HT-109 is for Tank Combo Pack

An all contribution-posts day today, and while I would normally save the smaller or lesser one for the third, afternoon 'bonus' post, I thought that as all three are 'small' in imagery and most of the work on this firm has occurred here over the years - most of it aided by contributions of one kind or another -we'd return to Highlander first, with some rarities in a hour or so and some Dan Dare this afternoon.

Bobbi Kukal sent this in to Small Scale World the other day and it's fascinating as it manages to fill another unknown stock-number in the inventory (see A-Z Entry), show most of the other 'known' foot-figure poses and contains a model of an uncommon tank design, being the M60A2 'Starship' main battle tank (MBT), with the mad Sheridan 152mm/6-inch rocket-assisted Shillelagh projectile ammunition barrel-thing, going on there!

The ratio of ethnically black to white troops in the known figure sets is around 1-in-5, here we get approximately 1-in-3, and a nice spread of six different poses. 3-each riflemen advancing, standing and kneeling firing, 2-each advancing with-, and prone with; machine-guns, and a chap with binoculars.

All are wearing the green beret, which rather confirms my previous thought that this small series of toys were piggy-backing the eponymous John Wane movie. It's also more obvious in this shot that the larger sets get two standard backing-cards, un-separated; one assumes there is a similar set for the M106 SPG already seen here.

Another shot of the M60A2 'Starship', definitely something to look out for on feeBay! There is also another clue as to the line's apparent failure (or lack of popularity), apart from, or in addition to the fact that it was released just as anti-Vietnam War sentiment was at its highest, and/or the odd scale, is the fact that the whole range including figures, armour and a WWII German Pak-40 gun were issued in a rather insipid fawny-beige, with a green-blob camouflage.

There is no enemy, no European theatre or desert option, no obvious Vietnamese troops have surfaced, no Russians, no 'reds', orange or blue-force . . . although you could make an enemy from the even more uncommon Spencer Smith 'modern' troops, but each range is rare on the opposite side of the pond!

Now - of course - they have the charm of old, unusual stuff, that you have to search-out, AND are depicting an unusual subject - and this is the best to have surfaced yet - many-thanks Bobbi!