1970s Former British Colony

[The Gray Ghost]

what vehicles would a 1970s former colony of Britain likely have.
It has to be stuff currently on the market and in 28mm.

[Gary Mitchell]

1960s vehicles? Old Ford Anglias and Morris Minors? London buses and Beford lorries plus a few Minis.

[Steve F]

Those plus Landrovers would give suitably ex-British appearance.  I don't know what scale you want to use with 28mm, but  1/43 diecasts of old British cars are easy to come by - the Vanguard range had a lot.

Mind you, it depends where you're looking at, but the domination of British models, while likely, is not necessarily a given.  Postwar India, for example, manufactured Fiat cars and Daimler-Benz trucks under license (and ran a protectionist trade policy for decades, do domestically-built vehicles would have been the most common).  See this thread for some fascinating info on the Indian car industry, and great pictures (I love the advert that tries to make the Morris Oxford look sleek and sexy - and fails, of course!):
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/nostalgic-era/1295-indian-auto-industry-history-timeline.html

In Nigeria, meanwhile, Niger Motors was building Bedford lorries in the 1960s.  Some old Dominion countries like Canada and Australia  had their own car industry, generally making American or British models under license.  Most other countries would have imported their vehicles - but not necessarily from Britain.  Indeed, Rhodesia was under trade sanctions throughout the 1970s, so was probably less likely to buy cars from Britain than from anywhere else.

And, of course, most of the former British colonies were low-income countries in the 1970s, so cars of any sort would have been scarce.  

[Arlequín]

Steve F has the right of it for me and as far as sub-Saharan Africa goes....

The Ferret scout/armoured car sold really well, almost everybody bought it, including France, yet the Saladin/Saracen is a rarity in foreign service, South Africa being the exception. Although the RSA weren't very happy with theirs and they spent a lot of time in storage, before being re-fitted with new engines etc. Even then they were only deployed inside the RSA in the 'armoured division' and the police.

The 'Vickers MBT' appears to have sold better than the Centurion, with both Nigeria and Kenya buying it. The RSA bought the Centurion, which again wasn't used outside its borders, until it had been re-fitted right at the end of the 70s, with the assistance of Israel, to produce the Olifant. The Scorpion sold tolerably well (Nigeria, Kenya, Botswana), the Scimitar and the other vehicles of the CVR(T) family much less so.

Most former-British colonies, territories and Commonwealth states appear to have bought proven vehicles from a variety of sources; e.g. Unimog trucks, Panhard armoured cars, Aérospatiale helicopters etc. The Bedford RL truck was very common in the RSA, mainly by virtue of their being built at the GM plant in Port Elizabeth.

Short Answer: Whatever you like really. Wheeled vehicles were pretty much universally operated, while tracked vehicles are comparatively very rare unless it's a tank.

[Emir of Askaristan]

Commando miniatures have land rovers and are in the process of making up a ferret armoured car I believe. The figures might be suitable for your colony too.

www.commando miniatures.com

[carlos marighela]

As the other chaps have suggested, Landrovers, Bedford trucks and Ferrets would be your leading contenders. Another option that sold reasonably widely, although more outside the Comonwealth than in it, was the Shorland armoured car, which is basically an armoured, turreted Landrover. It would look distinctively different and wouldn't be that hard to convert, as the armour is mostly flat planes. TAG make a LWB Landover body that would make the ideal startpoint.

With the exception of the oil rich Gulf States and Nigeria, Britain didn't sell a lot of heavy kit to it's former colonies in the 'sixties and 'seventies. Of course if you are looking for what is commercially available to fit with 28mm it's a slim choice anyway.

Landrovers : LWB- TAG, SWB Commando. both 1/56 I believe

Ferrets: Sloppy Jalopy (1/56). Diecast Mk1/2 from Corgi. (looks about right scale)

Bedford RL: Dinky diecast circa 1/60

Saracen: Britannia, 1/56

Saladin: Dinky diecast.

Britain did have quite a few Austin Champs in store, which it progressively sold off to private purchasers in the late 'sixties/ early 'seventies. They were never sold abroad, except for a small number to Australia but it's your fictional country. I mention this as Champs are one of the easier to find and relatively cheap diecasts out there that fit with 28mm figures.

[Arlequín]

Grubby Tanks have the Britannia Saracen, although it doesn't seem to appear on their catalogue. 

[The Gray Ghost]

Stowage, to go on the vehicles would you use 1/72 or 1/48?

[carlos marighela]

I mostly use 1/48, largely cos Tamiya is a cheap and easy to find but with tarps and bedrolls and the like, it's a case of whatever looks good. 1/48 Jerrycans can be problematic with some of the smaller diecast vehicles. I had to scratch build my own to fit my EBR armoured cars.

There are a few makers of 1/56 stowage anyway. Company B makes stowage in 1/56 and Eureka have some very useful bits that go with their M113.

[Plynkes]

Let's talk tanks. When India and Pakistan went at it in 1971, I believe the Pakistanis had American (Sherman, M48) and Chinese (Type 59) tanks, and the Indians had American (Sherman), British (Centurion) and Soviet (T-55) ones.

[The Gray Ghost]

I'm definitely getting a T-55 for my Op For, Great Hall?
I have two land rovers and a armed jeep already and just ordered a Vietnam V100 Commando Armored Car, just cause they are so cool and I got to sit in one when I was a kid.
Does anyone have Great Halls Centurion Mk5/1 modified in Aussie service

[carlos marighela]

I'm definitely getting a T-55 for my Op For, Great Hall?
I have two land rovers and a armed jeep already and just ordered a Vietnam V100 Commando Armored Car, just cause they are so cool and I got to sit in one when I was a kid.
Does anyone have Great Halls Centurion Mk5/1 modified in Aussie service

No but the FoA models (Great Hall is just the retailer) are superb. At the risk of doing them out of a bob or two, if you want nicely detailed T-55s that are in scale and just need a new paint job (or not. according to taste) then look at the Chinese ones on ebay. Cheap as chips and nice models to boot.

If you go down the Plynkes route and use Indo-Pakistani war gear then there's a 1/50 M-47 made by Solido/Verem that's very common. The US flogged thousands to it's allies in the '50s and '60s.

[carlos marighela]

Grubby Tanks have the Britannia Saracen, although it doesn't seem to appear on their catalogue. 

But it is listed here on the Britannia Miniatures site.

http://www.britannia-miniatures.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=228_233&osCsid=be7f1f9266366d8b4e5992e2f74a7920

Beware, I believe the listing for 'Ferret', ain't really so, I'm sure it's their Daimler with the dustbin turret.

[Steve F]

I suppose that it is possible, too, that S&S Models might make some suitable vehicles, but their catalogue is some sort of state secret, so I wouldn't know.

[carlos marighela]

LOL.

Yep FoA catalogue but no pics. S&S a smallish selection of pics but no catalogue.