Platoon 20 on the workbench

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Without my laptop and the wonders of the interweb to distract me, I've completed just over a platoon worth of Government Paras - painted, based and on the table! Figures are a mix of Platoon 20 Falklands' Paras and Royal Marines, suitably painted. One section in the 70's chic '59 pattern Denison smock - as per previous post - the rest; 3 sections in DPM camo smock and green lightweights.

The Paras lack a platoon HQ as unfortunately there's nothing suitable in the Platoon 20 range. But here Britannia Miniatures come to the rescue as I kept a handful of the 'advancing'  Platoon 20 Paras in helmet aside for headswops. Should convert Britannia's 3 man BAOR platoon HQ (pack BAOR9) quite nicely.

With the Paras done, I've moved onto a pack of Platoon 20's Male Armed Civilians-Terrorists-Freedom Fighters 1. I've wanted these for a long time so it was easy to add them as an ad hoc pack to one of my recent orders from Tony.

1. The figure firing a 9mm Browning HP pistol two handed, in zipper jacket is the best of the bunch. Two of these guys (note! only one per pack), one painted in brown leather jacket, one black and you have a nice Cody and Boyle CI5 buddy team. Or equally, undercover SAS, Sweeney etc. Give him a balaclava and you have SAS, terrorist, freedom fighter.... Just a pity these aren't available to purchase singly.
2. The figure standing in three piece suit with M16 Armalite, is pure 1970's! There's an air of authority about the miniture so he could be an undercover SAS leader in the mould of Colonel Dempsey (Ultimate Farce), a rebel commander, local country Laird or a mixture of all three. The M16 has been replaced with an SLR from a Britannia BAOR figure. Cutting off the M16 was easy and took only minimal effort with a sharp blade. Looking at the mini again now, that head would be easy to replace too. I have a spare Britannia BAOR helmeted head that could turn him into a local defence or home guard militia figure.
3. The guy in dinner jacket, bow tie, and automatic pistol, doesn't really fit into Winter of '79. Now, I know it's de rigeur in cop dramas for the detective to turn up at scene of crime in dinner jacket, having been called away from some posh do - but really? I guess that I could paint him with a pink/light blue shirt and a tweed jacket to turn him into a lecturer from Borchester College siding with the revolutionaries.
4. Finally, the figure in jacket and tie with revolver. He has dark glasses that will either be painted as Eric Morecombe glasses - "Wahey!" or I'll do a headswop with the mini in dinner jacket to make him look less Felix Leiter and more Life on Mars.

This pack is worth it within the context of Winter of '79 just for the first two minis listed above. But the other two figures, if not used for '79 will come into their own later, down Panama way, in our planned revisit to the banana republic of Costaguano. The Platoon 20 guys unsurprisingly compliment Combat Miniatures Plain Clothes Detectives  and Criminals/Terrorists. Will definitely get a second pack.


Cheers
Mark