New Woodbine WW1

[Svennn]

I have only dabbled with this range so far but Indians in shorts may just get me buying more in bulk. Some lovely compositions in these command packs that are going to be hard to resist.

[Plynkes]

Now I may well be wrong, but I was under the impression that (other than Gurkhas) Indian infantry didn't wear shorts until the 1930s. So while that would be cool for Hammers' NWF inter-war fun, personally I'd rather they stuck to their Great War remit for now.

[Hammers]

Now I may well be wrong, but I was under the impression that (other than Gurkhas) Indian infantry didn't wear shorts until the 1930s.

That's what the photographs tell me. The webbing was different by then to.

[Plynkes]

The new webbing didn't come in until 1937, and Indian troops on the NWF still could be found in '08 pattern webbing or 1903 leather equipment even after that time. For operations on the frontier in the late 30s you want an odd combination of elderly webbing, shorts and British Army-style knitted sweaters or shirtsleeves. Can't see that getting sculpted any time soon. 

Before then you can just use Great War figures.

[soapy]

Hold up I think we're talking at cross purposes here.

There are Indians (for the Great War)

There are Brits in tunics and shorts (for the Great War)

No Indians in shorts, sorry.

[Plynkes]

That's what I understood you to mean. Not sure where the Indians in shorts thing came from. Glad you've cleared that up, anyway. 

[carlos marighela]

Pity. I'd love some Indians in shorts with a mix of head variants beyond just the standard 'Muslim' and 'Sikh' options. Actually I'm quite happy to convert British troops in shorts, shirts and '08 webbing, just need a variety of head varieties.

As for Indian Army troops in shorts during the Great War, well whilst they weren't popular initially , well they started to be adopted by quite a few battalions in Mesopotamia and Palestine from late 1917 onwards. There are both photographs and colour plates illustrating them being worn in Mollo's The Indian Army. Pattern '08 webbing started to be issued to Indian battalions in the early 1920s from the huge  stockpiles, some of the leather equipment did soldier on for a while and again there are illustrations in Mollo to support that.

[Plynkes]

Cheers, Carlos. Good to know that (I've got that book, too - head like a bloody sieve, me).

[timg]

Yeah British troops in shorts will be good. Can paint in Khaki drill or ServiceDress with Khaki drill shorts and even use them for the Somme etc in the summer when the SD trousers were cut down into shorts by many units. Very versatile idea this.

May just be tempted by some and paint them up as New Army troops if any in shorts plus 14 Patt equipment come out.

[soapy]

May just be tempted by some and paint them up as New Army troops if any in shorts plus 14 Patt equipment come out.

That's a bit of luck then, shorts and '14 pattern were finished this morning.

[Darkoath]

I've a question...  in the second photograph are those brits opening tins of food?  With a pile of empty tins?  Or are they using empty tins to make home made grenades?

Darkoath

[Hammers]

I've a question...  in the second photograph are those brits opening tins of food?  With a pile of empty tins?  Or are they using empty tins to make home made grenades?

Darkoath

I think they are bomb makers, yes. I recall from somewhere that TNT was scooped out of HE shells and crammed with pebbles, nails etc into tin cans.

I should add that I have no ready source to back this up but I am sure Helen or Plynkes do.

[Plynkes]

Aye, they were known as jam-tin bombs (though containers for things other than jam were used). Britain (and most of the other countries) went to war without any kind of grenades. Once it was discovered how useful such things were in trench warfare there was a race to fill this void. Improvised bombs were made at the front until mass-manufactured ones began to arrive.


On the left a jam-tin bomb. On the right one of the first generation of grenades - a No.8, which were essentially mass-manufactured jam-tin bombs (I think these are replicas, but they give you the idea).

[Helen]

Thanks Dylan for answering the query,

Helen

[carlos marighela]

Aye, they were known as jam-tin bombs (though containers for things other than jam were used). Britain (and most of the other countries) went to war without any kind of grenades. Once it was discovered how useful such things were in trench warfare there was a race to fill this void. Improvised bombs were made at the front until mass-manufactured ones began to arrive.


On the left a jam-tin bomb. On the right one of the first generation of grenades - a No.8, which were essentially mass-manufactured jam-tin bombs (I think these are replicas, but they give you the idea).

Hah! That one on the right is clearly some sort of illicit drug paraphanalia.