Artillery

Anti-tank Gun

 rubber wheels

This gun was more than likely based on the M3 37mm anti-tank gun from World War II as TimMee used an illustrated version of a 1941 USMC photograph of the gun and jeep on several header cards (See Willys Jeep). It was introduced in the early 50s and was often packaged with other vehicles and soldiers in a wide variety of bagged and boxed set configurations. The gun was also sold individually with soldiers or doubled up with another artillery piece and soldiers in bagged sets. First editions were olive drab green with a smooth matte finish. The olive drab would be replaced by slight variations of the typical army green and briefly in aqua green. The first version had rubber wheels that slid over a metal axle and therefore could be removed. That version was later replaced with plastic wheels attached to a metal axle with conical ends. This prevented the wheels from being removed. A very rare round sticker with a white star and the letters U.S.A. were occasionally applied to the trail of this variation. The cannon mold was retooled for the 3rd (and 4th) version of the wheel: a small spacer (see figure 1) was added to the frame in order to compensate for the new wheel's narrower inner hub mount. In the '80s, the mold was again retooled to replace the tow eye with a tow pin. This was the cannon's final configuration. The production run ended in the late '80s.

Figure 1. Spacer

Tow eye (left)  Tow pin (right)

Aqua green cannon

Rare trail sticker

wheel variations

#1981 TimMee header card

#1785 Processed Plastic header card

 

#1161K B-Line header card

 Quick Facts
• Manufacturer: Tim Mee Toys
• Item number:
• Production: 1950s - 1990s
• Dimensions: 4¼" L x 2¼" W x 2" H (1st version) • 4½" L x 2¾" W x 1¾" H (final version)
• Scale: 1/24
• Colors: olive drab, army green, aqua green

Anti-aircraft Gun

Elevating cannon

Commonly known as the elevating cannon amongst collectors, this very cool anti-aircraft gun was introduced in the 60's and sold in bagged sets such as the Mobile Combat Unit that included the Square Cab Truck and 60mm soldiers or the United States Army Artillery Set that included the Willys Jeep and anti-tank gun. Early versions had rubber wheels that slid over metal axles. They were later replaced with plastic wheels attached to metal axles. The gun shield has an embossed star on the left and the letters U.S. on the right. A few have been spotted with a white star applied to the flat part of the trail. Even rarer was a round sticker with a white star and the letters U.S.A. applied in the same location.

Profile

Shield markings

Star sticker

Rare trail sticker

Quick Facts
• Manufacturer: Processed Plastic Co.
• Item number:
• Production: 1960s-1970
• Dimensions: 6" L x 2¼" W x 4¼" H (fully elevated)
• Scale: 1/35
• Colors: Olive drab, army green

► Check out the Large Scale Army section for the M-119 Howitzer.