Review: Color Guides to Freight and Passenger Equipment, Morning Sun Books

Morning Sun is a publisher of high-quality, color railroad photography books. I first came across them when I got back into the O gauge hobby in the mid-1990s. They were pricey even then. I bought one on the Lackawanna railroad and a couple for the Erie Lackawanna. The quality of materials and photography and printing were first-rate.

Back in the 1990s, there were not many railroad pictorial resources on the Internet. Pictures from the Net opened at excruciating slow speeds. For the railroad fan, books were the way to go. Several publishers served the hobby. Railroad Avenue Enterprises produced mainly black-and-white photo books of Northeastern railroads. Carsten’s and Quadrant offered both black-and-white and color books. Morning Sun published hardcover books with excellent color photography. Other publishers added to the field.

 One series of Morning Sun books is its Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment. Each guide is devoted to a specific railroad or railroads. Each has color photographs of passenger cars, freight rolling stock, cabooses, non-revenue and maintenance-of-way cars. The color pictures cover cars in use in the 20th century. Some of the cars still running in the 1960s and 1970s had been built decades earlier. (The books I have cover railroads which were absorbed into Conrail in 1976, hence no 21st Century rolling stock.)

The Color Guides I have cover the Erie-Lackawanna (1960 - 1976), New York Central (up to 1968), Lackawanna and Erie (up to 1960), and Jersey Central and Lehigh Valley (up to 1976). The pictures are clear and crisp. They cover most, if not all, types of rolling stock and the various paint schemes used when these cars were photographed. They are a handy reference for the railfan and model railroader. I am impressed how the publisher tried to get as many variations of paint schemes and rolling stock as possible. Considering that the books were published years after the actual railroads disappeared, it is a noteworthy achievement.

The New York Central Color Guide is my most recent acquisition. It was published in 1994. The book covers the common variety of New York Central rolling stock prior to the Penn Central Merger. Most of it is post-1940. Some of the cabooses that were still in use were built in the late 1800s. They are included. This is a good, basic book of the Central’s rolling stock. I understand that other volumes had been added. (For my purposes, this one is enough.)

I have been told that some of the Color Guides may be missing a few elements, such as the steel-sided Reading streamliner cars. Be that as it may, the Color Guides are still an excellent resource. Be aware that like all of Morning Sun’s books, they are expensive. Current book prices for all of Morning Sun’s inventory ranges from $44 to $59. They average about 100 to 135 pages

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For my kind of railroad interests, the color guides of my favorite roads are a useful asset.  They contain enough information and imagery to satisfy my interests. Scale modelers might use them to supplement the more detailed car books with blueprints. O / O27 operators like myself will find the color guides more than adequate, at least for those who are interested in the prototypes as well as the models.

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Morning Sun aims mainly at the aficionado of railroad photography. Its books each contain hundreds of color images, each devoted to a specific railroad or theme. They average about 128 - 130 pages. Of course, these books cover railroads in operation since color photography was available. A railfan interested in roads from the 1940s to the present can usually find his favorites. Some roads get more coverage than others. For instance, there is a LOT of material on the Erie-Lackawanna. One series on that railroad is up to at least Volume 9. Books like these are for the serious rail photography buff.

Here is a link to Morning Sun

http://morningsunbooks.com/  

Ready Made Trains / Ready Made toys closing June 30

RMT Trains (Ready Made Toys) is closing next month. The owner want to retire. RMT made its place recasting KMT, Marx and K-Line trains and accessories. Their remaining stock is being sold here: http://www.readymadetoys.com/

 

I met Walter once at a show in Elizabeth, NJ, around `05. He was expanding his line of trains to include new road names. Back then, most of what he had were recasts of the KMT trains. After K-Line folded, Walter brought out new versions of some old K-Line freights (Mostly Marx recasts, and some KMT), locomotives, Budd cars, passenger cars (K-Line O27s) and a few accessories and track. He was doing business with the Chinese company that had acquired all of K-Line’s tooling.

 

From he way things are worded on the notices - tooling has been "repositioned" or not for sale - another company of companies will be making the RMT items in the future.

 

We wish Walter Matuch a happy retirement. He brought many good and affordable trains to the market.

Airfix Soldiers: Where It all began

Along with the ROCO Minitanks came Airfix figures. these were imported by Associated Hobby Manufacturers, better known as AHM for their dark blue boxes with yellow trim. The importer got its start bringing European-made HO trains to the states. Back then, scale was a looser fit that it is today. Some of AHM/’s trains were pure HO at 1/87 scale. Others were made to British OO standards: a 1/76 scale train made to run on HO track. Airfix handled the middle ground between both by promoting its figures as HO / OO.

 

 

The difference is conspicuous today. HO is 3.5mm to the scale foot, and OO is 4mm per scale foot. A 40' boxcar body in HO is about 140mm long as opposed to OO at 160mm. Even in figures a 6 foot man in HO is 21mm tall. In OO, he is 24mm. In 1/72, he is 25.4mm. The differences do show, at least to us who have been acclimated to scale.

I am of the impression that AHM’s motivation for importing Minitanks and Airfix "Minimen" had everything to do with HO model railroading. They probably did not realize that these would become a hobby in themselves. Airfix produced six sets of figures at the time: Guards Band, Guards Colour Party, Civilians, Farm Stock. Infantry Combat Group and German Infantry. The Guards were Coldstream Guard types that would be useful for parades in a model railroad setting. Farm stock were typical farm animals one might find the Britain. There were pigs, horses and cows for England, as well as sheep for the Welsh and Scots. Civilians were typical everyday people of the time. It even had a motor scooter. They might be a bit big for pure HO, but they fit well enough. They were especially welcome at a time when HO scenery was less well supported.

The Infantry Combat Group and the German Infantry were different. These were miniature soldiers in combat poses. The Infantry Combat Group were molded in a medium green drab. Their equipment was along the lines of British troops, along with the late-war Tortoise Shell helmet. At that size, they could pass for other Allied troops. Cast in a blue-grey, the Germans wore the standard helmet and uniform that were issued from 1938 onward to 1944. Both sets had stretcher bearer medic teams. The Germans also had a peculiar antitank gun very loosely based on the PAK 42 "Squeeze gun". I doubt the sculptors checked the TO&E for either army. Conspicuously missing were the light machine guns that were part of every infantry squad during World War II.

 

 

There was not much else out there. Authenticast had made some 20mm scale figures of American, German and Soviet infantry. The sets included one or two advancing riflemen, an advancing submachine gunner, prone and kneeling riflemen, and a man with an antitank weapon. In this case, it was a Panzerfaust for the Germans and a bazooka for Americans. Each set also had one-piece castings of a two-man machine gun team and a 37mm antitank gun with two crewmen. However, these were not well known. Few shops carried them. Airfix was the first most of us saw of small-scale soldiers.

 

 

The combination of Airfix soldiers and ROCO tanks enthralled budding young hobbyists. The tanks had excellent detail in a small size, and the soldiers looked good. Price also had its due. At 50 cents for a box of Airfix soldiers and a quarter for a Roco Minitank, a lad could have a platoon of infantry and two supporting armored vehicles. Additionally, those early ROCO tanks came with a pair of decals: white stars for US, red stars for commies and panzer crosses for the Germans.

AHM billed the Airfix soldiers as Minimen to accompany the Minitanks. The small boxes of soldiers had cellophane windows though which you could see the figures. On back of each box was a list of all the poses and figures enclosed. Boxes were brightly colored with drawings of their contents.

The original owner painted his to match the box art

And if you look at the picture on the Infantry Combat Troops, you can see that the artist was inspired by Herald’s Khaki Infantry. Two of the men are carrying SLR rifles and charging like the Herald figure, which is not replicated in the Airfix set.

 

 

The fun started when the box was opened. Out came sprues of soldiers. Each had to be detached with a little twist and turn. Each new pose was interesting. Soon there was a small pile of diminutive army men just waiting for their first battle.

 

 

The German seemed exotic to us. They had those odd grenades and other weird equipment. Most of us had only seen German troops in the movies. Handling toy German soldiers up close brought us into contact with their unique uniforms and equipment.

 

 

In no time, our toy soldiers were coupled with the toy tanks. Our tabletop battles began. We could have a complete battle on half of a kitchen table with the tiny figures. And what fun they were. Both sets had the classic posed: grenade guy, kneeling shooter, standing shooter, crawly guy, the charging guy. The Infantry Combat Group had one pose for a bayonet charge. None of the German weapon sported bayonets, so they better not run out of ammo!

 

 

We could put soldiers in back of little HO size half tracks and army trucks. Some could hitch a ride on back of a tank.

 

 

Of course, it got even better.

 

 

Our local hobby shop made a diorama using the tanks and soldiers. They also used a set of small European buildings, known later as "Village in a Bag." There were four cottages and a small church. Using a soldering iron, they had some "battle damage" to the houses. A combination of model railroad scenery and other items made a battle in a small town, complete with a creek running across it and bridges. The diorama maker had painted the faces, belts and weapons of the soldiers. Little boys thought it was amazing. I am sure that diorama, placed in the shop window, sold many a toy tank and box of Airfix soldiers.

In time, Airfix and Roco expanded their lines. ROCO added various tanks and vehicles, both modern (at the time) and World War II vintage. Airfix made more Minimen. Cowboys and Indians came next, cast in a russet color. In the following years they produced Civil War troops, British 8the Army, the Afrika Korps, French Foreign Legion and US Marines. Each new set was a welcome addition. We eventually had Japanese troops, paratroopers, Russians and commandos to supplement our tanks. There were also historic sets such as Romans, knights (Sheriff of Nottingham), ancient Britons and Medieval peasants (Merry Men) For some reason, the Revolutionary War guys were not that popular. Nor were the Napoleonics. The World War I sets went over well, however. I wonder how much Snoopy and the Red Baron had to do with that.

 

 

And how many of us busily built and painted Airfix’s 1/72 Sopwith Camel and Fokker Dr 1 Triplane? More than a few!

Four Airfix Second Version US Marines

Later, we started building the Airfix 1/76 military models. There were a handful of them before 1970, after which more vehicles were added to the list. The Airfix kits were nice enough. They seemed to dwarf ROCO and the other brand of pre-built tank, Roskopf. Nonetheless, we loved them all.

 

 

Airfix updated several of its older sets. I first saw these after finishing my time in the Army. The company re-sculpted its German Infantry, British Infantry, (Infantry Combat Group), US Marines, 8^th Army, Foreign Legion and Afrika Korps. They were a little bigger and the poses were more realistic with better details. The larger size made them less compatible with ROCO. Meanwhile, other companies were competing. Matchbox had a series of World War II soldiers. An Italian company called Atlantic arrived with a variety of ancient warriors, Wild West figures and World War II troops. Fujimi and Hasegawa made hard plastic kits of World War II troops. Later, Esci entered the market. For most of us, Airfix was the standard by which all others were judged.

A Few of the Airfix Second Version British Infantry

Come the 1980s my circumstances and responsibilities changed, and I had to put hobbies aside for a time. My collections got lost later in that decade. When I again had time and space for hobbies, it was the mid 1990s. New makers were adding to the realm of small figures. Today, the variety is overwhelming. Many are from Russia and the Ukraine. The variety of armies and eras and troop types is astounding.

 

 

For all the variety and quality, those of us who were there when it began have a fondness for those two original sets of Airfix army men. The Infantry Combat Group and German infantry were our first and the ones that got the ball rolling.

Five Airfix First Version US Marines

 

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Airfix might not have gotten all the details correct in some of their sets, but the animation of poses and assortment of figures made most sets a charm. They made a hard standard to match. In my opinion, Matchbox came close but was not quite as good. Esci ran hot and cold. Some sets were great and others were rather blase. Atlantic had its ups and downs, too. I have seen some of the current sets from various makers in recent years and it is quite amazing. Quality and variety are truly astounding. Even then, a set of Airfix soldiers usually costs a few dollars less than the others.

 

 

I think that I would like to use troops closer in scale to ROCO. Most of the 1/72 are too large. Granted, I have lost touch with 1/72 figures because I spend most hobby time making the 1/32 and 1/30 figures I hand cast.

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For those interested in games with HO size soldiers and ROCO tanks, here are some rules you might want to try:

 

 

My game "Tankplank" was inspired by that diorama in the old hobby shop. It is an armored and infantry battle in a town. You can get Tankplank and Tankplank Advanced Rules here:

 

http://www.thortrains.net/milihistriot/downloads.html

 

 

Battle by Charles Grant was one of the early sets of World War II games with HO miniatures. You can download a copy of the book when it ran in serial form in Meccanno Magazine from this page here:

 

http://www.thortrains.net/milihistriot/downloads.html

We have several small games that derive from Charles Grant’s system. They are World War II game "Hans und Panzer," a version of Hans und Panzer for the war in North Africa, and a Cold War version called "Krunch a Commie." they can also be found on this page:

 

http://www.thortrains.net/milihistriot/downloads.html

 

Phil Barker’s ruels for infantry and infantry armor games can be found here, as well as Ancient, Medieval and other rules.:

 

 

http://www.wrg.me.uk/WRG.net/History/wrg.html  

　

Of ROCO Minitanks and Hobby Shops

The first time I entered a hobby shop, I was five or six years old. We were there because some older boys on the block had new toy soldiers. They were tiny. My mother had asked where they got them, and they told her about the hobby shop.

The hobby shop was a little storefront on Central Avenue. It was a small shop. There were display windows on either side and a door inside at the center. The windows displayed various models and trains and those tiny soldiers.

We entered a typical store of the time. There was a counter on one side with shelves behind it and some display items. The other side was a wall of wooden shelves with models and trains.

In one of the glass counters was a small display. I think it was white, or maybe a light gray or pale blue. The display was terraced, like steps. On each step were three or four tiny vehicles. They were a very dark color. Most were tiny tanks. Beside the display were boxes of the tiny soldiers.

To buy a tank, you had to tell the counter man which one you wanted by saying its number. He would look through stacks of gray boxes on shelves in the back counter. Each box had six or more tiny vehicles, each wrapped in a small plastic bag. Packed with each was decals: white stars for American vehicles, red stars for Soviets and Panzer Crosses for German tanks. The tanks were 25 cents apiece.

There were two kinds of soldiers in cardboard boxes with cellophane windows., They had a picture of soldiers on the front, and a list of the figures on the back. Only two kinds of soldiers were available. The green drab Infantry Combat Group looked like Allied soldiers. Blue-gray German Infantry had figures of World War II German troops. Each had 48 pieces. For a dollar, you could buy two tanks and a platoon of infantry.

There were other figures for model railroaders by the same company. I remember Farm Animals and Civilian figures in "HO / OO" scale. There was also a marching band set and British guardsmen.

At the time, ROCO only made a few different vehicles. I remember the US M47 and M48 Patton tanks, a US M4A1 Sherman, at least two different Panzer IVs, a German Panzer V "Panther", a Soviet JSIII "Stalin" tank, a 2 ½ ton truck and some other items.

We did not know much about tanks then, except for what we saw in movies, read in comics, or heard from older relatives who were veterans. Our play wars included a few tanks that were from a later era. We did not care. For little boys, close enough is good enough.

Of course, we could afford the little Roco tanks and Airfix soldiers. I remember one year when Halloween fell on a Saturday. My friends and I were out all day trick or treating. Along with candy and apples, some folks gave money. W e gathered nickels and dimes and pennies. One old woman even gave out quarters. That money was enough to buy some tanks at the hobby shop, which is just what we did. Then we returned to trick or treating to get more loot.

ROCO and Airfix continued to add new sets over the years. They all ended up at the little hobby shop. I remember the Airfix 8^th Army, Afrika Korps, US Marines, Cowboys, Civil War guys, Indians and French Foreign Legion. Then came new sets with more detail, such as the Japanese Infantry, Arabs, Robin Hood, Romans and Ancient Britons. ROCO added more modern tanks and upgraded a few others, as well as expanding their World War II lines. In our youthful enthusiasm, we had toy-tank arms races where both sides had too many King Tigers and nothing lighter than a Sherman.

A couple of things changed the way we enjoyed our mini-tanks and min-men. One was a book titled War Games: Battles and Manoeuvres with Model Soldiers by Donald Featherstone. The book showed us a better way to play games with our tanks and troops.( A later book by Featherstone used specifications made to fit Airfix’s inventory of 1/76mm kits for a more advanced type of game. We loved it.)

Another change came over a decade later. Summer of 1972 was spent at the Jersey Shore. I made some friends and found a hobby shop: Air and Armor Hobbies in Belmar, NJ. We had a lot of fun, played our wargames and built models. At Continental Hobbies out by Freehold, I was introduced to the Roskopf mini-tanks. Of course, soldiers were the least of my concerns at the time. Like many youths my age, I would drop everything if a female entered the picture. (She was a skinny Irish chick and we had a lot of fun.) And so it was until mid-Autumn of that year, when I went into the Army....

My collection of tiny tanks and soldiers and other wargame figures were lost in the mid-1980s. A couple of disastrous moves followed by unexpected circumstances upset everything. I had little time for hobbies after that. Many other things needed my full attention. One needs a stable place to work with miniature hobbies. It took another ten years before I got back into them.

 

I have to admit a disappointment in miniature hobbies these days. There is little incentive for young people to get involved in them. Model kits are very expensive. So are trains. The little tanks sold by Herpa, many of which are reissued Roco models, are very expensive. While the Airfix soldiers are priced reasonably for these times, the tanks and other vehicles are not.

ROCO had competition. Eldon, UPC, Aurora and Marusan made kits that were pretty much knockoffs of Roco vehicles. They were all affordable. The same went for the Roskopf tanks. They were all priced fairly for the time. When I see the price of Herpa kits, I balk, Sure, some are updated and have extra detail. That tooling might have been expensive. However that may be, how does an item that went for 29 cents in 1966 sell for over $20 in 2016? And how are we going to attract young people to the hobby when a single piece costs more than one of their video games?

We need to bring back those competing kits!

 

One of the things this hobby gives is the satisfaction of doing it oneself. I remember how I felt the first time I did a full paint job and decals on a ROCO tank. That is just one of the satisfactions this hobby has. There was the fun of learning about the real vehicles and how they were used. More fun came by painting soldiers and arranging miniature units. There were also dioramas and little battlefields we made, using the old "Village in a Bag" houses. We learned to paint and assemble small things, and to use our creativity with tangible results.

The fellows running the old hobby shops were more than merchants. They knew their products and how to work with them. In our local shop, the owners showed us how to camo-paint our ROCO tanks and told us what paint set to buy. (Testor’s Military Flats). The same guys could tell you how to set up switches on an HO railroad, what track you needed to expand an HO slot car set, and what tricks to use building model kits. I can think of a few other shops offhand where the folks behind the counter could offer expert advice on using the shop’s products. Sadly, all of them are long gone.

I believe that one day, people will realize what they are missing and will again seek activities that require making something. At least, I hope so. The virtual world and video games are ethereal and intangible. People may again seek to make something tangible, They will want that which has physical reality. Likewise, I hope they regain the satisfaction of making something.. For us who know the pleasure of the job well done, the benefits are obvious. Perhaps one day young people will rediscover those benefits for themselves.

****

Most hobby shops were fun, but there were always an odd few where the owners were less than congenial. We called them "Hobby grumps" and "Hobby grouches". Those surly individuals acted as if customers were at worst a nuisance, at best an occupational hazard. Most of them also thought they were the best hobby dealers on Earth and deserved total customer loyalty. As soon as a competing shop opened close enough to them, their customers headed to the new place. Should any ever stop back in the grouch’s shop again, they would hear a derisive remark about being a disloyal customer or some such rubbish.

The hobby grumps were especially unfriendly to younger hobbyists. Instead of seeing children as the future of the hobby, they were rude. By the time those kids became older and had more to spend on hobbies, they were already someone else’s customers.

Fortunately for me, the folks who ran the hobby shop in my neighborhood were friendly to all of their customers. That inspired many to invest more interest in hobbies. Most shops were the province of good-natured fellows who were more than happy to share their expertise. That personal insight is something that cannot be gotten on the Internet. On the other hand, the grumps were a rare hazard in an otherwise pleasant field.

Review: The Corps Elite 120 Pieces Army Playset

 

Our Walmart usually does not have much in the way of Army Men. I was surprised, therefore, to see this large clear plastic can of troops. It was The Corps Elite 120 Pieces Army Playset. The set claimed to include "soldiers, bases, vehicles and more..." I could see that these were army men unlike any others in my collection. I had seen similar figures shown on our Army Men Homepage Face Book page by several members.

Getting the can home, I opened it. Not an easy feat, as it was triple sealed. Inside I found a cardboard cone in the middle. Around it were soldiers in three colors, a tiny tank, small attack helicopter, tiny jet and odd "robot" thing. There were also two sandbag walls, two stands for machine guns, a three-piece wall that looked like a refueling station, six fences and three antitank obstacles.

The tank was about 1/76 scale and was loosely - very loosely - based on the Abrams tank. The helicopter was between 1/100 and HO and very loosely inspired by the Cobra. The jet was small and the robot was about twice the height of the soldiers. Frankly, the vehicles were not much.

Tank obstacles, Wall, machine gun post

The terrain pieces were passable. The sandbag walls each had a machine gun. The odd three-piece wall had an industrial look to it. It would fit Starship Troopers or Aliens. The fences were good enough. There were three each of two different fence types

Sandbag Wall with Machine gun

 

Soldiers come in three colors

 

Included with all this were 96 soldiers. These came in eight different poses. There were equal numbers of each pose in three different colors: light green, tan and terra-cotta. The troops are uniformed along modern lines, but more in the manner of futuristic action figures. They remind me of troops from Starship Troopers, Aliens (Colonial Marines) and Space-Above and Beyond. Weapons have a boxy look to them, except for a man-portable mini -gun. So far as I know, there is nothing comparable in the real world to these weapons.

 

With these troops, we are blurring the line with science fiction. In fact, they would be excellent for near-future combat against aliens, zombies and monsters. A little paint and other touches could produce Colonial Marines or Starship Troopers. A plain paint job is all that would be necessary needed to make Space Above and Beyond Marines.

 

Figures are in the 45 to 50mm range. Because none of the poses are standing fully upright, I had to get creative. A measurement was about 50mm size. They are larger than the 45mm Colonial Marines included in a recent bagged set of Aliens figures. (The Aliens marines look equal in size only because their bases are thick.) The Elite figures also have a much better look. Of course, the Elite figures are shorter than the Tim Mee M16 soldiers. The Elite figures have a thicker look than the Tim Mee figures.

Elite compared with Tim Mee soldiers

 

Elite compared with Aliens marines

******

Where do these troops fit for toy soldier games? In my opinion, they are too futuristic for playing current scenarios. The Corps Elite figures look very much like the Starship Troopers and Space Above and Beyond. They could also be used as Aliens. Characters similar to these figures are often found in post-apocalyptic and dystopian type films. The "vehicles" are pretty much useless. but the fences and walls make for good diorama and gaming scenery. Scale is between 1/35 and 1/40.

 

 

 

Star Wars Command "Epic Assault" army men set

 

The Star Wars Command "Epic Assault" set had promise. I had some luck and found a set for a very low price. The box was far from pristine, which accounted for the discount. Of course, I care most about what is inside the box.

AT-DP Drivers

The set is promoted as having 22 pieces. These include 2 "rev" bases that work like the old pullback toys. Put a Star Wars space ship or vehicle on top, pull back ,and then it wheels forward. I played with some jousting knights like that when I was a kid.

Imperial Storntroopers and Tie Fighter pilot

 

The set had eight Imperial soldiers, five character figures, a robot, two AT-DPs and four spacecraft. The soldier poses included kneeling and standing shooting Stormtroopers, two AT-DP drivers and two Tie Fighter Pilots. The figures that were new to me were the drivers. They had a good pose and were well-sculpted and cast. All of the poses look like those used in the movies, by the way.

C-10 Chpper robot, Ezra bridger, Inquisitor

 

The character figures were unknown to me. These were three light-saber wielding figures, a skinny woman with two pistols and a thick-bodied alien with a huge blaster rifle. There was also a little can-shaped orange robot. I checked online and found that these figures were based on an animated series. The light saber figures were silver "The inquisitor", gold "Ezra Bridger", and green "Kanan Janus". A dark red "Sabine Wren" packed two pistols, and a purple "Garazeb Orrelios" had a the huge blaster. Then there was a C-10 "Chopper" can robot. The swordsmen looked slim and wispy in comparison to the soldiers.

Kanan Janus, Sabine Wren, Garazeb Orrelios

 

The set also had small vehicles. Two of the two-legged white "AT-DP’ land craft were included, as well as 2 black Tie Fighters, a special Tie Fighter and a ship called a Ghost. The Imperial craft were about the N scale (1/160) to TT (1/120) size. The scale of the Ghost was much smaller.

AT-DP Walkers

The sculpting on the ships and the soldiers was good. I like the animated poses and the detail. The character figures were probably based closely on the animated characters, and so have an unreal and spare look.

Tie Fighters

For skirmish games, this set is an odd assortment. The Empire has all the firepower. There are only two Rebel shooters as opposed to eight gun-toting soldiers. Of the three swordsman, one is an Imperial fighter. You can tell Imperials from other figures by the base. The Imperials all have bases with angular ends. The rebels all have bases with rounded ends.

Enhanced Tie Fighter

Of course. I could not beat the price. I had wanted to get a few of the vehicles to see how well they were made. Having a few more Imperials was icing on the cake.

"Ghost" Rebel Space Ship

Again, folks, these sets have been discontinued. I believe it was done because of the movie that was recently released. I have found that if you shop Amazon for the Star Wars Command sets, you can sometimes get better prices from "other vendors." Just remember that when using other vendors, there is a shipping fee, so calculate accordingly. The best deals I saw on Ebay were from the Hasbro Toy Shop (HasbroToyShop). Most of the other sets on Ebay were woefully overpriced. Big Bad Toy Store had a few sets reasonably priced.

Sci Fi Galaxy Laser Team and Star Wars figures

 

Just for fun, I decided to compare several Galaxy Laser Team figures with the Star Wars characters who inspired them. Or did they? On closer inspection, some Galaxy figures are entirely different from those they supposedly portray. Star Wars may have inspired some of the Tim Mee brand figures, but both sets are distinct.

 

 

Chewbacca and Chompsnuffa

 

The main similarity between Star Wars’ Wookie and the Galaxy Fur Alien is the fur. Granted, the Galaxy figure was an attempt to take the place of the Wookie, but the facial features and weapon are entirely different. My suggestion for those who paint their figures is to use very different colors on these funny fellows. An imaginative modeler could get a very distinct miniature from the Galaxy fur alien just by creative use of paint. Green fur? Maybe...

 

Darth Vader and Magnutto

 

Darth Vader is a very distinct character. Side by side with the supposed Galaxy Laser team version, they are very different figures. The Tim Mee counterpart looks like a Marvel Comics character. Thigh-high boots, a pectoral chest-plate and pro wrestler belt are very different from Vader’s clothing. The helmets are also unique. The Tim Mee figure wears what looks like a variant of an open-faced Greek helmet. His cape is shorter and so is his weapon. A light-club? With a little work, it could be a Greek-type sword. Again, a creative painter could make the Tim Mee figure look stunning.

 

X-Wing Pilot and Soldier with Pistol

 

These two have more in common than the other pairs. Helmets, though distinct, have a similar overall shape. However, the pilot is obviously in a flight suit. The Tim Mee figure could be anything from a security officer to Buck Rogers type soldier. He wears a very different outfit and unique boots that seem to flop over the top like those of pirates. While he could fit in the realms of Buck Rogers, Death Star personnel or Rebel infantry, he is unique enough to stand out. It is all in the paint work.

 

Tusken Raider and Turto-lob

 

These are so distinct as to have no middle ground between them. The Tusken is a desert character. If not humanoid, it is still likely mammalian. The Turto-lob (Turtle + lobster) is reptilian with a bird-like beak, buggy antennae and lobster claws. Still and all, both are cool aliens to add spice to your spice adventures.

　

 

R2D2 and the Washboard Robot

 

Mistakenly called "droids" in the movies, short tin-can robots were a common feature of the Star Wars franchise. (Droid is short for android, a robot having a basic human shape. C3PO from Star Wars, Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Terminator are androids. R2D2 and his type are not.) R2D2 is a small, cylindrical machine with a dome top and three legs. By comparison, Tim Mee’s Galaxy Laser Team robot is a flat, rectangular-bodied machine with two legs.

 

Small robots like both of these examples were common in the Star Wars movies. Another movie using small robots was Silent Running with Bruce Dern from 1972. He had a pair of two-legged, boxy robots. Cute robots seem to have been a thing of the times. For instance, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, a 1970s show, had a comical little robot named Twiki. (Think Hello Kitty goes Andriod: Twiki.)

 

Of course, Star Wars was not the only inspiration. Three of the characters in the Galaxy Laser Team had other origins:

 

The Astronauts

 

The two astronauts in the Galaxy Laser Team are somewhere between Gemini and the Space Shuttle. One pose is reminiscent of the early MPC "Mercury" type astronauts. The other has similarities to two other poses. However, these Galaxy astronauts are more modern. For instance, the air supply on the astronauts’ backs tells the tale. The MPC astronauts have tanks similar to a scuba diver. The Galaxy men have a boxy pack instead. It would have been more like that worn on the Space Shuttle. The Apollo air pack was much larger, wider and taller.

　

 

What happened to the woman with console? She is apparently based on the female crew of the original run of Star Trek. Unlike the others, there is no previous plastic figure on which she might be based.

　

The Galaxy Laser Team is a good source of affordable 50 to 54mm scale space figures. Because they are different from the characters of popular sci-fi movies, there is a lot of leeway as to how they can be painted and their use in games. A skillful modeler could get more than a few good conversions from them. The recent Hasbro "Star Wars" plastic figures are a great asset, but they will be getting scarce due to discontinued production. Perhaps Airfix will reissue their fantasy space men soon. They can accompany both of the aforementioned sets of spacemen.