R is for Roskopf

'Redhead' and I think I'm guilty of nearly always using Roscopf with a 'c' in the past, and will probably do so again in the future, my bad, but I'll try to get in right in this post! A post which is really only a small-scale box-ticker; looking briefly at the figural output of this Austrian maker's military range.

How they came in! Each set was available painted or unpainted and seem to have been removed from the runners in the factory or at the out-painters, unlike their German rival Roco Minitanks' which tended to be sold on the runner, but unpainted only. RMM stands for Roskopf Miniatur-Modell.

Marching and advancing infantry; Set 181 - 8 Soldiers with Weapons (set 181a painted) consisted of only four figure posess, and they are quite thin and crude sculpts, but when they came out there wasn't so much opposition and very little in the nominal scale of 1:100th, although that is a moot point as we will see in a forthcoming post.

There's a possibility that the unpainted set is also numbered 151 in some catalogues, either as a foursome or, possibly from before (or after?) the painted sets were offered, or even just a typo?

185/185a Five Soldiers with Infantry Weapons, this set reveals exactly the era it was issued in, with the now anachronistic bazooka and the ground-launched, wire-guided missile operator on a camp-stool (ammo-box!) with his clear line-of-sight to the people firing-back at him! They are based on other figures around at the time (Monograms 40mm and Roco's copies) but I think it's more familiarity of the others leading to similarity, rather than any direct piracy?

I have lost the two Sagger-looking rockets which accomany this set in the unpainted lot, and the painted lot's are both damaged!

Sets' 183 - Sitting Figures & 184 - Drivers and Passengers and 183a/184a were seated figures for the AFV range the figures were designed to accompany, and I only have partial samples of each.

With drivers and co-drivers/convoy sentries (184/184a) on the left, and 'loads' for troop-carrying trucks etc . . . (183a) on the right. Again there is a hint of Monogram/Roco in the trooper and again; these also seem to be the basis of the similar EKO set, which also produced them in the same dark-green polystyrene.

As well as being pretty crude, these figures are also quite generic and could be used with NATO, Soviet or neutral state equipment, especially after a bit of paint - both the lack of detail and the diminutive stature hiding a multitude of sins!

I suspect I still have to track down the contents/examples of a 182/182a unless they are the rockets for 181?