Bersaglieri

[Martyn]

Just to add a little colour to the Western desert what about the Bersaglieri? I've always fancied infantry with chickens on their heads!! and they would be different.

Plus could we have some Italian POWs (these could be cast in blocks of thirty) rather than individuals. Each pack could come with a single tommy just to act as the guard!!!
Martyn

[kustenjaeger]

Greetings

Adding plumes to the helmets of fucilieri isn't difficult. 

Sun helmets would have been nice as an option given their preponderance in IEA and the early desert war but I've made do with helmets.

Mind you I have to admit my Bersaglieri battalion in progress is from another manufacturer because they had sun helmets. 

Regards

Edward

[sunjester]

Mind you I have to admit my Bersaglieri battalion in progress is from another manufacturer because they had sun helmets. 

Regards

Edward

As is my Bersaglieri battalion I'm afraid, an additional incentive was that I could also get them on motorcycles.

Graham

[Martyn]

So no one wants Italians with chickens on their heads!!!

[republic of tolworth]

Looks like everyone has gone for the ones from 'the other place', myself included

[Martyn]

How do they match for size against Pendraken?

[republic of tolworth]

Not too bad. Not always as good quality in detail.
I also got my French from them as well. Then Leon brings out the French

[Leon]

There are some plans underway to get them done, but nothing concrete yet.

[Ben Waterhouse]

Well here's a bump.

WW2 Italian Bersaglieri inf + heavy weapons + motorcyclists (both single and sidecar)

Ta
Ben

[Leon]

Votes added!

[gianpi]

I have painted a sizeable desert war Italian battlegroup based on Pendraken figures but the range is definitely not complete.
The most obvious miss are the Bersaglieri (infantry+ heavy weapons+ motorcycles) but also artillery is totally missing except for the AT 47/32.
Please Leon

[henjed]

Seconding or bumping this. Would love some Bersag-whatnots for my Italian desert force.

[steve_holmes_11]

Just to add a little colour to the Western desert what about the Bersaglieri? I've always fancied infantry with chickens on their heads!! and they would be different.

Plus could we have some Italian POWs (these could be cast in blocks of thirty) rather than individuals. Each pack could come with a single tommy just to act as the guard!!!
Martyn

Next you'll be asking for Tanks jammed in reverse 5th gear.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Add me in

[sultanbev]

Count me in too!
Some Alpini, cavalry and Guastatori assault engineers would be welcome too, and you can't even start an Italian WW2 army without 45mm mortars, 20mm Breda AA, and 20mm Solothurn anti-tank rifles.

Mark

[sultanbev]

Was thinking about the WW2 Italians, and the wishlist to complete the range is quite large. Feel free to add, but off the top of my head I get it to:
Desert Italians:
flamethrower teams
Bersaglieri infantry (riflemen, SMG, LMG, command)
Bersaglieri heavy weapons (MMG, 45mm mortars, gun crews for 47/32 and 20mm Solothurn, 81mm mortars)
Bersaglieri motorcycle combinations and motor-tricycles
65/17 infantry gun with shield, not sure how common this was?(I know the shieldless gun is in the WW1/SCW ranges)
20mm Solothurn A/T rifles
75/27 M1906 and M1911 field guns
20mm Breda AA
102mm MILMART gun truck (can'd do Operation Crusader Ariete Division without this one)
AS37 truck (including gun trucks)
Fiat 634 lorry with 65/17 gun
Fiat 626 armoured lorry
Folgore paratrooper heavy weapons

Russian front Italians:
Cavalry (rifles and sabres)
75/46 AA gun

Alpini would be nice (riflemen, LMG, command)
Alpini heavy weapons (MMG, 45mm mortars, gun crews, 81mm mortars) (engineers??)
Guastatori assault engineers (flamethrowers, pole charges, demo charges, SMG, rifles, LMG)

For late war:
Semovente 105/25
Semovente 75/46
Dovunque armoured lorry
AS37 APC

Almost worth a mini-none-kickstarter 

[Ithoriel]

Wot? No "infantry surrendering"?

[sultanbev]

Wot? No "infantry surrendering"?

Well your infantry may be D class but mine aren't! 

[holdfast]

I am reminded of a tale from the Royal Tournament in the 1950s. The Bersaglieri Band was to perform and the bandmaster was being shown the Earls Court arena by the crusty old cove who ran the show then.
The Bersaglieri band, of course, makes a speciality of tootling as they run.
The bandmaster was horrified at the state of the surface of the arena and said to the organiser: 'This is impossible, we cannot run on sand'. To which the old buffer responded: 'You didn't have much difficulty doing so in 1941'.

[Ben Waterhouse]

My late father in law (Eighth Army El Alamein to Cassino then Greece) always said the Italian troops were brave and good fighters let down by incompetent generals and obsolete kit.