Play Along Toys AOME LOTR - Weapons and Warriors #48201 Uruk-hai Battering Ram - Pt 1 Box and Contents

 ***CORRECTION TO URUK-HAI SIEGE BALLISTA***

A quick correction to the Uruk-hai Siege Ballista we just covered the past few days. I had it posted as set #48200: that is the blanket number for the Weapons and Warriors series. The set number is #48202.

 And now we continue our regularly scheduled programming. 

Somewhere along the line over the past 20-ish years, I managed to gather up three of these Battering Ram sets. Plus, there's one included in the Helm's Deep Super Deluxe Set for a total of four. So here I am after all these years trying to figure out why I bought so many and it hit me that it was probably to get the four Uruk-hai figures in each set. In addition to the figures, there are extra accessories included, and they would be welcome additions to the Uruk-hai army assailing Helm's Deep - or they can be used in an Attack at Amon-hen scenario.

Ed

Box

Contents

-Battering Ram

4 Uruk-hai figures

-Two pikes

-Crossbow

-Shield

Hong Kong (Unk Mfr) 45mm German Infantry - Gray SP - Pt 1

This has been a good year for catching up photographing and posting my old toys - things that have been laying out in The Cave forever. Case in point: this set of 45mm German infantry. Bought years ago as opponents to my Marx and Payton 45mm GI's, this set was made in Hong Kong by an unknown manufacturer. The sculpts are a bit crude but you can look at them and say, "Those are Germans", and that works for me. Mine are in 'played with' condition and there is some breakage - mostly to the tips of the rifles or MGs, but overall it's still a nice grouping.

Ed

My set has six poses. Were there more? Don't know.

Let's Chat: Play Along Toys - Uruk-hai Siege Ballista at Helm's Deep

The basis for this is of course the set I just posted of Play Along Toys Uruk-hai Siege Ballista. Here's the photo the Chat is based on, and what Chat gave me when prompted to place the siege ballista before the battlements of Helm's Deep.

Ed

More Odds-&-Ends: Hingfat Mobile Missile / Rocket Launcher

While we're covering odds-&-ends, a couple of years back I picked up this tiny rocket launcher to go with my mini-trucks. At only $1 (maybe $2) it didn't break the budget but it turned out to be a tad bit larger than I expected for the mini-trucks. That's no biggie - it'll find a place somewhere on the battlefield. I believe this is Hingfat and was the kind of toy they include in many of their budget friendly playsets - the kind that come in tubs and buckets and loaded with pieces - and are great for including a ton of nifty accessories. The sets are mainly focused on modern day Little Green Army Man themes but the accessories are useable for several eras. The launch trailer measures 5" (12,70cm) L x 1.5" (3,81cm) W x 1.25" (3,17cm) H w/o rocket. It's 4.375" (11,11cm) H when the missile is raised.

Ed

The trailer will not sit flat on the surface when the launch rack is in this position.

Play Along Toys AOME LOTR - Weapons and Warriors #48200 Uruk-hai Siege Ballista - Pt 4 (Final) Ballista

Finally, the Pièce de résistance, the ballista. I've got a lot of toys and this is absolutely one of the coolest. It is accurate enough in its portrayal of a real ballista that it could be used just as well in a Medieval battle scenario as well as a LOTR attack scene.

As I said in an earlier post, this thing had been banging around out in The Cave for many years and along the way, one of the wheels broke off. The repair was simple enough: take a short piece of safety wire, drill a hole in the axle and in the wheel, insert wire, and attach wheel. That said, I have yet to glue the wheel to the axle and I may not want to - by allowing the wheel to be removeable, this thing could be placed in a scenario where it got damaged. There is one really odd design feature though. Look at the wheels. They're not round, they're scalloped! This must have been a bear to transport!!! If I were to draft this into any of my Medieval armies, I'm afraid those wheels would have to be rounded off.

The height/angle of fire is adjustable, the release levers turn, and as stated in a previous post, this thing can be made to fire the bolt.. It measures:

-Ballista: 8.5" (21,59cm) L x ~5.25" (13,33cm) H

-Carriage: 3.5" (8,89cm) W 

-Bow: 6.25" (15,87cm) W

-The bolt = 7.625" (19,36cm) L

A bit of safety wire inserted into a hole drilled in the axle. The wheel has a hole drilled into it allowing placement over the nub of wire