These came out from 1977 to 1983.
It was an ambitious offering by Airfix who were
in serious decline by the early 80s.
MODERN BRITISH INFANTRY
A good set with nice sharp detail and superb sculpting.
The men are generously equipped for NATO training exercises.
The FN is the main rifle, there is one machine gun and a
Carl Gustave rocket launcher. This is the only Airfix set that
does not seem to have a distinct commander! I reckon it's
the prone man but you get a few of them, so who is
in charge?
Original 7 figure set out of the box!
Painted in cammo!
Painted alternative!
A closer look!
MODERN GERMAN INFANTRY
These were released in early 1978 to accompany
the British in NATO exercises I presume! Good sharp detail
and nice action poses. The men sport Gewehr G3 rifles, Uzis and
rocket launchers. The prone machine gunner has an MG1
they say, but it looks uncannily like a WW2 MG42.
Early sets had the error of putting a WW2 stick grenade
in the thrower's hand. Airfix made a little blunder
and it was soon rectified in future sets!
Original 7 figure set out of the box!
Painted for action!
In cammo
Closer inspection
MODERN RUSSIAN INFANTRY
Ahh, the commies! Now we know what the NATO
boys were protecting us from, although the Soviets had
their hands full with Afghanistan at this time. This is a superbly
sculpted set and it's great to see an AK-47 in a set of figures.
These were released in 1983 and now pretty rare. They look
great except for the man running and I would have preferred
a prone heavy machine gun instead or a sniper with
a Dragunov 7.62!
Original 7 figure set out of the box!
S.A.S.
Due to the success of the S.A.S. in the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege,
Airfix must have decided to pay homage and the results are these
superbly sculpted figures released in 1983 and probably my favourite set.
They came in menacing black plastic and are all armed with the
Heckler & Koch HK5, and lots or grenades and ammo! Now they
are hard to find but definitely worth chasing!
Original 7 figure set in black plastic is fantastic!
Who Dares Wins!
In cammo!
In the spotlight!
NATO INFANTRY
This is one of the very last Airfix sets to be produced.
The 1983 box calls them NATO Troops while the 1986 box
calls them Modern U.S. NATO. These are basically U.S. troops
from the early 80s wearing the 'Fritz' helmet, named after it's striking
resemblance to the German Stahlhelm helmet used by the forces of Nazi
Germany during WW2. These troops are a bit puny and seem closer to 1/35 than
1/32 and the detail is nowhere near as sharp as the others in this series.
The poses are the standard fare you expect from Airfix but the commander
is a bit bizarre. Who in modern combat bashes the enemy with a rifle? Seven
poses all with M16s and not a rocket launcher or heavy machine gun in sight!
Outstanding in their own field but I hate to admit it but they are a bit
disappointing to say the least! This is now a very sought after set by
collectors and expect to pay big bucks for a box today! Technically
they are not worth the price people are asking being such a
sub par set, but if you want to complete your collection,
get your wallet out! I was the crafty veteran scoring
two boxes from a toy store in the U.S. for an
unbelievably low price!
Original 7 figure set in green plastic
Original 1986 set in dark brown plastic
THE BOXES
While both the Modern British and Germans came in 14 and 29
boxes respectively, the last three sets only made it to 14 piece sets.
The artwork for the latter three 1983 sets is a little boring to say the least.
It seems to be more of a colour code thing than a warzone! These last three
sets are unique and a must have for any serious collector.
Both the Russians and the NATO made it to HO/OO scale.
The Brits, Germans and S.A.S. never did!
The Modern British 29 Figure Set Box Front
And the Back
The Modern German 29 Figure Set Box Front
And the Back
1977 STANDARD BOX
The Modern British only appeared like this
The 14 Figure Sets Box Fronts
Box Rears
1986 HUMBROL BOXES
NATO Infantry became Modern U.S. NATO
SAS HORNBY REISSUE JUNE 2013
Well here they are at last and after a long wait
we get some great box artwork too. It is great
to see set this again I must say.
The reissues are dark grey Resin K
In action!
The painting guide!
MODERN WARFARE MANEUVERS
Hi I am looking for some boxes for my loose figures. I have several loose set and want to get their box. Do you or somebody knew a link or someone who has its pdf or scanned box images or something like that anyway ?
ReplyDelete