The Recovery Set was less popular than the emergency and refuelling sets, and tended to disappear from the range in lean years. To go with the crane and tractor/trailer, Airfix provided the two vehicle drivers (far right) and the seated crane operator. They also included three outriders, two of whom are sitting on their bikes whilst the third directs operations. The outriders are short on detail, but assuming they are the same as the standing man they all wear breeches, boots and short jackets as well as crash helmets, while the others wear ordinary War Service Dress and berets, which only started appearing in the RAF in 1943, so they must be pretty late in the war or after its end. The outrider figure on the bike also appears in the
Forward Command Post set.
The figures are quite nicely done, although the standing man is quite tall at 25mm, especially when compared to the diminutive vehicle drivers. The motorbikes and their riders are done as a single piece, and the bikes stand upright on their own despite both the men’s feet resting on the pedals thanks to an extra bit of plastic underneath. On our pictured fairly modern version of this kit the men suffer from some flash and there are some sink holes too, but earlier versions might be better done, and with a bit of careful preparation this kit could yield some quite unusual figures that could have uses elsewhere.
Below are examples of how the completed kit was illustrated in Airfix catalogues. The second picture appeared in the fourteenth edition of the catalogue, and shows three motorcycles. The same picture was used in later years, but with the erroneous third motorbike airbrushed out.
