Introducing the British Naval Infantry

The British Naval Infantry, most commonly known as Royal Marines, is an elite light infantry unit of the British military meant to support maritime operations. They trace their origins to the mid 17th century when the first 'Maritime Regiment on Foot' was established. Throughout history they have been deployed in many conflicts, often fighting next to the regular army ground troops. Their fighting tradition includes the Sever Year's War, the Napoleonic Campaigns, the Crimean War, both World Wars, and more recently conflicts like the Falklands, the Persian Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan.

During World War II, they saw considerable action. From early landing missions on Norway, Dieppe, and Tobruk -in which they suffered heavy losses-, to later operations such as D-Day, Sicily, and the Netherlands. They also saw action in Singapore and Burma. Initially they operated as Royal Marine Infantry Battalions, part of Royal Marine Divisions, but later on the battalions were reorganized into Commandos and merged with the Army Commandos into Special Service Brigades, each with 4 to 5 Commandos (former Battalions). One peculiar fact is that the Royal Marines also provided infantry detachments to war ships and as part of that role, they were also responsible for operating some of the ships' guns. Royal Marines were also in charge of manning the British Navy's landing craft. In terms of toy soldier figures, we have a couple of options to consider. Let's take a look.

Lone Star British Naval Infantry - Part I

An interesting and unique set, even if the sculpting is not all that detailed. The poses are still interesting and less ordinary with some poses being quite specific to the service branch. Unfortunately the plastic used by Lone Star became brittle over time and today many figures are broken. For instance, one of the men in the middle is missing part of his rope and the man next to him was supposed to be holding a signal flag. As far as I know, thanks to Brian, one of our readers, there were 9 figures in the set. Missing are an officer and a helmsman. The man in white I've learned, is part of a set made by Charbens.

Lone Star British Naval Infantry - Part II

These poses show a bit more action, and would be better suited for a fighting scene and is more to my liking. Even the prone man with the Bren gun is lifting his foot to make him look more 'into it'. The man on the left however is taking what seems like a very odd step. Usually, when a leg moves forward, it is the opposite arm that moves forward along with it, but what do I know. Maybe he is getting off a boat in which case I can see how he might be stepping off and reaching with his free hand at the same time. I will continue to keep an eye out for additional poses in this set, just in case. BTW, we've got another Charbens guy who snuck into the picture. 

Lone Star British Naval Infantry - Part III

Here are two of the less common guys. The officer, which happens to have a movable arm that allows him to look into his binoculars and the helmsman. I actually don't have much use for the the helmsman without a ship to place him in. I would have preferred another raiding pose in the set. 

Lone Star British Naval Infantry - Part IV

Here two of the poses already depicted in the first picture, however this time I found them without any pieces broken off, which is hard given how thin and brittle the rope and flag poles are. Note also that the man on the right is painted in a different color scheme.

Timpo / Lone Star British Naval Infantry - Part 1

These are recast figures of the Lone Star British Naval Infantry. They are pretty much the same poses, except for the fact that they do not have any factory paint on them, and that they are made of a more resilient plastic which does not break. Now that I have found these guys, I will not paint my original/vintage Lone Star figures and paint these newer recasts instead. 

Timpo / Lone Star British Naval Infantry - Part 2

Out of the original nine Lone Star figures Timpo recast 8 of them. The guy who is missing is the helmsman, however I did not really have much use for him as part of a raiding party, so it's not like I will be missing him much.

Then we also have a good number of Commando Figures from several other manufacturers such as Airfix, Matchbox, Atlantic and Crescent. Considering that Commando Brigades contained Royal Marine Battalions, I think we can also count those as potential Royal Marine units. 

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Timpo Swoppets - Toy Soldiers

Timpo was a British firm started in 1938 and in production until 1978. Its name stood for Toy Importers. Their figures were famous for having detachable weapons and parts, aka swoppets. Some were manufactured with similar techniques as the Britians Super Deetail, using plastic of different color on the same figure. Timpo made a wide range of figures but only a small set were focused on WWII. After bankruptcy, its assets were purchased by Toyway.

Timpo Swoppets GIs - Part I

This is a diverse set of GIs. I am not sure how many upper/lower bodies it contained originally, but in this batch I got about 8 upper bodies and 8 lower bodies, with which you could assemble many different poses. Unfortunately all of the helmets were missing.

Timpo Swoppets GIs - Part II

Some more poses. Some already repeat parts used in the previous picture, but some are using new ones. All in all, a decent set as you can assemble quite a few engaging action poses, although not with the same level of realism as what you got with other manufacturers. 

Timpo Swoppets GIs - Part III

Another pose/combination with the series 1 GIs.

Timpo Swoppets GIs - Part IV

This is a nice set from Timpo and in very good condition. The fact that the figures still have their helmets does make a big difference in making them look unmistakably as GIs. I wonder if the man on the back was originally holding a shell or something. He is not holding anything at the moment. Or perhaps his upper body got swapped? That might be because it is also a bit odd that he would be holding a rifle at the same time that he is helping to load the bazooka.

Timpo Swoppets GIs - Part V

Here are the other poses from what I understand were the series 2 GIs. Definitely a good improvement from the earlier ones, both in terms of uniforms, poses, weapons. And I also like that these came with helmets. 

Timpo Swoppets GIs - Part VI

Some of the kneeling poses. As you can see, I have a few more officer upper bodies than I really neeed, but I'll make do with what I got. Just happy I found a set with enough figures and in decent condition.

Timpo Swoppets GIs - Part VII

 This is an interesting combination. The figures are not the original crew. I just grabbed the ones who might fit the best. In fact, the guy who is operating the howitzer, appears to be a driver from some type of vehicle. And the guy in the back looks like a bazooka loader. But since they came with the howitzer I decided to try to make some use of it.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry - Part I

Here is a sample of Timpo Swoppets German Infantry figures. A bit hard to find, particuarly with helmets and weapons. As you can see, some of the poses are better than others. I personally prefer the three guys in the middle over the two on the sides which are leaning in a bit of an unusual way. 

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry - Part II

A couple more guys. The only new thing in this picture is the torso of the man throwing the [missing] grenade. The other torso and the two sets of legs were already depicted in the previous picture, but nonetheless, the nice thing about the swoppet system is that you can recombine them to create new poses as is the case with the man on the right. 

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry - Part III

A more complete grenade thrower and the officer's upper body as a rifleman.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry Mortar

I am quite happy with the state that this set is in. All parts seem to be there, including helmets, and as you can see, it was a fairly decent set. In addition to the actual mortar and its crew, it also comes with a few extra shells and a detachable bush which can be swapped for another plant of your choice :-). A nice addition to the collection.

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry Series 1 - Part I

Initially I thought these guys were German paras due to the shape of the helmet. Later I learned that they were the first attempt from Timpo to make German Swoppets. They are basically the same figures as the GIs, but cast in shades of Grey. There are supposed to be 7 of them, and I can actually count 7 distinct torsos and 7 sets of legs, but I don't know which were originally attached to which.  

Timpo Swoppets German Infantry Series 1 - Part II

As you can see, some of these guys would barely be able to see with those oversized helmets. 

I must admit that I am very happy that they gave it another try at making Germans, as Series 1 was not their best work. And I still think they might be better suited as paras being used as regular infantry.

Timpo Swoppets British Infantry - Part I

Here are a couple of the figures in the regular British infantry set. They seem more dynamic and better posed than their German or US counterparts. I particularly like the man charging with the bayonet. The officer is also nicely done, including his revolver. Hopefully I can get my hands on the rest of the set at some point. 

Timpo Swoppets British Infantry - Part II

Here is another guy from the Timpo swoppet set. The top combines nicely with the legs giving it a very dynamic stance. He is holding a revolver on one hand and a grenade on the other. Note also that the base if a different color than the two in the previous picture.

Timpo Swoppets British Infantry with raft

Here is another nice an interesting set from Timpo. This time it is a set of British Infantry advancing on a raft. Sometimes such rafts feel quite a bit underscale, but in this case, both the figures and the raft are well proportioned. Two of the poses seem to be repeated, and I don't know if that was the case with the original set, but I am still quite happy having found it in this good condition.

Timpo Swoppets Bren Gun Carrier - Part I

Apparently Timpo also produces some vehicles to go with their figures. This is an all plastic model. The scale is adequate, but the level of realism is not quite the same as what you see from other manufacturers, but I suppose that has a lot to do with the plain plastic finish. Perhaps with a bit of paint it would look more real. 

Timpo Swoppets Bren Gun Carrier - Part II

As far as the shape, it looks a bit different than other ones I have seen. This angle provides a better perspective to evaluate it. I am not sure if they just modeled a different variation of a real Bren Gun Carrier or whether they took some liberties in order to simplify the manufacturing process. The two figures that came with are in line with the style and quality of other Timpo Swoppets.

Timpo Swoppets British Commandos

I am a bit confused here. I have seen British Commandos wearing green berets mostly, and very dark ones which could be black occasionally. Troops from armored units, also wore black berets, like the guys on the Bren gun carrier in the previous picture. But I am inclined to think that these figures were meant to represent commandos. In terms of the figures, they are very similar to the Paras described next, with the main difference being the head gear.

Timpo Swoppets British Paratroops
These guys are wearing the distinctive red beret. They come with the typical webbing used by British Army units as well as a backpack. They also have a good range of weapons. I particularly like the Sten gun. The poses as obviously influenced by how you combine the torsos with the legs, but I should say that some of the leg stances are not the best. It also looks like the legs might have come from another set, or they made the Paras in a couple of color schemes. 

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Archer - Toy Soldiers

Archer Plastics was a firm based out of New York which produced figures in the 50s. According to O'Brien's 'Collecting American-Made Toy Soldiers' book, they were better known for their line of spacemen and futuristic vehicles of which they sold millions. Apparently, they also released a few other space-unrelated sets, such as the WWII GIs that I recently ran into. I don't really know what became of the firm. One very interesting fact is that Plasticraft, another firm out of New Jersey which was around from the 50's up to at least the the 70's, also released the same set of GIs. So one possibility is that Archer folded or sold its molds to Plasticraft. Another is that they licensed them, although I suspect the former as more likely since Archer's run in the business appears to have been shorter than Plasticraft's. Today, the spacemen figures and vehicles fetch very handsome prices, with individual figures selling for 20-40 dollars and the vehicles for quite a bit more.

Archer 60 mm US Infantry - Part I

There were 10 poses originally in the set. A marching figure and an officer standing and holding a pistol are missing. Similarly to other figures of the 50's and 60's, they lack a base to stand on, which makes it a bit tricky to balance them. The only figure which was made with a base was the second guy from the left, but unfortunately, it broke off from this figure. I will have to make one for him. The poses and the detail are acceptable for their time, but seem a bit coarse by today's standards.

Archer 60 mm US Infantry - Part II

The poses in this picture are a bit nicer in my opinion. I particularly like the man standing with the bazooka. The man advancing with the sub machine gun is also displaying a nice mix of caution and forward movement. The other two are just standard poses, reasonably well done.

Archer 60 mm US Infantry - Part III

Here is another Archer guy. I got him by chance on a large batch of figures. He seems to be a pretty unique guy in the sense that he is wearing the gas mask. At the same time, that is the thing that I don't quite like about him. But it does make him a good figure to have from the collectible standpoint. 

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Progress - Toy Soldiers

I recently ran into this Soviet set at a Toy Soldier Show. Initially, the manufacturer was a mystery to me. I bought them from the Marx Man and even he did not know who made them. Luckily, one of our readers was able to point out their origin and even a site that still sells them today (check out the comments section). Apparently, these figures were made by a company in Moscow called Progress or 'Прогресс' to be more precise. It seems like they started making them close to 20 years ago. Some of the sets were made with painted faces and boots, and have been released in different types of packaging -boxed or bagged-. The set is called  "The Brest Fortress" or "Soldiers of the Great Patriotic War". In addition to these figures, it looks like Progress also produced set of knights and medieval figures as well as cowboys and indians.

Progress Soviet Infantry - Part I

These figures are closer to 60mm in size. The detail is actually rather shallow, as if they were clones of clones. I don't think that's the case though because the proportions are still fine, which is something that gets lost when figures are cloned as much as it would be required to lose as much detail. So I think they were simply sculpted this way. As far as the rest of the sculpting goes, the figures are well posed and in decent action stances, like the firing guy who is leaning forward as if firing on the move.

Progress Soviet Infantry - Part II

The flag bearer is a rather unique figure. He could be getting ready to climb the Reichstag building in Berlin. We'll just need to add the Soviet scythe and hammer to it. That might be an interesting painting challenge. I am assuming the man on the right is wounded, otherwise his pose would be a bit lame. The other two are average poses.

Progress Soviet Infantry - Part III

This is the last pose in the set. I shot him separately because I wanted to compare him to a guy from this set which I bought a couple of years back without knowing the set that it belonged to. Take a look below.

Progress Soviet Infantry - Part IV

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Ideal - Toy Soldiers

Ideal was an American Toy soldier manufacturer which was in activley in business during the 50s through the 70s. They manufactured figures in the larger scales of 60mm - 70mm and complemented well those produced by other manufacturers such as Marx and TimMee. They produced a nice range of figures, addressing many historic periods, including the US Civil War, knights, US Colonials and British, Alamo,  Pirates, Cowboys and Indians, modern frogmen, navy, firemen, race track figures, and of course, WWII GIs. They also made a a nice range of accessories, including vehicles such as, wagons and stage coaches, farm vehicles, a pirate ship, a PT boat, Tanks, jeeps, trucks, and a very cool modern cargo plane, that fits other vehicles inside. And they also produced a complementary set of 'forts' to place the figures in, like a mdieval castle, the Alamo, Frontier forts, and so on, which made for very attractive and engaging playsets. As you can see below, one peculiar aspect of their figures is that some of their sets were made without bases. I only happen to have the WWII GIs to show in this post, but if you happen to be interested in seeing more of their figures, Toy Soldier HQ does a much better job at showcasing the range that they produced.

Ideal US Infantry - Part I

These guys are actually reissued Ideal figures. The originals are harder to come by and pricier, but for me, these guys are just fine. The sculpting on these figures is quite nice for the time when they were released. As you can tell, some of them are very similar to the TimMee series 1 figures, like the prone guy on the left. I am not sure who inspired who, but I suspect, the Ideal figures came later. One distinct feature of the Ideal men is that they come without a base. They simply balance themselves on their two feet, and they do it surprisingly well.

Ideal US Infantry - Part II

Here again we see a couple of figures very similar to the TimMee guys: the ones on the far right and left. These guys BTW are closer to 60mm than they are to 54mm. In contrast with the TimMee set, they included a few figures with a bit more action and movement in them, as illustrated by the second man from the right. Even the guy with the flamethrower is leaning forward in a good action pose. 

Ideal US Infantry - Part III

Here one can recognize the kneeling rifleman and the bazooka, although the rifleman lost his sniper scope in the Ideal set. One guy who fooled me for a bit is the one sitting with his legs apart. At first glance I thought he was a recast of the Marx figure, but later on a noticed that he does have a few significant differences, one of them being that his shirt is open down to his belly button. A rather unique touch. The man on the left, appears to be manning a machine gun. Unfortunately the set did not include it. Luckily I do have one or two spare ones that I can issue to him from other sets.

Ideal US Infantry - Part IV

This picture shows three more that might have been inspired by the TimMee set. The fourth man, firing from the standing position might have been inspired by the Marx guy. In any case, Ideal set was a nice, well sculpted and detailed set, and with 16 poses, a nice contribution to the hobby. I am glad I was able to finally lay my hands on them.

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part I

I just found this set while looking for some diver figures. It represents a boat carried a manned torpedo and a diving team. It was supposedly manufactured by Ideal, although I have yet to verify the claim. Still it is a nice little set to give the other divers figures in my army a bit of support. In terms of the nationality that is represented, it is not clear to me, although we could probably designate them as Italians as they were the most active in WWII in this type of operations. 

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part II

This is the skipper. Note tha the figures have a hole in the base which allows them to be attached to the boat. This is a nice feature if you actually deploy your boat in real water, which will keep the figures from falling over. 

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part III

One of the divers about to jump in. 

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part IV

The other diver taking in the view.

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part V

This is the only figure which is actually diving. I made him 'hold on' to the side of the boat to get a better angle for the shot. 

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part VI

The manned torpedo deployed in the water, with its diver riding it into action. The lever on the front of the torpedo is actually a crank which turns and twists a rubberband which makes the propeller turn when it is released. Nice mechanism, which again shows that this set was really meant to be deployed in water. 

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part VII

Manned-torpedo rider from the back.

Ideal Manned-Torpedo Launcher with Divers - Part VIII

This shot shows the ramp from which the manned-torpedo can be launched. 

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