Another £1 bag of charity shop soldiers

Hanging amongst the random bagged toys in our local BHF shop were some figures that I did not recognise or have. Back home after a little web research I discovered these to be various 1/72 Revell WW2 Infantry sets from the 1990s.

For some reason, I’m not sure why, I didn’t post this at the time of buying earlier in the year. They have thus been accidentally saved for some Lockdown cheer!

I tracked down which figures they were through the ID photos on the very useful Plastic Soldier Review website.

Fifteen Revell US WW2 Infantry 1990 http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=350

Two stray but interesting poses from the Revell British 8th Army set (1994). It could be cold at night in the desert.

Fifteen Revell US WW2 Marines 1993 http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=353

I wasn’t familiar with these Revell figures as these three sets were first produced between 1990 and 1994 when I had stopped buying plastic WW2 figures. I already had the Airfix or Matchbox figures if needed then.

Two small squads with some dramatic poses and useful figures, good for a skirmish game. Even if these are under a third of a box set in quantity each, for a single Pound, who could argue?

There you go, another Pound to charity – the good old BHF and its random toy bags.

Another bag of aggressive playthings and random toy soldiers kept out of the pocket money clutches of today’s skint children, preventing them becoming the historical figure gamers of the future. I can live with that slight guilt. This skint eternal boy and 70s Airfix kid needs them more!

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN 15 April 2020

BHF Charity Shop Toy Bag of Trucks £3

Under the current lockdown I’m not going to town and the charity shops will be shut as “inessential” anyway, so here is my last lucky find from late February / early March 2020.

Inside were two usable 30mm to 32mm (Pound Store figure scale) larger vehicles that I recognised from childhood. I had these same cars. Hmm. Thinks: Were they a little too familiar from childhood? When I got home I went and checked the toy cupboard. My childhood ones were still there. Nobody in the family had had a secret clearout.

These larger vehicles work well enough with the small Pound Store figures or any other 30mm-ish figures you might game with.

The Corgi Toys Land Rover 109″ W.B. is one I still have, it has always lived in the farm and zoo animals box. I always thought it used to be part of a Safari set.

This new charity shop one is already camouflaged and has good patina.

The old vintage car is the 1909 Thomas Flyabout from Matchbox Lesney Models of Yesteryear No. Y-12, “by courtesy of the Harrah Collection Reno USA” no less. This still exists as the National Automobile Museum http://www.automuseum.org and a Thomas Flyer can still be seen there http://www.automuseum.org/?exhibition=thomas-flyer

This charity shop one is minus its windscreen, back seat and plastic canopy. This would still work well as a staff car or a light lorry with a khaki or field grey paint scheme. It could be box backed to make a lorry, take a machine gun or anti aircraft gun or even make the chassis of an armoured car. I should be able to convert a Pound Store figure to drive, etc.

The other two fillers are bashed Matchbox Lesney type trucks that I also remember from childhood. The Lesney Matchbox Foden Concrete Truck No. 21 has clever gear wheels underneath to make the concrete mixer go round as you push it along. Simple but fun.

I have placed a small Airfix 60s vintage figure alongside for scale. These may end up painted khaki or field grey as part of a logistics convoy, but they are almost too nicely bashed for this.

Toy cars played a big role in my primary school break times as you could fit them easily into your pocket or school bag. We were lucky enough in my primary playground to have solid metal drain covers, tree roots, Tarmac, slopes and a low brick wall at perfect height backed by a grassy slope that were all great for marble games, toy cars and dirty knees.

Most of my 1970s toy cars have now been passed on to younger generations of the family where they still get played with on an old road map carpet playmat. The best ones had figures inside driving, openable doors and, like the gritter truck, space to put cargoes.

The design of the gritter truck No. 70 is clever, having a tiny chute out of the back so as you drive it along it spreads true ‘grit’. I remember this as being very good for sand play and sand pits. Real gritty “play value”, this one!

£3 well donated to charity.

Looking forward to more charity shop finds when the town, the high street and pound stores are open again for those cheerful ‘inessential’ journeys.

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, 2nd April 2020.