Romanian WW2 Plastics

• Bolt Action
• Romanians WW2
• 28mm

• 

  JTam

  1/4/23, 10:58 PM

  Romanians represent a true (plastic) gap in the market.  

  

  

  

  Romanian troops on the Eastern Front outnumbered all other German allies combined.  This is impressive considering the Italian contingent was substantial.  

  Much has been written about the destruction of Romanian forces around Stalingrad.  Less well known is the Romanian capture of Odessa and their significant contribution to the capture of Sevastopol.

  Romanian troops make a distinctive looking force on the tabletop.  Their helmets in particular have an unmistakable outline.  

  

  Romanians are also a versatile force for WW2 gaming as they fought initially with the Germans and then switched sides in 1944.  

  (All museum photos taken at the Romanian National Military Museum, Bucharest, Romania or the Naval Museum, Constanta, Romania).

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• 

  JTam

  1/4/23, 11:18 PM

  Romanian Infantry equipment and uniforms:

  

  Fairly standard wool tunic with stand and fall collar.

  In the warm season the troops would be issued cotton tunics.  These faded very quickly compared to the wool pants.  You will find many period photographs of troops with dark trousers and much lighter sun faded tunics.

  

  The rifle on the left of the display is the Czech manufacturered Romanian contract VZ 24.

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vz._24

  

  I will be referencing this amazing site a lot:

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/dutch-m34-steel-helmet-used-by-the-romanian-army-in-ww2/

  It's hard to find via Google search for some reason but it's by far the best resource for information on WW2 Romanian equipment I have found.

  

  Pictured L to R at top:

  Low boots.  (Generally worn with puttees).

  M34 Helmet.  As previously mentioned it's extremely distinctive.  Note the prewar King Carol crest was removed.  Wartime manufactured helmets had no crest on the front.

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/dutch-m34-steel-helmet-used-by-the-romanian-army-in-ww2/

  MD32 Gas Mask.

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/romanian-army-md32-gas-mask-ww2/

  L to R at bottom.

  Identity tags.

  Ammunition on stripper clips.

  Entrenching tool.

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/romanian-army-infantry-entrenching-tool-ww2/

  Canteen.

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/romanian-army-water-bottle-canteen-ww2/

  (Appears to be missing the top cap/cup).

  

  Ammunition pouches and belt.

  

  Gas mask bag.

  

  Close up of mess tin attached to bread bag.

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/romanian-army-mess-tin-ww2/

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/romanian-army-ww2-bread-bag/

  

  Company level Officer tunic.  It appears to be an enlisted tunic drawn for campaign/field use.  Any modifications to the tunic are very superficial.  Maybe bigger turn backs??  The "Sam Brown" belt is distinctive.

   

  Posts on Romanian SMGs, LMGs, MMGs, mortars, and antitank guns to follow.

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• 

  JTam

  1/5/23, 12:30 AM

  The standard Romanian light machinegun was the ZB 30.  

  

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZB_vz._30

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Fundamentaly the same as a Bren gun it is an excellent arm.  

  The gunner would have a mg accessory pouch and a pistol.  Commonly a Steyr M1912.

  

  (The Steyr M1912 is the semiautomatic below the revolver).

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steyr_M1912_pistol

  The assistant gunner would commonly carry a backpack in order to carry extra ammunition and a spare barrel.

  https://relicsandmilitaria.ro/romanian-army-backpack-model-used-in-ww2/

   

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• 

  Grumpy Gnome

  1/5/23, 1:37 AM

  It would be interesting see more of all the other “non-main” WW2 nations released in plastic and as you said the Romanians are a practical force to build due to fighting on both sides.

  Home of the Grumpy Gnome
  
  https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/

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• AD

  Alessio De Carolis

  1/5/23, 8:17 AM

  Romanian army in 1939 was bigger than, f.e. US' one, after all, and they've a grudge against Stalin, for Moldova's seizing, so they choose to support Hitler's attack, as the Finns. The problem naturally would the general appeal of such an investment, after all not all the collectors/wargamers are interested in the Eastern front, were Romanian forces principally fought, and a lot of people surely buys generally most "glamourous" models(read: germans & russians).

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• 

  JTam

  1/5/23, 8:39 AM

  @Alessio De Carolis 

  All good points.  

  Reference having enough "appeal".  WW2 is the most popular/widely played period for historical tabletop wargamers.  Romanians may never be as popular/sell as well as some of the larger powers.  But a small slice of a large pie (WW2 gaming) may well be more lucrative than a large slice of a tiny pie (most historical eras).  Certainly three or four companies have deemed it worthwhile to produce Romanians in metal.

  I would suggest the Eastern front is the second most popular setting for WW2 gaming, where the Romanians did yoemans work.

  

   

  As @Grumpy Gnome noted the fact that one can legitimately use a Romanian army for an Axis or Allied force increases its appeal for wargamers.  

  Multiple sources have suggested the best selling Bolt Action army is Germans.  Why?  I'm sure part of it is the fact that it's a fascinating force.  But I think the largest reason is most every "Allied" player collects an "opposition" force at some point - which generally defaults to Germans. Romanians are a good alternate choice.  Not hampered by poor rules like the Italians, with a distinctive look unlike the Hungarians, etc.

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• 

  BS Kitbasher

  1/5/23, 1:49 PM

  I'd buy some of these to use for Sci Fi or Alt Hist modeling projects.  It's refreshing to see equipment, and specially helmets, that one can identify with a time period but not instantly with the most popular factions of that period.  I bought the Italians for the same reason, to fill in for a generic WW2-ish level civilization, or to use the uniforms with other heads for generic Sci Fi factions.

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• 

  Grumpy Gnome

  1/5/23, 1:53 PM

  @BS Kitbasher  Before I came across the Quar I was considering the very same thing for WW 2 Italians, using them as generic alt-history troops. Your point about less distinctive helmets echoes my own thoughts. 🪖 

  Home of the Grumpy Gnome
  
  https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/

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• MD

  Mark Dewis

  1/5/23, 4:45 PM

  As an interesting note, the Bulgarian helmet was of Dutch design (and even manufactured there), so a Bulgarian kit would have heads (briefly) useful for 1940 Netherlands, and possibly for an interwar project. They didn't fight any battles during this period, but you might have Dutch colonial or pulp stuff, I guess. The Dutch army adopted US helmets after it was reinstated post-war, so the period this would apply is limited - Bulgarian use is far more important.

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• 

  JTam

  1/5/23, 9:46 PM

  @Mark Dewis 

  Romanian.  But I knew what you meant.

  (The Bulgarians did have an interesting helmet though.  It's a modern shape with strong medieval vibes.  Would be great for alt history/forces).

  

  

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• 

  JTam

  1/5/23, 9:46 PM

  The Romanian Army's primary medium machinegun was the ZB-53.  A very serviceable belt fed arm.  The British license built these as the Besa.  

  https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/ZB-53_/_vz._37

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Between the excellent light machinegun and good medium machinegun the Romanian Infantryman was better equipped than some peer forces (looking at you Italy).

  If someone was ever to sculpt one of these ... cough...cough...  PM me.  I took a lot more detail pics.

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• 

  JTam

  1/5/23, 10:01 PM

  The Romanians started the war with little to no submachine guns, but like most of the powers they became more and more common in Infantry squads as the war progressed.

  The most common SMG was the home grown M41 Orita.  It was by most accounts perfectly a good arm.

   

  https://www.forgottenweapons.com/submachine-guns/orita-m1941

  

  

  

  

  (Some have the furniture with the metal wrist.  Some the full wood stock).

   

  The Romanian Army also used the superb Beretta Model 38.

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_Model_38

  

  

  (Beretta left, Orita right).

  

  

   

  Use was also made of captured Russian SMGs with the PPSh-41 being most prevalent.

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PPSh-41

  

  (PPSh-41 left.  Beretta right).

  

   

  Additionally the Romanian Army was supplied with a number of MP40s.

  https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/video-german-mp40-submachine-gun/

  

  (Fun fact: The protrusion below the barrel is designed to hook over the side of a halftrack while firing mounted.  It should help prevent a bump or uneven terrain from causing the weapon to come back and down into the hull while firing).

   

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• 

  JTam

  1/5/23, 10:29 PM

  @Alessio De Carolis 

  I've never heard the word "glamorous" and "Russian" (Army of WW2) used together before ;)

  Certainly they do have a certain mystique though.

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• 

  JTam

  1/5/23, 11:41 PM

  Excellent size comparison and run down of available metal miniatures (and a plastic kit bash):

  

  https://www.reddit.com/r/boltaction/comments/zwkko8/28mm_romanian_miniatures_scale_comparison/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

  I have some of the metal Tsuba aka Empress Romanian miniatures.  They are very nicely sculpted.  The weapons are very fragile.  One rifle is already broken.  Will be trying to substitute the front end of a plastic 98K.

   

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• 

  JTam

  1/8/23, 1:39 PM

  Romanian Cavalry.

  https://wargamesatlantic.com/community/xenforum/topic/58080/which-ww2-cavalry

   

  

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• 

  JTam

  1/8/23, 7:00 PM

  Romanian Antitank Guns:

  

   

  Bofors 37mm:

  

  

  

  

  Plaque aside, I'm reasonably sure this is a 37mm Bofors.

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors_37_mm_anti-tank_gun

   

  Schneider 47mm:

  

  

  

   

  Unidentified light, possibly dual purpose gun:

  

  EDIT: Thanks to @Mark Hoffman the gun is identified as a 47mm Bohler.

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannone_da_47/32

  

   

  The "quintessential" Romanian antitank gun is however the homegrown and excellent Resita 75mm. 

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/75_mm_Re%C8%99i%C8%9Ba_Model_1943

  The National Military Museum in Bucharest has one, but the vehicle park was closed on the day I visited.  So sadly no pictures.

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• GM

  Geoff Maybury

  1/9/23, 7:28 AM

  @JTam Happy New Year , well Tam you sold them to me, great read, so much that I didn`t know, I will come back and re-read. Your reports are always fufulling and enjoyable . Cheers nice way to start 2023. 

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• 

  JTam

  1/9/23, 9:08 AM

  @Geoff Maybury 

  Thank You Brother!

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• MH

  Mark Hoffman

  1/9/23, 11:56 AM

  @JTam 

   The unknown dual purpose gun  is the 47mm Boehler anti tank gun ,used by quite a few countries, notably Italy

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• 

  JTam

  1/9/23, 9:40 PM

  @Mark Hoffman 

  Thank You!

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• 

  JTam

  1/9/23, 9:54 PM

  Excellent breakdown on the composition and equipment of an average Romanian Infantry Squad:

  https://39infantryregs.org/2021/05/01/structure-of-the-romanian-infantry-section/

  

  

  Credit to original author/39th Infantry Regiment Living History Group.

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• 

  JTam

  1/9/23, 9:55 PM

  Mortars are generally organic to Infantry units and provide responsive indirect fires.  

  

  https://39infantryregs.org/2021/07/26/39th-infantry-regiment-order-of-battle/

   

  Brandt MLE 1935 60mm light mortar:

  

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandt_Mle_1935

  

   

  Brandt MLE 27/31 82mm medium mortar:

  

  

  

  

  

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandt_Mle_27/31

  

   

  Resita Model 1942 120mm heavy mortar:

  

  

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1938_mortar

  

   

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• AD

  Alessio De Carolis

  1/10/23, 8:56 AM

  About the Thompson-Brandt mortar, it's ironic how it was used by either allied(french & US) and axis' forces, expecially after the fall of France in 1940, when the Wermacht seized huge quantities of this excellent weapon. Also the italians had it as medium mortar.

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• 

  JTam

  1/10/23, 6:17 PM

  Sidenote:  Emplacing a mortar on concrete as it appears the top 60mm and bottom 120mm are is bad business.  The baseplate can skid out and/or be badly damaged/crack under recoil.  (Bear in mind the base plate is designed to cut into/settle into soil). If emplacing a mortar in an urban environment one should build a bed of sandbags to place the baseplate on.

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• 

  Duke Exeter

  1/11/23, 12:35 AM

  I was thinking of using the plastic Italians with 3D printed heads and weapons but I'd love to see a full box set for Romania and even Hungary too one day

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• 

  Grumpy Gnome

  1/11/23, 2:37 AM

  @JTam  Spoken like a true mortar maggot. High angle hell. This is the way. 

  Home of the Grumpy Gnome
  
  https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/

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• 

  JTam

  1/11/23, 9:09 AM

  @Grumpy Gnome 

  

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  JTam

  1/11/23, 8:21 PM

  Armbands.

  A couple of arms should have armbands.

  When fighting on the Axis side, Romanian troops would wear yellow armbands.  The drab uniforms and round helmets of the Romanians made it possible mistake them for Russians at a distance.

  

  When they joined the Allied side, they wore blue, yellow, and red armbands.  This was designed to prevent misidentification as Hungarians.  

  

  When I do my Romanian army I will do a couple riflemen with yellow armbands and a couple with the tricolor armbands to switch out based on the time/list I am using.

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• 

  JTam

  1/13/23, 10:46 AM

  Armored Vehicles.

  The Romanian Army entered the war with three standard tank types.

  https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/romanian-tanks-ww2.php?amp

   

  R1.

  A Czech built tankette/light tank.

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-1_tank

  

  

   

  R2.  R2 was the Romanians designation for the Czech built LT-35.  It was the Romanian Army's workhorse tank in the early part of the war.  

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_35(t)

  

  

  

  

  A decent tank in 1941 it was roughly equivalent to a Panzer III or 38t.  By 1942 it was hopelessly outdated as a fighting tank.  

   

  R35.

  A thickly (for the early war) armored French built tank.

  https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/france/renault_r-35.php

  

   

  The Romanians would create an unique up gunned variant in an attempt to keep the vehicle combat worthy.

  

   

   

  FT17.  Yes the long suffering FT17 was still being used in a limited role by the Romanian Army and saw combat in 1944!

  https://wargamesatlantic.com/community/xenforum/topic/48739/light-vehicles-possibilities

   

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• PL

  Pierre Lerdou-Udoy

  1/13/23, 1:39 PM

  A very interesting focus on the Romanian fighters, whose existence I barely knew... just like the Bulgarians for that matter. I appreciate.

  I note the wearing of the béret, "à la française". The old men, at home, wore it like that.

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• 

  JTam

  1/13/23, 2:42 PM

  @Pierre Lerdou-Udoy 

  Awesome.  

  The Bulgarians contribution/participation in the War was fairly minimal (good for them).

  The Romanians on the other hand were a significant player yet receive very little "press.". 

  I will do a post on commonly available references on the Romanian Army in WW2.  Spoiler alert.  There aren't a lot.

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• 

  JTam

  1/13/23, 2:44 PM

  @Duke Exeter 

  I was looking at how to kit bash Hungarians the other day... And the answer is there is no good answer.  The breast pockets are too distinctive.  Maybe if WGA comes out with WW1 Austro-Hungarians or similar.  

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• 

  JTam

  1/15/23, 12:28 PM

  Romanian Snipers / Sniper Rifles.

  Romania fielded dedicated snipers and sniper rifles.  A pair of arms in the kit with a sniper rifle would be welcome.  A pair of arms (or arm) with binos would be useful for building the spotter, Officers, or Forward Observers.  Prone or kneeling bodies would also be welcome.

  From "Sniping Rifles on the Eastern Front 1939-1945":

  https://ospreypublishing.com/us/sniping-rifles-on-the-eastern-front-193945-9781472825889/

  

  

  

   

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• 

  JTam

  1/20/23, 11:47 AM

  Romanian ADA.

  

  

  

  

  Note that many rear echelon troops and even some Infantry at the start of the war wore Adrian helmets.

  

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon

   

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• 

  JTam

  1/20/23, 4:22 PM

  Romanian Aviation.

  

  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAR_80

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

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• 

  JTam

  3/12/23, 4:26 PM

  This gentleman is doing some amazing work converting a Romanian army:

  https://www.reddit.com/u/philipsg?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

  

  

   

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• 

  JTam

  3/28/23, 8:55 PM

  

  

  I'll probably end up backing this.

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  JTam

  4/5/23, 5:18 PM

  

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  JTam

  4/5/23, 5:20 PM

  That's about U.S. $3.65 per metal mounted miniature.  Not bad.

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  JTam

  5/18/23, 7:01 PM

  My Great Escape Games Romanian Cavalry are on their way.  Shipped for free!  A seamless and enjoyable Kickstarter.

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  JTam

  6/9/23, 6:47 PM

  The Great Escape Games cavalry miniatures arrived a week or two ago.  Well packaged they arrived no muss and no fuss.

  Completely satisfied with the transaction.

  

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• AR

  Anthony Rieger

  10/25/23, 12:57 PM

  I would love to see a ww2 romanian figure line!  This army gets overlooked, poorly done or left to expensive 'kit bashing' (that not everyone an do, let alone afford). 

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