01 September 2020

Airfix US Paratroops - Some Conversions

When these figures first came out in the mid-seventies I was very disappointed when I eagerly opened the box, only to discover that they were moulded in grey plastic !!  In my mind, they should have been made in the usual Airfix olive green plastic that all my other allied figures came in, I mean grey plastic was reserved for the Germans ....

(one of those original mid 1970s grey impostors in the foreground, and a more recent olive green offering from Heller)

Anyway, my childhood traumas aside, the set really does have some very well sculpted figures, albeit a little on the small side.

I had some pictures of these Airfix figures on the old and now defunct MiniatureZone website but until now I hadn't remembered to upload them here.

So here they are - these figures as you can see were moulded in good old olive green from a more recent offering by Heller - when I say recent, it's relative...... these were probably made about 10 - 12 years ago

The Airfix US paras lack a bit of heavier firepower so these little fellas got a few support weapons added.

Below, the standing figure on the left has had his Thompson replaced with a Bar taken from an old Esci US Para figure, while the MG team has been given a 0.30 cal Browning taken from the Revell US Paras set.



The mortar is from the Pegasus German set


Finally this one below was a complete bodge, it's supposed to be a hand-cart. Not very convincing, but I gave it a try at least.


And the figures once painted.




There are no parachutes in the Airfix set so we got a parachute taken from the Revell German Fallschirmjäger set, and the dropbag came from the Revell US Paras.


No bazookas for the Airfix guys either, the figure on the right had his carbine replaced with something a little more substantial.



And the rest of the gang, just vanilla Airfix US Paras


The figures are a joy to paint and they're well detailed and have stood the test of time, they still look good compared with more modern figures.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and feel free to comment. Will try to get another update soon, so keep safe and check back in a little while.

20 comments:

  1. Excellent work there John. Miss your old site and AAR.

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    1. Thanks a lot Greg and for popping by. Just updated the links section section with your blog.

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  2. I'm starting today my 101 airborne and these are a great inspiration.

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    1. Thanks João - I'm very much looking forward to seeing those !!

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  3. You always do an amazing job.
    Long time devoted airfix fan.

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    1. Many thanks "unknown" (whoever you are) for the kind comments

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  4. Hello again John¡
    They look fantastic; I think that airfix figures, or other similar (I´m thinking perhaps of Orion figures…) in the small size in the 1/72 scale, and with no “an excess” of detailing are more appropriate for wargaming, and even more realistic, than the bigger and more detailed figures (Zvevda, some of the Italeri range...).
    And please; Did you use your Drybrush and wash Technique in these figures? In this technique do you use the blacklining in the first step?
    Thank you in advance¡
    Antonio.

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    1. Hi Antonio, thanks very much for the comments. It's true, the Airfix figures hold up well against the newer figures. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that these were sculpted by hand, by a person, no CAD / 3D computer designs.

      Yes, I used drybrushing and washes on these, with a black undercoat. Cheers, John

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  5. Nice, a lot of ideas for me to lift there. Excellent job, well done.

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    1. Thanks very much ! Glad you liked the ideas, hope to see some pictures on your blog in the future. Cheers.

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  6. Congratulations once more. A small remark: The 30 cal. of the US airborne were bipods and not tripod mounted. Brands jut prefer the tripod but they are wrong.

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    1. João ! I just found this comment had been held in the spam que since october. Google must have thought I'd be upset about being told about the tripod mistake... lol :-) Take care.

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  7. Absolute joy of painting and figure conversions
    You are a true master

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    1. Hey, thanks with the complements Geordie, cheers mate.

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  8. I made a lot of conversions for the Airfix paras. For the bazookas, I simply took the torso of a 1st series Airfix British Commando with the bazooka and put it on a US para leg, and gave him a suitable head :)

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    1. Nice idea, do you have some pictures, always love to see other people's work. Cheers, John.

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  9. Hi,
    Can I ask what glue did you use to stick them together with?
    They look fantastic.
    Cheers
    Paul

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    1. Thanks Paul, I use white-glue or mod podge with superglue: If I add heads or arms, then pins to strengthen

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  10. This is a lot of fun, so much easier to mod that metals. Have you got the ESCI US Airborne guys? They are the finest plastic set available for this topic imo.

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    1. Thanks Sam. Yes, plastic is, at least for me, much easier to work with. I like the Esci US paras too.

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