I haven’t seen any figures that fit this category.
I may have to use US legs (with leggings) + Desert Rats for the upper half and web gear, topped by Aussie slouch hat.
If anyone knows of a ready-made source please post info!
Hornet had a metal figure: BH 10
British - Commonwealth Soldier, Far East, WW II…
Probably hard to find these days…
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Thanks! Reminds me of this. I painted it decades ago. Too bad it’s 1/32.
Also I don’t know how popular short pants were in the jungle.
Not sure how many jungles are composed of sand, looks more like North African desert?
Jungle (Ulu) is more like this 
Mal
Depends when,If you check the picture in Papua at the start or the pacific campaign they nearly all wear shorts and with that weather the uniform fall a part pretty quickly also Aussie don’t have jungle uniforms until late in the war they use the same as North Africa some time dyed in green before been issued but they lose the color quickly
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The Hornet figure has his pants rolled up on the double backpacks he is carrying…
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If you could go to 1/32, Airfix used to do a set of Australian Jungle Infantry (and a building to go with them). They are bendy plastic, don’t know if they would suit what you are trying to achieve. I think you can still get them.
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As stated by others, the Aussies used pretty much the same uniform in the jungles of the Philippines and New Guinea as they did in N. Africa. The difference was the khaki getting dyed green and the addition of long pants and commonly used G.I. canvas leggings.
Put long pants on a Desert Rat and paint his clothes green and you’ve got jungle infantry.
I saw that set too. I hate mixing scales.
Yes! The description of that figure is he is wading/fording. I guess he wants to keep his pants dry. I wonder how common a practice that was in reality?
Fair does. They are pretty ancient and the details probably pretty soft too, if they are anything like the others.
The Aussies seem to have got British Jungle Greens or their own version from 1943 on. They also had a lightweight jungle version of battledress apparently. It was made from twill and had a fly front, like early battledress. Before that they had the standard KD dyed green, as others have said here. I’ve got a very useful little book, “Uniforms of the WWII Tommy”, by David B. Gordon, which covers all this gear.
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Also the quality of the uniforms and the dye was pretty low and with the tropical weather that translates in losing the color pretty quickly and literally start to fall a part, in Kokoda was very common to se long pants and shirts cut short ,soldiers state that uniforms start to rot in days,any North African commonwealth infantry would be a good start
Osprey have a good book about Aussie uniforms in WWII
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Ok, yes, that should work.
Re the fording of streams & rivers, my father mentioned leeches were an issue in Malaya, probably the same in most jungle. Not sure that long pants helped with that, just cigarettes & salt.
Mal
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there are a couple of figures
both $12 AUD + postage and in stock
and head wear read slouch hat
$8 AUD + postage in stock
and on this page some fuzzy wuzzy angels
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Leeches need open access. Long pants tucked into leggings are miserable when wet in a humid climate but they had to help. Rolled up sleeves, open collars and trouser ends left open over the leggings were all welcome mats for the little buggers.
My Dad was in New Guinea and the Philippines.
Thanks! Good items. I remember my Dad mentioning the fuzzy wuzzies!
This Chaps is where puttees come into their own(!)
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Cool, wasn’t sure about that - no personal experience. While there is a species in NZ, they don’t seem to be widespread.
Mal
You may be right, but layers of cloth in the the tropics is contra indicated, although I seem to recall the Japanese used them?
Mal
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There is a very good description of what a British Infantryman wore in the Burma campaign within the memoirs of George MacDonald Fraser in his book “Quartered Safe Out Here”; I’ve foolishly lent my copy but I’ll try and track it down and type up the extract. He describes the uniform, the weaponry,ammunition, and personal equipment.
It’s a bit removed from the thread but some might find it of interest; if anyone else has their own copy and wishes to beat me to it please do.
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