Airfix Vintage Plastic Toy Soldiers 1/32 Scale WW2 British Infantry Support Group.
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- čas přidán 25. 05. 2022
- The only Airfix set to have this many parts.
A viewer pointed out to me that I forgot one figure. Of course he´s right.
There´s also supposed to be a figure holding some form of book/notebook up to his chest with his left hand. I have the figure but somehow forgot to get it in the video.
So maybe the headline should be. Did I make a mistake. Dammit :)
My favorite set for some reason. When I was a kid I could always count on these guys to take out the enemy strong holds.
All my teenage life and early adult life, I really searched for this group of british soldiers since airfix didnt have british ww2 soldiers set. But never found one. Now 30 years later....I found pleasure looking at these via youtube.
Yeah that`s one of the great things about CZcams. Airfix did a set of british infantry but they were a very late set.
If you still want a set Airfix reissued these a few years ago. You may find a set on the net if your local stockists have sold out.
Try eBay...very broad selection of Airfix toy soldiers...I've seen both the original & repro sets listed...good luck!
Wow, I had this set when I was young many years ago.
I had completely forgotten about it until now.
Thanks for jolting my memory.
Thanks for watching and glad I could bring a bit of joy :)
I have got this support group in the 70s, still have it in the box. Love them
I wish had managed to keep the boxes for the few sets I got back in the 70`s.
Never understood why Airfix didn’t do WW2 British infantry set!? I had the commandos and paratroopers, which were great, along with this wonderful set as well. Don’t know how many times I fought the Second World War as a kid back in the 70s with these and all the sets I had; US Marines, Japanese Infantry, German and Russian infantry et al 😊
They did do a set of British Infantry but not until 1980. It was a pretty weird choice.
Same as me. Thinking back it feels like most of of my childhood was playing with Airfix toy soldiers.
@@toysoldiernostalgiaif you look at that set it appears that they were created directly from the Multipose set, the kneeling mortarman uses the kneeling legs etc. I am convinced thats so. The support group is a fascinating set, though why a bazooka beats me, surely a PIAT would be better.
6:05 the Vickers water cooling can hose goes at the very front of the gun on the underside that’s why there’s an bit of plastic protruding on the underside 🔥
This was one of my favourites as a kid , so many interesting group
I bought these in 1979 and I still have them!!! They work well with the 1980 British Infantry set.
This was one of my favourite sets the accessories were great and I once brought two to make a mortar and a mg platoon
Brings back so many memories of playing with these sets with my father when i was a child.
I´m glad it did. What was your favorite set?
Outstanding video! When I was a kid, these weren’t easy to find in hobby shops. Most were small scale. I did find some Matchbox Germans in the early 90s.
Bought this set in the mid '70's on their release after owning all the earlier figures in the "brown box" sets in the early '70's. These were a great set but would have been even better with a few guys with brens or stens. Vickers machine guns were well moulded along with the mortars but I do not remember the Brits using bazookas. Airfix should certainly have done an infantry set to go with these, the British para's and 8th army sets were superb. The 8th.army my favourite set of Airfix figures in this scale.I am biased as a relative was a desert rat in WW2.
They did do an infantry set but not until much later. But it`s weird to do infantry support before you have an infantry unit to support.
Great video and thanks for solving the mystery about 29 figures, mine has no sticker, says 29 and includes only 17 so thought I had been conned!
Cool. I need to get one with the wrong amount.
Loved this set. Remember my Mum and Dad buying this for me when we were on holiday. Brings back lovely memories. Thank you. Still got it BTW, well passed it down to my son :)
Did he like them as well?
@@toysoldiernostalgia He does :) Unfortunately the target boxes didn't survive so there's a large tin with British commandoes, German's and US Infantry all mixed together. Sacrilegious I know.
nice! I never saw these figures boxed! or sprued! ,,, only ever had a few of these figures handed down to me when the equipment was long lost... such fun had all the same! (used the figures as gunners with my two Britain howitzers!) ,,, still got a the bazooka guy on top of the piano shooting from family framed photos! ... 'aim for the tracks!'
Lovely set, was one of my favourites along with Afrika Corp. Your boxes are in amazing condition. I have many of my soldiers, and boxes, but the boxes are a bit bashed about. Cheers.
I grew up with airfix and matchbox soldiers, mv favourite toy.
Same here.
My brothers liked more this scale, I was more in 1/76. Never understood why Airfix didn't never made a WWII British infantry set and give them a bazooka, they'd the PIAT as std AT weapon. Airfix had been always a little strange on choosing subjects to produce, look f.e. to their heavy 8 wheeled german AC, they made only one version, with the 75 AT gun, but didn't made the other variants, also if they'd the same hull.
What soldiers are in the box second one down on the far right please? I don't recognise them.
Don't remember the box art... but definitely had this kit, eventually all got mixed up with all my other airfix military figures, and the small accessories soon got lost or I just didn't bother looking for them
I was an American kid living in Germany in the 70s, and I loved Airfix. When I received my 5DM allowance every week , it would be a new box of 1/32 soldiers. I would usually buy German infantry, so they would look invincible against the one box of green allied soldiers. The Brits or Americans would always win the battle. Back then, children had imagination.
I kinda played like that to. Winning against all odds.
I stumbled upon your station and was so happy that I was reminded of my favorite kit ever the British infantry support group happy days thank you 😊
Glad you found it. 😀
By 1944 all the support assets were in Support Companies. The ATk weapons were rifle Company assets, although British infantry in WW2 never used the "bazooka". But then, the Airfix toy soldiers were never known for their historical authenticity.
Yes the PIAT should have been used. But I figured these were made in the early 70´s and it was harder to get correct info then compared to these days.
@@toysoldiernostalgia Not really, there were plenty of veterans they could ask, many would still be working in their factory. It was probably a case of the PIAT being mostly unknown and the bazooka being well known. These were toys, after all. Kids were not expected to know the difference, though, of course, we did.
@@I_Don_t_want_a_handle that sounds resonable.
A most wonderful set .
These are the first airfix soldiers I ever painted. I painted their helmets white for some reason but hey, I was about 7. 😂
Great channel and the memories are so great too. Thank you. 🙏
Thanks :)
WHY.
Why could I never find a WW2 1/32 scale normal standard British Infantry set in the 1970s? I do have the Infantry support group though.
EDIT August 13, 2022: As I wrote in several other comments, I decided to order two sets of the recent ''Red'' series with 14 figures. So after 40 years or so my collection is finally complete!
This is one of the big "mysteries" of the Airfix 70´s sets. Why didn´t they do a regular infantry set before the support group. I think the british infantry was first introduced in 1980 with the new window box.
www.airfix132.de/large_window_box_1980.html
I always wanted this set as a wee boy but my closest toy store in Scotland (John Menzies) which we visited when we went to a big grocery shop never had them in stock😢
Did you see it in an Airfix catalogue?
@@toysoldiernostalgia I would expect so. I used to spend hours and hours drooling over Airfix catalogues. But then one day we travelled to the big city and I found out about Tamiya 1/35 soldier kits 😲. I guess they only started producing them around that time (mid-70's).
I bought this set as a kid, it being the first time I tried my hand at painting toy soldiers. It was much later on when I realised that the British were using PIAT's not Bazooka's for an anti-tank role and I wondered why they went with the Bazooka?
I played with all of the Airfix toys soldiers in the 1970s. Regardless, they never had regular 1/32 British Infantry. I thought that was very odd. They had British paratroopers, commandos, and even a support battalion, but no regular infantry.
They did a set of regular british infantry but not until 1980 and that was pretty much at the end of the plastic toy soldier era.
Ha. I used to re enact the Tobruk siege with the Infantry support group, Australian Infantry and Afrika Korps. I had 1/35 scale Panzer IV with an electric motor. Somehow at the last second, the guy with the Bazooka used to knock out the panzer IV after all the mortar rounds were used up and things were looking bad. Then the Aussies would counter attack what was left of the Afrika Korps. 😂😂😂😂
Loved that set.
This was always hard to find even back in the day for some reason, probably popularity. I mean you need something to pour fire down into that German manned strongpoint.
Man, I loved this set. Not only the support weapons but all the spare parts for scenery and weapons to use on dumb guys launching grenades without any weapon. Yes, it also irritated me as a kid models launching grenades without any other weapon 😃 Great time capsule 👍🏻
This was one of the few sets I remember getting as a kid. And I chose it just because of all the gear.
Very nice review. Will try to get them too :-)
I had the vickers gunner without the gun. I though he was a shell shocked soldier sipping a mug of tea.
To me he looked like he was taking a dump lol.
this is my most wanted box is high on my wish list
good video, i bought the airfix soccer teams figures and used the weapons from this set plus marx ww2 weapon set to build a weapon company.bmc toy company remake them. they have a web site to order from. p s they also help young youtubers. god bless
This was my first ever set too.
Wow, Beautiful Upload friend. keep it up. Thank you for sharing this to us. Greetings from Korea
I remember buying this set with tremendous excitement. I rushed home shaking with anticipation. Oh dear. I almost cried when I saw the soldiers. Who was the artist who sculpted these men? What went wrong? A load of fat blokes with deformed faces. The gear was great. The equipment appeared wholly accurate, but why the hefty soldiers? My main passion was HO/OO Napoleonic era, but my friends were obsessed with 1/32 scale wargames. I still have every set of Airfix soldiers left over from childhood, but I somehow lost the figures from this one. Curiouser and Curiouser.
The battalion fire support company predates WW1, not 2nd Alamein. Only the systems changed to match the environment and technology. Each infantry battalion had two Vickers guns in 1914. These were replaced by 36 x Lewis guns, dispersed among the platoons and a battalion reserve by 1916. Far more mobility to their firepower that way, each platoon became an independent manoeuvre unit to match the close, confused ground of trench fighting.
The Vickers guns went to special machine gun battalions to better exploit their long range capabilities, and to make them more manoeuvrable by fitting them to motorcycles and then tanks. The first tank unit being the heavy section of the machine gun corps. The Vickers guns were replaced in the battalion fire support platoon by two or three 3inch Stokes Mortar, although independent mortar companies of up to six also existed at Brigade HQs.
For WW2 the classic order of battle for an Infantry Battalion was: HQ Company; three Rifle Companies containing a total of 36 x Bren guns (A, B and D Coy); Support Company with 3inch mortars and anti-tank weapons, sometimes a sniper section, commonly their own FOO (Forward Observation Officer) or MFO (Mortar Fire Control Officer) party, and a Carrier Platoon with another 13 x Bren guns in their Universal carriers.
Bren guns would be issued on ever greater scales with as many as 96 per battalion by 1944. It started out as 1 x Bren per eight men, but later became 1 x Bren per four men. Support Company now had the addition of the Boys .55cal anti-tank rifle in their anti-tank platoon, replaced by the 2pdr, and then the 6pdr and eventually 17pdr ATGs as they came into service; plus a 3inch Mortar Platoon with between four and six tubes; Thirteen universal carriers (each with a Bren gun) were in the Carrier Platoon to carry the ammunition forward for all these systems.
The PIAT was put on the platoon schedule when it arrived from 1942, but the Vickers guns never returned to the standard battalion. Paratrooper battalions had their own Vickers gun section as they were expected to operate independently. In the desert some of the specialised Vickers gun units attached sections to infantry battalions, to better cover the great distances involved in that fighting.
But specialised heavy MG Battalions operating the Vickers Gun were still in use in dense ground like Normandy and Italy to the end. Along with Royal Artillery 6pdr ATG Regiments, they were usually part of the Divisional order of battle, and deployed where the ground best suited their use.
Wow thanks for the in depth explanation. Great that there´s such knowledgeable on line :)
@@toysoldiernostalgia You're welcome, lovely nostalgia channel by the way.
I remember so many hours spent arranging these into battle across my bedroom floor, traded them up with friends to have whole battalions of identical ranks.
I loved this set but it drove me crazy. Trying to arrange those small pieces and keep them safe and in order. They were shall we say very vacuum cleaner friendly.
I lost almost all my weapons for that when I left it outside over night. Who took them I can`t figure out.
Partisans?
@@pathwaystomodernity7716 lol. Must have been birds or some animal. Only the accesories no soldiers.
Excelente muito bom 👍
Ola Amigo, bom dia teria um desses pra vender?
My age 70yr old for some reason I want to get some to remind me of the fun and had as a boy ill get enjoyment just looking at them and thinking about how much fun I had using my imagination as a child care free days
czcams.com/video/7bkgWwRXkgk/video.html
Forgot to say... Great video.
Thanks :)
Airfix did have British 8th Army, but no regular infantry for the European theatre.
They did release a set of British Infantry but not until 1980.
i recall these figures were always a bit bigger than the others ? (especially the Ghurkas ....)
i had this set :)
my fave
I don't think it is the SMLE rifle that is in this set. I think it is rifle no.4. The rifle barrel is more similar to rifle no.4. And that rifle was adopted by the British Army in 1941.
It is indeed the rifle no. 4.
In my set (which I still have, after all those decades) most of the equipment got lost. It happened in just a couple of years during playing with my sets with my friends. At least I've got the main figures and the complete machinegun and mortar sets.
That's a really nice set with some great poses
I have both boxes one with the black edge on the right side and the other with the orange edge on the right side do you have both boxes?
I will have to check when I have time. Can´t remember :)
Why didn't airfux ever do a German infantry support group? That would have been excellent. As a kid I was always, a bit frustrated by aurfuxs limited range.
are 1/34 scale figures small or avarage size
6:05 the Vickers cooling can hose goes at the very front of the barrel on the underside hence that is why there’s that little bit of plastic on the underside at the front don’t take my word for it just Google it 🔥
Cool, thanks 😀
Did they not have a British Infantry box ? Just reading the back of this one
At the time they released this box they didn`t have a set ot british infantry. It was a very strange decision to make a support group for another group they didn`t make. They did release an infantry set a few years later.
6:07 bro the ammo belt is in the incorrect position should be where the breech is 1cm further back just Google some photos 🔥
The radio operator looks 90% identical to the para one with just a few tweaks.
Yup they are very similar.
Great video! But the music is not military at all
That´s because I don´t like military music. Gets anoying. This is music that I connect with my childhood and gives the same positive nostalgic feeling as collecting toys does.
@@toysoldiernostalgia Do you like opera?
@@user-jc7nj1zk5b some opera. I like almost all kinds of music as long as it´s good quality. I am a musician and have been for 40 years so music is very important in my life.
@@toysoldiernostalgia I think you will enjoy my last video then. You can listen to famous Rimsky-Korsakov opera.
Was there a German infantry Support Group ?
Sadly no.
Did they ever do a German Support Group ?
Unfortunately not.
Soft plastic?
Yes.
Mortars were never used singularly they have always been used in Dets of 2 and 3 dets to a platoon which is 6 mortars I should know I was in Mortars Platoon 97-2000 and they teach you the history of it 😂
Ok cool. So if I want to do a big outdoor set up I should have 6 mortars set up in the same group?
Most British soldiers then would have wished that they had the bazooka. They, unfortunately, had the PIAT instead.
Isn't there another figure in this set? I have an officer holding a book or something to his chest? Or is this from another set?
Yes you´re right I missed putting him in there. Didn´t even realise until you mentioned it. Now I feel kinda stupid. Thanks for pointing it out.
@@toysoldiernostalgia No worries. Glad I wasn't imagining things!
I'm holding this enigmatic figure in my hand right now. He is carrying a stengun on his back and he seems to be observing. He's a sergeant maybe or a communication officer. It's not a book of course. Maybe a walkie talkie or some piece of equipment, idk?
PLEASE! No more Airfix and Matchbox! There are a zillion other companies out there that make or have made great toy soldiers and playsets, such as MPC, Timmee, Ideal, Timpo, etc. Also I don't regard Airfix or Matchbox as true TOY soldiers. They are really MODEL soldiers, and were produced as such. True toy soldiers were produced by companies like Marx. MPC, Lido, Preiser of Germany, etc.
Sorry to say that you will probably see very little of those companys on my channel. I collect mostly for nostalgic reasons and I never had any toy soldiers from the companys you mention so I have very little desire to collect them. I also have a limited budget to spend on toys so I have spend my money wisely. I think there should be some great channels on CZcams that show more of the companys you mention.
I have videos on Atlantic and for now just one on Timpo. Doing a lot more Atlantic in the future and Britains will be slowly added to the collection. So there will be other companys then Airfix and Matchbox.
Don't buy new Airfix Soldiers, They are dreadful.
There are many "repro"or "fak e" Airfix boxes in the world and It is not ever easy the buying an original box.
I wasn´t aware of there being a problem with repro Airfix boxes on the market.
In the 1970s there were no fa ke Airfix sets 🙂
@@Emdee5632 ...but in the '2000 there are many Airfix fake boxes.
@@mimmopolichetti2057 Well that may be. All my sets I bought or were given to me in the 1970s. Maybe a couple in the early 1980s. A couple of months ago I bought the ''red'' Hornby 1/32 WW2 British Infantry. Not on E-bay were the quality might be dubious, but on a site that only sells new original sets.
@@Emdee5632 Please tell me the site of the dell'ing the Airfix only original boxes of the 70s/80s .I lve in Italy,wher e are You?Thanks
The americans NEVER had a 12.7 mm machine gun, it's a .50 BMG, BROWNING MACHINE GUN.
European people cannot see that 12.7 is the size of the bullet, like 9mm has many different bullets but still 9mm.
@@MegaBIGJOE64
We CAN see it. It's just that the American' 'Fifty'' is a very iconic machine gun. Yes different versions maybe, but basically the same weapon. This is not to say there are no other 12.7 mm MGs it's just that everyone recognizes the American one.