More for the Far East

Lots of activity on the workbench over the last couple of weeks, finishing off several 20mm AFVs and vehicles for the Far East. First off are three Japanese AFVs - two tanks and a self propelled gun.

Below is a Type 97 Shinhoto Chi Ha from 172 Scale Miniatures. This is the later version of the Chi Ha with a larger turret to accomodate a 47mm gun. These saw service in the latter stages of the Burma campaign and in a number of other theatres. The model appears to be resin but it's slightly softer than others I've painted. I found the barrel had a slight bend in it that I could not straighten and so I removed it and replaced it with a metal one I had in the spares box.

Next is a Type 89, this is a traditional plastic kit from IBG who produce an excellent range of unusual vehicles. This is a lovely model that comes complete with photo-etch brass for the more detailed parts like the exhaust grill.

The Type 1 Ho Ni below is a late war self propelled gun that mainly saw use in the Philippines. This is made by Precise and I bought it very cheaply off eBay several years ago. From what I understand the models were manufactured to be sold with an accompanying magazine, however the project was never launched and the models were disposed of, with many appearing on eBay. They came ready painted and required a small bit of assembly. They lack detail in some areas but when repainted make a reasonable model for a game table.

A few useful additions for my Japanese.

If you've been following the blog you will have seen my earlier conversions of Lledo die cast trucks. I had one left over and wasn't sure what to do with it. I've been working on developing a Chindit campaign for Chain of Command and as part of that I needed to provide the Japanese with trucks, so I thought converting this last Lledo truck into a captured/requisitioned truck in Burma would be a useful addition.

Several years ago I bought two resin Milicast models of the M3 tank in both a Grant and a Lee version intending both for Burma. The Milicast models are beautiful but I had real problems with the tracks when I tried to remove excess resin from the casting. Some sections broke and it was enough to put me off progressing any further and I put them away. I reached the point where I was going to either throw them away or finish them off and so decided to make a last attempt at fixing the issues. The solution for the tracks was to replace the missing pieces with lengths of spare track that came as stowage with a Sherman model. I'm glad I made the effort because the completed models look every bit as good as I know Milicast models can be.

I don't have many models in metal and it takes a while to get used to working with models that are much heavier than resin or plastic. This Daimler armoured car is from SHQ with a crew figure from PSC. I've left it without any specific unit markings as it will work just as well in Europe as it can in Burma.

I've also been working on filling gaps in the number of softskin vehicles in the collection. There's not a big demand in games for these but they are useful as scatter terrain or for convoy type scenarios. For Burma I have in mind scenarios set during the British retreat in 1942 and while I'm not completely sure Chevrolet 30cwt trucks were present then I like the early war look these give. Once again this is a metal model from SHQ.

When you need a break from painting figures

The workbench has been full of figures in recent months while the paint queue of tanks, AFVs and guns hasn't been getting any shorter. So the last couple of weeks have seen the paintbrushes given a rest and the airbrush put back into action. It's been time to finish off several 20mm Second World War projects.

I have several of the Plastic Soldier Company boxed sets of vehicles and I don't always need all three of the models for the same force, which means I can do them in a number of different paint schemes. One of those I had in mind was using spare allied vehicles for lend-lease tanks used by the Red Army.

The first batch include a Valentine and a Sherman (M4A2) from the Plastic Soldier Company and a Matilda from S-Models. PSC do a set of Red Army decals that have come in very handy for this project. Crew figures are from AB Figures.

While not lend-lease vehicle I had a Dragon T34/85 which I've made and intend to eventually populate with tank riders from the lovely AB set (they are primed and waiting paint), in the meantime the tank itself was painted while I had the airbrush loaded with Russian green. All my other T34s are from PSC and the Dragon kit has lots of much finer detail that may make it a little more brittle for gaming but nonetheless a very attractive looking kit.

A much neglected part of my collection has been soft skins vehicles and that's something I'm starting to address for several of my forces. First up has been a few trucks from the PSC German truck set. An Opel Blitz and Opel Maultier and then a Mercedes truck which was built from left over parts from the truck set and a bit of scratch building.

Talking of transport, I've also added this unmotorised version - three mules and their handlers from the 172 Miniatures Japanese range.

Another fairly recent addition for the Japanese is a 47mm anti-tank gun and crew. This is from SHQ. I often find their figures on the slim side compared to the others I use but when used like this in a gun crew and not side by side with the others you can barely notice the difference. 

The Joy of Adding More

When I first decided to return to miniatures I did so without an opponent or a club. I just felt the urge and worked in the hope that 'if you build it, they will come'. Having played hex and counter wargames for many years I had a circle of friends who I knew liked historical games, although whether they'd be interested in miniatures was another matter. So, on the basis that I would most probably have to provide everything I set about putting together opposing forces and terrain.

My primary interest has always been the Second World War and the initial task was to collect and paint enough figures and vehicles for a game. Delving back into miniatures after such a long break meant I spent a fair amount of time on the internet reading forums and blogs. I'd look with envy at posts where people showed off a new unit, perhaps something simple like an anti-tank gun and crew. It would force me to contemplate the lead and plastic pile I had accumulated and dream of the day when I'd be able to focus on simple, small additions. Well, that was nearly a decade ago and now there is no need to dream anymore, I'm in the enjoyable position of being able to do just that. Which is a long winded way of saying here's a post about several new additions and a bit of revamping of earlier parts of the collection.

My Second World War Japanese collection is reasonably comprehensive, but certainly not complete. I've been looking for figures with rifles to represent squad corporals. The figures I have are from Eureka and all have swords. I found some from SHQ and although I find their figures can be noticeably slimmer than those in other 20mm ranges I thought I would try them out.

The Japanese used the Type 94 Te Ke tankette extensively in China, but also in places like Malaya and Burma. While they would be obsolete in the context of a European battlefield their lightweight and mobility meant they remained useful in the Far East, seeing action in the Pacific as late as 1945. These three are all resin models from Milicast.

Tankette seems a most appropriate term for something so small. Here they are with a couple of figures to give a sense of scale and proportion (and yes, they are the same scale!).

Staying with the Far East I discovered recently that the British 18 pounder gun was still in use at the start of the Second World War. A few modifications had been made to this iconic British gun from the Great War, the most obvious being a revised carriage and pneumatic wheels to allow them to be towed by vehicles rather than horses. These were sent to far flung outposts like Hong Kong and Malaya where they saw action following the Japanese invasions. I wanted to add one to my early war British force. The gun comes from SHQ and is crewed with a few of the AB Figures western desert force 25 pounder set.

Whilst we're on the subject of AB Figures and repurposing crews I did something similar for my Red Army collection. I had acquired a 12.7mm DHsK machine gun from MMS in anticipation of using it in our Westwind Konigsberg campaign for Chain of Command. Unfortunately the crew figures that came with the gun were very small and unlike the SHQ Japanese I didn't think they would match up well with my existing miniatures. My original solution for that campaign had been to crew the gun with plastic figures for a Maxim MG from the PSC Soviet Heavy Weapons set, but I've never liked the seated figure they have for gun. 

I decided to replace them with figures from the AB Maxim set which I much prefer, not least because they are firing the weapon prone.

There is a Market Garden supplement for Chain of Command in the works. I'm interested in that campaign but also the later actions in Holland and then into Germany the following year. In anticipation of that I've been adding to my British force for that latter part of the war in NW Europe.

The Archer self propelled gun used a Valentine chassis to mount a 17 pounder anti-tank gun. It's a quirky looking vehicle, not least because the gun faces the rear, yet it served its purpose well enough. This is a resin and metal kit from Early War Miniatures. The crew figures come from the AB 17 pounder set.

Another mounting a 17 pounder was the M10, also known as the Achilles, a British adaptation of the US M10 (Wolverine). This is a plastic kit from Armourfast with a crew from AB. The Armourfast kits are cheap and robust but can be a bit short on detail, nothing that can't be addressed with stowage and a crew. I've gone one step further with this one and added camouflage netting.

While I was making the netting I took the opportunity to upgrade one of my earlier Cromwell models, also a kit from Armourfast. The same as with the Achilles I've added a crew figure from AB, stowage and camouflage netting. It's surprising how much these extra details lift a model and give it a character all of its own.

The plastic kits from the Plastic Soldier Company have more detail than those from Armourfast, but they are often very chunky and over scale. It's the price you pay for a model that is robust enough for gaming. One of the most glaring offenders is the bow machine gun on several of their tanks. The Sherman being a prime example with a barrel more like a piece of plumbers pipe as you can see below.

Sgts Mess produce a very useful set of barrels which are ideal for upgrading these kits. While I was doing that I took the opportunity to add a few pieces of stowage on the rear engine deck.

Their T34 has similar issues with the bow machine gun.

A set of replacement barrels from Sgts Mess helped out here. It may be a small difference and not one you notice from normal gaming distance, but it's one of those things that really stands out when I'm doing photographs for the AARs.

I've also gone back and made a few tweaks to a few earlier German tanks by adding new crew figures from AB.

Second World War Far East British and Commonwealth in 20mm (the early years)

One of the opponents for my Second World War Japanese force for Chain of Command will be British and Commonwealth units. The earliest clashes began in December 1941, with the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Hong Kong. They were followed the next month with the invasion of Burma. At that time the British tropical uniform was essentially the same as that worn in North Africa - khaki drill shorts and shirts.

The same uniform was worn by Commonwealth units, including the Canadians in Hong Kong and the Australian Militia and AIF units in Papua New Guinea in the early stages of that campaign. This means most ranges of miniatures for the 8th Army in North Africa will have suitable figures to cover the fighting in 1942 and in some cases into 1943 and early '44.

As the war progressed it was clear that the tropical uniform was not suited for the jungle. During 1943 and 1944 uniforms changed in colour to a more suitable jungle green. The shorts were replaced by longer pants and a range of lightweight fabrics such as Aertex used for the shirts. However, that is to run ahead of ourselves. As I want to be able to game the entire period of the war in the Far East I have created forces in both khaki drill with shorts and in jungle greens with long pants. The latter are covered in this post.

In the interwar years the tropical issue helmet was not metal, but one made from pith or cork, designed for use in hot climates. This was standard issue to all units posted to tropical destinations and there is much evidence that these were still in use at the time. However, what is not so clear, is whether they were ever worn in combat. By 1940 a soldier posted to a tropical destination was supposed to be issued with both a pith helmet and a steel helmet. While the steel helmet was issued for use on active service, there is some photographic evidence to suggest this may not have always been the case. The images below show British units training in Malaya in November 1941. They would appear to suggest that troops were expected to wear these in combat. It's hard to imagine why they would undertake combat training wearing them otherwise. 

I am aware that there were units in the early stages of the Burma campaign that had not yet been issued with steel helmets. They would have had no option but to wear the pith helmets. The Osprey Men-at-Arms book 'The British Army 1939-45 (3) The Far East' states that this was certainly the case for 2nd Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, who had been in Burma since 1936 and had not yet been issued steel helmets. They also lacked a full complement of Bren guns and so used Lewis guns to fill the gaps. 

While it's not clear exactly how much the pith helmet was worn in combat (if it was at all), what is certain is that the Lewis gun was still in use in many units in Burma, Hong Kong and Malaya. What were considered remote postings like the Far East were often the last to be issued with new equipment, with units closer to home taking top priority.

Also worth noting that the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, photographed below while training in Malaya in November 1941, may be in the tropical helmet, but three men are armed with a Thompson sub machine gun (presumably the NCOs) and the man second from the left is carrying a Bren gun. Their helmets may belong to a different era, but their weapons do not.

Early War Miniatures produce a range of tropical British in pith helmets. The range also includes men with Lewis guns. So, just in case the opportunity arises, I have added a platoon of these to my collection for the Far East theatre. 

There's a good example of one of those tropical pith helmets in the Hampshire Regiment Museum.

Even if they don't end up seeing much action in the Far East, they wear uniforms suitable for some units in East Africa, as well as campaigns in Syria and Lebanon. Let's just call them a small indulgence.

The basic organisation for all Commonwealth units is the standard British infantry platoon. These were composed of a platoon HQ and three rifle sections, each made up of a team of riflemen and a light machine gun team. The bulk of my platoon is made up of figures from the AB Figures Western Desert range. These will represent British and Commonwealth units from December 1941 and throughout 1942. There is some evidence of units in Burma still wearing this uniform until early 1944.

The picture below is dated September 1942. It shows men of the 2/10th AIF at Milne Bay, New Guinea. As you can see, these Australians are still wearing khaki drill. Interesting to note that the majority of men are wearing helmet covers and several have gas mask bags. The unit had served in North Africa and were aware of the danger of reflection from helmets. As the Japanese had been known to use gas in China, I was not surprised to learn that the unit was still under orders to conduct gas training every two weeks.

In some cases the section corporal (junior leader) could be armed with a rifle not a submachine gun. For these men I have used figures from the Wargames Foundry 20mm 'British infantry in North Africa' set. That helps to differentiate these figures from the AB other ranks, as they have different poses. A few rocks on the base denotes they are junior leaders. 

The corporals carry the M1928 version of the Thompson, an example of which can be seen in the Australian War Memorial museum.

The Foundry figures match up well with those from AB. Here's a section led by one of the rifle armed corporals from Foundry. 

The British tended to assign the section Thompson submachine gun to the corporal in command, however, it was common Australian practice to give it to the man in the section likely to make the most aggressive use of it. In which case the corporal would carry a rifle. With that eventuality in mind I have also painted some Australian figures to represent those other ranks who have the SMG instead of the corporal.

AB also do a nice looking section in prone positions.

The platoon is commanded by a lieutenant, with a sergeant as second in command, and in Chain of Command terms, both function as senior leaders. In most cases the lieutenant is armed with a pistol and the sergeant with a rifle. These senior leaders are based on rectangular bases, to help differentiate them from the junior leaders.

The platoon HQ is made up of the lieutenant, the sergeant, a 2” mortar team and an anti-tank rifle team.

Here's the 2" mortar team.

And the anti-tank rifle team.

You can find one of these large, heavy Boys anti-tank rifles in the collection of the Australian War Memorial museum.

That makes up the core platoon. For support units, I have a Vickers medium machine gun team, also from AB. The prone figure on the single base is from Dixon Miniatures. Their 20mm range has some lovely sculpts, but they really are 'true 20mm' and look small in comparison to the AB and Foundry figures. While the prone figure is shorter than the others, it's less noticeable, because he's lying down.

The Canadian War Museum has a Vickers on display, complete with water coolant.

There is a forward observer team, also from AB.

I made up three jump-off-points for Chain of Command using a few spare command figures that I had collected. Two of these were the smaller figures from Dixon, that weren't going to mix well with the AB Figures, but they have served a very useful role in this setting.

 

A feature of the Far East Handbook for Chain of Command is a Line of Communication marker. This is usually placed on a road and I have been using a model of a Chevrolet truck. 

That worked well enough, but I thought it could benefit from a few figures to add more life and narrative. I was looking at the AB Figures range and realised an easy solution would be to repurpose their set of western desert tank crews refuelling to the Far East.

Given the LoC marker is normally placed on a road, it made sense to base the figures to match.

The truck is a metal kit from SHQ.

I have a few casualty figures. They are always useful for replacing those removed in the course of a game, particularly for the photographs that accompany the reports here on the blog. These two are from Simon's Soldiers.

Anti-tank support comes from a 2 pounder. The gun is a plastic kit from Zvezda and the crew are a mix of AB and Dixon.

The Australian War Memorial museum has a 2 pounder gun on display that you can inspect up close.

The venerable 18 pounder was still in service in the 1930s. The carriage was modified and wheels changed to pneumatic tyres, so the gun could be towed by a vehicle. Other than the inclusion of an AP round, it was much the same gun that served so well in 1914-18. At the start of the second world war a number went to France with the BEF and a number were already stationed in Hong Kong, Malaya and Burma. The gun model is from SHQ and the crew are from the AB set for the 25pdr in the Western Desert. I've hazard a guess it was painted in pre-war Bronze Green and likely remained that colour, but as I say, it's a guess.

There were not many AFVs present in the early stages of the war with Japan. The Universal Carrier was available in various forms and was seen in most theatres. The problem of transporting tanks to the north coast of New Guinea meant the Australians made one attempt to use the available carriers like tanks in an assault at the Duropa Plantation during the battle for Buna in New Guinea. Ill suited to the task assigned to them, it was little surprise that all five carriers were disabled within half an hour.

This carrier is from the Plastic Soldier Company, with a crew from AB Figures.

I've always been surprised at how big the carrier is when you see it up close. Below is one on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

There's not a lot of call for soft skin vehicles in platoon level games, but I thought it would be useful to have a few if I want to play games featuring retreats in Burma or Malaya. These could be either scatter terrain or play a role in a scenario where they are trying to escape off the table. I'm not sure whether the Chevrolet 30cwt truck saw much use in the Far East, but I know they were present in North Africa and the Middle East in 1940. This is the metal model from SHQ that I've also used as a Line of Communication marker.

The Lanchester armoured car was present in Hong Kong and in Malaya. It's a typical product of the inter-war years. The lack of tracks meant it was confined mainly to roads, making it more suited to a colonial policing role, rather than a modern armoured vehicle.

There is a very good example of a Lanchester on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

The British 7th Armoured Brigade was transferred from North Africa to the Far East in late 1941. They were originally destined for Singapore, but were eventually sent to Burma, arriving in February 1942. They were equipped with early model Stuarts. These were the only tanks in British and Commonwealth service to see action against the Japanese at that early stage of the war. Aside from their use in Burma, they were the first tanks used by the Australians in New Guinea, when the 2/6 Armoured Brigade used them at Buna, following the unsuccessful attack with the Universal Carriers. 

The Stuart below comes from the Plastic Soldier Company set, which allows you to make up either early or later versions. This means it's possible to make up the early model with the octagonal turret which featured in the early stages of the campaigns in New Guinea and Burma. In the case of the Burma campaign the option to have both early and later model versions is useful, as all the earlier model Stuarts were lost during the retreat in 1942.  Replacement tanks arrived and these were the later models with the rounded turrets, which saw much service during 1944 and '45. 

 

The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum has one of these early version of the M3 Stuart in its collection.

The Far East Handbook for Chain of Command includes rules for air attacks. Much like a pregame barrage or the Stuka Bombardment rules in the Blitzkrieg 1940 Handbook these air attacks are abstracted, so there is no need to represent them on the table. However, that sort of thing has never stopped me. If you read any of the AARs for games in our Many Rivers to Cross campaign, you will see I've used a model of a Stuka as a marker, to represent this pregame event visually. I intend doing the same with our Far East games and with that in mind, I have made a few aircraft. 

For this early stage of the war the Allied ground troops received very limited air support and were more often than not on the receiving end of Japanese air attacks. The Far East Handbook includes rules for a Japanese Zero Attack! and I have a model of one of those for my Japanese 20mm collection.

There is a Zero on display at the entrance to the museum at the Yasukini Shrine in Tokyo.

For the British and Commonwealth the Brewster Buffalo was present in many squadrons. Its performance was inferior to Japanese fighters and it played very little part in supporting ground forces. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist making one, in this case one of the Airfix 'Vintage Classics' range, a kit dating back to the mid 1970s. Despite its age it is a fairly decent model and with some care can be made into something quite presentable.

The chance of it making an appearance in a ground support role in one of our games is highly unlikely and so I've made this one with the undercarriage down, because it's more likely to appear as a piece of scatter terrain.

Many of the figures featured on this page were used to play a Chain of Command campaign that was published in an issue of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine. Entitled Last Stand on Opium Hill, it is set just before the fall Singapore. Here a company from the Malaya Regiment was trying to hold back the Japanese tide on the outskirts of the city. You can find the first game report here.

They were also used for The Driving Charge campaign, this one set during the very opening days of the invasion of Malaya. You can find the first game report here.

You can see more of my other 20mm collections for the Second World War by clicking on this link 20mm Miniatures.