I had a previous book by this author and this book although stand alone, has many references to the earlier work. I was referred to it by a newsletter from a toy soldier distributor advising it was available. The text and photographs have been updated with extended descriptions. I like the glossy finish and the jacket cover really caught my attention. As a stand alone book it is ideal for beginners to learn about the hobby of collecting toy soldiers. Preservation, packaging, types and general care of collections is also covered. As expected, most of the information is European and USA. Australia is mentioned and a couple of photos. The price had a bearing on my decision to purchase from an ebay store rather than a usual bookstore. Also it is rather hard to find because of the specialist topic. The searches available in ebay make finding items so much easier and cheaper. This book has been available for a couple of years and is the type of book jumped at by collectors of toy soldiers. Books of this type sit well and do not come out often enough for collectors not to get a copy.Read full review
This book is a new, updated version of James Opie's 1987 book 'Collecting Toy Soldiers'. As he says, the hobby was in its infancy back then, and a lot has changed since. Buying old toy soldiers has changed, with many 'junk'/collectors/down market antique shops having closed down, replaced by car boot sales and, of course, eBay. There are a lot more reference books available now, plus websites for collectors, which are especially useful for identifying those pesky unmarked figures. But this book isn't one of those type of reference books, although it includes many excellent photos, some of which are bound to include a few 'unidentified' figures. Instead, this book provides a general philosophy or overview for old toy soldier collectors(also applicable to those who concentrate on farm, zoo, etc. figures) to help us define our own metaphorical boundaries to our collections. Even multi-millionaire collectors with a dedicated 'museum' room in their home don't have enough money or space to collect everything, and the rest of us have to be even more realistic about what we can achieve. I guess all of us have items which don't really fit in with the main themes of our collections, especially if it looks interesting, is still at 99p on eBay, and only 5 minutes to go. I found the book very useful in a general way, despite my collection being somewhat different from James Opie's own collection, which he uses as an example of how to give some semblance of order within limited (although in his case. still huge) numbers. For example, my specialities include the wooden buildings (farm, zoo & wild west) made to go with old toy figures, wheras James says of his collection, "Buildings - not even a rabbit hutch."Read full review