CoC Malaya PSC Forces & Terrain - Welcome to the Jungle to Play the Next Level!

Well during the lull in face to face gaming due to 'Covid19' I am getting lots of gaming odds and ends sorted.

Before the world went crazy I had started getting prepared for some CoC PTO games, Dave had bought some 1/72 US Marines and I had my old 1/72 Airfix Japanese then I got side tracked after reading the Malaya 1942 PSC in one of the Lardies Christmas Specials (2015 I think)! Off I went getting all the figures, vehicles and terrain that could be required. I used as much stuff on hand as I could as this theatre was being put together on a budget.

First up the Aussies, they would need a core infantry platoon and extras. I had my old 1970 Airfix Aussies on hand and included lots of British 8th Army a couple of New Zealand infantry figures in to boost their numbers (these are also from my 70's stash!). This gave me 5 sections of Diggers in total. Two Inch Mortars were made using the the useless Aussies set wounded figure and the crawling dude with a bit of brass tubing. Vickers MGs were sourced from the Airfix 8th Army Set as was a mine detecting guy and a figure that was converted to a Flamethrower (even though one wasn't required for Malaya it could be used in other PTO games)! ATR bases were made utilising the Bren Gunner figure. Sniper, and FOO bases were made and the other pretty odd figure in the Airfix set, the guys toting a crate were painted up on singe bases to be used in MG and ATG crews. All the figures were painted in jungle greens even though I know the men of the 8th Division were dressed in Khaki as they were destined for North Africa (this was another expedient for general PTO gaming). Some vehicles could also be called on by the Aussies so I spent up on a Lanchester A/C, three Bren carriers and two 2lber ATGs. I also have a couple of trucks from the 1970s that can be included!

Next up the Japanese, again I had a kernel on hand three packs of Airfix Infantry and a Type 97 tank from my youth. To these I bought three Type 95 tanks and the Italeri Type 92 Gun and AT Set. This gave me enough stuff to build the base platoon and extra infantry section, two sniper bases, an ATR team and some engineering types (including a dreaded Flamethrower). The 'Knee Mortar' teams were made like the Aussie ones with generic figures that looked vaguely like they could be mortar crew and a barrel on the base! I have on loan a couple of MG teams from Dave to round out the Jap support! A guy bearing the Rising Sun was painted up as well just to cruise along with the Platoon Leader as it looks cool and is sort of expected! Painting the Japs was pretty easy but the Airfix figures lack a lot of detail so they didn't come up quite as well as the Aussies (the Italeri figures in contrast had super detail!).

Lastly I finish up making a heap of Jungle terrain bases these will be needed extensively during the Campaign Scenarios. I think I have enough! The jungle terrain will be a trade off between looks and 'playability' I don't want to cover all the ground as our tiny soldiers need to fit in somewhere so there needs to be enough to delineate the jungle area without interfering with game play. Also cost is a factor here, even though Chinese 'slave labour' trees etc are cheap buying lots does add up!

Okay here's some pictures of the results of my work...

The jungle base production line...

A lot of jungle bases completed...

Scratch building the Aussie and Jap Flamethrower guys...a couple of WIP pictures of the Japanese Airfix figure updates, I didn't take any of the Aussie before painting...

The painted up Flamethrower figures...

The Aussie motor pool and ATG types available...none of the vehicles have been weathered as I am looking for transfers err decals suitable to use on most of them!

The mighty Lanchester A/C is one of those cool interwar armoured cars and looks really cool! It is a Resin UV print from OTP and it is a great model! The detail is fantastic and there is not a print layer to be seen! 

The Aussie MG, ATR, Mortar, Sniper and FOO bases...

Odd Aussies...

The 2lbers were from Grubbys Tanks and are very nice metal 'kits'...the crewman are from my 1/72 figures...

 A basic Aussie section...

All the Aussies! 

The Japanese Armour and Guns. The Type 97 is the Airfix one and still bears its 1979 paint job. The Type 95s are from Grubbys Tanks, I think they may be a bit under scale and came with a lot of air bubbles! The guns are Italeri, the ATG is an adaptation of the Type 92 Infantry Gun...

The Jap support, MG team, Sniper team, Knee Mortar team, the Flamethrower dude, a Spotter and a couple of AT guys...

The basic Japanese section...

All the Japs together...

Everything set to go!

All these parts came together with another CoC rules test game before we start the campaign proper last Monday on the Queens Birthday Public Holiday, I'll add a post to cover that game soon!