"Favorite Airfix plastic HO scale military figures?" Topic

Which were you favorite 1/72 scale Airfix plastic military figures? For those of you that still enjoy these figures, this question can be answered in the present tense.

British 8th Army and Afrika Korps
Followed by the WWI Doughbys

British 8th Army and Afrika Korps.

I had a nice large Roman army.
I had nice barbarian auxilia made from the Robin Hood set and the Britons.
Zoo Set 2 contributed elephants to my Carthaginian army. I gave all the giraffes to a Very Famous TMP advertiser who put French hussars on them. The penguins stumped me.

Oddly for me, I never did anything with the American Revolution sets.

Always was and am a die hard Foreign Legion fan followed by the French Imperial Guard.

Honorable mention to the WWI British Infantry.

The WWI British Infantry.
Runner up: French Waterloo cuirassiers.

Grelber

Loved (and love) the ACW figures, plus the Afrika Korps and 8th Army guys.

US Marines, even though there were too many M-3 Grease Guns, no Thompson SMGs, and no BARs.

And the US Airborne, even though they had a guy with a Sten Gun, and no M-1 Garands or Bazookas.

V/R,
Jack

French foreign legion and arabs

British 8th army
Africa korps
Us airborne
German WWII
Japanese WWII

French Foreign Legion, WW1 French, and Astronauts. All of which fought bravely alongside my multinational WW2 tank force in my youth.

ACW figs and ww I German infantry.

Afrika Korps and British 8th Army.

Tied as favorite, probably because they were the first I owned after the Guards Band and Guards infantry. They also fought each other a million times in my early wargaming years.
Infantry Combat Group (1962)
WW2 German Infantry (1962)

Frankly, them all.

They all helped develop my interest in military history, painting miniatures, and wholesome fun.

You?

FFL (Fort Sahara… be still my HEART!!!), Astronauts, WWI Germans, British Guards Band… so many others!!!

Charlie

Airfix Kits and Figs (and their Magazine – NOT "easy" to get in the States… were the "BOMB"!!!)

Charlie

Weren't Robin Hood and his mates also a boxed kit!?!…

More very "nice" childhood-teen memories!!!

Bring Back Fort Sahara!!!

"Beau Geste!"

Japanese Infantry

My Ma and Da had a "sandy" colored carpet in the "living room"/parlor (if I remember correctly) and Fort Sahara would be besieged by "Riffs" etc. for "weeks" at a time. Staunch blue Legionnaires would defend the Tricolor against the natives. HOURS of FUN with friends (and on my own!).
Thank YOU to the good folks who designed/created and marketed those imaginative toys/figures!

All of the updated reissues.

Firearms that while 'bendy' were actually correctly proportioned.

Only caveat were the 'shorts' on the Romans – as I recall based on a misinterpretation of a grave monument.

All of them….

I bought the Brit 8th Army & The German Afrika Korps and didn't have a real interest in the theater at the time. Just thought they were neat.

Union, CSA and 7TH Cavalry.
Airfix had it all.
Artillery, Infantry and Cavalry.
The best!

The second version Airfix German Afrika Korps set is one of the best sets ever made, and after 45 years they are still an excellent set. Their 8th Army are also very good.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

I loved the Australians and the Ghurkas. As a kid I thought they were so exotic and they were the heroes of many floor battles.

Considering the number of boxes I bought… Robin Hood, Ancient Brits and Romans, probably in that order.

I discovered Airfix when I was in college. I bought many sets and enjoyed them all, and played many skirmishes, including converting Sniper! and Patrol! from hex-and-counters games to miniatures games.

It's hard to call any of them my favorites, but some that I remember best are:

Ghurkas
-German paratroops (supplemented with Roco motorcycles)
-German mountain troops (Airfix even sent me replacement skis when I wrote to complain that my box was missing some)
-Romans (painted green for use as alien NPCs)
-Robin Hood
-Knights
-British commandos (love those kayaks)
-Afrika Korps (some easily converted for Traveller)

My Airfix HO scale DUKW wasn't a figure, but it was in the right scale and one of my favorite things.

All of the First World War sets. I also loved the Wagon Train set.

Afrika Korps
8th Army
Prussian Infantry (Waterloo)

German Paras and Mountain troops were good, as were the 2nd edition British Commandos.

So many wonderful minis and memories but teh below ones are probably my faves:

Afrika Korps
8th Army
Australians
Gurkhas
US Paratroopers

And my favorite box art probably is Foreign Legion.

…. so why aren't they still making them ??

Some are still in production by HaT:

hat.com/current7.html

Tough to choose. Each box had a figure that was memorable. I'm going with the original US Marines box. I think they were redone but I never bought the new ones.

Airfix are still in full production as far as I am aware – my local model shop has a pretty full stock of them except the Napoleonics which only seem to available in a big set with the farmhouse… and of course ebay is swimming in them.

The Romans, The Britons, Robin Hood, Sherriff of Nottingham and all the ACW (including the Native Americans & 7th cavalry).

1975, my first miniatures ,ever; Robin Hood, British Artillery WW1, Waterloo Highlanders.

ACW figs – especially those brick red artillerymen

Afrika Korps, 8th Army, Highlander's, Astronauts, WW1 British Artillery, Napoleonic French Artillery, Britons, Romans, Commandos.

All the Napoleonics, wish the cuirassiers were done better though. WW1 Germans and French. Ancient Britons.

Pete

ACW Union and WWI Brits. The latter provided heads for the former, and voila, Mexican War US troops. My first ever conversions back in college. Still have bases of them painted up for Resaca de Palma.

I used many a box of The Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood figures to make orcs back in the VERY early 1970s.
And Romans for Haradrim along with Ancient Britons and the American Indian sets for Easterlings.
Lots of boxes…

Australians , Gurkhas and US paras .

I loved my Afrika Korps and 8th Army figures, but I seem to recall some NATO Paratroopers with their berets and L1A1s that I absolutely loved. Was that Airfix, or am I mis-remembering?

(Keep in mind I'm an American- but those NATO troops sure looked cool.)

Romans & Gauls

I had 8th Army as a kid, wish I still had them.

The Waterloo RHA – exotic uniforms, a great and imaginative range of poses, lots of equipment – what's not to like? And still the best representation of the RHA in plastic, despite their age.

Or the Cowboys – because they were my first.

I had several boxes of ACW (both sides) and played with them on the floor for hours. Probably my favorites were the Romans with the attachable shields. I also loved the Napoleonics too.

US marines. Both sets. It had a cool rubber boat, and a bazooka with loader. Cool

But every set was bought and enjoyed

And I still have most of my originals