Missing Regiments & Vehicles (1 Viewer)

[Cardigan600]

Yo Troopers, this is one subject that has miffed me for some time now. Would like to hear your opinions on the matter and that is WHY are so many Regiments & Vehicles not made by Toy Manufactures. IE: It was my aim when I started collecting to get all 30 British Cavalry Regiments in 19th Century uniform, then I realised Old Britains only made half of them, they kept churning out the same Regiments year after year. So it ends up I have to get them made myself, as you know Jeff has been a great help painting different Regiment's for me, plus have had to go all the way to Uruguay and ask Gullimero Hiriart to make the last three I don't have. The Cavalry nearly being complete I decided to get the Vehicles I drove or was associated with while in the Army, again problems no maker ever made a Conqueror Tank or the series 1 Landrover I used to drive as a Staff Driver, I have seen so many different Tigers Shermans & Panzers etc getting made over & over again. The same with Landrovers tons of them but not the one the British Army used in the 1950s/60s ????. I mean the Conqueror was with the Centurion the main British Battle Tank at the time and at 65 Tonne the largest active Tank in the World. But it doesn't rate with the Model makers Makers. Have any of you guys found, this problem when looking for a certain item, and as the old saying goes, if its not made you can't buy it.
Bernard.

 

[Saber]

I've also found it difficult to find many units, primarily Napoleonic era. I guess the manufactures have to stick with what sells to the general public and to be honest I don't know how many people are interested in purchasing the lesser known units. I think that's why we see units like the Foot Guards or Imperial Guard being remade again and again because the average person can relate that unit to a particular battle or at least to a certain war. That's one reason I don't get too concerned when setting up dios if say a certain version of a tank wasn't at Normandy or wherever...it's just too hard for me to get the exact units/vehicles from one battle. That doesn't even account for getting them in the correct poses to form square etc. I'm sure from some of the pictures I've seen there are several forum members who have the talent to modify paint schemes and such to more properly reflect the events they are trying to recreate. Sadly, I am not among those individuals so I'll muddle along as best I can.

 

[4th Hussar]

Britains seems to just have made the most popular regiments and many other toy soldier companies did the same thus lots of 11th Hussars and Black Watch. There used to be numerous small cottage type toy soldier companies that would produce any regiment you wished based on their standard Hussar, Lancer, Dragoon etc. castings. My favorite was AQM , but they closed a year or so ago.Unfortunately now it seems you have to find the castings and painters separately now. Bernard you are fortunate to have Jeff with his distemper brush.

I will be interested in finding out how your transactions with Hiriart .

On your tank and land rover you might have to find plastic models.

 

[trooper]

Britains seems to just have made the most popular regiments and many other toy soldier companies did the same thus lots of 11th Hussars and Black Watch. There used to be numerous small cottage type toy soldier companies that would produce any regiment you wished based on their standard Hussar, Lancer, Dragoon etc. castings. My favorite was AQM , but they closed a year or so ago.Unfortunately now it seems you have to find the castings and painters separately now. Bernard you are fortunate to have Jeff with his distemper brush.

I will be interested in finding out how your transactions with Hiriart .

On your tank and land rover you might have to find plastic models.

The cottage industries are still there, try Alexander's Toy Soldiers, Asset or Yeomanry. They can supply all infantry regiments, Highland regiments, Guards and cavalry in addition to many other items. Vehicles are a problem I agree, but I thought Britains produced a Land Rover years ago?

 

[4th Hussar]

The cottage industries are still there, try Alexander's Toy Soldiers, Asset or Yeomanry. They can supply all infantry regiments, Highland regiments, Guards and cavalry in addition to many other items. Vehicles are a problem I agree, but I thought Britains produced a Land Rover years ago?

I know Britains produced a farm land rover but a militasry one ?

 

[trooper]

Yes. to the best of my recollection it had a towed BAT gun hooked up to it. At least I think it was a Land Rover, I am going back a hell of a long way.

 

[4th Hussar]

I dig into my references, I recall the BAT but not what hauled it

 

[Cardigan600]

I dig into my references, I recall the BAT but not what hauled it

Yo Troopers, thanks for the input, to answer one of the questions, Britains did make Military Landrovers. There were many different types of Landrover have posted a photo of an old one 1:1 to show the type we used as Staff Drivers for the Officers at Tidworth HQ. The first without the canvas is the type we used and the one I cannot find as a model, spare wheel was inside the back. The second is the later one with the spare on the bonnet. The third is a model series 1 but you can see its not the same.
Bernard.

 

[thebritfarmer]

Like this Bernard, looks very similar.

 

[4th Hussar]

Bernard,
The first and 3rd are very similar. Remove the tire from the hood and cut the extra winch like device from under the bumper. In model railroading we call it kit bashing

Yo Troopers, thanks for the input, to answer one of the questions, Britains did make Military Landrovers. There were many different types of Landrover have posted a photo of an old one 1:1 to show the type we used as Staff Drivers for the Officers at Tidworth HQ. The first without the canvas is the type we used and the one I cannot find as a model, spare wheel was inside the back. The second is the later one with the spare on the bonnet. The third is a model series 1 but you can see its not the same.
Bernard.

 

[trooper]

Someone has told me that the vehicle I thought was a Land Rover was in fact an Austin Champ. Not that I would know the difference, they all have a wheel at each corner.

 

[Cardigan600]

Someone has told me that the vehicle I thought was a Land Rover was in fact an Austin Champ. Not that I would know the difference, they all have a wheel at each corner.

WOW lol, got Trooper at last, with his vast knowledge of Military History, caught him off guard. The Champ was an amazing vehicle it was 4x4 plus had five forward gears, which by pulling a lever would make 5 reverse gears, I actually saw one of our lads reverse one at 60mph on an old Airfield, not something you want to do on a road lol. It also had a snorkel if fitted and could submerge in up to 6ft of water, clever stuff for those days. Now trooper that's more info to add to your vast knowledge of Military history..
Bernard.

 

[Dickbuttons]

Bernard -- consider yourself very fortunate. Many years ago when I started collecting, it seemed like the only foot regiments one could find were either one of the household guards, the royal marines, or one of the highland regiments. For example, take at look at the bands produced by Britains pre-1966. There were perhaps 18 different bands; the Royal Marines accounting for 3 or 4 of them and the Household Guards accounting for 6. So as bad as it seems, it has gotten allot better.

Dick

 

[trooper]

Yes Sir, Lieutenant Sir. Used to stables, not garages Sir. Thank you for the info, Sir.

 

[binder001]

You are probably right about the lack of Land Rovers - they have been, and still are important military vehicles around the world. The Conqueror on the other hand was impressive but just a footnote in armor history like the US M103-series. Neither fired a shot in anger and wasn't exported so I doubt either will be made in "toy" version. Even in 1/35th models both are limited to small runs of resin kits. There is one tank for whom I don't understand the relative lack of popularity - the Centurion. Widely exported, used in several Cold War era conflicts, a fine tank, but it just doesn't get people excited so there are few models and only a few toys of it.

Gary B.

 

[DMNamiot]

The Cavalry nearly being complete I decided to get the Vehicles I drove or was associated with while in the Army, again problems no maker ever made a Conqueror Tank or the series 1 Landrover I used to drive as a Staff Driver, I have seen so many different Tigers Shermans & Panzers etc getting made over & over again. The same with Landrovers tons of them but not the one the British Army used in the 1950s/60s ????. I mean the Conqueror was with the Centurion the main British Battle Tank at the time and at 65 Tonne the largest active Tank in the World. But it doesn't rate with the Model makers Makers. Have any of you guys found, this problem when looking for a certain item, and as the old saying goes, if its not made you can't buy it.
Bernard.

Hi Bernard,

You have a great point here! The Cavalry and Tanks seem to be woefully under-represented at best. I have asked many times over the years why we dont see some of the really interesting units from The Burma Campaign Like the 6th Carabiners or the 7th Light Cavalry, at least represented by a set of vehicle markings. I guess when everyone get sick of making Tigers and Shermans for Europe they will finally get some of the other Theaters covered. As for the Conqueror well I think it might have simply fallen in to the not sexy or worse not battle proven so why bother category. I think its a Da** shame that no one has even given a bit of coverage to the Cold War Era. I for one would be thrilled to have a Conqueror, a Leopard I , and an M1 Abrams in European Threater paint schemes and unit designations. I would also appreciate seeing some of the German Sparpanzers and British Scout vehicles done as well. They could produce these sorts of sets and figures as a Cold War series and I am sure they would be popular. Heck they could even produce Eastern Bloc Border Guards and a T62 with East German Markings and just for some added realism add some German Green Party protestors. I am sure you had to deal with those knuckleheads just like we did...

Hopefully some one will read these comments and take them to heart and do a series of vehicles and sets honoring all of us who served in the Cold War.

All the best

Dave