John the OFM | 22 Oct 2024 8:43 p.m. PST |
Back in the day when a poor starving student appreciated boxed for $1.00 USD! Romans, of course. Roman Heavy Cavalry were French Cuirassiers with thumbtack shields. Cowboys took on many Light Cavalry. Carthaginians used Robin Hood archers converted to Spanish with Stroh's beans for shields, and pins for spears. Do Roman head transplants for same, or peltasts. Zoo Set #2 had a fine elephant. Knights and Robin Hood. Medieval. A friend took American Indians, wrapped glue and cloth around them and made Ancient Indians. I wasn't into AWI back then, but I see many uses. Sadly, some needed metal figures. 😢 What did you do? |
Dal Gavan | 22 Oct 2024 9:54 p.m. PST |
Napoleonics, Roman invasion of Britain (the Ancient Britons and Romans were two of their better sets), ACW, WWII Western Desert and PNG (Airfix Australians and 8th army versus some Japanese- made by a company I can't remember*.) SYW (using the Brit grenadiers and Washington's Army for both Austrian and Prussian forces, "completed" with Napoleonic artillery and British "Waterloo" hussars- which you can do quite happily at age 14). *Does anyone remember a plastic soldier range from the early '70's which were a bit larger than Airfix, but close enough? They came with the flesh (faces and hands) blob-painted. Most were nice figures, too, for the time. They came out, at least here, in the early 70's, possibly even '69. Sold in bags of 20 or so figures for about 10c, though later on the bags were only six to 10 figures. They had the usual suspects from WWII, including some Japanese, which nicely filled a gap in the Airfix line. There were also Spanish Republicans from the SCW, who came with a Spanish ensign carrying a (roughly) painted Spanish Flag. Some WWII sets, eg 8th Army and Japanese, included crew served MG and mortars. Each set was moulded in the approximate uniform colour. PS Sorry, John, not trying to hijack the thread. |
Martin Rapier | 22 Oct 2024 10:40 p.m. PST |
I didn't do much in the way of convertng as I mainly used them for WW2 and Napoleonic, just paint conversions and chopping some figures around to make heavy weapons crews or change head gear. I do convert a lot of vehicles though. |
Dexter Ward | 23 Oct 2024 12:56 a.m. PST |
Horse Archers were the top half of Robin Hood archers on ACW cavalry bottom halves. |
GildasFacit | 23 Oct 2024 1:08 a.m. PST |
I had a Celtic army with some minor conversions for standard bearers more impressive than the originals. I did a small number of Romans converted to Greeks but they were too much work to do more. I did a medieval army that had men with pin spears/lances and drawing pin shields, even barding made from toothpaste tubes for the knights. Sadly all of them crumbled to dust many years ago. |
myxemail | 23 Oct 2024 2:21 a.m. PST |
WW II : US marines, Africa Corps WW I: British, Germans Napoleonics: French artillery Miscellaneous: farm animals Those are the sets that I can specifically can recall, even though I had several more sets |
John the OFM | 23 Oct 2024 2:34 a.m. PST |
Spanish with Stroh's beans for shields I bet that's rather confusing… "Stroh's beer can tabs for shields…" They pulled off back then. Proper oval shields, with them cut away with sheets, and filed. How could I leave out the Gauls? Nice chariots. |
Flashman14 | 23 Oct 2024 2:52 a.m. PST |
ACW Union for Legionnaires. I can't recall what we used for Arabs. American Indians? It wasn't for long and Viking Hobby carried the full range of Minifigs so we transitioned quickly into lead for our Colonial games. |
bobspruster | 23 Oct 2024 3:34 a.m. PST |
I sold my 2,000 Airfix figures (and Roco armor collection) when I turned 13 in 1966. I knew nothing about miniature wargaming until I learned of it's existence around 1977 at which time I immediately started with Airfix Napoleonics. |
Alakamassa | 23 Oct 2024 5:08 a.m. PST |
Set up German WW2 and Roco armor in the TV room on Friday night while watching Wild Wild West and Hogan's Heroes. Those were the days in the 1960s before discovering gaming. First gamed with Airfix ACW. Bought a ton of Naps while bicycling through Wales in 1974 which I tried to paint in 1980 and gave up on. Dug out the WW2 and Roco toys when I got more involved with gaming in college 1974-8. Switched to lead during my D&D period and save for a few simple games with my son never returned to Airfix. Funny, I was just thinking about repainting all the Airifix WW2 this morning. An old man longing for the days of youth. |
ColCampbell | 23 Oct 2024 5:54 a.m. PST |
Robin Hood figures armed with insect pins for pikemen. Dangerous if you accidently rested your forearm on a unit with vertical pikes. Ouch! WW1 Germans minus the spike on the helmet for British colonials in pith helmets. French Napoleonic dragoons with a paint job as British Napoleonic heavy dragoons. Plus I'm sure there were others but can't recall any details. And I still have the very first unit I painted – the British Napoleonic Highlanders as the 42nd Black Watch! Jim |
79thPA | 23 Oct 2024 6:15 a.m. PST |
I was boring; I just used them for whatever they were. |
Col Durnford | 23 Oct 2024 6:32 a.m. PST |
Cowboys for CSA Calvary. French foreign legion, with cut off neck cloth, for 1870 French. WWI Germans appropriate painted for their enemy. Waterloo British infantry for Austrian. Even a few Union infantry for Italians. Even before that the color party (in bearskins) painted up in two different colors to fight it out. |
JMcCarroll | 23 Oct 2024 6:47 a.m. PST |
I was a strange kid, I keep buying French WW1 boxes and to this day I can not tell you why. I did have WW2 stuff later and had the Zoo pack and African safari pack. I had a nice zoo in the back yard until a summer storm came threw. Still can't find my cheetah, which was my favorite. |
FingerandToeGlenn | 23 Oct 2024 7:06 a.m. PST |
Mexican War: Civil War US infantry and cavalry for bodies with WWI British infantry for heads. Napoleonic Brits for Mexican infantry with some cutting on the shakos. Chapaultepec cadets were the Brit Guards with shakos trimmed to garrison hats. Cuirassiers for, well, curiassiers (most painted as 1st regiment). |
Gear Pilot | 23 Oct 2024 7:09 a.m. PST |
I collected the WWI and WWII boxes. I had plenty of battles fought on my bed. Dominoes were used for artillery. |
Dagwood | 23 Oct 2024 7:49 a.m. PST |
Romans, Ancient Britons or Gauls, WW2, Napoleonics, Medieval, ACW, FFL and Arabs all intended to be used for what they were. I still have most of them, the WW2 still unpainted. Some Ancient British Cavalry were converts from WW2 figures, not particularly successful. Infantry converts (mostly just adding shields) were more so. The Romans were painted in a silly blue colour scheme back in about 1972. I have recently been repainting the legionaries in red, last 8 figures on my painting table ATM. They will have more recent HAT figures added for cavalry and auxiliaries. Shame about the silly "lances". |
Martian Root Canal | 23 Oct 2024 7:52 a.m. PST |
Many of my Airfix troops became 'crash test dummies' in my model rockets or in my firecracker demolition experiments. I also used them for wargaming. |
khanscom | 23 Oct 2024 8:18 a.m. PST |
WWII mainly-- did a "paint conversion" of Japanese to Italians . Some ACW cavalry were converted to Russians with Roco heads transplanted. |
Wackmole9 | 23 Oct 2024 8:20 a.m. PST |
Arabs vs French foreign legion in the Sahara fort |
ChrisBrantley | 23 Oct 2024 8:42 a.m. PST |
Rules According to Ral battles with Airfix Robin Hood vs. Sheriff of Nottingham. Used Airfix to create J. B. Gordon Brigade for Civil War battles using Rally 'Round the Flag rules at the club. Bought Airfix AWI (Americans & Brits), cowboys, arabs and foreign legion, but never used them. |
Micman | 23 Oct 2024 9:07 a.m. PST |
ACW, Marines, Africa Corps, Airborne. Also still have them. |
Red Jacket | 23 Oct 2024 9:19 a.m. PST |
Started with the Civil War and then WWI and WWII. I had Arfix-like figures that I ordered from an ad in my Weird War Tales comic book for the American Revolutionary War. They were nowhere close to the Arfix quality. I then bought (or had Dad buy) different periods. A great way to get more "army men" was to explain that I needed both sides of a conflict. What good was the Foreign Legion without Arab tribesmen to battle with. Come to think of it, I may have been spoiled as a kid? I had three ping pong tables set-up over which units could move so fast that it was like they were teleporting from end to end, depending upon who I wanted to win. History was unimportant, my Roman fort worked perfectly for the castle from the movie "Castle Keep." The French Foreign Legion fort worked fine for European castles or Fort Ticonderoga. Artillery was augmented by cannon purchased during family vacations to various historical sites. Scale was unimportant. All I needed for hours of entertainment was my imagination. |
Perris0707 | 23 Oct 2024 10:56 a.m. PST |
I converted WWI French and Foreign Legion into Franco Prussian War French. I used WWI Germans for the Prussian forces. For Cavalry forces I used Waterloo French Cuirassiers and British Hussars. I also converted many of the Robin Hood figures into ancient Israelite warriors. |
belasirius | 23 Oct 2024 12:52 p.m. PST |
I used WW1 French for WW2 French and Belgians, I used Confederates for German Colonials. I used the French Foreign Legion for Peruvians and ACW for Chileans for the Great Pacific war. |
Parzival | 23 Oct 2024 1:07 p.m. PST |
I wasn't really into what I only knew of as "Army Men." I did long for the various medieval and ancient figures in the Sears catalog, but couldn't afford them. (I was a kid, not a college student.) By the time I could afford ‘em, I was playing with Star Wars action figures (still have them) and their in-scale spacecraft (still have those). Otherwise I spent the money on video games. My friends had Army Men, which wound up the victims of "hand grenades" (firecrackers) or "nukes" (lighter fluid), or were targets for close-range BB fire. I did have a set of plastic British Royal Guards (with bearskin hats), bought for me by my older sister on a trip to England. These stalwart fellows served as infantry in the wars between the stuffed animals on my bed (which I favored) vs. the strange toys on my bookshelf across the room (who were the bad guys. One was an extremely ugly poseable clown doll given to me by a great aunt, and thus not "disposable." Yegad that thing was hideous. Perfect evil general.) I also had some generic Flash Gordon style spacemen, and they joined in the wars as well. My childhood bedroom was a dangerous war zone for imaginary people. |
Frederick | 23 Oct 2024 1:19 p.m. PST |
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ron skirmisher | 23 Oct 2024 1:19 p.m. PST |
1/32th or the little guys? We still game with the 1/32th in our WWII Bolt-Action Games/Battles. |
14Bore | 23 Oct 2024 2:03 p.m. PST |
Had German WW2 and 8th Army British, just played with them on a train set. Wish I had them now |
20thmaine | 23 Oct 2024 2:26 p.m. PST |
French Foreign Legion for ACW Zouves. |
FusilierDan | 23 Oct 2024 3:18 p.m. PST |
While reading the Classic Illustrated "Conspiracy of Pontiac" I used my newly acquired WWI French and WWI Germans as well as the Plains Indians. For awhile I played Revolution and Worker's strikes games. Any figures with a pick, shovel, surrendering or throwing a hand grenade was a protester. Cowboys were all protesters. WWII Germans were either firemen and medics or elite guards for the Dictator (German officer saluting) Infantry Combat Group was the National Guard, WWI Americans State Police, US Marines National Guard except the guys that had no weapons. Wagon Train and civilians were civilians. US Cavalry were Cossacks running down anyone in their way as in Dr. Zhivago. |
Sydney Gamer | 23 Oct 2024 5:33 p.m. PST |
Fired Britain's cannons and rolled marbles at the them, at first. Then got Don Featherstone's Wargames first book and the light went on! |
Bunkermeister | 23 Oct 2024 5:34 p.m. PST |
link I have a Facebook group that asks that same question, with 15,000 members. I used them for what they were, mostly, but since then I convert stuff all the time, mostly 20th Century, mostly head swaps. Bunmkermeister |
Oberlindes Sol LIC | 23 Oct 2024 10:44 p.m. PST |
The medieval sets -- Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham, as I recall -- found their way into Dungeons & Dragons games. I remember using one of Robin Hood's archers as ninja in Bushido. I painted some Napoleonics, but somehow the French Cuirassiers ended up mounted on rhinoceroses. I don't they ever got into a battle, but they looked cool on my shelf staring down the Highlanders. I did a few little conversions for Traveller, like gluing a thread from rifle to gas mask canister of an Afrika Korps trooper, and calling it a laser rifle and power pack. And my Roman legionnaires are green for some forgotten reason. I think maybe they were humanoid aliens opposing my Giant brand round aliens. |
Saber6 | 24 Oct 2024 7:36 a.m. PST |
WW-I and WW-II First sets were Afrika Korps and US Marines LOTS of WW-I Germans and Brits too. |
John the OFM | 24 Oct 2024 9:12 a.m. PST |
I painted some Napoleonics, but somehow the French Cuirassiers ended up mounted on rhinoceroses. I don't they ever got into a battle… So, heavy Cav get heavy mounts. My giraffes got Hussars, so light mounts for light cavalry. All makes sense. Hey. It was the 70s, Man. 😁 |
20thmaine | 25 Oct 2024 1:00 a.m. PST |
When the armies of Mordor were too small, Romans were recruited in for orcs and goblins…. |
dapeters | 25 Oct 2024 9:11 a.m. PST |
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TimePortal | 26 Oct 2024 1:28 p.m. PST |
In small towns in the South during the 1960s, 1/72 was not easily available. I played with mainly 1/32 plastic. My grandfather had several sand piles since he had a cemetery company. So I had plenty of room to shot BBS at them and explode fireworks for many hours. He got tired of finding bits in his cement mixer, he made me a large pile of sand of my own. Lol. |
Zephyr1 | 26 Oct 2024 2:24 p.m. PST |
I used the WWII Germans as proxies for Japanese island defenders (as well as for D-Day beach defenders.) I've always liked doing invasions… ;-) |
Virtualscratchbuilder | 28 Oct 2024 3:55 a.m. PST |
Circa 1978…. Took a box of British AWI grenadiers, added halberd blades to bayonets, vaunted everything black, and then green skin and silver blades and voila! Orcs! From two feet away anyway. |
piper909 | 29 Oct 2024 8:37 p.m. PST |
Sadly, many of mine wound up fighting dinosaurs and dragons on Terror Island somewhere in the South Seas and were melted in a resulting inferno (gasoline on the ground followed by a match). That's what boys did. Oh, and firecrackers!! |
Lets party with Cossacks | 30 Oct 2024 2:23 p.m. PST |
At 13 tried to do a Waterloo diorama for a school project. Lots of non napoleonics pressed into service to meet up with their nap comrades. Had a 110mm Napoleon who towered over the ping pong table battlefield. No one seemed to understand how essential it was that it remained after the project was completed & marked… |
forrester | 02 Nov 2024 2:28 a.m. PST |
ACW infantry with bits of sprue added as French shakos. Also with Belgic shakos added with paper and plasticene as British Cuirassiers painted as British heavies. Guards Colour Party as Old Guard. Ghastly |
Old Contemptible | 02 Nov 2024 5:36 p.m. PST |
I was playing board games in the 70s. |