Decided to have a bit of fun converting some odd Chinese plastic toy soldiers, adding a spare W.Britains artillery piece, and a Lone Star WW1 machine gunner to form a small force of Dutch military c.1939.
When the Germans invaded Holland in 1940 the Dutch didn't really have much hope of winning, their 280,000 combatants were to take on 750,000 Germans. It should also be noted, their army had much of the characteristics of something out of WW1 due to a lack of investment and a belief they could remain neutral. However, despite poor deployments, their anti-aircraft units were quite effective and their marine forces put up a stiff resistance in Rotterdam before their national capitulation.
I've been able to raise an infantry battalion of twelve figures, and converted others with metal home-cast heads into some support units. I still have a mortar crew to complete, and some officers. Might like to raise a unit of Black Devils or Dutch Marines too, in blue uniforms.
The basic uniform colour for the Dutch is a nondescript grey-green, lighter than German field-grey, and prone to look distinct according to the light. This is only a fun project, and in any games the Dutch will be defending and outnumbered three to one.
MGB
A nice little side project. Looks great so far.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ross, I don't think I've spent more than £3 on the entire project, but its been fun. They will be perfect for small, brief games involving fortified positions, with the Germans in much greater numbers attacking.
DeleteMichael
Another excellent project Michael! It has to qualify as the bargain unit of the year, only three pounds to come up with such a wonderful force! The gun and crew are perfect and the infantry really fit the bill! Very well done indeed!
ReplyDeleteMost kind, Brad. I've mentioned before how much I enjoyed converting 20mm Airfix figures in my childhood, 1970s, as the ranges were limited. So my collecting and converting 54mm now is an attempt to recapture that pleasure. And doing it on a limited budget only adds to that nostalgia.
DeleteMichael
An interesting project, the gun crew and MG team are brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian, I think there is definitely something interesting in this lesser-known conflict of WW2. And Paul Watson donating that exquisite field piece has added some 'quality' to a rather simple collection.
DeleteMichael
Excellent work Michael, they look great.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alan, its been a fun project and I'm looking forward to having a 15-20 minute war-game using these figures.
DeleteMichael
Interesting conversions Michael. Weirdly I have been working on the 20mm Early War Miniatures Dutch troops, looking at the same uniform illustrations.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, there are many theatres in WW2 but most of them are well covered and very large in scale. The invasion of Holland has something more manageable to contemplate, thats my excuse!
DeleteMichael