"Italian Ascari in 15mm" Topic

OK people, am considering doing the East African campaign of 1940 in 15mm.

British types seem easy enough to get but….

I'm stumped for Italian Colonial troops. I know they're on the Eureka 300 list, but I probably don't want £40.00 GBP of Ascaris so haven't signed up. In any case, I'm impatient.

How much does the uniform differ from c.1900? Can I get away with a different paint job?

Thanks in advance.

I have used the Tin Soldier 15mm Askaris from their Adowa range padded out with Italian officers abnd NCOs in sun helmets. If you are not fussy about the rifles then this is the way to go.

Regards Alan

I opted for two choices, for the sake of variety. Essex Colonial Range and secondly British 8th Army with Peter Pig head swaps. For the head swaps, both the fez and the sun helmet are available.

Cool, thanks. Looks like I'll have to invest in a small drill…

Next question – anyone got piccies of the ascari uniform?

Further question – why do I do this to myself? Why can't I do late war Germans like everyone else :)

"Next question – anyone got piccies of the ascari uniform?"

The Osprey on the Italian Invasion of Abyssinia might be useful.

There's also a Web site with dozens of cigarette cards showing Italian askaris.

Tin Soldier's Italian colonial askaris are excellent, and do not require conversions other than paint.

Allen

Although I haven't seen the tin soldier sculpts I would trust Allen's instincts.

Here are some uniform links:

link (SCROLL DOWN)

link

link (Earlier Dating but the askari uniform was still worn in '40)

picture ESSEX FIGURES

link

I do like the idea of converting 8th Army figures for askari in shorts. I haven't seen a Peter Pig head with a tall enough fez, though, for Eritreans. I do use Peter Pig Moroccan regulares for Italian Libyan indigenous troops, but they both wore a similar low-crowned fez.

Allen

I'm the one that originated the request for ascari (and ascari cavalry and somali dubats) on the Eureka 300 list.

As the numbers signing up for them seems to have tailed off I'm thinking of just getting Nic to make them for me anyway. If so I'll have to make a largish minimum order so will be looking to sell some to anyone interested. If any of you would be interested exactly what figure variants would you like to see?

I have placed an order for some on the Eureka 300 list today. I've always wanted to do WW2 East Africa.

I'd put in an order on the 300 list if the minimum spend wasn't so high…. I just don't think I need £40.00 GBP of Italian ascari.

But, if they were made soon, I'd put in an order.

Stu – AFAIK there's no minimum spend with Eureka's 300 Club & I've got several items running, including some askari.

That's right. There is no minimum spend amount. If it was 40 UK pounds I certainly wouldnt be ordering!

There's no minimum spend for the 300 club but the total orders need to be at least 600 figs spread across at least 10 people before it goes into production in the normal manner. For players of FOW 60 figures is less than half those needed for a full company.

Dammit, misread the web-page. This is the problem of doing things late at night with insufficient caffeine….

Well, have added my order to the lists. Hopefully that'll get things rolling!

I know this is an old thread but I've had great success using Bloodaxe 15mm figures for WWII – from their 1st Italo-Ethiopian range. And their Ethopians flex to 1935 as well…

For people interested in this campaign, I see a new Osprey came out in 2024:

East Africa Campaign 1940-41 – The Battle for the Horn of Africa, by Pier Paolo Battistelli

It turned up at my local library and looked interesting at first glance. I went to have a better look and someone had got it out, the cad!

Cheers,
John

I would argue that gamers would probably get more mileage and details out of the official Indian history of the war that has been reprinted and is now available from Naval and Military Press.