The "Less Than High Speed" 1/6th Military Product Archive

[MeatHookGekko]

I thought it would be cool to start a thread about the 1/6th military stuff out there that is less common and not typically as interesting for high end collectors. It might bring back some good memories and occasionally there are cool accessories in some sets that are pretty useful. Maybe not always for military application, but still useful.

I'll start with the Wild Geese Soldier Accessory set

Contents include

- Knockoff Ultimate Soldier VN era M60

- Knockoff GI Joe Hall of Fame rifle with Elcan scope

- Knockoff GI Joe Hall of Fame submachine gun, the back end looks like a H&K 53, but forward of the magazine looks like a H&K MP5SD

- Grenades look like Hasbro Hall of Fame. The rest looks like knockoff Ultimate Soldier VN era stuff, except for the knife ( can't ID) and the bipod, which is not the one used in the TUS 1st run M60.

The "bayonet lug" under the HOF rifles was meant for a missile firing launcher that slid right on during the HOF days. This was the early to mid 90s.

I'll upload more product photos as time goes on.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

The old Soldiers of the World sets used to be at Toys R Us and some KayBee toy stores.

They were 9.99 MSRP, somewhere back circa 2004 ish.

I know it's older stuff, but back then it wasn't so easy to find a Colt single action and a Sharps rifle. Also that type of era figure was just really uncommon then.

And, for fun, a snowboarder figure. That guy and his kit looks pretty good.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

The World Peacekeepers figure has a suitcase/computer case that can be customized and reused. The gold plated revolver is a reuse of a Dragon Models one that came with one of their modern pilot figures. It's actually a extremely well made pistol, well the DML one. MP5K looks like a reuse from DML SDU Michael Chan G4.

KAD Hobby had a lineup with like 5-6 guys with different bdus but had the same weapons. That Glock was the 1st gen Hot Toys SDU glock. The gloves like like ACE remolds. Kabar knife is SOTW remold. That armor on him looks like a remod of some old SDU armor.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Blue Box Toys, back when Toys R Us stores were still common, released a budget line for brick and mortar stores to complete with 1/6th GI Joe and what was left of Ultimate Soldier on the shelves. The gear was built with kids in mind ( i.e. less detail, more robust plastic used, etc, etc) The telltale simple long strip of velcro instead of buttons/snaps were present in just about all budget figures.

 

[ArtDamage]

Real blast from the past. I loved the ultimate soldier offerings, but man SOTW came out of absolutely nowhere at the end there with some truly cool sets at great prices. In a time where ultimate soldier carded stuff was $15-$20. Your average SOTW carded set was about $10 and had all kinds of gem accessories and weapons.

Ww2 stuff, Operation enduring freedom special forces etc.

Some amazing Nam stuff.

 

[Mr.E]

I have fond memories of seeing (and owning) those Soldiers of the World at KMart. They were my only source for Germans for my Kenner Indiana Jones to do battle with. Good times. Great idea for a thread!

 

[FlyAndFight]

I also had a number of these sets, way back when. Great updating parts.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Real blast from the past. I loved the ultimate soldier offerings, but man SOTW came out of absolutely nowhere at the end there with some truly cool sets at great prices. In a time where ultimate soldier carded stuff was $15-$20. Your average SOTW carded set was about $10 and had all kinds of gem accessories and weapons.

Ww2 stuff, Operation enduring freedom special forces etc.

Some amazing Nam stuff.

The later releases, the VN set with the Winchester Model 70 rifle was incredible. The bolt actually moved back and forth and functioned. Because SOTW didn't do much detail, it was actually a great rifle to use for civilian type figures, and for that era in our hobby, weapons for civilians were pretty rare.

Thanks for sharing those pictures, much appreciated.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

One of my favorite carded sets ever was the GI Joe Battle Gear Bomb Disposal set.

It had a molded German Shepard, and back then, dogs were super hard to find in 1/6th scale. In retail, close to impossible. ( Ultimate soldier had a few, GI Joe had a few in random sets, but it was scarce)

The artillery shell in that could come apart. I think there were wires that connected to the tip of the shell on the inside. There was a "bomb blanket" and a more than passable shotgun plus the X Ray kit and spray. All interesting stuff. The dog had a leash rigged onto the center of it's back.

Since it was an odd size/heavier, it was a "short pack" in case runs. I found that set above on the shelf, but only once. It got snapped up fast probably. MSRP back then was 9.99 and I found it at a Target.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Speaking of dogs in 1/6th, I picked this set up loose complete for a vintage collector who was getting out of the hobby. It was years ago. It was a single one piece mold, but it had "saddlebags" and it was a fun simple sculpt. I think MSRP was like 25-30 dollars for those boxed sets back then. But I got it along with a lot of other loose complete GI Joes. I probably paid 7 dollars for that entire boxed set loose when I broke down the separated cost. I kept the little food rations and cans, along with the dog and rig, but traded off or gave away the rest.

One of the most valuable things in those old GI Joe sets were sometimes the helmets. You would take the helmet, take the cover off, then put on a different cover ( usually from Dragon Models) This was because DML had horrible helmets. Their first "K Pot" was for Bill Smith NYPD ESU, they got it wrong, then kept the mold and kept pumping it out no matter what.

Old GI Joe helmets were just shaped right. Well back then.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Wrangle an alligator!

Ski down a mountain while shooting a submachine gun!


The Benelli M4 shotgun and repainting the skis/poles could have some light military application.


Happy New Years to everyone.

 

[Warpig]

One of my favorite carded sets ever was the GI Joe Battle Gear Bomb Disposal set.

It had a molded German Shepard, and back then, dogs were super hard to find in 1/6th scale. In retail, close to impossible. ( Ultimate soldier had a few, GI Joe had a few in random sets, but it was scarce)

The artillery shell in that could come apart. I think there were wires that connected to the tip of the shell on the inside. There was a "bomb blanket" and a more than passable shotgun plus the X Ray kit and spray. All interesting stuff. The dog had a leash rigged onto the center of it's back.

Since it was an odd size/heavier, it was a "short pack" in case runs. I found that set above on the shelf, but only once. It got snapped up fast probably. MSRP back then was 9.99 and I found it at a Target.

That GS looks good, even today!

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Hasbro RAH Hall Of Fame 12 inch was circa early 90's. Classic Collection boxed sets came out in like 96-97 ish.

In the Battle Gear carded sets, they just repackaged a bunch of CC weapons into one pack. Added in an SA80, probably from a figure they ended up not releasing.

That FNC was maybe the first released in the "modern" era of our hobby. I really don't think more than 1 or 2 other versions ever came out, and none of great quality.

There are still a lot of areas in modern military that have been mostly untouched in our hobby.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

This was one of those bizarre sets that that RAH application.

The helmet was useful if you wanted to make a custom TollBooth ( the bridge layer guy)

The rest of it was useful if you wanted to make a Barbecue RAH custom.

Those MREs were great pouch fillers. Notice the folding knife that looks like it's 1/5th scale. It's huge. Like the kids head in So I Married An Axe Murderer.... It's HUGE. The kid's going to cry himself to sleep on his big pillow tonight!

 

[MeatHookGekko]

This set is interesting because there was very little WW2 Russian 1/6th back in the day, like 20 years ago.

But it also highlights how those Molotovs could be made cheaply, yet they aren't exactly plentiful even today. It's a reminder of the price scale of the "high end brands" can often be treated without context. For people outside our hobby, paying 20 dollars on Ebay for a single tiny plastic pistol seems pretty insane. And, to some level, it is insane.

What could this hobby have gotten if Hasbro had just used it's financial might and economies of scale to take 1/6th to that other level? That's the sad part, we will never know.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Last one for today.

Hooah! bars.

For fun. And a computer with a CD Rom.

I remember that camelbak, I am sure it was ported over from the Barbie line, because I don't remember it ever being possible to use that on a traditional 1/6th male figure of any kind. Unless they made a Christian Bale figure from The Machinist.

 

[ArtDamage]

One of my favorites was this one :

A cool as hell diver set that reminded me of one of my favorite joe figures I had.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

One of the later sets right before GI Joe cancelled their 12 inch military line for good.

Lightsticks were cool. The radio with removable battery was pretty nifty for it's time, but also for Hasbro, where most of their gear had no function. The big surprise was the USP compact pistol, which was rare for them to use a new mold and not do rehash like in most of their carded sets. At the time of this release, the show 24 with Jack Bauer was huge, and the HK USP compact was everywhere. So maybe that inspired Hasbro to make one. Those modern binoculars were pretty good, they were made well and still somewhat stand up to the test of time. That pile of gunk under the binoculars, I have no idea what that is all about. The maps were handy to have to pin up if you had a diorama going.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

This was a pretty rare set to find on the pegs. I found it exactly once. Back then sat coms and radios were tough to find for modern. I don't think GI Joe reused that MP5 PDW anywhere else. The suppressor is removable. It was one of the few weapons they made that rivaled Dragon quality. Just a rarity for them. What was confounding by Hasbro was that they'd make something cool, then never use it again, but rehashed the same molds for some of their crappier weapons. Couldn't figure it out. Top Secret Orders were a little cheaper than the Battle Gear sets, IIRC, the MSRP was 7.99 and usually removed any clothing items to reduce costs. The satcom itself was pretty cool for it's time. All in all, one of their better sets.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

This set flew off the shelves. I found it twice and was lucky I even found it that often.

Back in the day, there was no medic gear at all. Not from big brands. In today's time, all his looks woefully outdated, but all this was innovative close to 20 years ago. The IV bottle was reused from one of the VN sets. The cloth bags were pretty well done. That 45 pistol, Hasbro used over and over again, and it was the size of a figure's chest. I kid you not, that thing was huge. The slide did pull back on it though. And you can see the strip of bullets came out of the magazine.

Back then, I could buy one of these cards and trade off the rest I didn't want to vintage collectors. Many of them are likely dead now. Not a joke, but many of the collectors back then were in their mid 50s or so, thus giving it a 20 year buffer zone, well, you do the math. The point being, all of us here with collections, time moves fast. Most of us will only have 20-30 more years left, so make the most of our time now guys. Just a thought.