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.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

H is for Hummer, Humvee, HMMWV, HumBug

The Hummer, which for some reason turned into Humvee (a slightly longer abbreviation?!) was based on the Lamborghini Cheeta, which Tamiya made a motorized kit of many years ago.

It has now been in use for 20+ years, and has had time to become a common plaything, with various accurate and not so accurate versions available. I posted the Supreme/SP Toys examples here a while ago, so lets look at some of the others...

Top to bottom, left to right;

Simply marked 'China' this hard topped troop carrier version is covered in markings, and looks like the sort of thing you'd find in a military parade somewhere in the Far-East. Next we have the Johnny Lightning/Playing Mantis open pick-up 'GS' version and was issued with a nice GMC pick-up in the same colour scheme. Another 'China' model finishes this row, an M966 TOW launcher.

These three are all by the same Chinese company, are much smaller than the others at around 1:87/1:90 scale, they are also quite crude models.

The bottom row starts with another Chinese model, a soft-topped GS, again covered in markings, most imaginary! Finally the two variations of the Hornby Railways Hummer as issued in the Battle Zone play-set. They are the only all-plastic ones in this line-up. [They are to be re-issued this year (2010) in the same play-set but with a new name; 'CODENAME STRIKEFORCE']

Finally - a few versions of the modern - made in HK/China - Matchbox Hummers, one civilianized as an H1 Hummer (not called a Humvee? even though Mattel have called it so on the box!), although using the same moulding as the military versions, along with three paint variants of the M966 TOW vehicle. Two with quite good US desert camouflage, and one in a sort of Giraffe pattern! These all came from Tesco over a couple of years for about 99p each.

The figure used for scale, is a new Chinese piracy of recent Revell production, being a 30mm copy of a 23mm American soldier.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice presentation. Thanks to show the Matchbox different sets.

Two nice HMMWV come from Germany : the diecast SIKU one in 1/87 and the Revell 1/72'kits (Two with two versions in each !). This military vehicle seem to become the most popular of the century !

Best Regards,
Jay

Hugh Walter said...

No, I think we would have to give that title to the jeep...Oh! It's a new century...you're right!

I might have the SIKU one somewhere (and a Majorette?), but haven't got the kits, I tend to buy old kits, if at all, although I did get the Dragon Konigstiger with Para's, and keep meaning to do a comparison build with an old Fujimi one I have half finished somewhere!

Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

When I said " the most popular of century" I thought "of the XXIst century"!
For the XXth Century, I agree with you, the jeep is the number one !

I think there is a Majorette one but perhaps in civilian colors (the Siku have both versions civilians and military)
A konigstiger review should be a nice addition to your site with the Fujimi 1/76, the Dragon, the Esci, the Ixo (Altaya), etc ... and also the old diecast Matchbox !
I wait for your next article ! Thanks for this nice (and usefull) site.
Best Regards,
Jay