Cold War BAOR - Early 1980's

FOR VEHICLES RELEVANT TO THIS RANGE PLEASE LOOK IN OUR MODERN VEHICLES ROOM.

This range has been designed to show troops circa 1980 - 85 when the Cold War in Europe was close to getting hot. However the figures overlap either end of the period for a few years. We have also tried to show the figures as they may have looked in a war situation rather than simply on exercise. As war did not occur, thank God, this is difficult as the best form of research is pictures and that only shows troops on exercise. 

From research its clear that some weapons were ready for issue if the shooting started but never had to be. The Falklands War is a useful guide in that this shows what was usually left in the cupboard only to come out at certain times. For example the US M79 grenade launcher.

Apart from front  line troops the UK was also ready to commit  Territorial Army units and these varied significantly in what uniform and equipment that was available and as their life expectancy was measured in hours by the soldiers they tended to adopt a somewhat easy going attitude to things, noticeably hair styles. As the range develops it will cover some of these troops, so get ready for a shock when you see crossbows etc. The range will also move into other relevant areas and one is to include troops suitable for the Falklands War which is close to its 40th anniversary.

By the end of this year we will also be adding Soviet Paratroopers so stay tuned.