1960's War Toys

13,664 · May 13, 2012

Dirk, Manchu......you guys had the high-end toys! I did have a BIG collection of Army men that were dark green, had several poses, and a selection of rifles, knifes, grenades, and flame throwers that would snap in and out for different battle scenes.Those were my CLAIM TO FAME on our block!

3,768 · May 13, 2012

Originally I was "issued" a camo painted Thompson sub machine gun with a green canvas strap.....but after a number of hard years of "campaigning" it fell apart....so my father took me to a big city department store to select a new weapon.....I was tempted by the tripod mounted machine gun (a mock up of a 50 cal weapon...so saith Sears) but felt it would restrict me to a static defensive position so I opted for another Thompson instead....I must admit I like my older one but they stopped making it by then. These were, like most guns...cap firing....yes I had the M-14 Johnny Eagle later but broke the barrel on my first day out with it!

You mentioned the Johnny Eagle M-14 and it reminded me that I had one and I had to run upstairs and take it outside to snap some photos before the sun went down. Other than the very tip of the barrel being snapped off it is in pretty good shape. The other one, although not really military, is pretty realistic. It was made in Japan and it says Frontier Derringer on it looks and feels real. They surely don't make toy guns like this anymore.

3,768 · May 13, 2012

Derringer.

13,664 · May 13, 2012

OH GEZZZ, I forgot to mention the soldiers also came with snap-on helmets, buckle belts and canteens!!

3,923 · May 13, 2012

Oh that Johnny Eagle is nice!

rr01:I remember an H-21 "Whirlybird" that had a working winch that raised and lowered and the back of the helicopter opened up to drop off troops and vehicles.

JS The soldiers you describe sound like MPC "ring hands" with snap on equipment and helmets....I had a set of MPCs for the Civil War. I still have a few, but long lost the kepis, and rifles and canteens.

2,179 · May 13, 2012

The front side of the lunch box....These came with a glass lined thermos that as you can guess, broke...rather quickly......

Dirk - awesome stuff you still have! I had that same GI Joe lunchbox and thought I was pretty hotsh*t at the time. Loved the bottom (I think it was) with the Joe bazooka gunner blowing the crap out of that Tiger tank!

I also had the Combat! playset with my all-time favorite camo-patterned plastic Thompson. I know I've posted this pic before on The Forum but I always get a chuckle out of seeing it again.

Thanks guys for the "Nostalgia Tour"

Terry

3,923 · May 13, 2012

Terry: Great shot! I never got a uniform...only a couple of helmets.....but the Wish Book shows a green beret uniform, a Marine dress blue set and an set somewhat like yours...agree about being pleased with the GI lunch box....I remember ditching my Jetson's box once I realized Joe had his own lunch box!

14,893 · May 13, 2012

Originally I was "issued" a camo painted Thompson sub machine gun with a green canvas strap.....but after a number of hard years of "campaigning" it fell apart....so my father took me to a big city department store to select a new weapon.....I was tempted by the tripod mounted machine gun (a mock up of a 50 cal weapon...so saith Sears) but felt it would restrict me to a static defensive position so I opted for another Thompson instead....I must admit I liked my older one better but they stopped making it by then. These were, like most guns...cap firing....yes I had the M-14 Johnny Eagle later but broke the barrel on my first day out with it!

A Thompson with a scope and a silencer? That is quite the concept! And major cool!

29,922 · May 13, 2012

This might be worth a re-visit? It's a nostalgia trip along the same lines.

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...amp;hl=toy+guns

1,116 · May 13, 2012

This might be worth a re-visit? It's a nostalgia trip along the same lines.

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...amp;hl=toy+guns

Or here Ian, a Thread about the TV series "Combat"; http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...t=0&start=0

I posted a website in that one too, brings back alot of memories, so long ago.... http://www.jeffs60s.com/armytoys.html

1,171 · May 13, 2012

One of my favorite toys growing up in the 1970's was the Marx Battleground World War II Set - I got it for my birthday about 1975, and I loved it! The set had everything a small boy needed to start a major land war in Europe - Soldiers, tanks, half-tracks, bunkers, pontoon bridges, bombed out buildings, rolls of barbed wire, and much much more. Mine is long gone, but I found some pictures of the set on the internet:

4,212 · May 13, 2012

These war toy threads always mesmerize me with all the memories :w00t: This is the first time I've seen one of those 'flaged Tommy Guns since my friend down the street got his for our Orchard Wars. I settled for the Mattel "Dick Tracy" TSMG because to me, it looked "authentic" like the movies

Some of the remaining few of my beloved old Army Men from the late '50s-early '60s...

4,026 · May 13, 2012

When I was a kid, they had a "Navarone" playset for the small toy soldiers, included some vehicles as well, a complete base inside a plastic mountain. I wanted one of those SO badly as a kid. At a recent military show, a vendor had two of them in great condition. I took one look and realized it was much cooler when i was a kid. I could have afforded it, but I guess sometimes, one you get past a certain age, some things totally lose their appeal...

29,922 · May 13, 2012

Here's a view from across the pond which might strike a chord with some of the "baby-boomers" (like me) among you? When I was a kid growing up in the UK in the early 60s I developed a taste for imported American DC comics...Superman, Batman, Flash etc. My eye was always taken by the ads for "BB guns" in the form of the classic Winchester, and, always on the back cover, a whole plastic army for about $2!! How I coveted those things, which I suppose some of you reading this would have played with yourselves? Instead, I had to content myself with Airfix plastic soldiers which were the British equivalent of your Marx toy soldiers.

3,923 · May 13, 2012

Ian...the whole army for $2.00 is a great source of sadness for boys (or men now) of a certain age throughout this country (and a running joke among toy soldier collectors) ....if you paid the $2.00 you got everything listed but they were of such poor quality....almost like German semi-flat tin soldiers in shape, without detail and the ships and planes were micro sized.....so no one was very happy with them....google "Helen of Toy" a NY firm that sold them and you will see you missed out on nothing!

As for Airifix figures...they seemed to show up around the time most war toys were disappearing and for under a 1.00 you got well made figures (when combined with mini-tanks) that allowed you to have battles on a scale unequaled with the larger figures......and they served as a transition to table top war gaming for many of us.

I can remember combing through boxes of them at our local Woolworths....looking inside that little clear plastic window on the back of the box to see what poses the men were in...and the color of the plastic they were molded in too. I think by the time I was done collecting them the only ones I didn't have was the Robin Hood Set, an Africa Jungle set and the Arabs who were used to fight the French Foreign Legion.

29,922 · May 14, 2012

Ian...the whole army for $2.00 is a great source of sadness for boys (or men now) of a certain age throughout this country (and a running joke among toy soldier collectors) ....if you paid the $2.00 you got everything listed but they were of such poor quality....almost like German semi-flat tin soldiers in shape, without detail and the ships and planes were micro sized.....so no one was very happy with them....google "Helen of Toy" a NY firm that sold them and you will see you missed out on nothing!

As for Airifix figures...they seemed to show up around the time most war toys were disappearing and for under a 1.00 you got well made figures (when combined with mini-tanks) that allowed you to have battles on a scale unequaled with the larger figures......and they served as a transition to table top war gaming for many of us.

I can remember combing through boxes of them at our local Woolworths....looking inside that little clear plastic window on the back of the box to see what poses the men were in...and the color of the plastic they were molded in too. I think by the time I was done collecting them the only ones I didn't have was the Robin Hood Set, an Africa Jungle set and the Arabs who were used to fight the French Foreign Legion.

So it was a case of not judging a book by its cover?! Still...it was a great fantasy at the time!

15,286 · October 13, 2022

On 5/13/2012 at 11:33 AM, Dirk said:

As for Airifix figures...they seemed to show up around the time most war toys were disappearing and for under a 1.00 you got well made figures (when combined with mini-tanks) that allowed you to have battles on a scale unequaled with the larger figures......and they served as a transition to table top war gaming for many of us.

I can remember combing through boxes of them at our local Woolworths....looking inside that little clear plastic window on the back of the box to see what poses the men were in...and the color of the plastic they were molded in too. I think by the time I was done collecting them the only ones I didn't have was the Robin Hood Set, an Africa Jungle set and the Arabs who were used to fight the French Foreign Legion.

Old post I'm responding to but that said (or typed), since I've been dragging out my old Marx stuff It's spurred me to search for my Airfix stash. I know I have some boxes of British Commandos, Afrika Korps, etc around here somewhere and when I find them I'll post photos. I have rediscovered three full boxes of Avalon Hill board games too.

3,923 · October 13, 2022

Please do! Those sets bring back memories!

15,286 · February 12

On 10/13/2022 at 12:55 PM, Salvage Sailor said:

Old post I'm responding to but that said (or typed), since I've been dragging out my old Marx stuff It's spurred me to search for my Airfix stash. I know I have some boxes of British Commandos, Afrika Korps, etc around here somewhere and when I find them I'll post photos. I have rediscovered three full boxes of Avalon Hill board games too.

Getting ready for sale, Avalon Hill board games, still have more in storage too...