I have embarked on a new project.
A few years ago I started playing Bolt Action with my two oldest boys. I made US 1st Armored and Panzer Lehr forces from the Warlord D-Day set and added a few odds and sods. Last year the youngest (who had been fascinated by it all) turned 7 and announced a: he was old enough to play and b: he should have Japanese. Since he had been playing this tune for over twelve months I took him at his word and made an IJA force for him.
He has been on at me for a year since to make a force of my own to fight the Japanese. I remembered reading Matt Wright's excellent book Pacific War – New Zealand and Japan 1941-1945 (Reed, Auckland 2003, republished by Intruder Books, Wellington, 2015) which is principally about NZ 3rd Division's short lived existence and campaigns in the Pacific, and thought that would be a good opposition.
Due to the specific requirements of the environment in which the division would fight, the uniforms and some other equipment were quite different from standard NZ issue to the troops in the western desert and Italy. This combined with frequent supply difficulties and the need to tap into US supplies led to the men wearing a wide range of kit that looked like a hybrid of NZ and USMC clothing.
Naturally no one makes figures for this formation it seemed like a good project to convert the figures from Warlord's USMC for most of the bodies and 8th army for helmets and weapons. I will also try some scalpel and green stuff work to convert 8th army figures.
Its a big project, and I need some fortification....
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