A Fist Full of Armoured Car!

By complete chance I came across a photo of an early armoured car of the Edwardian period which happened to be the very car featured in Sergio Leone classic Spaghetti Western 'A Fistful of Dynamite' (1971)!

This is one of my favourite Spaghetti Westerns, based as it is during the 1913 Mexican Revolution. And I was always curious about the little armoured car driven by the arch-baddie - Colonel Günther "Gutierez" Reza (played by Antoine Saint-John) - and speculated that it might have been a 'made up' vehicle. Well as it turns out - it wasn't...

In fact the car was an authentic design (though still may have been assembled by the film-makers on a modern chassis perhaps) and is in fact a c. 1904 vintage Austro-Daimler armoured car!

Austro-Daimler 4x4 four-wheel-drive Armoured Car (1904). Source: Wikipedia

"It was first demonstrated during manoeuvres of the Austrian army in 1906. It was turned down because Emperor Franz-Josef said it was unsuitable for military use since "it would frighten the horses"." [Source: The History Of The 4 Wheel Drive.]

So there you go. Not only a real vehicle but one that was very advanced for it's day. But's what's more interesting - for me - is that's it's development date is within the target date I have set for my Molatarian Army!

A possible scratch build do you think? :)

In Film - 'A Fistful of Dynamite' (1971)

It might seem a little strange - my featuring a 'Spaghetti Western' on a FLW blog - but Sergio Leoni's lesser known 'Fistfull' movie does in fact have some interest for the avid aficionado of Funny Little Wars. Bear with me...

Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) the period is at the extreme edge of what we might consider classic FLW territory, but the style and technology of the military props it presents is comparable to circa 1900 European trends. In particular the uniforms and arms of the Mexican Army reflect a turn of the century colonialist influence, with troops in 'foreign service' helmets and bolt action rifles.

Col. Günther Reza is the very Germanic villain in the movie, he exemplifies
the historic European intervention and influence in the Mexican military and
is representative of Latin America's struggle against European colonialism.
Source: The IMfdb

Watching the scenes which included the Mexican Army my thoughts immediately jumped to the Armies in Plastic Boer War British infantry and new Japanese Infantry toy soldier sets.

The firing squad scene - here a section of Mexican troops are ready to
execute one of our heroes, obviously he is rescued in the nick of time!
The troops where sun helmets (topee or pith helmet if you prefer) and a
uniform very similar to Boar War era British (minus the sand goggles).

While the vast majority of FLW scenarios tend to feature a Ruritanian European or a European Colonial theme the Americas do offer some fascinating possibilities for game play. And historically Latin America provides a rich source of military

So, if you can get hold of 'A Fistfull of Dynamite' you'll find some potensial ideas for FLW play, I do not see why Latin and Central America could not be populated with imagi-nations is exactly the same way as a fictionalised Europe has been. Indeed, I am sure people have already done so (see below)!

A excellent example of a Latin American themed army for Funny Little Wars. This
Army Lime Green of Anahuaco is featured in the FLW Yahoo Group, by 'James'.

I couldn't resist adding this screenshot - Colonel Reza's armoured car! I don't
know if this is an authentic period vehicle (I suspect not) but with it's charming
Edwardian looks and twin Maxims in a 'darlek' shaped housing it's crying out
to be modelled in 54mm scale.

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'A Fistfull of Dynamite!' ('Duck, You Sucker!') - 1971
Directed by: Sergio Leone
Staring: Rod Steiger, James Coburn
IMdb Link - 'Duck, You Sucker!'