Recently in a tongue-in-cheek response to a comment from an old friend who referred to 54's as an "old guy scale", I pointed out not only the advantages of being an old guy (Dave is probably 20 years younger than I am, and I'm heading for the big 70 in a less than acouple of years). Chief among them is to be fully comfortable in your own persona. It's not likely you'll have to impress others, and it's unlikely you would anyway. Better still is that if you are fortunate enough, and many of us are, you can indulge (somewhat anyway) in most of the things you wanted to do as a kid, but couldn't afford or were legally unable.
So, what's this got to do with 54's? How many of us played with plastic army guys in our childhood? I'm not talking about the GI Joe stuff, but rather the bags you could get at most every toy and Woolworth's in America (and even unlikely ones like some general pharmacies, and news agents). They were all pretty much 54's. The cool ones even had detachable equipment. A lot of stuff wasn't "scale" but our imaginations made up for most of that shortcoming.
(Yes, I know all about Britains, but on this side of the pond, they were expensive and found only in upscale toy stores. In the Boston suburb where I grew up, only the F. A. O. Schwartz in Boston and one or two of the major downtown department stores stocked them with regularity. For me, they were a rare Christmas gift.)
Now, they're still made of plastic, but the detail is excellent, and they paint up nicely. For those of us whose arms are no longer long enough to read a printed page in normal type without a pair of glasses, this has been a great development
It's all come full circle: from Airfix and Roco Minitanks, to Scruby's, Minifigs, Hinchcliffe, and a slew of others; from 15's and 20's, 25's and 30's, and now finescale 28's.
So I say, let us rejoice in 54's and may their great deeds on the tabletop long continue.
Hear hear!
ReplyDelete(I was lucky as a kid, Mom believed toy soldiers should be painted and Crescent, Herald and Lone Star then Eyes Right and Swoppets were readily available in Montreal.
Well said! (From another “old guy”)
ReplyDeleteBesides everything else, our status as seniors makes us "the (almost) most interesting men in the world..." Stay thirsty, my friend, for good coffee and dry martinis!
ReplyDeleteCheers to the 54s! (although I'm not quite yet 50, I will embrace the "old guy" status on this one)
ReplyDeleteAlan, just discovered this blog recently, really enjoying it and finding it very handy. Am working on my 54mm projects, trying to make decisions, and it is very helpful. Are you up in New England like Ross?
ReplyDeleteI think that dwindling eyesight resources alone could conceivably make this "an old-guy scale". It is in fact one reason why I am working on this project.
I've been checking out "A Gentleman's War" and wondering if you've had the opportunity to do so yourself.
Keep up the fine work! Alex
PS What do you think of the HaT line of figures?
ReplyDeleteHello, Alex. In answer to your questions, I live about 30 miles southwest of Boston. Ross actually lives in Canada,(Nova Scotia, I believe). The HaT line of 54's is excellent and versatile. Most of the "Hessians" illustrated in my blog postings are HaT. Their Napoleonics are quite good, also.
ReplyDeleteI have not yet played A Gentleman's War, although I have been following its development since Howard began the project.
Thank you for the interest in my blog. A new edition will be published soon.
Hey Alan, From the pics, your figs look really great. I am wondering what you do about the mold lines. I have a bunch of AIP plastics, and so far I have been removing them with either a very sharp [new] X-acto blade and gently cutting along the line, OR, using a dremel with a sanding attachment - this works only at a shallow level and leaves some abrasion.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking that I can use some watered-down PVA later to smooth out the rough spots or hide any mold lines I miss.
Not looking for perfection here, BUT... I really can't leave the mold lines on the figures at this point. Maybe I just shouldn't care??
Thanks for your thoughts!
I don't know if you got my earlier reply, but basically, if the mold lines are relatively faint, I wouldn't worry about it since they will just about disappear after painting and varnishing. I have heard of an old trick whereby a piece of wire, say a paper clip, is heated over a candle and the wire is then used to remove the lines by basically melting them. Can't say that I've used it, but some consider it SOP.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alan - the heated wire sound entirely too clever for me! But I am only getting minor injuries wielding an X-acto blade...
ReplyDelete