Big On Details And Big On Fun The 1970s Airfix 1/32 Scale Vehicles Were In A League Of Their Own!!

Not that many companys did plastic ready made 1/32 scale vehicles back in the 1970s. Airfix did and these are by far the best. I just wish they all would have been fighting vehicles.
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[@andrewcoley6029]

brilliant - I had a Bedford truck, that's how exciting my childhood was!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I feel for you 😀

[@carlwear1249]

The Pz4 austD has a short barreled 75mm gun. It was a close support tank to assist infantry against gun emplacements and fortifications. It was the PzIII's job to take on tanks. The PzIII initially had more frontal armour than the Pz4. The PzIII started off with a 37mm gun, was increased to 50mm, but even that was too small against the soviet tanks and the British Matilda. Since the PzIII couldn't be up-gunned anymore, more armour was added to the Pz4 and the Pz4 AustF2 had a long barreled 75mm gun so it could now take on tanks.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Great. Thanks for all the info. Cool that there´s some people that just now this stuff.

[@svensvensson2724]

​@@toysoldiernostalgia Short thick gun = high explosive vs. soft targets. Long thin gun = high velocity vs. armored targets. Simple rule for any direct fire weapons.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Makes sense@@svensvensson2724

[@JamesPowell-jc4mo]

My favourite toy. EVER. now I'm 60,but it meant so much to me.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Isn`t funny how important some of our toys were to us.

[@toysoldier68]

What a huge collection. I can just imagine if I had seen this collection as a child - I would have completely freaked out🤣🤣🤣🤣Thanks for the video!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thanks man

[@ArtimulColeccionista]

The paradise for a children's.

[@ronaldmcdonald8303]

What a lovely collection, I now have all the colours BMC toys do in tanks and soldiers. I too do Airfix too. I'm joining a video at 12 tonight on toy collecting!

[@user-he5so4gz4r]

Aaaah! The old Bedford RL truck, spent many a trip as a Junior Soldier getting driven around Wales and England in the back, bloody windy on the motorway, but good for mooning passing xars in 1977.

[@USSRBot]

Love all of it.

[@christopherfranklin972]

Good shot! I wanted to write a lengthy comment about how good your video was but I can't stop,I'm off to ebay!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

lol!

[@smithpm81]

fabulous, remember me and my brother making loads of these HAPPY DAYS

[@alanrogers8535]

Lovely collection. In 73/74 i had the half track, Stalwart and Cromwell. I think i had the Bedford too but memory is fuzzy on that one, I do like the bedford today so i think i did have one and thats why i still like them. Stalwart was my favourite.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I have the same thing with old toys. Sometimes I think a had a certain toy and I didn´t and then again I thought I only had one Matchbox Seakings but found an old photo with three.

[@michaellanger5671]

Awesome. I had a few of these vehicles back then.

[@steffanflint3779]

Very nice collection.Had the Abbott and Hanomag as a boy in the early 70s and strangely enough have driven both actual vehicles in real life!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

When and where did you drive them? Only fun I have driven is the BV206.

[@steffanflint3779]

@@toysoldiernostalgia Years ago,I drove tha abbott on a tank day at a driving centre near Norwich and the hanomag was stored at bletchley park back in the 90's

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Cool.@@steffanflint3779

[@black5f]

Love the Stolly! 15 tons laden and it floats with propellers. What a machine. Nice collection. Thanks for sharing.

[@marksimpson4975]

Oh my!! … I sooooo remember these. I think this where most of my pocket money went as a child … I particularly loved the Bedford RL and the German half track .. fond memories - thank you

[@steveboyd8994]

Great video that brought back some fond childhood memories - i always hoped they would bring out a Saracen APC but alas it was not to be

[@cyberleaderandy1]

The original panzer iv were an infantry support tank to destroy bunkers etc but they then added a long barrel gun for the anti tank role it later took on.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Ok cool. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

[@stevehill4615]

I had the Alvis Stalwart and the Bedford truck as a kid, converted the Bedford to run on my Scalectrix track by using the motor/axle unit from a race car pushing the Bedford wheels onto the axle, was really fast but tricky to drive as the hardish plastic of the Airfix wheels had very little grip on the track (great for wheel spins or drifting, rubbish for racing as you had to crawl round bends), even had a Scalectrix type Airfix race car track for Monte Carlo which was nigh on impossible with the Bedford, did think of trying it with the Stalwart but couldn't see how without major butchering of the model.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Wow that`s way more advanced then anything I converted.

[@thelittlesoldiercompany5788]

So many memories.

[@JimboJangle]

Great content.Keep it coming.Takes me back to happy times.Thanks.Appreciated 🇬🇧👍🫶

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thanks man. Realy glad you enjoyed it 😀

[@nissafors]

I once had two hanomag halftracks from airfix - they were great fun and took part in many battles.

[@jeffreysmith6280]

I only had the Bedford, Stalwart and 105mm gun. The gun was used for battles with my HO/OO Airfix figures on the living room floor. I get my 1/32 nostalgia hit from Bill's Wargame World on KZbin. He has a sizeable collection of 1/32 tanks and recently did a Battle of The Bulge game.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

What do you mean only. More then most of us I would think 😀 I`ll check out his channel.

[@youdhagarnacharry4026]

Airfix is always in my childhood- memory until now.

[@ArtimulColeccionista]

Is awesome how look these figures after almost 60 years. And the size of the vehicles, they are big! I like it.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Back then I guess there was no shortage of plastic 😀

[@Verdunveteran]

Early Panzerkampwagen IV's had the short barreled 7,5 cm KwK 37 gun as it was intended for infantry support unlike the Panzerkampwagen III that was intended to go up against enemy tanks. Ausf. A, B, C, D ,E and F had the short 75 mm gun. The long barrelled 7,5 cm gun was introduced in 1942 with the Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. F1 and became standard for the later Ausf. G, H and J. THe short barrelled 7,5 cm gun lived on as it went on to be mounted on the Hanomag Sd.Kfz. 251/9 Stummel aswell as the Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. N for the infantry support role.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

[@Roberto-tu5re]

I remember the half track, always wondered why they had the bar near the front machiine gun. I understand why they wanted to make it realistic. But to a 8 year it did not help a plastic soldier work the gun ......................... untill you lost the gun in the garden. Great video as always ................... shame the Stalwart never floated

[@tomsenior7405]

I feel it important to thank you for highlighting the Sherman Tank. I have heard stories before, but never seen one. I am eternally grateful to you. Inspired by your review, I checked with eBay as soon as your episode finished. Brilliant, I bought the 1/32 Sherman (And a Tiger) for only twenty quid. I now eagerly await their arrival next week. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Just you make sure to get the right one. There`s two different 1/32 scale ready made Shermans on Ebay.

[@wessexdruid7598]

Happy memories. They were excellent toys.

[@eltenda]

Great video and selection of veichles 😊

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thanks :)

[@xkot6431]

I had (and still have) the six vehicles pictured on the back of the Hanomag box, still in good shape. I never took my toys outside to play, having learned that lesson at an early age, losing and ruining too much GI Joe/Action Man gear. I was too young then to realize the first three vehicles were from the Cold War era, and just played with them with my WW2 soldiers. I also had (have) a lot of the Airfix HO-OO vehicles and building/fortification sets as well. Airfix was such a great company!

[@eltenda]

I remember an old chesp centurion tank with the hollow bottom and wheels

[@jebidiahjacksoniii6073]

"I like it." We do too.

[@cpt191021]

so cool.

[@AlliedPlastic]

Incredible collection! The cromwell and the daimler are some grails of mine

[@trippsallee]

So happy I discovered your channel! I’m a collector of plastic military toys, too, and I love learning about and seeing things that I hadn’t known of before. I wasn’t aware that some of the CTS vehicles (now also being produced by BMC Toys) were originally Airfix.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

There´s so much fun and interesting stuff to learn from each other.

[@plymouth5714]

I fondly remember the OO/HO scale polythene ready made vehicles that Airfix produced at the same time! We used them in 'wargames' on a large sandpit using a low powered air pistol to shoot at them from a realistic 'line of sight' ground level - if you could spring the tracks or turret off that was a kill! Of course we then engaged in an arms race to protect our vehicles with milliput armour across the fronts. Any balsa wood bridge within the landscape was fair game for a firework 'banger' demolition charge!!

[@pigeonguardgames507]

A lovely collection, I had the Abbot SPG when I was about 4. it didn't last long. Aways wanted the hanomag, but never got one despite asking Santa every year! I think you're right about the pill boxes. Anyway thanks for this and your other videos, a great trip doen memory lane.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Glad you enjoyed it 😀

[@advanceaustralia3513]

I collected loads of different 1/32 Airfix soldiers but never got any vehicles

[@metalstorm242]

CTS made some nice tanks via Airfix. Their battle sets were amazing.

[@caw25sha]

You could try dipping the bent aerials and gun barrels in warm water, straightening them out and then putting them in cold water.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

The old soft plastic trick. 😁

[@keithmartland6463]

Has three of these when i was a kid, and taken me fifty years to get the Avis Stalwart, but never knew they did the other ones?

[@eltenda]

That Bedford truck looked great on the wild geese movie

[@lubeman62]

"Playability"...great description of these classic Airfix pieces...folks sometimes forget that these were toys designed to be played with...and last! Btw, the Abbot SPG was my favorite but tough to find...👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

The Abbot eventhough being in a harder plastic looks like it´s realy durable.

[@lubeman62]

@@toysoldiernostalgia ayuh...still got mine!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

That´s great@@lubeman62

[@simonprodhan5050]

great video! those airfix vehicles were superb, i have a mint boxed european combat pack and i had some of the other stuff featured as a boy

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Mint Combat Pack. That`s awesome 😀

[@miksstudio]

Cool stuff, I'm sure there are wrecks of a few of these buried in Mum's back garden back in the UK, from my childhood.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Oh the amount of plastic we have buried in backyards is enough for an enviromental scandal 😅

[@craigw.scribner6490]

Thanks!

[@gunman11]

Man I'd love to come over and play..... er uh, I mean, look at your collection.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

LOL

[@donaldwiller9238]

Cool stuff 😎 thanks for sharing this 👍

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

No problem. Thanks for watching 😀

[@davidmooney1253]

The other tank you may be missing is the CTS Japanese Chi-Hi tank which may have been intended for the Pacific action pack you mentioned. I highly recommend the CTS StugIII, it's super cool.

[@SgtMcNasty]

I don`t think a Chi-ha mould was ever made by Airfix. The one you can find online from CTS (I have one) is hollow body and a bit small in scale. I`ll still use it for a make belive Pacific Combat Pack I`m working on. I will for sure get lots more CTS armor and vehicles.

[@davidmooney1253]

@@SgtMcNasty I think you may be right but the Chi-Hi was only 17.5 tonnes or about half the weight of the M4 Sherman so it might be much closer in scale than you think 🤔 . Either way I still think it's cool.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Lol that was me answering with my other KZbin account. Didn´t know it was that small irl. Thanks dude :)

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

Nice. I had, and still have somewhere the Stally, gun and Hanomag ... but in nowhere near as good condition. Very well played with. I don't think it ever occurred to me as a kid that they were from different times...

[@mehmeh6280]

I was totally the kid who would have chosen the Bedford truck over the rest - for how I played they're crucial.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I was the same with toy cars. I wasn´t all that into the sports cars but more trucks and work vehicles.

[@Armymenplastic]

WOW men 😮

[@madelief47]

The Panzer 4; IV, did indeed exist with a short barrel; 75 mm, for infantery support. It was used that way in the 1939 campain of Poland, and there after during the invasion of France and the low country's in 1940. In 1941 however, during the invasion of Russia, Barbarossa, the Panzers came upon the T34 with a 75 mm gun, wich completely outgunned the German tanks. Even the Panzer 4. So, in 1942 a longer barrel 75 mm gun was added to the Panzer 4, later on also upgraded even more with a longer version, and more powerfull. The Sherman tank, here shown is the M4a1, the early one. The hatches are very small, for the driver and the radio operator. For the loader of the gun there was no hatch.... he had to escape due the commanders hatch, in case of a hit. So, later on the model was improved with bigger hatches... to get out, and in, more quickly.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Wow you know a lot of stuff. Thanks man :)

[@pdean75]

What a coincidence. Just got myself the cromwell tank today from a discount/2nd hand shop. Just missing the front machine gun, otherwise in very good condition. Was wondering whats the story behind it & this video came out. Thanks for the info. Great vid, keep it up!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Lol that`s funny how that happened.

[@shauntaylor9251]

I can remember the 1/32nd buildings but not the tanks and vehicles

[@tomsenior7405]

Excellent.

[@iankingsley2864]

Thanks

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thanks a bunch for the help man 😀👍

[@Tanktastics]

I would love to have the Damian armerd car

[@AtheistOrphan]

Damian?

[@iankingsley2864]

Cool stuff 😎

[@andrewcampbell3304]

I loved these back in the day, however I broke the front axel off the Bedford truck and my brother broke the gun off the Abbot. The Stalwart survived intact!

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

Lone Star Desert War WW Two had great soldiers 54mm and jeep armoured car artillery pieces.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I will have to have a look at them.

[@timothygrey870]

Pintle Hook (tow hook) Pintle Eye (ring on towed equipment)

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Thank you :)

[@robertramesy2759]

Most war documentary films show the panzer 4 with a short barrel

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

So it was probably used that way most of the time.

[@malcolmbolton1473]

I always thought these vehicles were really cool as a kid,always wanted but never had any,nor seen theme for sale anywhere I don't think either from memory?,none of my fschool friends really had ant that I knew?,always loved the old bedford trucks growing up,on seen & been in them on various work places,back in the 80's & early 90's coz they were still being used at that time as work vehicles,etc.,I think they are iconic trucks or lorries as they are called here by the older folks here & in the UK,etc.,cheers

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Don´t get me wrong I also love old work trucks. Volvo have made some absolutely beautiful trucks. But maybe as a kid I would have chosen the Cromwell over the Bedford 😀

[@malcolmbolton1473]

Lol,they should have released a churchill crocidile tank too I reckon,that would have been very & cool I reckon,and maybe a T-34 too maybe?,cheers@@toysoldiernostalgia

[@glennwhittaker197]

Cooool! Does the STALWART float in the bath or sink or bowl of water like the real deal? A British soldier in West Germany stole one & crossed the Channel to get back to the UK!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I don`t think it will last more then a few seconds.

[@glennwhittaker197]

@@toysoldiernostalgia 🤣😂👍🏻

[@erikvinje1893]

They are so hard to come by, and so expensive.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

On Ebay you can find a deal every now and then.

[@user-vr6kt5ds7b]

Great fun film😊 Love all those vehicles vehicles. Searching out mine from loft!😂 One question.. Are BMC same size as their soldiers and ecsesories look amazing! Think their sherman looks to big ?? I've got the collecting bug😅😊

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I don´t have the BMC Sherman so I´m not sure about the size on that one.

[@user-vr6kt5ds7b]

Right. Some of their accessories look very good and compatible with airfix. Keep filming. You have really inspired me to look for items I loved as a kid. All the best. Dave.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Cheers @@user-vr6kt5ds7b 😃

[@JamesPowell-jc4mo]

Couldn't get the panzer, I wish I could have got it but I didn't have the pocket money then, a different world then.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I think that`s part of why I like collecting. I try to get all the stuff I didn`t as a kid. It`s great fun.

[@svensvensson2724]

I have the Abbott. Absolutely can not figure out how the gun mechanism is supposed to work.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

You should just ba able to pull back the metal pin on the back of the gun if that´s what you mean.

[@svensvensson2724]

@@toysoldiernostalgiaYes, but it looks weird if that was supposed to be the only function.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

That´s it. You pull back the metal rod and flip it to the side to lock it. Then put one of the plastic shells in the barrel from the front. Might have to tilt it up at first to make slide to the rear of the gun@@svensvensson2724

[@svensvensson2724]

@@toysoldiernostalgiaThat's what I tried, but it doesn't seem possible to make it work. But I don't have any shells, so Iguess it doesn't matter...

[@jesperlykkeberg7438]

What I miss in your otherwise excellent reviews are your assessments of how true to scale figures and models actually are, including comparisons with other 1/32 figures and models. I believe when manufacturers claim that a model or figures are a certain scale, it´s important not to forget to challenge such claims when reviewing the quality of their products. Never the less, most reviews strangely seem to simply take such claims for granted. In general there´s a huge difference in size between 1/32 scale figures and models from different manufacturers. Preisler figures and Britains Deetails civil war union figures or 8th Army figures can serve as a good measure for comparison and will reveal that 1/32 Airfix toy soldiers generally seem to be a little too big for their purported scale. How did this happen? The story goes that Airfix figures are scaled down from a supposed but unrealistic average soldier height of 1,8 meters rendering all weapons and body size of the figures slighty out of scale. I suspect some of the vehicles are slightly out of scale as well. Some too big and some too small. In the 70´ties Airfix was notorious for having a big confusion between the 1/72 and 1/76 scales which were all claimed to be 1/72 originally, even though Airfix 1/72 aircraft pilots were visibly smaller than their 1/72 toy soldiers. Never the less, I have yet to see reviews or testing of the quality of toy soldiers and models where the scale accuracy is rigorously examined which I find rather surprising since vehicles and weapons can be measured exactly proportional to their actual real world size which is well documented in most cases. And since the manufacturer´s claims of scale can be factual incorrect I would recommend that all customers and reviewers should be no less examining and strict about scale accuracy than Donald Duck was in the 1951 animated short film "Out Of Scale". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Scale

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

That´s not realy what this chaneel is all about. If you feel it´s missing I think you have a great opportunity for a great KZbin channel.

[@chimpgaming8290]

Anyway to buy these?

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Ebay 😀

[@ZeRetroStuff]

are there also plains?

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

You mean planes?✈️

[@ZeRetroStuff]

@@toysoldiernostalgia haahahh yes sry

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

@@ZeRetroStuffsorry they did not make any planes.

[@robchamberlin4900]

CTS makes these now.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

At least some of them 🙂

[@trappenweisseguy27]

I’m fortunate that my first tank kit back in the mid 70’s was a Tamiya, not any of this Airfix crap.

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Tamyia is and was great but they are scale models and not toys. These were considerd toys by Airfix and that they do great :)

[@greymouser8659]

Cromwell scale??....bit big

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

Hm never reflected over that. But then again I´m not a tank expert. At least they are more to scale then Atlantic ever was lol.

[@kellysnipe9586]

CTS/BMC are currently offering new repros of some of these vehicles, but unfortunately ONLY in stiff plastic. I wish they would go back to the old soft plastic (if only to keep consumer cost down) , but it's probably not likely. As for Airfix or Humbrol, or whoever currently runs things, I don't understand their logic. Seems to me they could be making a fortune re-releasing many of these great toys of the past, yet they don't. Why not? Capitalism! Enough to make a man turn to drink!

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I think they could make a profit on a rerelease in soft plastic. With higher quality boxes and using some of the old looks like the brown or target box. They could charge more then they do now and just sell them as collectors items.

[@andrewgrave]

@@toysoldiernostalgia I doubt the owners of the Airfix brand these days (Hornby Hobbies) still have the tools. It looks likely that CTS acquired them after the original Airfix company went into receivership.

[@michaelcooley4553]

The short barrel on the early Pz IV were demolition guns for use against fortifications. Even the Germans anticipated tanks would be countered by anti tank guns, not other tanks early in the war

[@toysoldiernostalgia]

I was actually thinking about the toy soldiers eventhough it was on the video on the vehicles. I´m stupid sometimes. Yes I guess CTS most have bought the molds.@@andrewgrave