Boer war plastics?

The Boer War, or technically the 2nd Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902, is a fascinating colonial conflict where both sides are armed with modern weapons. While it has seen some ranges, it is generally neglected and thus not gamed that often. What any period needs for a boost is a source of plastic soldiers. 

I've been doing some research into the conflict, with an eye on future articles for Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy. It occurred to me that the Suda/Afghanistan uniform of the 1880s is very similar to the Boer War unform. All it lacks is the correct rifle, the Lee Metford. 

Wargames Atlantic have just released their plastic Great War infantry. It occurred to me that the Lee Enfield was almost identical to the earlier Lee Metford. An idea began to form in my mind; Perry Sudan British infantry plus the arms from Atlantic Great War British infantry arms. But could it work?

The answer I came up with was ‘mostly’. Any arms expert will tell you that the major difference between the Lee Metford and Lee Enfield is the sling's position on the weapon. 

I was surprised how well the Atlantic parts fitted to the Perrys. While the heads are larger and the torsos are slightly wider on the Atlantic, the arms will fit without too much effort.

So, several hybrids later, and I'm very happy with the results (ignoring the slings). This has proved my idea has potential. I'll be making some more hybrids in the future and putting some paint on them too!

The next batch will have their rifle slings moved to match the Lee Metford and I'll try a few more conversions. I'll update my progress in future blogs.