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Re: Why are we passionate about 1:72 scale miniatures?

Back in 1972 I was in a hobby shop in Gettysburg Pa. They had a rack filled with Airfix figures and I was hooked.
An elderly man worked there and asked if I would remember him whenever I used those sets I bought. 48 years later I still think of that kind man.
Atlantic sets came out and I got hooked on them too.
Quite a departure from being an avid fan of Marx sets to 1/72 scale.

Re: Why are we passionate about 1:72 scale miniatures?

My love affair goes back to the 60s & started with Giant. I used to go to our local Grants store & buy a blister or 2 whenever I could. Then, I discovered Airfix at Woolworths & the affair grew! My first set was the early version of the Afrika Corps. My friends & I rode our bikes all over to get to 3 Woolworths in our area to buy all we could get. My interest cooled in high school & for years after until later in life, I remembered my hobby & wondered what was out there? Local Hobby Shops turned up Revell, ESCI & Atlantic, as well as old Airfix sets. I started buying & keeping up as best I could. Then I found the internet. More sets, more manufacturers, more buying. I didn't buy every set available, but I bought most. I have a room full + & estimate I have over 100,000 soldiers & still counting.

Re: Why are we passionate about 1:72 scale miniatures?

Like many of you my addiction began as a small child in the 1960s. Near to where I lived was a tobacconist/sweetshop called the Candybox that stocked Airfix and I loved going there to see what was new out. My memory is unclear as I can't remember my first set or the price. I certainly owned the guards colour party, FFL, Arabs and Infantry combat group but what I got first I can't remember. I also vaguely think boxes were one shilling and six pence but that seems quite a lot for the time. I simply like miniature things, love model railway layouts although I've never been a railway modeller and I used to love going to model villages when we were on holiday although I would have preferred them in a smaller scale!

Upto about ten or eleven I liked laying out my Aifix Napoleonics in large formations and knocking them down with rolled marbles, then, like a lot of other people, I discovered girls and, for me, motorcycles. Still kept an eye on figures but didn't buy much. Got into wargaming when I was eighteen. I used to commute through Charing Cross Station and browsing in Smiths whilst waiting for a train one day my eyes lighted on Battle for wargamers magazine. I started to read it regularly but didn't know any one who wargamed or where any clubs were. Luckily I changed job and one day noticed a colleague was reading a wargames magazine in the staff room one lunchtime. That was the start, Ken and I got chatting and he was kind enough to invite me to take part in some games at his mate's house. Those games were either Renaissance games in 15mm metal or WWII in 1/300th and this is the route I went down. I did dabble with Atlantic Romans but was dissatisfied with the historical inaccuracy, so didn't really get back into 1/72nd plastics until a certain American company brought out their Punic wars range and kicked off the current Golden Age.

Re: Why are we passionate about 1:72 scale miniatures?

I don't guess it was until I was thirteen when I really started on 1/72 scale figures.

My love for toy soldiers - and history - began really when I was five - Christmas 1961. Prior to that I remember getting an occasional bag of toy soldiers or cowboys and Indians. I remember Mom used to bring home some cowboys and Indians that swiveled at the hips. I later learned they were made by Payton (sp?). But the love affair really began when I saw the "Giant Blue and Gray Battleset" by Marx advertised on TV.

I like to say it became my "Red Ryder BB Gun." When I came out into the living room that Christmas morning and found it under our tree it was a dream come true. My older brother and I set it up (it was a joint gift), I took the North, he took the South. He received a railroad set that year and we ran the track around the battlefield and used it's coal car to shuttle troops from point to point. He explained to me what he had learned about the American Civil War and that along with frequent trips to the Lincoln sites in Springfield (we were living in Illinois at the time) and New Salem (where Lincoln lived as a young man) furthered my interest.

I still have quite a few of those first Civil War figures I received that Christmas in my collection. They travelled with me wherever we went (and we moved a LOT in my childhood).

After that, Christmas and birthdays weren't complete without a playset - either Marx or MPC. I would set up battles on my bedroom floor and refight the great struggles. But they were largely in 1/32 scale. As with others who have already shared, my 1/72 experience was limited to the occasional blister pack of GIANT figures picked up at the local Grocery store or Grants, Woolworths, or Kresge. Another source was the toy soldier ads in the back of comic books. I was able to avoid the "flats" of many of the sets, but managed to save my money gained by collecting empty soda (soft drink) bottles and turning them in for deposit and bought the "204 Revolutionary War Soldier" set and "Gold Crown" game. I was disappointed to discover the "huge castle" advertised was actually a printed game sheet, but the figures were GIANT copies of excellent Elastolin and Britains figures.

And that was that - until we went with my dad to Belgium (as I've described elsewhere) and I visited a toy/hobby shop off the town square in the city of Ath and saw Airfix figures. They cost Bf 25 a box (about .50 US) at the time. I bought my first two boxes - WW1 US Doughboys and French Infantry. For me a big gap in toy soldiers had been WWI. Some years back I had received a WW1 set (I think made by IDEAL) for Christmas that had great aircraft and vehicles but the figures (only five or six on a side) were in a bright blue (German) and red (British or US). This was a chance to "build" a decent WWI set. The rest is, as they say, history.

The smaller scale allowed me to more easily carry my toy soldiers with me. When we went to Belgium a lot of our personal belongings (including my toy soldiers) went in to storage. They were to bulky to carry with us. My new "Airfix" men could fit in my carry-on bag. At least, back then.

I began painting my figures when I was going through my divorce and visited a hobby shop for the first time in years. I discovered a new company - ESCI whose figures more or less matched my Airfix guys, but the colors were off. I started painting my 1/72 collection not only to get them to match, but also while away time when I wasn't in the field or deployed. It brought a new depth to my study of history as I researched uniforms and learned more about the organization of various armies.

Now, it's hard to believe it's been over half a century since I walked into that living room. My 1/32 collection at last count was over 20,000 figures (I've acquired some since last inventory) and 35,000 painted 1/72 figures (I don't know how many are in the closet or boxed waiting to be painted). I don't think I could fit them in my suitcase anymore. :laughing:

Re: Why are we passionate about 1:72 scale miniatures?

Same with me: when I was six years old I started to play with 1/32 scale Cowboy and Indian figures from Jean Hoeffler. The figures were already in the house because of my older brother, who got them from a nephew, who was even more older and didn't play with them anymore. My parents must have seen I liked playing wargames and they let Santa Claus (in fact 'Sinterklaas' as I live in Belgium) bring me a medieval castle with WWII Germans en the British 8th Army (all 1/32 figs from Cherilea). Apparently history was not the best knowledge of Santa Claus, but that didn't matter. As a kid it is no problem to make battles between indians, WWII soldiers, knights and cowboys all together, as long as it was fun.
My first introduction with 1/72 figures was at a fair in our village, where my mother bought me a bag with Giant cowboys and indians and a Fort Apache (later I discovered the Giant figures were scaled down copies of Britains Herald figures). I enjoyed these figures too, but kept mainly playing with the 1/32 figures. I must say that movies and TV-series formed a great source for scenarios and stories to replay, such as The Last of the Mohicans, westerns, war movies. I also was fascinated by my grandfather, who had been fighting as a soldier in the Belgian army during 4 years in the trenches of WWI.
When I was 10 years old, I went to school in the nearby 'big city' and yes, there I discovered… Airfix! And that's when I started my 1/72 collection by saving my pocket money for these little guys. The hobby also increased my intrest for history and that has not changed until today.
I think this is the main reason why I stayed with this hobby: there is a link with history, in which I'm very intrested, art and beauty, as we can see when looking at the high quality of figures produced today and in the past, developping our own skills when painting the figures and just fun when playing with them, like we did when we were kids! It's the perfect hobby ! :smile:

Re: Why are we passionate about 1:72 scale miniatures?

Hi everyone. It is so interesting reading about how you all fell in love with 1:72 miniatures. As a 9 year old boy in Malta in the late 60s early 70s I got hooked on these miniatures thanks to Airfix and Atlantic & the stories my dad and grandpa used to tell me about their experience of WW2 during our walks near the RAF airfields in Malta. I used to spend blissful hours trying to recreate with my soldiers war/ historic films that I would have watched (Where Eagles Dare, Ben Hur, Spartacus, A Bridge Too Far, Waterloo, Guns of Navarrone, Zulu Dawn, Robin Hood, Sudan, March Or Die, Green Berets and so many others).

As I grew older this passion drew me close to History and increased my interest to follow contemporary conflicts: Vietnam war, Russian invasion of Afghanistan, Israeli-Arab conflict, Falklands, wars in Angola, Mozambique, Turkish invasion of Cyprus. I always used to crave to have soldiers to re-enact these conflicts. Unfortunately to this day for some reason manufacturers still hesitate to produce sets relating to these conflicts. I think these will be highly popular as they relate to our youth and they would bring so many memories.

I'm so thankful to all companies which over the years produced so many sets of soldiers (and military accessories) relating to diverse eras and conflicts. You put so much fun into our lives. I'm especially gratefull to Strelets for the many beautiful and variant sets that they are producing. My only appeal would be not to ignore the 70s/80s conflicts i referred to above as that period is part of our life. Moreover, there are certain other important historic conflicts which for some unknown reason have been ignored: Franco Prussian War, English Civil War, UN Troops, Mexican Revolutionary wars, Royal Navy personnel, Spanish Civil War. I'm sure that sets relating to such conflicts will enhance our passion to this hobby as they will fill the gaps in our beloved hobby.

Best Regards to all and keep well