Classic Toy Soldier's WWII German Assault Squad

This set just came out in the past two months, and I must say it is beautiful. CTS has brought the detail on their figures up greatly. CTS figures are almost comparable to brands like TSSD and Conte. Anyways this set came with 22 figures in 11 different poses. Most of the figures are depicted wearing camouflage smocks over their standard grey uniform, although there is still a mixture of different uniforms in the set which is realistic. I tried painting the camouflage smocks in the spring pea dot pattern. I'm not sure how well the camo shows up in the pictures because of the low lighting that I took them in.

 Here is a picture of all the figures together. Take note of the three different uniforms found in this set.

 The set comes with a casualty and prisoner. These two figures also come in the CTS German Medical team set. I did a review on these two figures in an earlier post if you want to learn more about them.

 I really love these figures because I have never seen a panzerfaust or panzershrek held the way they are here. Great figures.

 I guess these two figures are my favorite in the set (which is hard to say because they're all great figures). I don't know if you can tell by this picture, but the man on the left has the standard German gray uniform on as where the man on the right has a camoflage smock and helmet cover. I tried to make it look like the man on the left has airbrushed his helmet because I read somewhere that many German soldiers painted camo on their helmets. I love the way the guy on the right is depicted with the bolt of his rifle pulled back.

 These figures are not really as original as some of the others, but they're are still great. I painted them with an olive and grey mix for the coat and standard German grey for the pants.

 This is a wonderful figure! It is the only figure I've seen that has a flammenwerfer 41, which was the most common flamethrower used by the German armed forces.

The machinegun team in this set is interesting. It depicts an MG34 gunner calling for more ammunition to be brought up to him. Their is a rifleman carrying a ammo box running to him.

 

I can't wait to use these figures in a wargame. I'm about half way done painting both CTS US GI sets so keep an eye out for that post.

Why do we Wargame?

Wargaming is a bigger hobby than one may think. The only problem is that their are so many different rule sets, eras, and scales available to gamers that the players are almost separated by the games they choose to play. Whether it is fantasy, historical, or any other kind of wargame we all share a similar interest. Wargaming, unlike computer gaming, leaves you feeling accomplished whether you just painted a new unit, finished your gameboard, or just finished playing a game at your local hobby shop. Computer gaming may be fun at times, but it is not much more to it then mindlessly mowing down waves of enemies for hours on end. In wargaming you're actually thinking about the strategy and you're trying to keep your units alive. Your units don't get to respawn like you units in computer gaming do. That makes you think of real life decisions leaders must make and the men they loose as a consequence. That is the reason why Historical wargaming is sometimes looked down upon for dealing with real life events and lives that were actually lost, but as a podcast called "View from the Veranda" put it, "Plastic and metal soldiers don't have lives." Which is true, wargaming is more of a combat simulator whether than an actual portrayal of war. On a brighter note, gaming provides many skills for a player to learn. Also a historical wargamer may read more on the era he plays in for a more realistic game. Overall wargaming is a wonderful hobby, their is a large variety of subjects, eras, scales, and rules to choose from. It is also not as expensive as some say it is. It is only as expensive as what you're willing to spend. So, why do you wargame?

German Casualty and Prisoner from Classic Toy Soldiers

The German casualty and prisoner are both made by CTS. In fact you can get these two figures in both the German assault squad set and the German medical team set by CTS. I'm not sure what the prisoner has to do with a medical team, but I can't complain. I have both sets so I have eight of these figures (four for each pose). The American does not come with the set that the Germans do, he is from the US infantry set #2. I added him in because I painted him today and thought he would look good as a guard or guy on patrol.

From left to right is the American guard (not included in the set), German casualty, and German prisoner.

 Here is a picture of the guard escorting the prisoner.

Same idea as the last picture, but has all three poses incorporated.

I'm not sure what I'll do with the German prisoner and casualty. I think the American will fit in just fine in a war game, but not the Germans. The only reason I painted these today was to practice painting German camouflage patterns. I have so many Germans wearing camouflage smocks it's ridiculous.

US Artillery Crew and 105mm Howitzer

The Classic Toy Soldier Company has released several high quality sets in the past year or so. These artillery crew members are from US infantry set #2. The gun is also by CTS. I'm glad set #2 came with an artillery crew, now I don't have to use G.I.s as crew members. I have had this set for quite a while now, but I just got around to painting the crew members. They are some of the first figures I've painted. What do y'all think?

 Here are the crew men in action. I like the guy in the cap, don't have many WWII figures with that head gear.

 Here is another shot of the crew in action. I wanted to get a good picture of the gun's breach.

 Here are the crew members by themselves. From left to right is the gunner, loader, and commander.

Here is the 105mm Howitzer gun pictured by itself. The gun barrel elevates and the trail hitches move.

War Gaming Table Update #1

For the past half month or so I've been working on a gaming table for the war game I created. Since I have no money right now I have to wait and buy materials. But I'm slowly making progress. Sorry for the poor camera quality, I was using my cellphone. I'll make sure to use my HD camera next time.

This is the original idea and layout of the board I drew in paint.

 When I first started I did not have enough grass mat to cover the board!

I finally bought some ballast and scenic cement for the roads. This was the end result, I'm pretty proud of it. I have little experiences in terrain making so I got some tips from TheTerrainGuy on YouTube. That is a sign I got from a 21st Century Toys set in the middle of the crossroads.

The end result should be a rural farming community in the Frence bocage. Perfect for my WWII war game.

Introduction to the Company of Plastic Blog

Welcome to my blog! I'm new to blogging, but I'm eager to start. In my blog I will post pictures, reviews, updates and other things related to toy soldiers and war gaming. Most of these post will be about WWII themed figures in the 1/32. I will eventually start a second blog for news and battle reports for the war game I created, so keep an eye out! If you'd like, tell me what got you in the hobby and what you do with your figures. If your not in the hobby, maybe you have some interest learning about it. Leave me plenty of comments, I will do my best to respond.