The Plastic Warrior Show Report With Photos Galore Of PlasticTreasure!

American War of Independence cavalry conversions, by the talented Dennis Donovan

The day started with my alarm clock going off at 4.30am, an hour no gentleman should be asked to witness! Three quarters of an hour later I was en route to pick up my  fellow toy soldier enthusiast and very good friend, John. This was a familiar start to the day, as John and I have been making the trip together to the Plastic Warrior show since the mid 1990's. Its a two and a half hour journey to the wilds of Richmond from our homes in the Black Country, but we spent it 'putting the world to rights' and discussing various toy soldier and wargaming matters. 

Setting Up

We arrived at The Winning Post  just after eight, to find the venue a hive of activity as the traders were starting to set up amidst a heady mixture of adrenaline and anticipation. John and I set up our table and then started the familiar ritual of one of us manning the stall, whilst the other went off in pursuit of plastic plunder. This is a pattern that we followed all day and even extended it to a 'three person routine' with our next table neighbour and good friend, Tim Gow. 

The hunt begins!

Tim organises the annual 'COW Wargames Conference' and is an enthusiastic proponent of wargaming with 54mm toy soldiers. It was great to catch up with Tim and this is a perfect example of why I love this show. Its an opportunity to meet, or keep in touch with people, who share our interests. This year was particularly successful for this reason and whilst the internet is a wonderful way to reach out to people, it can't replace the pleasure of meeting face to face and having a good chat about the things we all love. 

Someone once said a picture paints a thousand words, so with no more ado I will share some of the pictures I took during the day. 

Dennis and Gareth.......probably responsible for lightening my wallet more than anybody else over the years! 

Eunice (above) and John Begg (below), stalwarts of the plastic toy soldier scene and dear friends!

Hugh Walter and Adrian Little, selling madly. Hugh's blog 'Small scale world' is always worth a read if you are interested in the minutiae of plastic production in all scales

Toy soldier 'royalty' in the form of the ever personable James Opie sitting with my mate John. We had a great chat with James for 15 minutes or so, sharing photos of our soldiers!

Tim Barker, collector, professional actor and owner of 'Soldiers in Siloth' the excellent toy soldier museum in Siloth on the North West coast. See my review in an earlier post. A lovely man who I had a great chat to about toy soldiers, the museum and his role in one of my favourite films 'Coast to Coast' with Lenny Henry and Pete Postlethwaite. 

The ever cheerful Peter Cole of Replicants. My favourite toy soldier sculptor and manufacturer, with his newest creations. These were the first things I purchased that morning! (See my next post for a full review of these beautiful ECW cavalry)

So that's it! A great show and a super day out. It was only made possible by the time and effort put in by the Plastic Warrior team, all of whom are very camera shy, but I just want to say a heartfelt thankyou to Brian, Paul, Peter and everyone involved!

But Graham, what did you buy I hear someone ask? Well lots! But I am going to do a separate post to enable you to go and make a cup of tea, before I share my plastic plunder and lead loot!

Tara a bit!