The Unknown Rifleman (1 Viewer)

[Carnahan]

I'm sure quite a few forum members have owned a set of the Tim Mee "M-16" U.S. infantry figures that were all the rage in the '70s and '80s. I fondly recall waging crude dice-driven war games with several dozen at a time. Recently I found out that the original sets included a marching soldier, but I can't locate a picture anywhere online. Anyone out there have one in their possession?

 

[combatmen]

You can probaly find a picture at the Toy Soldier HQ website or at timmee-army.com.
BOBBYGMOORE

 

[Plastic General]

Here they are, first issue TIM MEE 1:32 US INFANTRY "VIETNAM"
in all 13 poses including the 2 rare poses.
By the 80's and 90's the mold went missing for the marching figure and the grenade broke out of the hand of the other pose,
so they issued it as a waving guy instead.








Here are the 2 rare discontinued poses.



I hope this could be of help for some of you NAM collectors out there?

The Plastic General

 

[Plastic General]

Good News!
The TIM MEE Americans are a perfect match for the MARS VIET CONG!



Plastic General

 

[Bdyh]

Here they are, first issue TIM MEE 1:32 US INFANTRY "VIETNAM"
in all 13 poses including the 2 rare poses.
By the 80's and 90's the mold went missing for the marching figure and the grenade broke out of the hand of the other pose,
so they issued it as a waving guy instead.

Here are the 2 rare discontinued poses.

I had these as a kid in the late 60s or early 70s. This would have been in the first batch--long before the mold went missing. I never had the guy with a pineapple--I had the waving guy, and never saw the marching guy till a few years ago. If anyone had these two poses back in the early 70s, can anyone explain why they showed up in some sets, but not others?

 

[Plastic General]

For the simple reason that molds get damaged.
The same reason that AIRFIX has never reissued their 1:32 WWII Italian Inf.
I heard the mold is irretrievably damaged.
Bummer. Pretty expensive now.

Plastic General

 

[Carnahan]

Thanks!

 

[Bid_kahuna]

I had these as a kid in the late 60s or early 70s. This would have been in the first batch--long before the mold went missing. I never had the guy with a pineapple--I had the waving guy, and never saw the marching guy till a few years ago. If anyone had these two poses back in the early 70s, can anyone explain why they showed up in some sets, but not others?

I also had a bag that I bought when I was about nine in 1974 and I too did not get the marching man or the grenade version of the waving guy. I've only ever seen those poses online. Never knew they existed until I saw them on Kent Sprecher's site.

 

[Bdyh]

I also had a bag that I bought when I was about nine in 1974 and I too did not get the marching man or the grenade version of the waving guy. I've only ever seen those poses online. Never knew they existed until I saw them on Kent Sprecher's site.

Is it possible (as I first thought when I saw them--maybe on Kent's site) that these two mystery poses are LATER additions to the set? Did anyone out there have these two poses back in the early 70s?

 

[Plastic General]

Is it possible (as I first thought when I saw them--maybe on Kent's site) that these two mystery poses are LATER additions to the set? Did anyone out there have these two poses back in the early 70s?

I bought my set from Kent Sprecher back in the mid 90's.
It was he that told me about the rare poses.
I also had a bag of these when I was 3 or 4 years old back in the early 70's.
I had the the guy with NO grenade and NO marching pose.
But I do think it's unlikely that they would blow more money adding two more poses at a later date.

Plastic General

 

[Bdyh]

I bought my set from Kent Sprecher back in the mid 90's.
It was he that told me about the rare poses.
I also had a bag of these when I was 3 or 4 years old back in the early 70's.
I had the the guy with NO grenade and NO marching pose.
But I do think it's unlikely that they would blow more money adding two more poses at a later date.

Plastic General

I agree that this seems unlikely, but stranger things have happened (BMC did it, and so did Accurate, albeit because of a mold problem). Can anyone out there confirm that these poses existed early on by having had them in the early 70s? I think there are two problems with the 'mold was broken' claim. So far, no one has been able to confirm the existence of the mystery poses very early AND the mystery poses appear in later re-castings.