Here are the fruits of several recent sojourns to new thrift / antique / junque stores in my corner of North Carolina. The first find was a pair of pairs of Native American Indians. 54mm, metal, old-lookin’, but with no indication of manufacture on the base.
A different store had a bit of a trove, but the fellow wanted too much for them I was forced to be discerning. This chap is a Britains, complete with the swingy arm. I have yet to research who he might be — I don’t recognize the uniform, alas.
By their headgear, I’m assuming these are WWI infantry. They are marked “ENGLAND” in raised letters on the bottom. The kneeling soldier with field glasses has it tattooed upon his leg, as did my kneeling Highlander.
The next two are clearly marked Britains. Both suffer from broken rifle barrels — I haven’t decided on how to best repair the damage.
I wouldn’t usually go for 15s, as I have so many unpainted, but these fellows looked so lonely, jumbled in an old take-out food container (which I’ve already thrown out).
They proved to be a fascinating collection:
I wonder if some of them were home casts, as there were globs of metal and tags with letter markings. The biggest bit of metal was mysteriously marked E WINDS. Then there were gun carriages and limbers, and what I assume are 6mm tanks and trucks.
Then there were some Roman types:
And the majority were Napoleonics:
I figured if I ever wanted to do big battles in Ascaria, this would be an economical start. Tossed in amongst the 15mm mess was this 54mm knight:
He very nearly got binned because I assumed by his gaudy appearance that he hailed from a Safari Toob or some such. Astonishingly to me, he is a Britains figure, though made in China. I later ran across a blog post of someone staging a whole battle with these knights.
All in all, I have been moderately pleased with the “finds” I’ve made. Of course, most of the enjoyment comes from the hunt itself.
nobby531
The chap with the bobble on his pill box hat: A Ghurka or from his flesh paint an African?
Scott Larson
He’s definitely Black, so I’m assuming from some African country. I’m equally ignorant of military history and W. Britains soldiers, so some research is in order!
quantrilltoy
The hollow cast with helmets are WW2 – you can tell from gaiters rather than puttees. How I repair them is to cut the rifle flat at the hand, drill out and add brass wire which might or might not need putty added. I use 2 part glue.
Scott Larson
Thanks again, James, for the ID and repair guidance. Look to the feet rather than the helmets, I see. I did manage to repair the rifles, winning them for good measure. Two-part epoxy (as you suggest) for permanence.