Cod War Gone Hot: 15mm British and 'Icelanders' for Force on Force

Many years ago I bought some second-hand Team Yankee 15mm British and Dutch infantry and painted up a few, intending to use them in Force on Force games set in an alternative history 1970s campaign I called 'Cod War Gone Hot.' This would have represented a war between the United Kingdom and it's neighbour Iceland over territorial waters and fisheries, envisioning an escalation of the 'Cod Wars.'

While I also bought a few 1/300 aircraft and 1/3000 ships from Heroics & Ros and Navwar respectively, I never got far with the project due to competing priorities and lack of interested gaming partners. Maybe one day I'll get back into it, but for now, this is all I've got to show for it.

My recent encounter with hex games, specifically Tactical Combat Series - Goose Green, prompted me to finally upload pictures of the similar-era British infantry, in a sort of segue-related post kind-of thing...

The British Paras

British LMG team taking cover.

Around two sections of Brits, plus a pair of 84mm Carl Gustavs at the back (Battlefront miniatures).

SLRs with two different sets of furniture.

Although it does not show up very distinctly in photos and low-light conditions, painting the British camouflage was a lot of fun.

If the project ever continues, these guys will be accompanied by more Battlefront miniatures, probably including Scimitars, Warrior IFVs and Fox armoured cars.

84mm Carl Gustav team.

The Icelandic Army

Of course real world Iceland does not have a military (the closest they've got is a coastguard of a couple of boats and some rescue aircraft and helicopters). In the Cod War Gone Hot campaign setting, Iceland has a tiny but well-trained and motivated military including infantry and armour with equipment from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Nordic countries, a navy based on Norwegian missile boats and German submarines, and an air force of Swedish SAAB aircraft (Mainly SAAB 35 Drakens because they look the coolest). While they would stand no chance in a total war against the UK, their aim would be to hold off long enough for international intervention and mediation from Britain's potential rivals (including Norway, the USSR, and even the USA if the latter thought it's Keflavik airbase was threatened).

These are the Icelandic Army troops who would have faced the Brits in the campaign. I gave them grey trousers and plain green jackets. I made Argentine-style goggles for two of them out of tiny pieces of paper (this was tedious). If the project continues they would have Marder IFVs, and ambush armour such as SK-105s and Stridsvagn S-Tanks.