Right while discussing stuff the other day with some chums it struck me how bloody strange it is that some folk develop this fanatical following to one or more factions to the point of being (usually in jest) hostile towards others.
While i can understand a former serviceman or woman maintaining their own corp/regiment/unit as being the best and being resistant to playing anything else i do wonder why some folk get obsessive about a (usually foreign) military unit they have zero ties or affiliation to?
Personally I'm a former Stafford but i'll happily rebadge to ox and bucks, royal ultster rifles, army air corp or whatever (im a bit less happy about parachute regiment as i'd like to do it properly but am uneasy about wearing jump wings i havnt earned)
Likewise if there are not brits in a game i'll play germans, partisans or russian etc... i dont fancy doing american stuff as the kit doesnt appeal to me but in the unlikely event of a game coming up that was US versus japanese (or any other game in which i did not have the kit for coming up) i'd probably borrow some.
To be honest once you have one uniform for a couple of quid in insignia and about an hours effort you can probably rebadge to several other units to better fit in with a scenario.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Not sure I recognise that , although certain units seem to be more popular than others . Personally always been a fan of "generic Heer", no issues as to unit , location time etc . Most Heer units were indistinguisable from the next, no cuff titles for us so easy life. I suspect a lot of US line units were much the same other than the odd divisional patch .
Is this more that people won't rebadge for specific games, or complain theat their regiment etc weren't at that battle and so won't come ?
I am devoid of Allegiance Gadge, and will happily and merrily re-badge to whatever suits best. I suppose the closest I come is if it is a scenario where I could fit a Polish uniform in I would try that - as there are not that many really - but would still not do it if the scenario would make it too weird.
if I have the cash and it sounds fun I'll play anything - I did look enviously at the partisans and Heer garrison at lightning as their roles looked so much fun.
Not sure I recognise that , although certain units seem to be more popular than others . Personally always been a fan of "generic Heer", no issues as to unit , location time etc . Most Heer units were indistinguisable from the next, no cuff titles for us so easy life. I suspect a lot of US line units were much the same other than the odd divisional patch .
Is this more that people won't rebadge for specific games, or complain theat their regiment etc weren't at that battle and so won't come ?
Bit of both really Guy
Take husky for example the 82nd were there, the 101st were not. it would have been minimal effort and really added to the feel of things if the 101st lads got into the idea of pretending to be 82nd just for two days.
Likewise lets say your coming op areil battle, now if you're not partisan and up for playing different roles then you could easily fit yourself in with some kit for this for very little.. but lets say you're dyed in the wool 'russian only' you stop yourslef form going.
The alternative is to have games where we bend history (ala U571) to fit units into games that were either not there at that battle or at worst not even created!
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
It's the old dilema again as I'm sure you're aware off 
, limit the sides to keep accuracy or open it up and bollox the history . As to swapping sides , some seem to go for it some just stick ot the side they like the best . Must admit to being a bit in the latter camp although would make an effort if the game needed it .
I suspect laziness is more to blame than anything else 
unpicking badges and sewing new ones on ....we don't all have access to CWs wifes sewing skills 
Just out of interest , is there such a thing as unidentifiable Tommies or GI's or did they all have identifying badges as part of the uniform ?
Both Tommies and GIs had times when they had no insignia on at all in combat situations.
Yes, it's totally acceptable to have nothing on your BD or M41/M43 (whatever) and be accurate.
In fact in most cases it's MORE accurate not to have insignia.
Tommy line infantry and airborne is pretty easy to change
up to dunkirk most BD was left blank and just before normandy it was ordered to remove all insingia for security of the invasion (some units ignored this advice/order)
No inignia is worn with a denison so unless you choose to badge you BD up in some particular way then having a blank blouse and denison means that just changing your headwear lets you be more or less any other unit!
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Ok thanks for the info .
Sounds like people choose to decorate their uniforms with unit insignia , it's not a neccesity per se for any side.
Er.....not sure then ...unless we suggested that people refrain from making their uniform too specific , so that we could have more accurate games. I know modern soldiers have virtually no marks on kit or vehicles for OPSEC reasons, no reason why that couldn't apply in Ww2 .
Yup... it's pretty simple... If you don't like sewing stuff on all the time, then just don't do it at all! 
being the son of a ww2 vet,i do have a problem with swasticas, but not so much with german uniforms per say. i started out in ww2 airsoft with a 101 load out because it was very very cheap, that got me into the arena, i have now finished my brit airborne loadout, wich i look upon as my " proper" kit. i would play brit ,yank, partisan or german. but i will always think of myself as "south staffs " first. i have noticed a lot of our german kameraden wont entertain the idea of playing allied though.....maybe we should do a busmans holiday game, where we are paired up with an opponent of similar build, swap kit and see how the other half lives( plays) .
Surely you mean the germans wont play ALLIED?
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
correct.edited
exactly.
i have noticed a lot of our german kameraden wont entertain the idea of playing allied though.
I could say the same for many American players who seem to loathe the idea of playing Germans!
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
Personally, i'll play pretty much anything, Brit, german, Russian, partisan, whichever.I'll happily re- or debadge for a game if it makes the game more immersive/realistic.
The only thing i won't buy/play is US, as it doesn't interest me in the slightest, for some strange reason, but we've got plenty of Yank players already, so numbers aren't usually an issue.
Im the oposite. I love playing as US, but British Army WW2 history doesn't interest me. RAF yes, NAVY yes, Infanty no.
I've chosen 101st as my thing. Its been the one thing that captured my interest long before SPR, and BOB. Its not really in my interest to play as 82nd Airborne. If they aren't included, i just wont play.
Im the oposite. I love playing as US, but British Army WW2 history doesn't interest me. RAF yes, NAVY yes, Infanty no.
I've chosen 101st as my thing. Its been the one thing that captured my interest long before SPR, and BOB. Its not really in my interest to play as 82nd Airborne. If they aren't included, i just wont play.
Surely you must realise that ONLY doing 101st limits you quite dramatically? They weren't involved in that many battles. For the sake of a simple and cheap badge change (or even an extra pocket badged up appropriately), you could expand the amount of battles you'd be spot on for, rather than having to be "mis-dropped" or "attached" 101st at every game you go to?
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
Im the oposite. I love playing as US, but British Army WW2 history doesn't interest me. RAF yes, NAVY yes, Infanty no.
I've chosen 101st as my thing. Its been the one thing that captured my interest long before SPR, and BOB. Its not really in my interest to play as 82nd Airborne. If they aren't included, i just wont play.
Doesn't that rather limit you to three main battles only , Normandy, Arnhem and Bulge ? Unless you want to forget any pretence at history and assume they were at Caen , Berlin and Moscow ?
OOPs Heide made the point first !
TBH it's as limiting as playing Gross Deutchsland , who battled nearly exclusively on the Eastern Front
TBH it's as limiting as playing Gross Deutchsland , who battled nearly exclusively on the Eastern Front
Though GD had the nicer insignia. 
Doesn't that rather limit you to three main battles only , Normandy, Arnhem and Bulge ? Unless you want to forget any pretence at history and assume they were at Caen , Berlin and Moscow ?
OOPs Heide made the point first !
TBH it's as limiting as playing Gross Deutchsland , who battled nearly exclusively on the Eastern Front
Sh*t happens! im happy being 101st Airborne. Im doing US infantry aswell as a side line, but my biggest interest in ww2 is D-Day. Which is where Dog Company comes into it.
