Tribute to 1:32 (1 Viewer)

[WesternOutlaw]

Hi All,

Hope you are all doing well. It often seems like the old saying, "when it rains, it pours".

Forum member Kenrow recently shared a Forces of Valor WWII Diorama set in North Africa. His post got me looking at pictures of my old 1:32 scale collection. What great brands including Ultimate Soldier, Forces of Valor, Oryon, Marx, BMC, CTS, and others. These pieces really got me collecting toy soldiers as an adult before getting into 1:30 scale.

I thought I would post some images starting with the N. Africa theme, and a special thanks to Kenrow for sharing his 1: 32 scale diorama.

more to come...

 

[Grey Heron]

I wasn't aware Rob of these makes and the scale you mention. You have a lovely collection and thank you for sharing.

cheers,
Grey

 

[OzDigger]

Rob,

When they were released the Forces of Valor sets also got me into 1/30, initially K & C, then Honour Bound, Figarti, Collectors Showcase etc. Forces of Valor were well detailed, but imo the figures weren't the best back then, which is the main reason I got into 1/30 scale. However I'm not sure I would make the switch these days as 1/30 sets have increased so much in price.

I always enjoy seeing members post photos of Forces of Valor as brings back memories, and also enjoy seeing any military sets being displayed 'in the dirt'. I remember a few years ago we had a forum member, can't recall his forum name, that used to post photos of his FOV and other less expensive makes in the dirt, he made trenches, bridges and bunkers etc out of bits of timber, was always fun to see how much fun he was having.

 

[WesternOutlaw]

I wasn't aware Rob of these makes and the scale you mention. You have a lovely collection and thank you for sharing.

Thanks Grey, a number of brands produced 1:32 scale and a few in metal. I esp. liked the metal vehicles from Ultimate Soldier and Forces of Valor. Great stuff and I had so much fun acquiring older pieces.

When they were released the Forces of Valor sets also got me into 1/30... However I'm not sure I would make the switch these days as 1/30 sets have increased so much in price.

Me as well, Matt. I even built a few models in 1:32 to add to the collection. Had a lot of fun setting up dioramas and when I look back, it was much more affordable. Completely understand what you're saying.

I remember a few years ago we had a forum member, can't recall his forum name, that used to post photos of his FOV and other less expensive makes in the dirt, he made trenches, bridges and bunkers etc out of bits of timber, was always fun to see how much fun he was having.

Yes, seems I recall seeing those scenes as well. This little Panzer (one of my favorite pieces) made it to my backyard (as close as I came to "the dirt").

Great fun!

 

[WesternOutlaw]

Continuing this 1:32 tribute, here's a few more pieces of the Afrikakorps variety. As Matt mentioned, some of the 1:32 scale plastic figures weren't the best so I would eventually start collecting metal figures produced by Oryon (pictured below):

 

[MLH13]

Nicely done, Rob. There is a lot of detail on these figures.

Mark

 

[jazzeum]

I wasn't aware Rob of these makes and the scale you mention. You have a lovely collection and thank you for sharing.

cheers,
Grey

You've never heard of 1/32 scale?

 

[Grey Heron]

You've never heard of 1/32 scale?

Yes, but not in the Toy Soldier style. The companies initially listed I have not heard of before now to purchase their products.

Thank you.

Grey

 

[WesternOutlaw]

Collecting a number of Afrikakorps vehicles and figures, a counter offensive with some British 8th was certainly needed.

While rather light on armor as well as soldiers, Oryon offered a few men and Classic Toy Soldiers (CTS) produced a plastic British Churchill tank. Monty would lead their efforts in the desert of N. Africa:

 

[Horus]

I remember playing as a kid with the Airfix 1.32 scale Rob. Great days !

 

[WesternOutlaw]

I remember playing as a kid with the Airfix 1.32 scale Rob. Great days !

Oh yes, how can we forget Airfix. Thanks for mentioning, Steve. I have a small plastic ammo crate that I use to store a set of Airfix British 8th and Afrikakorps, with the Churchill and a Panzer tank; sort of a Rat Patrol set.

As a kid, I didn't own any Airfix, but rather Marx plastic sets. Great stuff which I'll share in a future post.

Some of the Airfix figures with CTS tanks from my custom Rat Patrol set:

 

[Horus]

I remember having this smaller scale glue together set of the Rat Patrol by Aurora !

 

[jazzeum]

Yes, but not in the Toy Soldier style. The companies initially listed I have not heard of before now to purchase their products.

Thank you.

Grey

Before K & C came along, that was the predominant scale in the toy soldier industry and is still used by a number of companies. Look at the glossy section of the Forum.

 

[WesternOutlaw]

I remember having this smaller scale glue together set of the Rat Patrol by Aurora !

Nice and very cool!

Here's my own Rat Patrol box set. Authentic 1:32 US metal jeep sold separately. ^&grin

Edit:

and that jeep from Operation Torch coming soon...

 

[WesternOutlaw]

As previously mentioned, Marx made a number of plastic sets back in the day and the poses were excellent. I had the large Fort Navarone as a kid and a Pacific Bravo Squad playset. While I ended up getting rid of the mountain as well as the vehicles, I saved the American and German figures (and Japanese).

Here's a few pictures of the original plastic figures:

The ruins pictured are remolded pieces from what I believe was the Marx Battlefield which I also had as a kid.

During a visit to a toy shop while on vacation, I discovered WWII figures by Britain Deetail. For those of you familiar with Britain Deetail figures, they were plastic attached to a green base. Older sets had metal bases but newer sets (like the SS pictured below) had plastic bases. I had Medieval knights as a kid but never collected WWII or Civil War back in the day.

Here's a few Britain Deetail figures including German Wehrmacht, SS, and US soldiers:

metal bases

plastic bases

half track by Ultimate Soldier

building by BMC Toys

The BMC building used as an American aid station:

Marx figures

Next, I will be visiting a few 1/32 scale aircraft.

 

[jomartvr]

Personally, I much prefer 1/32 scale to the existing scales on the market. One of the reasons I order from R4a is that I can purchase 1/32 figures.

 

[WesternOutlaw]

Ultimate Soldier was an awesome brand that offered military figures and vehicles in 1:32, 1:18, and 1:6 scale. Some of their 1:32 pieces were even made of metal. A number of plastic WWII aircraft were among their line-up as well. I have a few including the pictured Focke-Wulf and US P-51 below:

 

[WesternOutlaw]

One of the most enjoyable aspects of 1:32 scale; for me, was the affordable tabletop display aspects. It didn't take hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to create fun dioramas. Doing so reminded me of the fun I had as a kid when creating Marx battlefield scenes. Some would say scenes "with a lot going on", but I find this reminiscent of plastic army sets with somewhat equally sized armies.

Here's one of my favorite "tabletop displays" with Germans vs. American (US) figures. Most of the vehicles were from Ultimate Soldier:

Buildings and accessories from varied 1:32 brands offered additional details:

As I attempted to capture details from various pieces, I also got better at creating smaller scenes and dioramas for photographing:

and started experimenting more with B&W and sepia tones in an attempt to capture "period photos".

I would also start utilizing multiple "distance layers" and photo-edited backgrounds in my scenes to create depth and/or a 3D effect:

These scenes and photography techniques would eventually pave a way to 1:30 scale.

 

[kenrow]

When I first saw the title was "Tribute to 1:32" I thought I'd be reading an ode or poem!

Love the black and white photos. They look like still shots from a war photographer.