When The Old Is Still New - And Still The Best!

February 16, 2023

I guess I'd have been around 15 when I first truly discovered Dixon Miniatures.

Back then, on Monday nights, Gunson's Lawnmower Repairs in Hillsborough, Sheffield, became the Dodo Shop, a pop-up wargames shop which opened for about 3 hours, curated by Roy Gunson (brother of the lawn mower repair, Gunson), John Armatys and Steve Royen who went on to found Hallmark Miniatures. The smell of grass seed and lawn food, still makes me think of those early days...

Steve, also stocked in his inventory the Dixon Miniatures range, which back then specialised for the most part in Japanese related figures. In fact, it was the Ii Naotaka figure I bought on one of my visits, which led to my first win in a painting competition, causing the late Ian Smith to ask "What's it like to be the North's best horse painter, then?' with his usual dry wit. It meant a lot then and still does, as Ian was a painter par excellence.

Now, we were aneclectic bunch back in the day and most of us shared a few interests in terms of figures, but each of us had their own thing. Samurai were pretty popular but nobody was going to paint an army up because, well, you only get three score years and ten and there's a lot to fit in...

So, my plans led me onto other things.

Fast foward 40 years, and I have commissioned 800 early period (by far the prettiest) Samurai, using those verty same Dixon Miniatures. These are legitimately 'Old School' but unlike so many ranges, have never faded away.

If you have never bought from Dixon Miniatures, you are missing what I consider to be a pleasure which exceeds even the pop of a Citadel blister or the opening of an old style box of Minifigs or Hinchcliffe castings.

Dixons still to this day, take a care and indeed pride in how their miniatures are packaged. Generally you get around ten miniatures in a small white box, sealed with a Dixon Miniatures label, carefully wrapped in tissue paper. Last year this was black (and smart it looked) whilst currently it's a Lincoln green, which Trevor Dixon is not too fond of. When you get to the miniatures, they are virtually free of mould lines, and the metal is the best bar none (only Essex come close) with the models having a tactile feel which has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. Even when I paint Dixons for a client, it's my absolute pleasure to take a half day to sit with a coffee and carefully unpack those wonderful little boxes of pleasure.

Now, I was mulling over a few ideas for a new old school fantasy army, having sworn off this particular part of my hobby, and it struck me that I alredy own two armies which are viable for Warhammer 1st ed in the form of Nippon armies, but I wanted something a little more otherworldly.

I then remembered that Dixon had produced a Japanese Fantasy range. But did they still have it?

Well, yes indeed, they did, and so I was soon nursing whiplash after reaching for my wallet a little too quickly, but also the owner of over 400 more models.

There are 35 variants of Bakemono (Goblins) and Dai-Bakemono (Hobgoblins) so it was '10 of each please!', then there are the Oni (Demons) and Dai-Oni (BIG Demons) which I thought would make good analogs for Trolls and Orcs or indeed as a demonic horde, so I think in the end I came out with about 430 models which if fielded as Hobgoblins will be frankly, lethal.

So, I'm back in the club as it were, and able once again to move in old school circles. Of course I'm too busy to paint them, so they are off to my painter and should be back with me by the end of the year.