"You want the Old Skool!"

[Harry Faversham]

“You can’t handle the Old Skool!”

Airfix Warriors from the dawn of time have at it…

“You want black and white?”

“You can’t handle black and white!”

1973-ish!!!

Same little chaps, 1982-ish…

 

[vodkafan]

They had a lovely makeover and rebase I see. Notice that apart from the odd plastic tree, you stayed with the lichen though 

[ragbones]

I love Old School.  It’s the one I attended.   

[Scrubber]

Happy memories of Airfix. The paint never stayed on my figures and riders never stayed glued to horses.

[FierceKitty]

I've spent decades trying to forget that feature (and the regiments with twelve different poses, and the ridiculous inaccuracies...oh, I love the modern age of wargaming, where my armies look like something!)

You're welcome to nostalgia trips.

[Harry Faversham]

You're welcome to nostalgia trips.

Listen to old misery guts... 

Who can forget the halcyon days of Highlanders winkling out truffles at bayonet point, minuscule Curryasars being chased about, by 'Land of the Giants' British Hussars. To be fair I have caved in over the ridiculous cannon in the Airfix French Artillery set, these have been replaced by proper ones from Newline Design..
and better for it, looks the extremely rare and hard to find, Airfix Old Guard Foot Artillery set.

[DintheDin]

Airfix Old Guard Foot Artillery set 
It is the only one I never found to buy and paint!

[Harry Faversham]

Meanwhile back at the Napoleonic Wars. Ten minutes ago in The New Emporium by the Seaside…

 

[Harry Faversham]

No CGI has been used in this production...

 

[Scrubber]

Hay, don’t nock the figures. Back in late 60’s early 70’s when you got a tanner pocket money, it’s all we could afford. With occasional mini figs or hinchcliffe bought as presents.

[DintheDin]

When I was 14, I was paying a visit once per month to my godfathers.
Beyond the wish to see them, there was an utilitarian aspect 
My godmother was giving me 20 drachmas.
With 10 more I was sparing from the bus tickets, returning for one week home on foot, I could buy one more Airfix soldiers box!
Oh, sweet memories...   

[Cat]

Wow, the paint stayed on and the figures attached to everything!
 
Never could get that to work.
 
I did eventually have a bunch of [unpainted] Romans and Britons held on to bases with a mechanical bond of glue all over the base and the Romans' shields melted on with a hot pin.  But they turned out to be from a vintage of really crappy plastic recipe, and eventually the ankles all crumpled to dust like Christopher Lee in a sun beam.

[has.been]

The good old days, when if you couldn't convert it from the AirFix Robin Hood set
(with the help of Bob O'Brien's 'Romans, friends & foes' series in AirFix magazine)
you just didn't have an army for your WRG ancients game.

I do remember making a Macedonian pike phalanx out of the French Cuirassiers
(top half) & British highlanders (bottom half), piano-wire pikes & drawing pin
shields. All on two bob a week pocket money.

Eh! Nostalgia, it ain't what it used to be.

[vtsaogames]

Many years later, when using Zvezda and Hat figures, found one way to keep the paint on: Miracle Dip AKA Minwax wood floor stain and finish. My Teutonic Knights have had a horse's tail snap off in combat but all the paint is still on. There's another way with some kind of primer I hear, but back in the day my Airfix dragoons peeled when you looked at them. And the horse came out of their bases. I had some Airfix infantry figures painted as Bavarians, I think. With their peeling paint they passed every morale test and always formed square, even though they were bog-standard troops. There were various strange non-game related stuff that I put up with too: the strange ways of youth.

[Cubs]

What a treat for the eyes and the heart!

Nice to see I wasn't the first to think of replacing Hussar heads with French infantry heads to make Light Dragoons. These days the acrylic paint is more forgiving than the old enamels and a quick coat of diluted PVA after painting but before varnishing will keep the paint on. No guarantees on those poor Hussar horses' ankles though - not easy staying upright when you've got ballerina legs and a 25 stone rider!