Forging ahead

Martin Ainscough gives an overview of his Victorian countryside blacksmith’s forge

- Martin Ainscough

One of the best things about the hobby of collecting toy soldiers I think is its diverse nature. It caters for a whole host of collecting tastes be it in scale from 90mm, 54mm or even 28mm, subject matter or a specific period in history, military or civilian, combat and non-combat to name just a few.

Some of us, for instance, collect just one particular period while others encompass the whole of a campaign, for example, The Battle of Waterloo as opposed to the whole of the Napoleonic Wars. Others of us tend to stick to one specific subject or theme which dictates the direction of their collections. In my case, it is the horse and by default, I am afraid for my sins I am drawn to any related equestrian subject matter. If only the available display space and disposable income could match my imagination when it comes to adding horse-related pieces to my collection. A sentiment shared I am sure by many of you, if not about the theme of the collection or funds for their hobby at least as far as available display space goes!