Strelets Forum

Welcome to the Strelets Forum.
Please feel free to discuss any aspect of 1/72 scale plastic figures, not simply Strelets.
If you have any questions about our products then we will answer them here.

Strelets Forum
This Forum is Locked
Author
Comment
View Entire Thread
Re: 8th Army heavy weapons squad is closing in

Gents,
there clearly is a considerable scope of different applicabilities for these figures.

The set could prove worthwhile for the whole SE-Asian theatre of WWII 1940-45 (fall of Singapore anyone?), the Mediterranean & Middle East theatre 1940-45 (North Africa, Italy & several interferences in the Middle East) but also for the Battle of Madagascar 1942 or other secondary skirmishes.

The PIAT entered service in mid 1943 and was verifiably used in Italy & SE Asia.
So again, although the set is labelled "8th Army", it seems a bit preposterous to slavishly comply with what the box title indicates.

The upcoming figures add some highly welcomed diversity to the still very nice Esci/Italeri and Revell sets.
Let's hope that Strelets will give us an "8th army" artillery set, thus completing a good range of tropical climate Commonwealth forces in 1/72! :smiley: :+1:

Re: 8th Army heavy weapons squad is closing in

Dear PeterTheGreat,
I agree with all these,
but I really like to see a box of figures with the title:
"British 14th - the forgotten - Army"
with brens, mortars, British helmets with camouflage net, Aussie style hats and general Slim leading them (as a special figure)...
Don't you?
:wink:

Re: 8th Army heavy weapons squad is closing in

British forces did wear shorts in Burma but rarely in the front line. Scratches were likely to turn septic or ulcerate (jungle rot) in the jungle areas. Mosquitoes would bite legs and arms alike and more likely at night so either way the result was likely to be Malaria ( a disease of the blood caused by a protozoan parasite from the mosquito). Repellant was used and sulfa and quinine treatments were used for relief but there were still a lot of troops invalided out for long periods. Prophylaxis eg chloroquine and DDT sprays were used in the late war and often Malaria was a bigger problem than the Japanese. Most troops doing the full stint got a dose which came back regularly throughout their lives. My now dead father in law had irregular bouts like every year that lasted until his 90s. Of course, courtesy of Burma.
Artillery crews often wore shorts ( sometimes PT shorts) but not the parade type favoured on model figures.