United States Army Band of Washington DC

This is a COOL set.  I am a huge fan of this limited edition set issued by Britains in the late 1980's.  Limited to 5000 sets, I feel rather priveledged to have two of them.  One is at my parents house in my Toy Soldier den (I'll have one of my own once we buy a new house), and the other is in my office.  I have augmented the set in my office with a few pieces from an earlier all plastic set ( I know, I know... but hey, it is my set and it is in my office... so I dont have to follow any convention here).

The really interesting thing about this set is the color-scheme on the uniforms.  This band uniform came about in the early 1950s because of the discovery of a surplus of material called "Cavalry Yellow."  This material was put into the uniforms that would end up being nick-named the "Lion Tamers" uniforms.  Because of the sheer age of the material ( early 1900's ) The uniforms began to quickly dissenegrate and therefore were only in service for a short time.  This set depicts the band during a period that spans about two years from 1952 -1954.  Now I wish Britains would go ahead and issue sets in the current uniforms as I think they are equally striking.  Oh well- a collector can always wish...

Britains "The United States Army Band of Washington DC"
Origin: England
Year: 1986

On Display at my Parent's House

In my office- with addl members...

Black Watch Piper by King and Country

The next piece I am wanting to talk about is a beautiful example of late craftsmanship in the toy soldier world.  King and Country, is a relatively new company based out of Hong Kong (if my company ever sends me to the home office... I am FOR SURE making a pitstop at K&C). 

This piece means quite a bit to me as it was one that I found on a more recent trip to San Antonio.  On this trip, I once again stayed at the historical Menger hotel which happens to be home to King's X Toy Soldiers.  As I perused the product at King's X, this one really jumped out to me.  Now dont get me wrong, there were bands and complete sets that I would have loved to have... but at this particular time money was quite tight as I had just started my job...  This was all I could afford.  Looking back- I feel quite blessed to have picked up this gorgeous piece as it is so bloody detailed and stands to be one of my favorite single soldiers in the collection.

King and Country Black Watch Highlander Puoer NA35
origin: Hong Kong
Year 2004

Oplos United States Marine Band

Fresh on the heels of the Col. John figure is another group that is one of my favorites.  This set made by Oplos, a company from Argentina (I think) came from the same shop I got Co. John from.  For years, I was convinced that the only two shops in the US were Le Petite in New Orleans and Kings X in San Antonio (days before the internet).  This set was acquired at the same time as the custom figure of the Col.was acquired.  When I happened across figures- I bought them if I could.

The interesting things about this set are the fact that no matter how hard I look, I cant find ANY CLUE of an existance of Oplos... and furthermore this is the only set I know of that is a true to form US Marine Band set... the Uniforms are right.  The instrumentation is almost right... this is as complete as you can find in a Marine Band set.. IMHO.

This 17 piece set includes female musicians, the correct uniforms and a fantastic wooden case... It is truly one of my favorites.  Enjoy the pics below.

Origin: Spain
Purchased at Le Petite Toy Soldier in New Orleans
Year: 1990s

 

The man behind the collection

There was one person in my life who single-handedly influenced me to collect soldier bands.  Col. John R. Bourgeois was the Director of the United States Marine Band.  He was also a great friend of my father and a collector of soldier bands.  His office in Washington DC was a child's playground full of history and great bandsmen lined up in ranks on his desk and shelves.  I remember being enamored with his collection as a child and after first being exposed to it embarked in a life-long obsession with these figures.

The figure below is actually a custom figure of Col. Bourgeois I purchased from Le Petite Toy Soldier shop in New Orleans, LA.   John was from New Orleans and had befriended the owner of the shop.  I was so thrilled to find this figure and I remember saying to my mother "look- it's John"  and the shop keeper overheard me and said... "you know John?" ... a great long conversation followed and we shared how we knew our mutual friend...

This is one of my favorite figures... - Notice the distinctive uniform and compare it with the image above.  This is the only uniform like this in the US Armed Forces.  As director of the Marine Band, John designed his own uniform and it is truly one of a kind.  I believe he pulled from many of the images of John Philip Sousa's uniforms as well as other famous military figures' uniforms for the concept.  I think this may be the prettiest uniform in the history of uniforms... but then again- I am biased.

Origin: USA (New Orleans)
Purchased from Le Petite Toy Soldier
Year: 1990's

Britains Band of the Line Set No. 27

The Band of the Line seems to be one of the most readily available early Britains sets. I am not sure the reasoning behind this... I assume that it was produced on a larger scale than other more valuable sets. I am very proud of this band as I have pieced together the full Band of the Line via many auctions, antique stores, and sales along the year.

My collecting this set is actually kind of a mistake of sorts. It seems that whenever anyone in my family does not know what to get me for a holiday, they end up sending me a few soldiers picked up at a local antique mall... Well for a few Christmas holidays I received these and actually just thought it was serendipity that they all matched... after a bit of research I found that they were all Band of the Line and I then went on the hunt for others. I soon found thanks to great toy soldier sites that I had a number of prewar and postwar figures in the collection.. and that I was missing but one piece to complete it... a Flute player was all I needed. After scouring eBay and auction sites for a few more weeks I finally ran across the missing Flute and purchased it along with a number of other figures. Thus completing my over-sized Band of the Line... I think for now I am done with this ensemble... I may try to parse it out and sell off one complete set if I ever acquire enough figures to have two complete sets... now all I need is a box for them and I will be quite happy.

Britains "Band of the Line" No. 27
12 of 12 Piece set w/o box+ additional 3 Bass drums, 4 Snare drums, 2 drum majors, 2 coronets, 1 cymbal, 1 trombone, 2 euphonium and 4 parading buglers. 31 pieces altogether.

Origin: England
Year: 1946-1966
Value: between $100-$300

Actual set: minus new additions

Complete set in box