I have to say that having spent far too much on Brit, Yank and US kit I'm more inclined to want to get more use out of those uniforms I have rather than acquiring yet another completely different set which is sounding increasingly like it may be a bit hotch-potch, inconsistent and ultimately unsatisfying (for me). More than happy to expand my collection of headwear, badges and bad accents but some of these look like there is little I could use from what I already have.
Charlie
But the point here isn't to do what we already do, just with different coloured webbing and a badge. I know what you mean, new kit can be expensive, I can't afford it at the moment, but there is the problem of the viscious cycle here that CiA encountered back in the day - no ww2 games because no one had ww2 kit / weapons. No ww2 kit/ weapos bought by people because no one ran ww2 games. They went out and organised a very broad, inclusive game with US airborne, Brit airborne and leg infantry and Germans of all types on the same front, put together kit guides with inexpensive / readily available "counts as" options and here we are, 5 years later, thinking about what counts as a Polish helmet.
Admittedly there isn't much scope for Brits /Yanks in Poland '39, but the battle for france involved the BEF, the Gemans and the French so there would probably be use for brit kit. Norway - the Narvik campaign - French, Polish (equipped by France) and British.
Edit. Gah, craig types faster.... 
just my 2p's worth and please don't take it as criticism as i have really enjoyed you'r games but budget wise i'm going to have to stick to German for these early war games ,i have great sympathy with how the polish were mistreated in the hole period of ww2 and after ,not to mention their courageous fighting spirit but i just can't justify another loadout just for the early war period.French is a possibility as they had perhaps a larger part to play and less varied kit throughout the war as was the Italian uniform more consistent .i hope you can find enough people who can afford the kit to make it possible.
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
just my 2p's worth
Oh dear, Craig doesn't like that phrase! 
just my 2p's worth
Oh dear, Craig doesn't like that phrase!
I don't no, like people prefacing their opinions with 'just my opinion'... I mean, I know it is just your opinion... do they think it makes them sound more 'polite' or something? 
Though I only go 'on the warpath' when it is used sneakily, to contribute to an argument yet avoid being take to task for it.
just my 2p's worth
Oh dear, Craig doesn't like that phrase!
I don't no, like people prefacing their opinions with 'just my opinion'... I mean, I know it is just your opinion... do they think it makes them sound more 'polite' or something?
Though I only go 'on the warpath' when it is used sneakily, to contribute to an argument yet avoid being take to task for it.
my apologies i'll leave out the pre-amble in future.
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
Because they're cheap, I may have a crack at (or get a tailor to ) convert a No2 tunic to have a proper collar, but, and i don't mean to go on here, but, isn't using a No2 tunic (without conversion) just like using a 49 pattern BD tunic? i just feel that a polish game would get more players if the kit list was cheap and easy to come by, I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade but i think it would be easier if the kit list started with look-a-like kit then evolved as the idea became more popular?
Here's an example of the price of a look-a-like kit:
No2 dress uniform~£10-£20
Leather belt & pouches~£15
Wool puttees~£5
Rogatywkas (as you said)~£20
Bulgarian army M51 helmet~£10-£20
(we all have boots already)
The most that could be is £80, The cheapest £60, so in my eyes that is a very cheap loadout, and knowing what our lot are like most will probably go the extra mile, but if you give the option of look-a-like kit you'll probably get more numbers at the event 
The No2 is good, it just needs the collar altering. Until I get hold if one, have a sit down and see how possible that would be it would be remiss to in any way recommend it.
the Narvik campaign - French, Polish (equipped by France) and British.
That was partly why I thought of it, as well as Norwegians of course 
Plus German infantry, paras, shipwrecked destroyer crews, wicked fifth columnists etc.
Anyway, lets see how the looks-like suggestions come along. Even if converted No. 2 tunics aren't 100% accurate, if everyone in a unit is wearing them, they will look like a unit. The rest of the field equipment can be bodged up from other stuff we already have, and the end of the day a belt is a belt and a bag is a bag, and all you really need as minimum is a belt, some pouches and bag or even just pockets.
I'd be quite keen to try out cheapo uniform looks for the less well represented combatants.
Cheers
Martin
"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" Helmuth von Moltke
Toys: AGM MP40, Cyma M1A1, TM M14/G43/SVT40, TM VSR/K98, SnS No. 4, ASG Sten, Ppsh.
Arnhem3,Gumrak,Campoleone
I know, it is just getting a bit repetitive for me. Most of the, in fact all other, games out there will cater perfectly for the SoF ranges.
The problem with BEF Vs Germans is we don't 'move anywhere', it is still Brits Vs Germans, and after it is run people are still in the same big 3 trap. Part of the point is to kick this 'it was the Brits, and then the Russians got invaded and then the Yanks arrived' train of thought in the balls.
Though the Poles and Italians are going to be tricky, the French will be dead easy to convert to - so long as you have a pair of brown woollen trousers and a greatcoat, and then one can build from there.
Most people will not be interested, maybe not even enough people, but I have to have a vague amount of excitement to get me motivated or interested to do anything. And as was said 'there were no players as there were no games, and no games as there were no players', I want to live in a land of breachers and no pea dot, so will just have to try and build that land.
Hmm, well as I am comparatively new I guess I am not as jaded. I would rather improve my exisiting kit and weapons and see others do the same than divert time and resources to what seems a bit of a dead end; for however bravely and successfully the Poles did fight they only did so in their own kit for a limited period. The CiA argument seems a bit of a red herring as there was somewhere to go.
There is a mountain of detail in all campaigns with idiosyncracies, odd units etc which should be able to provide interesting scenarios rather than relying, despite what Ranj says, on simply doing the same but in home made fancy dress or probably poor am dram costumes. SoF etc may have their stitch counting faults but I can't help feeling that this seems to smack a little to me of spurious oneupmanship. Or may be this is an aspect that simply doesn't appeal to me.
I am not opposed to those other than the big three (In 18% of the games I've played I've happily been Polish) and nor am I ignorant of them but I as I've said I just feel that I would probably find the kit side unrewarding and am hesitant to buy ... or make ... any more kit to join the mountains of other kit I've only used once or even never at all because events have been cancelled (bergen, badges etc for Chariot) or I found I coudn't make them (scouts' camouflage for Schaulen). And I am beginning to doubt the wiseness of my decision to buy Russian kit.
However, I may change my mind!
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 'SoF' ranges' wasn't a jibe, I think they are great, and yes even if I run loads of Early War games then you would never get as much use out of them as with the basics. Then again we are under no delusions that this will not be a lot of people's cup of tea, nor that we do this whole hobby for any form of practical reason. It is something we are interested in, and something we want to do.
Don't be confused by home converted ideas, we are still talking at the moment and when any game is announced my usual dictatorial nature will assert itself, if it don't cut the mustard, then it don't cut the mustard. We will see how well a tunic can be converted with only moderate tailoring skills, and if it is found wanting it will be binned as a not acceptable uniform.
Besides this most of these uniforms can be gotten hold properly, for within SoF prices. The full Polish Uniform, Hat Tunic Trousers and puttees can be gotten for under £200, they are just not easy to find on a 'click to buy' website for the English speaker.
People may be interested, they may not, we will only see as we go on, but we will in no way detract for the other games available, and may even give someone else the chance to run something in 1940, if they see enough of an interest to do so.
Plus we WILL still all be at the 1944 games, present and correct.
Besides this most of these uniforms can be gotten hold properly, for within SoF prices. The full Polish Uniform, Hat Tunic Trousers and puttees can be gotten for under £200, they are just not easy to find on a 'click to buy' website for the English speaker.
Oh please, don't! I was quite pleased with myself for my determination and now I feel myself already wavering and we're still nowhere near 2013!
Plus we WILL still all be at the 1944 games, present and correct.
This is good to hear!
I have a small skewer hidden in the collar of my jumping jacket, and a razorblade in my gaiter, as well as my knife.
If anyone ever does figure out the tailoring needed for conversion - 20 nicker for a set of No2s and a nice hat!
http://www.britishmilitarysurplus.co.uk ... scr63.html
I'm a hero with coward's legs.
If it's of any use, I do have access to a pantomime horse costume, but there's no way I'm playing the back half.
I'd take a less literal angle and go for something much simpler and cheaper (and more inclusive)
[youtube2]JHFXG3r_0B8[/youtube2]
nah, we can just play the sounds of a cavalry charge over some speakers somewhere.
Time for my 2 pence:
I am all in favour of more early war events and will support them where I can. I find the first half of the war generally more interesting than the later even if I do like the late war rag tag look. The fact that it is often overlooked for various reasons meaning there is still plenty of untapped potential to be found.
However I do have my doubts about the viabilty of events centred on the less popular nationalities. Like Charlie suggests alot of us have kit that sees only limited use so asking people to get even more kit that will probably see even less use is a big hurdle. Personally I'd try for more early British and Eastern front scenarios and work backwards from there. France 1940 has only been covered once and Norway & Greece as yet untouched leaving plenty of options open for Brits.The eastern front was so vast we could never run out of ideas and the truely early stuff often gets ignored in favour of the big names. At least it would attract people into the early war look and hopefully encourage a few more rifle users. Then they may be more enthusastic about the idea of doing something a bit different like Polish, French or Italian.
Personally I think sticking with the Polish would be your best bet for successfully putting on such an event, I'd even be tempted to go Polish myself. Any scenario involving the French you could probably substitute the British instead and the same can be said for the Italians and Germans (although to a less extent). The same clearly can't be said of Poland in 39.
If you're looking for a suitable look a like polish tunic what about a Soviet Obr69 tunic? They're very similar in cut to the Wz19 tunic which was still pretty common in 39. They're not as cheap as they were but still alot less than a repro.
as a solution, a lot of engagments referred to as British were actually made up of Polish, Canadian, Indian etc units. Cassino was a good example, where it was infact a Polish unit which finally took the objective. With the huge variety of units which made up the British contingent, if a few people had Polish, Free French etc uniform, could they not make up a squad within a scenario which includes British. This would entice more people to try new other countries and see how things went, it only takes 3 or 4 people to put a Polish unit together for example and I am pretty sure it could be encompassed into an event which involved British forces...just thinking out loud!
as a solution, a lot of engagments referred to as British were actually made up of Polish, Canadian, Indian etc units. Cassino was a good example, where it was infact a Polish unit which finally took the objective. With the huge variety of units which made up the British contingent, if a few people had Polish, Free French etc uniform, could they not make up a squad within a scenario which includes British. This would entice more people to try new other countries and see how things went, it only takes 3 or 4 people to put a Polish unit together for example and I am pretty sure it could be encompassed into an event which involved British forces...just thinking out loud!
You might want to look back at previous games I have done. 
I'll get my coat
