"Can the Warlord plastic US airborne be backdated to M42?" Topic

My eight year old has grown interested in what he foolishly believes to be the cool stuff dad does in the basement grotto, i.e. painting miniatures. He also loves paratroops, and so I got the Bolt Action starter set for him for Christmas. I noted in my travels, however, that the plastic Warlord guys are in the M43 uniform, suitable for Market Garden and onwards, rather than the M42 they would have worn in Normandy.

Now. This will bother my little guy precisely not at all, but it's currently bugging ME a great deal. Is there a way the Warlord plastics can be backdated to Normandy paratroops, or is that a fool's errand?

The young guy will be perfectly happy if you support them with 1/72 AND 1/35 vehicles. Just go for it.

I know what you mean. YOU know it, so it will bother you. ……Oh, I have no idea how to help you, just can sympathize.

link I think Their metal figures were for Normandy. check these out.

VonBlucher -- indeed, their metal squad is for Normandy, though of course it's considerably more expensive. I understand Artizan also do a number of Airborne minis in M42 that are very similar in proportion to the Bolt Action stuff. Those may both be avenues to consider, but it was my faint hope that there might be an easy fix to the plastics in M43.

I'm usually a stickler for uniform variances but I'd struggle to see much of a difference between the two uniforms other than the colour – the cut is pretty similar, right? Couldn't you paint them in a shade which is half way between the two and call it good for the whole late war?

The uniforms are quite different in real life, but at 28mm, you'd have to get reasonably close to tell the difference between, other than color. For an 8 year old, paint them the tan color of M42s. Wen he gets old enough to know the difference, then you can repaint them.

Splendid, that's what I'll do for him. (And I definitely, definitely didn't turn around and buy a bunch of metal ones in M42 for my own use, to justify the time spent researching it.)

I believe that the Perry Plastics and the supporting metal figures should do.
link

My understanding is that they would work for the glider-borne component of the US Airborne divisions in Normandy, but that the paratroops had distinct uniforms.

Even for old grognards like me such minutia don't matter. Otherwise, I would need thousands of troops in addition to the thousands of legions I already have.