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U.S. Soldiers • Series I

   
60mm "World War II" Soldiers
Production of the first TimMee soldiers began in 1948. The first set was comprised of 14 poses and a bazooka accessory. They were sold in clear plastic bags with a header card with up to 29 pieces. The soldiers were also sold under the B-Line Toys name. Different production runs would yield different hues and densities of green; a solid bright green as opposed to a darker waxy surface, for example. Two years later, a second set of G.I.'s would join the ranks. This included eight poses and a stretcher. Four of the poses were part of the Army Ambulance Corps bagged set, which included the stretcher, stretcher bearer, nurse, wounded soldier, Medical Corps dog and a red cross flag. Speaking of dogs, they were often included with the bag sets in a variety of colors and breeds. Even the occasional campfire piece from the Cowboys & Indians playsets would find their way into the mix. Another pose was the driver wearing a garrison cap that was included in the Army Jeep & Gun bagged set. The blue Air Force version of the same driver was often substituted for the green version. An even odder substitution was with the very rare Air Force driver sporting a visor cap from the Air Force sets.

Variations of these figures over the course of their production run was minimal. The army medical dog had an embossed cross on each side of his medical backpack. These would be filled in at some point on the mold for reasons unknown, which makes them somewhat rare. Poses with a base typically included the Tim-Mee logo. However, the logo was "filled in" at some point-possibly after the company was purchased by Processed Plastic Co. in 1965. A base was added to the kneeling rifleman and radio operator around 1964 as the result of one of the worn copper molds being replaced. Rust-brown versions were introduced to represent opposing forces. Butterscotch versions were produced in TimMee's German factory as well as four poses unique to the facility from 1958 to 1960. (see pics).

Soldiers could be purchased individually in unique store display boxes for 5¢ a piece. Bagged sets came in several price and quantity variations. Here are some examples:
• 29¢  - 8 pcs
• 49¢ - 14 pcs
• 79¢ - 24 pcs
• 98¢ - 30 pcs

The 60mm World War II G.I.'s were phased out in 1969 and replaced with the Vietnam Era Series.

The First Set

(1948)

Marching G.I.

Walking w/ bayonet

Overhead w/ bayonet

Grenade Thrower

Captain

Grease gunner

Mine Sweeper

Bazooka

Machine Gunner

Radio Operator

Kneeling w/ rifle

Prone w/ rifle

Prone w/ machine gun

Crawling

Bazooka accessory


The Second Set
(1950)

Rifleman

Flag Bearer

Running w/ gas mask

Stretcher Bearer

Nurse w/ lantern

Wounded G.I.

Stretcher

Medical Corps Dog

Medical Corps Dog w/ crosses*

Army Collie*

Driver w/ garrison cap*


Reissues
(1964)

Radio Operator w/ base*

Kneeling Rifleman w/ base*

*Not available in rust-brown color



Header Cards

#162  c. 1950s

#162 alternative version

#493 header card

c. 1950s

c. early '60s

#160 Ambulance Corps 

#160 A Ambulance Corps


Rust-brown Soldiers
Rust-brown (or reddish-brown) versions of the 60mm G.I.'s were introduced in the '50s for a short period of time to represent opposing forces; quite possibly Russian soldiers, given their color and time of release during the onset of the Cold War. All of the poses above (with the exception of the ones marked with an asterisk) where produced in this color.

An example of the rare "Rustees"

Medical Corps w/ American Red Cross Flag


The Flags
Most bagged sets from this series came with a 1½ x 1" paper flag attached to a 3¼" long wooden rod. The 'flagpole' could be placed in the hands of a flag bearer or in a round plastic stand that was included with most sets. The stone-textured stand came in a variety of colors; including black, white, tan and several reddish hues. Sets would receive whichever color stand was available during the packaging process. The American flag was produced in the 48-star and 50-star versions. See Foreign Soldiers for the Soviet Union flag.

American Red Cross & Old Glory flags


TimMee Germany
In 1957, TimMee Toys opened a manufacturing facility in West Germany to produce their plastic figures for the European market. Included in their product line were the 60mm WWII soldiers in a wide variety of colors. A mold was made specifically for the German factory. Variations between the U.S. poses and their German counterparts (while often subtle) are evident throughout the series. In addition, they created four new U.S. poses: kneeling with rifle, kneeling with mortar launcher, prone with binoculars and prone with rifle. These figures had slightly less detail in comparison with their U.S. counterparts and the scale was slightly smaller. A pale green plastic was to used for several castings, which does not translate well in the photographs below.

Kneeling w/ rifle

Mortar launcher

Prone w/ binoculars

Prone w/ rifle

German logo

Made in Germany

U.S. Nurse (left) • German Nurse (right)

Butterscotch soldiers

Red soldier

Quick Facts
Manufacturer: Tim Mee Toys, Tim-Mee Germany
Production: 1948-1970
Scale: 60mm

Colors: olive drab, army green, bright green, rust-brown (TimMee Toys)
  pale green, bright green, butterscotch, red, light blue, yellow, rust brown (TimMee Germany)

4 comments:

Mike Bunkermeister Creek said...

These are some of my favorite Army Men ever!
Thanks for the photos and the run down.
Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Ohyan2912 said...

LOVE YOU BLOG!
Thanks for posting.
I have had all the poses except the 4 German variants. Are they hard to locate I wonder............
Must look into that.

Den McGowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Den McGowan said...

Love this blog! Back in the 1960s, I inherited a small force of the Tim-Mee U.S. Army infantry from my older brother, who grew up in the 1950s. They were some of my favorite toy soldiers, especially since he had painted them up pretty decently.

I also had several of the 1960s Vietnam era GIs, which I would paint in camo uniforms and actually made both White and Black (using bronze paint) soldiers, pretty realistically painted. Kids always wanted my painted GIs. Sometimes I would paint up their Marx, MPC, Ideal, Auburn Rubber Company and Airfix toy soldiers for them.

Miss those days as a kid, and watching Combat!, the Rat Patrol, and WWII movies on a Saturday morning and playing with toy soldiers in the yard or at friends' houses.

Thanks for posting these great photos! Very happy memories of days gone by.

Sincerely,

Den McGowan
Staten Island, NY