Gents,

If I want to add some Canadian soldier figures, whats the best way to go? Our local shop has a set of Trumpeter Modern US and Modern German figures, can either of these be used? I like the looks of the Tilley/Floppy hat from the German set. Also, what weapon set is out there to be used for Canadian weapons?

TIA

Brad

Brad,

I thought I would jump on here first before all the purists get on and mess with your head. The Trumpeter figures I think are great, they are great value for money and with a little effort, they look the business. I am in the process of building some of the German ones and they are good stuff.

Trumpeter also do some great weapons sets based around the M16/M4 variants which is what the Canadian forces use, just remember that everyone in the CDF has a x4 optical sight on their weapon. These sets will probably be mail order but they again represent really good value for money and one set has [I think] at least half a dozen weapons.

Most soldiers [especially the infantry] tend to do their own thing with their webbing/load carrying kit and so you get many variations even in a small 4 man fire team and, they always look dirty, especially on patrol or in forward areas where fresh water is in short supply.

Hope this helps, study the Canadian cammo pattern and only a real expert will tell you the figure isn't a true Canadian, enjoy.

Simon.

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the reply. You are talking to a novice airplane guy, so when you say CDF has x4 optical sight on their weapons, what does this mean?

Thanks again
Brad

Sorry mate,

CDF is Canadian Defence Forces and the x4 optics is the small tubular thing that is mounted on top of the M16/M4 rifle, this is a sight that offers 4 x magnification for the soldier, pretty much everyone has them mounted on their weapon, including light machine guns and heavy machine guns.

The difference between the American figures and would be Canadian figures is pretty small, the helmets are much of a muchness in terms of shape and they use the same weapons systems, so crack on.

Hope this helps.

Simon.

While I certainly agree that you should model the way you like, if you want the figures to look "Canadian" the one thing I'd try to fix are the helmets. The Yank helmets and ours are significantly different, even from a distance. They give the soldiers' heads a distinctly different look. With the cammo cover on, you can probably modify Yank "Fritz" helmets to look like the Canadian pattern ones and then reapply a cover from glue soaked tissue. It won't have to be exact, but geting rid of a few of the very distinct US helmet features will make the figures look a lot less American and more Canadian. Once the helmets, weapons & camo pattern are "Canadian", using US web gear will be less of an issue. Just for the record, all of our web gear and backpacks are different in detail than US ones, but if the three main items are more correct, the rest of the items can be easily overlooked.

If you take a look at this page on the Cdn Forces site you can see how the helmet shape is different than the std US helmet and makes a big difference in how your figure will look.

http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/land-terre/equipment-equipement/item-eng.asp?product=108

The soldier is also carrying a C9 light MG which is virtually the same as the US M240 SAW except it has that 4x scope mounted.

HTH

Paul

[quote]Sorry mate,

CDF is Canadian Defence Forces and the x4 optics is the small tubular thing that is mounted on top of the M16/M4 rifle, this is a sight that offers 4 x magnification for the soldier, pretty much everyone has them mounted on their weapon, including light machine guns and heavy machine guns.

The difference between the American figures and would be Canadian figures is pretty small, the helmets are much of a muchness in terms of shape and they use the same weapons systems, so crack on.

Hope this helps.

Simon.[/quote

Sorry Simon, no such thing as CDF. it's just CF "Canadian Forces"
as for the sight it is an Alcan sight ( CF designation C79 ) although in theatre more and more of the guys are using EOTech sights

Thanks everyone for enlightening me. I actually am a serviceman in the Canadian Navy, so I am a bit ignorant when it comes to army equipment. I spent a little while today surfing the Cdn forces website, so that did help. I can see a difference in the helmet gear and I am glad you pointed me in the right direction there. I also observed pics of men wearing the floppy hat, so that is an option as well. Again, thanks for educating a sailor

Cheers
Brad

Brad if you're looking for a tank crew, Real Model makes/made a great set. They might be OOP right now (can't seem to find them at the site) but maybe Miloslav will cast some more someday...

Jim

Thanks Jim, I was going to go with the kit figures for the tank crew. I was looking more for a few infanteers standing around the tank in a stationary type setting.

Thanks
Brad

"...as for the sight it is an Alcan sight ( CF designation C79 ) although in theatre more and more of the guys are using EOTech sights[/quote]

I would disagree, in my platoon, in 2008, everyone, save for a couple of guys ditched their EOTechs for the Elcan C79s- better at long engagements.

As for Canadian soldiers, remember that a lot of infantry guys wear non-issue kit and equipment. The hardest thing is the helmets and body armour.

Told you the purists would mess with your head - enjoy the modelling

I forgot to ask- what kind of tank are you modelling. In a pinch, I like the modern Japanese Ground Defence Force guys from Tamiya. In terms of scale, they're a tad small, but the helmets (to my eye) are close to Canadian helmets and their body armour can be made to look like the Gen III flak jacket as well.

Btw- Nice SeaKing- I pass by it every day on the way to the office!

Yeah, heaven forbid some of us would want to try to get it reasonably accurate
By your reasoning, heck WW2 German helmets are 'close enough', lets use those! And a Vietnam era M-16, heck, that's close enough to a C8, good enough for me!

Now that's sarcasm!
CDF indeed!

Jim
We now return to your regular schedule...

There's one in every group. What sort of idiot comment in this Simon? What the heck! do you hope to achieve by posting this? Doesnt really contribute to the discussion, does it?

SD

If you're planning to do an Afghanistan dio, you'll find a lot of reference stuff on Flickr. Many pics (including some HiRes ones) from official sources there...
http://www.flickr.com/
Searching for "canadian forces afghanistan" should yield more than 3000 pics

HTH

Frenchy

I think it does add to the discussion, my point being that there are at the moment some excellent off the shelf kits/options to be "converted" or adapted into, in this case, Canadian figures - I had forgotten about Tamiya's Japanese figures, they are good too. You do not have to spend a huge amount to build and display some very satisfying work.

Whatever your interest - armour, aircraft, world war 2, Viet nam etc, you can spend an almost limitless amount in a quest to be perfect, which is fine if that is your thing. However, you don't have to, if you have several hobbies - like me, you can limit your spending and produce some excellent work that you can rightly be proud of.

I grow more than a little tired of seeing on various forums - not just here, people "correcting" modellers, when in fact they are critisizing some hard work of a person who may be in their early teens, on a limited spend - someone with a wife for example - or someone who doesn't yet have the skills or knowledge.

Okay, those helmets are different in length at the rear and that Australian rifle is actually the wrong colour, that tank has the wrong thingies in the wrong place. Fine, but not everyone has to hear that. What's wrong with -
"that is a really good looking tank" or "that is some sharp looking painting on that figure."

Sorry for unintentionally hijacking the thread and clearly upsetting a few people.

Maybe we should just enjoy the modelling.

Not to add to any flame wars or firefights amongst these 'happy few' ...

You might try Ultracast, a Canadian figure company that do stalward service for Commonwealth WWII figures. They might do modern Canadian, but if not you can plant a flea in their ear about perhaps turning out a few sets.

You might take a look at Real Models too, their turning out some surprisingly 'Canadiancentric' (if I can coin a word) modern stuff too.

As a retired Canadian Combat Veteran , who has helped more than a few "To Get It Right" can't help but chime in.
That might be the case, but that is why modelers ask the questions with the hope that someone (with knowledge of the subject)will help out and answer thier questions, and not HIJACK the question with answers that are "herrings". The modeler who wants to get it right, puts that extra effort into it, my hats off to them .

Anthony

Hey Jaws

Brad is normally an aircraft modeler and was asking a Q about which figures to use.

Since his question was generic in nature, he was therefore soliciting two COAs (courses of action). Replies here have been "close enough" or "to be accurate".

It is up to him which COA to use.

If you are one those "close enough" guys then kewl, I am too but please respect those who like it accurate.

Again, it is up to the person asking the initial question as to how to he wishes to proceed, don't be juvenile and get upset with differing opinions.

T

Hi Trevor,

Thanks for the kind words about my Sea King I am building a Leo 2A6M which will be built and painted to look like a tank post Afghanistan deployment.

Cheers
Brad

Gents,

Lets keep the discussion light hearted. It's a fun hobby and everyone has their own spin to it. I like accuracy, but I also think that close enough is just that...which also works.

I appreciate all the replies and I now have some ideas to work with.

Cheers Guys

Brad

ps: For some reason all of your replies went to my spam box, resulting in my delay in replying to you all.

Hey Peter,

Thanks for the link to Real Models. I know Kevin at Ultracast and who knows, he just might do some modern Cdn figures, but he would need help with the research for that. You never know though.

Thanks
Brad

Ultracast should for sure take a stab at modern Canadian figures! It is a win-win product for them with the quality of WWII figures they produce.

The research for the figures is easy....there are literally hundreds of up to date high res images of Canadian soldiers on the CF Combat Camera site.

In regards to small arms...the basic C8 carbine...without C79 Elcan or EOTech sights is still in use on the front line in Afghanistan....just good old iron sights.

Hey Brad,

lots of great advice for you there. I have some pics I took of my CADPAD when I returned home from the Stan. I will send them when I find them. I also kept a Rucksack cover with the same pattern. I have been thinking of creating a pattern on Adobe illustrator and printing it on the testors decal sheet. Some company was offering the same idea a few years ago for SS field smocks.
Take the advice from these guys and check out pics of our soldiers. A little work could make a stahlhelm into a Canadian helmet easily.
See ya at the mess

Hey thanks Ken.

Brad