Perry 8th army plastics for Burma or East Africa?

[Longstrider]

Hey all. So I know very little about either campaign, but hoping to do a little research if I get in on it. But I'm mainly a gamer first and so I'd like to get some figures and start painting something representative of one or the other, probably using the Bolt Action rules as I'll play what the folks at the club play.

So that said, would the plastic 8th army from the Perries (and their metal support) do for either of those theatres? I'm not sure if the equipment is within the bounds of general accuracy or not. Units from very far flung parts of the Empire seem to have been sent to East Africa according to a quick perusal of wikipedia; were the logistics such that everyone pretty much received the same basic kit in the same colours?

Also, what would the terrain have looked like, as far as basing goes? Both campaigns cover what look to be pretty large regions, so it may just be that there's a lot of variation too.

As an aside, what about the Italian troops involved? What figures would be suitable for both Italian and colonial troops on the other side?

[DeltaBravo]

Ref Burma, both the plastics and metals will do very well for the Retreat period. 

You'd only want the trousered metals for the Reconquest period so you have fewer choices in their range.

Your problem (and mine currently) in each case will be finding suitable Japanese that are in-scale with the Perry figures.

Burma terrain was pretty varied, from open grassland to mountainous jungle depending on where in the retreat you are and whether you're basing skirmishes on the main retreat route (along the road networks)or fighting patrols in the jungle.

[lou passejaire]

perry plastics with wolesley helmets will work for east africa ...

perry plastics with indian patern sun helmet issued last week will work for burma ( and you have some 6 arms with machetes. )
it's here

and you have some some sikh heads too ...

on the italian side :
the perry ones in colonial helmet
the italy in abyssinia range from empress miniatures ( with askaris )
are good choices

[Longstrider]

Thanks for the information. Good call on the opponents from both of you - I think given what's out there at the moment East Africa will be the aim first, and then Burma after that (and maybe by the time I've gotten together a platoon plus opposition for the first, the latter might present itself). I think perhaps a mix of tin helmets, pith helmets and slouch hats might do the trick - there's a couple of pics I've found of troops readying for the East African campaign in hats.

Actually, while I'm at it, any suggestions on where I might be able to find uniform information and ideas for painting? I did a bit of googling about on the internet and mostly I came across examples of Italian colonial troops. Not sure if the British troops involved would have had different colours of battledress than other troops in the Middle East or North Africa. And that's before getting to actual unit patches and insignia, which is probably a bridge to cross when I get there.

[lou passejaire]

i have not seen a single tin helmet on pics of the early stages of the east african campaign ... ( latter all the headgears were worn by british troops, some adrian helmets were used by the Free French, along with some french colonial helmets ) .
british Uniforms are basically the same from 1939 to 1943 in north africa .

you have a nice painting guide by the good guys @ bolt action (dot) net here.

and you have a full OOb for the east african campaign on wikipedia : here.

and btw, the hats were worn by the guys of the south african division or the king's african rifles,  on the southern front , from Kenya ...

as a basic guide, you can use Osprey : The British Army 1939-45 (2): Middle East & Mediterranean

[TWD]

James and Scrivs made extensive use of the Perry 8th army figures for their refight of Keren in East Africa:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=65636.0
http://scrivsland.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Battle%20of%20Keren
http://tomstoysoldiers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Keren

Also, because he's a crazy madman hobbyist, Scrivs has done some Burma stuff too:
http://scrivsland.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Battle%20of%20Meiktila

Hope that helps.