Spain Aflame in 20mm Scale

Or 1/72 scale if you prefer! Either way, as promised, here is a pictorial stroll through my Spanish Civil War collection, a mix up of Irregular Miniatures, Historical Products Company, Skytrex, Reviresco, and whatever else I can lay my hands on or convert to my nefarious purposes:

                               Irregular Miniatures Civil Guard Company

Irregular Miniatures Republican Machine Gun Company

       Irregular Miniatures Republican Machine Gun Company. 

Irregular Miniatures Republican Machine Gun Section

     Edit: the pile of stones is in fact cat litter glued together 

             with craft glue. The small random stones on the bases 

             are the same material. Parts is parts!

Irregular Miniatures Abraham Lincoln Brigade Command Section & Reviresco Char d'Assault CA1 Schneider

 Irregular Miniatures Abraham Lincoln Brigade Command Section & Skytrex BA-6 Armored Car

 Irregular Miniatures Abraham Lincoln Brigade Command Section & Irregular Miniatures La Trubia Tank

 Irregular Miniatures Abraham Lincoln Brigade Command Section & Irregular Miniatures La Trubia Tank

 Irregular Miniatures Moors in Fez Command 

and Machine Gun Section

     Edit: the sangar position for the machine gun is also built up

     with cat litter glued together with craft glue. The base was a

     steel washer.

 Irregular Miniatures Regulares 

and Machine Gun Section

 Irregular Miniatures Carlist with Reviresco Hotchkiss Portable 

Machine Gun and FAA Italian Advisor

     Edit: the stones are of course more of that clay cat litter glued down with craft glue. The built up groundwork on the bases is Das, an air-hardening clay available from craft stores like Michael's. Das is very handy stuff, as you can manipulate it with water until it is dry. 

Das will take acrylic paint once it's dried, and will adhere to a primer coated surface quite easily. As Das is also nontoxic, there's no special prep, clean up, or safety concerns to slow you down. I've even used Das as a gap filler. Das shrinks a bit when it dries, so one must allow for that accordingly (i.e., if you're using a thin wooden or poster board basing material, the Das might cause it to warp as it dries, so it's best to build it up in layers and let each layer dry first before adding the next layer. Das will also crack when it fires in some cases, but again, it's simply a matter of filling in any cracks with more Das. Often times any cracks that do manifest are so thin that a coat of paint and flocking material will eliminate the problem.

 Irregular Miniatures Republicans defiantly duel with their Nationalist rivals. 76.2mm Putilov field gun from B&B Miniatures Russian Civil War range.

 Irregular Miniatures Nationalist artillerymen and their Reviresco 77mm Krupp Field Guns and ammunition limbers. 

 Irregular Miniatures Nationalist artillerymen and their Reviresco 77mm Krupp Field Guns and ammunition limbers. 

 Irregular Miniatures Nationalist artillerymen and their Reviresco 77mm Krupp Field Guns and ammunition limbers. 

 Irregular Miniatures Spanish Foreign Legion 

and Esci 1/72 scale plastic Panzer I

 Irregular Miniatures Spanish Foreign Legion 

and Esci 1/72 scale plastic Panzer I

 Irregular Miniatures Spanish Foreign Legion 

and Esci 1/72 scale plastic Panzer I

Reviresco 1/72 scale Lancia IZM armored car 

and FAA Italian Officer in desert uniform

Reviresco 1/72 scale Lancia IZM armored car 

and FAA Italian Officer in desert uniform

Reviresco 1/72 scale Lancia IZM armored car 

and FAA Italian Officer in desert uniform

Reviresco 1/72 scale Lancia IZM armored car 

and FAA Italian Officer in desert uniform. Reviresco also makes the later version that dispensed with the second gun turret.

Reviresco 1/72 scale Renault Char Legere FT-17 

and Irregular Miniatures infantry painted as Republican militia

Reviresco 1/72 scale Renault Char Legere FT-17 

and Irregular Miniatures infantry painted as Republican militia

Reviresco 1/72 scale Renault Char Legere FT-17 

and Irregular Miniatures infantry painted as Republican militia

Skytrex 20mm scale T-26 light tank 

and Irregular Miniatures infantry painted 

as Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The T-26 is painted following the reconstruction presented in the Osprey Publishing Men-at-Arms volume on Spanish Civil War armies.

Skytrex 20mm scale T-26 light tank 

and Irregular Miniatures infantry painted 

as Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Reviresco 1/72 scale Lancia Armored Lorry 

and Irregular Miniatures infantry painted 

as Republican militia

Reviresco 1/72 scale Lancia Armored Lorry 

and Irregular Miniatures infantry painted 

as Republican militia. 

The Lancia Armored Lorry is in fact from Reviresco's series of excellent inter-war vehicles, an improvised armored vehicle used by the British occupation forces during the Irish War of Independence. The mesh a-frame roof was an expedient applied by the British to keep hand grenades from being thrown into the open passenger compartment of the vehicle. The Irish quickly responded to this expedient with one of their own, namely hand grenades 

with fish hooks wired to them to catch on the mesh!

This kit makes a handy improvised armored truck for one's Republican militia, and the next one I build may very well wind up being modified a bit and finished as one of the ubiquitous armored trucks of the Republican cause, complete with political slogans and red banners.

 Irregular Miniatures Abraham Lincoln Brigade Command Section celebrate their capture of a Nationalist supply cache.

 Irregular Miniatures Abraham Lincoln Brigade Command Section and three of the supply markers I made using plastic play money coins for bases, and assorted suitable bits from the spares boxes including vehicle stowage crates and such from RAFM Miniatures, Raventhorpe, Reviresco, and model railroading accessories.

 Irregular Miniatures Carlist cavalry patrol

 Irregular Miniatures Moorish cavalry patrol

 Irregular Miniatures Spanish Foreign Legion Command Group

 Some unfinished business! Irregular Miniatures Republican Milicianas and a male advisor. These are currently the only miliciana figures I am aware of in 1/72 scale. Hopefully Minairons of Spain will see fit to release a set of these brave and patriotic young Spanish senoritas in the near future, and in more energetic poses than these lonely young ladies!

Most of my Spanish Civil War figures came from Irregular Miniatures of the U.K., specifically from their starter set and the booster set they offer (which is where I got the La Trubia among other eccentricities). I added a small number of Historical Products Company figures I picked up at a convention flea market many years ago, and added various suitable vehicles and AFVs from Reviresco and Skytrex as I went along. This collection has lain a bit fallow for a few years now, but what with the excellent releases from Miniarons -especially their 1/72 scale fast assembly hard plastic T-26 Light Tank Kits aimed directly at SCW gamers!- hopefully there is a new interest afoot in this fascinating period of history. In the foreseeable future I plan to add a dozen of the aforementioned T-26 kits as Republican assets, and a set or two of the new white metal figures Miniarons has currently in the pipeline.

So until then, TO THE BARRICADES! VIVA ESPANA!!