Brucie's Italian Askari conversions in 20mm

[BattlewagonBruce]

Had a go at some converions in 20mm plastic to make these colourful colonial troops.

Think I will do a battalion to offer as a table ready force for sale.

Bruce

[James Morris]

Nice!  You can't beat those amazing oversized NCO shoulder stripes.

Did you find any pics of these guys wearing the tarboosh in WW2?  I've got plenty of photos of them in red hats in the 1930s, but none for the 1940s.  Maybe I haven't looked hard enough yet.  Lots of the pics of POWs just show them wearing regular army sidecaps (but of course that's never as much fun as a red hat.  I confess I stuck with red hats for my Keren game because it looks cool.)

[BattlewagonBruce]

I went off the Osprey book which shows Eritrean troops wearing this in the invasion of British Somaliland in 1940.

Like my Foreign Legion, I think they look cool in this headgear, even if most would have been in the bustina by 1941/42.

ta

Bruce

[James Morris]

So it does, and I also found a photo in the back (pg 43) showing an askari wearing one in 1940.  I should pay more attention to those Osprey books!  My impression is that once the war got fully underway, the askaris became less and less well-equipped, and ended up with bustinas or whatever they could get their hands on.  This Pathe still showing POWs during the Battle of Keren seems to have four African soldiers in (two centre and two at the back), one of whom has a sun helmet and the rest in bustinas. Other shots in the same film have bareheaded troops, and I think I glimpsed one wearing his unit sash around his head.

[BattlewagonBruce]

I think you are right.

I have been reading up on them myself.

The fez was a mark of service and not given up lightly. The number of stars, badges etc reflected service, rank and wounds etc. They were replaced by bustinas but the Askari and Libyan troops hated them.

I have now converted a figure to the Libyan Colonial troop type with the smaller fez with the blue tassel and it looks quite cool (IMO). Once painted I will post it.

I also found that the Libyan division had 512 mules and horses on its Orbat and only 9 trucks, so they were using these to drag infantry support weapons.

No additional transport was provided for the infantry component; the unit remained a foot-walking infantry that still employed animals for the infantry heavy weapons.

this is s quote from a website on the Italian command in North Africa.

The ORBAT shows LMGs and MMGs but no A/T guns but 65mm Mountain guns.

I will post some pics when I have more painted.

thanks

Bruce

[James Morris]

Interesting info, many thanks Bruce.  Did you have a link for that website?  I look forward to seeing your latest work!

Cheers

james