1962; [Colonial] (French) Foreign Legion (1st Type), S10 / 01710 - HO/OO

Another of the Nibblet-designed waxy-blob sets that would get a makeover in the 1970's, and another of my favourite sets way back when.

We were raised on regular re-runs of Beau Geste, the 1939 version with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Robert Preston, so this was the set for replaying the adventure on the floor of the living-room! Although I don't think I've forgiven them yet for sinking the model ship after setting it on fire in the pond!

The 1975 catalogue data, Picasa'd from scans supplied by Kostas from Greece, the artwork pertains to the early type, but the code points to the contents being the 2nd type, so will be moved when I get to the updates.

The colours of this set varied quite a bit from a dark dried-ink blue through to a quite bright ultramarine, later sets were more glossy and less prone to brittleness than early sets with their high-chalk content.

The main pirate of this set was Montaplex who gave them a twin-engined bomber, which, if you're setting them in the inter-war period is not that odd, the Brits were using bombers all over the empire to keep down freedom fighters - or insurgents as we have to call them now - but not quite as modern-looking as this one!

In preparing a second 'tranche' of photo's for this post I forgot I'd taken a pack/group shot, so took another! Never mind; I suppose it only adds to the scrap-book look I'm aiming for with this blog! To the right is a side-by-side comparison shot of the two versions next to each other, the poor quality of the Montaplex usurpers is obvious.

More comparison shots; Top left finds the re-issues compared to the earlier version, they are mostly larger 1:72scale giants next to their ancestors, but in the case of the standing firer, there's not much in it.

To the right they are compared to both the Union and Confederate troops from Airfix's ACW sets, and the main picture compares the officers horse to the Cowboy version. The addition of a sword being the obvious change.

Some OBE's, I always think the ones at the top are South American, but I guess they could just as easily be European or Chinese, Russo-Japanese war...anybody recognise them?

Bottom left is an 'Old School' all gloss unit of FFL, off to sort out the locals, or just march until they collapse while Sgt.Maj. Lejaune laughs maniacally at them! To the right; a thick coat of gloss white gives you Arab casualties!

 

 

 

1964; [WWII] Russian Infantry, S17 / 01717 / 01717-4 - HO/OO

Still needs proper text etc...

OBE's; A least one is doing service as a souave or 1914 Frenchman? Another red rule (see 1st type US Marines and Civilians), this time it seems to be; Soviet Commissars or political officers have bright-red jackets! And what's happening with the silver guy? Fighting Giant astronauts or aliens on Planet zb445227-b in sector 5, quadrant six, outer rim, I'll be betting!

Montaplex piracies, there was the usual figure set, but these two poses were also included in this seperate bagged truck from the 'vehicle' range. The truck's artwork is trying to be a Canadian Military Pattern (CMP), but the model itself is looking suspiciously like a post-war, early variant of Mercedes Unimog, probably pirated from Roco, Roskopf or EKO (themselves copies of the other two!) I would imagine.

 Clearly copies; they are a good milimeter-and-a-half or two milimeters shorter, their feet in the mud and the detail sparse. The shot is not helped by the poor-quality Airfix figure on the left, a shrinkage figure, I didn't notice his blobby chest when taking the photograph!

 1980 Catalogue Image

In the mid-'70's userpers appeared, they looked so cool in the box but were a major disapointment once they were out of the box! In the above image the earlier box is the lower one, the H&F panel being added quite soon after these sets came out.

Thanks to Kostas for the 1975 catalogue scans this collage is created from. The first appearance of the the white 'corner' boxes, I think

Blog-reader Chris Smith - who some of you may know as a bit of an expert on this ex-soviet stuff - sent these to the Blog as a donation, just before Christmas (2018) which was very kind; thank you Chris.

They were obtained from Hungary and may well be from there rather than the 'Russian' that all this stuff tends to get labelled with. The figures however don't really conform to any recognisable East-Bloc or Warsaw Pact force, and are best described as generic 'army men'.

However the officer/commissar on horseback with sword and the heavy machine-gun (more of a light anti-tank gun!) are clear references to soviet types, so this is where they belong for comparison purposes! The MG/Gun seems based on a known, larger (30mm) Russian flat though, however these are semi-flat and - as you can see - around the 1:76th-1:72nd mark.

1964; [WWII] Japanese Infantry, S18 / 01718 / 01718-7 - HO/OO

One of the very first sets we had as kids, Dad grabbed them in a newsagents at Kings Cross to keep us quiet on the - what used to be - four hour-odd journey from London to Retford, sometime around 1969 (I would have been 6-ish my brother a little younger), and we played with them on the little shelf that used to run under the windows between two sets of double seats. We took turns having either the guys with helmets or the guys with caps! And they were early;...no machine-gunners!

First version box in various guises, the middle one is the earliest of the three here, being the 50¢ overprint of the very first version, the upper one is the next, keeping the yellow/green graphics but a bit of a design-mess with the additional black lettering and the lower one is a later variant with cleaner tided graphics.

Fujimi

Marx/Marksmen

Sobres

Jungle Outpost

1975 - Thanks Kostas

Atlantic

OBE's

Matchbox

Montaplex

1965; [WWII] Paratroopers (British), S23 / 1723 / 01723 / 01723-9 / 9 01723 / A01723 - HO/OO

One of the most issued and least accurate sets ever to come from the depths of the model-elves' forges in the Hadean caves of Haldane Place.

The main English language box types, vaguely in order from top left to bottom right, with the less common 1st version box.

All three versions of the early box, the 'Paratroops' box was probably first, the one above, with the 'S23' in the far corner being second and the top box the final version, the code and price (in US cents) together, being the form carried over to the 'Black-end' Blue-boxes.

Two Montaplex sets either side of an unmarked set, which clearly came from Montaplex as evidenced by the sprue layout; it was probably sold through a Hobbyplast display. Interesting that they had two different sets of Paratrooper Rip-offs...same jeep though!

The backs of the 'Sobre' envelopes with top-to-bottom equating to left-to-right in the previous shot. Close-ups of both figure types. Not only did they copy the poses, but the ridiculously high-number of men shooting their colleges! The more common sprue is of lesser quality and is lacking both the based items. The 'first' (?) sprue does provide a useful war gamming accessory in the vague approximation of a WWI Trench Mortar.

Direct size/condition comparisons between the two makes, the figures from the left-hand set in the first shot are slightly different, they were completely new copies, at least they have plugs which work, the 'jumper' from the other sets/runners are only useful as casualties!

The Polish firms of Universal (upper shot) and Globus (Global? Kracow, lower shot) both issued the same set of mouldings, one with a very crude copy of the Roco-Minitanks US M-103 Heavy Tank, the other containing some more useful copies of the Esci set; Battlefield Accessories. The figures are better than Montaplex, but not by much, the bazooka-man is inevitably miss-moulded and the mortar is a bastardized version of the common Matchbox design, and will only go together with copious quantities of super-glue and a hammer!

Meccano magazine; December 1965 - Airfix Paratroops cover for the Swedish Army!

The Lone Star figures are (despite being equally inaccurate - as British Paratroopers) the better figures and will paint-up just as nicely, not sure about the flame-thrower and that machine-gun seems to have been liberated from a French museum not yet visited by the Germans!