I like the invisible Japanese rifle. Seriously, what's he doing with his hands? All in all, a really cool and very interesting set of images. You should be proud of the work!
Thanks. Yes, the pose on that one is a little odd- didn't really realise until you pointed it out. The figures aren't actually mine, they're by a chap called Wilhelm von Halem and appeared in a compendium of uniforms called "Battledress", which I imagine is the standard work in the field. I've used them as a base and done a lot of photoshopping, changing the uniform details, headgear, colouring, some of the poses and so on. I've done my best to go for the more butch illustrations; taken as a whole they're as camp as Christmas.
What is the explanation for the change of British uniform? By 1938 the Battledress (BD) had been adopted, and even if it had not, what cause the British Army in this time line to adopt field grey/ light blue and leather equipment? (rather than green with cotton webbing).
Well, the PoD for the TL is back in the 1870s and Britain fights a major war ITTL in 1894-5 (see the link in my signature). The pattern is the same as OTL's Service Dress, but it's adopted slightly earlier, as a result of the general post-war reorganisation of the military.
In terms of detailed background, one facet of the post-war period ITTL is the establishment of a Royal Commission under Alfred Milner (who is in the Commons ITTL) to advise on National Efficiency. As a sop to the opposition Liberals and Conservatives, the 10th Earl of Wemys, a prominent Liberal Peer, is asked to Chair the Commission's Army and Navy subcommittee.
The Earl, also known as Lord Elcho, was a vocal proponent of the use of Hodden, the brown-grey colour seen in the picture, as part of a military uniform. IOTL Hodden was used when Elcho set up the London Scottish Regiment in the 1850s, and was also adopted by the Toronto Scottish Regiment. Both units use it to this day (have a
photo of a member of the Toronto Scottish, for example).
ITTL Elcho's influence sees Hodden adopted as the new service colour of the British Army over Khaki, which is still used in tropical regions and in the Indian Army. His other main suggestion, that British troops carry homeopathic remedies into battle, is tactfully ignored...
I like the hat however. I don't recall the name, but the British Army did actually wear a very similar headpiece for a few years before the Service Dress Cap was adopted in about 1908. Did not prove very popular, hence the change to the SD Cap.
Glad you liked that, it was bloody fiddly to do. OTL it was called the Brodrick Cap, named after St John Brodrick, who was Minister for War at the time. ITTL Brodrick's at the Admiralty in the same timeframe, so it's a Chaplin Cap, in honour of Henry Chaplin. And yeah, everyone hated it at first, but ITTL it somehow sticks- stranger things have happened, and I thought it looked interestingly different.