One of the biggest challenges with the Little Cold Wars project so far has been sourcing suitable 1/32 figures - especially for the Warsaw Pact forces. And yes, I know that Airfix did a set of 'Modern' Russians and Esci a set of mixed WARPACT soldiers but both are now as rare as rocking horse s**t. If you find some in your attic I'll gladly take them off your hands...
So, that said, it's back to bodging. A bit of light research revealed that a number of WARPACT armies used - well into the 1970s - webbing patterned after the German WW2 version. And a few wore 'ski cap' type headgear not a million miles removed from the Wehrmacht equivalent. I have also seen photos of Yugoslav soldiers (and yes, I know they weren't WARPACT members but if you were obsessed by accuracy you wouldn't be reading this rubbish) in the 1970s armed with locally-produced copies of Mauser K98 rifles. All of this points us towards the Airfix Afrika Korps figures which are readily available once more.
Aside from paintwork, however, I wanted to add a few bits of kit which would mark them as 'modern'. So it was off to the spares box for a rummage. Adding a bit of plastic tube to the front end of a 1/144 scale aircraft bomb gave what in a bad light may be viewed as a reasonable stand-in for an RPG-7. A few of the comrades were thus equipped and can be seen above.
7 comments:
I like!
You know with a few snippets of plastic card and PVA those k98's could look like AK types.
Nicely done Tim
Paul Foster
I did think of that (honestly) but laziness prevailed.
Fair comment!
A very good use of what is to hand ... and the RPGs are great!
I saw that HAWKINS BAZAAR have boxes of 30 or so Green Army men on sale for £6.00. I am seriously thinking of buying a box or two to form the Lauranian Army of the 1960s/1970s. They looked very American thanks to money and weapons from NATO.
All the best,
Bob
Bob Cordery
You may want to wait and get them cheaper at the COW bring & buy.....
In a idle moment a few weeks ago when wondering if my boxes of Airfix WWII Russians were any good to anyone, I dug about a bit (ok I wasn't supposed to be idle and didn't dig too deep) and found that the old style soviet uniforms with boots and WWII helmet hung around for quite a few years after the new one came out but it was green rather than khaki by the late 50's. Several of the weapons also hung along after the AK came out so for 2nd line units they could still serve fairly late.
Ross Mac
Oddly enough I have been having similar thoughts. Old Airfix WW2 Russian figures turning up here can be assured of a warm welcome and continued employment!
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