Foundry Skinheads 01

This post looks at the two sets of Skinhead Gangers made by Wargames Foundry from their 28mm scale Street Violence range - SV018 Yossa's Bonehead Skins and SV026 Gazza's Boot Boys.

First up are Yossa's Bonehead Skins, led by the man himself, Sid "Yossa" Hughes in his sheepskin coat. For many years I wondered what weapon he was armed with. All became clear when I bought GURPS High Tech, which showed the weapon and described it in some detail. It is the ATK-Heckler and Koch XM29 Objective Individual Combat Weapon, (OICW) a combination assault rifle with underslung grenade launcher. This joint American/German project was cancelled in 2008 due to weight, effectiveness and budget problems. James Bond used one at the start of the film Die Another Day. What on earth Yossa is doing with one is anyone's guess!
The blonde, overwight skinhead to the left of Yossa is Kenny Price. He is armed with a holstered pistol on his left hip and a Hawk MM1 grenade launcher with plentiful ammo slung over his back. He and Yossa can lay down a lot of explosive firepower between them.
Standing in the centre of this group is Jammy McGill. With a name like that, I'm guessing he's Scottish. He is armed with a 5.56mm Steyr AUG Assault Carbine. Note the reduced length of the barrel. I must admit that I really like the look of the Steyr AUG.
Next in line is Connie Harris, the first of two females from this group. She carries a pair of 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5KA5 Machine Pistols. Note her hairstyle, shaven over the skull but with a fringe at the front and back. I've mentioned this a few times, but for the sake of newcomers, I drew the fishnet pattern on her tights with a fine-nibbed Rotring pen. The ink dries slightly glossy so I gave her legs a coat of matt varnish. Her fishnets are dark blue.
Her colleague, Rachel Gascoigne, appears to be saying, "Does my bum look big in this?" It's a lovely pose she's in as she flaunts her sex appeal.She is armed with a standard 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5 Sub-Machine Gun. I gave her the surname Gascoigne to show that she is married to Gazza, leader of the next group of figures. Note that her fishnets are black.

The next two photos, shown above, show Gazza's Boot Boys and Gazza can be seen at the far left. Ed "Gazza" Gascoigne is armed with a 5.56mm Minimi Squad Automatic Weapon, showing he's not someone you should take lightly. Like, Yossa, he is extremely tall and muscular.
The Ganger in the green jacket to the left of Gazza is known only as Spog. Perhaps he's the gang's own version of The Stig! He comes armed with a 9mm Heckler and Kock MP5SD3, fitted with a scope sight. The MP5SD series come with integral sound suppressor but even a silenced firearm still makes some noise.
The third figure in line, striding purposefully forward is Shane Crombie. He also carries a variant of the 5.56mm Steyr AUG Assault Rifle, this time fitted with a much longer barrel and bipod. The scopesight has been replaced with a more powerful version.
Moving on, we come to the female contingent of this set. Nancy Jones is armed with the Steyr Aug Assault Carbine, shown earlier in the hands of Jammy McGill. Her pose is similar to Rachel's but not so blatantly sexy.
Finally, is Karen Metcalfe, whose blonde hair is showing its black roots. She stands at the ready with her 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5 Sub-Machine Gun. Note that all ten figures are wearing Doc Martin boots, which became synonomous with skinhead gangs in the 1970's and were often known as "bovver boots" back then.
I have no doubt that some of you will disapprove of the way these skinheads are so heavily armed and whilst this wouldn't normally bother me, this time I'd have to agree with you. These aren't a gang of thugs, they are a small army! I can't say that these are representative of skinhead gangs from the 1970's when the skinhead cult was at it's height. Nowadays, you never hear of skinheads. They have gone the way of Mods and Rockers from the 1960's. What do I think they should be armed with? Flick-knives, knuckle-dusters, billiard cues, baseball bats, a length of chain, tyre-irons, etc. and for the leaders, maybe, a sawn-off shotgun, either double-barrelled or pump action.
There is no denying that these are finely sculpted figures and they will probably work well in some alternative world to ours but I can't help feeling that their weapons are way over the top and inappropriate. Your Mileage May Vary. The two sets retail for £10.00 each from the Wargames Foundry webstore.