Toy Soldiers 3: WWII Gurkhas and Brit Aircrew

The WWII Gurkhas were British allied troops from Nepal.  They’re well-known for their ferocity.  That’s about all I know about them.  These guys were also one of my favorite armies to play with.  They’re well-detailed, though not terribly imaginative their poses.  They are of the slightly larger scale. 

Don’t they look fierce?  Who wouldn’t want these guys on their side?  They were always on my preferred side in toy solider battle, though the outcome was never predetermined.  Their machine gunner was holding the largest weapon of any of my armies.  Speaking of details, these dudes all carry the Gurkhas’ signature weapon, kukri, the big angled knife (except for their commander).    

 

And we go from the warriors to the mechanics.  (There was no good way of breaking up these armies for posts.)  The WWII British Aircrew was the largest army set I had.  I traded for them from a “friend” up the street from where I lived.  I don’t remember what I traded.  I also don’t remember why on earth I got these.  They’re great if you have an airfield with some H/O scaled Spitfires.  They’re not so great for pitched toy soldier battles. 

 

What’s truly puzzling is that this was the second time I’d gotten an aircrew set.  Before this, I’d bought a WWII German Luftwaffe Crew.  I don’t know why.  We all make questionable decisions at times.  After I had traded my “friend” for the Brits, I noticed later my Luftwaffe guys had suddenly disappeared.  I did not lose troops.  No man left behind; I counted my troops after every battle.  I can’t officially blame this person for what might have been a coincidence, but it was real suspicious.  (I was also missing a couple of my favorite Afrika Korps troops, as well.  I’m suddenly getting angry again.)      

All I had left of the Luftwaffe was the box and a couple of figures.  Those are the blue figures in the picture.  Quality-wise, the RAF figures are generally very imaginative and dynamic.  Technically, they’re messy, not to mention they’re kind of weak in places and easily broken.  The Luftwaffe guys were mostly better quality from what I remember.     

 

Thankfully, the bicyclists have stayed together.  There’s a porter with a cart, which is kind of cool.  The red thing in the bomb cart, I think, is a Lite Brite piece.  I don’t remember how I got that, since I didn’t have a Lite Brite set.     

Here’s a view of the pilots, a nurse, a security guard, a bicyclist, and a guy checking a camera.  If you’ve got an airfield, it would be well populated with all of these aircrew figures.  I seem to recall that the guy I got these from was using his with a train set.  And that’s the reason I still have these.  I’ve just about given up on my long-standing desire to have a train set (because I don’t have a house), but I’m keeping them just in case.      

 

The guy did sort of teach me how to play D&D.  If he did steal my figures, I can maybe spot him them for services rendered in giving me a new hobby.  I guess it was worth it.