20mm Bush War Converting an Alouette III

[ulverston]

Hi Chaps,

I have been devouring the excellent threads on here regarding the Rhodesian/Bush war and have become fascinated with this period again. A few years ago I bought the figures from Under Fire minis and Elhiem after seeing Ash do his magic.

So here I am a couple of years later with more figures on order, several buildings completed and Spectre miniatures rules waiting to roll dice in anger. Try as I might though I cant find the thread on converting the Alouette! My Elhiem pilots have been patiently waiting for this moment so if anyone could help me put them where they belong I would very much appreciate it! I did a search of posts by Ash but only have a couple of days leave left so wondered if there was a quicker way to find the thread?

More vehicles will be ordered mid month so any suggestions would be gratefully accepted. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[ulverston]

In reply to my own thread I have finally found the instructions on how to convert the helicoptor... a bit more in depth than I remembered as well!

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=53230.330

Its a long thread but I will be re reading all of it and saving a lot of it.....

[Ash]

Just spotted this, well done on finding that thread. If you need any more info or pics give me a shout.

[ulverston]

Thanks Ash I maybe should have contacted you first but I didnt want to directly bother you. Also thank you for an afternoons reading of your work. Your 20mil stuff really is effective and an inspiration.

[Ash]

No probs, always happy to help where I can. Feel free to PM me anytime.

[ulverston]

Thanks for any help. Did the Rhodesians use the Ferret armoured car? If they did is there anyone producing this in 20mm? Also I believe Butlers printed vehicles produce an AML90 in both 1/76 and 1/72.... I am using Under fire miniatures mostly so would 1/72 be the correct scale to buy these in?

Last question, what Bedford lorries were used in Rhodesia? I am assuming that the world war two stuff would be long gone? S and S I think make most of the vehicles that Ash used ... any other sources worth looking at before I blow my meagre defence budget?

Thanks again for any advice. I have a couple of Osprey books on the way and have watched youtube constantly though I am not sure if I remember much from the vids!

[Ash]

They did have some Ferret armoured cars (RhACR)



Even got taken on some cross boarder ops by Selous Scouts



I picked up a metal one from a company called BW models, who I don't think still operate. It was also a tad on the small size.
Re scales; you're probably better off with 1/72 for vehicles, aircraft etc.

Re Bedfords; 1960's & early '70's, would have been majority Bedford RLs (not sure what that 'RL' is in the picture below). Then Unimogs, Mercedes & Nissans, and all the weird and wonderful MPV modifications.



S&S is the place for the Unimogs & MPVs, that said Elhiem do a nice SLA 3D print of a Bedford RL, also have a lot of really useful loose weapons to mount on the vehicles.

[ulverston]

Ash thank you you are an absolute diamond! The chart with all the variants on it will be printed out, a fantastic source for a nembie like myself. The hunt is on for a 20mm Ferret or two as I have a soft spot for these.

Thanks again for yhour help. Loving all the pics.

[julian bonny]

Thank you for the vehicle chart, very useful.

Julian

[ulverston]

Osprey Rhodesian Light Infantryman book arrived in the post earlier... its pretty good. I am going to need a bigger budget!

[Westfalia Chris]

I've been using both 1/72nd and 1/76th scale vehicles for my Not-Rhodesian imagination project back in the day, and found that both scales work more or less reasonably with the rather excellent Underfire Miniatures; 1/72 may be more appropriate, though.

I got my Ferret Armoured Car in 1/76 from Gramodels, although I do not know if they are still trading - their site is still up, and it's quite a nice model kit, seen below next to an Airfix ex-JT Saladin (1/76) and a Panhard M3 from Ace (1/72). I'm quite fond of the Ace models, of which I have several light armoured cars, but I'll admit their short-run nature (apart from being hard to find these days, I got lucky back in the day and found a couple in a local modelling store) may not be for everyone.

I've also used numerous of the ex-JT Airfix 1/76 Cold War British vehicle kits, namely the various Bedford TK trucks, Saladins and Saracens, but those may, of course, not be suitable if you wish to do Rhodesia proper and not an imaginations variant.

Also, for civilian vehicles, you may want to check with Oxford Diecast, as they have a ton of period-appropriate model cars and buses in 1/76 which, as diecasts, come pre-painted and would only need some weathering, if you are so inclined.

[Ash]

Ash thank you you are an absolute diamond! The chart with all the variants on it will be printed out, a fantastic source for a nembie like myself. The hunt is on for a 20mm Ferret or two as I have a soft spot for these.

Thanks again for yhour help. Loving all the pics.

Here's a few more that maybe of use:









Probably the Armoured car that saw the most use was the Eland (AML-90), quite a few options; ACE do a 1/72, I think S&S do a resin version, Model-miniture do a Panhard AML-90 in resin (probably not the toughest option with regard to breaking if dropped).

[ulverston]

Wow thanks for the assistance Chaps!

The Gramodels site looked really interesting but well out of date sadly. The Ferret is pretty hard to track down. I had not thought of the Oxford die cast stuff and certainly a bus or two from the 60's or 70's would fit in perfectly.

The vehicle diagrams are again excellent and very useful, I will be printing them out as I have sheets of stat lines for troops and weapons from the Spectre game that I want to put together. A quick reference sheet will save a lot of time thumbing through the rules. It will be nice to dot some of the pics on here around it as well.

Again a massive thank you for the help with this. The Bush wars are almost perfect modern gaming for me as built up areas and masses of civilians do not appear. Having said that a scratch built farm with inhabitants is on my work desk.

[julian bonny]

those are great posters, thank you
julian

[juergen c. olk]

Also Rhodesian Bush war Models on Facebook ,by David Michael Freemantle..3D prints them in 20 and 28mm..plus a wealth of vehicles. Ash is a supreme modeler and authority. Also check out John Wynne Hopkins ,"Rhodesian Wargaming blog."  and on Facebook ,Modern African Bushwars Group.