Tag: Savers

Killer find – a true 1:35 Abrams Tank for less than $2

The toy tank, among 1:35 scale terrain.
The toy tank, among 1:35 scale terrain.

My son and I make frequent visits to Savers, something of a thrift store that helps the environment by re-purposing second hand items and donating some of its proceeds to various charitable endeavors. It’s a fine place to obtain used video games, board games, books on military history, and, of course, army men and suitably scaled vehicles for them.

While we have been disappointed with what was available during our past few visits, we really struck gold today -a toy tank, modeled to closely resemble an M1A1 Abrams, pictured at right.

Without the price tag to differentiate, it would be tough to discern between the toy and the model.
Without the price tag to differentiate, it would be tough to discern between the toy and the model.

Actually, the words closely resemble are an understatement, as you can see by checking the next image; the toy tank is on the left, while a 1:35 military model of an M1A1 is on the right. You’ll notice that the length, width and height are nearly identical. When I checked the scale with a scale calculator, I found the difference between the toy and the scale model is virtually none.

The best part was the price. The item was tagged at $1.99 U.S., but that number dropped to $1.40 after my military discount was applied. We’ll have some great gaming with this piece, after it gets cleaned up and painted…

163 Army men and 2 vehicles for under $10

Thrift stores are a great source for army men (or, as we like to say, reasonably-priced military miniatures)
Thrift stores are a great source for army men (or, as we like to say, reasonably-priced military miniatures)

Thrift stores are the best. I stopped by Savers, a second-hand store, and found a bag of more than 160 1:35/54mm army men for $3 U.S. and two vehicles (a properly-scaled boat and an ambulance-looking thing) for $2.

The army men included:

  • 42 Pink soldiers, equipped like World War II Japanese;
  • 36 Silver soldiers, equipped like World War II Americans;
  • 61 Green soldiers from a couple of different lines, representing U.S. GIs from World War II and Vietnam, as well as a handful of British Tommies and even a few sailors. This batch even included some wounded soldiers and an assistant rifleman that lines up perfectly next to a kneeling machine gunner.
  • 8 U.S. Civil War figures, which were promptly taken by my son; and
  • 16 assorted broken figures, possibly worthwhile for spare parts.

Not a bad find and a great price. I am especially pleased with the vehicles (vehicles from army men play sets are almost always far to small to pass for 1:35).

Now that we have troops, we’ll need to have a battle – reports to be published soon!