MATCHBOX 1/32 SCALE

MATCHBOX 1/32 SCALE

Matchbox launched the first three sets, Germans, British and Americans

in the mid 70s. Afrika Korps, Commandos and 8th Army followed in 1978.

I thought they were less serious looking than Airfix but more playful with more 

poses in their 15 figure sets. Original sets are now highly sought after by collectors.

These sets also made it to 1/76 with some more poses and in the early 80s

Japanese and ANZACs were added bringing the 1/76 sets to 8 in total.

Back then, I eagerly waited for these two sets to

make it to 1/32. I'm still waiting!

If only someone at Revell would wake up some day soon and say

"Ok, we will re-launch the entire 1/32 sets and add the Japs

and ANZACS for that crazy guy on Commander of Plastic Men!"

GERMANS (9 Poses)

This was the first ever set of figures I bought back in 1979.

This actual set here is from 1982. I gave my first set away I'm sure! 

They are of very high quality plastic, the moldings are sharp and clear.

My only gripe about this set is the water bottles are various sizes and the 

MP40 machine pistol looks a bit strange in comparison to the Afrika Korps 

MP40. It looks more like an STG44 assault rifle but I'm not convinced! 

All the riflemen carry the Kar 98 but the prone man crawling would have 

been better loading the MG34 just like Airfix had it. Great set overall 

though and the flamethrower is an excellent addition to the set.

A classic German set and a must have for collectors! This set

has the lowest number of poses with just 9. Bah!

BRITISH (11 Poses)

Another great set of well moulded troops with a great 

assortment of weapons and poses. There are two Bren guns

and the prone figure is a smasher! The Vickers machine gunner has 

no loader friend unfortunately and the man throwing the grenade looks 

a bit bare with no other weapon. Nice to see netting on the helmets.

I always felt the bases on a few of the figures were a bit narrow and they fell 

over easily, but apart from that, great set. First bought in 1979 and swapped. 

This set is from 1983 and just underwent a facelift! Nice sheepskin 

coat on the Captain! This is a super set and well worth acquiring!

AMERICANS (11 Poses)

A recent eBay purchase, I never bought these back in the day, 

but my sister did in 1979 and gave them away! A fine set they are

too with some great poses. The Browning looks great and so does 

the man with the M3 'Greasgun'. The Lieutenant has an overcoat

which is a nice little touch and the man throwing the grenade has three

more attached to his webbing! All the riflemen are carrying M1 Garands

but there are no M1 Carbines to be seen and this was a popular weapon 

during WW2. Also there is no Bazooka in this set which is a bit of 

a downer! Overall with crisp sharp mouldings and some great poses, 

this is the ultimate U.S. Army set! This is an 1983 set and I also 

have a mint 1976 set unpainted!

AFRIKA KORPS (11 Poses)

Now we're living! This set has a great variation in troops, a good 

mixture of caps, helmets and shorts. The moldings are sharp and clear. 

The machine gunner even has a prone loader. The men with fixed bayonets 

look a bit unnatural especially the man with the cap who looks a bit flat. 

Rommel was even throw in for good measure! First bought in 1979 and swapped. 

This set is from 1982. The man with the goggles on his helmet is a cracker!

This set is a fine example of the Afrika Korps and an absolute must

for collectors of German forces of WW2.

BRITISH COMMANDOS (11 Poses)

I remember buying this very set in late 1979. The excitement as the 

well molded men and the 'rubber' raft fell out of the box and on to the table.

I had never seen such a cool set of troops in all my born days to be honest! 

This is a superb set with good quality moldings, weapon range and easily

knocks Airfix off the top spot with it's own Commandos. It's nice to see

Sten guns even though no figure is actually firing one. The man on the 

ladder is a bit novel but still a nice touch. There is also a man throwing a 

grapnel hook. The man and the the inflatable is superb too! The action 

poses are great and it depicts the Commandos as a formidable 

force! I wish I didn't cut the Thompson out of the grenade 

throwers left hand. Idiot!

BRITISH 8TH ARMY (13 Poses)

I bought my first box back in late 1979. I traded them with a friend, 

as you do. Then I bought another box in 1982 and over the years the plastic 

became brittle as they cracked like hard cheddar! All that was left was arms, 

legs and heads at the bottom of the box! Even Monty crumbled into the Libyan 

sand! This is a fine 8th Army set too as it has Scottish troops judging by the

berets and the piper. There is a good mix of poses, weapons and even 

a poor guy copping it! There are 13 poses and the detail is great. 

A classic set that is now getting rare. 

THE UNPAINTED

This is what they look like out of the box!

German

British

American

British 8th Army

THE BOXES

I love the pure 70s design of these boxes, and they are all more or less 

the same style with one main man in the foreground and the rest slogging

it out in the background. Pure war comic and a classic by any standards!

THE FRONT

When you see this image, memories will flood back to rainy Fridays

in the late 70s, where you gather the troops, grab a Sherbet Fountain

and read Warlord oblivious to the world outside your window!

AROUND THE BACK!

The colour guide was comic book cool!

SIDE VIEW!

Here you could see the poses the figures possessed.

Hands up who set the actual figures up to look like this?

NOTE #1

The Afrika Korps set (bottom right) shows a figure aiming 

an MP40 on the back of the box and also on the side which shows

the rest of the poses. This figure was only with the 1/76 set as I've never seen 

him for real. It is a much better pose than the other 1/32 MP40 figure in the set. 

What a pity they never made him in 1/32. I actually thought he existed

but after buying two boxes I lost hope!

The elusive soldier!

NOTE #2

The Germans, British and Americans have been reissued by a 

Chinese manufacturer and they even come with copies of the original boxes! 

You will notice '8+' in the top right corner of the newer boxes and they are sold 

from Hong Kong. Beware on eBay of other sellers trying to pass them as

originals! I have never actually seen the figures in the flesh, but if I didn't 

have the originals...

"Watch out for the 8+ you hear?!!!"

CONVERTED!

Ever come across figures with weapon damage? Of course you did.

There are two things you can do, one is to ignore it, but then again when it's 

painted it looks pretty stupid. You can fix it or you can convert it! Here we see

a guy that was converted. My first attempt actually. Gone is the damaged 

flamethrower and hello MG42, bigger water canteen and on the back

he has an MP40 with magazine pouch. In other words 

he is armed to the teeth!

MATCHBOX CLONES

As a collector I used to only rate and hoard the originals myself!

Recently there seems to be a lot of Chinese sets that offer the

Germans, Americans, 8th Army and Afrika Korps. They come in 

terra cotta red, dark grey, dark green, tan and even silver.

They seem a tad smaller than 1/32 but are not bad for messing

around with. I was tempted to say the least!

This pot contains 202 pieces and it is made up of Germans, Americans, 

8th Army and Afrika Korps from the Matchbox sets. There is the odd Airfix 

man in the German set but the Japanese set is brutal with terrible molding!

All in all, for the price of €10.00 you can't go wrong! Here are the Matchbox 

clones by Hing Fat from China. The Japanese set is not shown 

for obvious reasons!

The Germans are mix of Infantry and Afrika Korps.

The American set is all Matchbox but there 

is no captain to be found!

The 8th Army are all there except Monty!

The American set come with two figures blown up to 

1/32 from the 1/76 set and the German set comes likewise

with a Bazooka man, but not the right type mind you

PAINTING THE CLONES! 

 These are a few I painted in various German uniforms!

This box is probably the easiest way to get the best

of these classic sets for peanuts, and if you don't care

about the less than perfect moldings, once painted they

look great! Admit it, you know you want them!

A selection of German forces, clones of course!

More late war germans!

Fake Afrika Korps!

Clones as menacing S.S. troops!

The 'fake' 8th Army!

KEEP ON CLONING

Another recent toy store find. These are more or less the same

as the Hing Fat clones but are made by Shing Hing Toys. The plastic

is softer and there are very slight differences in the weapons.

The bases are generally smaller making the figures fall over

easily. This tub consists of Afrika Korps, Americans, which are

pretty badly moulded, mixed with Modern U.S., 8th 

Army and Japanese from another manufacturer.

Great value tub stuffed with cool cloned figures!

Take your pick!

More Afrika Korps plus a Wehrmact officier.

The weapons are slightly different. The man kneeling on the 

right looks like he's firing a musket!

The 8th Army. The bases are

pretty small and the figures fall easily!

AND FINALLY...

This set of Americans is pretty good too. Simply titled 'Army Troopers',

it is by Tobar, a U.K. toy distributer, the figures are made in China, 

and come as a 32 piece set with a nice bag. A true bargain!

The plastic is soft and the figures are nice and sharp!

Almost as good as the real thing! Again the same two figures

appear blown up from the 1/76 set but no captain! 

Anyway, who said life is fair! 

The famous M3 'Greasgun' man!

AND FINALLY (AGAIN)!

A pretty shoddy Chinese made set of Americans

with two in dazzling mustard plastic!