H is for How They Come In - April I - Chris - Combat Armymen!

So to actual toy soldiers and military model figures, for those loyal readers with stricter criteria to their collecting! And this lot had some real treats in it . . .

I've seen the two on the left somewhere in a catalogue I think, they are copies of Airfix (obviously) but quality is a cut-above the usual rack-toy 'armymen', the material too, which is probably polypropylene rather than 'ethylene and paint has been added at the production stage - anyone recognise them?

The mine-clearer also is interesting as while he pulls from both Tim Mee and MPC sculpting, he seems to be a unique pose, while in the background three Kamley/Kosi/KS types, in blue, for the Khaki Infantry page which is overdue for a major update (stuff from Chris, Brian and others), but which won't now happen for a while yet.

These were a real treat, and that's the official paint-job! Polands PZG copied the Airfix Paratroops and issued them in several colour-schemes, of which this was the leeriest by a country mile! Seven poses are known - click on 'Żołnierze' and then 'Spadochroniarze brytyjscy'.

It took me a minute to remember why I'd shot this guy in close-up, but Chris reminded me it was marked Macau (yes, I should have shot the mark and collaged them, but they are off in storage now!), I think I may have had another come-in, but can't remember if it was the same pose or the running guy, nor indeed, if it isn't the same figure confusing me as everything was being sorted and moved back in the summer, but unusual to have rack-toys marked Macau.

Aurora Sherman, a spring-loaded pistol, they also came as key-rings and are plastic copies of die-cast novelties, also from Hong Kong and also available carded or as key-rings. Another revolver; a cheap action-figure pistol (or Christmas cracker prize?) and a helicopter who probably belongs on the deck of a largish-scale aircraft-carrier, 'big-box' toy? The tank-trap (Czech hedgehog) is Matchbox I think, but fully compatible with the similar Aurora ones.

The de rigueur seated figures - the more the merrier as there seem to be lots of originators beyond the Payton history, and many colours! The larger one may be Hong Kong, while the yellow chap is jeep crew , definitely from HK, and again several variants. A Marx soft-plastic Brit' from the later window-boxes and a 1:48th scale German tanker completes the line-up.

The kit figure could be Bandai or Nichimo, who both had ranges in that size back in the 1960's, as I know more of the Bandai kits; I suspect he might actually be Nichimo? But other 1:48th makes were around, and in recent years it (the scale)'s seen a resurgence, so I'm only musing out loud!

Already seen elsewhere, a nice line-up of parachute troopers, they will - in time - all be sorted onto that page, which is on sabbatical for a while, due to real-life circumstances, but of interest here are the two on the right-hand-side with their weapons in their hands, the smaller ones tended to get a few issues - gum-ball machines, Christmas crackers and make-weights in larger carded rack-toys.

The small one on the end is almost certainly a cracker prize, and as always - I couldn't share it with all of you if Chris hadn't sent it in the first place, so many thanks to him.