An army for a pound!

My unexpected visit to the UK has had some unexpected turns of events.  The discovery of a model shop within walking distance was something of a shock, as was the amount of cash I seem to have spent there.  Yesterday I was in Poundland, looking for a gift bag for a birthday present, big spender that I am, and glancing at a toy shelf I discovered that were selling 28mm sized WW2 style plastic army men, from a Birmingham company called Funtastic.  

Play set?  That's me alight! 

The box holds 50 plastic figures, some pristine, some with more flash than a Queen concert.  The set I bought were, quite obviously, the Green and the Tan, but in the best traditions of impartiality other colours are available.  Having divested myself of WW2 skirmish for the move to Cyprus I have no intention of collecting a vast number of such figures, but just let me repeat… Poundland.  50 of these figures cost me a pound.

Beside a Perry ACW Union Rifleman.  Same size!

The outlay was well within my budget… even basing them on pennies adds 50% to the value.  I would really like to use these for an ImagiNations game with a WW2 theme, and I took ideas from the Army Men computer games, and an old wargaming magazine long lost but long remembered.  As well as these the influences are childhood games using Airfix 1:32.  The British versus Germans, on the living room carpet, and incongruously across my brothers 1:72 Hornby railway board, for which he had sculpted the terrain,  before losing interest and painting it all white, as “snow.”

So I'm thinking painting - block and dip, penny bases for weight and a coat of semi gloss varnish. Using the same figures with different commanders, who get a printed name tag, will allow me to game the “war” as if different platoons are involved.  The beige coloured figures seem to have British Tommy style helmets, the Green seem to be Yank Paratroopers.  That gives me all the basis I need for my background.

For rules I am in an odd place.  As soon as I saw these figures I thought of Lionel Tarr, and his WW2 Solo rules.  Those have always interested me.  Any man who can make a model replica of Stalingrad to fight a solo game gets my respect, and that gives me my starting point for a very small, very quick and very very cheap project.

Background

The conflict between the Republic of the Green and the Tan Empire has gone on for generations.  It’s beginnings are shrouded in mystery.  The Green historian, Professor Viridescent himself, postulated that a Tan attack had begun the war following a period of build up of the forces of both sides.  He recognised that the societies of both sides were anomalous, almost as if created to be natural enemies, being geared only for war, and that conflict between the two had always been inevitable.  Sad that the loss of such a unique mind should occur in such a senseless way, when a Tan ambush struck at the Green Military Academy, and the Professor was killed whilst leading the counterattack.

The beginnings of the Sand Box Brigade

The Plastic World has to some extent been devastated by the ferocity of the Green - Tan conflict.  Initial Tan attacks into three areas, the Desert, Alpine and Bayou regions were all successful,  yet damaging to both sides. Later attacks focused on Box City, and the Hills.  Having suffered defeat in the three initial campaigns the Green drew back to focus on producing replacement soldiers from the Factory’s machines.  Tan has in the meantime over extended itself, and fought a separate war against the Blue, which has seriously weakened the Empire.  A renewal of the war seems certain, with the Green attack only days away.  Green President Plastro has been seen, inspecting units well behind the front lines and the Green Hero “Sarge” has also been seen in the no man's land of Box City, as well as inspecting his units in the hills.

The Tan have responded by sending their own hero, the somewhat elderly Captain Beige to the Green Front, as well as the Sand Box (SB) Brigade, famous for their exploits in the Eastern desert campaign.  The Emperor has his Factory working at full capacity moulding new soldiers.

It seems then that the sounds of war will once again echo around the Plastic World, and that the Green will seek it's long awaited revenge.