1:72 French Foreign Legion

[BEN SAUNDERS]

I think i had virtually every set of 1:72 model soldiers during the 70s and 80s (even astronauts) but i never found the Foreign Legion, i think they must have been stopped before i could spend my pocket money . Would love to see these back again - in an ideal world with Arabs and a desert fort - but as they are the easiest ones to provide a diaroma for (a handful of sand!), i'm sure they would be a positive seller.

[BEN SAUNDERS]

 I meant foreigN legion, doh!

[AgProv]

I know there was a first-pattern FFL set which had the same crude-but-cheerful feel of the first generation Airfix figures; this was upgraded in the early-middle 1970's to a more detailed and realistically posed set, at about the same time the first-pattern British, German and American WW2 figs were upgraded and redesigned.

I'm assuming Airfix would re-release the far superior second-pattern FFL figures, but it wouldn't hurt to confirm this? It should be clarified, as those original 1950's WW2 German Infantry are still in production, amazingly enough; I believe a Spanish firm currently has title to the moulds.

Incidentally, the Arabs never had a makeover. I recall these figures seemed far larger and more substantial compared to the Foreign Legionnaires, as if they were in true 1:72 while the FFL were designed in 1:76.  There were also far less of them in a box, so you needed to get quite a lot of Arab sets to set up a realistic warband with enough cavalry/camels.

[nmcabecadas]

Hat was doing the old Airfix Foreign Legion, second pattern, under ref 7012 and the Bedouins under ref 7013. Don't know if are still making them now, but got the sets under the HaT label. The Bedouins are still among my favorite sets and are part of my Middle Eastern Force.