British figure suggestions? 1918-1925 (-ish)

[Keith]

Hi All,

I seek advice from the forum's august company regarding suitable British figures to use for the 1918-1925 period.

I'm especailly interested in the Kurdish/Iraq campaigns (1920 onwards), the Arab revolt and the British involvement in Russia in 1918, but would like to try and cover a good few years up until the mid-late '20s if possible.

I have some Coppelstone which are pretty generic (but lack helmet curtains) and have been looking at Woodbine/Beast figures too.

Do any of you have suggestions for other suitable figures, or information regarding webbing etc. that might help me avoid any pitfalls?

Many thanks 

[Phil Robinson]

Theres Brigade games WWI in Africa range.

[Plynkes]

Webbing doesn't change until the 1930s so you don't have to worry about that. In fact 08 webbing was still being worn on the North West Frontier during WWII, though the rest of the uniform had changed. Various leather equipment was used during the Great War, though I'm not sure about the inter-war years. I think I've seen pictures with bandolier equipment in use between the wars, but I can't quite remember.

But anyway, what I'm saying is that WWI Brits in tropical gear are good for the early inter-war years. The Copplestone ones especially so, as they are wearing 'hose-tops' which while they did exist during the Great War, didn't become a ubiquitous fashion craze until after it.

Not sure what you mean about the Copplestone ones being generic. In what sense aren't they specific enough?


The Gripping Beast spearate head system, combined with the fact that they do Tommies both in shorts and long trousers gives you lots of customisation options to cover different climes and campaigns. I fancy they will look a little small next to Copplestone fellows, though, as they are at the smaller end of things and the Copps ones are pretty damn big. Of course one only has to look at size discussions here on the LAF to realise that compatibility is very much a personal thing, and the opinions of gamers seldom coincide on the matter.

[Westfalia Chris]

As you may have seen, I am currently painting up a force of Woodbine Brits. I have just finished the first infantry section and a machine gun, and will upload pics to my "Garrison of Radabad" thread later today.

Also, if you have the time to spare, I will next paint a section of Sikh infantry, which should be finished by Friday, and one of the 18pdrs (gun is Great War Miniatures, Crew Woodbine, and an excellent crew it is) to follow. I hope to upload pics by the weekend.

Unfortunately, I do not have any Copplestone Brits except two officers. I agree that they are much bulkier than the Woodbine figures, and although the two officers don't look that bad (I don't mind them standing out a bit), mixing the two ranges within one unit would IMHO definitely look strange.

That said, I would definitely recommend the Woodbine figures, as they are very nicely sculpted, have good, clean detail, especially on the webbing and pouches, and the SMLEs look good, too (as far as I can tell - I was never to much of a small arms specialist). The only caveat I have is that the Wolseley helmet head sprues all have at least some flashlines, some show mould mismatch. It is not egregious, though, and was easily rectified; also, I may have just been unlucky to get this specific batch, and it was NOT that bad to justify asking for a replacement.

[Keith]

Thanks guys - great information so far and exactly what I was hoping for.

Plynkes - my comment on the Copplestone Brits was based on them having what looks (to my eye) to be kit that would work in a lot of theatres, rather than huge neck-curtains or the later-period giant shorts!

I'm not too fussed about figure sizes. They will usually be grouped in patrols and sections, so can be seperated well enough that way. I think that the paintbrush is a great leveller in many cases and take a slightly perverse pleasure in obtaining figures from as many different sources as possible. With the Copplestone range being pretty small for these, this will be neccesary anyway.

Any suggestions for the Iraq Levies (Assyrians) guys? I'd assumed (always dangerous) that the Woodbine range would cover and Turkish requirements and the Kurdish figures look like they'll come from all over the place.

Looking forward to seeing your progress Chris!

[Paul E]

Keith,

Perhaps Empress Miniatures should do a range to cover the period that you are interested in?

 

 

[Keith]

Thats crazy talk ...