TSSD (Toy Soldiers of San Diego) Set #17 Dismounted Cavalry with Casualties 60mm (2010) - Pt 1 Set Packaging and Contents

I bought these many years ago when Toy Soldiers of San Diego was still a thriving concern. They were among the premier toy soldier hobby shops in the country and had their own line of toy soldier sets. Since then, the owner retired and the line has been taken over by McShaun's Closet. Traditionally, there were few casualty sculpts in the Little Green Army Man world. Marx did have several really nice ones, but the field was lacking overall. Smaller manufacturers have helped fill the void over the years and now casualty sculpts are fairly easy to come by. This particular set is appropriate for either the American Civil War or Old West and these bigger, 60mm, figures can be used with MPC ringhands if you so desire. The set has twelve figures in six poses. Be Blessed and Relish Life! Ed

I cleaned up the artwork a bit 

The plastic used for these trends towards the brittle as that guy at the upper left found out

Thomas Toys Canoes (and GIANT #9-3901 Canoe Race) - Red and Yellow HP

Thomas Toys was known for its low-cost toys and I tend to associate cheap plastic cars, trucks and boats with their name. However, they made more than just vehicles. The two canoes being posted here today came in their  FRONTIERLAND set with Pioneers and Native Americans.

Courtesy Toy Soldier HQ

When someone mentions GIANT, or GIANT of Hong Kong to me, my mind immediately goes to their series of 1/72 scale military miniatures: Ancient Romans and chariots, Vikings with their long ships, or American Civil War with horse drawn limbers and cannons. The fact is though, that they were a toy company which sold more than just 1/72 scale figures. Their products trended toward the low-cost, pocket-change market and some were repackaged toys made by other manufacturers. My samples came together as one purchase and both have broken off oars. Theirs a ridge or spine on the underside of each canoe preventing them from sitting straight on a flat surface, so several of the photos look wonky. Be Blessed and Relish Life!

A couple of random GIANT carded toys

Thomas Toy canoes packaged by GIANT in set #9-3901

Courtesy Viktor Rudik

MPC 'Silver Dollar' Saloon (Cabin v.1) - Brown / Red / Yellow SP

Back in March 2023 I covered all the MPC Old West buildings I had at the time. A year later, this cabin was offered to me by one of the guys in the Meta (facebook) train groups. He got it with a bunch of trains and this just wasn't his forte'. Here we are now, a year after that and I'm finally circling around again to Western posts. I'm calling this a 'saloon' because that's what I associate with any building that has 'SILVER DOLLAR' emblazoned on the front door! It's in the style of what I've designated a 'version 1' cabin or structure - those MPC cabins that were made with interchangeable fronts fitting over a sturdy heavy-grade soft viny plastic wall set. This example is excellent in that its front door is still intact. Far too often the front doors go missing as they easily break from the wall due to their flimsy hinges. Be Blessed and Relish Life! Ed 

Payton Log Cabin - Brown/Brown SP

Another Payton cabin showed up as part of a job lot. This one is brown-on-brown. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

It didn't matter how hard I tried, getting the tabs on the roof to fit either on the inside of the walls or outside just didn't work out.

The two cabins received from prior job lots

This one was a hybrid. The walls were part of one lot, while the roof came from another.

This is my favorite - I love the colors on this one