Hello
I dont normally build British Troops. But I want to build a Far East Diorama with British Infantry / Australian in the Jungles with either a Matilda or Lee Tank.
Would I be able to use the new release from Dragon.
There Commonwealth Infantry Italy set. would these be usable or are the uniforms etc totally wrong.
Sorry for my ignorance usually build US or German.

Hi Shaun,

You should be able to adept the set to the far east with some minor changes.

Hornet make suitable heads and Ultracast do the SMLE No 3 with the long bayonet that was more common. You can also use some American weapons if you want.

Bronco also do an Allied weapons set with the Thompson SMG, so some good possibilities there.

Mules would be a good addition!!!

Al

Hi Al
Thanks for quick reply.
Yeh I've already got a couple of mules & donkeys. Have also got some resin Bush Hats like the Aussies wore. Didnt know about the rifles will check them out.

Hi Shaun,

If you can get hold of an Old Italeri Accessories set No407 they have the SMLE in that. Also you can use the M1 Carbine with Commonwealth troops in the far east and Thompson SMGs would have been more common earlier on.

Al

Hi Shaun,

Just a warning against using Ultracast's heads with bush hats (which by the sounds of it, you have bought?)

They are not very accurate for Aussies as the brims are very flat and the hat shape is quite 'square' where-as the real slouch hats were triangular in shape. Ultracast also failed to sculpt nice big creases and folds into the hat. I did not realise this when I bought them.

What setting/timeframe is your diorama? That can make a big difference to what uniforms you should model, as well as the weapons and equipment you should use.

Chas

Hi
Al have that old Italeri set I think the only items left on it are the British weapons never new what to do with them, good job I kept them Thanks for the info.
Chas thanks for letting me know about the hats, Yeh I've the Ultra cast resin set I wonder if I can alter them a little.
As for the time period for the diorama I was thinking somewhere early war as I wanted to use either the Matilda ( altered to Australian) or the Lee. Dont want to use a Sherman .
As I say new area for me just want to do something other than Europe. Also I've a couple of the Old Tamiya Jap Tanks was thinking of adding 1 as abandoned in the edge of the jungle.
still messing about with the ideas at the moment.

Shaun,

A quick heads up...

AFAIK Ron initially intended this set to be Canadian, so it may be that the DML figure set you refer to is not altogether British, or rather as British as one might hope - there may be a certain amount of Canadian influence to it. I'm not sure where I read it, it may have been here on Armorama, or over on Missing-Lynx.

So you may have a bit more converting to do. Unfortunately since PTO is not really an interest of mine, I couldn't tell you what changes would need to be made to convert it from Khaki Drill (albeit Canadian) to Jungle Greens.

Rudi

If you plan to depict Australians with a Matilda, you are restricted to settings and campaigns from 1943 onwards. The tanks were used to support infantry in New Guinea (Huon Peninsular, Finschhafen), Bougainville and later, Borneo. Briefly, uniforms for this period were British shirt, American or British gaiters with long pants, berets were common, typical British equipment, Owen guns, Brens and SMLE. Any other questions, PM me and I'll I be happy to help.

See here for an interesting diorama similar to your plan:
http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/dio/matildasb_1.html

Hello Chas
Thanks for the info it looks like I've some researching to do then. It would also seem that they were pretty flexible with there uniform standards from what you say.
Yes I was thinking of using the Matilda as it would make a small diorama & I could make the jungle look denser . The reason I was thinking of using the Lee was I've seen a couple of interesting magazine articles showing it with a fancy green camo scheme.
So with a bit of work I should be able to use the Dragon figures.