All The King's Men: 54mm AWI

When I was a kid, I had a box full of large plastic toy soldiers. Not the small 1/72 "green army men" that we all had, but the really big toy soldiers in 1/32 scale. Several years ago, I bought my son a couple boxes of plastic 1/32 American Revolution figures from Accurate. Great figures with 20 in a box for $12 retail.

At Recon this past weekend in Orlando, I was pleased to meet Ken Cliffe, the owner of All The King's Men. Ken has his own line of "54mm" AWI figures, which scale out to 1/32. We had a nice chat about his figures and his rules, which he was demoing all day. (I tend to chat and paint miniatures more than play games at conventions.)

Ken's 54mm figures capture the look and feel of Accurate's 1/32 plastic soldiers, but weigh significantly more. Of course, all this metal comes at a price. On average, ATKM's figures cost $2.50 each. Not bad considering the price of 28mm figures from Perry. They are even cheaper in their army deals. Still, this is four times the cost of plastic figures. I'll let you be the judge. ATKM figures are well cast with little flash. Right now, you can purchase Continentals and Hessians, plus artillery. This allows you to fight the Battle of Trenton.

They also make 1/32 buildings and scenery out of resin foam. Being a structure junkie since my model railroading days, I really liked these and thought them a good deal.

ATKM also has their own set of toy soldier AWI rules, selling for only $7. They seem to give a nice game and are well-printed. You really can't go wrong for the price.

I enjoyed chatting with Ken. I was tempted to purchase a bag of eight figures for $20 but was trying to keep focused on my spending. I'm sure I'll pick up some in the future, even if only to paint them and display them in the china cupboard.

I look forward to seeing ATKM at future cons. In the meantime, check their website and online store at www.allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com.