are the Hanks & Fry. These figures have great potential. I can see them painted as Spanish American War Americans or British Boer War infantry. On the far right is a Northumberland Fusilier. I already have one of these figures, however this one I would use to create a mold.

The other great buy; Britains "B" fusiliers and another Guards figure.  Hopefully I can fix the running figure, at least until I could make a mold of it.

While all the figures have broken rifles, I am thinking of making rifles and drilling holes to insert the rifles. I haven't decided yet if I will just use wire for rifles, or make a small mold of a rifle that I can cast.

I'm not sure of the make of the British figure with the white helmet. It's a nice figure, but one that I don't see much use for right now.

First Homemade 54mm Toy Soldier Mold

     The Saturday after Thanksgiving was  glorious, with above average temperatures. It was one of those days where you feel guilty staying inside; doubly so if you own a dog.  While sitting outside, my mind started to wander to Backyard Wars, and why I never did much with it. I started thinking of my British Heralds troops and how to use them. In one of my earlier posting, several writers responded about using Little Wars or Funny Little Wars rules. At first I shot down these ideas, leaning towards using dice. However, I realized that this is just bringing an indoor game outside. However,  I started to rethink my objection. Perhaps I lost interest in the game because of using dice instead of toy guns.

    I also started thinking of the figures I was using. While I like the Herald figures, I was also thinking of using Britain's hollow cast. Among the few Britain's I have are some ACW figures. While I have tried to use standing figures outside, but because the rough terrain, they won't stand well. However, I brought the kneeling firing outside and found that this figure works quite well in the grass.

   I decided to  thy a mold of this figure. I must admit that I rushed this mold, and had my doubt about the mold working. I was pleasantly surprised that the figures turned out the way they did.

Painting my new casting.

Out in the field.

 With these figures, I am thinking of painting them with different uniforms used in the Civil War. I've also started working on some simple rules to use with these figures.

This Week in Wargaming

It has been a productive week as far as my wargaming is concerned.

I was hoping to get a rather large lot of Britain's "B" series  44mm figures, which would have given me 4 new figures that I don't have. Unfortunately, I lost the bidding at the last second. While watching this lot, I did come across a single "B" series Coldstream Guard figure, which I ended up purchasing.

I also bought a lot of 16 30mm semi round figures; a very nice lot which has me pulling out my  semi round figures with the intention of using them soon. I originally was thinking of repainting them as Austrians from the 1860's, however, the paint isn't in as bad shape as I thought and I'm not sure I can bring myself to repaint them.

I managed to play two games. One I used my Peter Laing Army of Counterpane, the other game I used my Caesar miniatures fantasy figures. In this game, the humans were the evil army, the goblins simply defending their woods.

All in all, it was the most successful week I've had in a few months.

Britain's "B" series Coldstream Guardsman

Britain's "B" series figures.

"New" 30mm semi rounds.

Counterpane Army facing German army.

Among the Counterpane casualties was the hero of their first battle (center with chevron of merit).

Good goblins vs. Evil humans.

Comparing 30mm semi round figures on Heroscape terrain.

42mm Britains figures

     I have been waiting for some figures I bought on Ebay. They are some Britains, 4 which are smaller than the usual 54mm figures.  I bought them hoping they would be the same size as Zinnbrigade 42mm Prussian parade figures.  The package came in today. I think they are the same scale, although a book I have lists the Britains as being 44mm.

The Ebay lot. The 4 figures on the left were the figures I wanted.

The figures belong to Britains  "W" series.

Unfortunately, the Highlander is damaged, with a large hole in the side. The upper part of the torso seems to have been crushed. The figure is still usable though.

A converted Zinnbrigade figures stands with the Britains. They are a good match.