About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Friday, March 13, 2015

B is for Better, or Best!

I'm not going to cover the Germans this time round, they are too bad, little dwarven lumps of war gaming metal, albeit in plastic! They will appear here one day (if I live long enough everything will appear here 'one day'!), but to finish the current look at these sets; the best of the bunch....

I don't remember the Jeep's runner ever being included in the box, but I guess they were thinking of it when they commissioned the artwork? This set is also marred by a large chunk of plastic crap, but a more useful piece than the British bridge to nowhere, or the mini-bunkers the Germans get.

Basically a mix of pose-lifts from the Britains Deetail and Airfix 1:32nd scale US Infantry sets with a couple of leg changes and a radio-man. I clearly gave the Bazooka to the wrong pose...but then a man running with a Bazooka would look a bit awkward, so...

On the runner, 10 poses is not a lot (for all these sets), when you consider that at the same time you could get a pack of 48 Airfix for 18p, or 100-odd Hong Kong copies for 10p! Kits like this being around 40/50p (I'm talking about 1973-4 here), and that differential continued for years, even know a pack of Airfix 2nd version US is around £4/5, while this kit - if you can find it (and it does get occasional re-issues) - will be around £6/6.50.

Scan of the box-art, another last-stand, with useful helmet painting guide to half the US army!

"Everyone to me! Fall-back on the Jeep, make very shot count! Get that .30 barking!" yelled Master-sergeant John Audie Wayne-Murphy!

I forgot to scan the instruction sheet, I'll try to remember to do it next time I get them out.

4 comments:

Paul Foster said...

Great scott! They are half decent.

Excellent post Hugh. Probably enough plastic in the lump to make a simple jeep. Shame.

Hugh Walter said...

Cheers Paul...I'm not wrong am I? They never put the Jeep in here and the Harley was the Nitto set?


Some of which I've posted in the Airfix blog...really nasty set (except the Harley!) that Nitto one!

H

Paul Foster said...

Yes Hugh, quite correct. Jeep, Harley Davidson and two 37mm guns along with about a dozen Infantry.

Maybe a mortar as well?

A useful set to be honest, and not as nasty as it could have been. The jeep is easy to build and a vast improvement over the Airfix Buffalo/Jeep combo set.

If it had better wheel hubs it would have been a winner!

Hugh Walter said...

Oh! Jeep Wheels! Hasegawa...look like washing-machine grommets!

H