Airfix Ancient Britons

[SteveBurt]

The Airfix Napoleonic French artillery has wheels the right size for the chariots

[Harry Faversham]

I think I've got some of those kicking about I'd be more than willing to donate.

[Cubs]

I think I've got some of those kicking about I'd be more than willing to donate.

You magnificent beast, you.

[Emir of Askaristan]

Do fix the wheels....they deserve better!

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

[gostgost]

Nice to see,the return of some old favourites !

[WuZhuiQiu]

IIRC, one of the old Airfix catalogues included a quarter-page article on improving the Ancient British chariot...

[Helen]

Lovely brushwork on these miniatures. Does bring back memories.

[has.been]

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.

[armchairgeneral]

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.

[carlos marighela]

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.

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.

[levied troop]

Well there’s a memory from half a Century ago
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 

[Silent Invader]

Lovely painting 

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

[2010sunburst]

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!

[steders]

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!

[jambo1]

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!!