Arms ...

... race! The Bay of Pigs front hots up. I had two packages delivered today, the first, most appropriately came from the USA:

Unfortunately for the State Department, it wasn't a deniable shipment as the box had US Mail and US Customs marks! Three decent condition, second hand (still with a child's sand still on them) Roco Minitanks from the ironically named Fidelis - another M41 and two GMCs for the Brigade. The M41 is missing the muzzle brake, but that's not a problem. I've now got two M41s for my invading Cubans, and given that they only had five in real life that will do for this project.

The GMC model is very nice, rather better than a lot of the Minitanks armour, and, again, I think two will do. But, then again, perhaps not...

For the Fidelistas, a second hand IS-3. Now, Jim Hale, commenting on this blog has argued that Fidel's IS-3s were kept in reserve at Central Australia, but I think I'll bend things a bit and use this one against the Brigade. All I need now is some 1:87 T34s. I do have a Russian made 1:87 T34/76 in the attic, but it would be nice to source a few T34/85s in 1:87. 

I will, of course, be giving all this new kit a few coats of paint, and there are more Castro militia currently on the painting table. The intention is to run this project with an old school edge to it, which the Roco Minitanks kit helps. But I was struck this week, while reading the John Curry reprint of Terry Wise's rules, how the old school gamers of the 1960s and 1970s frequently fielded unpainted figures and kit. This looks very strange now, and, I'm afraid, a step too far. The past is, indeed, a different country. Sort of.