Australians in New Guinea 1\72nd Scale

Recently a friend a I decided on a new project (as if we needed a new project but what the hec).

World War 2 on the Western and Eastern Fronts seems to get most of the attention so we decided we were long overdue to do something in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

I've always had an interest in the Commonwealth troops in WW2 so I chose the Australians for the New Guinea Campaign (who would be supplemented by US troops later). My friend is panting the Japanese forces.

We've just started but I thought I'd post some of the progress I've made. I used figures for my first two  companies (organized for Test of Battle-Command Decision) from Airfix, Revell and the old Matchbox Anzac set.

The Airfix Australians are the oldest set available. The prone Bren Gunner is a neat figure and Airfix figures are classics so a 1\72 plastic army would be incomplete without them.

Of the three sets I used I liked the Revell the best. The figures are "thicker" and I like that and of the three sets Revell is the only one that features figures with helmets and the famous "Digger" slouch hat.

Getting a hold of Matchbox WW2 figures can be a challenge but I found a box on eBay for a reasonable price. It's a neat set and the fact is all three sets fit well all  mixed up in the same units.

Can't paint a war-game army without Osprey. The figures pictured below are all in the later war jungle uniform, a kind washed out greenish color. The figures have been given a nice coat of "mud" to the knees up as New Guinea was a bit of hell hole where more men died from disease than they did from Japanese bullets.

The Battalion CO stand and the Radio stand.

The Battalion HMG section.

One squad. The Digger hat very much in evidence.

One of the few stands with just the Revell figs. The figures with the helmets definitely added to the mix.