NATO Ground Crew

Dated March 20, 1998.

This is a contributed article by Kent Sprecher.

Some people do not realize that Airfix continued to make new figure sets up unto their demise. It has also been suggested that one or more figure molds were made but never put into commercial production. The most notorious or famous of these sets is the1/72 version of British Modern SAS. Many people claim to know someone who has seen these figures , but I have yet to actually talk to someone who has seen them first hand. At some point in the mid to late 1970s Airfix came under the control of the CPG Products Corporation and their molds were moved to France. To this day an accurate inventory of molds remains elusive as none of the current owners seem to care.

As the British figure industry was slowly dying a similar fate was occuring to the plastic figure companies in the United States. The Multiple Plastics Corporation or more simply "MPC" was one of the big US 1/35-1/32 scale figure companies that went toe to toe with the king of American plastic the Marx Company for many years. Eventually both Airfix and MPC came under the control of the CPG Products Corporation. In the United States from 1982-84 the Airfix 1/72 scale figure sets in production, as well as many model kits were released as part the MPC Fundimensions model kit series. MPC tried many innovative ways to revive the model kit industry including their "Golden Stripes" offer in which stripe shaped tokens could be cut off the kit boxes, saved and then used to redeem for other MPC kits. Unfortunately the rise of large American toy stores such as Toy R Us and Wal Mart doomed many of the small mom and pop hobby shops and model kit building and plastic toy soldier collecting suffered near death in the marketplace. About 1984 the Airfix Molds were at least in part sold to Humbrol who then released less than half of the 1/32 and 1/72 figures sets. As of this writing Humbrol has ceased all internal figure production. If it wasn't for some re-issue plastic 1/32 and 1/72 scale sets the Airfix line might become a fond memory.

One of the more unique sets that was produced near the end of the line in the late 1970s was S58 Modern Nato Ground Crew. I have only seen this set in the "tall box" and the MPC box both of which were under the control of the CPG corporation.


The figures in the "tall box" are done in gray plastic and those in the MPC boxes are in army green. Unlike the WWII ground crew sets that Airfix produced the Modern NATO Ground Crew set has armed guards in fighting poses. The set contains the following figures in four distinct categories:

PILOTS
Pilot walking w/ helmet and papers. 4

FIGURES IN SOFT CAPS W/ BILLS AND FATIGUES
Groundcrew in cap control man w/ 2 paddles. 3
Groundcrew in cap walking w/ jerrycan. 4
Guard in cap, kneeling w/ radio. 3
Guard in cap, running w/ guard dog on leash, pistol in other hand. 3

FIGURES IN GASMASKS AND ANTI CORROSIVE SUITS
Mechanic in gasmask kneeling w/ tool. 4
Mechanic in gasmask holding wrench up. 4
Mechanic in gasmask arms bent, gesturing? 4
Mechanic in gasmask crouching w/ long tool. 4
Mechanic in gasmask standing holding tool up and forward. 4

FIGURES IN COMBAT GEAR
Army patrol in camo helmet and gas mask, kneeling shooting rifle. 4
Army patrol in camo helmetand gas mask, standing rifle x waist. 4
Army patrol in camo helmet and gas mask, running w/ rifle. 3

The guard with dog figure could easily be adapted to become a Stalag guard, and is one of the few times Airfix sculpted more than one figure on a single base.. All in all an interesting set and worthy of being included in anyone's collection.

Kent Sprecher

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