Washington’s Army, 1775–1783

Airfix 1:76 Scale Figure Review

Standardbearer and soldiers of the 2. New Hampshire Regiment commanded by Colonel Enoch Poor. The regiment was raised on 20th May 1775 and it was taken into Washington’s army in January 1776 as the 8th Continental Regiment. The Airfix figures may be painted in a variety of uniforms of the State Militia and Continental Army. Wargame simulations of the American Revolution require suprisingly few figures, because many of the engagements were relatively small affairs compared to European battles of the same period. Unfortunately, there are no compatible miniatures representing the Hessian troops serving in America at the time, and the cavalry is missing as well.

39 Figures with 12 Poses – 21 mm equal 160 cm Height
Mounted Officer (Washington)
Officer (2)
Standardbearer
Drummer
Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade (3)
Soldier with Powder Keg (2)
Soldier advancing (6)
Soldier loading (4)
Soldier standing, firing (6)
Soldier kneeling, firing (5)
Soldier prone, firing (4)
Soldier crawling (4)

Early Classics

Over the past two decades, Washington’s Army, the French Foreign Legion and many other Airfix figure sets have served with distinction in sandboxes and display cases around the world. Some of these classic products are available at retail stores even today, and they hold their ground alongside the more recent Revell and Italeri recruits.

Evaluation

Nicely sculpted figures, they show much detail in their uniforms, cuffs, facings, buttons, stockings, gaiters, tricornes, belts, canteens, pouches and weapons.
Useful historic poses, the figures appear very lively. The standard poses make very good diorama and historic simulation figures, althought the prone men are probably not very useful in wargaming. There are enough figures to raise several wargaming units, despite the comparatively low figure count.
Good casting quality. We had two set of figures available for review, they came from the same mould, but were produced by different companies. One set from Humbrol was made from high quality plastic and existing flash could be trimmed off very easily. On the other hand, a box produced by USAirfix had a quarter of the figures completely surrounded by a halo of flash, virtually destroying the castings or requiring an enormous amount of clean-up work.

The figures are significantly smaller than the more recent American Militia and British Infantry from Revell. When they are mounted in separate units, the Airfix and Revell figures can be used alongside eachother. The difference in height becomes even less noticeable if the Airfix figures are mounted on slightly thicker wargaming bases.

Historical Employment

Continental Army 1775-1778
American State Militia 1775-1783
British Loyalist Militia 1775-1783

Possible Conversions

Infantry of the Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763
The figures’ short gaiters are removed and painted over with long gaiters.

The classic Airfix soldiers might have been the beginning of a fabulous 18th century figure collection. Their attractive tricorne hats are beautifully modelled and they look great when painted. Many collectors would have liked to see more miniatures like these, covering the other armies of the period. British grenadiers were available for some time, but Airfix never managed to complete the theme. Revell released very nice sets of American Militia and British Infantry of the American Revolutionary War, but they no longer appear in the 96/97 product catalog. Collectors are well advised to snap up any boxes that may still be available at retail locations!

Airfix Miniatures

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American Revolutionary War Miniatures