Found these on Facebook , the hours I spent looking at them as a youngster (1960's) they were in Superman comics etc passed on to me by our neighbour - a quiet bald moustached Postman who you wouldn't think would read that sort of thing.
I especially wanted these, but I didn't even know what a Zip code was let alone sending a postal order to the USA . I now know they where cheap plastic semi-flats but they were exotic unobtainable treasures to me then.
Tony I think we all lusted over these! It was the illustrations.
ReplyDeleteSadly the product didn't live up to the promise....
Neil
They seemed so exotic compared to Airfix
DeleteA real blast from the past, but yes the real product was very poor but the adverts certainly gave some nice daydreams!
ReplyDeleteYes the time I spent trying to decipher the troop types
DeleteAs a little Australian boy, who had piles of comics, a number with such ads, in the 1960s, I also had no idea but I salivated over the ads just the same. My favourite one was for the Romans. I would have been slightly disappointed, though, to see they in no way lived up to the illustrations or expectations. However, I have seen whole armies painted up for the American Revolution and they look great (so long as the figures are seen from the sides). James
ReplyDeleteYes I've seen the AWI painted up OS style and they have a quaint style.
DeleteI actually ordered and received the ACW set above when I was 9 or 10 (1975 or '76). These ads were also in the Sergeant Rock comic books I loved at the time. I remembered being profoundly disappointed when they finally arrived. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards,
Stokes
Yes disappointment seems to be the common factor .
DeleteAh, the romance of these adverts still resonates today with those us of a "certain age"--enhanced by nostalgia, they're almost better than before.
ReplyDeleteYes people have to be of a "certain age" to remember thses .
DeleteI could and did buy all of these toy soldier sets Tony! The ads were done by noted comic book illustrators and were irresistible! I remember saving up my quarters from my lawn mowing jobs, and sending the money off. They seemed to take forever, but I did receive all of them and I really did love them! My mother gave them all away to poor children as I got older and discovered girls! Thanks to eBay, I have got all of them once again, and I couldn't be happier!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear somebody loved them and managed to relive it ! , the illustrations are really nice and have a great style.
DeleteI too drooled over these adverts (and puzzled over why zips had codes) on the back of super hero comics.
ReplyDeleteYes the UK didn't get postal codes till much later and I don't think they would have shipped abroad in those days .
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