"Italian Motorcycle Troops Preview " Topic

Dog Tag Miniatures published new pictures of tehir Italian WW2 motorcycle tropos

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Amicalement
Armand

Duplication….

28mm for those too lazy to click the link.

The figures look very nice, but the bikes are a bit crude. I stumped up for a set each of Russians and Italians. On the table they will look ok.

The figures look pretty nice. I am particularly impressed by the level of detail I see in the weapons they carry.

I do wonder about the kitting they've put together, though. From my readings I have the impression that while Soviet dispatch riders might have been on single bikes, most actual motorcycle troops were generally mounted in bikes with side-cars (as were Germans). In the case of the Italians this was not so -- side-cars were fairly rare in Italian Bersaglieri formations. More common were the tricycles, sometimes carrying extra troops (two behind the driver), more often carrying or towing support weapons (up to the 47mm AT gun or 65mm howitzer/infantry gun) and supplies.

Putting both sets in 2 bikes + 1 side-car combo seems like a compromise that fits neither.

Then again, I'm not buying in that scale. Sure would love to see some more motorcycle troops (particularly Italians) in my scale, though!

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Mark, I take it you're a 20mm gamer, then? Because I know there are several sets of Italian bikers in 15mm…

Those are some nice looking troops, though!

Glad you like them boys.

Amicalement
Armand

I am pretty sure someone does the trikes already Mark. Can't think who off the top of my head though.

Yes I knew I had seen them. It is the Perry's.
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I have a bunch of German motorcycles that I plan to convert to a Italianswith heads from warlord. I thought these Italians would be good but they're too far in the future.

Glad you like them my friend.

Amicalement
Armand

Mark, I take it you're a 20mm gamer, then?

Alas no. I'm afraid you are off by more than a factor of 3.

My forces are all 6mm.

Here a lonely Italian 75mm gun overwatches as Superga recon elements take a pasting from Juin's Tunisian French forces at the village of Hir Moussa at the northern end of the Ousseltia Valley in early 1943.

Just for a scale reference, that 75mm gun is mounted on a good old fashioned US penny.

I am pretty sure someone does the trikes already Mark.

Appreciate the suggestions. But alas, not in my scale.

I can get German motorcycles with side-cars from several vendors. I can get Russian motorcycles with side-cars from H&R. I can even get tricycles from Scotia, but they are Japanese tricycles, not Italian. I have considered kit-bashing some Japanese tricycles into Italian. I don't mind doing a bit of kit-bashing -- it's not a very straight forward conversion, but then at my scale how close do I need to be? But I already have a sample of Scotia motorcycle troops and in truth I'm not much impressed by them. Maybe the Japanese ones would look better. But that's on problem buying from Scotia -- I don't really know how good any individual figure or model will look until it arrives.

My bigger problem is that I can't get any single motorcycles with two riders (driver + passenger). This should be the dominant mode for Italian motorcycle troops. The tricycles would be added support units.

I have a bunch of German motorcycles that I plan to convert to a Italianswith heads from warlord. I thought these Italians would be good but they're too far in the future.

I have a bunch of German motorcycles with side cars also (from GHQ), that I plan to convert. Except I don't actually "plan", I more "ponder". Because what I really want is Italian motorcycle troops (Bersaglieri or not). I can reshape the helmets a bit easily enough (easier at this scale than replacing heads). But I don't need side-cars for Italians, I need riders behind the drivers on the bikes. And I need some tricycles to go along with them. The Scotia Japanese trikes, if I were to undertake the kit-bashing work, would not match well enough in scale or (probably) in modelling/casting quality, to mix with GHQ-based figures.

So I probably will have to accept that the stuff I bought will have to be kit-bashed into Romanian or Russian motorcycle troops. I just can't find the path to make them Italians.

Sigh …

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)