Triang-Hornby R639 Battle Space Sniper Car

[andyman7]

I have finally acquired a decent example of what is to me one of the classic Triang models - what do you do with your Giraffe Car tooling to give it a further lease of life? Why, you mould it in military green and replace the Giraffe with a Sniper....put in a few model soldiers and you are stretching the model railway brief to breaking point in entertainingly bonkers fashion 😀

 

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Enjoying playing trains, that will never catch on!

 

Mike.

[cypherman]

Hi all,

I never had either the giraffe or sniper car. But I did have all the early Triang military wagons. Quad missile launcher and the searchlight car. Helicopter launcher et al. Loads of fun as a kid. I used to set up a track running round a Triang fort I had and attacked or defended it depending what mood I was in. I did find out early on that ramming a Dinky Centurion tank with a 3F was not good for the 3F...... 😁

[roythebus1]

The helicopter car was fun but after a few launches the spring in the helicopter wagon split through the sides!

[GoingUnderground]

On 12/06/2023 at 22:49, andyman7 said:

I have finally acquired a decent example of what is to me one of the classic Triang models - what do you do with your Giraffe Car tooling to give it a further lease of life? Why, you mould it in military green and replace the Giraffe with a Sniper....put in a few model soldiers and you are stretching the model railway brief to breaking point in entertainingly bonkers fashion 😀

 

 

Rovex were always looking at the "play" value of the Triang railways range, not surprising as they were toy makers. They were always looking for models that extended the range at minimal cost, and introduced the bogie bolster rocket launcher, R216 back in 1959.  The sniper car must have been a real no-brainer for them, or would have been if the expression had existed back then, it was probably just "blindingly obvious".

 

 

20 hours ago, roythebus1 said:

The helicopter car was fun but after a few launches the spring in the helicopter wagon split through the sides!

You must have been unlucky. My brother had one, and still has it. The spring is still secure inside its pocket in the wagon. Another example of lowcost range extension as the wagon started life as the TC Series pulp wood car.

[cypherman]

On 13/06/2023 at 23:28, roythebus1 said:

The helicopter car was fun but after a few launches the spring in the helicopter wagon split through the sides!

Hi all,

Roy do not forget the Satellite car. Same wagon but with a silver and yellow satellite to launch.

Edited June 14, 2023 by cypherman

[cypherman]

Hi all again.

Here is a great view of most of the military wagons from Triang.

Edited June 14, 2023 by cypherman

[kevinlms]

A bit naughty having an ambulance car, in the same train as weapons - i.e. helicopter car & searchlight!

 

How similar is the Aircraft launch ramp to the Minic Motorways ramp - just found a photo of RM921 and nothing like it!

[GoingUnderground]

7 hours ago, kevinlms said:

......... How similar is the Aircraft launch ramp to the Minic Motorways ramp - just found a photo of RM921 and nothing like it!

What a strange idea, especially to anyone like me who is familiar with the Minic Motorways system.

 

The RM921 car loading ramp used Minic motorways M.1635 Gradient Base and M.1636 Gradient Summit single track sections. These were curved to transition from level to the incline, and at 2 1/2" (6.2cm) wide would have had to be trimmed to be flush with the sides of the Trestrol wagon used for the Plane Launching Car.

 

If you'd said that it could have used the M.1606 Straight single track that might have made more sense, but again it too would have had to be cut down or the tool modified heavily to produce a narrower, version of the track when required for the plane ramp. Rovex may have looked at it, but there would also need to have been a new tool to support the upper end of the track. Their costings in all probably showed that it was cheaper to produce a new dedicated tool for the launching ramp with integral latticework struts.  

Edited June 15, 2023 by GoingUnderground

[Steamport Southport]

I take it there was a lot of kids dressing up as pirates in the 1960s!

 

As Harold Godwinson said in 1066, "You'll have somebody's eye out with that!"

 

😜

 

 

 

Jason

[kevinlms]

1 hour ago, GoingUnderground said:

What a strange idea, especially to anyone like me who is familiar with the Minic Motorways system.

 

Huh, it was an idea which I dismissed!

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Not that it will ever happen in today's snowflake world, but imagine the furore if Hornby reintroduced the range.

I'd gladly get a bag of popcorn!

 

Mike.

[kevinlms]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Not that it will ever happen in today's snowflake world, but imagine the furore if Hornby reintroduced the range.

I'd gladly get a bag of popcorn!

 

Mike.

Modern warfare isn't about attacking trains and railway convoys, it's more about destroying residential buildings of zero military significance.

[roythebus1]

the BattleSpace turbo car was fun. I had one and ran it on the MRC's test tracks. As the time they had some really vintage controllers that would put out 20volts. The Turbo car went so fast it came off the end of the straight bit and took off, landing somewhere near the doors of the lower hall at Keen House. Some of the older members weren't impressed! Grumpy old gits.

 

[PeterStiles]

18 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

today's snowflake world

If only the scales were vaguely compatible, a range of "battle-trains" in co-operation with Games Workshop's WH40K brand could fly off shelves(*); although whether GW would want to associate with a company as small as Hornby is another matter...

(*) literally?