Italians and Ascari for East Africa WW2 - 15mm

 East Africa - Italian and Colonial forces

House move more or less complete (don't look in the garage ...) I've been able to spend some time on the Italian forces and their allies for CoC East Africa 1940-41. The setting even had a first run out last Thursday and boy, did I see how powerful the Italian "squadra" can be on the defensive.

It's fun to fiddle with the rules a bit and I'm thinking through a "Filthy Fascist Fraud" - an equivalent to a Shabby Nazi Trick. There were quite a few occasions in East Africa where a white flag was raised to trick Empire troops out of cover ... I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding. Anyway, there's some mileage in including this as a support option for the Italians and their allies in some scenarios. To balance it, the British Empire troops basically delivered a blitzkrieg of their own in this campaign so I figure that the Red Dice can be made available to them alongside the marvellous Drinks Cabinet option.

The minis are mainly Eureka this time, mixed with a Skytrex leaders pack and a few Peter Pig supports like trucks etc. To my eye, some of the Skytrex chaps are a bit chunkier and have a penchant for baggy pantaloons but they all look fine together once based up.

Senior Leaders

Skytrex flanking Peter Pig

Italian Bersaglieri Rifles

Italian "Squadras" have 10 rifles and 2x LMG teams - but only two of these per platoon

These are all Eureka

An LMG team (Eureka)

African Ascari/Colonial Battalion troops

Leaders (Eureka)

LMG team - for some reason missing a crew member (Eureka)

Banda/Patriots/Tribes

Leader (Eureka)

These can be used by either side as Scouts (12 Rifles, move 2D6 and go tactical)

Supports

Lancia Flamethrower L3/Lf can double as Fiat with a bigger gun ...

Fiat Ansaldo L3/35 tankette is in the background (Peter Pig I think)

M11/39 in early war camo (Skytrex)

M11/40 for later scenarios, possibly North Africa (Skytrex)

Cannone da 47/32 - pretty good piece of kit (Eureka and Peter Pig)

Lancia Truck (Peter Pig)

Autoblinda AB41 armoured car (Skytrex)

M35 MMG

What's next? A few early war and WWI vintage armoured cars for both sides are on the painting desk. I'm tempted to expand the Ascari options and Eureka do desert Bersaglieri on motorcycles/side-cars which might be fun. Hang on, though - Dux Brit you say? No I don't have any Arthurian cataphracts ... yet.

A few more British Empire supports

Managed to find time to finish these off over the weekend, along with the remaining infantry/supports for the Sikhs. Just the basing left to do on them. Maybe this week?

Some of these supports are better suited to the Western Desert / Libya / North Africa through to early 1942. The CoC rules and supplement cover this area too. The provides more armoured options for both the Italians and Empire, making for a more interesting "pick up" game or scenario.

Crusader c1941 - it's a touch more sand coloured in real life

Matilda II - a handful of these operated in East Africa

And one that went wrong

Unless the Brits created a Lemon Cheesecake camo?

I'll cover this with Caunter ...

Support the Empire!

 A bit of support ...

Managed to find a bit of time to mess around with "Caunter" early war camo. A lot of ink has been spilled on the subject and many paints are available to help get that right shade. True to form, I went my own way and decided on a stony undercoat, with a dark green and olive-grey combination. All vallejo and all mixed to what I liked! I tried a sepia wash but it didn't look quite right so it's back to the reddy-brown of Agrax Earthshade for now. I don't own an airbrush so I stayed sober and tried to paint straight!

One more section of Sikhs plus a range of supports have reached the undercoat and wash stage. Highlights in the weeks ahead. Looking forward to having a bash at the Eureka/Skytrex Italians and colonial troops in due course.

Group shot

Technically this is a Skytrex Humber Light Recon but for now it's standing in as a Marmon-Herrington ... not sure any Humbers actually made it to East Africa?

Awesome Mark VI with MMG. Love these little chaps. By PP.

Another Skytrex Humber Light Recon - went for the plain desert camo for 1941 onwards. 

Hard to find the "right" shade. Plumped for GW Zandri Dust base; Sepia wash; thinned Vallejo Stone Grey and a final edge highlight of the same with a smidge of off-white

Everyone needs a truck ... another PP sculpt

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 ...