Reorganising The War Room And A Crowded Cowboy Town

One thing annoying me for a long time is the bottom cabinets in my stacks of display boxes that I can't open. The weight of what is above puts pressure that stops them opening. I know, why don't I pay for some custom shelving or make it myself? Firstly, I have had, strangely enough, other things to spend money on (and not just toy soldiers) and my policy has been to limit my working life and its intrusion on my leisure time. What is the use of paying for more material things by working more years, days and hours if I have to do something unpleasant to do it? Secondly, I am not a handyman and hate doing DIYS stuff. 

The option I have long chosen is to collect old cabinets with sliding doors from garage sales and op shops. Some of the most substantial ones I picked up for around $20. The added bonus is that if one ever decides to move home the cabinets can be disposed of, again for a few dollars, and the same process can begun anew at the new home.

Anyhow, I decided to target my Wild West, jungle, French Foreign legion/Arab and Zulu War and, now, empty lowest shelf. One of these shelves now rests on top of my Viking, Mongol and barbarian shelves. Now that I have begun the task of re-setting up my Wild West shelf I find I can make it a lot more neat and organised - to the extent that a Wild West town is neat and well organised. Actually I have squeezed about all the figures I am going to get in there.

I am not going to list every figure I have there because, well, it would take too long and there are also one or two that I don't know!. I will mention a few here and there. I have about five other Wild West display shelves but this is my favourite because it is representing a number of brands, old and new and also my conversions and paint jobs. I have now also grouped together some of the conversions that are from the same figure. Many of these figures served well in a recent battle against the Redskins.

The War room (once known as a rumpus room) with recently cleared table now again festooned with assorted stuff.

                                            The town before the glass doors are re-inserted.

          If you look closely at the Comansi sign you will see there must be some Spanish speakers in the town.

  As a child it was exciting to get new cereal, although I was supposed to wait until all the cereal was eaten before getting my toy figure. The three central lower figures with beards have been painted, and in two cases on the left, modified. This figure is a cereal copy of Crescent and the cereal cowboys and Indians formed a big part of my childhood collection. One has had his whip replaced with a club from a medieval figure. The other has a new arm and a crutch made from a straw - I got that idea from an old Plastic Warrior magazine. Of course I painted him in colours that would also match British army such as in the Zulu War.

               The two figures with money bags are also cereal copies of Crescent except one now has a Britains Detail head turned to one side.

                                              The Dulcop figure second from left is one of my favourites as he looks like Western actor (and usually bad guy) Van Cleefe. I don't know if this was intentional.

                                          The figure drinking is cut from an old drink stirrer.

                                                               Hopalong Cassidy

                                      The undertaker takes a keen interest in the activity below.

                                            Modified Crescent cowboy now with whip.

                                                   Mounted metal Timpo restored by me.

                                         Watch out sheriff for sidewinder back shooters!

    There has to be dynamite somewhere in a Wild West scene, especially when a bank is nearby!

                                        As a child  I loved the cereal bandit copies of Crescent.