1/6 Ujindou UD9039 British Infantry (France 1940 - Singapore 1942)

[Asta]

PRODUCT LIST:

• NEW BOND HEAD SCULPTURE
• BODY
• GUN HOLDING HANDS
• COSTUME:
  – Mk.II Helmet x 1
  – 37-pattern BD Uniform Jacket x 1
  – 37-pattern BD Trousers x 1
  – British Army Drill Shirt x 1
  – British Army Drill Shorts x 1
  – British 1940 Pattern Dismounted Greatcoat x 1
  – 37-pattern Cloth Anklets
  – British Army Officers Short Puttees
  – British Army Long Socks
  – British Boots
• ACCESSORIES:
  – Lewis Machine Gun Drum Pouch Carrier Set x 1
  – British Cartridge Pouch Pair
  – 37-pattern Waistbelt x 1
  – 37-pattern Braces x 1
  – 37-pattern General Purpose Pouches
  – P37 Backpack Large Expeditionary Backpack x 1
  – P37 Pack W x 1
  – British Gas Mask Bag x 1
  – British Gas Mask x 1
  – British Water Bottle w/ Strap x 1
  – British Army Mug x 1
  – British Army Shovel x 1
• WEAPON:
  – Lewis Machine Gun x 1

 

[Chambea1114]

Nice seeing a Lewis gun, cool figure but it's Ujindou so i'll pass.

 

[Asta]

Nice seeing a Lewis gun, cool figure but it's Ujindou so i'll pass.

I'm tempted due to the Lewis gun and tropical uniform.

However, as more often than not, the set as a whole doesn't look as polished as DID or Facepool.

There's also Ujindou's tendency to be a collection of parts rather than the complete article. There are almost two figure's worth here, missing boots, headgear and an extra weapon.

On the last point, they're including a pair of cartridge carriers, and a pair of the larger pouches that can hold Sten or Thompson magazines, yet he only has the Lewis.

Their poses and photography aren't selling the set very well either. Looks like they pulled his socks up too high, failing to roll them down at the top, to conceal his knee joints.

 

[Asta]

The BBICN thread still doesn't have the spec list, but there was a copy of it on a site called Noveltoys (who appears to be a wholesaler) so have added it to the the first post.

 

[Asta]

https://onesixthkit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=5707

 

[lieutenant dan]

An interesting "collection of parts". I'm not sure whether Lewis guns were used in France in 1940, but do seem to have been used by some units in the Singapore theatre. I was surprised to learn that 1908 ammo pouches were still being issued to some frontline units, in the early part of WW2.

The 37 pattern ammo pouch looks to be a Mk.II (for his missing Lee Enfield or Bren gun ). The Mk.III pouch (introduced later to take Sten gun ammo) was 1/2 an inch longer, but otherwise pretty identical.

 

[Asta]

An interesting "collection of parts". I'm not sure whether Lewis guns were used in France in 1940, but do seem to have been used by some units in the Singapore theatre. I was surprised to learn that 1908 ammo pouches were still being issued to some frontline units, in the early part of WW2.

View attachment 731687

The 37 pattern ammo pouch looks to be a Mk.II (for his missing Lee Enfield or Bren gun ). The Mk.III pouch (introduced later to take Sten gun ammo) was 1/2 an inch longer, but otherwise pretty identical.

A Lee-Enfield is the big omission for the set if they intended it to cover the period from France 1940 to Singapore 1942, especially since they included the extra 37 pattern pouches.

It seems unlikely that the Lewis gun would've been used in France in 1940 since it'd been replaced by the Bren. However, in my searches I've seen references to it being part of the inventory of weapons, but they're unsubstantiated.

Dunkirk was the catalyst for pressing the old weapons back into service, as per the Wiki page on the Lewis gun:

In the crisis following the Fall of France, where a large part of the British Army's equipment had been lost up to and at Dunkirk, stocks of Lewis guns in both .303 and .30-06 were hurriedly pressed back into service, primarily for Home Guard, airfield defence and anti-aircraft use. 58,983 Lewis guns were taken from stores, repaired, refitted and issued by the British during the course of the war. In addition to their reserve weapon role in the UK, they also saw front-line use with the Dutch, British, Australian, and New Zealand forces in the early years of the Pacific campaign against the Japanese.

It's not easy finding photos of infantry with Lewis guns at all. There's the one on the Wiki page captioned, "Recruits of the Singapore Volunteer Force training with a Lewis gun, 1941" which may have been part of Ujindou's inspiration for the set:

I've read that it was used as an infantry weapon by the Desert Rats, but as yet found no photographic evidence.

Model soldiers have also been made depicting the Long Range Desert Group in North Africa holding Lewis guns, and there's this photo of the LRDG using it vehicle mounted:

The other part of Ujindou's inspiration may have been this Dragon Models figure released in 2012:

 

[Asta]

This is a clue to Lewis guns being among the weapons left behind by the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk:

The Wehrmacht captured a significant number of British and Dutch Lewis guns in 1940, and put these into service with second-line troops as the MG 137(E) and MG 100(H).

https://forum.enlisted.net/en/t/all-about-the-lewis-gun-eng-job-2/150739


Another clue here:

I did hear a survivor interview on a TV history programme about the BEF and Dunkirk where it was said that some Lewis guns were issued, but you'd have to do some photo-surfing to verify that.

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235114255-bef-uniforms/



On 1908 pattern webbing in general being used by the B.E.F.:

Additionally, when the B.E.F. was first sent to the continent, most of the men were still wearing their old service dress uniforms with the 1908 pattern webbing equipment, which gave no method of carrying Bren magazines. Fortunately, most troops were re-equipped with the 1937 pattern webbing and battledress before the German invasion of France and the Low Countries in May of 1940; the new equipment had been designed around the Bren, with pouches large enough for the magazines.

The loss of Brens that required more Lewis guns to be brought of storage:

After the Dunkirk evacuation, the Army conducted an inventory and found there were only about 2,300 Brens available.

Continued requirement for Lewis guns in North Africa:

As the war in North Africa intensified, there were insufficient Brens for the need, and stocks of old Lewis guns were brought out of storage. Britain also ordered a number of B.A.R.’s from the United States; but by the time they arrived, Bren production had increased and most of the B.A.R.’s went to the Home Guard. By late 1942, most units in the desert had been supplied with Brens.

https://sergeanttombstoneshistory.wordpress.com/tag/bren-gun/


Other areas where Lewis guns and earlier webbing were in use with the British were India and Burma.

From Osprey's The British Army 1939–45 (3) The Far East:

Units in India and Burma had been of secondary importance, and the demands for new uniforms and equipment for troops fighting the Axis in Europe and North Africa had taken priority. The outbreak of war saw the issue of a few Bren guns and a quantity of P37 web equipment (though many infantry units in India received the cartridge carriers rather than the larger basic pouches); but the Lewis gun remained the outdated mainstay of platoon firepower.

 

[Asta]

Firing a Lewis with a bipod, from the shoulder and from the hip:

 

[Asta]

The 1908 pattern drum pouch carriers were introduced on 28th May 1917. They continued to be made and supplied during the Second World War - the latest date I've seen inside one is 1944 - though many of them were South African in origin.


It's an interesting and unusual piece of kit in 1/6, and as such is begging to be used along with the Lewis itself.

However, there's a snag with the figure. Due to the weight of the Lewis the gunner wouldn't be carrying the extra ammunition himself.


During the First World War a Lewis gun team would be made up of at least six men:

No. 1: the gunner who carries the gun with one attached magazine, and armed with a revolver.

No. 2: the loader who carries a tool kit and spare parts, and armed with a revolver.

Nos. 3-6: ammunition carriers with full kit, rifle and eight magazines each for the Lewis gun.


So this set really needs to be distributed between two figures.

This looks like a pair of WWI re-enactors, but it illustrates the common depiction (in models as well) of the No.1 and No. 2:

Here the No. 2 is carrying ammunition as well as the tool kit and spare parts.

Likely off topic for WW2 depiction, but this is the 1916 Lewis spare parts and tool kit:

While there are virtually two complete uniforms in the set they'd appear mismatched as a team.

It's a bit of a conundrum what to do with them, because there are so few photos from the Second World War showing the Lewis in action with infantry to show the reality of the situation. Most of the photos are either soldiers during training or the Home Guard, and many are using the Lewis mounted for anti-aircraft use.

Having already got so many British made as either Commandos or SAS/LRDG, my plan was to make two regular Tommies.

I have the extra rifle, boots, helmet and holstered Webley required to complete both.

The one in tropical uniform will be a Desert Rat. I plan to paint the helmet sand because, as has become typical with Ujindou recently, their colours tend to be oversaturated. e.g., the helmet is very green and the socks are very mustard.

But which one to be the rifleman, and which to be the Lewis No. 2 temporarily holding the gun for his No. 1?

It's feeling likely that I'll give the Desert Rat the Lewis carriers due to their colouring looking more appropriate.