Toy Soldiers

1 [Toy soldiers]

This display of unusual toy soldiers consists of the following order of march:

The West Point Military Academy Cadet Color Party, including the West Point Corps and U.S. Army Flags (5 pieces).

Cavalry of Napoleon’s Grand Armée 1812 Imperial Guard (6 pieces).

Bengal Lancer Regiment Cavalry (3 pieces).

Indian Army Elephant Gun (4 pieces).

Lagos Haussas 1874 Infantry (8 pieces).

British Camel Corps (3 pieces).

The display contains 29 pieces measuring 54mm each on a scale of 1:32.

Opposite Page: Point Corps and U.S. Army Flags.

2 [Toy soldiers]

The Nassau Police Regiment Marching Band is one of rarest sets made by the British toy manufacturer, Britains Ltd. It leads a parade of British infantry regiments from the famous [Malcolm] Forbes Museum of Military Miniatures (Tangier, Morocco) recently acquired at auction from Christie’s New York.

The Band of 28 pieces in white tunics and helmets is led by a band master and a decorated drum major. The infantry or foot regiments totaling 49 pieces are led by the Royal Fusiliers, City of London Regiment (the 7th Foot) marching at slope arms with an officer and Queen’s Color, followed by the Band of the Artists Rifles Regiment, the Rifle Brigade, the Queen’s Westminster Rifles Regiment and the Duke of Cornwall’s Regiment. The Forbes pieces were made by H. Pestana, an obscure but gifted toy soldier maker. Malcolm Forbes apparently acquired the bulk of the sets by Pestana for his museum.

The 77 figures in this display measure 54mm each and are on a scale of 1:32.

3 [Toy soldiers]

The regimental drum horses of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), 17th Lancers, and 3rd Hussar Cavalry Regiments lead a parade of Household Cavalry Life Guards Regiment (drum horse, trumpeters, mounted band, and troops).

The display contains 20 pieces measuring 5.44mm each on a scale of 1:32.

4 [Toy soldiers]

The British Imperial Army in a parade review by Queen Victoria is depicted in three displays: infantry (foot) regiments, heavy cavalry regiments, and light cavalry regiments.

First Display
The first display is a parade of heavy cavalry regiments led by the 5th Dragoon Guards (8 pieces), followed by the 1st Royal Dragoons (8 pieces), the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carbiniers, 8 pieces), the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys, 8 pieces), the 2nd Life Guards (8 pieces), and lastly the 1st Life Guards in 1837 uniforms (8 pieces). A reviewing party is comprised of Queen Victoria, three general officers, her valet and an honor guard of the 16th Lancer Regiment dismounted (11 pieces).

The display contains 59 pieces measuring 54mm each on a scale of 1:32.

Second Display
The second display is a parade of infantry (foot) regiments in brilliant red tunics led off by a color party of the Scots Guards (4 pieces), followed by the Band of the Coldstream Guards (34 pieces), a color party and troops of the Welsh Guards (12 pieces), a color party of the Duke of Wellington’s regiment, the 33rd foot (4 pieces), the York and Lancaster Regiment, the 65th foot (20 pieces), then a formation of three regiments with Queen’s colors, the Northumberland Fusiliers or the “Irish” Regiment, the 5th Foot (10 pieces), the Buffs, East Kent Regiment, the 3rd Foot (10 pieces), the Royal Engineer Regiment (10 pieces), followed by a color party, troops, pipes and drums of the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment, the 42nd Foot (18 pieces), and lastly, a color party and troops of the Highland Light Infantry regiment, the 71st Foot (17 pieces).

The display contains 151 pieces measuring 54mm each on a scale of 1:32.

Third Display

The third display is a parade of light cavalry regiments led by the five regiments which constituted the famous “Light Brigade” in 1854 (the 17th Lancers, the 8th and 11th Hussars, and the 4th and 13th Light Dragoons, 25 pieces). These are followed by three lancer regiments in foreign service uniforms: the 17th Lancers (the Duke of Cambridge’s Own Regiment in blue tunics, 8 pieces), the 21st Lancers (the Empress of India’s Regiment in khaki tunics, 8 pieces), and the 16th Lancers (the Queen’s Lancers in red tunics, 8 pieces). The last formation is Hussar regiments led by a trumpeter on a white mount consisting of the 4th, 11th, and 13th Hussars and the Middlesex Yeomanry Regiment (17 pieces).

The display contains 71 pieces measuring 54mm each on a scale of 1:32.

5 [Toy soldiers]

First Display
The first display is the French Imperial “Grand Armée” in review by Emperor Napoleon. The order of march: the parade is led off by five ranks of line infantry and grenadier regiments led by an eagle standard bearer (31 pieces), followed by the Marine Fusiliers of the Guard (18 pieces), the 8th regiment of the Line (20 pieces), the Imperial Guard (47 pieces) and lastly, mounted officers with battle standards and trumpeters of seven cavalry regiments (14 pieces). A reviewing party is comprised of the Emperor Napoleon, four staff officers and an honor guard of dismounted Polish Lancers (11 pieces).

The display contains 141 pieces measuring 54mm each on a scale of 1:32.

Second Display
The second display is a parade of regiments of all nations. The order of march is led off by an officer and three ranks of French Army Infantry of the Line in blue great coats and full packs wearing red, blue, and white kepis, the later representing the French Foreign Legion (25 pieces). Following are ranks of the Gurkha rifles (8 pieces) and Sudanese Infantry marching at trail arms (8 pieces); Egyptian Infantry at attention (8 pieces), and the King’s African Rifles marching with fixed bayonets, both with red Fezs (8 pieces); Italian Carabinieri led by an officer (7 pieces) and Greek Evzones Light Infantry wearing their distinctive “Fustanella” uniforms (8 pieces); and then Bedouin Arab Infantry in red, blue and yellow robes (8 pieces) and Abyssinian Infantry with their unusual long rifles (8 pieces). Following are Indian Army cavalry lancer regiments of “Skinners Horse - the Bengal Lancers” and the “1st Bombay Lancers”, both led by trumpeters on white mounts (10 pieces), then Egyptian and Turkish cavalry lancer regiments led by officers on white mounts (10 pieces) and finally the Egyptian Camel Corps (4 pieces).

The display contains 112 pieces measuring 54mm each on a scale of 1:32.

Third Display
The third display shows a Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) six horse gun team galloping into action led by a mounted officer, with members of the gun team handling and riding on the horses and riding on the limber and gun. They are accompanied by an escort of 17th Lancers at the full gallop. Five artillery pieces and crews are shown in prepared firing positions and include a Marine Gatling gun, a RHA 13 pounder, a 7.7 cm field cannon, two 4.5 field Howitzers and a gun control team and commanding officer.

The display contains 50 pieces measuring 54mm each on a scale of 1:32.