Plastic Soldier Review - Airfix Infantry Combat Group

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Airfix

Set 1703

Infantry Combat Group

All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)

Stats

Date Released	Unknown
Contents	48 figures
Poses	11 poses
Material	Plastic (Medium Consistency)
Colours	Green

Average Height

21 mm (= 1.51 m)

Review

This set has the distinction of being one of the very earliest plastic sets in this scale, having been produced back in the early 1960s. Though not labelled as belonging to any one nation, some aspects of the design suggest it was the British infantry that was being represented. Later packaging illustrations confirm this, and ultimately the set was retooled and relabelled as British Infantry.

The figures are clearly closely based on the older Britains 'Lilliput' set of infantry, with most of those poses being repeated here. A number of new poses have also been included such as the stretcher party.

No great effort seems to have been made in terms of accuracy for these figures. As a child's toy it was probably not seen as relevant, so it is perhaps harsh to judge them by today's standards. The figures wear standard British battledress which is lacking any clear detail, and a generic helmet that seems to be midway between the British and American helmet of the time. The officer wears a peaked cap that is a design all of its own. Webbing is greatly simplified and pretty inaccurate, and the weapons are crude strips of plastic with little or no detail.

By today's high standards these are crude figures. Detail is very poor or missing entirely, with hands that are just blobs. There is a good deal of flash, and most of the figures have large mould marks that further spoil the overall appearance. They are quite rare these days, but do not command a high price. An interesting slice of plastic soldier history, but the hobby that these figures helped to create has moved on a tremendous amount since.

Ratings

Historical Accuracy	2
Pose Quality	5
Pose Number	7
Sculpting	2
Mould	5