Enjoying the gaming possibilities of these new Backyard Battalion green and tan army men style figures from Reis O’Brien in the USA.
https://www.backyardbattalion.com
Crossposted from my Scouting Wide Games for the Tabletop post about the new green and tan Backyard Battalion figures by Reis O’Brien:
A recent family gift – another bag of what Ross Macfarlane of Battle Game Of the Month blog once called “the crudest cheapest plastic toy soldiers I’ve ever seen” or what I now cheerfully dub my “penny dreadfuls”!
I had not seen before in store these unusual new flag (sticker) designs. I usually pop into town every couple of months and check the toy shelves at Poundland UK pound store to see what Toy Soldier delights survive.
The latest curious design of flags in the Battle Squadron 100 Soldiers Playset – camouflage pattern flags!
Equally remarkable, this is still remarkably sold as 100 Pieces – for one pound. They have returned to their pound coin value days before the storage tubs version saw the figure content drop to 70, 60 or even 50.
Figures are roughly 30mm+, 32mm to 36mm, depending how you measure them.
The ‘Battle Squadron’ branding continues with the military design of Battle Squadron ‘dog tag’ and chain, camouflage style shapes or patterns, sergeant’s three stripes, flag or officer rank stars, target crosshairs and barbed wire design elements. 
The latest design of flag – two types of camouflage pattern.
Does this make hiding or defending your secret base camp / flag pole / headquarters easier?
A change from when the battle flag or standard was a colourful rallying point or in the case of ECW and Covenanters (and Spanish Civil War?) sloganned with intent.
As playsets go, I have mentioned before that the front and back scenes show elements not included in the set, which is potentially misleading or cheeky.
Whilst a flag (with intriguing green and white star design) and green soldiers are shown and included, there are no helicopters, plastic ruin walls, sign posts or plastic foliage (or sand). It is perhaps the “serving suggestion” of how or where you could deploy and play with them. Garden, sandpit, indoors …
What makes this a playset?
It has none of the curiously out of scale accessories.
However it does have:
Two sides of figures (same design or poses, different colours – here green and silver)
Two flags
Two flag bases featuring boxes of supplies or bricks and rubble
These two unusual flags have these block of supplies to capture or defend as their base?
An unimportant question – does each flag count as one of the 100 promised pieces? I bothered enough to count and can report that in this pack (packs may slightly vary) there were 53 silver and 48 green figures with one mismould casualty plus the two flags and two bases.
These figures were noticeably flash-y or flash-ier then previous batches.
Is it my imagination or are these semi-flat figures becoming thinner and semi-flatter over time?
If you want to look at some of the conversion possibilities for these basic Penny figures, I have featured some of my work on this post here:
They can even mix in with modern 30mm soldiers like Mark’s Little Soldiers 30mm metal:
Blog posted by Mark Man Of TIN, 29 / 30 January 2024
B.P.S. Blog Post Script
For those who love these things it’s 5 PP type of plastic Polypropylene – and the CE UK CA credits are on the back of the flag like weird battle honours. Poundland PLDZ – Born On / batch date 1/12/2022
Made in China but also sold in Poundland’s other Dealz stores in Ireland (ROI), Poland – and now Spain, as well as offshore islands like Isles of Man. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dealz
We have seen on this Pound Store Plastic Warriors blog how classic childhood figures like the Airfix British Paratroops slowly mutate with decades of copying almost into new figures such as these pencil erasers …
With some having curious punning packaging from the “War on Error”.
Crossposted by Mark Man Of TIN from the fully colour illustrated Man of TIN Blog Two post
https://manoftinblogtwo.wordpress.com/2023/11/24/pencil-eraser-rubber-soldiers/
Crossposted: I know Star Wars Command 54mm plastic figures are not strictly Pound Store cheap and cheerful figures, but I think that this ‘Faking Lead’ paint technique might work as well on Pound Store space figure paint conversions.
My latest ‘faking lead’ detailed old Toy Soldier touch on plastic SciFi figures – drilling the hollowcast mould holes in their heads or helmets:
Links to the two previous Faking Lead posts
Pound Store figure conversions might have potential as some more cheap ‘red shirt’ trooper laser fodder for my Close Little Space Wars …
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/close-little-space-wars/
Pound store ‘space trooper’ looking ‘modern’ desert conflict plastic toy soldiers like these: Laser Fodder!
Horror! Look away now! Unpainted figures in use, thankfully (Han) Solo in the garden, not on the respectable tabletop
As seen in action in Back Yarden Galaxy game 2016
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/in-a-garden-far-far-away/
Crossposted from my fully illustrated blog post on my Man Of TIN Blog Two, 7th August 2023
Saddened to hear today that another British retailer Wilkinson’s or Wilko is going into as administration with 12,000 retail jobs at risk.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66395824
I had my suspicions – I had noticed that the shelves were looking barer over time and that their plastic toy section including their Wilko Blox plastic brick sets had almost disappeared over the last year since announcements in January 2023.
One less place on the High Street to buy cheap and cheerful plastic tat …
What took over empty Woolworths and BHS British Home Stores on the struggling High Street is now under threat itself.
In the words of Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi ,“Don’t it always seem to go /
That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone …”
Only a few weeks ago I was scouting for toys there, unaware that the toy stocks were being run down and I settled on a few party favours instead.
These Wilko Heroes Soldiers hadn’t been around for years when I bought them in 2016 from an online site.
Wilko Heroes were oddly distorted figures but I liked the running riflemen.
They also sold in tubs (Image: online source) 
I also enjoyed their Lego compatible Wilko Blox Range Of characters – they have interesting character and paint schemes.
I shall use the silver and gold knight (below) ideas in my SciFi figures.
Who can resist such little green men classic aliens? (Similar ones pop up at Poundland from time to time).
I never did get around to buying and framing their fabulous fifty figure box of characters … Instead I shall enjoy the picture.
Pound Shop online versions of the aliens exist elsewhere (on Earth at least).
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2022/07/09/more-superheroes-by-the-pound-store/
Previously Wilko items mentioned on Man Of TIN Blog and Pound Store Plastic Warriors …
Wilko tubes of plastic figures bought in 2016 and not seen again – my 2016 words were prophetic! “Grab them while you can!”
I only bought one set of the four 2016 tubes –
I bought these distinctive firemen and police figures – the other three sets were fairly generic and widely available knight figures, Cowboy and Indian clones, modern green and tan infantry. The infantry appeared later in tubs with plastic mountain.
I like the graphics though.
My lovely Wilko Wild West Express with sound and battery motor almost 40mm to 54mm scale from 2018:
https://sidetracked2017blog.wordpress.com/2018/07/14/the-wild-wilko-western-express/
Wilko Blox figures (2016-2023)
Some simple £1 blister packs with figures and tools
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2019/04/12/the-joy-of-pound-store-block-figures/
And a young girl with an attack helicopter to play with – not a sight you see every day!
Farewell Wilko – I shall treasure slightly more the few Wilko toy relics that I have in my gaming life.
Remember – when you see stuff, grab them whilst you still can.
That is all – Wilko Over and Out?
Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, 3 August 2023 Wilko Over and Out? day
I am always looking out for unusual sources of toy soldier figures.
Popping in to my local Hobbycraft to wait out a heavy traffic snarl up, I noticed a much smaller number of plastic kits, mostly Revell or Italeri aircraft or spacecraft, and few military kits. A bit of Woodland Scenics left.
No Airfix.
No figures, although they stock the Tamiya 1:35 range online.
At least they still stock my Revell Aquacolor Acrylic paints.
The only military figures I found were these Parachutists in the party Favors Range by Unique, available instore or online, a range sometimes found in the party favors section at Wilko.
They are roughly 1:32 or big 54 to 60mm, depending on how you measure.
Here are 18 different language names for Parachute Men!
These are very very brightly coloured parachute men in hard plastic, although well armed and they are definitely not civilians.
Bright colours? These work very well if trying to find these in the garden after you have flung them outside in the air. Dark green figures were always a challenge to find unless they had light or white parachutes like these.
Bright colours also mean you can tell your figure apart amongst others.
Toy soldier collectors will recognise the Airfix British Paratroops origin of the green LMG and purple rifleman figures, appropriately enough.
The orange figure is derived from the Airfix German Afrika Korps Officer with binoculars.
The blue figures are maybe some other maker’s version of an American officer?
They are all increasingly ‘thinning’ in bulk and thinner than the original Airfix as the copies have carried on over time.
These parachutists have been around a while as I picked up the Afrika Korps (binocular) Officer 10 to 15 years ago and he has been masquerading as a naval officer ever since.
With parachutes attached, these are a little pricy per figure at about 45p each in a six pack. You can find them cheaper per figure online if you shop around, although maybe not cheaper when you add postal charges.
You also have to string and thread your own parachute through the distinctive helmet ring. Online reviews suggest they don’t float or fly well, but when did they ever?
Alternatively you could buy the original more expensive Airfix British Paratroop figures from Airfix.com online – 14 figures for £10.99 https://uk.airfix.com/products/wwii-british-paratroops-a02701v
They will probably get based, painted and the helmet ring cropped off at some point in the future as a rainy day project.
Blog posted by Mark Man Of TIN, 14 July 2023
A year or so ago I saw these £1 party bag type odd soldier playsets on my favourite online pound shop Toys for a Pound
and The Wargaming Pastor of The Death Zap blog (“Anyone can afford Wargaming!”) bought some packs to review:
https://deathzap.co.uk/2022/06/27/soldiers-of-the-combat/
where he showed the sometimes varying scale and familiar much copied poses of these cheap figures.
I was reminded to track down the several packs of these figures that I eventually ordered (still in stock today and still £1) when The Wargaming Pastor recently painted up some of the tiny Hummer and Jeep type vehicles as armoured cars.
Oddly the childish joy and curiosity I have about these colourful figure playsets still matches anything that a starter set of Warlord Games figures or other grown up metal gaming figures do. They match the excitement of a joblot of figures from a friendly donation or an online auction joblot.
In the almost guru words of Forest Gump, “Life is like a Box Of Chocolates” … or a cheap plastic soldier playset … “you never know what you gonna get.”
I’m obviously easily pleased.
I think it is because it takes you back to the basic childhood excitement that a couple of boxes of Airfix soldiers or cheaper toyshop copy soldiers and vehicles etc would give you a small skirmish game with simple Featherstone rules.
The Figures /Poses
Here is my line up showing the two slightly different sizes: only the British WW2 running with bayonet (centre) was unable to stand freely unaided and would definitely require basing. MDF Penny basing would enhance all these figures.
Recognise the origins of these figures?
They mimic or clone some familiar Matchbox US Officer and British WW2 infantry
and some Airfix inspired Afrika Korps grenade throwers, advancing or shooting German or US Infantry.
These advancing running types are some of my favourite figure poses, derived from the Airfix WW2 German Infantry (see entrenching tool). If you could buy whole bags just of these particular running figures …
Size comparison with Airfix version 2 German Infantry and British Commandos
I find it interesting watching over time how the figures deform or degrade into new poses or are converted with new heads, becoming flatter or thinner over time (possibly to save plastic?) with d-evolution.
Tiny dilemma: Should they be painted at all?
Unpainted Miniatures on a table are a horror to some gamers.
As if we worried about such things when young, as you used what you had.
Each randomly chosen pack has figures of one colour – blue, red, tan, green – so you could pick out the two sides of “British helmets” and more “American looking German and US figures.” Alternately you could stick with the colours “as is”.
Unlike a box of Airfix, the number and mixture of playset poses is quite random between boxes.
The Packaging
The “Soldiers of The Combat” box or packaging header art is quite simple, a US Army type soldier (‘stock photo’ graphic) green camo running figure with Kevlar, KPot or Fritz type helmet of the 1980s – 1990s.
He looks a little like the 1980s Airfix NATO Infantry (American) figures. He is framed behind by the suggestion of some kind of weapon sights or sniper sights.
Behind the figures on the cardboard backing is a small graphic of a generic khaki green tank and some angel / paratrooper type wings marked COMBAT NEW on a camo type pattern background.
COMBAT NEW – again that slightly “clunky in translation” wording. The SOLDIERS OF THE COMBAT title wording in yellow and red has a military stencil font appearance.
The Oddly Sized Random Playset Inclusions
“Specification, colours and containers may vary from illustrations” –
that aptly covers the odd mix of tools, fence, tree, truck, tank, boat, fighter jet and British and American WW2 troops with the modern troop illustration.
Odd inclusions per pack include one boat, one aircraft, one vehicle and one tank per pack, one tree, some barbed wire fencing, (always German?) flag –
I like the stylised trees, looking like medieval manuscript or 30s modernist trees. The barbed wire fences are useful enough as well.
More than you could say for the oddly outsized tools, suitable maybe for larger action figures? They will live in the bits box and be useful for scratch-building.
The five types of jet aircraft – Suitable for a simple aerial combat game?
Some small amphibious boat things for smaller scale figures and commando raids?
These lorry types look usable with Peter Laing 15mm figures in an Interbellum way.
The staff car and lorry vehicles are two piece mouldings with fixed wheels.
The vehicles are a bit undersized for these small figures, so maybe would better suit smaller 15mm figures?
The tank tracks and body might be useful in future for scratch-building some kind of light tank or carrier, without the scale imposed by the more ‘modern’ tank turret.
Made in China, imported by SB Toys Manchester (according to the sticker on the plane card back).
£5 (the price of a box of Airfix figures these days ) brings you this much cheap plastic tat joy – “quantity has a quality all of its own”, as Stalin and others are supposed to have said.
Inner child satisfied.
These will go in the rainy day box for future fun …
Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, 24 June / 2 July 2023
My local branch of Wilko sometimes has plastic “party bag favours”ranging from unicorn horses to pop-up jumping alien head suckers and these 12 dinosaurs which were about £1 to £2 a pack.
I looked at these, enjoyed their stylised semi-flatness and then thought they might be a good source of reptilian alien heads for my Close Little Space Wars 54mm Plastic Figure conversions.
Some of the upright two legged T Rex type dinosaurs already look like they are walking and should be carrying laser weapons.
The upright ones look a little like the charming Dorset Soldiers 54mm space figure lizard henchmen, at a fraction of the cost of metal figures.
I have no idea what ‘scale’ these plastic dinosaurs are.
A cheap source of heads and tails?
The mammoth has a real stylised caveman painting feel. I think this figure will stay intact.
I shall post again once trial hacking of hard plastic heads and tails has taken place.
Blog posted by Mark Man Of TIN, 9 June 2023
I picked up this red plastic biplane from a children’s magazine about 10+ years ago, I think it was the Children’s BBC TV Grandpa in My Pocket magazine.
It looked like it might be suitable for 30 to 40mm figures.
Here it is alongside two SAE Madeira sample 30mm figures I bought last year from Tradition Of London online.
I found these vintage SAE Madeira 30mm figures quite slender in comparison with other 30mm figures.
Screenshot / photos from my blog post: https://manoftinblogtwo.wordpress.com/2023/05/16/when-30mm-marks-little-soldiers-met-my-kitbashed-28mm-marines-and-mountain-men/
Two shiny pilots from the 30mm SAE Madeira (Holger Eriksson) Range look very slender in comparison.
L to R (above) Marks Little Soldier (MLS) 30mm Officer, our two SAE pilots, then orange spaceman conversion from Pound Store Plastic Warriors, 28mm Wargames Atlantic conversion to mountain trooper and Warlord Games 28mm conversion.
As an alternative, the new Mark’s Little Soldiers 30mm or some of the larger 28mm figures might suit this two-seated biplane aircraft better?
30mm MLS character figures feature a very 1920s 30s type pilot figure
although in keeping with the pound store ‘penny dreadful’ nature of this blog, one of those penny figures with a US tanker type helmeted figure looks like he could be painted as a pilot with flying helmet and possibly life jacket?
So there you go, an interesting aircraft, one that you might find as a jumble or charity shop find.
Blog posted by Mark Man Of TIN, 18 May 2023
Good to see these versatile figures are still available in Poundland UK, surrounded by other intriguing toys. (I wonder what was so Totally Roarsome Toymania and DinoTastic?)
These Battle Squadron figures are still available in store or online
*
I have used and converted many of these penny plastic figures in the past, so wondered how they fit with other modern figures. Some of these conversions from modern to colonial, space and natives can be seen here:
L to R, MLS 30mm Officer, two 30mm Pilots SAE Madeira (Holger Eriksson) , then orange spaceman conversion from Pound Store Plastic Warriors, 28mm Wargames Atlantic conversion to mountain trooper and Warlord Games 28mm conversion.
*
I wondered how these pound store plastic warriors (which are about 30 to 32mm) mixed with 28mm plastic figures and new 30mm metal Marks Little Soldiers
– you can read more about them on my blog post here:
Big Combat Figures
I noticed the only other vaguely ‘toy soldier’ related item in PoundLand were these larger action figures range at £3 for a box of heavily armed eight military figures with outsize weapons!
They also have some vehicle back up above, a quad type bike? and inflatable boat. Possibly large scale enough or harder to loose / useful for garden gaming?
Blog posted by Mark Man Of TIN, 16 May 2023
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