B is for Bell

And so to a mates house with two other friends for a chin-wag and an all-day breakfast in the local cafe, one of our number bringing a few items from his private collection for a bit of a 'show and tell', among which was this beauty.

I don't know how many of you remember the Jig-Toy puzzles I covered way back at the start of this blog (Here), but one of the companies was called Bell and they had a distinctive logo. Bell went on to leave/sell/donate their puzzle moulds to Merit, whether they ever left this mould to Merit is another question...probably never to be answered!

A near mint (given it's likely to be between 50 and 70+ years old?) boxed set of British soldiers in an early plastic which could be a styrene polymer or a cellulose acetate or even one of the phenolic compounds, it was hard to tell and there wasn't much smell to go-on as they had travelled some distance that morning and been properly aired, not to mention - the almost total paint coverage meaning there was little to release a smell from. [See note below...]


Although there is nothing to indicate such an act on the packaging, I wonder if they were issued as part of a war-bond drive or other fund-raiser, as the lack of poses and crude detail when other better soldiers were readily available in metal and composition (pre-war) or metal and plastic (post war) would suggest a tight window of saleability between the late 1930's and late 1940's...making this among the earliest sets of British plastics composition figures.

They are around 70mm and somewhat reminiscent of the products in composition made by Brent or - more specifically; Zang (for Timpo) and when he first got them out that's what I thought they were - a set of Zang standing infantry!

Having now obtained a scruffy one for my own collection, I can confirm that while they look plastic, they are actually a pumice-based 'Elastolene / Timpolene' type composition, tag list changed to reflect that!

W is for The Works (rant alert at the end)

I know someone else Blogged the 'Henge' the other night but in my defence I've been covering The Works and the little treats they bring us for over a year or two now and the amount of stuff useful to figure collectors they have right now is worth a whole post in itself.

Apart from the items below and The Boys Book of Arthur Ward...sorry 'Airfix'...(it's the spine you know!), they also have plenty of the Clash of Heros figures I blogged the other day (I'm picking one up every time I pass and will give them a separate post when I have a few more). Also if you remember the Woodie key-ring figure from Toy Story I got in the Pound Shop the other day - well The Works have the whole set, along with several Disney princess/fairy types, some Winnie the Pooh characters and other Disney key-rings.

So to Stonehenge, it's small and mine had two part 6's (or part 9's? it's hard to tell as they are placed next to each other on the display and read 'each-other' upside-down...does that make any sense?!), you can see the second one jammed into the larger orifice top right, this - of course - may be why it's been remaindered in the first place!

But it's not TOO small, and buying two sets will enable you to fill in the printed blanks with the spares, or make a more ordered one contemporaneous with Caesar's march across the South of England. It's £1.99 for Christ's sake...get three! There are no instructions but you don't need them as the blanks are numbered on the little puzzle-base and the 'polystone' poly-stones are also numbered, just the problem of how to deal with the two number 6/9's!

They are in the kids book section and the box is surprisingly small...

July 2015  - I bough a second one a few days later and it had different stones for No.'s 6/9, the reason there's space around the one above, some packer had miss-placed a duplicate!

The Works are also clearing the Tron Legacy stuff, most of which is as cack as the film was reported to be - I read as many reviews as I can and aggregate the result to decide whether to see a film these days and the message on this one was don't bother if you are remotely fond of the original!

Most of the the toys are silly little micro-scale flying things which bare no resemblance to the film I knew and loved and there is a second range of 4 or 5" action figures, you can tell how much time I gave them as I don't know what size they were!

But...the 'Light -cycles' are about 54mm and one (Flynn's - the white one) is very reminiscent of the original film, so I have tracked down 3 of 4 and will get the other as soon as I see it. Of interest is the pricing...Fleet - affluent London commuter dormitory...£2.99, Newbury - Rural market town with local authority overspill from Reading and the unpaid gardeners of baronets...£1.99!

Above are two of the Light-cycles from Tron, below is the booklet from the Stonehenge boxed-set and a remaindered book by James May, his is down to £1.99 from £9.99 or a four-fifths reduction, Arthur Ward's was £6.99 from £19.99 or approximately two-thirds, from this unscientific evidence we can deduce that James' book is the cackier one, and having read them both I can concur...by a long shot.

This is one of two of his titles in The Works at the moment, can I suggest he sticks to whittering-on about cars instead of giveing Hornby/Scalextric/Airfix/Humbrol Ltd.Inc.Co.Corp.Int. another three hours of free advertising on the Licence-fee payer! Bloody BBC...

It seems that eventually everything comes to The Works...all you have to do is wait (they have Airfix Spitfire kits with paint as well at the moment!), with the Hemlock & Wendel (or whatever they are called - Wynndot & Bendall?) Olympic mascot key-rings currently announced at 7 quid each and the Works' Disney ones at about a pound I wouldn't mind betting they'll have the Jemmy & Kendal key-rings for the same price in 18 months time, buckets of'em!

Right - that's Disney, the Olypics, the BBC, our biggest native toy company and James May whinged about in one rant...a fine nights work me-thinks!

M is for Marching...up and down the SQUAY'ER!

Took these at Sandown the other day, rather outside my budget, but nice figures and to be able to compare them was a bit of a treat, thanks to Adrian of Mercator again, link to right, he still has a few of these.

I think these are Luftwaffe on the left and regular Wehrmacht (1935-1945) infantry on the right with a Swiss soldier to the left of the lower image. After the war Hausser were allowed to produce figures of other armies only for a while, and when they were allowed to produce native troops they were restricted to ceremonial and marching figures only, regular units only, no NASDP, SS, SA, SD or other Nazi units or uniforms and none of the personality figures that had been such a feature of the pre-war catalogues.

There was also a guy with a full pack (top left) and a paint variation of the marching figure without pack (bottom right) along with a cleaner Swiss soldier in parade uniform. As Elastolin were limited to these figure types only there must be a wide range of variations to find?

C is for Culcha' In'it, Ja'nowhat'a'meen Guyie!

Some more of the cultural referances to toy soldiers and model kits I've collected over the years...

Spin Collective Wall Stickers

Home Made I love these!

Melting Plastic Stefan Gross, and a Flikr album Here

He's Moved......from his bench!

More Wall Art Margaret Roleke's Barbie in a War Zone

Another Little Boat Some people do it so much better than James May!

There are still more to come...

S is for Sandown Park

Not as late as last time, this is the plunder-haul from the Sandown Park toy-fair last weekend, I seemed to get a bit more than in November, but spent about the same, not that I was counting - every purchase at the moment is one that can only be justified by some pretty twisted logic!

Vehicular buys - The helicopter top-left will be seen again here so that's enough of that...very pleased with the Wells Brimtoy Radar truck, there is a crack on the dish (which made it affordable!) that will mend with a bit of nail-varnish remover (or even nail-varnish?!) and brings to three my collection of the military trucks in this series. Ths chap I bought it off has quite a collection of these and is hoping to get a book out at some point on both these early ones (Cellulose-acetate Beford RL - or 'S' type/Big Bedford in civi-street) with the push-and-go mechanism and the later generic squared-cab polyethylene ones with or without motor.

The cap bomb is interesting as it's the Merit marked original, not one of the many Hong Kong versions. Two cereal premiums and two HK road-rollers made up the rest of the vehicles.

The figures were an eclectic mix with metal, rubber and plastic taken-in. Vaguely clockwise round the two Arabs which are Speedwell and at a pound a piece - a bit of a bargain;

The seated cowboy comes off a die-cast stagecoach I can never remember the name of, a Cherilea mounted guardsman, two Galanites, but from the US in soft ethylene polymer not the hard plastic of Co-Ma originals and two of the rubber-sucker versions of the LP robots, with a 50mm copy of an LP astronaut beneath them.

The six combat infantry are for a book project, quite common but this was a 'clean' sample and has 4 marked UNA and two unmarked in a slightly darker plastic but the same paint-job as the UNA ones pointing to further evidence of the connections between Kentoys and these other early British companies and their copies of Britains and Timpo.

The Crescent confederate was an impulse buy (to make-up the value of a pick-n-mix lot) and is not that special, either by way of rarity or his paint finish. Then a metal porter from Mastermodels, a Crescent semaphore signaller with both flags attached and a much-needed Vickers MG for the Skybirds. Next to them is an American solid sailor which the seller thought was a home-cast, but I think I've seen in a boxed ship set, like Timpo with their out-of-scale pilots and lead aircraft sets.

To his left is a nice HK copy of a Crescent cowboy and above them 6 rather nice lead flats of what I guess are Prussians, three Jaeger and three helmeted somebodies (foot-chasseurs?)!

The other image is of some larger HK Cowboys and Indians, the single bagged and carded, the double was bagged but not carded so maybe the contents of the business-section of a Christmas cracker? The small one was not a Saturday buy, just there for scale.

News Views Etc...Alien-Cat-Attacks-Stop-Records-at-Risk-Stop...

"This is now my cubbyhole...I am going to attack your record collection, I will shred it...

..., if you try to stop me - I will kill you with my death-ray eyes, puny Human!"

I've heard of red-eye, but this is scary!

M is for Morris by Matchbox

Further to the Matador below, this is a similar exercise in 'slight enhancement'...I'm no great modeller, but it's always nice to give your kit a little bit of individuality, even if you intend to drown it in a too-heavy dry-brushing! Matchbox 17lbr A/T gun and Morris tractor;

The only changes to the kit were the canvas flap on the tilt-rear which was made from some textured tissue I had lying around on the work-bench, I also added similar 'doors' from the tissue to replace the rolled-up ones in the kit, however I don't know if this is how they looked as you only ever see them rolled-up or missing in photographs!

Should have done something with the breech, should have used a dark wash rather than a pale dry-brushing, should have...! The figure is from the Airfix Airfield control tower.

A is for Articles Archive

Further to the article on the Matador below (Airfix Magazine January 1983); this list may be of use to some of the war-gamer and/or modelling types...if anyone can help with similar info. from the missing editions, the entries with a question mark or other publications - please email me the information and I'll slot it in!

Airfix and other makes - Conversion articles – 1:76/72 – figures and AFV’s
Being a list of known articles on converting, detailing and scratch-building and/or paint-conversions of figures and vehicles in the smaller scales; 1:76/72, HO/OO, 20/25mm. Listed chronologically by era, alphabetically by publication and then by date of issue concerned.

So far a complete but chopped-up (by me, years ago!) set of Almark’s Modelworld, the first three years of Military Modelling and about two-thirds of Airfix magazines have been gone through, along with various other publications and all the Airfix Annuals. Qualifying criteria were that small scale figures or vehicles had been made, converted or had their era/unit/nationality changed through the use of paint. Additionally with the AFV’s, inclusion of plans/drawings in the smaller scales gained a listing.

Existing Indexes
Modelworld August 1973 - Volume 1 1972-73
Airfix Magazine August 1981 - Volume 22, 1980-81
Airfix Magazine August 1982 - Volume 23, 1981-82
Airfix Magazine September 1984 - Volume 25, 1983-84

Ancient
Airfix Magazine February 1968 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 1?
Airfix Magazine November 1968 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 2?
Airfix Magazine December 1968 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 3?
Airfix Magazine January 1969 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 4?
Airfix Magazine February 1969 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 5, Other Cavalry
Airfix Magazine March 1969 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 6?
Airfix Magazine April 1969 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 7?
Airfix Magazine May 1969 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 8?
Airfix Magazine June 1969 - Roman Friends and Foes; part 9?
Military Modelling July 1971- The Plastic Warrior, Part1
Military Modelling January 1972 - The Plastic Warrior, Part2, Fiddling with Romans (Airfix Romans)
Military Modelling February 1972 - The Plastic Warrior, Part3, the Thracians (Airfix Robin Hood)
Military Modelling October 1972 - The Plastic Warrior, Part4, Slings and Arrows (Airfix Robin Hood)
Battle Magazine June 1976 - Making Ancient Wargames Figures - Romans*
Battle Magazine July 1976 - Making Ancient Wargames Figures - Light Troops and Macedonian*
Battle Magazine August 1976 - Making Ancient Wargames Figures- Cavalry and Elephants*
Battle Magazine January 1977 - Figures for Wargames Armies - Tang Chinese*
Battle Magazine February 1977 - Figures for Wargames Armies - Han Chinese*
Battle Magazine August 1977 - Figures for Wargames Armies - The Enemies of China- Hsuing, Kushan, Koreans*
Battle Magazine September 1977 - Figures for Wargames Armies - The Enemies of China- Turks, Tibetans, Kuchan, Khitan*
Battle Magazine October 1977 - Making Ancient Wargames Figures - Mongol Friends and Foes - Seljuk Turks, Jurchen, Tibetans, Burmese*
Battle Magazine November 1977 - Making Ancient Wargames Figures - The Koreans, Mongols*
Battle Magazine February 1978 - A Choice of Chariots - Celtic, New Kingdom Egyptian*
One Inch Warrior № 9, 2001 - Beginners Guide to Small Scale Converting

Late Dark Age/Medieval period
Airfix Magazine May 1971 - Siege tower
Airfix Magazine June 1971 - Medieval siege artillery
Airfix Magazine July 1971 - Medieval siege-weapons
Airfix Magazine November 1971 - Medieval guns and canons
Airfix Magazine 1973/4 - Renaissance Warfare?
Modelworld March 1973 - Viking Longship (Heller Oseberg, scale change)
Modelworld May 1973 - Carrack Mataro (Heller Mataro, scale change)
Airfix Magazine June 1973 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 1: Introduction*
Airfix Magazine July 1973 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 2: Infantry weapons and organisation*
Airfix Magazine August 1973 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 3: Infantry missile weapons*
Airfix Magazine Septtember 1973 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 4: Artillery*
Airfix Magazine October 1973 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 5: Cavalry weapons and organisation*
Airfix Magazine November 1973 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 6: Henry VIII's army*
Airfix Magazine December 1973 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 7: Irish army of the 16th century*
Airfix Magazine January 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 8: The 'Universal Soldier' - Landsknechts*
Airfix Magazine February 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 9: The Swiss*
Airfix Magazine March 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 10: The Turks. Part 1: The Spahis
Airfix Magazine April 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 11: The Turks. Part 2: Janissaries and Others
Airfix Magazine May 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 12: The Scots*
Airfix Magazine June 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 13: The Polish Army*
Airfix Magazine July 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 14: Spanish Infantry
Airfix Magazine August 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 15: Spanish Ginetes to Caballos Corazas*
Airfix Magazine September 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 16: The French*
Airfix Magazine October 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 17: The Imperialists*
Airfix Magazine November 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 18: Persians and other Easterners*
Airfix Magazine December 1974 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 19: The Dutch army*
Airfix Magazine January 1975 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 20: The Swedish army*
Airfix Magazine February 1975 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 21: The Swedish army (continued)*
Airfix Magazine March 1975 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 22: The Muscovites*
Airfix Magazine April 1975 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 23: The Muscovites (continued)*
Airfix Magazine May 1975 - Renaissance Warfare. Part 24: The English Civil War*
Airfix Magazine November 1975 - Renaissance Warfare. Figure Conversions, English, Irish, Landsknechts, cavalryman*
Airfix Magazine December 1975 - Renaissance Warfare. More Figure Conversions, ECW/30YW Cavalry, Pikemen, Musketeers, Turks*
One Inch Warrior № 9, 2001 - Beginners Guide to Small Scale Converting

Post medieval/pre-Napoleonic
Airfix Magazine Annual VII (1977) - Mail-coach
Modelworld November 1972 - The American War of Independence, The British Infantry
Modelworld February 1973 - The American War of Independence, German Figures

Napoleonic and Peninsular Wars
Airfix Magazine December 1970 - 1815 Part 1?
Airfix Magazine January 1971 - 1815 Part 2, Anglo-Dutch infantry
Airfix Magazine February 1971 - 1815 Part 3, Anglo-Dutch cavalry, part I
Airfix Magazine March 1971 - 1815 Part 4, Anglo-Dutch cavalry, part II
Airfix Magazine April 1971 - 1815 Part 5, French cavalry
Airfix Magazine May 1971 - 1815 Part 6, French infantry
Airfix Magazine June 1971 - 1815 Part 7, The Prussians [foot types]
Airfix Magazine July 1971 - 1815 Part 8, Prussian cavalry
Airfix Magazine August 1971 - 1815 Part, 9 French artillery
Military Modelling March 1973 The Rocket men of 1814, Part 1 (Congreve Rocket System)
Airfix Magazine Annual VIII (1978) - Congreve Rocket System (from Airfix RHA)
Airfix Magazine June 1978 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 1, Introduction
Airfix Magazine July 1978 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 2, The Austrians
Airfix Magazine August 1978 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 3, The British
Airfix Magazine September 1978 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 4, The French
Airfix Magazine November 1978 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 5, Baden Infantry 1805-14
Airfix Magazine December 1978 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 6, Smaller German States
Airfix Magazine February 1979 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 7, More German Forces
Airfix Magazine April 1979 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures, Part 8 Holland, Italy, Naples, Poland
Airfix Magazine June 1979 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures, Part 9 Spanish and Portuguese Troops
Airfix Magazine September 1979 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 10, Russians
Airfix Magazine October 1979 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 10 (? 11), Prussian Forces
Airfix Magazine November 1979 - Napoleonic Wargames Figures Part 11 [12], Artillery

Crimean War, American Civil War, Colonial Period and Wars of South American Independence
Airfix Magazine April 1967 - My Crimean War, Part 1
Airfix Magazine May 1967 - My Crimean War, Part 2
Airfix Magazine June 1967 - My Crimean War, Part 3
Airfix Magazine July 1967 - The Zulu War, Part 1
Airfix Magazine August 1967 - The Zulu War, Part 2
Airfix Magazine September 1967 - The Zulu War, Part 3
Airfix Magazine October 1967 - US Civil War
Airfix Magazine November 1967 - US Civil War
Airfix Magazine December 1967 - US Civil War
Airfix Magazine January 1968 - US Civil War
Airfix Magazine February 1968 - US Civil War
Airfix Magazine Annual II (1972) - Airfix Confederate Set Conversions, South American Insurgents, Mexicans, Spanish colonial infantry, Boars, Union Iron Brigade, Sardinian Bersaglieri, German Colonials and Sailors
Airfix Magazine July 1976 - Armoured Locomotive, Boer War Trains, part 1
Airfix Magazine August 1976 - Gun, Rifle and Searchlight Trucks, Boer War Trains, part 2
Airfix Magazine September 1976 - Maxim Gun Truck, Boer War Trains, part 3
Airfix Magazine February 1978 - Franco-Prussian War
One Inch Warrior № 9, 2001 - Beginners Guide to Small Scale Converting (ACW)

WWI
Airfix Magazine March 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 1
Airfix Magazine April 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 2
Airfix Magazine May 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 3
Airfix Magazine June 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 4
Airfix Magazine July 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 5
Airfix Magazine August 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 6
Airfix Magazine September 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 7
Airfix Magazine October 1968 - The German Army 1914-18, part 8
Airfix Magazine July 1969 - The British Army 1914-18, part 1
Airfix Magazine August-? 1969/70? - The British Army 1914-18, parts 2-?
Airfix Magazine August 1971 - German 75mm howitzer and light field cart (from ACW artillery)
Airfix Magazine June 1971 - Lorries - Vulcan / Leyland RFC-RAF type / Berna
Airfix Magazine Annual II (1972) - Various lorries/AFV’s (Includes drawing of Vulcan lorry among various WWII types)
Military Modelling February 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery (plans for Gun Carrier Mk.I)
Military Modelling May 1973 - ‘Whippet’ in 1/76
Modelworld July 1973 - An FWD Truck of 1914-1918 (see; Tankette Oct/Nov 1972 for 1:72 plans)
Modelworld January 1974 - Little Willie
Airfix Magazine Annual V (1975) - Vickers gun-bus & Daimler lorry RFC-RAF
Airfix Magazine September 1977 - Workhorses of World War One (drawings only of
four different ‘subsidy A type’ lorries; AEC ‘YB’, Leyland ‘S’, Dennis and Thornycroft ‘A’)
Airfix Magazine September 1978 - Rail Review, Rail Guns and Locomotives (also WWII)
Airfix Magazine Guide 27 1978 - Modelling RAF Vehicles 1978: WWI, Thorneycroft J, Leyland subsidy type A fuel and GS trucks, Albion refueller, Morris Commercial CD ambulance, CDF and control lorries, Ford model T van and starter, Trojan van, Rolls Royce armoured car, Rolls Royce tender, Crossley staff car and tender (also WWII)*
Airfix Magazine February 1979 - Armoured Model T Ford
Airfix Magazine April 1979 - Military Model T Ford (1916 reconnaissance/patrol vehicle)
Airfix Magazine December 1981 - Rolls Royce Armoured Cars (also WWII)

Inter-war Years
Airfix Magazine August 1979 - Tank recovery in the 30’s - Scammell Pioneer
Military Modelling March - 1971British medium ‘D’ tank 1919
Modelworld November 1973 - Spanish Civil War (T26 tank and markings)
Modelworld December 1973 - Skoda LT.Vz35 (ŠIIA) [Drawings look too big?]
Airfix Magazine December 1980 - The Morris Commercial D-type 6x4 Series (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine March 1981 - The Morris Commercial D-type 6x4 Series (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine June 1981 - Albion Refueller 1938 (readers letters, Eric Cross)
Airfix Magazine July 1981 - The Morris Commercial D-type 6x4 Command Cars (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine August 1981 - The Morris Commercial D-type 6x4 Series (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine July 1983 - British Matilda Tank Mk.1

WWII
Airfix Magazine December 1964 - Modelling the 8th Army
Airfix Magazine April 1965 - Modelling the Red Army
Airfix Magazine April 1965 - Making Japanese Infantry Equipment
Airfix Magazine February 1966 - Russian Infantry*
Airfix Magazine January 1969 - Jagdpanther (from Airfix Mk V Panther)Airfix Magazine February 1969 - T34 and A-20 ARV (From Airfix T-34)
Scale Models September 1970 - AEC Armoured Car*
Airfix Magazine January 1971 - PzKpfw.III (from Airfix Stüg.III)
Military Modelling January 1971 - Tiger Ausf. H and Rail-shipping version (from Airfix Tiger) [ignore photo-captions]
Airfix Magazine February 1971 - Ford 3-ton Portee (using Airfix Matador chassis)
Airfix Magazine February 1971 - Hellcat (from Airfix Leopard tank!)
Military Modelling February 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery, plans for Hummel [labelled; Wasp] 105mm SPH
Military Modelling March 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery, plans for Stüg.III, Wasp & SIG 105mm’s
Military Modelling April 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery, Plans for Bison and CM sFH auf Lorraine Schlepper
Airfix Magazine May 1971 - Bedford OL-T (Airfix Bedford tanker)
Airfix Magazine May 1971 - Jagdtiger (Airfix Tiger and Panther needed)
Military Modelling May 1971 - The Funnies, Churchill AVRE and Sled (Airfix Churchill)
Military Modelling May 1971- Self Propelled Artillery, plans for Sturmtiger and Karl 041
Military Modelling June 1971 - The Funnies, Churchill Carpet-layer Mk.C (Airfix Churchill)
Military Modelling June 1971- Self Propelled Artillery, plans for KV2 and Semovente M42
Airfix Magazine July 1971 - Stuart light-tank (from Roco-Minitanks M4 tractor)
Military Modelling July 1971 - The Funnies, Terrapin 8x8 Mk.1
Military Modelling July 1971 - The Priest and the Kangaroo (from Airfix Lee/Grant)
Military Modelling July 1971- Self Propelled Artillery, plans for Bishop and Sexton
Airfix Magazine August 1971 - German Fallschirumjager (includes 54mm tips and 1:76 scale drawing of Kettenkrad)
Airfix Magazine August 1971 - Detailing the Airfix Austin Ambulance
Military Modelling August 1971 - A Pair of Panthers, Ausf. A and G (Airfix Panther)
Military Modelling August 1971 - Bedford Vehicles of WWII
Military Modelling August 1971 - The Funnies, Buffalo and Buffalo Carpet-layer (Airfix Buffalo)
Military Modelling August 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery, plans for GMC. M40
Airfix Magazine September 1971 - Fallschirmjager Combat Uniforms & Equipment 1940*
Military Modelling September 1971 - Sherman M32 recovery vehicle (plans to 1:70 scale – half 1:35)
Military Modelling September 1971 - The Funnies, Buffalo Mk.II and 17pdr. Portee (Airfix Buffalo)
Airfix Magazine October 1971 - Fallschirmjager Uniforms Crete*
Airfix Magazine November 1971 - Fallschirmjager Uniforms North Africa*
Military Modelling November 1971 - The Funnies, Folding SBG Bridge and towed SBG (Airfix Churchill)
Airfix Magazine November 1971 - Hummel (from Airfix PzKpfw.IV)
Military Modelling November 1971 - The Funnies, Sherman Crab Mine-flail (Airfix Sherman)
Airfix Magazine December 1971 - Fallschirmjager Uniforms 1943-45*
Military Modelling December 1971 - The Funnies, Churchill Crocodile (Airfix Churchill)
Airfix Magazine Annual I (1971) - LRDG/SAS Jeep (from Airfix Jeep)
Airfix Magazine Annual I (1971) - KPz 384 Luftwaffe Tanker
Airfix Magazine Annual I (1971) - SS 100 Hanomag tractor and AvGas fuel trailer
Airfix Magazine Annual I (1971) - Austin K6 CO2 Fire-tender and starting-trolley
Airfix Magazine Annual I (1971) - Churchill bridge-layer
Military Modelling January 1972 - The Funnies, Gutted Carrier (Airfix Bren-carrier, plans in May below)
Military Modelling February 1972 - The Funnies, Grant CDL (Airfix Lee/Grant)
Military Modelling March 1972 - The Funnies, Ram Kangaroo (Airfix Lee/Grant)
Military Modelling March 1972 - Armoured Cars of the RAF, Rolls Royce (WWII Pattern)
Airfix Magazine April 1972 - Russian Infantry Weapons*
Military Modelling May 1972 - The Funnies, Gutted Carrier and Conger 2” Mk.I (Airfix Bren-carrier)
Military Modelling March 1972 - Armoured Cars of the RAF, Alvis Struassler Type ‘A’
Airfix Magazine May1972 - Afrika Korps, Introduction*
Airfix Magazine June1972 - Afrika Korps, Engineers*
Military Modelling June 1972 - The Funnies, Churchill Ark Mark I (Airfix Churchill)
Military Modelling June 1972 - Armoured Cars of the RAF, AEC Mk.I
Military Modelling June 1972 - Sturmpanzer IV Grizzly (article deals with 1:32, plans are 1:76)
Airfix Magazine July1972 - Afrika Korps, Artillery*
Military Modelling July 1972 Armoured Cars of the RAF, Beaverette III ‘Beaverbug’
Military Modelling July 1972 - The Funnies, Skid Bailey Bridge and Pusher Beam
Airfix Magazine August1972 - Afrika Korps, Reconnaissance units*
Military Modelling August 1972 - SAS Jeep (Airfix Jeep from Buffalo kit)
Airfix Magazine September1972 - Afrika Korps, Panzer troops*
Military Modelling September 1972 - Simple 1:76 Conversions Stüg IV, Jagdpanzer IV/70 (Airfix Pz.IV)
Military Modelling September 1972 - The Funnies, Armoured Bulldozer
Military Modelling September 1972 - Opel Maultier 1:35 (with 1:76 plans)
Modelworld September 1972 - Assault Landing Craft (LCA, with cut-out template)
Airfix Magazine October1972 - Afrika Korps, HQ Units*
Military Modelling October 1972 - Simple 1:76 Conversions Sturmpanzer IV Grizzly, Jagdpanzer IV/70 variant (Airfix Pz.IV)
Military Modelling October 1972 - Armadillo in 1:76 (Roco-minitanks 6x6 Chassis)
Military Modelling October 1972 - The Funnies, Centaur Dozer
Airfix Magazine November1972 - Afrika Korps, Panzerjager forces*
Military Modelling November 1972 - The Funnies, Sherman DD Tank (Airfix Sherman)
Airfix Magazine December1972 - Afrika Korps, Luftwaffe Ground Forces*
Military Modelling December 1972 - The Funnies, Bullshorn Plough and Porpoise Ammo-sled/float
Modelworld December 1972 - Sturmpanzer VI Sturmtiger (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine Annual II (1972) - Dozer-blade on T34/85
Airfix Magazine Annual II (1972) - Various lorries/AFV’s (drawing of Krupp L3H 163, Vulcan, Bedford OY Etc…)
Airfix Magazine Annual II (1972) - Italian army in the desert, figures, artillery and AFV’s
Military Modelling February 1973 - ‘Attention’, Plan for Porsche Turret on King Tiger
Military Modelling February 1973 - Bedford QL Army Fire Service Tender/Dennis Trailer Pump
Military Modelling February 1973 - LRDG Chevrolet 30cwt. Truck (building the Eric Clark kit)
Military Modelling April 1973 - Scammell Pioneer and 7.2 inch Howitzer (Airfix Tank Transporter)
Military Modelling April 1973 - Bedford 30-cwt and 3-Ton Vehicles of 1939-1945 (from Airfix kits)
Military Modelling May 1973 - Austin K6 Breakdown Gantry and 7 ½ ton Recovery Trailer (Airfix K6)
Military Modelling June 1973 - Sherman ARV’s (and BARV)
Airfix Magazine July 1973 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 1: Introduction*
Military Modelling July 1973 - V2 Support Vehicles, Feuerleitpanzer Zkw 8t and Vidal Trailer
Military Modelling July 1973 - Loyd Carrier (Airfix Bren-carrier)
Airfix Magazine August 1973 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 2: Headquarters troops*
Airfix Magazine September 1973 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 3: Infantry*
Military Modelling September - 1973 Sherman Firefly (1:76 plans with 54mm article)
Airfix Magazine October 1973 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 4: Armoured formations*
Airfix Magazine November 1973 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 5: Modelling the armour*
Airfix Magazine December 1973 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 6: The Artillery*
Military Modelling December - 1973 Lancia 3RO and DA90/53 Portee
Modelworld December 1973 - Soviet Officers (Airfix and Fujimi)
Airfix Magazine Annual III (1973) - Armour - PzKpfw.III, M-10 T/D, M-12, BT-5, M-18 T/D, Hummel, Staghound, AB40
Airfix Magazine January 1974 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 7: Reconnaissance units*
Modelworld January 1974 - 15cm SFh.18 and Somua MCL Artillery Tractor
Modelworld January 1974 - British Army Battledress 1939-1945 (Almark figure conversions)
Airfix Magazine February 1974 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 8: Lines of communication*
Modelworld February 1974 - Kfz.31 Phanomen Ambulance
Airfix Magazine March 1974 - 8th Army in the Desert. Part 9: Engineer and ordnance units*
Airfix Magazine March 1974 - PzKfw. III Recovery Vehicles (From Airfix Stüg III)
Airfix Magazine April 1974 - 8th Army in the Desert Part 10: Final Part*
Airfix Magazine September 1974 - 8th Army in the Desert, simple figure conversions*
Airfix Magazine December 1974 - 8th Army in the Desert, more figure conversions*
Airfix Magazine Annual IV (1974) - Churchill 3-inch gun-carrier
Airfix Magazine Annual IV (1974) - Cut-away Tiger
Airfix Magazine Annual IV (1974) - Forward-control Land-Rover and 105mm Light Gun
Airfix Magazine February 1975 - 8th Army in the Desert, simple soft-skin vehicle models*
Airfix Magazine July 1975 - 8th Army in the Desert, towed artillery*
Airfix Magazine November 1975 - 8th Army in the Desert, self-propelled artillery*
Airfix Magazine Annual V (1975) - T-28 Land-battleship
Airfix Magazine February 1976 - 8th Army in the Desert, modelling specialised armour*
Airfix Magazine Annual VI (1976) - Sd.Kfz. 223 conversion from [Airfix] 222
Airfix Magazine Annual VI (1976) - Steyr 640 trucks/radio-shack/ambulance
Airfix Magazine Annual VI (1976) - CDL and crane Matildas
Airfix Magazine Annual VI (1976) - Drawings for above Steyrs (Endpapers)
Airfix Magazine April 1976 - Renault R-35/40
Airfix Magazine April 1976 - Finnish Armour 1939-1945 (Drawings only, 1:76)
Airfix Magazine April 1976 - Modelling the Ram (Using Tandair vac-forms)
Airfix Magazine July 1976 - SP 25lbr. Sexton (using Airfix 25lbr. and Lee/Grant)
Airfix Magazine August 1976 - Dingo Scout Car and AEC Mk.1 A/C
Airfix Magazine September 1976 - Sherman Crab Flail (using Airfix Sherman)
Airfix Magazine April 1976 - WWII Armoured Trains (final part of Boer War series!)
Airfix Magazine Annual VII (1977) - Polish armour and artillery
Airfix Magazine February 1977 - Alligator LVT(A)1 (from Airfix Buffalo)
Airfix Magazine Annual VIII (1978) - Super-detailing/correcting [Airfix] 5.5 inch gun
Airfix Magazine Annual VIII (1978) - Russian heavy tanks – SMK, T-100, T-35, SU-100Y, KV-1, KV-3 (M222), KV-2 (pp.34-44)
Airfix Magazine Annual VIII (1978) - Hungarian artillery 1939-45 (with scale drawings of Bofors 15cm 31M howitzer
Airfix Magazine Annual VIII (1978) - Mack 6x6 NO trucks
Airfix Magazine August 1978 - M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo (using both an Airfix and a Fujimi Sherman)
Airfix Magazine September 1978 - Rail Review, Rail Guns and Locomotives (also WWI)
Airfix Magazine December 1978 - Windsor Carrier (from Airfix Bren-gun carrier)
Airfix Magazine Guide 27 1978 - Modelling RAF Vehicles 1978: WWII, Austin K6 bomb flat, aircrew coach, Coles MkVII crane, Austin K2 30 cwt, Austin K2 GS, Bedford QLD, QLT, Queen Mary Trailer, GS trailer, Bedford MWD and MWC water tanker, Bedford OXD and OY GS trucks, Morris C8 GS , W/T van, Standard Utility, Austin Utility, Morris light military, Standard ambulance, Humber Snipe and Pullman, Beaverette, Commer Q2 van and tractor, Commer Q15 van, Ford WOT workshop and GS and balloon winch, Crossley Searchlight, Barrage balloon (!), Crossley Tartar camera truck, Leyland Retriever crane, Thorneycroft ZS/TC4 searchlight, towed bowser, 90cm light projector, runway controllers’s van (also WWI)*
Modelling Military Vehicles, Bruce Quarrie 1978 - Chapter 1: Morris CS8 GS, Bedford QL-B AA gun tractor, CMP 6x6 House type, Diamond T M20 tractor an M9 trailer, Albion Model C heavy artillery tractor, Scammell 6x4 gun tractor, Mercedes Benz L 4500 R half track, Sdkfz 234/4M32 ARV, Bishop 25 pdr SPG, Vickers 6 ton Type A, BT-5, Chapter 4: Simplified models for wargames- Fiat/Spa TL37 tractor and 75mm gun, Auotblinda 41 AC, Sdkfz 9 and 21cm howitzer, Chapter 6: Artillery Models in 1:76- 122mm M38 howitzer, 15cm sFH 18 field gun, Pak 43, 2 pdr A/T gun*
Airfix Magazine January 1979 - Modelling the Bison (Concrete SP Blockhouses)
Airfix Magazine April 1979 - Make a Ram Kangaroo (from Airfix Lee/Grant)
Airfix Magazine April 1979 - RAF Half-track Fire-tender (readers letters, Graham Willy)
Military Modelling July 1979 - Centaur IV Close-support Tank (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine September 1979 - T-50 Russian Infantry Tank (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine November 1979 - Assault Aerosans, NKL-16/42, NKL-26 and Travois
Airfix Magazine February 1980 - German KMn 8 Half-track (from Airfix Kfz 7)
Airfix Magazine March 1980 - Make a Maultier Half-track (from the Airfix Opel Blitz)
Airfix Magazine September 1980 - The Self-propelled Bofors Anti-aircraft Gun
Airfix Magazine December 1980 - A Diamond T Heavy Breakdown Truck
Airfix Magazine January 1981 - Opel Blitz Conversions (using either Airfix or Esci kits)
Airfix Magazine February 1981 - More on That Diamond T Wrecker
Airfix Magazine March 1981 - German Half-tracks, British Colours (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine May 1981 - New Look at an Old Sherman (updating the Airfix kit)
Airfix Magazine June 1981 - German Half-tracks, British Colours (readers letters, Les Freathy)
Airfix Magazine August 1981- Kite Balloon, Austin K6 and Cylinder Trailer
Airfix Magazine December 1981 - Rolls Royce Armored Cars (also WWI)
Airfix Magazine April 1982 - Bedford QL’s in Quantity
Airfix Magazine April 1982 - British Utility Cars (Ford WOA2, Humber 4x4, Austin 10)
Airfix Magazine May 1982 - More Matadors to make
Airfix Magazine May 1982 - Scratch-built Terrapin Amphibian
Airfix Magazine July 1982 - Scratch-built Maus
Airfix Magazine October 1982 - Detailing Pz.Kfw.IV
Airfix Magazine November 1982 - Churchill Carpet Layers (using the Airfix Churchill Mk.VII)
Military Modelling November 1982 The 88’s Big Brother (improving the Nitto 105mm Flak 38)
Airfix Magazine December 1982 - Food For Thought (Church Army Canteens in WW2)
Airfix Magazine January 1983 - Improving a Matador (various tweaks using Airfix Matadors)
Airfix Magazine April 1983 - Modelling the Daimler Mk.I Armoured Car (with the Hasegawa Mk.II)
Airfix Magazine July 1983 - British Matilda Tank Mk.1
Airfix Magazine August 1983 - The Fighting Maple Leaf – Canadian Staff/Utility Cars
Airfix Magazine October 1983 - The Fighting Maple Leaf; Canadian Chevrolet CBA
Airfix Magazine January 1984 - The Fighting Maple Leaf – Canadian Chevrolet C60L and Ford F60H
Airfix Magazine May 1985 - The Fighting Maple Leaf – Canadian Civilian Stock in Service
Airfix Magazine July 1990 - The A27M Cromwell Cruiser Tank, Centaur (all scales)
Airfix Magazine December 1990 - Breakdown Gantry Body, Austin K6 and Dodge WK60
Airfix Magazine December 1990 - Panzerkampfwagen IV Sd.Kfz. 161

20th Century Bridging and Military Engineering - all scales
Military Modelling September 1971 - The Funnies, Folding SBG Bridge and towed SBG (Airfix Churchill)
WWII Bridging by; Arthur North
Modelworld September 1972 - The Basic Bailey Bridge
Modelworld October 1972 - The Bailey Pontoon Bridge
Modelworld November 1972 - The Small Box Girder Bridge
Modelworld December 1972 - Pontoon Bridge Equipment Mk.III
Modelworld January 1973 - Folding Boat Equipment Mk.II
Modelworld February 1973 - Classification of Bridges
Modelworld March 1973 - Folding Boat Equipment Mk.III
Modelworld May 1973 - Inglis Bridging Equipment (WWI)
Modelworld July 1973 - Inglis Bridging Equipment/Inglis Rectangular Mk.II (Interwar-WWII)
Modelworld November 1973 - Unit Construction Railway Bridge
Modelworld February 1974 - Unit Construction Railway Bridge Equipment
Mulberry Harbour by; Geoffrey Futter [out of scale - most of the drawings are 1:300 or 1:1200]
Airfix Magazine June 1981- Mulberry Harbor Part 1, Introduction
Airfix Magazine July 1981- Mulberry Harbor Part 2, Outline
Airfix Magazine August 1981- Mulberry Harbor Part 3, Bombardon Deep-water Breakwaters
Airfix Magazine September 1981- Mulberry Harbor Part 4, Gooseberry Breakwaters
Airfix Magazine November 1981- Mulberry Harbor Part 5, Phoenix Breakwaters
Airfix Magazine January 1982- Mulberry Harbor Part 6, Phoenix Breakwaters Continued
Airfix Magazine February 1982 - Mulberry Harbor Part 7, Whale Pierheads and Floating Roadways
Airfix Magazine March 1982 - Mulberry Harbor Part 8, Pierhead Spud Pontoons
Airfix Magazine July 1982 - Mulberry Harbor Part 9, The LST Pierhead
Airfix Magazine September - 1982 - Mulberry Harbor Part 10, The Whale Floating Roadway II
Airfix Magazine May 1983 - Mulberry Harbor Part 11, The Whale Roadway Bridge Spans
Airfix Magazine September 1983 - Mulberry Harbor Part 12, The Beetle Floats, Shore Ramp etc…
Airfix Magazine August 1984 - Mulberry Harbor Part 13, Constructing the Whale Roadways
Others
Military Modelling July 1972 - The Funnies, Skid Bailey Bridge and Pusher Beam

Non-production Prototypes
Modelworld November 1972 - The Tank that Never Was, The Panther II

Post WWII
Airfix Magazine April 1971 - Israeli ‘Isherman’ (from Airfix Sherman)
Military Modelling March 1971- Sweden’s Army Snow Vehicles BV202 (plans, see following article)
Military Modelling March 1971- Scratch-building the Volvo/Bolinder-Munktell BV202 Snowcat
Military Modelling April 1971 - Saracen and Saladin (Plans)
Military Modelling June 1971 - Stalwart FV.622 (Plans)
Military Modelling August 1971 – RAF Mobile VHF D/F unit
Military Modelling September 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery, plans for Abbot and M52
Military Modelling October 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery, plans for AMX-13T, M110 and M53
Military Modelling November 1971 - Self Propelled Artillery, plans for Russian JS/D 400mm
Military Modelling August 1972 - Armoured Cars of the RAF, Humber LRC Mk.IIIA
Military Modelling August 1972 - Flextrac Nodwell’s Dynatrac Snowcat
Military Modelling December 1972 - German Marder (plans)
Military Modelling September 1981 - Soviet T64 MBT and T72 MBT
Airfix Magazine June 1976 - Centurion Mk.5 (from Airfix Mk.8)
Airfix Magazine Annual VII (1977) - Centurion Mk.I
Airfix Magazine Annual VII (1977) - Super-detailing/correcting [Airfix] 5.5 inch gun
World Models August 1977 - Foden 6x6 Artillery Tractor and FH70
Airfix Magazine Annual VIII (1978) - Conqueror MBT
Airfix Magazine January 1978 - M56 Pack Howitzer (plans)
Airfix Magazine April 1978 - FV180 CET (plans)
Airfix Magazine October/November 1993 - M52 Self-propelled Howitzer
Airfix Magazine March 1979 - AFS Bedford Green Goddess and Commer Bikini Appliances
Airfix Magazine October 1979 - XM-1 and M-1 Abrams (drawings only)
Airfix Magazine December 1981 - Scorpion Strikes Again (Airfix Scorpion to Striker)
Airfix Magazine March 1982 - The Bofors L40/70 L3 (plans)
Airfix Magazine July 1982 - Israeli M32 ARV (Airfix Sherman and Matchbox M40)
Airfix Magazine August 1982 - The Tiny Russian, T60
Airfix Magazine September 1982 - GKN Sankey AT105 (soon to be; Saxon APC, plans)
Airfix Magazine December 1982 - Modelling the T-44 in 1:76 Scale (Fujimi T34/85)
Airfix Magazine March 1985 - 00/H0 Equipment for Modern Russian Troops
Airfix Magazine July 1985 - 00/H0 Equipment for Modern NATO Troops

Civilian vehicles
Airfix Magazine August 1971 - Scammells and Heavy Crane Trailer
Airfix Magazine November 1971 - Rail-mounted Land-Rover and Weed-sprayer
Airfix Magazine Annual I (1971) - [Airfix] Scammell to civil conversions
Airfix Magazine Annual II (1972) - Trucks and trailers for model railways
Airfix Magazine Annual III (1973) - Sunbeam MS2 trolley-bus
Airfix Magazine Annual IV (1974) - Narrow-boat/Canal-boat
Airfix Magazine Annual VII (1977) - Civil lorries and trucks from 1900 to the 1970’s
Airfix Magazine June 1977 - Land-Rover Rescue Tender (using Airfix Land-Rover)
Airfix Magazine March 1978 - Rail Review, Military Vehicle Kits (to civil use)
Airfix Magazine April 1978 - Rail Review, Mobile Crane
Airfix Magazine June 1978 - Karrier Charabanc (photographs of the real thing and drawings only)
Airfix Magazine November 1979 - Modelling Fairground Vehicles
Airfix Magazine February 1980 - Making a Model Air Display
Airfix Magazine December 1982 - Food For Thought (Church Army Canteens in WW2)
Airfix Magazine November 1983 - Airfix 1:76 scale AEC Matador Breakdown Truck
Airfix Magazine January 1984 - Airfix 1:76 scale AEC Scammell Breakdown Truck

Space and Science Fiction
Modelworld November 1972 - ‘The Eagle has Landed’, Apollo 11 LEM (detailing the Airfix LEM)
Modelworld April 1973 - ‘One Small Step for Man’, Apollo 11 LEM (detailing the Airfix LEM)

Civilian and military buildings and scenery
Airfix Magazine January 1971 - Railway line-side structures
Airfix Magazine February 1971- Small signal box
Airfix Magazine April 1971 - Narrow-gauge engine-shed
Airfix Magazine May 1971 - Ruined houses
Airfix Magazine June 1971 - Narrow-gauge station
Airfix Magazine July 1971 - Locomotive sheds / workshops
Airfix Magazine August 1971 - Narrow gauge scenery
Modelworld December 1972 - Allied Marine and Locomotive Company - Industrial Buildings
Airfix Magazine Annual III (1973) - Engine shed
Airfix Magazine Annual III (1973) - Hougomont
Airfix Magazine Annual V (1975) - Fortified harbor / Atlantic wall
Airfix Magazine Annual VI (1976) - French Foreign Legion forts
Airfix Magazine Annual VIII (1978) - [Airfix] Forward command-post conversions
Airfix Magazine January 1978 - Rail Review, Detailing Signal Boxes
Airfix Magazine July 1978 - Elevated Signal Box Conversion
Airfix Magazine August 1978 - Rail Review, Girder Bridge Conversions
Airfix Magazine October 1978 - Model Shipyard
Airfix Magazine November 1978 - Mainline Station
Airfix Magazine December 1978 - Any Old Iron (line-side scrapyard)
Airfix Magazine January 1979 - Make a Diesel Depot
Airfix Magazine May 1979 - Make Stone Buildings This Way
Airfix Magazine July 1979 - Low relief Structures
Airfix Magazine July 1979 - A Scrapyard for Your Railway layout
Airfix Magazine August 1979 - Oil Storage Depots

Miscellaneous
Airfix Magazine August 1966 – British uniforms and Equipment [contents of article unknown]
Military Modelling June 1971- How to Paint Tartan
Modelworld April 1973 - Guide to Model Photography
Modelworld November 1973 - Basic Stonework for Layouts and Dioramas
Modelworld December 1973 - Guide to Model Photography
Airfix Magazine November 1976 - Extras’ For Greater Authenticity (Vehicle Stowage)
Airfix Magazine October 1982 - Camera in Space (Photographing space models)
FineScale Modeler July 1991 - Licensing, Trademarks and Scale Models

* Information kindly supplied by Charles Anon
Books

M is for Matador

Further to yesterday's rambling memory and walk in the woods; There was an article in Military Modelling or Airfix Magazine (or one of the annuals? 1983 - see article above) back in the day, showing one what could be done with the Airfix Matador kit to A) enhance it and B) convert it into various post-war civil cranes or circus wagons, this is my attempt, apologies for the over-bright flash on these...

A canvas cover over the sentries hole made from a scrap of cardboard, lightly sanded to give a texture, ladders applied below each door on the crew compartment from Plastruct railings [the Airfix kit is - obviously - configured as an artillery tractor not a GS - where you would egress from the rear only] and a space-plate on the cab, the purpose of which remained a mystery to me!

Also I gave it a trailer from the Airfix Half-track, and used the larger wheels of the half-track itself to raise the trailer a bit. We still had these trailers in Berlin and I have photo's of them somewhere, I will scan them one day, we did have the angular wheel-arched post-war ones as well, both single (for Land Rovers) and double-water carriers and GS's, but several of these old 1940/50's types were kicking around the motor-pool.

The finished article in 'Micky Mouse-eared' camouflage, I think I should have extended the darker colour over the whole of the roof, but in the field things get repainted any old how!

C is for Cultural Combatants

Sometimes the heading is the hard part!...More Toy Soldiers seeping into the veins of wider society!

Skater Boys, Radical Man!

Hornets Nest...Don't poke it! They've got Armalites!

10,000 - But how many can you get in a 'Phone-box...and Here (with 'pop-up' you CAN kill!)

Nesting - Spring is sprung!

Toy Soldier, Vik Muniz...stunning, no?

Barricades...the best ideas are the simplest!

More soon...

S is for Southwood

All my life I've been surrounded by the military, I was an Admiral's Grandson, Soldier's 'brat' and would have been the nephew of a Navy Flier if he hadn't died, stuck to the giant-firework that is a hooked-up missile on the ranges off Lossimouth. And for some reason I then joined-up myself...must've been mad...oh! I am.

My brother and I lived on ranges, roamed training areas and were surrounded by soldiers - toy and real, we collected empty cases (sometimes not so empty!) and had Schermuly flares on Bonfire night so that we could range the heath the next morning looking for the parachutes which Action-Man then made good use of out of the bedroom window!

When our parents split-up (very fashionable at the end of the 1970's!) we left our heath and moved to the teeming metropolis [sic] of Fleet in Hampshire, were I - as one of Mrs (she's no Lady) Thatcher's long-haired victims of Tory cuts (plue les change...plus les change!) - would get out of the house for hours by taking the dog (Finn; he was a red setter - if you know your Irish tales) for long walks round Fleet Pond and the areas surrounding it. One area that bordered the pond was the woodland at Southwood, where the engineers had been based for years before the whole thing became a retail/commercial park.

One piece hadn't been developed and is still being used today, behind/to the south of what was NGTE and is now Qinetiq. There was in the woods what looked like the remains of a WWII barracks/training area, although it was probably used after the war, but it was derelict by 1980. Usual collapsed shacks in the undergrowth, concrete paths running between the floors of long gone Nissan (Quonset) huts, even a couple of Nissan huts still in situ, no doors or windows but dry enough for a surreptitious teenage cigarette out of the drizzle! However there was also a structure which fascinated me as I had a fleet of Airfix Matador artillery tractors...

...so the other day I went back (nearly 30 years later!) to see if it was still there. Vandals have sadly destroyed it since I used to scrummage about on it, but the remains are still discernible. Basically - what it was in former days was the back-end (troop compartment) of a Matador or similar 8 or 10-ton rated lorry, mounted on concrete posts, presumably as some sort of convoy air-attack/ambush drill practiser?

You can still see the concrete posts, but what remains of the rusty frame (it was still upholstered in wood when me and Finn studied it) has been taken off and dumped against an old ammo/rubbish-bin bunker.

This structure remains in a much better state of repair and the feeling is it was part of some bridging/obstacle exercise, or even for teaching the placing of demolition charges? The reinforcing-rods suggest it was never completed, perhaps due to the wars end? Someone has had a go at the main pillars though.

These structures also hang about rather forlornly, no clue as to why man once had a desperate need to clear woodland and force his signature upon the landscape in quite such a brutalist style.

The small angle-iron barricade is interesting as compared to both modern barbed-wire pickets and the old WWII German ones all over the Channel Islands (we once collected enough still-good German pickets to pen a sheep-field!), this is a very flimsy thing of thin-gauge steel, more of a temporary road-traffic/checkpoint measure than a serious attempt to prevent enemy insertion!

B is for Bow't...lill'wouldn'bow't

Looking at the Giant foot Cowboys & Indians the other day (Figures) I mentioned the fact that as uncut strips of six figures these came with a canoe, and that I'd dig them out and photograph them, this I have done...

I'd forgotten that there were three receiving spigots, not two as I stated the other day, this is quite a big canoe, at least twice the length of the Thomas/Poplar/Tudor*Rose/Manuba ones, and from the packaging - clearly not Giant production. These figures in fact being non-giant as often as they were!

500th Post - not!

This would have been my 500th post, however I still have three posts in 'Edit' from ages ago (which will probably never see the light of day) that aren't included in the total, and I've deleated a few over the years so it was closer to 510 anyway. As I seem to have successfully imported the 40 posts from the 'Other Collectables' blog a few minutes ago it's now around 539 which is not a celebratory figure at all, just a boring number between five and six-hundred!

However, my hits total adjusted to take account of the 2008/9 period before 'Stats' were introduced is around 165,000, which is 40-odd thousand more than it was when I had all the trouble with the counter back in Oct/Nov. This is on target to be the second month of 10,000+ hits, and I can only thank all those who have contributed, seriously - anyone can blurb away on the internet, but when people want to come back again and again it's very gratifying and gives one the impetus to carry-on.

That I've reached such a total with only 72 followers seems to be down to the fact that a lot of people in the specific area of plastic figure collecting I aim at, aren't on Blogger or even that active on the internet, so they use whatever 'bookmarked' Google search they originally found the blog from, as a result I have to thank whoever has hit me 53 times with the search-term "mighty max" or the chap who has come back 26 times using "avion playmobile de la page 37 du catalogue"! How that search term originally brought you here is beyond comprehension but thanks for coming back so often.


The upload of the posts from 'Other Collectables' and the Blogger tag-limit means I really have to spend a few days sorting the tags out, for the time being; NTS in the label list means Non-Toy-Soldier and pertains to stuff that has no relevance to toys, modelling or military history. Eventually I will have to abreivaite all sorts of serch terms and will put a key-panel above the Index.

So - heading for 600 posts and 200,000 hits (I'll re-try the prize thing when we get there!), coming soon; More Asian elephants from very old books (1906 I think, the next one), show report on Sandown, Elastolin marching 60mils, more hollow-horsed Hong Kong Cowboys & Indians (and 'Romans'), some more new production and some ruined military installations.

You keep reading - I'll keep blurbing verbiage!

W is for more Wellingtonians

I knew I'd seen some pink ones! I had them in one of the other boxes all the time...

These are again; non-Giant nappies, in yellow, red and pink. The horse they came with is the one I call 'Remould' but better than the ones we looked at a few weeks ago, so I guess earlier production by the same people, but the limbers are the poor one, so when I sort them all out I suspect we'll find they come somewhere between the two sets looked at the other day.

The base is clearly blank, the limber lacks the Giant moniker and I've shown the damage to the face of the box, it looks like it might have been another 'MADE IN HONG KONG' or an attempt at it as I've never seen them with that there, only the mould damage.

A is for Armoured Corps

Finishing-up the Timpo WWII for the moment (I can't find the German box!) here are a couple more collages of the British troops, same poses and weapons as before, but different head-dress.

I don't know if they ever issued the 2nd type with black berets [except in the bren-carrier]. but they fit! The guy running with an ammo-box is not a standard pose, but the beauty of Timpo was/is that you can switch stuff around to make new assemblies. I suspect the beret was meant to be an infantry one, but getting that dark blue right obviously would have been difficult so they ended-up giving us well-armed, dismounted 'Tankers'!

The bog-standard infantry helmet, the older types had a darker helmet and I think a couple of my new ones have the wrong helmets on...again I added the Indian head to the 'brown-gloves man'.

The officer body has the tell-tale signs of going/being brittle, the washed look of the green is a classic sign that these late production figures are giving up the ghost. The base of the kneeling guy isn't looking too hot either!

Those of you who collect Timpo will know how much some of the colour variations fetch at auction, but the thing with Timpo is that they produced literally millions of figures for years and started experimenting with over-moulding quite early with the knights chest emblems, cavalry braces and - earliest of all - the horses bridle. Vast quantities were shipped to Germany where there is a bigger collecting fraternity than here, but they also shipped them all over the world and were bound to produce variations from time to time.

Case in point is the torso in the lower images which seems to have been the product of a mould-purge after trying a darker green in the webbing mould. I've only been collection these for a couple of years and with the SAS (?) berets I blogged the other day and this I'm already acquiring variants, because they aren't that rare and are probably over-valued...a knight went for £500+ the other day! Not an 1890's Britains hollow-cast, not a pre-war Elastolin Nazi with porcelain head...it was a 1970's Timpo plastic knight...

G is for Gomarsa

Not much to be said about these, they are Spanish and are quite common. I like them as they are all marching poses and will make nice displays. Originally made in polyethylene by Reamsa they would go on to be sold under the Soldis (soldier) label by Gomarsa in a PVC type compound, which could be a vulcanised rubber like the Texido figure Brian identified the other day.

[Major re-write after comments, some of the less well painted ones may be Reamsa]

These are all presumably Naval figures and are the later Soldis mouldings in the rubber-like material, nearly all the figures march-off on the right-foot so can follow each other across the mantle-piece in step with each other!

Naval figures in Summer uniforms to the right and a couple of Air Force (?) figures to the left. These all seem to be late ones.

My favourites, the Spanish Legion and a lone Frenchman, they all seem to have a Spanish CETME assault rifle, which is a tad anachronistic for a Foreign Legionnaire!

Two military types and two of the Spanish Gendarme (Reamsa originals?) with their distinctive hats. The policemen are - needless to say - marching-off on the other foot...something that anyone who's ever done a large parade involving police units will know is par for the course!

B is for Barrow

The South-west and Central England is covered in these, but they are to be found elsewhere as well, I won't write much about them as A) It would be silly to pretend I am some sort of expert on the subject when I'm not!...and B) If you click on them the original cards should be readable enough.

These were photographed through the windows of the currently closed Newbury Museum and I don't know the name/s of the modeller or the author of the information cards, if someone does; let me know and they can be credited here.

What I loved about them was the 'old-school' feel of the dioramas and the fact that I could see in my minds-eye - lots of unpainted Airfix Ancient Britons having a scrap over ownership of the barrows or the land they stand on!

They seem to be made of plaster and painted with matt emulsions, and are arranged as three tiles to fit together in the chronological order of the development of barrow construction/architecture.

Wayland's Smithy - which is mentioned in the card text - is one Mim and I walked too one day, it's also not far from an Ancient Hill Fort and the Uffington White Horse, so all three can be done in a few hours, well worth the effort.

The other thing that caught my eye when passing was that the landscaping has been enhanced with two mint Britains shrubs (albeit with some green emulsion spattered on their lower reaches!), along with two similar Britains trees (Scots Pine, Larch or Birch?) and a full set of Merit Fir Trees, nicely dating these models to the mid-1960's at the latest - if that was all the modeller could find in his local hobby store?!

RP is for Régiment Parachutiste

A few more swoppet types and some foreign paratroops left over from the posts the other day, I don't know if the Argentine company of Tenco did paratroops, I have their British Infantry (copies of Herald with Timpo like bases), but if they did they'd probably look a bit like these...

...who are clearly copies of the Timpo para heads on US/German first type bodies, with a few changes, somehow these manage to look more French than anything else (or is it just me?!) so I think of them up-for a scrap in Dien Bien Phu! It's the sub-machine guns which looks a bit like the Mat-49 and the rifles which look like the M1 carbine...I think? And the lack of webbing which is usually found weighing-down British or American paras in photographs!

Above; A few Atlantic Parachutists, I've never been terribly enamoured of these 'modern' figures by Atlantic in either scale, sculpted by the same guy who worked with Co-Ma, they are a bit crude and almost 'over-done', but actually look a bit better in this scale than the HO range.

Below; Airfix 1st and 2nd types with a Polish copy to the right, these are covered elsewhere [Airfix Paratroops] and are just shown here to fill the post!

G is for God Save The Queen

For a number of reasons the three articles I lined-up for Friday still haven't been uploaded, but I aught to put something out so here's a tenuous link to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations which have just begun - a classic piece from the Silver Jubilee which I remember well, indeed I still have the mug that every school-age child in Hampshire was given by the county council...thanks tax paying-age people of 1977-land!

Made by Crescent, it was probably the last new moulding they produced!! A vast improvement on the old lead/white metal ones that had accompanied all the other jubilees and coronations from the 1880's - some of which were dragged out again in '77 if memory serves!

Of real interest to me are the little Beefeaters, who have a large spigot on the underside of the base which requires removal before they can be used as stand-alone figures, luckily I have a few lose ones somewhere so these can remain inviolate!

The whole assembly; strangely there were no figures for Her Majesty The Queen or her Consort - The Duke of Edinburgh? Originaly it came in a slip-over cardboard tube, without it, you can still pass it off as a 'mint' set by Cavendish, who obtained the remaining stock for their gift shop in Windsor or wholesale operation.

We are incredibly lucky to have a pretty powerless but never-the-less 'constitutional' monarch, no rampant Berlusconi's, short arse's with a complex, Victoria-cross self-awarding Amin's or divisive Bush's for us, no autocratic Amirs, no Juntas, Generals, or dictators, no Corporal this or Captain that, no year zero, five year plan or great leap forward, no little red, black, green or blue 'Book' - thank you very much, just a link with 2000 years of continuous history who does little of controversy and a lot of good for our standing and prestige on the world stage...

...after all if she went; what would all those fat, khaki-shorts wearing, tea-party yanks wandering around London do in the August break? Where would the coachloads of chattering Japanese tourists go? They bring hundreds of millions to our shores and inject them into our economy because we have red-coated Guards, gold Coaches and a Monarch!

Gawd'bless'yer Marm and may you rule for many years yet.