A bit of history: Junta

 A comment on Junta the Pendraken forums a couple of days ago sent me on a hunt in "Der Room" (I really need to clean up in there)

A well used game. I'm storing it poorly for Luke

Those readers of a certain age will remember the board game Junta with varying levels of fondness depending on how their games went. The broad description is that each player plays a faction in a banana republic and the aim of the game is to have the most Pesos in your Swiss bank account when the country colapses. Along the way there's elections, vote buying, assasinations and coups (starting with the ceremonial shelling of the presidential palace by the navy). Every group has storys to tell of particularly spectacularly events that etched themselves in memory. But this post is not about those. Well, not yet...

Back in the day when I was money poor and time rich (as you tend to be when you are young, and I do wonder if I would prefer to go back to this) I decided that the gamebaord was too small and fiddly and came up with a "slightly" bonkers plan to build a bigger version on a 3' square mat. The card counters had to go and so were replaced with something a bit more visually suitable. I decided to move the period back from the present day to the late 1930's. A purchase was made from the Peter Pig 15mm Spanish civil war ranges and a start was made.

There are 3 army brigades in the game, each of 6 units. I decided to do 3 stands with moels and then 3 blanks to stack. So from left to right we have a Cv33 tanket (nothing else quite says 2nd rate nation like this, cheap, cheerful and useless), Infantry and the General and the classic French 75mm. 

The airforce only gets airstrikes and a lone unit of paratroops. I-16's seemed to fit the bill.

The palace guard also only get 2 stands but nice white uniforms.

Likewise the Navy gets a gunboat and some Marines. I knocked up a cartoon-like baby protected cruiser from the 19th century out of balsa and plasticard.

The police stands are a bit smaller (I can't remember why) and are just guys in berets.

I then started adapting some of the units to fit into my theme. One of the cards gives the coup faction a helicopter gunship. I decided to swap this out for an armoured car. Depending on which side you are looking at the allegiance is flexible.

"Viva El Presidente!"

"Viva La Revolution!"

I also brought a start of peasants for the various protesters/rabble stands but never got round to painting them up. I even got some drunkards to represent the international press.

I also have a crack at a couple of buildings.

Again I never really got the rest done. all from card.

Ok, so far all this is pretty standard and not really much of a stretch modeling wise. However you will all remember that each position had a card to remind you who you were that particular turn, and all these cards had a cartoon charcter drawn on them. Back in the days before 3D printes and STL files we just had to use our hands and our wits (well I had one of the 2). Out with the Fimo themoset clay....

El Presidente

The Generals

Secret Police, Air force and Navy

The full set

From the internet came an 8th faction to play for more players, The Minister of War.

No idea where I got the inspiration for him from

The Minister of war also gets to control the International intervention forces. In this case the Germans/nationalists.

Stukas, Panzer I's and another armoured car (they came in packs of 2 and I wasn't wasting it).

So there you have it. A slightly mad project from a man with too much time on his hands. I do sometimes miss those days......