Following your recent visit to Oakwell Hall, and your mention of English Civil War souvenirs, I thought a quick look at the Airfix ECW figure kits might be of interest.
The English Civil War has not been a very popular subject with kit makers, although Airfix have made a total of five figure kits in two different scales. In the early 1960s they produced large, 1/12th scale figure kits of both King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.
In the late 1970s they followed these up with 54mm kits of ordinary foot and mounted soldiers from the period. These could be painted as either Royalist or Parliamentarian troops.
These three kits were the last models to be issued in the 54mm Collectors Series. In the world of model soldiers, 54mm is another way of saying 1/32nd scale.
The models were first shown in the Airfix 14th Edition Catalogue, printed in January 1977. All three kits appeared in the 14th, 15th, and 16th Editions, but only the cavalryman appeared in the 17th Edition, printed in December 1979. The English Civil War Collection was only listed in the 2006 and 2007 Airfix Catalogues.
All three kits have a copyright date of 1976 on the original packaging, but the only release date I have been able to pin down is the English Musketeer, which came out in mid-1978, according to an announcement in Airfix Magazine. This seems to have been the second model released.
The book Airfix - Celebrating 50 Years of the Greatest Plastic Kits in the World, says 1976 for the Pikeman, and 1977 for the others. Sixty Years of Airfix Models says 1977 for all three kits. Scalemates says 1976 for the Musketeer and Cavalier/Roundhead, with 1977 for the Pikeman. The Vintage Airfix site gives 1976 for the Musketeer, and 1977 for the others. None of that matches the only date I can confirm.
The two foot figures only seem to have come in the plastic blister packs used in the 1970s. These had a clear plastic bubble glued to a backing card. This gave far more protection to the kits than the old plastic bags, but still enabled the kits to be seen.
The top of the card was folded over, and provided a full-colour painting guide. The assembly instructions were printed on the back.
The mounted figure came in a cardboard box, with a lift-off lid. The painting guide was printed on a separate sheet of paper, which was standard for the Collectors Series kits.
English Pikeman 1642 - Kit number 01559-0, copyright date 1976
There are 23 parts moulded in white plastic, plus a sheet of thin (5 thou, five one-thousandths of an inch, or 1/8th of a millimetre) white plastic card, from which six straps and belts have to be cut. A template is provided in the instructions.
There are two sets of arms, so the figure can be posed holding the pike vertically in front of him with both hands; or holding the pike in one hand and resting the other on his sword. The parts count includes a small, square base.
Scalemates have the instruction sheet for this kit, which can be down-loaded.
English Musketeer 1642 - Kit number 01560-0, copyright date 1976. Shown in the News From Airfix section of Airfix Magazine June 1978.
There are 36 parts in white plastic, plus a sheet of 5 thou card for the four straps. Again there are optional arms, so the Musketeer can be posed loading or firing. Small square base.
Cavalier/Roundhead 1642 - Kit number 02558-0, copyright date 1976
This was a mounted cavalryman, who could be finished as either a Royalist Cavalier, or a Parliamentarian Roundhead. Optional multi-piece heads were included, and there were optional right arms so the figure could be shown carrying either a sword, or a pistol. A two-piece sash was also included for the Royalist figure.
There were 34 parts in white plastic, and the usual sheet of 5 thou card - this time there were 12 straps and reins to be cut out. The model included a much larger, oblong base, to accommodate the standing horse.
English Civil War Collection - Kit number 06501
This was a boxed set, containing 1 Pikeman, 1 Musketeer, and 2 cavalrymen. The figures were now all moulded in the standard Airfix light grey plastic. Only the sheets of 5 thou card were still white.
The box top shows the artwork from the original kits, with the addition of a Roundhead cavalryman. Look carefully, this is identical to the artwork for Cavalier, except for the rider who is taken from the painting guide, and the sky around him.
All the original kits are marked Made in England, but this set has Made in France on the box. This was one of the few times any of the Collectors Series kits were re-issued after the early 1980s.
In the 1970s Airfix released a series of 28 small, hardback books, on various modelling related subjects. They were A5 size, and contained 64 pages, black and white only. Airfix Magazine Guide 28, the last in the series, covered The English Civil War. Written by George Gush and Martin Windrow, and published by Patrick Stephens Ltd., in 1978.
There are chapters on the history and course of the war, weapons and equipment, wargaming, and one on figure modelling using the new Airfix kits.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Great article Paul and an unusual subject for plastic. Then again model soldiers are probably bigger business than any other kits I guess except for aircraft and cars. I always think of Cromwell's title once he had power, The Lord Protector. Sounds like Darth Vader!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It is so much fun digging in to the history of the more obscure kits. I only had four of the Airfix Collector Series kits, and they were all foot figures. None were ECW. I think the five ECW kits by Airfix were the only ECW plastic kits to be made by any of the British kit companies.
ReplyDelete