Yes, we're still going through the box of toy soldiers I got in the mail.
It was a big box.
If I was smarter, I could probably make clever allusions to how ASSORTED and UNSORTED the consignment was. Never mind. Let's get on.
24. Warriors Of The Rising Sun.
Some...um...assorted thoughts on this unit.
One of the few units that didn't really need a flag as they are recogniseable as belonging
to a specific army -or a specific army that isn't American, I should say.
The officers with swords are a bit of a giveaway.
This set may also be where that tiny, one-man mortar pose we keep seeing originally came from.
As far as I know the Japanese were the only combatants to use something like this.
Picture sourced from here: https://balagan.info/musing-on-japanese-knee-mortars-in-crossfire
Please follow the link to know more about this odd little weapon.
25. More generic Green Americans.
I can't help noticing that a lot of these pseudo-American sets are equipped with Vietnam era weapons while everybody else is firmly WW2. Maybe that's because when toymakers want to make Army men" they default to Americans. Even if the original mould was WW2 British, they get the edges filed off and rebranded as something that American kids would recognise.
Thinking about it, do German soldiers ever come in green? All the ones I've seen so far seem to be blue or grey.
Is green reserved for the Good guys?
Note that the flag is not period accurate but I'm OK with this. It would be an awkward conversation to have with a child, after all.
And this unit is definitely Scots because along with some pugnacious Bren-gunners in
unmistakeably Scottish headwear, they are the only group that brings along musicians.
The most warlike of all instruments. Also the most tear-jerking when played in mourning.
For some reason the Scots are also the only contingent who have guys getting shot.
Personally I like to think they're singing along to the pipes.
Finally we come to the two largest contingents that marched in.
28. Tan
Note the Vietnam era equipment.
Also note that this unit has a LOT of those mine-detector guys.
It's a bit hard to see how your average ten-year old would use them in a game.
29. Dark Greens
LITERALLY the exact same troops in the same poses as the tans but in a different colour.
I also find it interesting how almost have the unit strength is made up of some sort of specialist:
minesweeper guys, flamethrowers, machine-gunners, knee-mortars and officers.
Anyway, I'm almost finished with this assortment of fierce fighting men.
I have one more bagful to snap & post then at some point I need to get all these on my kitchen floor.
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