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Airfix / Hät Gurkhas

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Webmaster's note ; review first published in June 2000

 

Introduction Since the early 19th Century, Gurkha volunteers serving in the British Army have enjoyed widespread respect as a force of men to be reckoned with. Known for their bravery, loyalty and ferocity in combat, the Gurkhas also carry a distinctive broad bladed sword called a "Kukri" which they use in close combat instead of bayonets. Gurkha brigades in British service have taken part in campaigns all over the world, fighting (and dying) alongside British and Commonwealth troops on practically all fronts. During WWI they fought both in France and in North Africa / Middle East, while in World War II an incredible 112,000 Gurkha troops served in the British forces ! In view of their history, it's only natural that they should be represented in our favourite scale, and the good news is that we were recently treated to a long-awaited re-release by Hät of this ex-Airfix set of WWII figures   The Figures' Origins  - AIRFIX Veterans The were originally produced in the mid seventies when Airfix was at it's most popular and was riding on a wave. They introduced lots of innovative new sets around that time and had an enormous range of polythene figures. As time progressed, unfortunately Airfix's fortunes slowly declined (as did those of many other companies in the UK - but that's another story), and so did the range of figures they produced, until eventually they withdrew a vast number of their sets, Gurkhas included. Maybe for nostalgic reasons I was really pleased when I saw that Hät were going to re-release them, as I remembered having them as a kid. I actually thought the moulds must have been lost or forgotten forever. The figures The set itself is comprised of a total of 48 figures, distributed in 14 poses as shown below.   x 1 Officer with pistol   x 4 Rifleman advancing with kukri drawn. x 4 Firing rifle x 4 Kneeling holding Kukri - no other visible weapon.   As you can see, all the figures are wearing shorts and have their sleeves rolled up, so no cold climates for them. None of the figures are carrying rucksacks, and the most potent weapons they have are Bren guns -  no PIATS, heavy machine guns, nor mortars for these guys.   x 4 Firing rifle, kneeling x 4 Firing Sten SMG x 4 Running with rifle and fixed bayonet  x 4 Kukri in right hand, no other weapon visible.  "Come to daddy" pose Quality Very good clear crisp casting. The flash is minimal and all the figures in these photos are straight from the box. The plastic is good quality olive green tinted polythene, soft enough to allow any flash to be easily removed with a surgeon's scalpel.   x 4 Bren gunner firing  x 4 Rifleman running With the excepcion of the kukri knife, all the figures have standard British webbing and arms and at a pinch could quite easily be used in WWII British / Commonwealth troop conversion jobs - though the only problem is that they stand at least a head shorter than regular figures, but we'll come to that shortly.     x 3 Rifleman at ease   x 3 Rifleman, prone firing       x 3 Rifleman crawling with kukri drawn   x 2 Hmmmm.... Not too sure about this last one - To me he looks like he's asleep or resting but "kukri" at the ready in case of ambush ...... but maybe he could be dead or wounded - depends on you. The pose could be used for conversion work or dioramas, though not really for wargaming. Scale   These figures stand a full head shorter than other figures of similar scale (figure next to Esci British 8th Army figure)  which could lead you to believe that they too small and are out of scale. However the Gurkhas really are generally short stocky men, so compared against other figures representing Europeans / North Americans of the same scale then their height is actually correct. Besides, I'm glad because they are ideal for carrying out simple conversions to make British / Commonwealth troops of shorter stature , because as you'll agree, not everybody stands a towering 6 feet tall ! The Hät box says they are 1/72 scale but mistakenly so I believe, because they scale out at 1/76. In any case, the difference is negligible and I'm no a purist either, so right or wrong I won't lose any sleep over it ;-). I like practically all the poses and they can be used in lots of diorama and wargame scenarios, though  I find the use of prone figures limited and would have preferred none at all. The "come to daddy" figure even has some saving graces, as with the removal of the kukri he could be modified to be carrying a box, pushing an oil drum, leaning on table looking at a map (I'm sure you can find lots of other uses too.....)  It would also be interesting to give some of the figures some British pattern "tin hat" helmets via some simple conversions. On the downside The only thing I'm not really keen on is the box artwork as the use of the "cartoon-like" characters isn't my cup of tea, though probably I'm being too pedantic because it's what's inside the box that is the most important. In any case, I'm sure Hät must have done some kind of market survey previous to release and maybe their results came up with this box being the most attractive for their targeted consumers. One thing did strike me though, have you ever heard of or seen a range of comics for adults from the UK called "Viz" ? - Well, whatever the case you'll probably have something similar in your country. The strange thing is that the box art reminds me of the same cartoon style used in the Viz comics ! Manufacturer, price, and availability The box states that the figures are made in France, and Hät have reproduced this set from the Airfix moulds religiously, so much so in fact that they have even left the 1975 Airfix Copyright text on the sprue. Now who else makes crisply moulded, good quality figures in France ? Heller of course (they produce the Airfix sets there). So, I'm led to suspect that they may be produced in Heller's factory for Hät under licence. This set was not available where I live and I was lucky because these figures here were actually sent to me as a kind of birthday gift by a good friend who lives in Barcelona in Spain. As far as the price paid for these figures is concerned, I can't really comment, because, ..... well....., you just don't ask the price of of gifts, do you ?  I suspect that the price however will be the same as those of Hät's other Airfix re-releases (expensive !) For example, I have seen Hät's re-released ex-Airfix WWI figures here being sold here at 1,100 Pesetas per set (~  6.60 Euro / Dollars), twice the price of Airfix figures made by Heller which retail here at 495 Pts (3.00 Euro / Dollars). Maybe it's worth also mentioning another reference point towards price - Heller market Airfix figures under their own Heller brand name and sell them in special bubble packs in places like Toys-r-Us for approximately 800 Pts ( ~ $4.80). So, you be the judge, when you see them in the shops compare the price with other brands and decide for yourself if it's worth paying the difference or not. Conclusions A good set overall that will be greatly welcomed by all miniatures enthusiasts, both by those new to the hobby and the old hands too. Hät does seem to be at the forefront of the resurgence in interest in smallscale plastic figures and hopefully we'll see more re-releases of other sets that were dropped in the past and are due for a new lease of life. A small selection of painted Gurkhas serving in North Africa. Sten guns are not entirely correct of course for that time. I've mixed them with a scattering of Airfix and Esci 8th Army figures and they blend in quite well together.

© John-Michael Murray