*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 09:04:35 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1686579
  • Total Topics: 118108
  • Online Today: 857
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: Airfix Ancient Britons  (Read 7947 times)

Offline SteveBurt

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1283
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #15 on: November 08, 2021, 09:36:38 AM »
The Airfix Napoleonic French artillery has wheels the right size for the chariots

Offline Harry Faversham

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3988
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #16 on: November 08, 2021, 10:33:32 AM »
I think I've got some of those kicking about I'd be more than willing to donate.
:)
"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

Offline Cubs

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4914
  • "I simply cannot survive without beauty ..."
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #17 on: November 08, 2021, 11:12:15 AM »
I think I've got some of those kicking about I'd be more than willing to donate.
:)

You magnificent beast, you.
'Sir John ejaculated explosively, sitting up in his chair.' ... 'The Black Gang'.

Paul Cubbin Miniature Painter

Offline Emir of Askaristan

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1790
    • My Blog
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #18 on: November 08, 2021, 12:30:39 PM »
Do fix the wheels....they deserve better!

Lovely to see these old figs given a life and paint job they deserve!

Offline gostgost

  • Librarian
  • Posts: 116
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #19 on: November 08, 2021, 04:47:40 PM »
Nice to see,the return of some old favourites !

Offline WuZhuiQiu

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1198
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #20 on: November 08, 2021, 07:48:48 PM »
IIRC, one of the old Airfix catalogues included a quarter-page article on improving the Ancient British chariot...

Offline Helen

  • The Grey Heron
  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Galactic Brain
  • *
  • Posts: 5806
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #21 on: November 08, 2021, 08:44:53 PM »
Lovely brushwork on these miniatures. Does bring back memories.
Best wishes,
Helen
Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well (V van Gogh)

Offline has.been

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8235
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #22 on: November 08, 2021, 09:56:37 PM »
Quote
The weird, wonderful and changeable colours of Airfix polythene figures of yore is probably the subject of somebody’s doctoral thesis somewhere  ;)

Brown = Ancient Britons, ACW Artillery, Wagon Train
Green (Lincoln ?) = Robin Hood
Grey = Sheriff of Nottingham, Romans
White = Zoo animals (sets 1 & 2), Tarzan, Napoleonics

The above provided troops for most of my early wargaming.
As to the Chariot wheels, Bob O'Brien (in his series 'Romans,
friends & Foes) recommended taking the wheels off the ACW
Artillery. On school-boy pocket money of a Florin (two shillings,
or now-a-days 10p) I couldn't afford to do that, so followed a
suggestion of my Mother.  Paint the top half of a button the
same colour as the Chariot side, & the bottom half black. Then
paint on the spokes & glue it to the chariot. Worked for me, but
then I was only eleven. lol

Offline armchairgeneral

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Mastermind
  • *
  • Posts: 1731
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #23 on: November 08, 2021, 10:36:08 PM »

Grey plastic? Wow. Mine were in a kind of orangey-brown plastic (as was the Wagon Train). I wonder when / why they switched colours.
The weird, wonderful and changeable colours of Airfix polythene figures of yore is probably the subject of somebody’s doctoral thesis somewhere  ;)

Wondering if Mr Jambo1 got them confused with the Romans set which you had to get to fight the Ancient Britons?

As to chariot wheels Front Rank (when GB have them up and running again) do a set of 4 small spoked wheels.

Offline carlos marighela

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 10759
  • Flamenguista até morrer.
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #24 on: November 09, 2021, 02:08:17 AM »
Brown = Ancient Britons, ACW Artillery, Wagon Train
Green (Lincoln ?) = Robin Hood
Grey = Sheriff of Nottingham, Romans
White = Zoo animals (sets 1 & 2), Tarzan, Napoleonics

The above provided troops for most of my early wargaming.
As to the Chariot wheels, Bob O'Brien (in his series 'Romans,
friends & Foes) recommended taking the wheels off the ACW
Artillery. On school-boy pocket money of a Florin (two shillings,
or now-a-days 10p) I couldn't afford to do that, so followed a
suggestion of my Mother.  Paint the top half of a button the
same colour as the Chariot side, & the bottom half black. Then
paint on the spokes & glue it to the chariot. Worked for me, but
then I was only eleven. lol

Hmm. Pretty sure that the Napoleonic British and French infantry were a yellowy beige, as were the Cuirassiers, artillery and the Highlanders IIRC. The Old Guard were definitely grey and a whole different class in terms of sculpting. Cannot recall what the British Hussars were.  AWI British were the same yellowy khaki as the Napolonics. The WW2 stuff, was as I recall, a spectrum of khaki, grey and green. Never had the Robin Hood range so dunno.

Of course this is the better part of 50 years ago so I may be wrong. La Haye Sainte play set was definitely the best Christmas gift ever.
Em dezembro de '81
Botou os ingleses na roda
3 a 0 no Liverpool
Ficou marcado na história
E no Rio não tem outro igual
Só o Flamengo é campeão mundial
E agora seu povo
Pede o mundo de novo

Offline levied troop

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1451
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #25 on: November 09, 2021, 07:34:18 AM »
Well there’s a memory from half a Century ago lol
My first ever Wargames army, all individually based and fell over with every slight nudge of the table.
I never realised they could be painted so brilliantly  :o
The League of Gentlemen Anti Alchemists
(We Turn Gold into Lead)

Offline Silent Invader

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 9636
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #26 on: November 09, 2021, 08:01:22 AM »
Lovely painting  8)


Grey plastic? Wow. Mine were in a kind of orangey-brown plastic (as was the Wagon Train). I wonder when / why they switched colours.
The weird, wonderful and changeable colours of Airfix polythene figures of yore is probably the subject of somebody’s doctoral thesis somewhere  ;)

This review shows them in orange-brown. Mine were that colour too.

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=39
« Last Edit: November 09, 2021, 08:22:43 AM by Silent Invader »
My LAF Gallery is HERE
Minis (foot & mounted) finished in 2024 = 0
(2023 = 151; 2022 = 204; 2021 = 123; 2020 = ???)

Online 2010sunburst

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 421
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #27 on: November 09, 2021, 08:06:56 AM »
To add to the colour spectrum……and give me many pleasurable memories…..
Robin hoods were sherwood green (natch), sherriffs men grey, hussars were cream, astronauts were white, foreign legion were dark blue, Arabs were cream, guards colour party and band were red.  Tarzans, all the animal sets and zoo sets  were cream.  Cowboys were cream, high chaparral and wagon train were brown, Indians brown, and seventh cavalry were blue.  ACW were blue and grey, but the artillery was brown.  The WW1 sets were coloured like the WW2 sets, except the horse artillery were brown, and all the later sets, like aircraft ground crew, came out in cream….
Thanks for the memory jogger.  Love it!

Offline steders

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 657
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #28 on: November 09, 2021, 08:31:17 AM »
They look fantastic Cubs. I have a box in the garage with all my airfix romans and Ancient Britons in it. I actually rebased them for gaming back in the mid 90s.
I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them when I had a big clear out, they'll still be there.

I say use the original wheels that came with the set!

Offline jambo1

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2137
Re: Airfix Ancient Britons
« Reply #29 on: November 09, 2021, 08:40:45 AM »
Going back to the colour of them, sorry to hijack your great thread, I had the Romans, fiddly shields and all, in grey and was sure the Ancient Britons were grey as well but it is over 50 years ago so could well have a memory lapse!! lol

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
7 Replies
3641 Views
Last post June 06, 2007, 12:02:24 PM
by Fortescue-Smythe
8 Replies
4145 Views
Last post November 21, 2010, 09:47:09 PM
by Sterling Moose
1 Replies
1791 Views
Last post December 19, 2012, 09:10:39 PM
by Hobbit
16 Replies
6382 Views
Last post July 31, 2014, 05:39:44 PM
by archiduque
13 Replies
5569 Views
Last post August 18, 2017, 10:00:56 AM
by JohnDSD2