Chain of Command - East Africa 1940-41

 Chain of Command - East Africa 1940-41

After "dry" January - a break from painting etc - February marks the start of a new project: early war East Africa for Chain of Command. 

Why 15mm? I've been lucky enough to play some cracking games of CoC in 28mm (Charlie's exploding cludgie and Home Guard scenario) and 15mm (Derek's big CoC and other early war France scenarios.) 15mm is more cost and space effective right now and I have a lot of scenery that can be transferred from Afghanistan (with a bit of imagination.) Plus the ground-scale just seems "right" at 15mm for CoC.

Why East Africa? Because I like the way the early war plays with CoC and wanted to add something a bit different if we ever get around a big table together again. No-one has Italians or Sikhs at this scale. It's a new theatre for me and I've enjoyed reading about it. I plan to use some of the excellent CoC "Abyssinia" material for a campaign and some extra rules, such as the weather, ground conditions and extras uses for CoC dice, as well as the 1940-41 Desert lists available on the TFL website. The Italian platoon setup is interestingly quirky, which should provide a challenge for seasoned players.

First up, a sample section of Desert Sikhs from Peter Pig. These are lovely minis to paint. I've ordered some Eureka Italian Desert Bersaglieri, Askaris and Dubats to round out both forces. Plus a few tanks and armoured cars from Skytrex and Peter Pig to add a bit of depth to the rosters.

Bren Team on a roof, the Sarge yells at the rifle team to head off down the road.

New "dwelling bases" and scatter to add a bit more interest to the board.

Rifle team heading past a Battlefront House and walls from my Afghan collection.

The road is 28mm but works fine for me at this scale too - bonus!

Bren team - might need another highlight on the faces, but fine for now

Sort of close-up. I tend not to peer too closely at my chaps on the board.

I went for a wash and highlight approach. It looks better in real-life, honest.

The uniform is khaki but has come out slightly more green than expected.

It will be easier to tell them apart from the Desert Yellow Italians.

The Sarge with Tommy Gun. 

I'm trialling the use of colour/flowers to make the Big Men stand out at a glace. 

I have stuck a dead grass tuft on the bren gunner too as his pose is similar to the rifles.

I've also created some scenic bases for the buildings. They already look much better than just placing them on the mat - plus they add a bit of extra walled cover for the troops. I've also horded a plantation's worth of palm trees which may not be ultra-realistic but helps to set the scene. Maybe I'll look at some Acacia trees etc over time.

Plodding through the remaining Sikh sections and supports next ...