"Italy - Ethiopia?" Topic

I see that Empress and Askari make figs for this. A couple of questions –

Do Empress and Askari look good mixed?

Any other companies you can suggest?

What figs can be used for Blackshirts?

What about using Italians for Spanish Civil War?

Any thoughts on what Ethiopian would use to try and take out Italian tankettes?

Any thoughts on what Ethiopian would use to try and take out Italian tankettes?

According to some anecdotes I heard of, lots of other Ethiopians pushing them over onto their backs.. :)

Damon.

Not an expert, but I seem to recall in the board game Advanced Squad Leader the Ethiopians did just tip them over. I imagine it was an expensive exercise however.

I have no idea if this particular model was used in the conflict your interested in, but you can see how simply tipping them over might be possible if your prepared to brave defensive fire.

I read in book about the war (sorry, forget the title)that the tribesmen would swarm the tamkettes and flip them over or set them on fire. When possible, they also rolled boulders to block/immobilize the weak Italian armor.

Comparison pics:

link

Eye candy:

link

link

link

There was one incredible but true episode where an Ethiopian warrior leapt onto the top of the tankette and pounded on the hatch cover. When the crewman opened it up to see what the commotion was the Ethiopian dispatched him with a sword.

I own a lot of the Empress Italians and Ethiopians and they are superb. I also mixed in some of the Askari figs and they are pretty close, certainly close enough for me.

What figs can be used for Blackshirts?

As you can see, the uniform of the Blackshirts was identical to the rest of the regular army, except for their black shirts which they wore under the Model 1935 jacket and their distinctive black shoulder patch (#3) and collar fiamme (#2). I've seen a few photos and artwork that depict the Blackshirts in action without the jacket.

What about using Italians for Spanish Civil War?

The uniforms looked somewhat more like what the Italians in North Africa in WWII would wear, except for the Adrian/Lippmann helmet (shown on the right).

Good luck on your project, DukeWacoan!

Duke, I've found a website that better illustrates the uniforms the Italians wore in Spain, when they were organized as the Corpo Truppe Volontarie (CTV):

link

You can click on them which will give you a much larger image to save.

Thanks much.

Anyone make a good Fiat 3000 or Lancer ac?

Empress makes CTV for SCW, btw: link 4/5ths of the way down the page.

Copplestone has a Lancia: link

I don't think anyone makes a Fiat 3000, but you'd do pretty well with any of the FT-17 kits on the market.

Thanks for this info comparing Empress to Askari. I recently saw movie, Lion of of the Desert and thought of doing Italians in Libya in the 1920's. These figures would work for that.