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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Armies in Plastic Set#5458 Berdan's Sharpshooters

Nearly all plastic Civil War soldier sets on the market are bags of generic blue-&-gray but there are some sets which make an attempt to tie-in to a particular Union or Confederate unit. Such is the case with is Armies in Plastic (AIP) set of Berdan's Sharpshooters. The unit was formed when Hiram Berdan, a renowned marksman himself prior to the Civil war, presented his idea to President Lincoln of a unit comprised of other top-notch marksmen. To make a long story short the plan was approved, Hiram Berdan was given the rank of Colonel and placed in charge of the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharp Shooters (U.S.S.S.). You'll notice our little band of toy soldiers is molded in a dark forest green as homage to the forest green uniforms worn by the the 1st & 2nd U.S.S.S. While it is said that they were equipped with special rifles having attached barrel-length telescopes, in fact many soldiers were issued other rifles instead.

There are twenty figures in ten poses and there's at least one pose I found to be quite novel and a welcome change from the norm. While the figures in this set are nicely done they lack the fidelity of detail and sometimes lack the graceful anatomical lines of the better sculpts on the market. They are little toy soldiers and for that they do the job nicely. Enjoy!






Officer Standing Pointing





Standing Firing rifle 1st Pose





Standing Firing Rifle 2nd Pose





Advancing Rifle at Side





Advancing Rifle Across Chest





Running Rifle Across Chest






Running Rifle at Side




Kneeling Firing Rifle 1st Pose





Kneeling Firing Rifle 2nd Pose
This is the figure I talked about earlier. A lot of these little guys have passed through my figures but I've never seen a kneeli pose like this - I like! :-)







Prone Firing Rifle





Monday, April 28, 2014

Accurate Set No. 3202 Union Infantry

For many years I was really into the hobby shop scene, spending many a Saturday boppin' around from one to the other, checkin' out the cool new stuff, and looking for the latest magazines. And so in lies the source for many of the Civil War figure sets we've been featuring here on Toys and Stuff. I have also picked up the odd book or two on the subject and have used the Web to fill in gaps to the collection but basically, the greater bulk of the collection is years old. Today's Accurate set No. 3202 Union Infantry (20 figures in 10 poses) is one of those picked up in a hobby shop who knows how long ago. I would pick up sets from various manufacturers just to see what the detail was like with each and also with an eye for perhaps painting them. However, my eyes have gotten to the point where painting them might not be possible any more. perhaps one day I'll give it a shot. In the meantime, Enjoy!









Officer Standing





Flag Bearer
Of all the flag bearers I've seen, this one is probably the most imaginatively designed. The flag is quite large and it appears as if the wind has caught it and covered the bearer like a blanket!






Standing at Attention, Left Shoulder Arms

One of the neat things about having these figures is looking at the various details included in the sculpting. The tin cup hanging from his belt caught my eye with this guy






Standing with Rifle At Ease






Standing Firing Rifle





Standing Loading Rifle





Standing, Shot






Walking Wounded






Standing Firing Pistol





Kneeling Firing Rifle
This figure is wearing a great coat