Out of the suggestion so far, The Brodie bunch does stand out.
I would urge you to make it a commonwealth group rather than British. It is often overlooked that many fighting for Britain were not British and were not directly threatened by German aggression but when Britain needed them, they came and fought for us. Many parts of the commonwealth were technically at war as soon as Britain was, but Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa could all technically have stayed out of it. It's rather too easy to think of the sides as British, German, American and Russian.
This is part of the reason I created an Australian impression, it's the only way to create a non-British looking commonwealth impression, everyone else wore battledress.
Making it a generic commonwealth group is probably not the best option in my opinion. The point of having a generic British group would be so that players can strive for a unit of infantry who look the same (like Alte Hasen), rather than a mixed group in different uniforms. Whilst the Aussie kit looks cool, it's unlikely that we'll ever have more than a few guy who have any and for this reason I think it's just better and easier to keep to the basic; BD, Mk2's and 37 patt' webbing. Better to get that off the ground before delving into specifics.
For everyone except the Aussies; BD, Mk2's and 37 patt' webbing is the standard. I just think that creating a British group rather than a Commonwealth group would be a tiny step towards helping people forget that Britain was not fighting alone until the Americans joined the war. Australian Uniform is a special case, it would not however take much to decide that for a particular game you may want to represent a Canadian or New Zealand unit.
I get what you mean, but I think that anyone with anything more than a passing interest in the Second World War will know that Britain was not alone in the fight for her defence before the yanks got involved. In terms of WW2 airsoft, it's not often that games feature a Canadian unit, Anzac unit, Indian unit, Caribbean unit, etc.
Also the idea that one might have to buy Canadian or Indian specific kit could scare off any newcomers, even though in reality it could be as little as a change of hat. For sake of ease, I think that the easiest approach would be to make a group that concentrates on the generic Tommy, and then if a scenario requires us to be Canadian or Indian, we modify accordingly.
Thinking about it, there's nothing stopping us from starting a generic British and Commonwealth group...
Yes, all I'm saying is don't call it a British group, call it a British and Commonwealth group. Otherwise you will have groups for everyone except the commonwealth and commonwealth impressions are so rare that it is unlikely we will see a separate group for them.
Well actually you said "make it a Commonwealth group rather than British", but that's beside the point. Yes, it is unlikely that there will be an Aussie group or an Indian group, but it'll be unrealistic to have a large mix of British and Commonwealth troops in the same unit (unless the scenario specifically requires it). I'm afraid that by doing a niche impression in an already niche hobby, you're going to have trouble finding people with the same kit, and are therefore unlikely to be able to field an all Aussie (or other Commonwealth) unit.
I was taking Commonwealth as meaning any Commonwealth country. Britain is a Commonwealth Country. I should perhaps have been clearer.
One day I may achieve the dream of an Aussie unit, complete with field barbie at lunchtime
I do have a backup of denim battledress when I need it though. I just find the Aussie uniform much more comfortable, smarter looking and practical (huge pockets), so I use it wherever the rules allow it. Oh and I love the hat as well
I just assumed you meant "other" Commonwealth, but I'm just splitting hairs.
The Aussie service dress does look nice, I may even pick up a set myself at some point, with the slouch hat of course. Again, for the purposes of a Brit/Commonwealth alternative to Alte Hasen, I think it's best to just concentrate on basic BD/KD, webbing and Mk2, with the ability to add bits/take away to be commando, airborne, etc.
Well, considering that with all of the Commonwealth countries being united under the use of the Mk.II helmet, maybe having a group name that is focused on that like The Battle Bowlers or The Brodie Bunch is the best step forward?
"The Battle Bowlers - Commonwealth Group" or some such?
Weapons:
King Arms M1928 Thompson Submachine Gun
AGM Sten Mk.II
CYMA M1911 EAP
Yeah some sort of nickname for the good old Mk2 makes the most sense, it is iconic with the Commonwealth fighting man of WW2.
Maybe something like "Tin Hat/Battle Bowlers/Brodie Bunch- British and Commonwealth/Empire Forces WW2 Airsoft Association?
I'm not quite sure I see the point of forming a group just to say now everyone's in a group and that the only criteria is you have a mk 2. If on the other hand the group has the aim of providing some form of co-ordination to presenting a uniform approach from the whatever contingent which is relevant to the scenario of an event then that makes more sense to me.
Cheers
Charlie
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I have a small skewer hidden in the collar of my jumping jacket, and a razorblade in my gaiter, as well as my knife.
The purpose of the group would be to co-ordinate players and help towards making the Brit/Commonwealth contingent look like the same unit when at games. I stated this a few posts up but I can see how you would've missed that. All the chat about Mk2s is simply in terms of the group name.
[EDIT] We are basically aiming to create a Brit/Commonwealth equivalent to Alte Hasen.
I support the aim of getting information together for a generic British and Commonwealth look. You can then co-ordinate for the events coming up.
Decide which events you will start with. They priority could be for NW Europe, Italy or N Africa equipment. Wool BD though is actually appropriate for all of these.
I support the aim of getting information together for a generic British and Commonwealth look. You can then co-ordinate for the events coming up.
Decide which events you will start with. They priority could be for NW Europe, Italy or N Africa equipment. Wool BD though is actually appropriate for all of these.
Isn't a catch all for the entire globe for most of the Commonwealth countries a set of Battle Dress for Italy and Europe and Khaki Drill for North/South Africa and the Far East, sir?
Weapons:
King Arms M1928 Thompson Submachine Gun
AGM Sten Mk.II
CYMA M1911 EAP
Isn't a catch all for the entire globe for most of the Commonwealth countries a set of Battle Dress for Italy and Europe and Khaki Drill for North/South Africa and the Far East, sir?
Yes it is, I hope we can help and advise on what would be best choices in each to achieve a uniform appearance. (Pun intended)
I think it'd be best to keep to the basics and advise new members to purchase a set of BD, then a set of KD, with the option of borrowing what they don't have. This would be the easiest way for us to look like the same unit at events, without having to put huge amounts of effort in. Simplicity should be our motto.
Then it all went quiet...
This did cross my mind again the other day actually, but unfortunately I'm going to be very busy over the next few months. Don't fret, this thread hasn't been forgotten about, just pushed to the back of my mind whilst I deal with boring old real life. I could likely get the ball rolling in early-mid 2016, i.e. request sub-forum or some such, but if anyone can earlier there's nothing stopping them. The idea is to have an informal umbrella group, as opposed to a structured unit (though if there's the interest I don't see why not...).