"line of plastic toy soldiers late 70's/80's?" Topic

I am trying to find a line of plastic toy soldiers from the late 70's, early 80's.

I had them as a child, and they showed up in a hobby store in a new mall built after I moved in 76, so I would say I got them around 78ish.

There were various eras, if I am remembering correctly, including World War 2, but I mostly remember the Napoleonics. I might have had Plains War cavalry….or Indians.

They came in white boxes, that were probably about 6 inches by 6 inches. They were sold at my local hobby store on a spinner rack.

The figures were larger than 15mm but smaller than 28.

The figures were white plastic. I mostly remember having Wellington on a rearing horse, and rifleman firing their guns. I do remember them being very well detailed. I have searched to see if I had any in an old bin, but I moved and everything left behind was thrown away.

I know this is not much to go on….I think the small white boxes are the big clue as to the range.

I am trying to find a line of plastic toy soldiers from the late 70's, early 80's.

I had them as a child, and they showed up in a hobby store in a new mall built after I moved in 76, so I would say I got them around 78ish.

There were various eras, if I am remembering correctly, including World War 2, but I mostly remember the Napoleonics. I might have had Plains War cavalry….or Indians.

They came in white boxes, that were probably about 6 inches by 6 inches. They were sold at my local hobby store on a spinner rack.

The figures were larger than 15mm but smaller than 28.

The figures were white plastic. I mostly remember having Wellington on a rearing horse, and rifleman firing their guns. I do remember them being very well detailed. I have searched to see if I had any in an old bin, but I moved and everything left behind was thrown away.

I know this is not much to go on….I think the small white boxes are the big clue as to the range.

Airfix? I had the Waterloo French and British with some cuirassiers and British Hussars. Came in a white box and if I recall correctly that was almost the only option out there. 1975 ish era.

Yeah I think Mike is correct. The only ones I have ever seen were a single Napoleonic multipart fig. Definitely white plastic.

There was a line from Italy, perhaps it was called Atlantic. I had some of their Greeks. I don't remember them having Napoleonics.
Matchbox also sold soft plastic figures, mostly WWII.
There were also hard plastic (like model airplanes) figures. They cost more, and I don't know much about them.

Grelber

Keifer113, have you checked the Plastic Soldier Review site? Might jog a memory.

PSR here:

link

I feel silly…those Airfix figs were 54mm. I missed that he was talking about 1/72. I have GOBS of 90s+ made 1/72 infantry but no white figs that I can recall.

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Airfix came in boxes that size and back then they were sold all over, where ever models were sold.

At least some of their Napoleonic sets came in white plastic.

They were 1/76 to 1/72nd scale so just under an inch tall.

They were in plastic.

They are still being produced and sold but the whole range is not available at any one time.

As others have mentions, Plastic Soldier Review will show the years released and photos of each figure and what color plastic they came in although the color list is not always complete.

I have an Airfix group on Facebook with lots of experts on it who can answer almost any question.
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Mike Bunkermeister Creek

In the late 1960s Airfix also did a range of 'Waterloo' figures "larger than 15mm but smaller than 28" but no Wellington on a rearing horse, as I recall, or Riflemen.

Airfix did OO/HO scale, so about 23mm in today's reckoning.

French Old Guard
French Line Infantry
French Foot Artillery (4pdrs I think)
French Cuirassiers

British Line Infantry
British Highland Infantry
British Horse Artillery
British Hussars

Prussian Landwehr

My recollection is that they were all a light yellow plastic, except the Prussians, who were the same blue grey as their WWI and WWII Germans.

And of course, La Haye Sainte.

Cheers,
John

I remember these. I had some of the Napoleonics. I think there were blue ones and red ones, and they were a little larger than Airfix with somewhat open poses. They were not as well-designed as Airfix, but they were the only Napoleonics around in plastic in the late 1960's. There were also some Greeks.

LG, those figures were much earlier. I recall they were sold on cards stock with clear plastic covering. I believe they were by a company called Giant. Larger than Airfix. If it's the same line, the mounted figures had pins on the legs that fit into the horse. They had very oversized artillery and a 4 horse chariot.

The Airfix Waterloo British Infantry does have a mounted officer on a rearing horse.

Airfix also did Plains Wars Cavalry (datrk blue) and Indians (reddish – no political correctness then). Rather smaller than the Napoleonic offerings – they were somewhat older.

I wish I could send a wide band thank you to everyone.

The figures must have been the Airfix ones.

While I remember them being much crisper in detail, and I do not remember some of the poses, I do remember other ones. The rearing horse that I could have sworn was a British one was a US Cavalry horse.

I must have had the AWI Continentals, the Civil War Union, the US Cavalry and the British from Waterloo. I also had cannons.

My 7 or 8yo self probably wanted AWI British and did not realize there was a difference.

Thank you all for the help!!!!!

There were AWI British – grenadiers in bearskins. I seem to recall using them for Napoleonic grenadier companies and fusiliers. In my defence, I was young and ignorant . . .

Cheers,
John

@ Kiefer

If it's any consolation, the figures you had that were thrown away might well have disintegrated by now, even if you'd kept them. 1960s-70s era plastic, the type used to make figures, contained things called phthalates that made the plastic bendy and gave it its strength. Over time this stuff often leaches out and leaves the plastic as brittle as a biscuit. They don't use the same formulation any more. If you're on a nostalgia mission to reacquire these,the Waterloo ones were reissued off cleaned up tools a few years ago and are easy to find. The others you mention have not been around for a while but if you look at Scalemates you can check the packaging history; this will enable you to identify the most recent ones on offer, and to avoid the very old ones that may have the plastic rot problem.

Col Durnford, I remember Giant Toy Company of Hong Kong. I still have a few. A decent match for Airfix for scale, but a very limited range and a little earlier.

Unfortunately Britain's 'swoppit' figures also become brittle after time. My handsome Civil War figures have became amputees.

Ah, yes, the Old Guard (Airfix) were in dark grey plastic.

4th Cuirassier,

Interesting point about phthalates. I have a lot of old Airfix and as a rough rule I'd say that the pre 1972 figures have this problem (Highlanders, Cuirassiers) while I've never seen it with British Infantry, RHA and Hussars. Of course Highlanders produced later seem to be fine.

I've still got hundreds of these figures in plastic bags in the garage!
Like Erzerzog Johann, we converted, well..painted the airfix British Grenadiers not only as French guard ( before the real ones were issued) but also as Austrian and Saxon grenadiers.
What disappointed most collectors was the scale disparity between the sets, notably the Prussian Landwehr, they were particularly small.
I think we all added missing paper belts and plastic cartouche boxes to the cuirassiers, and used the basic French infantry for practically any other nation marching around the table! British infantry doubled as Belgians, too. Those were the days when we actually used our imagination, eh?

@ Trockledockle

Someone kindly passed some old Airfix on to me a few months ago and they included British infantry that exhibit this problem – so they are not immune, unfortunately. I agree it's the older figures. Broadly, if the plastic is yellow they may have this problem; if it's any other colour they are later and probably won't.

@ Desperate Dan

Yes, the solution to the size disparity back in the day was to glue the figures to thicker bases. The French infantry make good Prussians, Austrians, and Nassauers, but they do not make good French, unfortunately. With the two crossbelts they're either all flank companies or, as they lack epaulettes and shako bling, they're all NCOs. I reckon the sculptor based them off the wrong picture in Funcken.

@ 4th Cuirassier;
perhaps the Airfix French were modelled on a Young Guard rgt, given as you say the crossbelts, coupled with shoulder straps, and short tailed jackets. Just a thought. But these sets, following on from the Waterloo film, inspired so many of us to read Charles Grant, drool over Gilder's figures, fork out ready cash, and have shelves creaking with the amazing figures in our collections today.

@ Dan

It's possible, and I used to have some painted that way. The issue is the extra crossbelt with the sabre-briquet attached. That's the thing that shouldn't be there. Even the Young guard had ditched it by 1815. Troops who had those typically also had bling of some description on their shakoes – tall plumes, or a pronounced pom-pom, cords etc – and sported fringed epaulettes. Often, as in the case of the Young Guard too I think, they had pointed cuffs.

The Airfix guys have none of that stuff, which is why they look to me like fusilier-company NCOs. The guy marching with his musket at his right side can actually be used for one, although what he's doing in thigh-length gaiters in a Bardin uniform I can't think.

Probably these were sculpted from memory by someone with a poor memory. They'd make sense if Airfix thought accuracy didn't matter and had just told the sculptor to make them look roughly French, but that doesn't really add up because all the other infantry sets are all pretty accurate.

But yes, these little guys, faults and all, were the gateway to it all. Hundreds painted up and based looked very impressive, and you looked at them and then thought Hmm…need some French lancers…need some British heavy cavalry…need some light infantry….and bingo you were hooked.

@4th cuirassier..
Yes, that was me in for 50 years of collecting and painting till I was cross eyed! Not to mention the search for the Holy Grail rulebook..
Examining your comments more closely, I think you're right..the French may have been a 'rushed job' to get them on the shelves in Woolworths quickly before the dust had settled on the Waterloo film..the Highlanders and cuirassiers were next, and so on. Best set? That's easy; the Royal Horse Artillery.

They are all here

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The mounted officers were quite useful in that the British officer with his head replaced by an AWI grenadier's made a usable Scots Grey, while the French officer made a fair chasseur a cheval.