Small Car

This is a Sunbeam Alpine.

By Micro Machines.

I got it hoping it would be close to HO or maybe even a little larger.

It turned out to be really small.

But I have a use for it.

Rather than use it for James Bond, I will use it for Disneyland.

The Autopia ride consists of little cars to drive around on a closed circuit.

I got four of them, you can see by the 1/72nd scale Caesar Miniatures figure they are small!
 

Race Track Truck

This is a great looking truck.

It should work well as a crash or maintenance truck on my race track.

I like the gear in the back.

Minimal undercarriage detail.

Mr. Bond likes the cover it provides and then does not hide behind it.
 

Tim Mee 60mm Troops

Tanks with the Tim Mee Cold War infantry in 60mm.

They are sized to fit with their WWII 60mm infantry.

And include cool stuff like this motorcycle.

And all the poses are unique to the set.

They match well with the large tank models.

Good combination I think.
 

M46 60mm Tank

I suspect this tank was originally made by Ideal Toy Corporation.

Back then the tank had the ability to shoot little tank shells.

There was a spring loaded device as part of the barrel.

The ammo was stored on the engine deck.

Either the Mexicans modified the mold or made a new mold based on the old toy.

These tanks are in wonderful shape, no flash, fit together perfectly.
 

M46 Pershing

M46 Patton tank.

Sold on ebay as Mexican Army Tank.

They come in a variety of combinations of green and tan.

I have been trying to get five of this one for over a year.

Only three so far.

But they claim more are on the way.  We shall see.

 

Special Edition Strelets and Ukraine

Strelets makes 1/72nd scale soft plastic figures.  They are based in Ukraine.  I have a lot of them and many more are on my want list.  I decided that perhaps they could use a little support during this trying time.

I made my largest ever Strelets order today from Hannants.  It seemed like a good idea to purchase some of our favorite army men today as a concrete way to show our support for a great company and a courageous people.  No matter how current events go, it will not hurt to increase the demand for products from Ukraine.  I figure this is a small thing, but it's something those of us can do who collect 1/72nd scale troops.

I know it won't get money to them directly, but it will help to create more demand for their products.  So perhaps if your wish list has a few Strelets figures you might want to consider buying them sooner rather than later as a way to show support for the company and the people of Ukraine.

Leave a comment.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Boy Scouts That's All for Now

It's hard to see but this guy who was originally hitting someone with the butt of his rifle, has been transformed into a man waving a flagpole.  Flag to be applied later.

You can go to the camp out but you have to take your little brother with you.

Out West it was common, even today for kids to have horses and pack animals.

Former member of the Airfix Wagon Train set sits with a boy scout and his rifle.

Chaplain figure from the Pegasus Pilgrims.

Here is the whole group so far.  I have plans for a few more figures and some more gear and accessories.
 

Boy Scouts and Gettysburg

This time a prone WWI British Airfix figure with a new head.

This gives me six rifle firing figures all different.

No boy scout camp is complete without signal flags.

Sitting around the campfire.

Until the last few years I have always respected the boy scouts and the work they did, my figures are not intended to represent any specific scouting organization but rather to encompass the period from about 1898, a couple years before the Boy Scouts of America were formed, and about 1958.  I think they will be useful for my War of the Words scenarios for 1898, 1918, 1938 and 1958.  

The Boy scouts participated in a Civil War veterans reunion at Gettysburg in 1913 marking the 50th anniversary of the battle, over 400 boy scouts were there.  In 1938 there was a 75th anniversary reunion at the Gettysburg battlefield.  In 1913 over 100,000 people attended.  In 1938 nearly two thousand Civil War veterans attended.  Both reunions invited all American Civil War veterans, from either side.

Gettysburg was used for military training in the years between WWI and WWII.

This figure is an Airfix WWI American who originally was bayoneting a fallen foe.  I figure boy scouts would have few opportunities for that so I gave him a shovel.

New Boy Scouts

This figure is from one of the Pegasus sets, I think the Pilgrims.  I wanted a lot of variety of size and clothing but with a general outdoor look to the figures.

Big campfires and a tent from Fujimi.

Here is some of the group.  These are Airfix WWI Americans.  I am not using all the poses, nor am I using them in the same variety of poses as the sets provide.  Boy Scouts did marksmanship and so had guns, particularly in rural America where it was not uncommon for boys to carry a gun.  I have removed all the bayonets from the guns since those were not likely in use by Boy Scouts.

This figure is a WWI British soldier by Airfix and he has had his head swapped for one with the Montana Peak hat.  I think his pack makes a nice Boy Scout pack.

Another British figure with a new head.
 

Foot Scout

I have been modifying a large number of my WWI Airfix American Army figures by providing them with new heads.

So I have a number of the heads wearing the Montana Peak hat or Smokey the Bear hat left over.

So some of them are going to become boy scout heads.

Here a mixture of Airfix High Chaparral and Cowboys figures have had their heads replaced with Smoky the Bear hats.

 This guy started as a WWII German but now he is as American as apple pie in his new boy scout hat.  Many scouts, particularly in the first 50 years or so of the organization wore home made uniforms or only partial uniforms.  So they often did not look all that uniform.  By using a number of different kinds of figures as the basis for the scouts I hoped to get more variety of appearance.