Welcome to the Army Men General!Previously: >>11701613>Plastic soldiers, knights and pirates, cowboys and indians, fantasy and sci-fi, cops and zombies, all are welcome here! (civilians are fine too)>Archived threads:https://archive.palanq.win/toy/search/subject/Army%20Men%20General/>Army men wargame rules:https://combatstorm.com/https://www.plasticcommand.com/https://freewargamesrules.fandom.com/wiki/Special:Search?query=army+men>Places to get army men:https://bmctoys.com/ and https://victorybuy.com/https://www.armiesinplastic.com/https://www.toysoldierco.com/https://www.classictoysoldiers.com/https://www.toysoldiersdepot.com/https://www.hobbybunker.com/https://www.michtoy.com/https://micshaunscloset.com/http://www.expeditionaryforce.com.sg/
New thread and some new(ish) stuff from China. I've bought a couple sets like these before and not much is new to me but they felt like worthwhile accessories packs.
>>11732767Two of the sets are nearly the name, differing mainly in being Army and Navy variants respectively. One of the little action illustrations on the Army set seemed familiar and after going through my old wallpapers folders I was proved correct in that it's an Ace Combat 5 wallpaper.
>>11732773The Navy one has a fun war painting of a Stuka presumably bombing a Channel convoy; I imagine there's a third, Air Force-themed set to round things out.
>>11732774Both include this cardboard backing/world map, helpfully colour-coding different parts of the world in a reasonably logical manner.
>>11732777The reverse is a fun hodge-podge of low effort photoshop land-air-sea action; I like to think of it as a distant, heavily inbred and probably adopted descendant of the classic comic book mail-ordered army men advertisement.
>>11732779Starting with the Army set, it has the main draws for my ordering them, namely the self-propelled howitzer and tanker truck; the general purpose truck is nice too.
>>11732782Despite the Army theme it also boasts a trio of aircraft, with the CH-46 a bit of an oddball in its yellow-green scheme.
>>11732784I rather like sets that make an effort to be a complete package by providing vehicles, soldiers and base-building stuff, in this case a Quonset hut and (some assembly required) watch tower.
>>11732788There's even some terrain pieces, a couple trees, barbed wire and a surprisingly well-textured large sandbag wall piece, with a smaller one that's unusually asymmetrical.
>>11732790The set's soldier component is pretty weak, so much so that the seller apparently improvised an addendum to try and make up for it (next post). Oddly the half-dozen men included are fixed to additional stands, though they can be easily removed.
>>11732794Each of the sets came with a separate package of these smaller, multi-coloured troops to make them more rounded in their contents I guess. Unfortunately they're not much of a consolation, being smaller than regular soldiers and even the ones that come with the set; a quite haphazard assortment of colours and poses; mediocre quality overall. For the cost of each set I couldn't recommend them on their own merits, only as add-ons for established armies looking for uncommon elements like the SPG and tanker truck.
>>11732798The Navy set has most of the same things as the Army set, including the two trucks and SPG; the latter for some reason has a tan barrel, machine gun and lower piece of the turret.
>>11732801The naval elements are rather modest; a destroyer and submarine. The helicopter is a CH-47 this time, though in the same scheme as the other set's CH-46.
>>11732802The rest of the set mainly differs in having a tent instead of the Quonset hut; the ubiquitous three-walls-and-sandbags set instead of watchtower; different flag (plus bonus "NATO" flag); the smaller sandbags wall is slightly less warped but in tan-yellow this time.
>>11732806Same story as the other set with the six soldiers and their supplemental stands.
>>11732807This third set from the other is reminiscent of a few that Dollarama had a few years ago, typically consisting of a jeep or truck, towed artillery piece and trailer of some kind in between the two. This set dispenses with the middle component and replaces the gun with a Hawk SAM triple launcher mounted on a trailer. The launcher is a frequent flyer in many sets but this is the first time I've seen it added to a trailer. The soldier count dropped to four and they're of the same kind as the "bonus" men (this set has a smaller number of such extras compared to the other two sets). Must say I rather like the Hummer-esque combat SUV, doesn't feel oversized like the jeeps from the Dollarama sets.
>>11732814Lastly I wanted to highlight the cardboard insert from the set, showcasing the different variants available. The top one's artillery piece is often also included in sets that have the Hawk launcher, must say it looks pretty good on a trailer.
>>11732816Almost forgot, the Army and Navy sets also had a plastic battle map included as external addendums like the bags of soldiers. To me it feels somewhat like the minimap of an RTS game; the B-52s at crazy low altitude is probably the most baffling element but base "structures" and tunnel entrances are even more out of place really. Another low effort offering from largely low effort sets, which don't seem to be available to buy anymore anyway.
>>11732816 These are nice.
>>11733437Yeah, kinda wish they hadn't just fallen off AliExpress like those other sets with the Humvees, was thinking of getting the one with the gun. It's one of the better stationary artillery pieces out there and having a mobile version would've been great. Oh well, maybe they'll pop up again sometime.
>>11732052Just spent WAY too much money on some Britains Super Deetail Cavalry for my 2 year old. They are fucking cool. I sort of want to get some infantry, but it looks like the artillery is the only other thing that's really available.Shits so cool, but so fucking expensive.
>>11734733I have a few random Britains soldiers from various secondhand finds over the years, probably some of the best army men you can get but yeah, priced accordingly.On the more affordable side I got this recent release from ViiKONDO. The AI artwork isn't as good as their modern warfare sets; for one the choice of cavalry for the box front is baffling as the set is entirely infantry, save for a single mounted officer per side.
>>11735257On the back is a squad roster, with a large number of named characters per side, hinting at some deeper lore.
>>11735261I presume the qr code may link to this lore, though it needs the WeChat app to view. The dodgy AI is further evident in the attempted recreation of some of the poses.
>>11735263The two sides are helpfully bagged separately, which also makes for easier packing inside the box.
>>11735266I'm fairly certain this set follows on the pattern of the modern warfare sets by having a specific pose selection and count, rather than a randomized assortment. As a contrast to the other Civil War set off Amazon, this Union detachment is all business with about half the soldiers in active firing poses. This will also contrast with their rebel counterparts as we shall see. One of the poses is an artilleryman with his ramrod, though no guns were provided.
>>11735269The poses are heavily "inspired" by a long-established Civil War set that has been heavily copied, cloned and imitated. These figures have been altered some from the originals, notably having blunt ends applied to bayonet tips and a slight reduction in overall size.
>>11735271The Confederate side is no less action-themed, though there isn't a single active firing pose among the lot. My guess is the original set inspiring this one was themed around Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, with the Union soldiers in largely static defensive positions while the Confederates are in various offensive stances. They also have an artilleryman pose, this one more active. Will note that the Confederate flag stickers had come off the flag from inadequate adhesion, necessitating some glue.
>>11735274In many ways this set is the ideal companion to the other Civil War set, filling in the glaring gaps for both sides while providing the accessories this one lacks. ViiKONDO had another Civil War set previously that included such accessories and the same figures; unfortunately it appears to be discontinued in favour of this new one.
>>11735277From left to right in each trio: original pose; previous ViiKONDO set; current ViiKONDO set. Have to say I appreciate how every Civil War set seems to change up their soldiers, even between issues of the same figures they have different shades of blue and grey. Combining these in setups gives things a nice touch of authenticity.
>>11735263 They call him "stonewall" because on the day of that battle a terrible spell was wrought by the Archmage of the South. So dismayed at the approaching loss of a battle the mage cast a spell held in preparation for the Blues. "Stonewall they call you. let you become stone for your failure!" The Great General, creeping up from his boots to his head last was turned indeed to stone.
>>11736508Legend has it the once-great general is fated to forever stand like a stone wall and watch his brave soldiers charge the Federal lines to be cut to pieces and thoroughly routed, only to reform and do it all again. And again. And again.
Been plenty of melting here but I expect true spring is still a ways off with another snowfall predicted this week, much less dry enough ground for the next campaigning season.
>>11741552Off and on freezing rain for the last few days here. Cut some fallen trees and did other fun stuff so no time for pics here.
Been slowly padding out my Blue army's armoured support with 3D prints, found an easy to print and assemble model of an M-113 that I've done three times now, though two of them ended up being smaller than the first cuz I lost the original file after that print and tried eyeballing the right scale. Oh well, close enough for wide shots where it won't be noticeable.There's another model of an IFV I'd like to try sometime but it'll take at least two or three sessions to get it all printed, we'll see where I can squeeze in some time between customer prints.
>>11744801 Not Toy Soldiers, but Army Men related. Just spent some fingertip bruising time between "Wold of Tanks" battles over the last couple of hours putting together my Ali booty of 2 squads of MegaConstrux rip-offs I honestly don't know if my one squad is supposed to be Chinese or Russian, Their sniper does have a bead. I quite like their modular weapons. The squad of "Future Warfighters" not so much. They all have elbow/knee pads and I expect the inevitable rot will kill em.
>>11745623I appreciate that the Chinese continue to innovate with the CoD figures rather than just reproduce them; the new modular guns are nice and more and better paint apps is steps in the right direction. They're closer than most other toys to being army men, the only difference being that they have articulation but they're about the same scale as standard troops, no problem having them cross over myself heh.
>>11745672 I'm hoping with any vestiges of old MEGA fading that China produces some new stuff. I mean the Lego Fallout Armors are cool but I need me some new minifigures. I would love to see some fantasy stuff. The Assassin's Creed remnants are tempting (well the British and Colonial American troops) but I see them as a dwindling and expensive supply. If I had started collecting these earlier I would make a dio or at least a photoshoot based on The Highwayman poem.
*almost* the last of the snow
My damned shutter was sticking due to the cold. - or something.
>>11745765Adds an interesting effect really, nice shots as always. Expecting a few more last gasps of winter here, was hoping for good conditions by the Easter long weekend but probably won't happen.
