June 2021 – Man of Tin blog

It’s behind you, Mulder and Scully …

June 25, 2021June 25, 2021 26soldiersoftin11 Comments

It’s behind you! I liked The Borrowers style scale disparity in this photo as ‘Mulder’ and ‘Scully’ of The X Files investigate the giant children terrorising the (Babbacombe) Model Village in Devon, Southwest UK.

I have always said The X Files should have been set in the slightly weird, folkloric and legendary southwest of Britain.

Or set it back in the Bronte period, tracking down the godly, the ungodly and the Gothic … although arguably Jane Austen’s Pride, Prejudice and Zombies got there already?

Seven series of The X Files watched over the last few months, over a 160+ episodes down and I still have four more series to go to the finishline of 218 episodes and a couple of feature films. (Maybe I should have gone for charity sponsorship …)

It might explain why I am not painting figures or blogposting every spare hour of leisure daylight. Like our hobby itself as observed by someone in Facebook forum, it is all “Time Well Wasted“.

More of the few years old colourful leaflet for Babbacombe Model Village

What might I have possibly gained for my other hobby time well wasted of gaming, toy soldiers and figure painting?

Some interesting toy soldier figure links and scenario ideas so far:

https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2021/03/24/the-hex-files-things-are-getting-strange-im-starting-to-worry-this-could-be-a-case-for-mulder-and-scully/

Others? If I had been very well organised, I should have kept an “ideas from idle viewing” gaming scenarios logbook. I didn’t. It’s all those “To Be Continued” episode cliffhangers. I can always look back through the Wiki lists of episodes to remind me.

Any Toy Soldiers in the X Files?

Lots of Army, Air Force, police and shadowy government figures in this series. And some toy soldiers …

Toy soldiers turn up only once (so far) during an early 1995 X Files episode The Walk about dead or badly wounded US soldiers from the recent Kuwait or First Gulf War (The X Files Season 3, Episode 7 ‘The Walk’).

Poor young Trevor, the US Army General’s son, ends up buried in the sand by a sand pit monster version of the phantom warrior. There is obviously some ‘meaningful’ sandpit / toy soldiers / Desert Storm / Desert Warriors symbolic echoes going on as well. http://www.thexfiles.com/episodes/season3/3×07.html

Play indoors. Don’t play in the sandpit, Trevor! (BRENNAN KOTOWICH as Trevor Callahan)

Screengrab camera shots of The X Files Season Three E pisode Seven ‘The Walk’ shows Trevor playing with standard plastic Hing Kong / China pound store versions of Airfix British Paratroops and some tanks. These Airfix copy soldiers in 1995 have new smooth helmets, pretty commonly available still https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/more-combat-mission-80-pound-store-plastic-soldiers-part-2/

What series or TV programmes distract from or inspire your gaming scenarios?

Blog posted by Mark, Man of TIN 25 June 2021

B.P.S. Blog Post Script

Who doesn’t love a model village?

https://themodelvillager.wordpress.com

Wade’s Toy Soldier Artillery from vintage Airfix OOHO French Artillery ImagiNations

June 13, 2021 26soldiersoftin13 Comments

Inspiration for ImagiNations units comes from very odd and whimsical sources such as this slightly Sergeant Pepper ceramic toy soldier by Wade, glimpsed recently on Etsy.

Great moustache!

My starting materials would be these vintage Airfix French Napoleonics:

Napoleonic French Artillery (centre) posted for future service by the Duchy of Tradgardland

These were a gift of some battered Airfix OOHO French Napoleonic Artillery and other figures from Alan Gruber (The Duchy of Tradgardland blog).

Having no intention of starting proper historical Napoleonic gaming, this gave me leave to experiment with colour and ImagiNations using these familiar vintage figures.

I searched and found some side and back views as well again from Etsy:

Although not exactly the same, the Wade figure having a longer tail coat and no gaiters, it gave me an idea of how to develop these spare random Artillery figures and a future use for any stray French shako troops that I might find whilst sorting.

The first attempt painting involved a multi racial unit but somehow the ones painted with darker skin tones worked better (Revell Aquacolor Acrylic Dark Earth colour).

An attempt at a flag colour. Blue sky, sandy beach?

One of my family said they thought the figures had a Caribbean look to the bright uniforms.

Equally they might suit the Bronte ImagiNations islands Gaaldine and Gondal set in the South or North Pacific.

Borrowed a couple of Esci French Napoleonic Artillery pieces that I painted in the 1980s

And on a less beach background, this is how the figures look.

I have painted a few Airfix Waterloo Napoleonic French Infantry (including some chewed up or melted ones) from the same gift to join with firelock troops from the Napoleonic Artillery set.

A colourful ImagiNations unit to play with.

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN June 2021

Airfix OOHO Washington’s Army conversions by Steve Haller from The Courier magazine early 1970s

June 9, 2021June 8, 2021 26soldiersoftin7 Comments

After posting my colourful black and gold ImagiNations paint version of Airfix OOHO Washington’s Army figures, I had an interesting blog comment / email from Steve Haller about his use of these 20mm figures:

Steve had pictures of his Washington’s Army troops published in the pages of The Courier magazine, which I have reprinted here with his permission.

You can see those familiar Airfix poses!

Steve wrote: “Here are some Courier early 1970s photos from my old AWI Airfix and Scruby 20mm collection (sold in late 1970s).”

They were published in Courier Magazine issues IV-4; V-2; VI-4.

Proof how versatile these figures are and how they made the AWI period accessible to many, even to the stage where they were mixed in games with ‘proper’ metal figures.

Thanks to Steve Haller for sharing these pictures, for which he still has the original prints.

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, 8/9 June 2021.

“From the halls of Montezuma …” Airfix Version 1 US Marines 1963

June 7, 2021June 6, 2021 26soldiersoftin13 Comments

*Some of my original painted version 1 US Marines veterans from my childhoood, freshly rebased.*

Since starting the numbering, basing and flocking of my Airfix figures, I have been basing some of my childhood figures to bring them up to gaming condition.

Once this has been done, I have been searching around for more of such figures in various tins or job lot bags picked up or gifted over the last few years, enough to make a skirmish or small invasion force.

A handful of freshly repainted US Marine figures, originally painted grey by Tony Adams

Eventually with scouring through several boxes of mixed Airfix I found a few dozen more, enough to make a small invasion force. Some of these are probably my original family / childhood ones which were left unpainted.

Over 80 original version 1 figures scraped together, almost two boxes worth.

My paint style as a child or teenage gamer was minimal, leaving the uniform colour unpainted if it was close to the desired base colour and then highlighting usually just face, boots, weapons and webbing. I tried to keep close to this style of the originals that I had painted long ago. Some figures needed olive drab overpainting to cover up any other paint schemes such as Tony Adams’ grey Marines.

There was only one pose missing, the bazooka man, so I used a pound store copy of such a version 2 figure.

Pound store bazooka man, original standing loader and more cautious kneeling conversion.

These figures were first released as set S16, in 1963, a year before their opponents the Japanese Infantry.

They have a variety of odd poses, which the type 1 box usefully lists, pictured in J C. Carbonel’s Airfix’s Little Soldiers.

Years late , when I read them in Carbonel’s book, I thought “Oh, is that what they are supposed to be doing?” Running, charging, leaping, lying, lying wounded, just wounded.

Box listing of figures type 2 and familiar later type 2 blue box from J.C. Carbonel’s Airfix book

The Plastic Soldier Review for this set is here:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=355

The Marines were remodelled into a new version 2 set somewhere around 1975 to 1978, using scaled down copies of the familiar chunky US Infantry 1:32 figures and some new slender replacement poses: http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=354

These version 2 US Marines figures are still available from the Airfix web shop or stockists for a very reasonable £5 a box, still with the familiar box art from the late 60s and 70s https://uk.airfix.com/products/wwii-us-marines-a00716v

I much prefer to use the version 1 figures when I can.

The only other bit missing in my set was the base of the rubber dinghy or ‘assault boat’ so I improvised with a card replacement until I find such a dinghy base whilst rooting through my Airfix odds and ends.

Using the version 1 Marines

I have no intention of running any Japanese Vs. Marines type games anytime soon. The more I learn of the savagery of the Pacific War, the less I would want to replay actual historical battles.

The Marines would be great for many mid to late 20th century troops and ImagiNations games.

The US Marines figures seemed to fulfil for most at the time the role of US Infantry which oddly Airfix never made in OOHO, unlike Matchbox and other makers. Airfix include the Version 2 ones in their current DDay diorama / Playsets.

I noticed that they are generic enough to use for many postwar armies, and for summer in Korea, Vietnam and the ‘Cold War in hot countries’ type scenarios. They lack the greatcoats etc. for winter warfare.

Curiously whilst I was slowly painting, flocking and basing these figures amongst others over the last few weeks, Alan at the Duchy of Tradgardland blog posted an intriguing picture of Airfix Version 1 US Marines from Charles Grant’s WW2 rules book Battle! Practical Wargaming, ‘spotty’ painted in use as WW2 or postwar modern camouflaged troops:

I shall try this spotty colour scheme out on a few spare crawling Marine figures. Hopefully Alan has now secured some version 1 Marines for future ‘spotty’ use.

The US Marines band – Music For Pleasure?

Whilst painting, basing and flocking these figures, I listened to a wide range of US Marines music and their marching cadence calls, including lots of Sousa marches and a very varied jazz and chamber music repertoire, all free and live streamed on the YouTube United States Marine Band channel. https://m.youtube.com/user/usmarineband

The bandsmen and bandswomen wear splendid red band uniforms.

Hopefully this rousing Marines music is now infused into my tiny Marines’ paintwork and flock.

The Sousa marches seem very familiar since quite by chance, as a child in the early 1970s, my family were given some random Woolworths type LPs by a relative. They included this very cheery album cover of a tanned and smiling American drum lady; in reality, the band itself was all the way from sunny Sandhurst. MFP – good old ‘affordable‘ Music for Pleasure vinyl LPs.