Miniatures Civil War Centennial-Era "Ring-Handed" Toy Soldier Figures

It's sad that kid's imaginations have been stifled over the last 40 years.

Hell, I could take a broken tree branch, and in my imagination it became a sword, machine gun , or whatever .

Hehe. Inverted whiffle ball bats served as sniper rifles in a pinch... Then we would clamber aboard our motorized transports...
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and go Rommel hunting with the Rat Patrol...

Ah, 7th, tell me again why we all had to go and grow up... (?) :unsure:
 
Hehe. Inverted whiffle ball bats served as sniper rifles in a pinch... Then we would clamber aboard our motorized transports...
View attachment 416465

and go Rommel hunting with the Rat Patrol...

Ah, 7th, tell me again why we all had to go and grow up... (?) :unsure:
I have never grown up, I am just more mature.

"Youth is wasted on the young."
George Bernard Shaw
 
@7th Mississippi Infantry : Yes, sir. My brother seemed to get ‘wounded’ most often. Those elbow and knee raspberries were no joke. Triage was Mom with the Bactine of course…
“Helmets?… We don’t need no stinkin’ helmets.”
:D

@FPT : I say it all the time - being responsible is good but “grown up” is highly overrated!
 
LOL !

"Bactine"

I had forgotten all about that Miracle drug.
Bactine could cure cancer and mend any broken bones !
( way before Neosporin )

:bounce:

But it did work better than that stinky orange stuff our Parents/Grandparents insisted upon.
What did they call that horrible remedy ?

Mercurochrome perhaps ... ???

That stuff was more dangerous than our weekly broken arms and legs.

:cautious:
 
LOL !

"Bactine"

I had forgotten all about that Miracle drug.
Bactine could cure cancer and mend any broken bones !
( way before Neosporin )

:bounce:

But it did work better than that stinky orange stuff our Parents/Grandparents insisted upon.
What did they call that horrible remedy ?

Mercurochrome perhaps ... ???

That stuff was more dangerous than our weekly broken arms and legs.

:cautious:
Mercurochrome actually had mercury in it !Its use has been restricted . I remember my grandfather bringing home about a teaspoon of mercury from work . The grandkids all played with it . We all survived just fine .
 
... But it did work better than that stinky orange stuff our Parents/Grandparents insisted upon.
What did they call that horrible remedy ?

Mercurochrome perhaps ... ???

That stuff was more dangerous than our weekly broken arms and legs.

:cautious:

I have some orange remnants in an old bottle of my mother's labeled Tincture Of Merthiolate (sp?) that I often still use on small cuts and abrasions. It burns like h*ll (like rubbing alcohol does) which makes me think it's doing its job killing germs!
 
I have some orange remnants in an old bottle of my mother's labeled Tincture Of Merthiolate (sp?) that I often still use on small cuts and abrasions. It burns like h*ll (like rubbing alcohol does) which makes me think it's doing its job killing germs!
My Mom swabbed us down with that **** for every open wound. Stained you orange for a week.
I just read that it is poisonous per “medlineplus.gov”. Thanks Ma, I still love ya.
 
The ring hands were a knock off from the PECO Company, with their detachable weapons, hats, etc. The line of figures included: ACW, Revolutionary War, Pirates (complete with a foot long ship under full plastic sail), Indian Warriors, Frontiersmen, African Warriors, and WW II GI’s.
Hmm. I seem to recall some toy soldiers like this. Im sure I only saw it in a Sears catalog or such.
 
in a Sears catalog or such.
"or such" may be what you remember.

Sears had contracts with the Marx Toy Company to produce high end plastic soldier "playsets" back then.
However, most of these were being phased out by the mid 1970's.

Naturally, many shady companies tried to fill this void.

Most of these "knock-offs" were sold by the lower-end discount stores.
And those little discount plastic guys were horrible !
 
"or such" may be what you remember.

Sears had contracts with the Marx Toy Company to produce high end plastic soldier "playsets" back then.
However, most of these were being phased out by the mid 1970's.

Naturally, many shady companies tried to fill this void.

Most of these "knock-offs" were sold by the lower-end discount stores.
And those little discount plastic guys were horrible !
The Sears catalogue was every child's dream book around holiday season and every backwoodsman tp fantasy the year round.
 
Gawd yes !

I started getting excited about the new Sears catalog during September.

Those ad men were experts .
They knew how to entice kids three and one half months before Christmas !

:laugh:
There is a YouTube site somewhere that has all the Sears and Wards catalogs by page from the 1940s through at least the 1970s . I found it a few months ago and it really brought back childhood memories .
 
I am surprised no one has brought up Sulfa pills. My late wife used to talk about them every once in a while. She said they had a big bottle of them, and every time some one got a cut or scrape they had to take two of them. The same dose given to wounded G.I's in WWII.
I never had to take a Sulfa pill, but I did hear all about those things from both parents.
 
Here´s that giant conastoga wagon. Taken about 5 minutes ago in my kitchen. The second photo shows the stud the base of the figure fit on. The original figure on the seat is blue. I know he´s lurking around here someplace, as are the traces for the horse.

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View attachment 416759
Neat.

The one I had was longer, and if I remember correctly the wagon body was part of the "canvass" cover which snapped into the wagon floor.

It was not the most esthetic looking wagon, but I was able to pack it full of soldiers and civilians as if it was part of a John Wayne movie escaping the indian attack.
 
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