Forgotten Georgia Cottage

Our second cottage painted – Georgia Cottage.

Crossposted from our Man Of TIN Blog Two blogsite:

https://manoftinblogtwo.wordpress.com/2023/02/07/forgotten-georgia-cottage/

TSAF Toy Soldier Air Force

Thanks to the quickly passed plastic  craze of Moshi Monsters, I have now acquired two interesting hybrid fighter bombers. Perfect for any Imagi-Nations Air forces.

They were sourced through my family for free or a few pounds online. They are roughly suitable for 54mm or 1:32 figures, arguably the only true scale for H.G. Wells Big “Little Wars”.

This was how they arrived, in their original Moshi Monster Super Moshi character forms of Katsuma and Poppet, little Heli Moshi Monster  which cleverly transforms into part of the propellor and engine.

These planes are hybrids, garishly coloured with their  pink countershading (female Super Moshi Poppet character) and orange paint scheme (Male cat Super Moshi character Katzuma). I recognise bits of different WW2 aircraft moshed, morphed or mashed together to make this generic hybrid.

Those Super Moshi hybrid aeroplanes in a screen shot of the Super Moshi music video (c/o Youtube / moshimonsters.com)

I especially like the orange bulbous nosed “Shark Teeth” fighter, originally belonging to SuperMoshi Katsuma.

Light machine gun armament  from a pound store / Tim Mee type modern toy plastic soldier in Blue Army uniform.

How our wartime photographer pictured these magnificent men …

I looked through a cheap modern reprint of another old childhood branch library  Blandford favourite, Fighters 1939-1945 by Kenneth Munson, to see if I could find the Moshi Monster plane’s forebears.

Grumman Hellcat? Tomahawk with the shark teeth motif? Bulbous Brewster Buffalo, one of my odder childhood aircraft models?

My naval grandfather may have recognised the type. He served on various Royal Navy aircraft carriers during the Pacific /  SE Asia naval campaigns including the Kamikaze raids on carriers.

Small snaps in my Royal Navy grandad’s WW2 album that may have been taken by him or the ship’s photographer. Stamped on the Reverse by Censor: “Not Suitable for Transmission Through The Post”.  Written on the back – “Corsair Fighter” (bottom left)  and top left “Port Suez”  with aircraft wings stowed. Note RAF Roundels. 

His photo album shows similar carrier based planes but with fold up wings to stow neatly above and  below decks.

The shark teeth and eye motif of the Curtis P40 Tomahawk

I would be surprised if you recognised the pilot of the orange aircraft but you might have seen part of him on the blog a few months back amongst the metal detectorist’s toy soldier finds.

Here is how he looks now with a charming Dorset Soldiers recast Pilot head. A hint of Dastardly and Muttly here? Maybe a bullet-holed flying scarf might be required.

Here is how he appeared amongst the toy soldier finds:

Third from top left, our pilot’s arms and body. Bottom right, this fragment is also a pilot figure, not yet fully restored.

https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/recalled-to-the-colours-54mm-metal-detectorists-toy-soldier-finds-restored-to-fighting-condition

Some Ground Crew

The  Johillco running pilots in civilian or technician white flying overalls and also khaki flight suits will eventually be joined by some ground crew. Somewhere I have a mould to homecast more RAF Regiment ground crew and also a Britain’s WAAF amongst others to add to the Toy Soldier Air Force at some point.

Army Red and Army Blue will get one plane each, after some removal of some stickers (the shark teeth, eye and katsuma stickers will stay!) There will also be some paint  adjustments to their desert orange or desert pink camouflage schemes, such as lighter bellies as part of aircraft countershading.

Johillco running Pilot, Britain’s RAF fire crew, modern metal  Britain’s British and US Navy crew (D-Day 1944 commemorative set?), Johillco air crew in donkey jacket, Home cast RAF Regiment, Britain’s RAF Regiment, Johillco running Pilot.

Rear view of the Air Force and Navy figures including handy slung tin hat on the sixth Home-cast figure, who can also be painted a# Home Guard or Army in Khaki.

Interestingly these navy and aircrew figures link into both sides of my family with a Naval grandfather who served on aircraft carriers and an RAF ground crew Grandfather, both of whom had passed away before I was born.

https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/20/fathers-day-raf-firefighter/

Not quite sure how these aircraft will fit into the 54mm outdoor or indoor games. Defending the airbase will be one scenario.  I currently have no rules for aircraft, but I’m sure F.E. Perry’s First and Second Book of Wargaming and Featherstone’s Air Wargames Books may have some clues. Not quite sure what sort of ground spike or stand will be needed yet for a mix of garden and floor / tabletop use.

Little Air Wars?

If I encounter another Moshi aeroplane at good price, the next one gets turned into a “string bag” Biplane, even more suitable for H.G. Wells Edwardian / WW1  era  Little Wars. He missed including military biplanes in Little Wars by a few years.

One very “Happy Meal” at Macdonalds when The Peanuts Movie came out …

Meanwhile the Aerial Menace of my floor and garden is added to by my favourite (toy) pilot of all time – well worth watching the recent Peanuts movie for the dogfight scenes against the Red Baron.

A dubious ground crew on this surprising ESCI product, an Italian company not just good for plastic toy soldiers.

Some great 1983 packaging too!

Love the  machine gun hole damage to the fuselage! Good Grief!

Chocks Away! Bandits at 5 o’clock! Tally Ho! Blam blam blam etc.

and finally … here is the original Super Moshi March music video on YouTube.An

Blog posted by Mark, Man of TIN 6 July 2018.