Review: BMC "Combat Soldiers 40 pieces 1950s plastic army men figures."

In case you did not know, Jeff Imel, who is behind the reissues of Tim Mee products, bought BMC. Work is currently in process to reissue some of the BMC classics. In the meantime, Jeff has reissued one of the cornerstones of plastic toy soldier collecting.

The Combat Soldiers are the old Lido American troops, cast from original molds. Even better, the molds have been restored. The current run of figures do not have the flash that some of the Tootsietoy reissues had. They are crisply molded, just like they were back in the old days. This set has ten different poses of World War II era American infantrymen.

We used to call these soldiers “flat foots”. Instead of having a base, their feet were flat enough to stand on a smooth surface. And for all the collectors’ talk of Marx figures, these flat-foots were the most common army men. They were in toy shops, general stores, and anywhere else small toys were sold. We had bushels of them! The only toy soldier set that has been more prolific is the Tim Mee M16 soldiers, which have been produced, copies and clones in greater abundance than any other plastic soldier. Even then, the Lido figures were more common well into the 1970s and had been reissued a few times since..

Plastic soldier collectors who want a good representative set of the Lido flat-foots would do well to acquire the BMC reissues. And with originals selling at a dollar apiece or more, the BMC recasts are a bargain.

One of the anomalies of this set is the four of the figures are identical to those in the old Marx 60mm infantry set. The main difference is that the Lido helmets have simulated netting molded on them while the Marx ones are plain. Apparently, both companies used the same sculptor.

The person who designed the flat-foots was on to something. As kids, we loved them. We could fit them in toy trucks and tanks, for instance. W could easily place them in the little foxholes were dug for them in the dirt. And for casualties, we just knocked them over. The Lido soldiers were perfect for indoors and outdoors.

As for Marx, I need to clarify things here. Marx was sold mainly in  toy stores and catalog sales (Sears, Monkey Wards, etc.). It was only later in the 60s that they appeared in some 5&10 stores like Kresges. Marx cost more. Lido and Tim Mee soldiers could be anywhere. They would be in general stores, corner candy stores, groceries and similar places. They were ubiquitous. Add that fact that many of our parents were Depression babies and looked for the cheapest things they could get. Bags of Lido, Tim Mee and Payton army men were cheap. In those days, a bag might cost anywhere from 19 cents to 29 cents. Two boys could pool their allowance, buy a bag an then “divvy them up.”  And we could get them tight in the neighborhood.  The nearest candy store or corner grocery was never more than two blocks away.

(Back then, corner stores often carried a few small toys and other things. Today we call them ‘impulse buys.”)

The Lido figure and the Tim Mee World War II soldiers had some great poses. The thing about Lido’s flat-foots was that the individual figures also had character. Along with dynamic poses. they had faces that were distinct. For instance, the officer waving his pistol looked like he was talking our the side of his mouth. (I tried that and got in trouble.) The bayonet guy looks like he is about to give a Japanese a dose of bayonet therapy. And the fellow with rifle overhead might be about to smash a latter day Hessian with a rifle butt, or cross a creek.

The BMC reissued Lido soldiers are a great asset for the plastic soldier collector. They look like they did 60+ years ago thanks to the restored mold. It is a good set to have. Likewise, those who enjoy painting toy soldiers can have a lot of fun with these guys. They are army men with character. Lido army men are essential to anyone who considers himself a collector of plastic soldiers

For more info about the original Lido soldiers, check here from the Army Men Homepage:

http://www.thortrains.net/armymen/lidogi1.html

You can order the BMC reissued flat-foot army men here:

https://www.amazon.com/BMC-Classic-Green-PLASTIC-ARMY/dp/B01NCV7H7G/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1493386181&sr=8-4&keywords=victorybuy

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

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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.

 

 

 

Space 1959 - They Really did It!

Space 1959 - They Really Did it!

1961 was a big thing for those of us fascinated by space missions. In short order, we had shifted focus from the X-15 to the Mercury Space flights. The X-15 looked like a space ship. The Mercury capsule was bland. No fins, no spiraling antennae, no blast of rocket fire out the back.

In 1962, some of the older boys up the block had a new toy. It was an outer space base with lots of rockets, space tanks, astronauts and weird aliens. They would not let us touch it. They were stingy. We younger boys thought it was fascinating. That was my first glimpse at the Marx "Operation Moonbase" playset.

A very popular book at the time was "You Will Go To the Moon." Written in 1959, it was based on articles about space travel by Werner von Braun. There was a lot of speculative fiction about space travel, especially in those years.

I have recently done some of my own speculation on what would have happened had there been a means to go into space in 1955. I was surprised to learn that both the Army and Air Force had been planning for it in the 1950s. They were also planning to build a facility on the Moon. In 1959, the Army presented its program entitled Project Horizon.. The Air Force plan was called Lunex. Both had ambitious plans to put a man on the Moon. Further, both wanted to build a facility on the moon that could house men for at least a year. The amazing thing is that most of it could have been accomplished with the technology of the time.

The Army wanted to have its base built by 1966. The Air Force thought it would be 1967 or later.

Both reports claimed that a major obstacle was lack of knowledge of the conditions on the Moon. Both were optimistic that they could be discovered in time.

The Army plan included sending supplies in cylinders. These would be used to build an underground facility that could house up to 12 men on a regular basis, and 16 temporarily. Moonbase Alpha, indeed!

The Army had plans for a lightweight vehicle to do the digging and place the cylinders. Power was to be supplied by small nuclear plants. The space vehicles were lunar landers and a vehicle to lift off from the moon.

The concept driving the plans was to beat the Soviet Union to the Moon and to use the Moon for military as well as scientific activities.

As usual, the Army plan was more comprehensive and better thought out than the Air Force plan.

Here are links to all three:

Project Horizon, V1 http://www.history.army.mil/faq/horizon/Horizon_V1.pdf

Project Horizon, V2 http://www.history.army.mil/faq/horizon/Horizon_V2.pdf

Lunex, USAF http://www.astronautix.com/data/lunex.pdf

Link to web page with Lunex file, better text and drawings http://astronautix.com/articles/lunex.htm

This ought to be no surprise., The military is constantly drawing up plans for almost any conceivable scenario. That they went into moon landings is understandable. Project Horizon is itself impressive because of the scope of it and its practicality. Knowing what we do now, we can see that this plan was feasible. Granted, it might not fit into the Army timetable to get it done by 1966. Nonetheless, it could be done.

Why id they not build a base on the Moon? Other technology came along to go do the surveillance and other tasks that were proposed for the Moon base. It was not cost effective. At the same time, our military’s funds were focused on the Vietnam War; the Moon became a purely civilian project. Or was it?

Conspiracy theorists might claim that a secret base was built, and that NASA’s work was just a cover for it. There are so many conspiracy theories about the Moon and space exploration. At best, they might be a good basis for a game scenario, such as the US versus USSR on the moon in....1970?

(maybe 1980...after all, it is the Russians and they are backward.)

 

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I am impressed at the efficiency of the Army’s plans for making a Moonbase. I assume it could also be built on Mars. With the improved technology of today, a variant could be developed into a quickly-made outpost. The shape of future space bases to come? Who knows? According to NASA, plans are in the works for an above-ground habitat and facilities. These are modular in nature. The NASA plan includes a place for astronauts to live, laboratories and science buildings, plus facilities for landings and launches. Their plan looks to be heavily dependent on solar power,

Moon or Mars, we are still at a stage of technology that would require us to bring everything needed for survival. That means habitat, air, food, and water as well as the means to land and to leave. The Moon is airless and would require a supply of breathable air. The atmosphere of Mars is thin and cannot support Earthly life. While there have been improvements in systems to recycle air and water, they have their limits. Like all other closed systems, they will have a degree of entropy and need to be replenished from time to time.

There will be a time when we can make further use of resources on a faraway planet. An immediate resource is water, which is believed to be frozen under the surface of both the Moon and Mars. There ir probably very little on the Moon. Perhaps science will develop a technology which can be small enough to send in a space ship that would make use of a planet’s minerals for life support. We cannot predict what the future might bring. As things stand now, we have to bring everything for life support with us.

That is a tremendous supply mission! Difficult as it might be to the Moon, which will likely be reachable in two days, the six-month journey to Mars will require extreme logistics.

And so we conclude the Space 1955 talks for now. What with the Army and Air Force doing their own work in 1959, we have a lot of genuine material for our own scenarios, be they miniatures, dioramas or games.

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Thanks to Mike Creek for informing us about Project Horizon and the files.