Airfix, a British firm, is among the best known manufacturers of WWII Plastic Toy Soldiers. They produced a wide range of figures representing many countries and branches of the service. They were also quite good at sculpting, coming up with realistic and well detailed poses. If anything could be asked of them is that they had produced more poses for each set as most of their sets were released in 1/32 with only 7 poses. They began producing figures in the 60s and went on strong through the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately they do not produce new sets anymore, but the molds still survive and new production figures are still being released for the WWII range, which makes them easy to find. A definite must have for any collector and a good starting point for someone looking to get into the hobby.
Airfix British Paratroops
Solid set. Nice mix of berets and helmets. Not a big fan of the marching guys, but they could come handy for a Market Garden scene as they approach Arnhem. Keep an eye out for the radio man's 'twin' in the British Infantry Support set.
Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part I
This is one of the rare Airfix Paras which Airfix made before they switched to the set which has become the standard one. I should say that in terms of the sculpting and poses, the second series is indeed superior to the first and it is easy to understand why Airfix decided to replace them. I once ran into the whole set at a soldier show, before I knew what they were. They were priced a bit on the expensive side, so I passed on them, Years later, when I realized what I had held in my hands, it became clear to me that I should have bought them and that they had actually been priced quite well given how rare they are... This one I got in a large set of mixed figures that someone did not bother to sort out and classify. A bit of a lucky break for me. Here you can see the rest of the poses, courtesy of Toy Soldier HQ.
Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part II
Here is another guy from the set, firing off into the sky. Now the question is, what could he be firing at? In theory, his unit is the one doing the drop... The enemy would not drop on top of them, since after all, they are already behind enemy lines. I suppose he could be firing at a strafing fighter... In terms of the sculpting, I just wish they had given him a slightly more relaxed stance. Maybe the knees, slightly bent? At any rate, I am glad I ran into him. Only 5 more poses to go!
Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part III
OK, so I had a bit of a lucky break and found a batch of about a dozen paras in pretty good shape. Out of those, we have 3 more new poses. Out of these three, the kneeling, firing guy is my favorite. Now we are just missing the prone bazooka man and the man walking holding his sub mg at his side.
Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part IV
So here's the prone bazooka man. These guys are not easy to find, but I was lucky to run into a batch of 10 or so. Unfortunately, I already had most of them, except for the bazooka man of which it had two. On to keep looking for that elusive last pose!
Airfix German Paratroops - Part 1
One of the few sets with over 7 poses. In fact we got twice as many, resulting in a good diversity of poses. I like the abundance of automatic weapons.
Airfix German Paratroops - Part 2
One interesting thing to note is that these guys seem to be a tad shorter than the figures in most of the other sets.
Airfix German Infantry
This is one of the most classic sets of German infantry and the figures that many folks use as the standard for 1/32 scale. I wish I had taken this picture with better lighting, but for now this will do. Eight figures in all the basic poses that you need in a squad - maybe the ammo loader could have been made in a way that it could have been deployed as a stand along figure without the ammo box. But that's nitpicking. All nicely sculpted with a good level of dynamism and detail. They have been around for about 50 years and they are still a favorite among the collectors.
Airfix Afrika Korps as regular German Infantry
Here I borrowed figures from a different 'branch of service', but once they are painted they look like German Infantry, which I guess is what they actually were. These guys are slightly smaller than the Airfix regular German infantry figures, but I think I like their sculpting and poses even more. And the reason why they come in very handy is their head gear. If you want some variation and want to add some guys with field caps to your regular German infantry guys, then look no further.
Airfix German Afrika Korps
Here they are painted as DAK. I really like the way they are posed. Note how most figures even if they are standing straight, have their balance shifted off-center which gives them a more realistic, action look.
Airfix British Modern Infantry
OK, these guys are not WWII figures, but if you don't look closely at the weapons they could pass for paratroopers, as their helmets have a similar cammo look.
Airfix Modern German Infantry - Part I
Same with these guys. But they are so well sculpted that I could not resist getting a batch of them and incorporating them into my ranks. Even though they are German, I think I could use them as British paras.
Airfix Modern German Infantry - Part II
In typical airfix fashion, the poses are full or action and include plenty of realistic detail. Even the folds on their clothes are all in the right places. Out of this batch, I really like the guy firing his sub MG from the waist and how he leans into it.
Airfix Australian Infantry - Part 1
Lots of action in this batch. Ideal for jungle warfare scenes.
Airfix Australian Infantry - Part 2
The marching guy does seem a bit out of place compared to the rest of the poses, but the other two are really nice.
Airfix British 8th Army - Part 1
Another representative set which ahs been widely cloned. The figures are also a bit on the shorter side, but the poses are great for an advance across the open desert.
Airfix British 8th Army - Part 2
Even the marching guy can fit in, marching behind a tank as they try to punch a hole in the enemy lines.
Airfix British Infantry
One of my favorite sets due to the level of action that they convey. Except for the guy who is standing firing, these poses are very dynamic. Take the men firing the Bren gun and the Sten gun from the waist, or the officer really leaning in while firing his side arm, probably trying to dodge some bullets flying at him. The grenade thrower is also quite good. I also like that the mortar man does not need a second guy to operate it, as that allowed the sculptor to give us an additional pose. All in all, a very nice set which is why it remains one of the classic ones for British infantry.
Airfix British Infantry Support Group - Part I
Airfix gave us 10 poses of heavy weapons guys to complement the first set of regular infantry. They are good, but I find the sculpting a bit thicker and less dynamic compared to their earlier peers. In this first picture we see an officer, and observer, a bazooka man, and a Vickers machine gunner. One thing I like about a few of the poses in this set is that you can combine them in many ways. For instance, the observer or the officer could be place next to any of the other guys operating a heavy weapon. Speaking of weapons, the set also comes with all sorts of accessories, including mortars, the Vickers guns, shovels, pick axes, jerry cans, etc.
Airfix British Infantry Support Group - Part II
Here are the other 6 guys. The radio man on the left looks very similar to the one that comes with the paratroopers, but if you pay close attention there are a few subtle differences in the radio, the antenna, and the beret for example. The right-most guy could be used next to a mortar or as a ammo loader for a field gun. The prone guy is supposed to be feeding ammo to the Vickers MG above. The second guy from the left is truly a support group guy, who can place his hand on the shoulder of one of his mates. The last two poses are a bit underwhelming. A guy carrying an ammo case with PIAT shells (but there's no PIAT man!), and a guy standing around just watching the action. A missed opportunity in my opinion as one of those could easily have been made into a PIAT man.
Airfix British Commandos
A decent set, but a couple of the figures seem to be standing a bit too straight for my taste. On the other hand, I love the guy crawling on his belly, ready for some action.
Airfix Gurkhas - Part 1
Nice set with good variety. The figures are a bit shorter, but I think that is intentional as the Nepalese troops were shorter in general. The poses are varied, but the sculpting is a bit 'stiff' in my opinion. The opposite of what I was remarking about regarding the Afrika Korps set.
Airfix Gurkhas - Part 2
Nice touch of having given them traditional Gurkha knives. Those things could take a man's head off without much effort.
Airfix Gurkhas - Part 3
There is also a casualty figure which I did not paint at the time and neglected to include in the picture. I'll try to upload him later.
Airfix Italian Infantry
A hard set to find. For a long time Airfix was the only manufacturer to offer an Italian Infantry set.
Good, solid, 'middle of the road' set.
Airfix Japanese Infantry - Part 1
Note how they made the kneeling guy without a base. Unusual for an Airfix set.
Airfix Japanese Infantry - Part 2
The other poses are nice and well suited for a jungle battle scene.
German Mountain Troops - Part 1
A favorite of many collectors. It's unusual in its concept and offers a good number and variety of poses.
German Mountain Troops - Part 2
Not all of them are combat troops, but they depict several of the challenges faced by this type of units.
German Mountain Troops - Part 3
I like the guy on skis. If you can get a hold of several of them you can form up a long range reconnaissance patrol.
Airfix US Paratroops - Part 1
I have mixed feelings about this set. I like the number and variety of poses, however some of them feel a bit stiff and are on the smaller side for 1/32.
Airfix US Paratroops - Part 2
One thing I like about this set is that it blends very well with the ESCI US Paras.
Airfix US Paratroops - Part 3
Speaking about the sculpting, the grenade man says it all.
Airfix US Infantry
A classic set. Nice solid sculpting. I particularly like how the standing men show some flexing of the knees. It is amazing how much this simple detail makes the poses look so more realistic and action-like. It's also nice that in just 7 poses we also get this variety in weapons, including a bazooka, a sub machine gun, a few rifle men, an officer with a pistol, and a machine gun. The only thing that could have been better would have been to give the bazooka man a base as he sometimes tips over. BTW, This is also the size that many in the hobby use as reference for true 1/32 scale.
Airfix Soviet Infantry
Another nice set by Airfix. Good sculpting and solid selection of action/fighting poses for the most part. Maybe the guy in the middle could have been made a bit more active or simply made into an entirely different pose (maybe a mortar?) as he is not too different from the guy on the far right who is significantly better simply by showing him running. In general this set could have used a couple more figures rushing forward so that we could mount a stronger frontal attack with them, but they can still be used very well for urban combat scenes. This is when I wish that Airfix sets had been 10 or 12 poses! Lastly, I also like how the set portrays how common the submachine guns were among the Soviets, particularly in the late years of the war.
Click here to see the Airfix British Paratroopers in action
Click here to see the Airfix German Paratroopers in action
