Indian And Pakistani Soldiers

I’ve seen plenty of discussion in various places about the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971. Shockingly enough I see no representations of either the tankers or soldiers from these countries. I can look up images but they are just that.

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Yeah I wouldn’t mind some figs from this conflict either, but I very much doubt we’ll see any.

For the Pakistani soldiers, I guess some conversions should be doable…According to Wikipedia, “From 1947 to the early 2000s, Pakistan’s military uniforms closely resembled those of their counterparts in the British armed services. The Army uniform consisted of plain yellowish khaki, which was the standard issue as both the combat uniform (ACU) and the service uniform (ASU).”

H.P.

I agree, it would be nice to see some figures and vehicles from that conflict and from those armies today. India has a massive military that occasionally shoots at their neighbor; you’d think there’d be a kit or two available. We really don’t need another Tiger tank or Eastern Front Wehrmacht figures.

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I’m in total agreement. The paucity of figures covering the wars in South Asia (and Africa) in the 20th and now 21st century is frustrating. I feel a tangent coming on about all the different militaries not being represented, but I’ll restrain myself. Suffice it to say there are a lot missing.

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Most Middle East armies up until the early 2000s wore mainly British-style uniforms as most areas were formerly British colonies. You can do some simple conversion and weapons swapping to create most Middle Eastern soldiers.

Both the indian and pakistani armies in 1965 used near copies of the british WW2 battle dress as their main uniform, just produced in sand or green cotton rather than wool. Both sides also used british WW2 webbing and ammo pouches, helmets were british mark II and US M1s. Weapons were the standard british ones for WW2 + FN-Fals. In therms of conversions they are among the easiest to do for the modern era since almost any british WW2 figures can be used, except those in winter gear.

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Yes you guys are totally correct about some of the equipment and uniforms. Both Pakistan and India often used home produced copies of British equipment and weapons. 1937 Pattern web equipment would have been widely used I would think though there likely would have been 1958 Pattern gear around too by 1965.

I don’t think the Pakistani Army uniformed had changed much from the British BD’s of the 1940s even at the time of the Kargil War in 1989. I seem to recall from pictures that the Indian military favoured experimenting a little more, particularly with camo uniforms.

As has been mentioned US M1 helmet were favoured by both sides in fair quantities.

Vehicle wise I think there are a good few out there now in plastic although I’d say there probably aren’t many decals from either force knocking around.

Star Decals 1/35 Indo-Pakistani War 1965 India AMX-13/75 decal 35C1033 | eBay

They exist.

Yeah that’s a decent set for sure. You could also print them yourself. I’ve tried this a few times but it can be hit and miss.

Accurate Armour has very nice decals for an Indian Centurion in their set. Unfortunately they’re for the wrong mark. However, I’m working on it, Some turret alterations, new engine deck, rear hull mods…

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Not to highjack a thread, but any tips on Iraqi and Iranian soldiers in their war in the 80s?

Maybe start another thread on that?

Iraqi and Iranian soldiers used mainly British-style uniforms and kit as well. Iraq was still using them when I was there during the invasion in '03. Their weapons were mainly Soviet-era and they had Iraqi-made M1-style helmets.

Nice project Rob, what time frame would this be from?

Phil, I just wanted to add a few things to what Gino has highlighted. The standard Iraqi uniform (shirt and trousers) was of the British style and they had this pretty much from the late 50s or 60s right up until the end of Saddam’s rule. Tan and Green were the usual colors. However, during the Iran-Iraq war the Iraqis also wore British style DPM fatigues and what I think were locally made camo uniforms based on Warsaw Pact camo uniforms. With this they mostly used web gear and equipment of Russian origin.

The Iranians tended to wear a slightly more American style of uniform shirt and trousers but American style green jackets (and also tan in the same style) and cargo trousers similar to those worn in Vietnam were very common. Their web gear too was American of the late 1960s era. Though at times they could be seen in a lot of different uniforms with mismatched bits and pieces and possibly civilian odds and ends too. They mostly used the G3 rifle and like the Iraqis wore an M1 style helmet.

Figure wise there are actually quite a few options out there for both Iran and Iraq without needing to do conversions.