Anglian SCW range now available at Empress.

[Doc Twilight]

I wouldn't mind seeing some Basque Republican troops, wearing a mix of civilian gear and Republican Army issue equipment. They'd  have the very distinctive Basque style beret and clothes typical of the northern front. There are some excellent pictures of Basque re-enactors with equipment, information, etc. (Baldrick found these) online at:

http://sanchobeurko.atspace.com/index.htm

Even if you don't speak any of the languages at the site, the pictures are well worth it.

-Doc

[Arlequín]

What those guys said! 

The problem with SCW is the wild variation in climate and temperature depending on which front you were on. In Galicia/Euskadi and Catalonia, you have good summers and harsh winters. Even in Andalucia there can be snow in the Sierras as late as April. In Northern Europe you can get away with a single uniform type for a range, particularly if the army was obliging and didn't provide winter clothing. While I'm happy with my troops fighting in an 'endless summer', I can appreciate others wanting more sensible clothing for the areas they are gaming in.

More 'regular' infantry would be welcome too. While La Legion and the Moros are exciting, they were just a small portion of the Nationalist army. Having said that, many of the figures are interchangeable as is, the Nationalists had a 'mono' type uniform in khaki and the 'Gorillo' cap was universal too. Within a unit you could find several issues of kit, especially the Republicans, who bought surplus uniforms from all over.

The range as is covers a lot of ground, but if you were fighting the early battles, such as the 'march on Madrid', representing a large body of militia with only a few packs of figures leads to a lot of duplication. Obviously sat here I don't know how well they sell, it might not be commercially viable to churn out more militia... I'd just like some. 

If I had to pick priorities... I'd say support weapons, civilian trucks, military trucks, in pretty much that order. A horse limber and a mule team would be excellent too, along with all the other suggestions. The Asaltos lack the mortars and machine guns they had too. I'll stop there before I churn out an endless list. 

[Helen]

I'm suprised that this movie has not come up in discussion. Some years back I did bring up the subject movie on the forum.

It's called "Libertarias"

I think you can watch the whole show on U-Tube!



It's a very powerful movie about a group of Spanish ladies who join the militia and they all come from different backgrounds.

I'd like to think that this movie more than equals "Land and Freedom" an has more of an inpact for viewers. The battle scenes are fantastic especially involving the makeshift armoured car with the Asaltos officer and militia.

The ending is far reaching an a nice look at the Army of Africa!

Helen

[Arlequín]

It's a film I've been trying to get hold of for ages. It's been OOP for a few years. I couldn't even find a copy in Spain.    I never even thought of You Tube, despite the Old TV Series on the SCW being on there... Thanks Helen!

[Paul @ Empress Miniatures]

Thanks girls & guys all useful stuff.

Well found Helen we have been trying to find a copy of that film. 

[white knight]

On a different note, would any of the uniforms and equipment work for Spain in WW2?

[WillieB]

On a different note, would any of the uniforms and equipment work for Spain in WW2?

Yes, perfectly. Well, at least the Nationalist uniforms.

Equipment would be almost totally German (105 artillery, 88mm, 37 & 50mm AT) Light/medium tanks, airplanes (Bf109, He100, He111) but also some captured Republican equipment was still in use well past WWII (T26-BT5 tanks, artillery)

[Arlequín]

Yes, perfectly. Well, at least the Nationalist uniforms.

Equipment would be almost totally German (105 artillery, 88mm, 37 & 50mm AT) Light/medium tanks, airplanes (Bf109, He100, He111) but also some captured Republican equipment was still in use well past WWII (T26-BT5 tanks, artillery)

Do you mean Spain in the WW2 period, or do you mean the 'Division Azul' that fought for the Germans? If it's Spain in the period, then yes, Nationalist uniforms didn't change much up until 1945-ish. Willie B is quite correct that captured Republican equipment, including the Polikarpov Il-16 and other aircraft, were used, along with equipment provided by Germany and left behind by her after the Civil War.. The Blue Division was, AFAIK, uniformed and equipped by Germany, though I'm by no means certain on this.

[Baldrick]

The Division Azul (250th Infantry) was Wehrmacht unit of Spanish volunteers and equipped like a German Wehrmacht.  The helmet has a Spanish badge on it.

[white knight]

Do you mean Spain in the WW2 period

Yes. 

[Helen]

Thanks girls & guys all useful stuff.

Well found Helen we have been trying to find a copy of that film. 

That is strange as I just bought a copy of Amazon some days ago.

Helen

[Arlequín]

There's some 'Region 1' copies on Amazon. The film with English subtitles is available on Google video.

I've watched it and it was excellent... uniforms right on the Nationalists, the Militia looked the part, they even found a Hotchkiss MG and some 'Naranjero' SMGs! The only fault I found was that there were no Moorish troops on the Aragon front in July 36. However this didn't mar my enjoyment of what was two hours well spent. 

[thejammedgatling]

Must have missed this post!

I'd like to add my voice to the others asking for more 'regular' troop types. However, I do love some of the camio stuff that Empress have been making for Zulu and so would love to see things like water and ammo bearers, a soup kitchen, field medics, mules and handlers (a lot of the mountain fighting seemed to depend on them), casualty figures, villagers, dead horses.....etc...etc

I do also have a lovely armed priest that Nigel sent me in an order just after Salute last year. It must have been a show special or something as it's never been released. I'll have to try to get it painted and get a pic up on here.

[argsilverson]

Although I am a fan of the period I am not at any rate any authority on the subject. So, really i cannot recommend anything special. So, I second everything already posted here. But I will stand on a couple of points:

1.- personalities: it is a must: franco, passionaria (Dolores Imparuri), the one armed general of the legion -I dont remember his name- and so on. Plus those engineers of the legion with their distinct axes and armbands-or whatever they are called. They will be great in some colour parties.

2.- civilians: I must say that civilians (specially those of the cities -Madrid,Barcelona etc-) can be used vistually in any front of WW2, BCW and interwar . So, they must have some potential market. This is different with the civilians in peasant clothing which might be unique in Spain.

3.- irregulars and guerillas: also needed and also can be used in numbers of other locations.
But they can be used also in some WW2 scenarios, as guides for people trying to escape occupied France via the Pyrenees etc.   

[Arlequín]

Civilians are either urban or rural and pretty much interchageable between France and Spain. Northern Spanish and Southern French wore a lot of berets, while Southern Spanish favoured straw hats, occasionally of the 'sombrero' type, but mostly more ad-hoc types. Where the problem begins with WW2 partisan types is that they are often depicted with Sten guns, which pretty much rules out their use for Spain. Taking my nerd hat off for a second though, if you are trying for the 'effect' of irregulars it doesn't much matter.

I missed out 'European' NCOs/weapon crews for the Moors, who weren't trusted to man their own support weapons!

Given that a lot of rules use 'supply markers' etc the case for ammunition bearers, and ration carriers etc grows. 

Personalities yes! I vote for Gary Cooper!  Perhaps even 'Rick' from Casablanca in his 'gun running in Spain' days.