Walthers is best known as a model railroad supplies distributor and manufacturer but at one time, they did try out the miniature figures mart focusing primarily on 54mm display figures. They did, however, offer GHQ figures and vehicles. I am not aware of continued sales of the 20mm Napoleonic figures though GHQ now sells a range of 10mm Napoleonic figures as well as ACW figures. Even at this early stage, the armor collection covered an impressive range of vehicles.
I suppose by the time a figure has reached a stage where it appears in an auction at Christies, play time is over and the figure is now a collector’s item. Too bad and sadly the fate for many a fine figure. Some figures were made to stand inside a jar. They stand stiffly at attention, all their finery on display with carefully hand painted detail. Others are meant for play and so many of these are collector’s pieces for having been ignored for some reason by an indifferent child.
Here you get a sense of the different world of the figure collector. Who would not be charmed by having a Village Idiot or Monty Monkey? And it is these kinds of figures that motivate wargamers. We want to pull them out of the jars and get them moving. Still, the notion of some executive’s suite laden in heavy oak and overstuffed leather chairs with a bright gleaming set of sparkling new Britains figures has a certain charm as if Citizen Kane had been reunited with Rosebud.
There has never been a shortage of advertising material for Games Workshop. Marketing has clearly been a strong point. Even so, these catalog pages look surprisingly nondescript. Already there is a division based on region which certainly makes sense since Americans do not respond well to references to alternate currencies.
By the time this catalog was released, Warhammer and Warhammer 40K were in full swing. Games Workshop had also put out a series of games often incorporating figures including Blood Bowl and The Fury of Dracula. They also followed up with a collaboration with Milton Bradley producing Battle Masters and HeroQuest. If nothing else, all these efforts must have pointed the way towards a reliance on all inclusive boxed sets. I should at some point dig out my old copy of Advanced Space Crusade for a look.
It may look nondescript but during the 70s, Miniature Figurines could offer a wider range of figures than any other company. These are true 25mm so by today’s standards will look small. Also apparent at this time would such oddities as awkward off balance poses and a tendency for characters not to have any necks. Facial detail was lacking which is very noticeable at this scale. Of course, things improved over time.
Early catalog pages from Wargames Foundry. A really interesting looking guillotine and perhaps tucked in there, Madam Lafarge. These figures have a bulkiness to them as opposed to the slender Miniature Figurine figures for example but always look good.
A rather nondescript catalog from Old Glory miniatures circa 2003 likely scooped up at HMGS. The range of miniatures offered is large and the prices seem good. Old Glory and Battle Honors now have new owners with Old Glory now under the name Blue Moon and Anthony Barton of Battle Honors now producing AB Figures.
The Royal Guardsman appears to have been the primary agent for Heritage and the various lines of miniatures from Duke Seifried as well as Hinchliffe figures. Custom Cast put out their own catalog as did Hinchliffe so perhaps this was aligned most closely with Heritage figures.
An imaginative range of fantasy figures sculpted by Tom Loback and now pretty difficult to find. They really look best as an army but finding enough for an army will be a challenge.
By the 1990s, Ral Partha presented an enormous range of fantasy figures in 25mm as well as some in 15mm. The figures were meticulously sculpted and offered a dainty appearance when viewed next to most other figures of the time. Their D&D range was huge. The dragons were especially striking. But take a look at some of the other offerings like the Mimics. They also had several historical ranges including a beautiful but limited Renaissance range as well as an interesting colonial range.
Figures based on the celebrated Empire of the Petal Throne RPG created by M.A.R. Barker.
Some early figures from Tom Meier as the fantasy range quickly outpaces the historical range.
In its earliest days, Ral Partha focused on its historical range. Here, they show their own line of 15mm Napoleonic figures.
Ral Partha always had a soft spot for historical miniatures. In fact, for the historical miniatures player, their need for miniatures outstrips even the most avid RPG player. Here we see some of Ral Partha’s ranges including the crossover Bushido range.
A nice view of some of the early and now difficult to find Ral Partha figures that followed too closely designs used in Japanese cartoons.
This appears to be a second version of Ogre miniatures. While the PE heavy tank is the same, the PE Howitzer is much improved.
There was a time when Alnavco and the line of ships put out by Superior were a major source for naval miniatures. The line is still available with additional 1/2400 ships and the monster sized 1/1200 ships.
In the days before the ubiquitous shopping mall with its generic range of stores, any major city could be counted on to offer a dazzling range of toy and hobby shops. Likely one of the most dazzling was the multi-story hobby palace Polk’s Hobbies on 5th Avenue in New York City about a block south of the Empire State Building. Each floor was devoted to a particular hobby with one floor set aside for model soldiers. You could set your sights on plastic models or toy trains or working models. Of course, they had a wonderful collection of miniatures though mostly for those sort of people who enjoyed putting them under glass jars on curio shelves. Even so, this is where I went to purchase copies of the Wargaming Newsletter and The Dragon.
A trip to Polk’s was always an experience. The store clerks were generally rude or at best indifferent but at first it hardly seemed to matter. During the 60s, a weekend would see floors crowded with hobbyists in search of that elusive bit of detail. By the 70s though interest dwindled. 45th Street had multiple model railroad shops while 33rd and 57th boasted The Complete Strategist. Even the soldier-in-a-jar crowd could go to the plush Soldier Shop. Eventually, the upper floors were sold off and Polk’s was reduced to crowded quarters in the basement. In 2013, Polk’s finally closed its doors. While it was there, it was worth seeing.
Polk’s offered different catalogs for different hobbies. The figures catalog shown offers display figures and a handful of very early wargames. Below, an attempt to explain figure scale.
