Durham Industries No. 9007 German SdKfz 7 Medium Halftrack (1970s)

I'm getting ready to start another series of Marx figures, but for today let's take a look at this German SdKfz 7 Medium Halftrack by Durham Industries. I don't know anything about Durham Industries and couldn't find a reference to it in the Toy Soldier HQ website. There is a reference to that name on-line in a hobby forum post which basically says they were based in New York City and made a small line of diecast vehicles. Our featured halftrack is definitely not diecast! eBay does have quite a few Durham toys listed, nearly all of which are plastic and from what I can gather - based on the listings - this German halftrack dates from the 1970s.

I won't go into the history of this vehicle other than to say it was part of a series of halftracks made by Germany and used during WWII. Halftracks are among my favorite of military vehicles, regardless of country of origin, and for a low cost toy this does not disappoint. The facebook groupies have said this thing cam out with free rolling tracks, with a friction motor, or battery operated. Mine has free rolling tracks so I can't attest to the other variations. Apparently the 'tarp' does come off but I haven't tried removing it yet for fear of busting it! It measures 7.75" (19.68cm) L x 3" (7.62cm) W x 3"H (7.62cm).

Ed

Various photos/artwork culled from the Internet

Shown here with an Airfix 50mm figure

Shown here with a Marx 54mm figure

Here it is with a BMC Sherman tank and...

...a BMC Tiger II tank

Marx Battleground, Training Center, and Other Military Playset Pieces - Halftrack Redux - Now with Flag

The halftrack that came with my Training Center playset was missing the flag that was attached to the halftrack and back on 18 July I had posted photos of the vehicle sans flag. As funds permit, I've been buying small job lots that contain missing playset pieces, and the latest lot had the correct flag. The bottom of the pole had already been whittled down to fit into the plastic flag holder on the halftrack and you can see by many broken examples being sold on fleaBay where people tried to force the wooden dowel into the holder and broke the plastic.

Ed

Marx Battleground, Training Center, and Other Military Playset Pieces - Training Center Halftrack - HP

Wellll, after posting all of these photos of bits-&-pieces the past couple of months, I finally managed to unbury my lone boxed military playset (other than Civil War, Alamo, Cape Canaveral) after more than twenty years of  it sitting by its lonesome under other boxes. It's an early #4144 U.S. Army Training Center playset from 1952 offered by both Sears and Montgomery Wards. For some reason, I just never got around to buying boxed sets, preferring instead to pick up individual pieces here and there, and it's a good thing because after a short inspection of the contents, my boxed set is missing pieces which I can now provide.

My #4144 set box cover

When this current series wraps up, I'll cover the playset in its own series of posts. For now though, let's take a look at the halftrack which came with the #4144 set (the armored car which came in the set was covered in yesterday's post). It measures: 6.5" (16.51cm) L x 3.25" (8.25cm) W x 2.25" (5.71cm) H. My sample is missing the paper American flag on wooden dowel which was inserted into the post behind the passengers seat. My sample also has a broken windshield - a very common occurrence in these things. Many times I see the whole windshield busted up, but mine just has one missing cross member. It should be an easy enough repair - that is if I ever get off my posterior and actually do it!

Ed