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.
|