Bring on the substitutes

 Being something of a cheapskate, I'm not above using substitute figures in various periods, with some substitutions more outrageous (1815 Prussians as French line infantry, Punic Wars Gauls as any and all 'barbarians') than others (Pz IIIH standing in for Pz IIIE). A rich source of substitute figures has been my 15mm SCW collection.

The Republicans in particular are a great source of substitutes. They have a bunch of guys (and gals) in drab uniforms with an interesting range of dull headgear and they can stand in for pretty much any minor, and not so minor, combatant of the 1930s and 40s.

 

The middle row in Adrian helmets have fought many battles as something other than themselves, mainly 1940 French. The Maxim MGs are a bit less useful, but if I need some WW2 Russian militia or RCW troops from either side, here I come.

There are also these guys in vaguely pudding shaped helmets who can be anything from Rumanians to Dutch, Norwegiens etc. I originally designated this lot as Communist 5th Regiment, but I cant actually recall what the figures are originally supposed to be. They are 30 year old Peter Pig castings, but to make them a bit more generic I've moved the flag bearers to separate stands and painted over the red stars on their helmets.

Also useful are the various artillery pieces with crews in Adrian helmets or berets.  I repainted all of these olive green a few years ago and like the infantry in Adrian helmets, they have seen a lot of action in 1940 France, but could easily be Bulgarian or Rumanian.

The Nationalists are a bit less useful as so many of them are wearing very distinct Isabellina caps or very distinctive uniforms. The Moroccans have seen some service as French colonial troops though, and I've toned down the piping on some of the caps on the others to make them a bit more generic (and they have served as 1940 French in side caps) . Like the Republicans, I stripped out all the flag bearers and based them separately too.

Particularly useless are the Carlists in their bright red berets, and the Guardia Civil in their very distinctive olive green unforms and waxed tricorne hats(!). I've used WW1 German jagers as WW2 German police, but I really can't think of a use for these guys except as Guardia Civil. I've been playing SCW since the late 90s and I think I've used the Guardia a couple of times and the Carlists once.

Anyway, here are four bases of Carlists in their red hats. I'm planning a game which requires some Chasseurs Alpines, who of course liked to wear big floppy black berets, so....

Some blobs of black paint Et voila! Nous sommes les Chasseurs Alpines. What an astonishing transformation for a few minutes work. I've often commented that when painting stuff, the only things you need are a uniform vaguely the right colour, hands, faces and weapons, plus the correct hat (or at least something which looks like it). I'm very pleased with those and they will be seeing some tabletop action in due course. Funnily enough I've got another scenario featuring some Rumanian mountain troops, who also liked to sport berets, albeit brown. So that will be another quick paint job in the future.