Saturday, February 15, 2014

Introducing the British SAS

The Special Air Service is a Special Forces unit within the British military. While the SAS was officially established in 1950, it traces its origins to the second World War, in July of '41. Originally the SAS operated as a commando unit conducting raids behind enemy lines during the North African campaign. After North Africa they fought in Sicily and the Italian invasion. Mid-way through the war they were renamed as the Special Raiding Squadron, and within them they had a Special Boat Squadron which operated in the Greek portion of the Mediterranean. A couple of the SAS units were of foreign origin, including French and Belgian troops. Some of them parachuted into occupied Western Europe ahead of the allied advances. After the war, the SAS was briefly dismantled only to be established again by 1947. From that point forward it has remained an elite unit of the British forces. Operating in land, sea, and air, the SAS are a close equivalent of the US SEALs. 

Britains Super Deetail British SAS
Britains Super Deetail British SAS
These guys are the same figures as the modern British Paras. The only difference is the uniform that they are wearing. The paras wear a green uniform with red berets, and these guys have a browner suit and a grey beret. The poses are all well sculpted and display a nice level of action. Unfortunately there are only 4 poses in the set. The paras released an additional 4 poses, but those are really hard to find, not to mention that they are terribly expensive. Probably not something I am going to get to add to my collection ever. 


2 comments:

  1. A bit out of your period, aren't they? Great with the Airfix 'Modern' British troops from the 70s if you're doing a Cold War/Falklands game, though.

    I noticed you home-cast some Airfix Italians- my attempts at making my own figures have always ended in disaster! I recently bought some Cherilea and Herald Khaki Infantry that had been recast in a new plastic seemingly by the same manufacturer, probably in Hong Kong...

    A Call To Arms, an English firm, scaled down these and the rare ones into a 1/72 set (http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=1343) and they have made 1/32 sets in the past so there's a hope! If anyone ever released these in proper unpainted plastic in 1/32, I'd pay good money for them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice. Looks like there is hope indeed! Yes, these guys are technically out of the time scope of my collection, but I have a soft spot for deetail figures and for well sculpted action poses that sometimes allows me to overlook the weaponry and gear. I would certainly overlook it again for the other 4 poses! :-)

    ReplyDelete