1980's Central American Guerrillas from Predator - suggestions?

[The_Baron]

Hi guys,

My google-fu has failed me here. I'm looking for 1980's Central American guerrillas to use as the Republic Val Verde forces in Predator, for Dutch and his team to liquidate prior to the main event.

Don't need to be historically accurate, aiming for a rough approximation - soviet weapons, caps, no body armour.

Let me know of any ideas!

Thanks
The Baron

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I would start with a mixture of Spectre African and MENA militia

http://www.spectreminiatures.com/collections/middle-east-north-africa-militia
http://www.spectreminiatures.com/collections/african-militia

[carlos marighela]

Eureka's ZANLA range has some usable figures.

[wolfie907]

These with some arm swaps maybe

[The_Baron]

These are what you are looking for:

http://www.rogueminiatures.co.uk/index.php/gun-miniatures/dogs-of-war-7set-miniature.html

 

Oh I am all over these my friend   already ordered them and the AMAZING prodos predator models, now I just need the guys at start to fight first.

I would start with a mixture of Spectre African and MENA militia

http://www.spectreminiatures.com/collections/middle-east-north-africa-militia
http://www.spectreminiatures.com/collections/african-militia

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm thinking these are a tad modern.

More looking for guys like this (not the best picture I know!)
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Will check out the ZANLA! Keep em coming!
Cheers The Baron

[Arlequín]

It surely is a shame you can't get these guys...





and gals...



Nothing says '80s like big hair, relaxed hair and guerrilleros that look like 'Flashdance' rejects. What a feelin' indeed!    

[carlos marighela]

Well if I were to have my way you would have those but only after the EPS and some FSLN guerillas. You should always start with the good guys after all. 

Might happen one day, I've been toying with the idea of a crowd funding campaign but I'm torn between the Central America wars of the 1980s and the Cuban revolution.

Back to the plot. Have a look at TAG's  'Up Country' Vietnam War range. The US Special Forces with AK-47s make excellent proxies for Contras and the ones with M16s and M60s could conceivably be used as  either FSLN or Salvadoran regulars. Some of the NVA packs have chaps in folded up boonie hats that look rather like those in use by both sides in Nicaragua.  Parkfield have one or two useful figures in their Vietnam range

The Wargames Factory survivors set is a great source of heads with varying hair styles and baseball caps that are great for conversions, plus you get a shit load of weapons. IMO the figures themselves are a little ho hum but they are an excellent source of spares.

[Arlequín]

Now you're just teasing me. I think you know I'd be all over a Revolucion range like a mob syndicate in a Habana casino.

 

[julesav]

Eureka miniatures Aghan police in caps here:

http://eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_150&sort=2a&page=4

[Arlequín]

Sadly their prominent vests date them...

[The_Baron]

I think Catachan are just too GW heroic unfortunately. There's some promising recruits in the ZANLA stuff but the problem is a lot of them are wearing what we in Australia call 'Thongs'... i.e 'Flip flops'.
Really surprised there aren't minis around for this period!

[Arlequín]

Yes it is odd that there tend to be ranges for countries that never fought a war, yet not much for those that did.

We have partial ranges for Rhodesians, ZANLA and Portugueses... but where are the South Africans, FAPLA/UNITA/FNLA/FAPLM/RENAMO, Cubans, Contras, Sandinistas et al.? Not to mention Arabs and Israelis, Ugandans and Tanzanians.

Instead we have West Germans, East Germans, British (okay there was that fracas down South) and Americans. The Soviets get a pass for providing rusting terrain features in Afghanistan.  

Thumbs up for 15 & 20mm, who seem to have their act together a bit better.  

There's some promising recruits in the ZANLA stuff but the problem is a lot of them are wearing what we in Australia call 'Thongs'... i.e 'Flip flops'.

I wouldn't consider going to war in anything else at my time of life. I did discover that there is a knack to wearing them though. 

[Mike Bravo Minis]

We have partial ranges for Rhodesians, ZANLA and Portugueses... but where are the South Africans, FAPLA/UNITA/FNLA/FAPLM/RENAMO, Cubans, Contras, Sandinistas et al.? Not to mention Arabs and Israelis, Ugandans and Tanzanians.

  Did I hear rumblings that Eureka were going for the Border War or was that someone else?

That's the sort of stuff I'd love to do for our ranges but it does all rather depend on customer demand.  Eg I know I'll sell more US/Soviets for a fictional Cold War than I would Ugandans/Tanzanians, even though I'd much rather do the latter  (As it happens I have Ugandans scoped out for if we get around to the 80s IDF/Lebanon range I'd like to do, given Entebbe cross-over.)  SADF/UNITA etc appeal massively though but it's quite an undertaking to do it justice.  The main bar, I think, is lack of vehicles.  Personally I think the order War and Rhodesia lend themselves more to 20mm given the need for vehicles and helicopters. 

80s South America appeals given the lack of other ranges and potential cross-over with US Cold War figures, but it's not something I know anything about so it's (a) harder to work out what is needed, who the main protagonists would be etc and (b) I'm not likely to be able to come up with the scenarios/AARs to support the range and drum up appeal. 

[carlos marighela]

Yes it is odd that there tend to be ranges for countries that never fought a war, yet not much for those that did.

We have partial ranges for Rhodesians, ZANLA and Portugueses... but where are the South Africans, FAPLA/UNITA/FNLA/FAPLM/RENAMO, Cubans, Contras, Sandinistas et al.? Not to mention Arabs and Israelis, Ugandans and Tanzanians.

Instead we have West Germans, East Germans, British (okay there was that fracas down South) and Americans. The Soviets get a pass for providing rusting terrain features in Afghanistan.  

Thumbs up for 15 & 20mm, who seem to have their act together a bit better.  

I wouldn't consider going to war in anything else at my time of life. I did discover that there is a knack to wearing them though. 

Indeedy.  Of course, the Yanks did have a couple of tragi-comic, almost wars in the period in question, Panama and Grenada and they did act as an Aunt Sally in Lebanon for a short while.

The trouble with the Boers is well, they're the Boers. I know every good game needs a bad guy but who wants to market a range based on the apartheid state?  Frankly, I'm surprised that Rhodesians sell as well as they do.

I doubt that 90% of the gaming world recognises that Uganda and Tanzania went to war and that's how Idi Amin was toppled. Probably not that many people , these days who recognise the name Idi Amin for that matter.

The obvious market for Central American wars would be the US but as most Yanks seem to think that means Kansas, I don't hold out much hope, unless some loon decides to do a range as a vanity project. It also suffers from the fact that the US was backing the bad guys and when I say bad guys I mean really fucking bad guys. Roman Catholic prelate, American nun murdering bad guys.  Health clinic burning bad guys, rape the women, shoot every campesino in sight and burn down their village bad guys. The Ambush Alley crowd were planning on a supplement for Central America at one stage but decided against it.

Pity, cos horrors of war aside, it's a fascinating period and ideally suited for small scale games. I have a fascinating monograph on the FSLN, it's organisation and tactics and there are a lot of scenarios ideal for gaming fodder.

Indo-Pakistan and Iran-Iraq suffer from the usual Anglo-centric/Euro- centric gaming thing. Probably better gamed in smaller scales anyway given the size of the conflicts and the attraction of fielding lots of tanks.

My current hopes for the crop that's out there is that Kosta will add some support weapons and engineers to the Afghan war Soviets and maybe one day add a few more Portuguese. The problem of bein interested in a niche within a niche within a niche.

Anyway sorry for the thread derail.

[carlos marighela]

Oh and wearing havaianas/flip-flops/ thongs comes naturally to those of us in warmer climes.