I have my Fan Art T-shirts online now. Pick your favorite officer. 10 for now but will be adding more. One shop for Europe and one for the US. Europe: toysoldiernostalgiaseu.myspreadshop.net/ US: toysoldiernostalgiaus.myspreadshop.com/
@@toysoldiernostalgia l paint historical miniatures to this day specialising in the so called dark age era, could never play with toy soldiers the way l did as a child in the 70s,
@@johncarroll772 I tried playing a few years ago. Doesn´t work anymore. But that´s why board games like Bolt Action and Gaslands is so great. It´s like playing but with rules :) But it´s just nice to have a few sets to display and just for nostalgic reasons.
It would be great to go back and relive those times, as long as I don't have to relive painting my dirty canvas trainers with that white paint or wearing a jumper knitted by my nan.
The artist who painted all the Airfix box art at that time was Roy Cross. He was fairly famous and according to Wikipedia is still alive and will be 100 on 23 April, in just a few weeks time!
If memory serves me right Roy Cross didn´t paint the toy soldier boxes. I have the name in one of my books. I´ll have a look tonight when I´m home from work
That´s right. Forgot to check yesterday. There´s a great picture of him in one of the books on Airfix, were he´s in his house with a helmet and a broom, taken by his wife. It was to help him get more natural looking "soldiers" on the box art. That photo was the base for the british 8th army soldier on the box of the mulitpose set@@williambooth5769
I seem to remember the boxes were white with a small matchbox size clear window, either on the front or back, I can’t remember as it was in the late ‘60. I mainly had the smaller 1/72, or 00 scale, as the range went from ancient British and the Romans, to Robin Hood, Napoleonic , Boer War, WWI &WWII, and some modern stuff. I always hoped the 00 range would extend to 1/32, as they would have been easier to paint. Unfortunately, I grew up and had to go to work! 😀
My younger days (1969 - 1973) were spent saving pocket money and birthday money to buy these sets from Boydells in Gosforth, Ncle upon Tyne. I had many sets. Germans were grey, Africa Corp were beige, Commandos were green. Used to set up dioramas in the back garden. Defensive positions or assault platoons then bombard the positions with my catapult. Hours of fun. Loved them. Strangely, I joined the British Army as an infantry soldier and retired as Platoon Sgt after 10 yrs. Thanks for sharing this video.. Now 64 yrs but I have fond memories of my little platoons.
Same. My brother and I would spend half our summer vacation collecting bottles by the side of the road to pay for "army men", though most of ours were 1:72.
@@PhilHolliday-lb5hh I liked the 1:72 because it allowed us to have literally thousands. I wish I had pictures of some of the grand battles we had setup in our basement - especially the masses of Napoleonic troops with hordes of cavalry charging dozens of guns and carefully arrayed lines and columns of infantry assaulting and defending the farm houses!
I am 57yrs old I loved my Airfix soldiers as a child. My era was the 1973, I had every type, my favourite was The British 8th Army, followed by the Japanese Set. Wish I had them now.
Got them in a huge box in the attic . No boxes unfortunately. Was buying them when I was 7-9. I thought the German and British paratroopers were ace too!
Also 57, still have my 1/32 Airfix soldiers, My son has played with them, he's now 30, my favourites were the Aussies and the Russians, plus the British Vickers gun and mortar set.
I am 62 live in New Zealand so shipments and variety where limited. Used to save my paper run money waiting for the next shipment in my small hometown which had 3-4 stores in town. I'd spend a hour to biking around to all my local stores that sold Airfix models to see what had arrived. If nothing I'd do a 2 hour bike trip or badger my parents so I could check out stores in the neighbouring town.. Africa Korp where probably my favorite, followed buy getting the catalogue book.
Still have mine. Gave him to my son when he was younger and showed him the ways. He used them with a model train set he got one xmas. Ah the memories. ..😊
Every week we used to go and buy another box, We had British commandos, British eighth army, German afrika corps, German infantry, American marines, Japanese army, c/w flag bearer. We also had, Ww1 British army, Resplendent with puttees . Ww1 German army C/w picklehuber helmets. (both sets had a three piece stretcher team) Others in our box were, Normans, Robin hoods men, English medieval. British guards regiments with bearskins. Ww2 Russian infantry Ww1 French infantry, French foreign legion, Dark blue, Arabs, in white, with camels. U. S. Cavalry, Indians, Union blue soldiers, Confederate greys, Airfixes modeling was stunning, and a real delight.
Back in the 70s we had an enterprising local newsagent that sold the soldiers individually. It was quite handy to replace one soldier, especially if like me you had a habit of chewing off the rifle ends.
My brother and I had most of the same sets minus the Arabs. We also had Gurkhas and WW2Australian infantry & US paratroopers. Spent hours setting up battles with a couple of boxes of guys defending a fort ala Rorke’s Drift against everyone else. Battles were over in minutes. 😂
Airfix the only soldiers who could remain upright on a long shag pile carpet as I recall (except for their japenese running soldiers with bayonet rifle and only one leg on the ground or where they desert rats ? Can’t remember )
I can honestly say the year my brother and I got 3 brown boxes each amongst our Christmas presents was the best year ever. I got German Infantry, 8th Army and Commandos and my bro got Russian, Japanese and U.S. Infantry - Santa (my dad) had stood all the soldiers up in attack formation in front of their respective boxes and our jaws dropped when we first saw them entering the living room on Christmas morning. Played with them so much over the years - some of them still getting dug out of old positions in their garden over 50 years later. Thanks for a great presentation. ❤
I had hundreds of 00 scale Airfix. Loved them and had huge battles on the carpet at home with 00 scale tanks and armoured cars. The best toy for any young boy.
I saw my first Airfix German Infantry in 1972 when we lived in military housing on Fort Hood Texas. I was 6 at the time and was amazed at how they looked. A friend down the street had them. My father got posted to the DMZ in Korea and his tour was without dependents so we lived in south Texas from Oct 72 to Oct 73. When we got back to Fort Hood in late 73 is when I began my search for those German Infantry. In early 74 is when I learned to search in the model section instead of the toy section for the Airfix figures. All my boxes are the Target style and I got them at a department store called Gibson's. I have my soldiers in storage now and every time I see one of your videos I want to get them out.
I had German infantry, Gurkha, German paratroopers and modern british infantry, my father bought it for me in 1980s .... those were the happiest day in my life and I still remember till now !! Thanks for bringing back all the good memories 😄
These were my favourite toys, I had many of the sets in the 70's by the time I stopped collecting. I remember saving up to buy the "Desert Outpost", I was so excited to get it home and set the soldiers up. Thanks
From 1970 till about 1983 I had literally 1000's of these airfix soldiers but the smaller scale. In the summer I found sand from a worksite and set up a full scale D-Day invasion. Doing the voices and the gun,bomb and vehicle sounds I had the greatest childhood ever. My favourite set German Paras and German Mountain Troops. Our neighbour was an ardent artist and before I removed them from the stalks he painted them for me using books we got from the library. Kids now just haven't got a clue how to enjoy themselves.
You are absolutely correct about these figures. They are so well sculpted, if not quite accurate, and were hard wearing and not as easy to lose as the 1/72 figures. I had hundreds of them in the 1960s and 1970s, of all periods. All badly painted, but so much fun to play with. My brothers introduced me to skirmish wargaming with them. Happy days.
The best part was walking into the toy section at a department store and experiencing all the aromas of new cardboard packaging, plastics, paint, etc. Magical. Same - when walking into a grocery store - the combination of fresh fruit and vegetables, maybe peanuts cooking, the non-toxic packaging, and bubble gum used to taste different - they used non-petro chemicals in the ingredients. And that real oily hand-picked tea aroma. Those days are kaput.
@@tanergirgin6569 I still have my original Rupert and Buffalo Bill annuals. The paper and the special inks were non-toxic and as a kid held them close to my face when reading them.
Great watching the close ups as they trigger all sorts of obscure memories. It might be the smell of airfix paint, the face of a friend or even a long forgotten 1970s tv programme. Thanks.
I love these! About 18 years ago I went on a buying spree and bought about 2000 men, so in original boxes, some in random groupings. I have painted a small number of each of the sets.
Airfix toy soldiers were always a big part of my childhood... I can still remember buying the Modern German infantry set from York Train Museum! The British Paratroopers were my absolute favourites though.
I don't know if they were Airfix, but I knew a kid who had British 8th Army and Japanese figures. The Brits were Desert Rat style. The green figures I mentioned were Arnhem paras. There was one with a scoped Enfield. Used to be sold everywhere. They disappeared from over here about 5 years ago. Guess they finally ran out? Over here is U.S.A.
First set I got was the British paratroops around 75 which meant I had to get the German infantry to fight them. It carried on from there. Still in a box in a spare room btw. Was never throwing them out or giving to some oik brat.
so glad you still have old friends with you, I am 58 and still have most of the ones I had . I may be silly but I love finding an old toy soldier that has been lying on the ground of some kids battlefield . Simple pleasures .
From the age of 5 (70-71) I obsessively collected the British Africa corp and German infantry. The local newsagents used to sell the figures individually for Tuppence (2 pence in old money) because like many families where I grew up a complete box was un-affordable. Pocket money of 2 shillings was 2 soldiers 2p each, 1p on sweets and 5p on a huge bag of grapes (for some reason I loved grapes?)! My mother collected 40 or so cigarette packets and with brown wallpaper and paste created a fort with which I could conduct my desert campaign. 100's of Hours holding sieges, hostage negotiations and night time raids. Such amazing memories brought vividly to life by the realism of these beautiful figures.
I'm from South Africa, born in 1992, and I had literally HUNDREDS of these soldiers as a kid. Never got them in these cool boxes though, they used to be sold in see-through plastic bags with about 20+ figures inside.
In the early 1960's it was the 1/72 figures and you got about 30 or 40 to a box. I had many, German Afrika Korps, British 8th Army, American Civil War Union and Confederates. Also had the Civil War artillery where you got about 4 cannons and the crews, limber and horses. Happy days!
My god! This brings back amazing memories of the 80s for me. Watching A-Team and Knightrider etc while playing with these! I really wish I had kept them!
The German Infantry set was "must have". Such a badass set of figures. Mind you I always loved the Afrika Corps and British Paratroopers set. I was lucky enough to source a Target box set of the Paratroopers recently. Made me feel like a little kid once more. 😂
En France, on les appelait "les minus" (tout petits modèles). Ceux que je préférais, c'était les Australiens et les anglais de Montgomery Les parachutistes allemands et anglais étaient très bien réalisés.
My very first soldiers were the Australian Infantry ...i convinced my grandmother that i also needed the Japanese Infantry otherwise i wouldn't be able to play .... so i got both as a premature birthday present... this was the start of so many more , in both scales
Airfix was the best! I still have my entire collection. My son, sadly, never really appreciated toy soldiers like I did. Perhaps they'll make a come-back some day...
I just went back 50 years. Brilliant I had the tan Afrika Korps (I was Rommel 😄) Memory is such a weird thing, I now recall the local newsagent that sold a small selection and the actual that hod the toy soldiers and the models If I had birthday or xmas money I would go into town for the bigger selection. Lots of fun I recall. Thanks
I am a German and was a kid in the early 90s. I would have loved to play with those plastic soldiers. My parents always refused to buy them, telling me "war is not a game". On the other hand the whole attic was full of all the WW 2 original stuff from my grandfather's and grand uncles and they didn't pay attention to me playing with these 😂 I like your enthusiasm when showing the figures. The soft classical music score in the end does not match. Seems like sarcasm even.
@@e.r.6039 My paternal grandad was taken prisoner by the Afrika Korps, he thought that outwith when they had to kill each other "German's were ok, a lot like the yanks"
These were my favourite soldiers. This is a real blast from the past. I remember every detail on these figures. I think my favourite was the lying down machine gunner and loader. It was just so cool to put them together so the belt fed into the gun.
I used to love the German soldier's the best I kept every single toy soldier I could get, and always my favourite toys to sit and play with as a boy, I still have all mine in a large box. I remember each weekend I'd get a couple of pounds to goto the local news agents to buy a bag of soldiers for £1 great bargain, but as time went on some of the cast's or moulds where not as detailed but never stopped me buying them, same as cow boys and Indians great memories 👍
This brought back memories, I had literally boxes of these, I think I bought one a week, and not not WW2, but from a couple of centuries…mostly all British regiments, although I had a few Germans, Prussians etc. great days, thanks for that.
Thanks for the memories. The machine gunner an loader I sometimes used for soldiers who were shot, cut the guns away an stand them up. Oh the joy of those figures.
Born in 1952 in the Uk ]. I recall 20mm ( 1/72) figures, pre brown boxes. Eighth Army, Africa Korps , German and American Civil War. I especially liked the artillery sets. Around 40 figures per box which cost pennies. ( Ten pence per box}. Must have been in early sixties. Thanks for upload.
That's brings back some great childhood memories and you're bang on about the Germans always being that blue grey colour. I recall the Romanian (or could have been Bulgarian) had a slightlhy bluer shade I think though it's some time since I have had my hands on them 😊.
Thank you my friend. Brought back many happy memories. I think this was the second set I ever got, after my Auntie bought me the British paratroopers in the mid 70s. They are still in a cupboard upstairs. Once me and my mates discovered 1/72 scale we only played with them. These big boys got left behind.
I think I also played mostly with the 1/72 figures as I had a lot more of those. I only got one or two sets of 1/32 of which I can only remember the British Support group for sure.
Bring back memories! I remember painting these models with few enamel paints (brown for weapons, flesh and black for boots) then played with sticky paints! Happy day!
Yes I remember them. They looked bigger than I imagined. Grey/blue German, Green American, Sand British army desert, Khaki Japanese, Olive green British paratrooper and light Khaki Australian army. Back in the seventies along with Lego these toys turned my childhood into happy days.
Yup mine were 1/72 scale plus it was easier to match them with 1/72 scale models. Was an army brat in Germany and remember a model shop in town that had a great selection of armour and vehicles in the same scale. Wish I still had my collection.
Still have virtually every set of the 1.72 scale (not in boxes unfortunately!) Lots I painted.. Most have survived but all my models succumbed to the darts from my Gat Gun and various flammable substances in my early teens 😂😂 Great channel, bringing back great memories 🙏🏼🙏🏼
The German Infantry plastic figures i had in 1969-70 were in grey unpainted solid plastic in very good detail in various action poses but were about 6 inches high. Never saw any others like them. Don't know what make, but high quality.
I'm in UK , as i say don't know maker. I painted a couple of them very carefully. We moved house a lot back then, and being just a kid, my stuff tended to be binned to save space. @@toysoldiernostalgia
I was born in the 90's, but I remember getting a set of these at a garage sale with a pretty large set of the American forces from the same time period, and yeah you hit the nail on the head. These Airfix troopers were, and still are the best models in my old collection.
I had hundreds of these when I was a kid. Got a box virtually every week. Had Japanese, Germans, Russians commando the lot. And you are right about realism and the distinctive colors. Never bothered to try to paint them, just took them out and played a child’s version of war with figure hiding behind books and bed posts!
I want them all back. ALL of them. As they were made back then(material). German soldiers could / should be field grey-ish. What is so difficult about giving the soldiers their main uniform color??
As kids we got the 1/72 scale soldiers.. various armies.. made houses and obstacles from cardboard and deployed them at either end of the large kitchen table.. fought battles using Brittains spring-loaded artillery guns that fired littles plastic shells which were quickly lost so we collected a lot of used matches and used them instead.. great fun!!
I had the paras, US infantry and the German Africa korps. My brother had the German infantry set you have there and the Japanese Infantry. Thanks for bringing back such great memories.
My favourite 1/32 set. I got the original Brown Box Paratroopers when they first came out. When I got the Germans, 8th Army and Strongpoint for Xmas the quality of the sculpts were the first thing that struck me. You qere able to try and emulate the cover picture with the figures.
I remember these yes. One box in a 10,000 had the figure of Hitler too. You could pretend it's 30/4/1945 wrap it in a tiny 'blanket', douse it in petrol and burn it. And then spend decades debating whether it was really dead or living in Argentina. There was also the French army set - but when you opened the box and looked at them they all had their hands raised.
Had them, loved them, played with them for hours. It's interesting because now I have a kid of my own it's fascinating to compare how kids play today vs the 80's. When I told my kid I played for hours with a bucket of plastic soldiers she looked at me like I was an idiot. These days it's all Ipads or smart phones. Roblox, Minecraft or Toca Life World...
I was kinda lucky with my son that way. When he was 6-7 years old (about 10 years ago) I got him to play alot outside with toy soldiers and toy cars. Him and a few frinds would play outside almost every day in the spring and summer.
Me and a friend, who also used to play a lot with toy soldiers as a kid, opened a set that was still mint in plastic. 1973 target box russians. I sliced the plastic and opened the lid and we both stuck our noses in there to get a whiff of that new plastic smell. It was epic.
I have my Fan Art T-shirts online now. Pick your favorite officer. 10 for now but will be adding more.
One shop for Europe and one for the US.
Europe:
toysoldiernostalgiaseu.myspreadshop.net/
US:
toysoldiernostalgiaus.myspreadshop.com/
Airfix provided some of the most joyful childhood memories growing up in the 70s, tbh wish l could relive those times.
You should get a set or two.
@@toysoldiernostalgia l paint historical miniatures to this day specialising in the so called dark age era, could never play with toy soldiers the way l did as a child in the 70s,
@@johncarroll772 I tried playing a few years ago. Doesn´t work anymore. But that´s why board games like Bolt Action and Gaslands is so great. It´s like playing but with rules :)
But it´s just nice to have a few sets to display and just for nostalgic reasons.
@@toysoldiernostalgia l agree
It would be great to go back and relive those times, as long as I don't have to relive painting my dirty canvas trainers with that white paint or wearing a jumper knitted by my nan.
The artist who painted all the Airfix box art at that time was Roy Cross. He was fairly famous and according to Wikipedia is still alive and will be 100 on 23 April, in just a few weeks time!
Roy Cross was a true legend whose artwork drew so many into the world of Airfix! So much of his box art is iconic.
If memory serves me right Roy Cross didn´t paint the toy soldier boxes. I have the name in one of my books. I´ll have a look tonight when I´m home from work
Brian Knight did the 1/32 figure boxart. Roy Cross wasn’t so keen on painting people!
That´s right. Forgot to check yesterday. There´s a great picture of him in one of the books on Airfix, were he´s in his house with a helmet and a broom, taken by his wife. It was to help him get more natural looking "soldiers" on the box art. That photo was the base for the british 8th army soldier on the box of the mulitpose set@@williambooth5769
I seem to remember the boxes were white with a small matchbox size clear window, either on the front or back, I can’t remember as it was in the late ‘60. I mainly had the smaller 1/72, or 00 scale, as the range went from ancient British and the Romans, to Robin Hood, Napoleonic , Boer War, WWI &WWII, and some modern stuff. I always hoped the 00 range would extend to 1/32, as they would have been easier to paint. Unfortunately, I grew up and had to go to work! 😀
My younger days (1969 - 1973) were spent saving pocket money and birthday money to buy these sets from Boydells in Gosforth, Ncle upon Tyne. I had many sets. Germans were grey, Africa Corp were beige, Commandos were green. Used to set up dioramas in the back garden. Defensive positions or assault platoons then bombard the positions with my catapult. Hours of fun. Loved them.
Strangely, I joined the British Army as an infantry soldier and retired as Platoon Sgt after 10 yrs. Thanks for sharing this video.. Now 64 yrs but I have fond memories of my little platoons.
All those battles fought in back yards :)
Same. My brother and I would spend half our summer vacation collecting bottles by the side of the road to pay for "army men", though most of ours were 1:72.
@@smgdfcmfah 1:32 all the way!! 😁.... Though I did weaken on a few 1:72 sets.... 🙄🤣
@@PhilHolliday-lb5hh I liked the 1:72 because it allowed us to have literally thousands. I wish I had pictures of some of the grand battles we had setup in our basement - especially the masses of Napoleonic troops with hordes of cavalry charging dozens of guns and carefully arrayed lines and columns of infantry assaulting and defending the farm houses!
Japanese and Australian.
I am 57yrs old I loved my Airfix soldiers as a child. My era was the 1973, I had every type, my favourite was The British 8th Army, followed by the Japanese Set. Wish I had them now.
Got them in a huge box in the attic . No boxes unfortunately. Was buying them when I was 7-9. I thought the German and British paratroopers were ace too!
Also 57, still have my 1/32 Airfix soldiers, My son has played with them, he's now 30, my favourites were the Aussies and the Russians, plus the British Vickers gun and mortar set.
Yes! The 8th army was great, fixed bayonets ‘n all
I am 62 live in New Zealand so shipments and variety where limited. Used to save my paper run money waiting for the next shipment in my small hometown which had 3-4 stores in town. I'd spend a hour to biking around to all my local stores that sold Airfix models to see what had arrived. If nothing I'd do a 2 hour bike trip or badger my parents so I could check out stores in the neighbouring town.. Africa Korp where probably my favorite, followed buy getting the catalogue book.
Amazing how a few lumps of moulded plastic can create so much nostalgia and emotion-- those figures were a big part of my childhood ( nearly 60 now)
I totaly agree.
I had them in 1/72 scale .... LOVED those little guys !
Also more poses
You sure?
1/72 was the scale for most starter spitfire etc kits.
The pilots in those kits were tiny.
Still have mine. Gave him to my son when he was younger and showed him the ways. He used them with a model train set he got one xmas. Ah the memories. ..😊
yes in 1/72 bet you can look and you can still find them ..@@fryertuck6496
Yes Im sure and I bet you could still find some on line in 1/72 scale @@fryertuck6496
Every week we used to go and buy another box,
We had British commandos, British eighth army, German afrika corps, German infantry, American marines, Japanese army, c/w flag bearer.
We also had,
Ww1 British army,
Resplendent with puttees .
Ww1 German army
C/w picklehuber helmets.
(both sets had a three piece stretcher team)
Others in our box were,
Normans, Robin hoods men, English medieval.
British guards regiments with bearskins.
Ww2 Russian infantry
Ww1 French infantry,
French foreign legion,
Dark blue,
Arabs, in white, with camels.
U. S. Cavalry,
Indians,
Union blue soldiers,
Confederate greys,
Airfixes modeling was stunning, and a real delight.
Wow that was a lot :)
Back in the 70s we had an enterprising local newsagent that sold the soldiers individually. It was quite handy to replace one soldier, especially if like me you had a habit of chewing off the rifle ends.
I had literally the same, long long gone now sadly@@toysoldiernostalgia
My brother and I had most of the same sets minus the Arabs. We also had Gurkhas and WW2Australian infantry & US paratroopers. Spent hours setting up battles with a couple of boxes of guys defending a fort ala Rorke’s Drift against everyone else. Battles were over in minutes. 😂
Airfix the only soldiers who could remain upright on a long shag pile carpet as I recall (except for their japenese running soldiers with bayonet rifle and only one leg on the ground or where they desert rats ? Can’t remember )
I can honestly say the year my brother and I got 3 brown boxes each amongst our Christmas presents was the best year ever. I got German Infantry, 8th Army and Commandos and my bro got Russian, Japanese and U.S. Infantry - Santa (my dad) had stood all the soldiers up in attack formation in front of their respective boxes and our jaws dropped when we first saw them entering the living room on Christmas morning. Played with them so much over the years - some of them still getting dug out of old positions in their garden over 50 years later. Thanks for a great presentation. ❤
Wow what a christmas morning.
Airfix should be renowned for creating some of the best sculpture and art ever
Agreed 😀
I had hundreds of 00 scale Airfix. Loved them and had huge battles on the carpet at home with 00 scale tanks and armoured cars. The best toy for any young boy.
I had quite a few of the 00 scale Airfix soldiers, tanks and a truck from WWII too. There was also a gun emplacement with trenches and a pillbox.
I saw my first Airfix German Infantry in 1972 when we lived in military housing on Fort Hood Texas. I was 6 at the time and was amazed at how they looked. A friend down the street had them. My father got posted to the DMZ in Korea and his tour was without dependents so we lived in south Texas from Oct 72 to Oct 73. When we got back to Fort Hood in late 73 is when I began my search for those German Infantry. In early 74 is when I learned to search in the model section instead of the toy section for the Airfix figures. All my boxes are the Target style and I got them at a department store called Gibson's. I have my soldiers in storage now and every time I see one of your videos I want to get them out.
You should go get them.
@@toysoldiernostalgia absolutely. A few on display look great. Officer and a few men.
@@cyberleaderandy1 keep it simple 😀
I had German infantry, Gurkha, German paratroopers and modern british infantry, my father bought it for me in 1980s .... those were the happiest day in my life and I still remember till now !! Thanks for bringing back all the good memories 😄
These were my favourite toys, I had many of the sets in the 70's by the time I stopped collecting. I remember saving up to buy the "Desert Outpost", I was so excited to get it home and set the soldiers up. Thanks
From 1970 till about 1983 I had literally 1000's of these airfix soldiers but the smaller scale. In the summer I found sand from a worksite and set up a full scale D-Day invasion. Doing the voices and the gun,bomb and vehicle sounds I had the greatest childhood ever. My favourite set German Paras and German Mountain Troops. Our neighbour was an ardent artist and before I removed them from the stalks he painted them for me using books we got from the library.
Kids now just haven't got a clue how to enjoy themselves.
With you on the German Mountain Troops and FSJs
You are absolutely correct about these figures. They are so well sculpted, if not quite accurate, and were hard wearing and not as easy to lose as the 1/72 figures.
I had hundreds of them in the 1960s and 1970s, of all periods. All badly painted, but so much fun to play with. My brothers introduced me to skirmish wargaming with them. Happy days.
The best part was walking into the toy section at a department store and experiencing all the aromas of new cardboard packaging, plastics, paint, etc. Magical. Same - when walking into a grocery store - the combination of fresh fruit and vegetables, maybe peanuts cooking, the non-toxic packaging, and bubble gum used to taste different - they used non-petro chemicals in the ingredients. And that real oily hand-picked tea aroma. Those days are kaput.
Oh I "loved" the smell. I can still feel it filling my nostrils.. :) Also, the little piece of paper you can fill in and send to them..
@@tanergirgin6569 I still have my original Rupert and Buffalo Bill annuals.
The paper and the special inks were non-toxic and as a kid held them close to my face when reading them.
Great watching the close ups as they trigger all sorts of obscure memories. It might be the smell of airfix paint, the face of a friend or even a long forgotten 1970s tv programme. Thanks.
It´s the same for me. Just a flood of happy memories some of them real clear others just obscure and not realy tangable.
I love these! About 18 years ago I went on a buying spree and bought about 2000 men, so in original boxes, some in random groupings. I have painted a small number of each of the sets.
Airfix toy soldiers were always a big part of my childhood... I can still remember buying the Modern German infantry set from York Train Museum!
The British Paratroopers were my absolute favourites though.
The only set I ever saw with a sniper.
British Paras and German Bundeswehr were among the best ...
I don't know if they were Airfix, but I knew a kid who had British 8th Army and Japanese figures. The Brits were Desert Rat style. The green figures I mentioned were Arnhem paras. There was one with a scoped Enfield. Used to be sold everywhere. They disappeared from over here about 5 years ago. Guess they finally ran out? Over here is U.S.A.
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re
Airfix did do both British 8th army and Japanese infantry. I remember the Japanese officer was holding a sword above his head.
My favorit set : the brish commandos ; with all the separat arms . I still have all my big scale airix soldier sets .
First set I got was the British paratroops around 75 which meant I had to get the German infantry to fight them. It carried on from there. Still in a box in a spare room btw. Was never throwing them out or giving to some oik brat.
So good 😊 I am now 60 and still have all my figures 🎉 it was hours of fun, good times 👌
Cool. I am 50 and still have all of my 5600 1/72 soldiers. As a Dutch, regards from the Belgium Battle of the Bulge area.
Well done you! Wish I had been sensible enough to keep mine.
so glad you still have old friends with you, I am 58 and still have most of the ones I had . I may be silly but I love finding an old toy soldier that has been lying on the ground of some kids battlefield . Simple pleasures .
From the age of 5 (70-71) I obsessively collected the British Africa corp and German infantry. The local newsagents used to sell the figures individually for Tuppence (2 pence in old money) because like many families where I grew up a complete box was un-affordable. Pocket money of 2 shillings was 2 soldiers 2p each, 1p on sweets and 5p on a huge bag of grapes (for some reason I loved grapes?)! My mother collected 40 or so cigarette packets and with brown wallpaper and paste created a fort with which I could conduct my desert campaign. 100's of Hours holding sieges, hostage negotiations and night time raids. Such amazing memories brought vividly to life by the realism of these beautiful figures.
What a great mum 😀
I'm from South Africa, born in 1992, and I had literally HUNDREDS of these soldiers as a kid. Never got them in these cool boxes though, they used to be sold in see-through plastic bags with about 20+ figures inside.
yeah was about to post a comment that I recognise all those models but didn't recall getting them in illustrated cardboard boxes.
@@willc1294if sold in plastic bag, they were probably cheap copies but still good to play with of course !
@@kaa13 Even today you can easily find those knock-off plastic bags with familiar looking figurines, the Airfix German infantry remaining a favourite.
A cross between the amazing sculpturing of the figures an an 8 year olds imagination made these incredible.
Countless hours of fun with these. Thank you for bringing back some great memories. I still have mine in the box from over 40 years ago!
Loved these troops as a boy...Happy memories 😂😂❤❤
I had that very set as a young child in the 70's. In a target box...Happy Days :-)
I remember aged seven ('75) being fascinated by the German figures - such detail. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
In the early 1960's it was the 1/72 figures and you got about 30 or 40 to a box. I had many, German Afrika Korps, British 8th Army, American Civil War Union and Confederates. Also had the Civil War artillery where you got about 4 cannons and the crews, limber and horses. Happy days!
Started collecting the early 1/72 sets. Going to do a whole series on those as well.
The Napoleonic ones were great as well, fantastic cavalry! although getting the horses to stay on the bases was troublesome.
My god! This brings back amazing memories of the 80s for me. Watching A-Team and Knightrider etc while playing with these! I really wish I had kept them!
The German Infantry set was "must have". Such a badass set of figures. Mind you I always loved the Afrika Corps and British Paratroopers set. I was lucky enough to source a Target box set of the Paratroopers recently. Made me feel like a little kid once more. 😂
En France, on les appelait "les minus" (tout petits modèles).
Ceux que je préférais, c'était
les Australiens et les anglais
de Montgomery
Les parachutistes allemands et anglais étaient très bien réalisés.
How is the quality of your recent purchase? Is there a link we can use to order overseas?
@tanergirgin6569 Box quality was average for its age. All the figures were in good condition. I found mine on eBay.
@@iankingsley2864 Thanks!
Born in 1960 had lots of the 1/72 sets all of them plus US marines and foreign legion I recall
I had 3 sets Infantry plus 1 of Afrika Corps and 1 Mountain Troops. Great days!
I've still got my box of the German Mountain Troops.
Those mountain troops were superb. Whenever the film 'Where Eagles Dare' came on they would be out.
Such a beautifully sculpted set. Always been my favourite and still love painting them today 50 years later. Iconic is the perfect word for this set.
My very first soldiers were the Australian Infantry ...i convinced my grandmother that i also needed the Japanese Infantry otherwise i wouldn't be able to play .... so i got both as a premature birthday present... this was the start of so many more , in both scales
Great grandma.
These were my favorite “toy” soldiers.
So many great poses in this set, really enjoyed these as a kid in the late 1970's - early 80's!
Airfix was the best! I still have my entire collection. My son, sadly, never really appreciated toy soldiers like I did. Perhaps they'll make a come-back some day...
I am 64 and i played hours with soldiers of Napoleonic period. I am 50 years back in the past wonderful
Loved them, except the Old Guard figure holding his musket upside down, didn't like that one
I loved these as a kid! I loved the Bazooka guy and the Bren gun guy!
I just went back 50 years. Brilliant
I had the tan Afrika Korps (I was Rommel 😄)
Memory is such a weird thing, I now recall the local newsagent that sold a small selection and the actual that hod the toy soldiers and the models
If I had birthday or xmas money I would go into town for the bigger selection.
Lots of fun I recall. Thanks
I am a German and was a kid in the early 90s. I would have loved to play with those plastic soldiers. My parents always refused to buy them, telling me "war is not a game". On the other hand the whole attic was full of all the WW 2 original stuff from my grandfather's and grand uncles and they didn't pay attention to me playing with these 😂
I like your enthusiasm when showing the figures. The soft classical music score in the end does not match. Seems like sarcasm even.
@@e.r.6039 My paternal grandad was taken prisoner by the Afrika Korps, he thought that outwith when they had to kill each other "German's were ok, a lot like the yanks"
These were my favourite soldiers. This is a real blast from the past. I remember every detail on these figures. I think my favourite was the lying down machine gunner and loader. It was just so cool to put them together so the belt fed into the gun.
Airfix German Infantry are embedded in my DNA. They look like they can conquer continents. 👍🏻
I used to love the German soldier's the best I kept every single toy soldier I could get, and always my favourite toys to sit and play with as a boy, I still have all mine in a large box. I remember each weekend I'd get a couple of pounds to goto the local news agents to buy a bag of soldiers for £1 great bargain, but as time went on some of the cast's or moulds where not as detailed but never stopped me buying them, same as cow boys and Indians great memories 👍
This brought back memories, I had literally boxes of these, I think I bought one a week, and not not WW2, but from a couple of centuries…mostly all British regiments, although I had a few Germans, Prussians etc. great days, thanks for that.
Thanks for the memories.
The machine gunner an loader I sometimes used for soldiers who were shot, cut the guns away an stand them up. Oh the joy of those figures.
You´re very welcome :)
Born in 1952 in the Uk ]. I recall 20mm ( 1/72) figures, pre brown boxes. Eighth Army, Africa Korps , German and American Civil War. I especially liked the artillery sets. Around 40 figures per box which cost pennies. ( Ten pence per box}. Must have been in early sixties. Thanks for upload.
Romans v Ancient Britons !! Loved those things 😊
i was also born in 1972 and me and my brother had these.
That's brings back some great childhood memories and you're bang on about the Germans always being that blue grey colour. I recall the Romanian (or could have been Bulgarian) had a slightlhy bluer shade I think though it's some time since I have had my hands on them 😊.
Still got a lot of these figuresnice to see always
I loved playing with these when I was a kid. Great memories 😊
that officer was my FAVORITE.
And the MG34 gunner and the loader. They looked amazing!
I had a large set of these given to me in late 1980s when I was about five years old.
Thank you my friend. Brought back many happy memories. I think this was the second set I ever got, after my Auntie bought me the British paratroopers in the mid 70s. They are still in a cupboard upstairs. Once me and my mates discovered 1/72 scale we only played with them. These big boys got left behind.
I think I also played mostly with the 1/72 figures as I had a lot more of those. I only got one or two sets of 1/32 of which I can only remember the British Support group for sure.
Bring back memories! I remember painting these models with few enamel paints (brown for weapons, flesh and black for boots) then played with sticky paints! Happy day!
Absolutely brilliant.
So many memories of paying with these in garden 😊
Keep filming 🎥
Thanks man :)
I hope in the future they will start making the 1/30 scale more popular, very nice ! 👍❤
1/30?
Thank you Airfix for a great boyhood
I had hundreds of them in scale 1:72..Even at that small size they still were very detailed....Just loved them!
No need to run so quick my friend, I could watch you & your boxes for ages!
👍🏻👍🏻🇬🇧
Awesome video 👍
Yes I remember them. They looked bigger than I imagined. Grey/blue German, Green American, Sand British army desert, Khaki Japanese, Olive green British paratrooper and light Khaki Australian army.
Back in the seventies along with Lego these toys turned my childhood into happy days.
I'm sure the Japanese were sand coloured
Wow I had hundreds of these as a kid, fighting huge battles with my brother , brings back memories and I miss those simpler days.
These are nice. I was more into the 1:72 scale army sets because you got more guys in them. Love your videos!
Thanks man :)
Yup mine were 1/72 scale plus it was easier to match them with 1/72 scale models. Was an army brat in Germany and remember a model shop in town that had a great selection of armour and vehicles in the same scale. Wish I still had my collection.
Yeah, it was always quantity over quality.
A box of soldiers what a treat that was.
Still have virtually every set of the 1.72 scale (not in boxes unfortunately!) Lots I painted.. Most have survived but all my models succumbed to the darts from my Gat Gun and various flammable substances in my early teens 😂😂 Great channel, bringing back great memories 🙏🏼🙏🏼
They really bring back memories and I still have them. Although over time they get very brittle and break easily.
The German Infantry plastic figures i had in 1969-70 were in grey unpainted solid plastic in very good detail in various action poses but were about 6 inches high. Never saw any others like them. Don't know what make, but high quality.
Maybe they were Marx? You in the US?
I'm in UK , as i say don't know maker. I painted a couple of them very carefully. We moved house a lot back then, and being just a kid, my stuff tended to be binned to save space. @@toysoldiernostalgia
I was born in the 90's, but I remember getting a set of these at a garage sale with a pretty large set of the American forces from the same time period, and yeah you hit the nail on the head. These Airfix troopers were, and still are the best models in my old collection.
I had hundreds of these when I was a kid. Got a box virtually every week. Had Japanese, Germans, Russians commando the lot. And you are right about realism and the distinctive colors. Never bothered to try to paint them, just took them out and played a child’s version of war with figure hiding behind books and bed posts!
I remember the brown boxes! A+ SHOW!
Thanks 😀
Little soldiers and big soldiers had lots of these, enjoyed collecting and the ones with metal bases.
I want them all back. ALL of them. As they were made back then(material). German soldiers could / should be field grey-ish. What is so difficult about giving the soldiers their main uniform color??
As kids we got the 1/72 scale soldiers.. various armies.. made houses and obstacles from cardboard and deployed them at either end of the large kitchen table.. fought battles using Brittains spring-loaded artillery guns that fired littles plastic shells which were quickly lost so we collected a lot of used matches and used them instead.. great fun!!
Great to see the target box again
I had the paras, US infantry and the German Africa korps. My brother had the German infantry set you have there and the Japanese Infantry. Thanks for bringing back such great memories.
So iconic, I wanted to cast a set in silver as a dinner table ornament. Dads could play either them when they ran out of conversation 😮
I agree 👍 growing up in the 70’s, one of the best Christmas presents I had was the Airfix pontoon bridge set 👏👏
Just spent an hour on the phone with my brother reminiscing about the great times we had with these.
Time well spent :)
The Paratroopers from the UK,US & GER always my fav
Me too! And the Napoleonic's were the best to paint when I got a little older.
Wow takes me back. I’d almost forgotten but when you showed the individual soldiers it all came back to me. Thank you
Happy you enjoyed it :)
✋️ I did! I used to play with my Dad. Good days! Thanks for the memories.
You´re welcome 😀
I collected these as a kid. It was always a joy when you could find a set you didint know existed :)
So many memories. They are identical to the set I got in my combat pack in the early eighties. Great channel 👍
Thanks 😀
Did have a set of these boxes,the German infantry as shown in your video, and British commandos.so much years of fun and joy.🙂👍
My favourite 1/32 set. I got the original Brown Box Paratroopers when they first came out. When I got the Germans, 8th Army and Strongpoint for Xmas the quality of the sculpts were the first thing that struck me. You qere able to try and emulate the cover picture with the figures.
I have a complete set on the first Paras that cost a sweet penny lol. I have a video on my channel on that set.
Can remember buying these in the early 70's, I had the Commandos and Desert Rats iirc and my mate the German Infantry.
Same for me: the german color will always be bluegray. My favorite figure is the Afrika Korps grenade thrower from Airfix. It's simply perfect.
I totaly agree on the DAK grenade soldier. It´s in my top 5-10 figures
wow brother, good collection of World War II army men, I also collect but from BMC Toys, greetings from Peru and have a good day 🤝
We used to paint the helmets camo colours...in later years they all got blown to pieces with french bangers..
Loved them growing up in the 1950s , also was to suit 1/72 scale tanks and aircraft , watching from cape town , south Africa at age 71
Love this
I still have them. My 10 year old plays with them not knowing what kind of soldier they are, He makes up new countries.
My son and his friends went by colour before I had to intervene and set them straight lol.
I remember these yes. One box in a 10,000 had the figure of Hitler too. You could pretend it's 30/4/1945 wrap it in a tiny 'blanket', douse it in petrol and burn it. And then spend decades debating whether it was really dead or living in Argentina. There was also the French army set - but when you opened the box and looked at them they all had their hands raised.
Never heard of Airfix doing a Hitler figure?
@@toysoldiernostalgia :o)
*Bwahahahaha*
The Hitler figure made me break out in laughing.
But the french soldiers killed me.
Thanks for that mate :DDDD
Had them all. Think desert sets were my favourites - and I do remember a British Airborne set I really loved - hand painted them all too.
Wish I would have kept all of my sets.
Had them, loved them, played with them for hours. It's interesting because now I have a kid of my own it's fascinating to compare how kids play today vs the 80's. When I told my kid I played for hours with a bucket of plastic soldiers she looked at me like I was an idiot. These days it's all Ipads or smart phones. Roblox, Minecraft or Toca Life World...
I was kinda lucky with my son that way. When he was 6-7 years old (about 10 years ago) I got him to play alot outside with toy soldiers and toy cars. Him and a few frinds would play outside almost every day in the spring and summer.
I had those. Germans, British, Canadians, Italians, Australians and others. Around 2 bags of 200 each. Loved those!!!
I remember the smell of the new solders.
Me and a friend, who also used to play a lot with toy soldiers as a kid, opened a set that was still mint in plastic. 1973 target box russians. I sliced the plastic and opened the lid and we both stuck our noses in there to get a whiff of that new plastic smell. It was epic.
Great vid! I had these ones too! My favorite was the rifleman "leaning into the recoil" as you so perfectly put it.