Blue on blue

Just a quick painting progress update this week.

A combination of catching Covid 19 and reduced blogging effort has seen a bit more progress than I’d expected on my interwar General Strike project, so I thought I’d share a few piccies. All minis are 10mm Pendraken.

A squad of British Fascists or “blue shirts” as the Daily Mail would refer to them (in my alternate timeline). Forces on the left soon began to call them “bennys” in mocking reference to their apeing of Benito Mussolini’s black shirts. Secretly armed and uniformed they eventually emerged as the militant wing of the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supply.

Note: The Irish and Spanish fascists of this period had blue shirts. Like all “good” fascists my chaps wear identifying  armbands. White for the OMS overlaid with a black central stripe and an embroidered branch name. (Smethwick in this case). The ice cream salesman hats have a black felt square on the front with a silver empire roaring lion badge. Anti Semitism had yet to rear its ugly head - these early fascists being all about the Empire and the establishment of a corporatist state. Think Scouts with a Lewis gun.

Two 4.5 inch howitzers without obvious factional affiliation (so I can get more use out of them). A very popular weapon that according to Wikipedia even saw early WW2 service.

Two command stands (one per side). They can be either command or they can double up as forward observers at a pinch. Sorry about the Dandelion seed blowing past (left).

Same boys from the back in order to show off the radio’s. These are from Pendrakens WW2 range but radios were actually being used in the mid 20’s army despite being clumsy and unreliable.

Vickers HMG and a mortar team. One per side at the moment, though playing on a 3x3 board I can’t think I’ll need any more than that.

Another squad of matelots - two in total now, for a bit of variety. This bunch have an officer or senior rating amongst them. 

Angry pro government middle class members of the OMS with their white armbands and assorted shotguns. Pretty good at writing letters to the editor of the Times, not so good as it turns out at blue collar work. If only the proles could just do as they’re told. 

I’m currently finishing off two cavalrymen and a motorcycle with sidecar combination for recon work. Next on the blocks will be 12 jock infantry though I’ll need to do a bit of experimentation with painting kilts. Wish someone made a tartan paint, lol. 

I should be onto vehicles within a week or so, and boy have I got some weird and wonderful looking things to assemble and paint up. I think you’ll like them.

Lastly for this post, an unexpected advantage to 10mm figures is their comparability with railway N gauge scenery. Nissan huts in cardboard are just part of a massive range of interesting (and cheap) buildings I’ve got on order. 

Nissan hut. I’ve always thought of them as a WW2 thing but they were first produced in 1916, so entirely applicable to 1926.

Toodleooh for now.