war in angola

[phalanx]

Hi folks, I have the idea to convert the Eureka british Aden to south africans during Angola's war in mid 70's. I will appreciate your suggestions.

[carlos marighela]

Actually, I'd suggest using the Rhodesian African Rifles as the basis. Much closer as the webbing was very similar as was the uniform. Basically it would just require head swaps for bush hats.

[Ash]

I'd go for the RAR as well, especially the officer figure. He's already got the right hat!

[phalanx]

Thank you for your suggestions, I'll try to convert the RAR instead of british aden figures

Regards

Horacio

[phalanx]

And for cuban's troops what figures can I use compatible in size with Eureka RAR ?

[carlos marighela]

A couple of options for Cubans you may wish to consider.

Some of the existing ZANLA range can be used as is. The more regular ones in boots can be readily converted with head swaps. The PSC and Wargames Factory plastic Soviet boxes are good for this and they match the figures well.

If you want proxies then look at the Eureka/Kriegspiel Musorians in steel helmets. They aren't the best of figures if truth be told (different sculptor) and they are a little shorter than the Eureka figures but if you base them on slightly taller bases, like the slotta style ones then they fit in fairly well and the difference isn't noticeable at gaming distance.

The old Mongrel Syrians were a good source of Cuban proxies but unless you get lucky with a second hand set they are near impossible to obtain.

[Arlequín]

The bulk of Cuban forces in the "Mid '70s" were mostly posted around Luanda to secure the capital and train the FAPLA. There were advisors sent out with FAPLA units, who did the bulk of the fighting against UNITA and the FNLA.

The Eureka ZANLA range would work quite well for the MPLA, albeit with more camouflage fatigues than ZANLA had. You could mix in a few of the Portuguese range too, as both their weapons and uniforms were used in the immediate post independence period. There were also former Portuguese troops who joined the FAPLA (and other groups). Besides the military vehicles, apparently every leader from Corporal upwards had 'liberated' a civilian car as their personal transport.

Operation Savannah saw the South Africans wearing 'Jungle Jim' British tropical fatigues and their FNLA infantry element wearing and carrying who knows what. Apart from the Elands their transport vehicles were 'borrowed' Portuguese or civilian vehicles recovered from within Angola, the whole idea being to disguise that they were South Africans.

I will differ with Carlos and Ash, in that in 1975-76, the South Africans did look very British in terms of equipment and only their 'Nutria' coloured uniforms would set them apart... moving towards the '80s from there then yes, I would agree that the Rhodesian figures are the way to go.

[Ash]

The ZANLA/ZIPRA from Eureka look pretty good for FAPLA

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=65877.75

[Arlequín]

There are also some 'secret' ones that have Mauser rifles and PPSh SMGs a very kind soul sent me. It appears Nic at Eureka keeps stuff under the counter (or at least doesn't put everything on the web shop). 


All together the range serves as almost any Sub-Saharan guerilla/regular-ish force. The Aden British also work as Zambian Regulars, before the mass influx of SKS and AKs et al after 1980.

I find the Mid-'70s far more interesting than the later 'Border War' '80s. Things are far more 'make-do' all round, the South Africans haven't really learnt anything from Rhodesia yet, don't have the Ratels and other 'hi-tech' kit and are quite amateurish on the face of things, yet blunder through against the odds. You have the FNLA and Zaireans for even more colour too... seriously Zairean 'Leopard Camo' might prove a painting challenge!

[Ash]

I picked up the 'secret' ones at Salute. Four with PPSh, four with SKS, four with Mauser and a couple with what looks like a DP28.
Not thrown any paint at them as yet, but will probably do something similar to the rest of the set.

For Cubans, what about Under Fire's 28mm East Germans (with head swaps)

http://www.underfireminiatures.com/page26.htm

[carlos marighela]

Did we mean these secret ones? The ones you need to know the password and special hand shake to view on their website?  

http://eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_126_150&products_id=13011

http://eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_126_150&products_id=13008

http://eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_126_150&products_id=13009

Our friend the Pierrot received them well before their release, well website listing anyway, so he might not have kept up with the news but I think they've been up on the Australian site for about a year. If anything the US site seems to have the quickest turn around for photos.

Bit off topic but the only thing I can think of which isn't up yet are the fabulous new WW2 Soviets.


Now I'll probably end up dangling from Blackfriars Bridge.  

[Arlequín]

Fair cop, I admit I only subscribe to "Yesterday's News" and "Behind The Times" now, so clearly I missed that addition. I take that remark back.  

... but yes those. Judging by weapon hauls from Operation Savannah they are actually the majority weapon types supplied back then. Apparently a whole container of 'brand new' PPShs, still in their plastic wrapping and grease, was captured at one point... which I admit surprised me, as I imagined 'dumped in a box and shipped' might be more appropriate for them and it would be shiny new AKs still in their original packaging.  

I seem to recall Durruti saying Underfire's NVA figures were a touch on the large side of 28mm when he reviewed them, albeit they are clearly very nice figures.

For me I think they are over-dressed for Angola. The only pictures I've seen of the Cubans show them in just fatigue shirts and trousers, either in olive drab, or later in 'grey lizard' camo. Barring skin-tones and the fact that they uniformly possess boots, they mostly look like the FAPLA guys they are often shown with, but a touch tidier, more soldierly and of course the almost compulsory moustaches.

[carlos marighela]

Fair cop, I admit I only subscribe to "Yesterday's News" and "Behind The Times" now, so clearly I missed that addition. I take that remark back.  

... but yes those. Judging by weapon hauls from Operation Savannah they are actually the majority weapon types supplied back then. Apparently a whole container of 'brand new' PPShs, still in their plastic wrapping and grease, was captured at one point... which I admit surprised me, as I imagined 'dumped in a box and shipped' might be more appropriate for them and it would be shiny new AKs still in their original packaging.  

I seem to recall Durruti saying Underfire's NVA figures were a touch on the large side of 28mm when he reviewed them, albeit they are clearly very nice figures.

For me I think they are over-dressed for Angola. The only pictures I've seen of the Cubans show them in just fatigue shirts and trousers, either in olive drab, or later in 'grey lizard' camo. Barring skin-tones and the fact that they uniformly possess boots, they mostly look like the FAPLA guys they are often shown with, but a touch tidier, more soldierly and of course the almost compulsory moustaches.

Doesn't surprise me. The Soviet client states routinely dumped lots of second line weapons on proxy war battlefields. Czech manufactured Mausers, often still with Nazi manufacturers marks, popped up everywhere.  Given that the Cuban intervention caused another short- lived rift with the Soviets, it's possible they didn't fancy shifting their first line gear.

Cuba had a large quantity of PPsh sub machine guns. In the early '60s they handed them out to the militia and second line troops. They also had large stockpiles of Czech Vz-52 carbines in the original non-Soviet standard calibre of 7.62 X 45, which became surplus as AKMs became available in the later 1960s. Commando Miniatures has a pack of those (possibly the near identical Vz 52/57) plus an RPD LMG. Speaking of which they now offer some generic lightly equipped types in field caps and with AK-47/AKM. Worth checking out.

Famously Cuba also supplied large numbers of FALs to the FSLN. They even went to the trouble of drilling a large hole in the receiver by the mag well to obliterate the serial numbers and contract marks in an attempt to obscure their origin. I seem to recall seeing a photo of Che in the Congo with a Cuban FAL. Don't think they sent them to Angola though.

I've already used some of the Eureka ZANLA as Cuban advisors by the simple expedient of a paint job, so I second the idea of using these. It's possible that Spectre Miniatures have some useable figures but I'm not especially au fait with the range.

[Arlequín]

When I was researching FRELIMO, Zambia et al, I found the same thing, so it was not so much the older kit per se, but that they were brand new as in 'not fired ever'.

I think the usual 'picture' of Southern Africa is that the Soviets tossed their best stuff out there, when in fact they very parsimoniously sent as little as they could get away with, almost all of it obsolete by the standards of the day and then used the OAU to determine who should have it. The FAPLA was a special case, mostly due to the Cubans shaming the Soviets when they rolled in there with suitably revolutionary zeal. Compare Angola to Mozambique and you see the true Soviet preference for 'as little as possible' (unless somebody could actually buy or trade for it). 

While the impression in 'White Africa' was that there were hordes of mechanised troops poised to engulf the South of the continent, even relatively stable Zambia didn't get numbers of tanks and APCs until after Zimbabwe was created and had to go to the UK for the Rapier SAM system, as the Soviets were reluctant to supply SAMs, despite Zambia being on the Soviet 'nice list'.

ZIPRA actually had a larger mechanised force than its Zambian hosts, a fact that had to be hidden from Kaunda. ZIPRA weapons were smuggled into Zambia and then buried avoid highlighting the levels of support it was getting. The brigade-sized (actually a battalion) ZIPRA mechanised vehicle park was in Angola and was subsequently bombed by the RhAF, thus restoring the balance. By the time it rolled into Rhodesia in 1980, it was barely a mechanised company.

As for Angola, all the strength was at Luanda and was literally rolled out as soon as FAPLA troops were trained on it, so it tended to be encountered in penny packets by the South African task forces. The Zairean/FNLA 'offensive' was surprised to say the least, when the force that was felt to be adequate to roll right into the capital, found itself facing equipment and weaponry the FAPLA apparently was not supposed to have.

Fascinating period...     

[Ash]

Interesting re the size of Under Fire 28mm, I've noticed a wee bit of scale creep between the Rhodesian and SADF  ranges in 20mm
...