Strelets WWI British Infantry in Gas Masks

Strelets WWI British Infantry in Gas Masks.

The US Army used British uniforms and equipment in much of World War One.

We also continued to use some of it until early World War Two.

So I use these guys as US Army.

I think they look just fine for the job.

Branch Colors

The light blue on this truck is Infantry blue.

So this truck belongs to an Infantry unit.

The Cobalt blue on this trucks indicates Chemical Corps.

Chemical Corps also gets a golden yellow piping, I used it on the GAS trailer.

Troops wear these colors as cords on their hats and sometimes in other uniform items.

Interwar Trucks

The US Army is divided into Branches, Infantry, Armor, Chemical Corps, and so on.

Each branch gets a color, red, dark blue, light blue, and so on.

I am working on making my 1938 US Army and using these little trucks as the primary vehicle for them.

The embossed letters are being painted in the Branch color.  They actually did paint the canvas frequently in the Interwar years and often in many colors and often with unit insignia.

I am also using several types of wheels and tires to indicate vehicles that are older or newer.  Old trucks often get upgrades as they approach the end of their service life or as technology improves.  With little money in the Interwar years the Army did all it could to keep the old vehicles running.  There was also a lot of improvement in tires in those years.

US Army Truck

This slush cast truck has a cast in driver and US ARMY on the canvas.  He is about 1/72nd scale.

I like to find small scale slush cast vehicles and use them for my 1938 US Army to fight Martian invasions.

Orson Wells War of the Worlds radio broadcast was in 1938.  The wheels on the cannon are replacement wheels, often the originals are missing or in poor shape.

I am using branch colors for the US ARMY on the trucks.  Here is light blue for infantry.  The Cannon got light blue because that was often used on vehicles before the Army went for white numbers.

These Strelets figures go well with the slush cast truck and gun.

Slush Cast

Slush cast is a technique for making hollow metal items.  It uses very little metal and so the items are light and inexpensive.  Like the technique for making chocolate Easter Bunnies.

The technique has gone out of favor with die casting replacing it, like Matchbox cars.

Still, slush cast toys were very popular in the 1930's, and 1940's in the USA.

I like to buy slush cast military items that are small and repair them.

Then I strip off the old paint, prime them, and repaint them.

Fletcher Flair and Coyote 500

 Fletcher Flair 115 by Midge Toy, repainted and with new decals.

The Flair was supposed to be a fully amphibious Jeep but the Army did not buy them.

The vehicle in the back is the Matchbox Coyote 500.

The Army looked at those too, but did not buy but a few for testing.

In this scenario, the Army purchased them both.

And they served side by side all through the 1960's.

Long Tom

This Tootsie Toy cannon is probably 50 years old.

It got it off eBay, in terrible condition.  It's supposed to be a US Army Long Tom, 155mm howitzer.

The US Army used them in the Coast Artillery and the Field Artillery.

Field Artillery towed them with trucks and the Coast Artillery with Caterpillar tractors.

I stripped off the paint, repaired it and replaced the wheels.

After years of testing these guns finally entered service in 1938.

In my alternate War of the Worlds based on Orson Wells radio show, the Martians invade in October of 1938.

That makes this one of the first of these gun into service and one of the first to fire in anger.  I use the Roco versions for World War Two.

Luftwaffe 1946

 

 A Matchbox airplane.

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It reminds me of this 1946 Luftwaffe jet.

I am taking them apart and will have to strip off their paint.
 

It's a simple model and will be an easy job.

A small group of four airplanes is enough.

Super Hero Bat Mobiles

Hot Wheels and Walmart team up about once a year to produce Batmobiles.

They always change up the 1966 version a little.

In this instance they made the windows smoky.

Compared to the more prototypical chrome wheels and clear windows.

I keep hoping to hit the mother lode and buy a bunch of them for a special project, but no luck so far.

Alternate Past

Black Widow car.

I like the red hour glass.

Very cool car too.

I have been buying a few generic futuristic cars also.

They will function in my alternate future, alternate past and probably super hero universes.