As you may have guessed the site is in the midst of a relaunch. This is a brand new source for toy soldier information. Stick with us while we add additional news and information. Stay tuned for more!
British Model train maker HORNBY has bought the toy car company CORGI for £7.5 million British Pounds (Approximately $15 million U.S. Dollars).
Corgi Toys was launched in 1956 as a new range of die cast toy model cars by Mettoy Playcraft LTD, the toy car company founded in 1936. These new toy cars were soon a huge hit because at the time they were the only toy cars on the market that included transparent plastic windows, they soon became known as the ones with the windows!
In 1999, Corgi debuted the popular Aviation Archive line of diecast military airplanes. Beginning with 1/72 scale, Corgi created one of the most expansive and widely collected lines of highly detailed limited edition collectable diecast metal aircraft.
This line has been expanded in successive years to include the 1/32 scale Aviation Archive line.
Corgi followed with a new line of 1/50 scale Armored Vehicles ranging from WWII up to through the Vietnam War.
Although still best known for their diecast ranges of vehicles and aircarft, Corgi broke new ground in 2006 when it began offering handpainted, metal figures and soldiers in the ‘Forward March’ series.
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There is no shortage of Toy Soldiers being offered in on-line auctions, but buyers should acquire some wisdom before wading into on-line auctions’ murky waters.
Wrong and inaccurate descriptions, over-use of the words “rare” and “scarce”, and repainted or touched-up figures being offered as original factory production in mint condition tend to confuse all but the most
knowledgeable collector.
The over-used phrases such as, “I really don’t know much about this piece,” or “What you see is what you get,” are always suspect.
Keeping this in mind, here’s a brief listing of some Barclay & Manoil, pre-war, American Dimestore Toy Soldiers, and their winning bid prices that sold on eBay this past April.
Well known Toy Soldier Dealer and Collector, Steve Balkin of Burlington Antique Toys was recently mentioned in a NY Times, Weekend in New York feature. While not a big spread, the article has a picture of Steve in his Madison Avenue, shop.
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In December of 1944, William McClarren of New Holland was a 22-year-old U.S. Army soldier serving his country in World War II. Drafted at 19 as a mechanic in the 565th ambulance company, McClarren had already survived landing with the first fleet at Normandy earlier that year.
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Collectors indulging their passions run certain risks. Especially when the passion to collect becomes an obsession. I once had a friend who collected only Mint In The Box Lionel Trains. And although his wife shared his interests, his uncompromising obsession for only the best eventually led to a divorce.
Such is the recent case of a German man who let his compulsion to collect become a sickness:
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man was such an avid collector of weapons and other paraphernalia that he ran out of space at home and had to sleep in a hotel, neighbors said following the 71-year-old’s death.
Executors found an arsenal of weaponry and assorted goods at the man’s two-story home in the western city of Aachen, police said on Wednesday.
“There were 71 guns — one for each year of his life,” said police spokesman Paul Kemen. “He also had 41 cases of ammunition and five walking sticks fitted with retractable blades.”
Heiner Hautermans, a reporter at the Aachener Nachrichten paper, said neighbors related how the man, who lived alone, collected everything from clothing to garden tools and watches.
“The house was stuffed to the rafters,” he said. “By the end, the neighbors said he had to sleep in a hotel sometimes because there was no more room.”
One neighbor sometimes handled up to 14 deliveries of goods a day for the man when he was out, he added. “At some point she got fed up with it.”
No heirs have yet been found for the man, police said.
Twice a year, in
the spring on the weekend of the MFCA Show and, in the fall, the day before the East Coast Toy Soldier Show, Jim & Carol Hillestad host a Toy Soldier Open House at their beautiful Pocono Mountain Toy Soldier Museum.
This Spring’s Open House was enjoyable as well as informative as Richard Walker, General Manager of W. Britain, introduced new releases to a group of over 60 collectors who assembled at the Toy Soldier Museum.
Everyone was treated to good food, handsome displays of toy soldiers and, of course, great sales on toy soldiers.
Jim is a regular contributor to The Standard, The Exclusive Journal of the W. Britain Collectors Club, as well as a contributor to Toy Soldier & Model Figure Magazine.
Here are some asking prices for Marx Playsets as seen at recent toy soldier shows. All sets were complete, in their original boxes, with all their original parts and were in excellent or better conditions.
Battleground, #4752, $400
Fort Apache, #3680, $150
Fort Apache, #3660, $200
Blue and Gray, #4760, $300
Castle Fort, #4703, $125
Desert Fox, #4178, $500
Medieval Castle, #4704, $250
Marine Beach Head, #4732, $350
According to a two page advertisement in the May issue of Antique Toy World magazine, Ray Haradin and Norman Joplin will be opening an auction house in the U.S. that will specialize in the sale of all types of old toy soldiers and figures. Ray Haradin–Toys of Yesterday,RSL Auctions and Old Toy Soldier magazine in conjunction with Norman Joplin –author, editor of Old Toy Soldier magazine and former Christies consultant and Toy Soldier Specialist, have formed Old Toy Soldier Auctions, USA.
Their inaugural auction on Saturday, May 17, 2008, is comprised of a single owner collection of Post War Britains military and civilian items, consisting of approximately 300 lots.
Other items slated for their first auction include Britains Pre War sets, Heyde military, European Continental figures from Germany and France. Civilian pieces including the rare Britians Noah’s Ark, Snow Babies and the Exella Big Bad Wolfe.
Additionally, a nice assortment of Courtenay Knights and Dimestore figures complete the sale.
For more information please contact Ray at www.oldtoysoldier.com or Norm at www.normanjoplin.com
on the 1st Annual Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show. 
