Review: Tim Mee Air Force Figures and Planes

Tim Mee has recast two of its Air Force sets. The first is its 1950s set of Air Force figures. Second is a trio of HO-size World War II Aircraft.

Old style pilots

The Tim Mee Air Force figures were first issued in the early 1950s. They represent ground early Jet Age crewmen, officers and pilots. The original was produced in a blue plastic. Tim Mee has recast them in modern tan and green plastic.

Officers

The original plastic was prone to getting brittle with age. The recasts are a chance for collectors to have these figures from original molds in a plastic that will endure.

Ground Crew

These airmen are toys. The sculpting on several is gawky, to say the least. I would guess that the sculptor was the same one who designed the Tim Mee sailors, pirates and Robin Hood merry men. Nonetheless, these are based on the fellows who serviced combat aircraft. There are refuelers, ammo loaders, fire control and the fellow with panels guiding planes on the runway. And there are officers plus two pilots in old-style flight gear.

Ground Crew

The recast Tim Mee Air Force set is a must for collectors of plastic figures. They are also great for kids to run the play airfield for the Jets to take off and land. A really cool blast from the past.

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The Aerial Combat Set has recasts of three small toy planes. Inside the bag, in olive drab plastic, are a P-40 Warhawk, P51 Mustang and ME-109 Messerschmidt. They are about HO size. This is an item for collectors of Tim mee figures. Get while the getting is good. Items liek this are rarely recast.

You can get both through Victory Buy: click here

Building Attack Danger Zone

Great Halls Afire!

Jeff Imel sent me this unusual item. The two-piece model is a building facade with base. There are “flames” molded by some of the windows. The color of this ‘house afire’ is brick red. It comes with five stickers to place on the “flames”. These look like burst and fire.

The brickwork and other details are nicely molded. Almost too nice for a toy. And the size of the door is just right for figures from 30mm to 45mm. In model train sizes, S scale to O scale.

The Building Attack can be used with toy soldiers. it will also work with toy firemen . And on a model railroad, this building facade would make a nice “house afire” scene at the back of a layout. Model railroaders, be warned. This has some detail that demands extra painting.

In my opinion, this is an item best included with another product. A lighter version had been included with sets of firemen. The building facade could also be packed with a set of soldiers.

Get it here:
https://www.amazon.com/TimMee-BRICK-BUILDING-Under-Attack/dp/B076XTGBBT

Tim Mee Recon Patrol armored cars

Lockheed XM800W

Just received: the Tim Mee “Recon Patrol: Armored Scout vehicles” set. These are based on the Lockheed XM800W, a three-axle vehicle introduced in 1972. The Tim Mee version has one less axle.

The Lockheed xm800w was one of the vehicles submitted for testing for the Cavalry. By 1975, the project was cancelled and none of Lockheed’s vehicles was accepted.

The armored car featured a 20mm auto cannon.

Tim Mee has been making these since 1978. You can see the appeal.  They have a “space age” look to them.

Overall, this is an interesting design. The roof hatch being small, was it meant for discarding spent ammo? I wonder. The driver’s hatch is like a type that swivels to allow the driver to get in or out. Armament is obviously an auto-cannon and could be anything in the 30mm to 30mm caliber. Molded on are pioneer tools and other equipment.

The Tim Mee armored cars look good in tan or green. They are clearly meant for soldiers in the 50mm to 60mm sizes.

Now my wicked mind goes to work. The turret could be altered or removed to allow a larger gun or recoilless rifle, making the car a light tank destroyer. Pop the turret and with a little work you have an open-top command car. You could also mount katyusha type rockets.

The armored car could also be a futuristic sci-fi vehicle. A little work can render that cannon into a large ray gun. One might also make it a rocket launching vehicle. Paint it white with black markings and you have an Imperial Stormtrooper support vehicle. Use other colors, and you can have a land car for the Galaxy Laser team figures. All you would need is a cunning paint job to make a Klingon battle car. Use your imagination.

Sci fi fans might consider weird looking tires to complete the effect.

A sharp hobbyists can convert these cars into an entire fleet of combat vehicles including standard cars, anti-tank defense, command cars, armored ambulances and indirect-fire rocket batteries.

There are many other ways to enhance the cars. Camouflage will look great on them. Woodland, jungle, desert and winter camo schemes can be applied. Details are prominent enough  that they can also be painted, right down to the straps,

Obviously, the Tim Mee armored cars are one of the more attractive vehicles for the toy soldeir hobby.

The cars come with stickers. Jeff Imel has done a lot of work adding stickers to both Timmee and BMC products. Hard to see in photos, the stickers include thee large and six small stars and three serial number panels in OD green.

These are cool modern recon vehicles. I also like their potential for sci-fi skirmish gaming.

Presently, you can order yours here: https://www.amazon.com/TimMee-RECON-PATROL-Armored-Cars/dp/B076ZQCRN3

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Armored cars like these are generally used for reconnaissance and infantry support. They are lightly armored and generally lightly armed, although some anti-tank versions have heavier guns. The armored cars are made for speed. Classic armored cars include the German SD Kfz 222 and 234 series, the German “Puma”, British “Saladin” and American “M8 Greyhound.” The modern Stryker vehicles are eight-wheeled armored cars used as personnel carriers wit ha few heavily-armed support versions.

Ogres and Giants on the Cheap

Fantasy fans: here is a quick fix to make affordable Ogres to face 25mm to 32mm scale figures. Tim Mee made a set of cave men that came in four poses. One had an axe, one was throwing a stone, one had a two-handed club, and a very odd one had a one handed club. The odd one looks like a cross between the Hulk and Conan the Barbarian. Some conversions are as simple as altering the weapons and a cool paint job. others do a little sculpting to alter the heads and some details. They look cool. Hey, you know what they charge for metal figures from reaper, Warhammer and such. Using the Tim Mee cavemen, you can have a whole squad of Ogres on the cheap.

Here is one example that I found on the Internet:  http://cheapfantasyminis.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-giant-ego.html

Tim Mee Cave Men

BTW - a few years ago, there were bags of recast Marx cavemen for sale. They also had a few poses which could easily be converted to various monsters. Again, a lot cheaper than fancy metal castings.

Review: Tim Mee Cyan Blue and Rust Brown soldiers

Back in the late 60s and early 70s, Tim Mee cast some of their “M16" soldiers in neon colors. There was neon pink, neon blue, neon yellow, neon green. I never understood why. By the time those soldiers came out, I was already into the smaller scale Airfix wargame figures, Tamiya kits and metal military miniatures.

Recently, Jeff Imel of Victorybuy has had these Tim Mee soldiers reissued. The first set was issued in green and tan. Since then, he has them done in grey, black, a dark blue, light green, dark green, red and yellow.  The latest sets are done in rust brown and cyan blue. In fact, the Blue ones are also included in the latest recast of the Tim Mee C130 gunship. I guess they are supposed to be Air Force guys.

I like the Tim Mee M16 guys. They are well-sculpted in action poses, are realistic enough, and have a good assortment of weapons and equipment. When I worked out the game of OMOG Advanced, they were one of the toy soldier sets I used as a reference. In fact, I worked to accommodate everything from a World War II era rifle squad to a modern one and anything in between. The Tim Mee M16 guys had a few things that made them ideal for this. Along with the set of poses and weapons, they are also the most common set of army men.  The Tim Mee figures have been cast, recast, reproduced, copied and cloned for almost 50 years. Figures from original molds are available, as are copies and clones from China and elsewhere. One figure has disappeared from the set: the marching guy. And the guy who used to be throwing a grenade is now waving the men onward. No problem. There is an officer with pistol, mortar man with crude 60mm mortar, flamethrower man, bazooka man (3.5" rocket launcher), radioman, minesweeper man, a light machine gunner and five riflemen. For OMOG, a squad can have its officer, riflemen, squad machine gun and choice of heavy weapons.

But Cyan? Rust? Or for that matter, Red, Yellow, Orange?

For toy soldier games, the different colors are useful. Camouflage is not a matter on small tabletop games, as both players can see each others troops. Different colors allows for different sides. A game with four armies on the table is easier to play if figures are distinguished by their color. That is, for people who are not going to paint their soldiers. Paint? All one needs do is get a bag and open them.

One could use the cyan troops as air force or a naval landing party. Dark blue sets could be SWAT teams.

The Tim Mee M16 guys are a great set for toy soldier games. You can easily put together a rifle squad plus supporting elements of your choice: mortar team, antitank squad, engineer section (flamethrower and minesweeper). The only missing thing from those times is a grenade launcher, either the old M79 or later M203 over-and-under. No problem, Either use one of the other poses as the grenade launcher or borrow the tear gas launcher man from the Tim Mee SWAT team / tactical troops.

As for collectors, Tim Mee reissues have sweetened the pot with a variety of different colors and reissues. Collect them all!


Here’s some toy soldier history for you:

Back in 1998, my friend’s nephew had some of the Tim Mee M16 guys. He called them “old-fashioned soldiers.” To my friend and I, they were modern troops. They are pretty much how we looked when we were in the Army.  Being called “old-fashioned”was a shock, but it was true. We looked very different from our counterparts in the 90s and beyond. That was what led to my making the Army Men Homepage. It started as a joke. And it evolved into a service for the toy soldier hobby.

Tim Mee soldier with experimental machine-gun

There are anomalies in the Tim Mee set. More common infantry antitank weapons of the time
were the M72 LAW and the 89mm Recoilless Rifle. Then there is that machine gun. The actual squad machine gun of the time was the M60, a belt-fed model based on the German MG42. The Tim Mee machine gun was an experimental type that the Army was considering for Jungle warfare. It looked like a contender, but was eventually rejected. Tim Mee jumped the gun on this one. Much the same happened to Herald, Timpo, Crescent and Lone Star of Britain when the British Army was considering a bullpup weapon in the 1950s. it looked like a sure thing, so the toymakers used it for their toy soldiers. They wanted to be modern and “state o the art.”  Unfortunately, the bullpup was rejected because of NATO compatibility issues. Too late! The molds were already made and the bullpup had remained ever since.

Herald Brand British Soldiers with "Bullpup" rifle

You can buy the Cyan Blue and Rust soldiers here:

https://www.amazon.com/TimMee-PLASTIC-ARMY-MEN-Soldier/dp/B01N6JJB5T/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1493398190&sr=8-8&keywords=victorybuy+blue


You can download OMOG Advanced Skirmish Game Runes here:

http://www.thortrains.net/armymen/OMOG-advanced-game-2015.pdf

http://www.thortrains.net/downloads/OMOG-advanced-game-2015.pdf

Review: Tim Mee M41 Walker Bulldog Tank and Tactical Troops

The reissued Tim Mee Walker Bulldog tank with troops is BIG. The body is 10.5 inches long by 6.5 inches wide.  With barrel, the length is 14.5 inches. For a plastic toy tank, it is a very good representation of the M41 Light tank. Open the turret and there’s the commander. And the engine compartment opens. For kids, it’s a good place to stash army men.

Back in the early 1960s, a popular toy was a battery-operated “Walker Bulldog” tank that  moved and fired plastic toy bullets. It was big, as toys go. The toy was made by Remco. The toy was only marginally like the tank for which it was named.

The Tim Mee M41 looks very much like the real thing ,through it is neither battery operated, nor does it shoot.

I estimate the scale as between 1/18 and 1/20.

Back in the 1990s, this same tank was advertised as an M60. Any resemblance to the M60 series of US tanks is tenuous, at best. Those who know US armor can see that it is the venerable M41.

Tim Mee packed in a dozen figures. These are the 60mm sized Tim Mee SWAT team cast in olive drab plastic. They are described as “tactical troops.” I find that intriguing, as the predecessor to SWAT police were the “tactical units.” And if you look at these figures closely, you get a blast from the past. The helmets are the older tactical helmets which look like motorcycle headgear. Three figures are carrying pistols. These are revolvers. Police preferred revolvers because they were less prone to jamming than automatics. That changed in the 1980s.

Two officers have billy clubs on their belts. One man holds a riot shotgun, one a sniper rifle and the other a tear gas grenade launcher. These are unique figures and they are very accurately detailed for the time they were originally sculpted. For the plastic toy soldier collector, the tactical troops are worthy additions to your collection. They are unusual, unique, and accurately reflect tactical officers in the late 70s - early 80s.

BTW - six of these tactical troops were included in the Tim Mee black helicopter Strike Force a couple years ago. They were molded in black plastic. Indeed, one of the things that the early SWAT cops brought to the table were helicopters, used for both observation and to insert teams.

Frankly, the Tim Mee M41 tank is too big for tabletop wargaming. On the other hand, it is a great toy for both indoor and outdoor play. Large, sturdy and attractive, the Walker Bulldog can provide kids with the centerpiece of many a sandbox battle. It is big, it looks good - and realistic - and it is made well. I’ll keep this around to entertain small visitors. This is one toy they can play with in the backyard.

By the way, I have been told that the small 3.5 inch G.I. Joes and similar sized figures are a perfect for this excellent tank!

Here is a link to buy one for yourself:

https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Mee-Walker-Bulldog-Playset/dp/B01N9QR2Z7/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1493386181&sr=8-15&keywords=victorybuy

Review: Tim Mee's Desert Patrol Set

Tim Mee Desert Patrol

When I see some of the low-grade toy soldiers and vehicles from China, I wonder who is going to raise the bar. Then another of the new Tim Mee products comes along and sets things straight. The new Tim Mee has several advantages. Top among them is quality. Superior plastics, better colors and for the multi-piece items, superior construction.

A few months ago, I reviewed Tim Mee’s Combat Patrol set. The set included two of the Tim Mee jeeps and cannons. They have been around for over half a century. The new releases are a quality item. Not your average plastic toy soldier vehicles, at least not these days. Everything is better that the cheap stuff coming from China.

Now, Tim Mee has released this same set as Desert Patrol. The difference is that it is molded in tan plastic. Those of us of a certain age may be reminded of a television series called Rat Patrol. And those who have watched the news over the years have seen tan vehicles similar to the ones used by every Middle Eastern army. There were tan jeeps used by the British 8th Army, the Israeli forces, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and a host of others. We saw them on the news in footage from a dozen little conflicts and incidents.

The Desert Patrol is perfect for those wishing to arm their Tan armies in the battles of Green Versus Tan. The color is just right. Each set also comes with stickers to place on the jeeps and guns. And again, it is the quality that stands out. Knockoffs, clones and cheap copies cannot stand up to these recasts of the original Tim Mee jeeps. They are sized just right for 2" to 2 1/2" soldiers (1/35 to 1/30).

The header card of the Desert Patrol set depicts a jeep with a 37mm antitank gun.  The actual guns included in the set are the same ones that Tim Mee has made since the 1950s. They are small field guns, rather like the infantry guns used during World War II. I surmise that they could be used as field guns or howitzers of 75mm to 105mm bore. I am also reminded of the British 25 pounder field gun. Tim Mee used to include the same gun in their Civil War sets of bagged soldiers. Instead of the tires, the Civil War guns were fitted with red spoked wheels. They looked like World War I vintage French 75mm guns.

The field guns, like the jeeps, are sized just right for 2" to 2 1/2" soldiers. They go well with the Tim Mee Vietnam-era soldiers, as well as the old World War II troops. You can easily make a crew for these guns by converting other toy soldiers. They are among the best cannons for army men ever made.

For toy soldier enthusiasts, the Tim Mee Desert Patrol is a great addition to your collection and your army. This is a quality product that stands far above the general run of Chinese and Mexican made  vehicles.

(Thanks to camera problems, I had to borrow pictures from the Tim Mee site. These accurately depict the Desert Patrol set and what is in the bag. As you can see, the guns and jeeps are nicely colored in tan. )

Would you liek a set of your own? Here is a link to Victory Buy and Tim Mee on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_il_ti_merchant-items?me=A2GZGI1K81HLF2&fst=as%3Aoff&rh=p_4%3ATim+Mee&ie=UTF8&qid=1435452397&lo=merchant-items&tag=armymenhomepage-20 

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.