"SHQ for Israeli War of Independence?" Topic

I am considering starting a small collection for IWI. Because there are no devoted ranges (that I am aware of), I chose not to use my favorite 28s, as at this large scale, inaccuracies would be obvious. So my plan is to use the SHQ Mediterranean British for both sides. I am reasonably confident in my ability to replicate a reasonable Kefiyeh at this scale, which I will throw in a few times, especially for the Arabs (who will probably end up as a generic force loosely based on Egypt).

However, my real problem is how to paint them. Should both sides just be in various shades of Khaki, or were they more uniformed than that? All comments are welcome, both on the paint scheme and general comments on my plan of using SHQ.

Thanks in advance!

I've actually been thinking of doing something similar at 28mm. Jordanian uniforms and kit was pretty close to British in '48, while HaGanah/Pal'mach/future IDF was all over the place--British and American kit with homemade and german weapons, etc. I wonder if using something like Artizan's British regulars for Jordanians and SAS/LRDG/commandos for Israeli forces might work?

In terms of color (if you want to stick to SHQ), Arabs should be fairly uniform khaki/browns, while the Israelis should be more irregular, as if wearing mismatched pieces of uniform etc.

Here's a quick image for Palmach (Israeli) picture

At this time the Israeli's were building an army from the ground up. They used captured weapons, weapons stolen from the British, and any thing that they could get their hands on. Besides the Palmach there was also the Stern group which at one point had a small battle with the Palmach in the harbor of Tel Aviv. If you are dooing the siege of the Old city in Jerusalem remember to have a young lady in a green colored skirt. I think it was green, and not a dark colored green either. Civilian clothes would also have been used in defence of Kibbutzim. Yad Mordechai against Egypt, Degona A and B against Syria, and other Kibutzim in Galilee, and the Negev.There are many different battles to do.

God Bless you

Thanks for the info! By the way, did either side use anti-tank rifles?

Israel used Piats both British, and home built ones.
I do not know if the Arabs used them or not. Do not forget that Isarel used Molotov cacktails, and had home built 3" mortars in their inventory.

God Bless you

According to the plates in Chris McNab's Modern Military Uniforms (the link provided by Syr8766 is the plate of Palmach in the book), Arab Legion is in standard khaki battle dress with anklets 1937 webbing with red/white shemagh head-dress. The plate depicting a soldier in the Egyptian army shows a one piece khaki (tan looking) denim overall with 1937 webbing as well, and a khaki beret-type cap.

As for weapons, the Israelis used lots of Brens…

You would be okay doing the Arab Legion in helmets also. The Egyptians on the other hand were a rather ragged bunch, I have seen photos of them wearing all sorts of items, mixed British uniforms and local garb.

For the Israelies try mixing in some figures in civilian clothes from the Spanish Civil War ranges also. Most MGs were Czech made MG40s. 1/3 of the weapons at the start of the war were local made Sten smg with the rest a mix of British and German rifles. By the end of the war as procurement got better, alot of US war surplus web gear and clothing was being issued.

If you need a list of good books to prep you, let me know. Most of them are out of print, but you should be able to find them at used book stores. If you do one battle do the Arab Legion attack on Notre Dame. Armored cars and several companies of the Legion against a rag tag force made up of almost all the different groups, including a couple squads made up of teenagers.

Doug, that book list would be great!

Arabs had Mausers and a lee-enfield mix yeah?
What were their LMG's or did they just not bother too much with 'em?