Toy Soldier Show - Birmingham

Earlier today I visited the 19th Birmingham Toy Soldier Show at the Clarendon Suite, off Hagley Road, Birmingham. The show is for model or toy soldiers rather than wargaming or modelling subjects, think old Airfix, Hat or the 54mm painted figures from Timpo, Britains or King & Country. There were thousands of toy soldiers - ranging in price from a couple of pence to hundreds of pounds each!

I felt that it was not as well attended or as many traders as last year, filling just the main hall and a bit. Overall, I was disappointed and apart from the entry fee I did not spend anything. The highlight for me was studying the beautiful models made by Allan Colclough from Small Wonder Models, which were on display in glass cabinets. Allan was kind enough to show me some additional photos and these and others are featured on his Web site;

http://www.smallwondersmodelmakers.com/index.html

The Gallery and Product sections show some truly fantastic 'scratch built' models, a real inspiration to me. In addition Allan was quite happy to talk about his modelling techniques, share his experience and give modelling hints and tips, a real gentleman thank you.

I also spent some time studying a huge 1/32nd (or 54mm scale) WWII German E-Boat. A very impressive 'full hull' model.

I am not convinced that I will be attending this show next year. We will have to see.

Tony