Introducing the British Long Range Desert Group

The British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) aka as Long Range Patrol (LRP) was a unit of the British Army that specialized in reconnaissance and raids deep behind enemy lines. They operated primarily in the North African theater of operations, initially against the Italians, and later on against the Germans. The unit was formed in the summer of 1940. Initially staffed by New Zealanders, it later added men from other Commonwealth countries. The unit was never larger than 350 men, and their main goal was to gather intelligence on enemy troop movements, defenses, strength, etc. as opposed to engaging in direct combat. Their main means of transportation were Chevy or Ford trucks and the Willys Jeep which was issued from summer 1942 onwards to the patrol commander and sergeant. The LRDG men were organized into patrols, which varied in size over time, but could be 15-18 men led by an officer in 5 or 6 vehicles. Each patrol had a medic, a mechanic, a navigator and a radio operator, and a corresponding vehicle was outfitted to serve that role. The LRDG would sometimes escort and guide other units such as the SAS in raiding missions behind enemy lines. One raid that stands out in the record of the LRDG, is the raid on the Italian airfield at Barce, code named Operation Caravan. This mission involved 47 men, 10 trucks, and 4 jeeps traveling 1150 miles deep into enemy territory, where they destroyed 32 Italian bombers. Unfortunately, while the raid was successfully, the team lost most of its vehicles during and after the operation. Only one truck survived the mission which was used by the doctor to evacuate 8 wounded men. 10 men became POWs and the rest ended up having to evade capture on foot until they were able to make contact with other British patrols. When the Axis forces were defeated there in 1943, the LRDG transferred to the Eastern Mediterranean, operating in Greece, Italy and the Balkans, where they performed a series of parachute drops to perform reconnaissance and sabotage missions until the end of the war in Europe when they were disbanded. In terms of toy soldiers, until recently, I had not come across any representing this service branch. Fortunately a new set was just released. Let's take a look.

WW23D British Long Range Desert Group

As you can tell these guys look rugged from spending a lot of time in the desert in long range patrols. They are dressed accordingly with short trousers, turbans and have not had a shave in a while. The range of weapons represented is good, although with strong preference for submachine guns. The sculpting is OK in the sense that there's not a lot of fine detail, and also the poses are standing a bit too straight for my taste. Nonetheless, given that this is the first set of British desert scouts that I incorporate into my army, I am quite happy with them. 

WW23D British Long Range Desert Group Jeep

Aside from the foot soldiers, this vendor also offers a couple of vehicles to enable them to go on their missions deep behind enemy lines. One of them is this jeep. It is also 3D printed and comes with a driver and a copilot operating a dual machine gun. You also get a couple of guys that you can throw in the back. Note in this picture also that one of them is wearing a beret. That's because this maker also prints these figures with different head gear. I ordered them with turbans, but the owner was nice enough to throw a few extras in and this is one of the additional guys I got. 

WW23D British Long Range Desert Group Truck - Part 1

This truck is a bit larger and can fit 4 or 5 guys in the back in addition to the driver and copilot, who is also operating a dual machine gun. The man standing in the back is also handling a dual MG, so these guys are well armed with a 360 degree field of fire. The vehicle appears to be a Chevy 30CWT 1 1/2 ton truck and it is reasonable well built for a 3D printed vehicle and it does not have the layering that some 3D printers create. 

WW23D British Long Range Desert Group Truck - Part 2

This is the same Chevy truck from a different angle. Note that despite this being an American-made truck, the driver is sitting on the right side of the cabin, as is the case in Britain. Not that it would matter much while driving off road in the North African desert, but I suppose when they were back at base, driving among other fellow country men it was better to keep to the familiar norms. 

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Introducing the British Paratroops

Latest edit: Added WW23D.com British Paratroops

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The development of the British airborne forces began in 1940 following the successful German airborne operations that summer. The first British airborne raid, Operation Colossus, took place on Italian territory on Feb of '41 and by November of that year, the 1st Airborne division was officially formed. These troops were actually capable of being dropped by parachute or landing by glider, and once they were even landed from the sea, into the heel of Italy. A few other small operations followed during the mid-part of the war, such as a raid on a radar station on the French coast and a raid on a heavy water facility in Norway and some brigade size landings in North Africa. The 1st Division also took part in the invasion of Sicily and the Italian mainland. By 1943 a second division, the 6th was formed. This division went into action for the first time on D-Day, capturing the famous Pegasus Bridge among other objectives. It fought on in Normandy for 3 months. Around the time that the 6th was withdrawing from France, the 1st Division took part in Operation Market-Garden, perhaps the British Airborne's most dramatic engagement of the war. In a book aptly titled 'A Bridge too Far' Cornelius Ryan tells the story of how the 1st Division held out for 9 days in the town of Arnhem under intense pressure, waiting for the ground troops which were supposed to relieve them after only 2 or 3 days. Eight of the bridges leading up to Arnhem had eventually been secured, but the 9th one had not and out of approximately 10,000 men originally in the division, less than 2000 managed to get evacuated. The 6th Division went on to fight a couple more campaigns. At the end of the year, it was rushed to help stop the German's Ardennes offensive and in March of '45 they participated in Operation Varsity, a combined arms crossing of the Rhine. In terms of figure availability, there is actually a decent number of British Paratroops that have been released by several manufacturers. Let's take a look.

Airfix British Paratroops

A good mix of poses. Some of these guys look like they just landed and are moving on to their objective. Some others are already engaging the enemy. A good set from Airfix as usual.

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part I

This is one of the rare Airfix Paras which Airfix made before they switched to the set which has become the standard one. I should say that in terms of the sculpting and poses, the second series is indeed superior to the first and it is easy to understand why Airfix decided to replace them. I once ran into the whole set at a soldier show, before I knew what they were. They were priced a bit on the expensive side, so I passed on them, Years later, when I realized what I had held in my hands, it became clear to me that I should have bought them and that they had actually been priced quite well given how rare they are... This one I got in a large set of mixed figures that someone did not bother to sort out and classify. A bit of a lucky break for me. Here you can see the rest of the poses courtesy of Toy Soldier HQ.

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part II

Here is another guy from the set, firing off into the sky. Now the question is, what could he be firing at? In theory, his unit is the one doing the drop... The enemy would not drop on top of them, since after all, they are already behind enemy lines. I suppose he could be firing at a strafing fighter... In terms of the sculpting, I just wish they had given him a slightly more relaxed stance. Maybe the knees, slightly bent? At any rate, I am glad I ran into him. Only 5 more poses to go!

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part III

OK, so I had a bit of a lucky break and found a batch of about a dozen paras in pretty good shape. Out of those, we have 3 more new poses. Out of these three, the kneeling, firing guy is my favorite. Now we are just missing the man walking holding his sub mg at his side.

Airfix British Paratroops - Series 1 - Part IV

  Here's the prone bazooka man. These guys are not easy to find, but I was lucky to run into a batch of 10 or so. Unfortunately, I already had most of them, except for the bazooka man of which it had two. On to keep looking for that elusive last pose! 

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part 1

About a decade back, Conte came into the plastic toy soldier scene with several D-Day playsets, which included among others, the British Paratroops. Not only did he bring a new level of realism to the sculpting and posing of the figures, but he also did it in a much larger scale than previous manufacturers, releasing a total of 16 poses!

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part 2

The Conte figures are a bit on the larger side of 54 mm, but all the other positive attributes make that a detail easy to overlook.

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part 3

A good mixture of weapons, headgear, and poses.

Conte Collectibles British Paratroops - Part 4

Even the three guys who are standing firing are all different.

Revell British Paratroops - Part 1

Revell made these guys in 1/35 scale, so you might not want to place them right next to the Conte guys. A nice set for the most part. The second guy from the left is the one guy that I don't find that great. And the guy pulling his parachute is a nice, unique pose, but of course, you can only use him in some limited scenes.

Revell British Paratroops - Part 2

Another interesting detail is the weapons canister. The picture does not show it clearly, but it is actually separate from the figures. I found these guys manufactured in two different plastic colors, as seen above, with green being the most common. BTW, I am not sure if they are still being produced as I have not seen them in a while.

ESCI British Paratroops - Part 1

Here is another unique set from ESCI. Also pretty hard to find. So much that I wasn't even aware that it existed until one of our readers pointed it out to me. The figures are actually pretty decent and in my opinion, better posed than the other ESCI sets. They are using a good range of small arms and even their helmets show a bit of variety, some having a cammo net and some without.

ESCI British Paratroops - Part 2

I particularly like the man charging forward with the Bren gun. One of the more dynamic ESCI poses that I have come across. I don't care that much for the guy standing guard. The guy on the right is one of those funny poses... he seems to be turning at the same time that he is running forward, but yet he is a bit too straight for that amount of movement taking place all at the same time. Anyhow, a good addition to the British paras. Maybe they can help hold Arnhem one more day...

21st Century Toys British Paratroops

I was not aware that 21C Toys had made this set until I ran into it by chance on eBay. They are actually quite nice. I bought 3 sets and the paint job varies from one set to the next, but overall they are nicely finished. The poses are the kind of action pose that I prefer and I also like the variety of weapons that they carry into action. A good addition to the collection!

Charbens British Paratroops - Part I

These seem to be recasts of figures made in the 60s or 70s. On the small side of 54mm. The most interesting guy is the one with the flamethrower. I don't know if this is historically accurate, but it still makes for a unique addition to the unit.

Charbens British Paratroops - Part II

Here is a sixth pose. For some reason the newer recasts do not come with it, but I ran into it in a large batch of mixed figures. Perhaps the mold got lost for this one. Note that it has the same base style and also the pose resembles very much the grenade thrower in the British 8th Army Charbens set. 

 

Charbens British Paratroops - Part III

And here are the first five poses as they were originally released.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 1

These are two figures that I stumbled upon on eBay. They are standing a bit too straight for my taste, but they are also old, so we can give them a bit of a break. Anyhow, once they are painted they will be a good addition to the unit, providing their specialized services. I wonder what the guy on the right is supposed to be carrying on his back. Does not look like the usual field pack. Is it supposed to be his parachute? But if he is already operating the mortar, doesn't that mean that he already jumped?

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 2

Here are some more guys from this set. They are not in the best shape. A couple of them have broken weapons but they still give an idea of what the original poses looked like. The guy on the right is an interesting pose. I am not sure what he represents. Is he supposed to be pulling his parachute? or maybe he is supposed to be in the air, in the middle of a jump?

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 3

A couple more guys that I recently got in a mixed lot. The guy who is crawling is interesting. He seems more like he is doing some push ups. I would have made him with at least one knee on the ground. The man with the binoculars is fairly decent. Too bad it has lost all its paint.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 4

A few more guys in much better condition. The bazooka guy seems to be based off the same figure as the standing man aiming with the rifle, or most likely the other way around, which explains why the rifleman is holding the rifle that way. The flamethrower guy is just a better version of the one in the previous picture which has the flame missing. 

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 5

Three more figures from the set. Well actually the guy on the left showed up already in one of the earlier pictures, but the weapon was broken, so I included him again since I just got the same figure in better shape. The other two are nice additions. I like the guy who is crawling quite a bit. The MG is also a good addition to the unit, giving it a bit more firepower.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 6

And yet one more guy who I found by chance, without knowing that I was missing him, in a large batch that I bought, also without knowing what exactly was in it. I guess every unit needs a good grenade thrower, and here he is. He does not seem to be winding up much for the throw though... let's see how far he manages to throw that. 

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 7

This is one more guy I just ran into. He is just sitting down, as if he were riding on a plane waiting to jump. To setup such a scene, you would need several of them and they are not easy to find, so I doubt I'll ever get around to that. I should clarify that I did not see any manufacturer marks on him, so I am just assuming that he is a Lone Star figure because he really resembles the other ones.

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 8

So I think I found the set that the sitting para belong to, or at least one where they can be used more appropriately. This is a Willys Jeep made by Lone Star. Presumably issued to the British Paras through Lend Lease :-)

Lone Star British Paratroopers - Part 9

Here is one more British Para. This guy happens to be the machine gunner for this Bren gun carrier, although his MG does not really look like a Bren gun. If he's not the actual gunner, then it's a big coincidence that he fits so well on the seat that has the MG opening... 

 

Lone Star British Modern Paratroopers

This guy came with some of the WWII paras. At first I did not notice that he was from a more modern set. As you can see, the only thing that stands out is the weapon. So if you are not too selective, you can include him in your WWII unit. I probably will.

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 1

These guys are post WWII figures, but if you overlook the automatic weapons, they could fit well with the rest of the guys. The flamethrower is a good complement to the other sets. I don't know exactly how many poses were produced. First I found these four and later on I found two more (see below).

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 2

I just received these two other poses. The plastic is a bit brittle as they arrived in multiple pieces. Note how the arm holding the grenade is reattached as well as the head of the other guy. Too bad because there aren't that many of these figures left around.

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 3

And here is one more guy that I was missing from the set. The guy firing from a kneeling position. A classic post in most sets. Fairly well executed in this case.

Lone Star British Red Berets - Part 4
Here is one more guy who I was missing. Also, one of those that I was not aware of and who came in  a larger batch of figures, so I guess I got lucky. He is displaying a good degree of movement, which is how I like them. BTW, this is almost the same pose as the modern para a few pictures earlier. Initially I thought all they had done was change the helmet. I think I'll let you find the rest of the differences!

Cherilea 60mm British Red Berets

I recently found these guys on eBay. There are supposed to be 6 of them, but I have only found 5. Based on the weapon of the guy on the right they seem to be modern figures, but I think that once you paint them to match the WWII guys they will fit right in.

Cherilea 60mm British Red Berets - Continued

Here is the last guy that was missing from the set. I got him after I made the initial post. Not the most exciting pose, but it rounds up the set of six nicely.

Crescent 60mm British Paratroops

These are original figures from about 40 years ago. They are 60mm. I am unable to fully establish if they are paratroops or commandos. I'll probably just end up painting them as both. Note that they come with a mortar which is lacking in the other sets.

Britains Deetail British Paratroops - Set 1

These guys are actually modern Paratroops, but I like the poses quite a bit and the antitank weapon could come in handy so I've decided to recruit them into the unit.

Britains Super Deetail British Paratroops - Set 2 - Part I

This is one of the other four super rare poses that collectors refer to as the 'Holy Grail' set. Unfortunately, I was only able to get my hands on one of them, even though all four of them were up for auction. But as expected, they were highly sought after. In terms of the figure, I really liked the pose and sculpting of the figure. The manufacturing left a bit of a defect on the neck. My understanding is that the Super deetail figures were made by casting the parts separately and then putting them together with heat, which might explain the neck. Anyhow, it is still a great piece and I am glad I have at least one of them. Maybe I get lucky again and manage to find the rest of his unit at some point. 

Britains Super Deetail British Paratroops - Set 2 - Part II

Another angle, in which you can appreciate his movement a bit better.

Timpo Swoppets British Paratroops

These guys are wearing the distinctive red beret. They come with the typical webbing used by British Army units as well as a backpack. They also have a good range of weapons. I particularly like the Sten gun. The poses as obviously influenced by how you combine the torsos with the legs, but I should say that some of the leg stances are not the best. It also looks like the legs might have come from another set, or they made the Paras in a couple of color schemes. 

Airfix Modern British Infantry

Lastly, these guys are also modern British Infantry, however, the camouflage that they are wearing on their helmets makes them look similar to the paratroops, and their poses are also quite nice, so I am thinking that once they are painted as paras, they'll fit just fine.

Airfix Modern German Infantry - Part I

Same with these guys. But they are so well sculpted that I could not resist getting a batch of them and incorporating them into my ranks. Even though they are German, I think I could use them as British paras.

Airfix Modern German Infantry - Part II

In typical Airfix fashion, the poses are full or action and include plenty of realistic detail. Even the folds on their clothes are all in the right places. Out of this batch, I really like the guy firing his sub MG from the waist and how he leans into it.

Rocco (Royce & Co) British Paratrooper

This guy who came with a mixed set of figures. He is closer to 50mm than he is to 54mm, and appears to have come factory painted. Unfortunately, there are no marks on him to give us a hint about who manufactured him. If you happen to know, please leave a comment so that we might be able to find him some other guys from his unit. Update: one of our readers has identified him as one of the figures made by Rocco (Royce & Co.). 

WW23D British Paratroops - Part 1

These men look ready to join their comrades in Arnhem. There are 9 of them so I decided to split them into two groups for the pictures so that you can see them better. From this first group, my favorite one is the one on the left, kneeling on one leg and leaning forward while firing his sub MG. The one on the right reminds me of the pose from one of the Conte British paras. And the other 3 just seem to be walking on patrol on their way to liberate some Dutch town before the Germans turned on the heat on them. 

WW23D British Paratroops - Part 2

These guys are a bit more adequate for a battle scene. The two guys in the middle are very similar to each other, except that they have the opposite foot forward and one of them is flexing his back knee a bit. The other difference is the type of sub MG. One of them has a sten gun with the magazine on the side, while the other one doesn't. The guy on the left is a pretty standard pose, and the one on the right reminds me of a pose I have seen in another set, but I can't quite place him. Let me know in the comments if he also rings a bell. 

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Introducing the British Commandos

Latest edit: Added WW23D.com British Commandos

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The British Commandos were an elite formation within the British armed forces. Their rigorous training program with a high drop out rate made them highly selective. Their training emphasized the development of immediate, instinctive reactions. To achieve that they conducted drills under very real combat-like conditions repeatedly until the desired behavior became second nature. The book 'Up Close and Personal' by David Lee has a very detailed description of their training, history and some of their main operations. He indicates that about a third of the training focused on weapons (including their famous Sykes knife and even foreign weaponry), another third on fieldcraft (the art of moving stealthily), unarmed combat and ropework, and the other third was spent on boating, map reading, marches, night training, demolition and drill. Each Commando unit consisted of approximately 450 men, all of them volunteers. The Commandos took part in many operations throughout the war. Many were small raids, but they were also deployed in larger scales, as was the case during the Normandy landings. One of their most famous raids was the one on Dieppe. Even though the operation was a disaster for the Canadian infantry involved, No. 4 Commando performed exceptionally well neutralizing a coastal battery in advance of the main landing. As far as plastic troops go, there are a few options out there. Let's take a look.

Airfix British Commandos

Not the most exciting set from Airfix. Except for the man throwing the grenade, the other guys seem rather static. The guy who is kneeling is also missing a base, so he's easy to knock over. My favorite guy in this set is the prone guy. There had to be at least one of them displaying their famous knife. Note that they are also wearing a woolen cap instead of the steel helmet worn by traditional infantry units.

Atlantic British Commandos - Part 1

These guys are wearing their distinctive green beret. I find this set one of the best ones from Atlantic. The sculpting and the poses are well proportioned and dynamic. The weapons are diverse. They have even provided them with a bazooka man.

Atlantic British Commandos - Part 2

A few more good poses. The only thing I find a bit funny is the Mae est on some of these guys. I wonder if they really wore those going into action. BTW, it was recently brought to my attention that these guys were also released as Italian Naval Infantry by Atlantic. The set was called 'Battaglione San Marco'. In an interesting twist of fate, the San Marco unit fought against British Commandos at Tobruk on the night of September 13 1942. That would be an interesting scene to recreate with these figures.

Crescent British Commandos

These are 60 mm figures from the 60's I believe. I actually don't know for sure if they are Commandos or Paratroops -I've seen them labeled either way- but I plan to use them as both. Once they are painted I think they will fit in well, and having a mortar guy on the unit and another bazooka man can't hurt.

Matchbox British Commandos - Part 1

I think this is one of those sets in which Matchbox outdid Airfix. They also have a very good variety of poses and weaponry. The only thing missing is some heavy weapons.

Matchbox British Commandos - Part 2

The guy with the ladder is a nice touch, but I have to admit that I don't have much use for him in most battles. They do offer a good selection of prone guys. The guy in the middle is very similar to the Airfix guy. I wonder which one came out first. The kneeling guy is going to be my overall commander once I have them all painted.

Airfix & Matchbox British Commandos

Here is a nice combo. The boat and rower are Matchbox figures. The Bren gunner is an Airfix guy providing support. I guess there is some advantage to him not having a base after all. Like the ladder guy, this one also requires a very specific scene.

Crescent 'Movables' British Commandos

These guys are analogous to the Britains Swoppets. You can remove their weapons and body parts to combine them into different poses/figures. In my opinion, the level of detail and realism is not quite there, however due to their uniqueness, they deserve a spot in the collection. I think they came in sets of 7, so there is one missing from this picture.

Timpo Swoppets British Commandos

I am a bit confused here. I have seen British Commandos wearing green berets mostly, and very dark ones which could be black occasionally. Troops from armored units, also wore black berets, like the guys on the Bren gun carrier in the previous picture. But I am inclined to think that these figures were meant to represent commandos. In terms of the figures, they come with the typical webbing used by British Army units as well as a backpack. The poses as obviously influenced by how you combine the torsos with the legs, but I should say that some of the leg stances are not the best. 

Multiple Toymakers British Commandos - Part I

These guys were an odd find. I did not even know that this manufacturer existed. The figures are a bit skinny for my taste, but in general, they are well sculpted. A good set of poses, with an acceptable degree of movement and action in them. I do have to say that when I first looked at them, I thought there might be some repeated poses, as some of them are similar, but upon closer inspection, they are all different.  

Multiple Toymakers British Commandos - Part II

Here are the rest of the guys. Another funny thing are the faces. They are all the same, so it feels like it is an army of clones. The most interesting guy in this second batch is the flamethrower. The second guy from the right. Not easy to see, but the whole weapon can come off his hands and hang from the tanks attached to the back. It is a bit tricky to put it all back into place and make it stay there. 

Unknown British Commando

This is a guy who came in a mixed set of figures. He is some type of swoppet hybrid, with removable head, but fixed body. He seems to be running with a mortar and its shells. In terms of size, it is closer to 60mm than it is to 54mm, but not quite 60mm, I think. Unfortunately, it does not have any markings to help identify the manufacturer, so if you know who made it, please leave a comment. 

WW23D British Commandos

Here are a few more guys to complement the Airfix and Matchbox commandos. I have the same commentary about their stance (a bit too straight) as I have about all the figures from this manufacturer, so I am not going to dwell on it, but at least there are three kneeling guys and one of the men -second from left- does seem to have some nice forward momentum. The squad comes with a good mix of light infantry weapons, including a sniper rifle, adequate for their clandestine missions and of course, they are wearing the distinctive commando cap. 

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