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Modern Troops with Mixed Weapons

Two bags of unusual soldiers showed up at our local discount store. They looked different, and best of all, seemed to be modern US figures. Surprise, indeed! Though they looked like modern G.I.s, there were glaring anomalies. Half the rifles looks as much like the Russian AK series as they did US M-16s. The web gear suspenders on several figures is the old M1956 patterns, which went out of inventory during the late 1970s. Some troops are firing weapons that do not have ammo magazines! Then there's a bazooka man about to blow his own leg off with the backblast. Strange, indeed. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun with these figures. Apparently they were designed in China to represent troops from Desert Storm in 1991. They were marked with the brand name "Fishel," a large importer of toy soldiers.

They look like US troops, but their rifles bear characteristics of the AK as well as the M16. Man to extreme left is wearing a gas mask. Man to his side is either a tank crewman or pilot.
Field gear includes "ALICE" packs and the H-type web suspenders of the 1956-pattern field gear. It was replaced in the 1970s by a Y-type suspender. The radioman's PRC77 radio is a relic of the 1970s.

The soldier to the left has a weapon that defies classification. Note prone rifleman firing AK / M16 without a magazine.

The bazooka man is lying with most of his body directly behind the weapon. In real life, the backblast would hit his leg, leaving a mass of bone and fried meat.

A similar gun to this is included in New Ray sets. It looks like an antiaircraft gun, but is most likely intended to be some kind of air-mobile artillery.

Contrast the gun with the standing radioman for size, The gun looks to be about 1/32 scale..

The Hummer is a bit small in scale compared to the standing rifleman. v The vehicle crewman is about 1 3/4" tall.

Well-armed with a roof-mounted Vulcan and rear-facing M-60.

Tank crewman / chopper pilot beside M1 tank. The tank is almost exactly 1/48 scale.

Another view of tank - it would make a nice, light flatcar load for O gauge trains.

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They look like US troops, but their rifles bear characteristics of the AK as well as the M16. Man to extreme left is wearing a gas mask. Man to his side is either a tank crewman or pilot.	Field gear includes "ALICE" packs and the H-type web suspenders of the 1956-pattern field gear. It was replaced in the 1970s by a Y-type suspender. The radioman's PRC77 radio is a relic of the 1970s.
The soldier to the left has a weapon that defies classification. Note prone rifleman firing AK / M16 without a magazine.	The bazooka man is lying with most of his body directly behind the weapon. In real life, the backblast would hit his leg, leaving a mass of bone and fried meat.
A similar gun to this is included in New Ray sets. It looks like an antiaircraft gun, but is most likely intended to be some kind of air-mobile artillery.	Contrast the gun with the standing radioman for size, The gun looks to be about 1/32 scale..
The Hummer is a bit small in scale compared to the standing rifleman. v The vehicle crewman is about 1 3/4" tall.	Well-armed with a roof-mounted Vulcan and rear-facing M-60.
Tank crewman / chopper pilot beside M1 tank. The tank is almost exactly 1/48 scale.	Another view of tank - it would make a nice, light flatcar load for O gauge trains.