1970s Plastic Toy Soldiers with some pros and cons! Timpo Action Packs.

So glad I finally got a set of the Timpo Action packs 8th Army. Been wanting to have a look at these for a long time. I like them even though they might not be the best set of toy soldiers ever. Sometimes charm is as important as perfect sculpts and period correct gear.
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[@eduvuditv5378]

You take us back to our childhood in 70's. Thank you Bro. We love you.

[@maggoli67]

That grenadier looks like he's having his best day ever!

[@paulskehan693]

Yeah! War is Hell but not for that guy 😊😊😊

[@zaynevanday142]

@@maggoli67 😂 😂 😂

[@manuelmaggioli9077]

Good set in my opinion. I have this box.

[@tomsenior7405]

Excellent. Yes indeed, TIMPO Solids. I inherited a shed load of these from my eldest brother in the very early 1970s. The first thing to strike me was just how happy these figures were. I had no idea that the Desert Rats were having a grand old time under the desert sun. The Minesweeper is a mop, and the Flamethrower is a broom... Gotta keep that desert clean! To my eyes, the TIMPO Swoppets range were more appealing, even though everyone looked like Randolph Scott. Thank you for this, I agree with all you had to say. Bloody Lovely.

[@davidmooney1253]

🔍 😂

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thanks :)

[@waukivorycopse2402]

As Mel Brooks once wrote " You'd do it for Randolph Scott!!"

[@tomsenior7405]

@@waukivorycopse2402 Perfect. I fell off my chair laughing thinking about that one. Think I'll go watch Blazing Saddles again, right now.

[@ropeburnsrussell]

I agree, the bayoneting figue is really cool, quite dynamic.

[@simoncatton]

Love your channel Gerry ! Brings back so many happy memories. My retired father was still finding my abandoned Airfix/Britains toy soldier emplacements in the family garden, 20 years after the 'play' event 😃

[@tjmunros]

Hi Gerry, thank you, you’ve inspired me in the past few weeks. I’m sitting here surrounded by paints, recently purchased and painted M1A1 howitzer and Sherman and a North African house built from an IKEA box! This afternoon on our way home we diverted to buy another model (a Panzer 1) and more paints. I’m revisiting my childhood in the 70s with you 👐🏿👏🏿👍🏿

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

So glad my little videos got you inspired. Have fun building :)

[@LaughItupFuzzball70]

Great content as always fella! The radio operator looks like Skeletor! Appropriate time of year I guess! 😂

[@DavidEast-u7m]

Excellent fun film😊 Amazing facial expressions. Although radio operator looks quite mad !!!😮 Keep filming 🎥 😊

[@manuelmaggioli9077]

Nice set. The plastic of these toy soldiers is very delicate... they break very easily.

[@englaso54]

Used to have these in my collection yrs ago them and Afrika Corps great battles in the back garden lovely innocent fun...😂

[@samwise4me903]

I watch these videos mostly to see what kids my age were playing with in other countries. There were 2 toy soldier factories a short drive from my house in the 1960's, so I got those for the most part. I have to say, the quality of these is very similar to those being produced in Brooklyn, NY starting right around 1955 or so. Great video.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Wow you got me curious. Brooklyn toy soldiers. I know back then there were so many small local companys. I would love to find out more about local New York toy companys.

[@stevenholland8587]

I definitely had some of theses, Monty and the mine sweeper being back some memories.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Not a bad set for a kid to have.

[@GreenSoldierProductions]

Awesome army men, would love to animate them lol.

[@johnchurchill6778]

Thank you very much for your time!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

No worries!

[@cyberleaderandy1]

The flame thrower should have a tyre shaped back pack. Its best seen in a bridge too far when the destroyed the ammo dump by the pill box.

[@eltenda]

..and I like the variety of poses at least lol

[@glenrich-uu9zr]

The commander seems to be a simplified uniform of General Montgomery, it is gorgeous. The Matchbox 1/76 ,8th Army also has a figure of Montgomery, equally of fantastic engraving.

[@Erik-hh9bp]

With some paint, and highlights, some detail. They would look smashing.

[@eltenda]

I never saw this set before, " different" indeed😊 Excellent review as always. I still love Atlantic and esci as Italian and for the nostalgic factor

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thanks. I guess we tend to cherish the figures we grew up with the most.

[@creativetimewasting]

Never seen these before, not bad figures. Thanks for sharing Jerry 👍

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

No problem :)

[@williamlydon2554]

I'd love to see a video where you conlare different sets from Timpo, Airfix and Matchbox, with the same sibject matter. Seeing these guys next to thr airfix 8th army or Matchbox figures would be both artistically pleasing and a nice contrast between brands.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

That is the plan 😀

[@bertsbooks2505]

Oh I had these, they used to stock Timpo in Hamleys in London

[@marklatchford9557]

Great video as ever, I agree these aren't a patch on the Airfix or Matchbox equivalents (especially the awful faces), but they do have a certain charm. One thing, I would guess the tripod mounted machine gun is supposed to be a Vickers, not a Broowning. Shame they didn't produce an Afrika Korps set too.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I know I screwed up on the machine gun. Even I know it´s a Vickers. But sometimes the brain is cooperating :)

[@pathwaystomodernity7716]

Awesome muzzle break on the Thompson

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Jumbo size lol.

[@George-pp2hr]

I probably would have liked those back in 1975 as I liked most toy soldiers. They are strange looking the faces on a couple of those but the Timpo brand figures do have weird looks even the interchangeable figures. The bren gun is a little oversized and the laying down machine gunner looks 1/35 . The sitting machine gunner is relaxed happy to be firing away no problem. The Montgomery figure looks out of place amongst the battle. Interesting never seen those before. They will go well as a collector item.🙂🤫🇭🇲👍✌️

[@alexbaumans6493]

If I remember correctly, the Foreign Legion set had a figure in a similar pose stabbing downwards. Also one of my favourites.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I´m gonna get all the Action packs and see how they are.

[@Twirlyhead]

I had their Napoleonic era Prussians. Equally not great but I appreciated something other than, additional to Airfix being available.

[@JSTCPAT]

I bought this set along with the Waterloo British set when they were re-issued in the 1990s. An interesting thing I noticed is that the officer's sculpt was re-used at least two other times for different figures - a police officer and a marching Waterloo British soldier. Timpo changed the clothing on each of the figures and on the Waterloo figure they changed the position of one arm to shoulder a rifle. The heads are also different, but the underlying torso, legs, shoes and base are the same. I'm not sure which figure came first. The police officer figure I have came pre-painted and was bought my dad in the 1960s to put with his Scalextric slot car set.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Airfix did the same with a figure from the first Paratroop set. The same looking figure was made for their slot car figures in 1/32.

[@JSTCPAT]

@@toysoldiernostalgia I gather you mean the running paratrooper ( the one you compared to Zeb Macahan). Now that you pointed it out, I see the similarity in sculpt with the Arifix running race driver. Neat.

[@martinradcliffe4798]

Never had these.

[@gokayay9597]

Nice

[@ronaldmcdonald8303]

I don't know if I already mentioned this, but have you ever heard of 3DO? They made a series called army men. I like them because their based on real soldiers. Army men toys in space is slightly more Sci fi, but good. The flame throwers flame looks like a giant drill piece.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Never heard of them.

[@ronaldmcdonald8303]

@toysoldiernostalgia OK, their video games based on plastic soldiers, some of them are quite good even if a lot of gamers hated them.

[@ronaldmcdonald8303]

@@toysoldiernostalgia Do you know a good site for police figurines? I want some grey police figurines as I don't have many. I collect army men and police figurines.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

@@ronaldmcdonald8303 don´t know, sorry.

[@ronaldmcdonald8303]

@toysoldiernostalgia OK, thanks. There is a model shop a halph hour walk in my town. It sells Airfix models as well as other brands like Tamiya, if I'm spelling it right that is.

[@1bert719]

Afh yes the infamous sawn off SMLE rifle, no Libyan bank was safe from soldiers wielding these! 😊 and yes, our minesweepers used detectors like this. Not too dissimilar to amateur detectors in modern times.

[@zaynevanday142]

Machine gunners are spot on the left is a Vickers the Bren gunner is better than the Airfix one in my opinion 🔥

[@glennwhittaker197]

Hi there, the Bren gun when fired had the effect of moving forward, so you had to brace your feet in such a way to dig in (I used one in the Army Cadets). Also on the close ups, the first Officer was unmistakably MONTY with the 2 cap badges 🇬🇧

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Ah ok. Why did it move forward? Something with the bipods moving?

[@glennwhittaker197]

@@toysoldiernostalgia I think it had something to do with the energy of the breach going forward with such force?

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

@@glennwhittaker197 ok I see. I have mainly fired weapons like the G3 (AK4 in Sweden) and AR platforms (have both 5.56 and 7.62) and some weapons have such heavy mechanism and buffer spring that you get more movement from that then the actually recoil. So I can see that somehow a heavy mechanism and buffer spring can give a bit of a forward motion. The reciol impulse is taken up by your sholder and body so then the forwatd motion could be quit noticable.

[@zaynevanday142]

I ❤ the flamethrower

[@andrewhaddock7996]

I had (still got a few) of the Napoleonic figures,I rated them higher than airfix , cause they were easier to paint, didn't matter they were a crude,there was something about them that made them great.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Those are next on my list :)

[@andrewhaddock7996]

@@toysoldiernostalgia excellent

[@jeffreysmith6280]

Never had that set. I had some of their Napoleonic range and mixed them with the Airfix Napoleonics.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Did they match well?

[@jeffreysmith6280]

@@toysoldiernostalgia The Timpo figures were thinner and flatter. They fitted in well with the Airfix British Infantry but the other Airfix figures were fuller sculpts and looked larger.

[@davidmooney1253]

The Vickers gun is OK but, if i remember correctly, you had to use both hands to press the two triggers, gripping both upright handles with your fingers and depressing both firing buttons with your thumbs. I could be wrong and its many many years since i saw one fired but i think that was standard operating procedure. My mum got my brother and I 6 boxes of these from somewhere so the DAK were always horribly outnumbered. Great video as usual and keep them coming. P.S. didn't they also do some navy troops too or was that Atlantics?

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Atlantic did a set of navy troops. Never seen any from Timpo. That´s right Vickers. I think I called it Browning in the video?!

[@zaynevanday142]

Some of those faces look like that Painting the scream by Edvard Munch 😂😂😂

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Lol that´s a good one.

[@zaynevanday142]

@@toysoldiernostalgia I thought you’d like that 😂

[@mrjockt]

The Vickers, not Browning, looks too short. Airfix did flamethrowers with their early German Army figures and, if I remember correctly, with the early U.S. Marine figures.

[@richardjones4466]

I always thought the flame thrower looked like a broom!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

With very long bristles though :)

[@markaxworthy2508]

Have you looked at the Spanish EKO 1/72 plastic soldiers from the era? A lot are copies of Airfix figures, but some are original - for example Arab Legion, Spanish Foreign Legion, Swiss Army. they are fairly crude, but original.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I´ll have a look.

[@cheezycatnip8352]

I like these for some obscure reason. The rifles, not good, BREN gun..Whaaat? But I would still like to have these just to have Monty and the mines guy with a squarer unit, (I am an old Sapper)

[@michaelharding6264]

Vickers machine-gun, Jerry, not Browning. You did, however, redeem yourself with "Kermit the Frog"!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I know I screwed up again lol.

[@andrewthorpe2539]

Their best set by far is the Napoleonic Highlanders! There is an officer in trowsers, standard bearer, piper with his cheeks puffed, a ‘just shot’ figure, stood firing, stood bayoneting Frenchie, charging figure and maybe some more I have forgot. The Union box is ok, Rebs not quite as good, the other are so inaccurate its untrue, though the Prussians are reasonable. They do have some really odd poses in them too! You must make a veedyo of the sublime and the crazy, ie best sculpts ever and the daftest, the worst and the ugliest, it’d be quite a watch and VERY controversial…

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Well the worst sculpts will probably go to Atlantic and the best to Airfix but I like the idea. 10 best toy soldiers and 10 worst.

[@markaxworthy2508]

Thanks. I missed that set back in the day. Perhaps Timpo should have gone for a subject not already covered by Airfix, or does this set predate Airfix's 8th Army set? Looking at the box art, the style is very similar to the covers of "trash mags" like Commando or War Picture Library from the same era. Perhaps you could do a special on some of the artists employed? There is a guy called Pete Beard who has an excellent KZbin channel on illustrators which might give you some pointers on presenting it. My feeling on scale was that 1/72 was for indoors and 1/32, like this Timpo set, was for outdoors. I learnt this when a lawn mower went over my first pack of Airfix German infantry when they were taking cover in the grass in about 1961. I still have a couple with blade marks on them.

[@Bloodnok49]

If it helps, I remember playing with some of these Timpo 8th Army figures with friends on a beach in the IoW in 1958 - the radio operator, the minesweeper and the machine gunner. They were not mine, so I don't know if they came in a set or were bought individually. I have a feeling they were painted, but I would not bet the house on that. My own recollection of buying /being gifted toy soldiers then was not boxed soldiers of the type shown on the video, but rather mostly loose figures (some from cereal packets) with occasional small boxed sets of 4/5/6 all in 1/32. Looking at the Airfix and Timpo boxed sets now, the Airfix figures seem much less imaginative. I don't know if the Timpo boxed set predated the Airfix boxed set, but some of the Timpo figures certainly did.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

As I understand it some of these figures were plastic recasts of some old sculpts that were cast in lead in the 50s. Some of them new sculpts.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

As I understand it they first produced the Action Packs in 1969 and that first some napoleonic sets I believe. This should gave been released a few years later so Airfix was first in about 1970-71.

[@tomsenior7405]

Thank you Jerry, or Gerry?

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Jerry :) You´re welcome bud.

[@houndoftindalos9580]

I am pretty sure I had that set

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Lucky kid :)

[@ArminDiel]

The poses are cool. A bit different, to all the other brands. The weapons seem to be to small or then to big. No big deal. But the faces!? What the hell? 😂

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Those faces will be very "interesting" to paint.

[@scottyhabarthdonnel2708]

i mis some however ik waited a long time for a afrikakorps set that elas never came

[@scottyhabarthdonnel2708]

i love em and colle ct them once pai,nted they are stunnigly awsome yeb even the arabs why dont we revive Timpo toys

[@SawThumbz]

Vickers MG, not a Browning

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I know. I screwed up again.

[@karlwildegoose8455]

I had this set as a kid. Never realised just how bad it was

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

To a kid I think it must have been great. I think I would have realy liked it if I had it when I was kid.

[@zaynevanday142]

The Rifle is way too short 😂

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I kinda thought so.

[@zaynevanday142]

@@toysoldiernostalgia I’ve got a Deactivated SMLE No 3

[@zaynevanday142]

I’ve got some of those wasn’t there a bag piper ? 🔥

[@steveday6671]

I only remember a bagpiper in the Timpo waterloo highlanders or the Matchbox 8th army sets

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

That´s Matchbox :)

[@ewmhop]

THESE GUYS LOOK LIKE THEY JUMPED OUT OF A BRITISH WAR COMIC BOOK.SOMETHING LIKE A ENGLISH VERSION OF SGT.ROCK OF EASY COMPANY.TAKE CARE

[@Emdee5632]

The name Timpo is not unknown to me but I have to dig pretty deep to remember any of their soldier sets in the toy stores, half a century ago. Airfix was always the best, so I almost exclusively bought their sets. Matchbox was a good second. Really watching the figures now for the first time in my life, they are not bad at all. Matchbox ALSO had rifles that were way too short. At least the bren gunner is lying prone and actually seems to be aiming and using his weapon - something Airfix never did, I believe... Yes, the bren gun is too large for the soldier using it. The Thompson-like smg - well, how about that smg monstrocity in the Airfix German Infantry? Or the British stengun in the Airfix US paratroopers set, the guy carrying it crawling like Idk what on the ground? So on the whole yes I'm pleasantly surprised by this set. Seems indeed to be better than Atlantic, and just behind Airfix and Matchbox. Looking forward to other Timpo reviews, if you have them! Many thanks.

[@scottyhabarthdonnel2708]

some of those faces look like the mask actualy but hmm ive seen action so yep ive seen some weird faces during my time

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Kinda Jim Carey I agree.

[@zaynevanday142]

Do you ever paint them ?

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I will paint some of these. I bought one boxed set and one loose so I could paint the loose ones.

[@zaynevanday142]

@@toysoldiernostalgia my boyhood nostalgia got the better of me this year and I brought about a thousand Airfix ones on Evil bay 😂

[@Mortenhendriksen]

The submachine gun is horrible

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Yup 😀

[@Mortenhendriksen]

@@toysoldiernostalgia you can see what they were trying to go for, but still, its not even close. Its wild how they get some many other details Down pretty well, but the thompson is just not anywhere close

[@lorenzotonioli9408]

I am not impressed by the Timpo box-art, Airfix was superior

[@Bloodnok49]

You may be correct, but it was and is the contents which interest me. Here, I would say that the Timpo figures were more interesting.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I love the Airfix art work and I think this more of an adult kinda art work.