Spanish Civil War Queries Tips & Resources

[WillieB]

Probably seems like a stupid question, and the only reason I'm asking is because I like to add as much variety to my figures as possible.

Was the Guardia Civil allowed to wear mustaches or beards during the SCW?

Thanks very much for any info!

Willie

[Arlequín]

I'm not 100% but I gather they followed army regulations, so moustaches yes, beards no. If you want variation, the gorillo cap was very common in the field (same green/grey colour as GC uniform with iirc red trim for other ranks and gold braid for officers).

If your Spanish is up to it this might help http://www.elgrancapitan.org/foro/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=7416&start=90

[WillieB]

Thanks Jim!

I'll probably add another eight to the unit with gorillos, and a few with moustaches (my size  )
Red trim as you said, in fact a wide band of red all around the cap.Looks good.

Come to think of it. The Anglian/Empress figures of the GC don't have the scalloped cuff patches.
Probably simple to just paint them, but how would you add the three silver buttons? Superglue gel? White wood-glue? Since the rest of the buttons are quite prominent I don't think I could get away by just painting them on.

[Arlequín]

You might get away with painting them, they sort of look to be flat rather than domed.

The red band in Bueno's book seems to be about 2cm, but I found this pic...



and one with a beard....



and these guys seem to have black belts etc instead of the 'yellow' leather normally depicted...

[WillieB]

Thanks Jim,

I'm going to make an additional squad of 10 since I've got a spare NCO anyway. Two or three with moustaches and the rest with the gorillo cap will add a lot of variety. Think I'm going for the Bueno version simply because it looks so distinct.

Going to try painting on the cuff buttons tomorrow- red paint is still wet now and it's getting late.

[THE CID]

Hi   After receiving my latest Empress Spanish civil war figs, ie  female militia [ which are superb ] are there any online painting guides or any suggestions for any troop types. Thanks  THE CID.

[Arlequín]

There's a basic guide here;

http://balagan.org.uk/war/spanish-civil-war/painting-guide.htm

You might get some ideas here too;

http://www.lacolumna.org.uk/

You're best googling particular troop types and seeing what are thrown up under the images, you'll often find that someone has lifted various illustrations from the few books available.

José Maria Bueno, "Uniformes Militares de la Guerra Civil Espanola" is the seminal, if somewhat crudely illutrated, one stop book. The text is in Spanish but it isn't a major obstacle. The few Osprey books used his drawings to base their illustrations on.

The militias were un-uniformed and wore everyday work dress, within which the ubiquitous blue 'mono' would be heavily represented. White shirts were the most common colour of the time. White canvas alpargartas or sandals would be common in the warmer months too. Scarves and headwear were predominantly red for communists and socialists, or split red/black for anarchists.

Obviously there's a bit more to it than the brief outline above....     

If you have specific queries, the Interwar Board is probably the best place to ask them.

One excellent site if you know little about the conflict is this one;

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WARspain.htm

[THE CID]

Thanks Jim thats great, very helpful.  THE CID.

[The Gray Ghost]

What color were Nationalist tanks painted?

[Doc Twilight]

Any of a variety of colors. I have seen Light Grey, Dark Grey, Dark Green, and Brown, to name but a few. German tanks tended to be grey or green, Italian tanks were almost always green, and some had disruptive splotches of mustard and red oxide; the Spanish crewed vehicles could be painted in the colors they arrived in, with Spanish markings, but a few had unique color schemes.

-Doc

[Helen]

Here are some links that may assist you:

http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/other/pzi_jgazquez.html

http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/other/szt26.htm

http://www.o5m6.de/espana.html

Helen

[Arlequín]

Not a straight forward question to answer. It would depend on the vehicle, who was operating it and when. The initial deliveries were rushed into combat, so the T26s, Panzer Is, L3/35s and Polish FT-17s were in their respective country's colours. Spanish army vehicles (on both sides) at the start of the war used a three colour camouflage, which was similar to the French pattern without the black outlines to each colour. Army soft-skins could be three-tone or Spanish army green. Improvised armoured vehicles were mostly battleship grey on the armour, but the original vehicle might still be in its original colour, as were commandeered civilian trucks. Local improvised vehicles could be painted with whatever was at hand.

There were field expedients used which mostly consisted of daubing mud over the vehicles original paintwork in broad stripes. This would fade, fall off in chunks or get washed away.

I'm guessing that Asalto vehicles, including their charabancs, trucks and Bilbao armoured cars, were a dark blue originally.

This would hold good for 1936 to early 1937, after which you see foreign supplied vehicles appearing in Spanish units and wearing Spanish camouflage patterns.

[Dashetal]

Thanks for the info. I have about 20 vehicles to paint

[Arlequín]

I believe Osprey have an SCW tanks book due out soon, this might be worth getting.

[svinkel]

Hello i have a problem with some minis

Here the hats are blue/red, like phalangist . Is it correct  for republican army?