Gringo40s Vietnam: A review

 

I just completed—yes, actually completed—all (yes, all) my Gringo40s NVA (North Vietnamese Army) minis. They’re the first part of the Vietnam War project that Kevin Smyth started rolling and which has extended beyond me like falling dominos to Bill Stewart and Dave Schueler, and has got others thinking about it as well. It’s as if suddenly, Vietnam!

As significant aspect of this project, which is true for all my projects, is the minis I use for it. In this case all my minis are from Gringo40s Vietnam range, which, like the universe, is expanding.

My first order was a batch of NVA. We were thinking small at that time. It arrived in from the UK in 6 days. All Gringo40s orders are shipped with similar dispatch. My last order arrived in 12 days, which is still impressive speed from the UK to here.

The first thing that stands out about Gringo40s is their impressive size. I like a big mini and Gringo40s doesn't disappoint. They're not chunky, however—at least not chunky as I define it. I like chunky minis; the Timeline/Graven Images minis for my Irish Project are my heart's delight, but chunky isn't everything, or even anything in some cases. The proportions for Gringo40s look correct, which suits them well.

Proportionality notwithstanding, Gringo40s are bigger than the figures available in other ranges (e.g., Empress and The Assault Group), which makes mixing within units a bit awkward. The jury is still out on how they compare to Pulp Figures. Dave Schueler has just received his order of these, so we'll have a chance to see.

The Vietnam range so far consists of US Marines for the Battle for Hue (1968), North Vietnamese Army, Vietcong, and US Army. For now, I'll focus on the NVA that I just completed (all of them, yes, really).

The variety of figures is pretty good, with just a few lacunae. The NVA are mostly armed with AK-47s, with gear that includes ammo pouches, canteen, and a belt of grenades. Headgear is either the standard NVA pith helmet, a boonie-style hat, or bareheaded.

Heavy weapons so far consist of a 60mm light mortar and 2 crew. This is a very nice set and comes with extras (ammo box, mortar rounds) to place on the base. (There's also a separate AK-armed figure schlepping an ammo box who could be a third crewman.)

There's one figure with a Chinese Type-56 RPD light machine gun. 

It's quite nice and I'm hoping there will be another pose or two for this weapon.

One of the nice extras are the command figures. There are some NCOs (with pith helmet and bareheaded), an officer blowing a whistle, and my favorites: a bugler and a flag bearer.

I can't really imagine a role for either, given the skirmish scale we plan to game, but they're very nice.

There are also two figures armed with RPGs and one armed with a Chinese-made flamethrower and sporting a stylish East German helmet.

There are also figures I haven't bought yet, such as snipers, more command types, sappers, and an 82mm mortar and crew. There a currently no RTO figures available. One heavy weapon I'd like to see is a DShK 12.7mm MG and crew.

A few other additions nice to have would be some variety in armament. As I mentioned, for the most part the average figures are armed with AK-47s (or the Chinese made version). However, there was a lot more variety, such as the bolt-action Moisin-Nagant rifle, various submachine guns like the PPSk. The range is focused on 1968 at this point, but earlier in the war, the NVA would not be so universally armed with AKs.

VC and Marines

I'll write more about the VC and Marines as I get them painted (yes, I will get them painted). For now, I'll just say that the figures are excellent and offer a nice variety of poses and armaments. I already have several VC under the brush and I'll get started on the Marines soon.

Conclusion

I'm very happy with Gringo40s Vietnam range. Ged Cronin, Gringo40s genial proprietor, says that more are coming this year. We've already seen additions for more female VC figures and the US Army.

As we (hopefully) start to thaw out from our 1 YEAR+ COVID freeze, I look forward to expanding this project with more minis and gaming.

Kevin and I plan our first game, using Ganesha Games Flying Lead, tomorrow. I'll post after the dust clears.