"Airfix Waterloo French Artillery" Topic

I understand this set was released in 1971. Does anyone know which month?
Many thanks.

August 1971 according to page 32 'Airfix's Little Soldiers' by Jean-Christope Carbonel.

I remember rushing up to the newsagent to buy a box.
In those day Airfix was available at many shops.

That is excellent detective work.
Why did you what to know Allan? A bet?

martin

@Wargamorium
Many thanks!

@Martin Goddard
No, not a bet. A school friend of mine, Tim Carr, bought a box and painted them. I had never seen painted wargames figures before and it was at that moment I was hooked by the hobby. Tim and I started painting the available range of Airfix Waterloo figures (Tim, British and me, French), together with substitute figures (for example,the British Guards Band doubled up for French Imperial Guard). We played our very first game in the winter of 1972/1973 and I have often wondered exactly when it was that I first saw Tim's painted figures: from the August 1971 release date it was probably late 1971. Tim moved away about 1973, just after I joined Stoke Wargames Club (I am still a member), but we did play a few games at each other's houses over the next couple of years. We lost touch in the late 1970's, but Tim did give me his original French artillery figures and a few survive to this day. Happy days!

I remember the set being released! was that really 50 years ago?

All the Airfix Napoleonic sets are great. I had to have 2 boxes of Prussians just because they had no cavalry or artillery.
I can still smell the fresh plastic as I opened the box.

And they were sold in department stores, like Woolworth's and Woolco and Zellers. There was also a small plaza near us that had a bookstore upstairs and a hardware store downstairs; the latter, as a true jack-of-all-trades place, carried a few craft-type things, including a handful of plastic models and balsa stuff…. and, when they came out, stacks of Airfix.

I refuse to believe this was 50 years ago!!

Have tons of them. All painted up. All the French and British…La Haye Sant as well…painted and based…padded them out with Newline designs. Also have HaT, Zvezda, Revell…usethem for General de Brigade

Also have FFL/Arabs and the fort (TSATF)…Robin Hood and Sheriff but no castle (Outlaws of Sherwood Forest)…Romans/Brotons and the fort (DBA)…also a whack of ESCI, Hat, Dayton Painting Consortium Zulus and Brits (TSATF).

If you're lucky and I get organized after my move, I'll post some pics on my Instagram acct

Dave

Thank you Allan.
One of their best sets for wargaming in my opinion.
3 guns with limbers.
8 men marching.
all useable for wargame armies.
50 years…crickey

That british limber was a real pain to put together.
martin

Fully half a century ago! The melancholy one might be expected to feel ("Ah, no! The years, the years") is tempered, in my case, by the recognition that so many Wargamers clearly have the same affection for this particular series as do I; there were many skirmishes between Highlanders and French Cuirassiers before Airfix provided RHA, British Line and Hussars which dwarfed the Cuirassiers. Of the set in question, though the gun itself was a bit problematic with regard to the size of the tube (and the limber basic in the extreme), the figure carrying the bucket, and that standing with the rammer, were among my favourites, and of course we've all got entire Line infantry battalions composed of the marching figures, presumably with the long sword removed. Pleasant memories (and I anticipate contributions here from several more enthusiasts). Good Luck.

""*[//]) {> !!!!

First figures I ever painted, probably bought from Woolworths c. 1976

I always liked the figure carrying the roundshot

John

You mean that bloke who's just been kicked in the knackers?

The Cuirassiers were waving their swords, but none of them actually had a scabbard.

British Hussars dwarfed the stunted Cuirassiers.

RHA were, I think, the best set Airfix produced.

Happy days.

I did use some Airfix French Artillery in my early Napoleonic set up, but nowadays mainly use the carriages in my 18th Century Jacobite Rebellion set up as French (Swedish) Artillery, with different tubes (barrels).

link

I also used the horses and limbers individually to pull my smallest 3 pounder British and 4 pounder French18th Century artillery.

Rod

great memories and hours of play – ah to be 9 again!!

We owe a lot to those Airfix sets.
The later ones such as the RHA and Old Guard, were very good.

None of the cuirassiers had a valise, carbine or cartridge box either. It looks like the sculptor ran out of time.

The French artillery is still one of my favourite sets.
They get a lot of criticism but I think they still look good in large battles.
Actually painting up a bunch for an Alamo game. Mix them in with the Imex Mexican artillery.
Good enough for me.

Airfix Napoleonics started me off on the Wargames road at about the grand old age of 7. I always loved the artwork on the boxes, so evocative

I agree, something about the airfix box art makes me buy them wether I need them or not.
Especially the vintage sets.

My dad did a superb paint job on mine, apart from the faces and hands. He ran out of flesh colour and left them bare, so all my French gunners campaigned with jaundice.

He did the same with the cuirassiers, which I still have.

Airfix Highlanders vs Garde Grenadiers… the 'Marching pose from the AWI set. Arty both sets. Cuirassiers painted as Brit Heavy Dragoons…
BUT! Those cav bases!
By the time that the Brit/French LINE inf came out, I had got 'Fed Up' with enamel paint 'flaking' from swords, muskets and Horse legs… so some 'early' Minifigs metals were absolutely wonderful… BUT so much bigger than Airfix… who were 'retired'… too much effort to repaint.

I washed them well first in warm water and washing-up liquid. I then painted them with diluted, white woodworkers glue first, then pained them, and finished off with a coat of polyurethane gloss varnish.

But in the end, like you, I switched to Minfigs and Hinchliffe when I started work at 16 so had the money to do so.