Welcome to Petite Guerre Toy Soldiers

This blog is about my range of homemade 1/32 scale toy soldiers. It is the natural progression of the web site of the same name, www.petiteguerretoysoldiers.com, which I run from January 2017 to December 2022 (as that site no longer exists, I shall at times present again some of the images and text previously posted there).

The logo of Petite Guerre Toy Soldiers, which I have drawn in the naive style of 18th-Century folk art.

My toy soldiers and figures are entirely my own creations. I build all my masters from scratch, using epoxy putty and other materials. All body parts, weapons, and pieces of equipment are of my own making. To save time, as well as to ensure consistency throughout the range, I produce basic resin mannequins and parts that I use as a base for new masters, and sometimes convert some of my own figures into new masters.

In order to get multiples from a master, I make RTV silicone rubber molds, and cast my miniatures using high-quality industrial resin and a pressure pot. The resulting castings are bubble-free, sturdy, and relatively flexible, although thin parts will brake if subjected to excessive bending or shock.

I want my toy soldiers to be historically accurate, and strive to base them upon primary sources, or, in default of these, on reliable secondary sources and historical re-constructions. I also want them to be well proportioned and true-to-life. At the same time, however, I like my miniatures to retain that somewhat naive look that in my view constitutes a most essential part of a toy soldier's charm.

My period of choice is the mid 18th Century. More specifically, I focus on the Petite Guerre, the unconventional, small-scale kind of warfare that played such an important role in the conflicts of the 1740s and 1750s: the War of the Austrian Succession; the Seven Years War; and the French and Indian Wars.

My expanding range now covers a wide choice of subjects that are suitable for recreating skirmish encounters in the European and North American theaters of operations, so far including: French Line Infantry and Hussars; Canadian Militiamen; British Line Infantry and Highlanders; Prussian Hussars; Hungarian Line Infantry and Pandours; American Woodland Indians; Caribbean Maroon Negroes.

I also enjoy building terrain elements for my toy soldiers, ranging from trees and small woods, to farms and stockade forts.

The purpose of this blog is to share my work with the wider audience of fellow toy soldiers enthusiasts, hoping that it may be found entertaining by some out there...