Friday 3 May 2013

Matchbox British and ANZAC infantry

 
1944 British Infantry Battalion
 As I continue the refurbishment project, I decided to see if I could use the same techniques to bring some units I had gotten off Steve H. back up and running. Steve very generously gave me his WW2 CD armies as he had decided he just wasn't interested in 20mm WW2 any more. Steve's head having been turned by the nice shiney  15mm stuff produced by Battlefront. (N.B. see this link to urban Dictionary, definition three, for my use of shiney)

These figures all had flock similar to that on the left.  I, for one, am glad of the vast range of flocks and tellus we enjoy today.

These armies included some that Steve had based up for CD 1! So this is why their base sizes are somewhat lacking in depth - CD 1 used a stand size  that wasn't as deep and was 1/8 of an inch wider. I am not sure that I will rebase them up to current CD standards - but I may yet do so! These earlier forces are also flocked with a very green flock. When I put the wash on these figures I was hoping it would tone the flock down somewhat.

The Battalion commander is the officer figure from the ANZAC  Infantry set.

The figures used are a combination of the Matchbox British Infantry (PSR link here), and the Matchbox Anzac Infantry (PSR link here) sets. They have been organised as a 1944 British Infantry Battalion, sans the mortar stand and all the vehicles, as per the TOE given in CD 1.


The stand with the two rifle men is the battalion's engineers, while the two  kneeling stands are meant to be the gun crews for the 6pdrs.  I shall probably treat them as an attached infantry company as none of them really look right for their stated role.

The CD 1 TOE gives an additional 6pdr antitank battery, and gives each rifle company a heavy truck to transport the unit. The AotSWW TOE strips the second 6pdr battery and organic company transport, and separates the CD 1 HQ company into a Headquarters company and a Support Company.

A Company - the command infantry stand is the one with the kneeling riflemen.

Fortunately, the organization of the rifle companies stayed the same, with each one consisting of one command infantry stand and two infantry stands.

B Company - the command infantry stand is the one with the Sten and the Bren.


C Company - the command infantry stand is the one with the two  Thompson Gunners. neither is named Roland.

The two sets work quite well together, although to my mind the Lee Enfields of the British infantry set seem to have a little more heft to them, however this is more than made up for by the sword bayonets of the ANZAC set.

D Company - the command Infantry stand is the one on the  right side of the picture.
Right, back to the workbench to do some more work on my shineys before the school holidays come to a close and I have to do some work again.


8 comments:

  1. Nice addition to the forces. Doesn't seem like too much work to bring them up to the current edition. Or am I wrong?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sean , nope you are right, it won't take much to bring them up to CD 3 standard. essentially they are just missing the support company. as to the bases I could cut some thin plastic sheet the correct size and glue it under the existing base and try and blend in the extra depth.

      Delete
  2. Nice Warren Zevon reference there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. nice stuff! I got a bag of old flock from a friend, which is so bright its disgusting. anyway great addition to the forces. they look rather nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Steve did a nice job on his figure selection. you can still use the old flock by putting it on a base and painting over it with a base colour and the dry brushing it. this works well if it is a very coarse flock.

      Delete
  4. One of my all time favourite sets, got that one but not the Japanese set :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, the Matchbox ANZAC set is a good one! THe Japanese have been reissued by Revell, so you should be able to pick up a nice brand you set - which would be well worth it as it's a cracker too!

      Delete