"Abyssinian/Ethiopian Troops" Topic

Hello, all…

Aside from the recent (and might I say again, excellent) suggestion of using WW1 Bulgarian troops from Eureka as Imperial Guard, I wonder if anyone has managed to find appropriate proxies for the other Ethiopian forces from 35/36?
Both the tribal types and the "regularly uniformed" troops would definitely be needed. Any suggestions?

I'm willing to go to 10s or 15s in this matter. Anything larger is not practical in the scale of the game I intend to play with these.

-A.

Try Tin Soldier's 15mm Abyssinians for "tribal" troops. they're designed for the 1890s, but some will still work.

In the US, Alex Webster carries them out here in California:

link

Listing only, no pics, but the TS colonials would be good matches for Minifigs, if that gives you some idea.

Allen

Eureka also do tribal 1890s types in the same scale and style as the Bulgarians. I have mixed them with the Tin Soldier natives and some of the Irregular 1890s range (those with rifles). Tin Soldier does not seem however to have any firearm wielding troops.

Regards Alan

Thanks, guys. Both ranges you've mentioned would work well.

Now if I could only find some regulars, we'd have a game. Any thoughts or ideas? I wonder if there's something used for the Caribbean or some sort of Askari type that would be useful.

-Alex

Bite the bullet, 28mm is the one true scale and Anglian Miniatures next range will be the Italian invasion of Ethiopia! Judging by the thoroughness of the Spanish Civil War range and Paul Hicks sculpting this range will be superb. Check out the greens on the website, they'll warm your cockles!

Sorry, dualer, but there is no way on this world or any other that I will be doing a Divisional Scale WW2 game in 28mm:)

They are beautiful miniatures, and I wouldn't mind having them for skirmishing purposes, but for my current project, they're simply too large to be practical.

-A.

Divisional level? Yikes!

Yes. Well, playing with divisions. The maneuver elements are actually battalion sized.

-A.

Everyone here is correct in their responses. I have a few Ethiopian packs from both Tin Soldier and Irregular, and they'll work excellently as tribal levies armed with spears and shields. Irregular's Ethiopians with rifles are all in a crouching position (), but there are about 3-4 of Irregular's spear-armed troops that, upon conversion, will work very well as rifle/musket-armed soldiers.

The "regularly uniformed" soldiers (Mahel Safari) might be a small problem, but it's possible that WWI British/Imperial soldiers in sun helmets might just work. I believe Minifigs is the only one that produces them in 15mm (#15080015).

By the way, Aurelian, THANK YOU for the compliment! I appreciate it very much.

Saginaw -

You're most welcome. I never thought of the option, but it was an inspired choice.

I have recently finished the Italian General's Handbook for Panzer Korps (I just have a fellow historian proofreading it before I send it off to the boss), and I was very intrigued by the possibility of the Abyssinian War. A very colorful, different kind of war, to put it lightly. And several interesting units fighting on both sides.

One possibility I discovered, incidentally, is the use of Peter Pig's AK-47 range. They have a set of Militia with bolt action rifles. They are mixed, wearing generic pants and carrying bolt action rifles. Some are barefooted, others are bare chested. They would, I think, work very well as representative of Mahel Safari with irregular supplies, and might mix well with the Minifigs you speak of (I'd love to see a picture of those, if anybody's got them – though I generally really like Minfiigs, I've had too much bad luck ordering them sight unseen!).

I wish Peter Pig did just a few more militia/irregulars with bolt action rifles – as they'd really fit the bill, I suspect.

Incidentally, they also make some great cavalry that work well for Italians. In the Spanish Civil War range, there is a set of "cavalry in helmet", which essentially Nationalist cavalry with Italian gear. They carry a mix of swords and rifles. Very appropriate, and with some paint, I think they'll look great.

I haven't decided how to handle the Italian troops yet. Very few companies seem to make Italians in sun helmets who -aren't- Bersaglieri, so I may just go with the regular uniform types. Close enough for most purposes.

Also need to get my hands on a Ca133 or two. Maybe a biplane for the Ethiopians. Definitely some L3/33s and IZMs for the Italians (and a Fiat 3000 or two for Haile Selassi's men).

-Aurelian

Aurelian, you definitely have a shopping list, there!

For the Italians, I decided that Eureka's WWII Bersaglieri will work. As their helmet feathers can be shaved off, they can also represent regular troops, as well as Alpini. And if you want Eritrean Askaris, Tin Soldier's are beautifully sculpted and posed.

Now, for Italian armor, QRF makes the Lancia armored car, while Skytrex and Quality Castings (through Old Glory 15s) produces the L3/33 tankette, complete with parts for the flamethrower version. Minifigs's Renault FT-17 is probably about as close as you can come to modelling the Fiat 3000. Unfortunately, the 15mm aircraft are non-existant, but scratchbuilding one can fill that gap.

It sounds like this project is really coming together for you, Aurelian! Good luck with it, and PM me if you'd like to share notes.

Eureka has "Italian" normal and Eritrean Ascari, Eritrean Ascari Cavalry and Somali Dubats in pre-order in the 300 club. If a few more people order some the figures will get made.

Bloodaxe has some GREAT and CHEAP 15mm figures for the 1st Italo-Ethiopian War that work perfectly – link

Any chance of some photos of these figures?

Try this tabletoptalk.com/?cat=16

Eureka 300 club 15mm Italian Askaris and Dubats are just around the corner.

Getting ready to place my first order for Abyssinia '35-'36 and '40-'41!

Here is a link to a PDF with images of the 15mm Italian Askari/Dubat range and a listing of the figures:

link