Cunnyngham Collectibles - 1/32 Toy Soldiers

Mid February Update

2012-02-17T22:02:00.000-05:00

I think we're going to get some more metal figures in time for the Indianapolis Show. Not sure if it will be the new figure, or just restocks of the first figure... we'll see. Regardless, after the show, whatever is left will be put in the online store.

Mid January Update, 2012

2012-01-17T18:56:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody!

Just wanted to bring you up to speed with what's happening here. As you can probably guess, our second metal figure is no where to be seen. Last I heard, it was pretty much ready to go, but since then I haven't heard too much. I'm sure I could roust the hen house and get it done, but financially speaking, I'm in no real hurry. Same goes for the restock of the first metal figure.

We still have our plastic Confederates for sale, so no worries there. You can buy from us with confidence, or you can get them from any of the other regular retailers as well.

I'm looking forward to the Indianapolis Toy Soldier Show coming on March 25th. I plan to be there with an assortment of stuff. I'll hopefully be able to list some specifics closer to the date. I'll make another push to get some metal figure before then, but we'll see.

Rock on!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:47:00.000-05:00

I'm writing this from my aunts iPad, so forgive any mistypes. These things are too small for my fat chubby fingrs.

Just wanted to let you know that any orders made from yesterday to tomorrow won't ship out until Saturday. It'll be the first time I get to a post office.

Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving and eats till they are sick. What a great holiday!

Rock on!

Early November Update

2011-11-05T12:04:00.000-04:00

Early November, and I wanted to touch base and let you know where we are at with a few things.

1. I got several emails last night about our plastic Confederate figures being sold out. No no, we have plenty of them to go around. You can purchase them through our website, and other fine dealers such as (in no particular order) CTS, Michtoy, TSSD, and Hobby Bunker. All those places are class acts.

2. We are STILL sold out of our metal figures. I have no idea when we'll get more. I've requested a re-order, but the wheels of manufacturing move at their own pace.

3. The master mold has been completed for our unreleased 2nd metal figure. But again, I have no idea when the figures will be cast and ready for sale.

4. I haven't stopped looking for new ways to produce figures. I've got an email into a guy, and we'll see where that goes. Wish us luck!

It's Lemax Time!

2011-10-23T09:00:00.001-04:00

We're officially getting into "Holiday" time at your local shopping spots, so it's a great time to keep an eye out for miniature village accessories from companies like Lemax. I usually find them cheap at places like Kohls and Menards, and craft stores like Michael's and JoAnn's. If you order them online, you usually pay way too much. Stores like the ones I mentioned above usually have them at 25% off all the time, and then drop them to 50-75% off after the holidays.

Be sure to start checking now for "spooky town" stuff, like the fall trees and the rock walls and what-not. It really helps bring a diorama to life. Oh, and I know you're going to want all those houses too. Forget it. They don't really work that great with 1/32. They are too small. Stick with Hobby Bunker and Barzso for your building needs.

You'll never know what sort of accessories you might find lurking in the Christmas Village aisle. I picked up a whole ton of statues, and I think they are awesome. I usually use them for graveyards or town centers, as you can see in the picture below.

TimMee Cold War G.I.s

2011-10-21T22:36:00.000-04:00

So this is kinda cool. I was just searching around on Amazon, and found these for sale. $13 a bag for 100 TimMee troops. Now, as far I knew, these were out of production and not for sale any longer. I knew you could get the cheap re-sculpted knock offs, but these look like they are coming from the original molds.

I've always been a fan of these figures. These are what I grew up with. I missed the Marx days, and instead fought my battles in the dirt with these guys. They usually fought some cheap Chinese clones of the Airfix British 8th Army figures which I thought were Vietnamese. I mean, the hats were similar enough!! Anyway, I still have all my figures from those days, and they still have the paint on their helmets used to designate their unit. I divided them all up into squads of 20 figures, each squad sporting a different color helmet. I could never get enough of these guys, and even today, I rarely pass up a bag if I see them at antique stores or flea markets.

Whether these are really being made by TimMee, or Processed Plastic, or J. Lloyd (the current owner of all those names), I have no idea. I'm considering contacting J. Lloyd just to find out, and see if they might possibly sell me some to put on my site here. That'd be pretty cool, plus they would probably go well at shows for the kids and such, or the children of the 80's like myself that could never get enough. If anybody knows anymore about these new bagged figures, I'm all ears.

Complimentary Issue of Toy Soldier and Model Figure

2011-10-11T23:16:00.000-04:00

I'm sure several of you got this same email, but just in case, I wanted to pass this along. Here's a free digital issue of Toy Soldier and Model Figure magazine.

http://www.ipadimag.com/imags/TOY/issue163/index.html

Hopefully that link works for you. Enjoy!

New Items in our Online Store

2011-10-06T09:33:00.000-04:00

Hey All, I've got some news!

We're going to slowly be adding a few new items to our online store. We're going to be carrying some figure sets from a few dealers that we know and respect. I'll also be listing a few sets of "loose" figures that I've dug out of my closet that need a good home. The first set of loose figures features a few figures from ESCI, Waterloo, Airfix, and Accurate. More will be added on a regular basis. There are multiple sets of some of these, and others have just 1 available. The store will tell you if something is out of stock, and I'll remove it from the page.

In the near future, we'll be carrying sets from the following makers, all guys that I know and respect.

Rock on, and thanks for visiting!

Beau

Battle of Bosworth Diorama

2011-10-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

Photo Attribution: John Taylor, posted on Flickr

This photo is of a diorama at the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre. Pretty cool. Makes me wish I had a bigger display table! Hey, somebody needs to do some serious 1/32 plastic knights like this. Seriously. You'd think knights like this would have been tackled by now. Oh well, maybe someday. Anyway, cool picture.

Any other battlefield dioramas you've seen at parks or historical centers that have blown you away?

Display at Local Library

2011-10-03T08:00:00.002-04:00

Our local public library is participating in the "Igeek" campaign. So, in concert with that, they let me put up a toy soldier display in the front lobby. It's not huge by anymeans, but I got to do four different little set-ups, and it gave me a reson to go digging through some of my collection looking for the right pieces. They even made a poster for me. Rock on!

Finally Some Solid News

2011-10-02T12:15:00.000-04:00

Release #4 "Keep the Line"

News from the factory:
"2nd figure repaired and molded just yesterday. I'll get you some pictures today."

Rock on!!! It ran into a few hiccups in the prep phase. It's a bit more complex figure than the first, so they had to do some special stuff to get it ready. Assuming everything is A-ok with it once the figure is cast, I'll be able to pinpoint a approximate release date.

New Barzso Tent

2011-10-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

This tent is part of the new Revolutionary War Camp from Barzso Playsets. I picked up the tent in Chicago because it could be useful for several different time periods. What it really reminds me of is like a medieval setting, maybe for a jousting tournament or something cool like that.

New Barzso Cantina

2011-10-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

I saw this new building from Barzso Playsets, and instantly knew I needed it. Just something about it that instantly grabbed me. Probably comes from watching Young Guns too many times. Uhhh... don't let that questionable movie reference taint your view of this awesome piece. It will fit with any of your old west scenes, or any Mexico scenes as well.

Rock on!

New Romans and Barbarians from TSSD

2011-09-30T22:31:00.000-04:00

Enjoying the new Romans and Barbarians from TSSD. I've also thrown in a couple Conte figures and some of the Call to Arms Romans from several years back. The Barbarians turned out amazing. These guys are SCARY looking! Nick has told me that more figures are on the way, and they are going to turn out even better than this first round. Awesome.

Kutnick Kollectibles

2011-09-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

One of the very best business cards I've ever been handed! If you've been to the Chicago, Texas, or Indy show, you'll probably recognize Mike Kutnick. He's started up a new business that buys and sells vintage toy soldiers. On the back of the card it also says that he does "custom made, one-of-a-kind playseted created for you".

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, I recommend getting in contact with him.

He is also a big part of the yearly charity program "Shop with a Cop". Several dealers and makers will donate bagged figure sets each year to help raise money for the kids. If you're interested in making a donation, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you.

Rock on!

Found My Conte Spartans

2011-09-28T23:34:00.000-04:00

I've been reorganizing my collection and storage bins and came across my Spartans which I had boxed up about a year ago. It still amazes me how nice these figures are. Pound for pound, these are probably the nicest figures ever done. I don't know for sure, but I would assume that the Persians probably proved to be too expensive to produce. I can't imagine the cost to produce these guys, what with all the moving parts. Worth the price of admission even without a Persian horde to fight.

They seem to have kept their value really well. I was seeing these at Chicago for $4 each. You can still pick up the Bronze figures from the Conteco website.

A Nice Write-Up of OTSN at PlaysetAddict

2011-09-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

Check out the pictures and report on the PlaysetAddict website. Very good pictures, and a good idea of what was available. While you're there, I encourage you to check out the rest of his site as well. You might even find a few of our figures all painted up as well.

Rock on!

Video of OTSN, 2011

2011-09-27T07:43:00.001-04:00

I had my trusty video camera with me over the weekend. Here's a bit of what I saw. (more coming later).

Traverse Dioramics New Playset

TSSD's New Romans and Barbarians

Barzso's Buffalo Hunt Lobby Display

Pictures coming soon from OTSN

2011-09-27T00:14:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I lied about posting pictures last night. We stayed out a bit longer than I thought we would, and the Colts game actually turned out to be pretty interesting, so no time for posting pictures.

I do have a TON of pictures and some video. I'm going to try posting it sometime tomorrow evening.

You might say "why not tonight?" Well, because when I got home today, I thought it would be a good idea to do a small bit of re-organizing in my toy room. Well, a small bit turned out to be a large bit, and it now includes a rather detailed Excel spreadsheet, lots of little labels, and a table crammed full of loose figures waiting to be assigned a new storage box. These things happen I guess.

OTSN 2011

2011-09-25T16:34:00.001-04:00

Just got back to the hotel room after toy soldier shopping all morning. I took a TON of pictures and video, and I'll post after we get back from dinner. Lots of cool NEW stuff, stuff that I hadn't even heard was going to be there.

Rock on!

New CTS G.I.'s available

2011-09-24T21:04:00.000-04:00

Maybe I'll be able to find a set of these tomorrow... I reckon TSSD or Hobby Bunker will have them maybe. The poses look nice. I'll be curious how they size up with other makes.

Heading to Chicago!!

2011-09-24T15:09:00.000-04:00

Last minute change of plans.... We're heading up to Chicago tomorrow morning. We'll just be shopping, not set up at a table, but if you see me, please say "hi". I'll be (probably the only person) in a Colts jersey, and I'll be chasing around a 2 year old.

Rock on! Empty wallet, here I come!

New Site for Battleboards

2011-09-24T14:54:00.000-04:00

Jim Clouse, owner and inventor of Battleboards, let me know that his website has moved. It is now http://www.battleboards.net/. So update your bookmarks, and I'll update my links section. Jim is at OTSN this weekend, so stop by and check out his stuff. It's always awesome. He does lots of custom work to fit whatever it is you want to display.

Nice to have an Understanding Wife

2011-09-17T15:16:00.001-04:00

So, I told my wife about the perfect car I found online. She said we should just sell the house and live out of the car from now on. I was like, ok, sounds good to me. Not sure what we'll do with the toy soldier collection and the baby, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

UPDATE: I've since found out that she was being sarcastic.