Battlefront 15mm British Rifle Platoon for Northwest Europe

All,

Next up on the recently completed forces.  I'd bought a Battlefront 15mm British rifle platoon several years ago but hadn't done anything with them, and recently I've been pondering getting back to my "The Last Fifty Yards" campaign, so I went ahead and polished these guys off (finally).  As with the Germans, there are some guys from a miscellaneous Infantry Aces pack I picked up.  It's a big platoon, and there are some really great sculpts and poses here, I'm very happy with them.

So let's get to it.

The whole force, 43 men from the rifle platoon and infantry aces packs, all painted up and based for Northwest Europe.  The paintjob was very simple and straightforward: uniform is an olive drab, desert yellow for anklets and gear, do up the flesh (I used a dark tone again) and weapons, and voila!  Based on pennies, which I paint green, let dry, then paint again and add grass.

Four identical poses of a rifleman moving forward, you can see an entrenching tool on his pack.

Three poses of a prone rifleman.

Another rifleman moving forward.

Another rifleman.

Rifleman in a good kneeling position, preparing to launch a .303 round downrange.

Another kneeling rifleman, looks like he's taking cover, peering around a wall.

A rifleman with rifle slung and priming a grenade.

A rifleman moving forward at the crouch, carrying an ammo box in  his left hand.

Two Bren gunners moving forward.

An NCO-looking dude with a Sten, signalling.

Another couple NCOs with Stens, one kneeling and one signalling the boys to 'follow me!'  The Sten looks a little thick to me, but I understand the necessity for sculptors to toughen'em up a bit for us.

Reverse of those last two NCOs.

A PIAT team rushing forward, stalking a Tiger.

Other side of the PIAT team.

The 2" mortar team, with the gunner hanging a smoke round and A-gunner lounging about.

Other side.

On the left is the third Bren gunner, having taken a good prone firing position.  On the right is the first guy from the Infantry Aces pack, a Brit with the old-style pie-plate helmet and an MP-40, which I managed to break the barrel off of...

Reverse.

Two Sikhs (I'm guessing?) from the Infantry Aces pack, guy on left with the totally awesome beard.  They also have the old, snubby nosed version of the Enfield rifle.

Reverse.

The guy on the left is actually the platoon commander from the rifle platoon pack, the guy on right from the Infantry Aces pack.  Note the black beret and Thompson SMG.

Reverse.

And the last two poses, a grizzled old Platoon Sergeant, and the Officer Commanding.

And their reverse.

So, a snappy platoon that I'm very happy with.  Despite their simplicity (in painting their uniforms), I really like their look and can't wait to get them on the table.  How many times have I said that now?  Too many, but I'm just very happy with all the forces I've been able to throw together as of late (and I'm not done).  In any case, I'm currently reading up on the Canadian Army's involvement around Caen and the Falaise Gap, so maybe that's where "The Last Fifty Yards" takes me.  This may sound funny, but I've only played one game of Sgt Rock, but already I feel kind of stuck.  First, it's kind of hard to come up with infantry only stuff for North Africa; I'm just drawing a blank for scenarios and terrain.  The second issue is, while the first game was a blast, I'm not sure how it will play out with me trying (cheating?  Surely not...) to protect the named characters, but at the same time constantly put Easy Company up against overwhelming/desperate odds.

I'm finding a very strong urge in playing out a more gritty, realistic campaign following a group of ordinary, average Brits or Canadians through the travails of Normandy using the original Five Men in Normandy.  Dammit!  I need more time! ;)

V/R,
Jack