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I'm looking to start a new army over the next few months but am having trouble choosing from one of the above. I currently play German and Soviet tank/mechanized lists and am looking to try something a bit out of my comfort zone!

Any current players or opponents of the above want to give a shout out for their minor Axis favorite? Any warnings, e.g. do not use this army unless you're a masochist?

Hungarians are always good to play in LW lots of good options IMHO.

If only the real WW2 Hungarians could have said that...

Hungarians. I find them the most interesting of the Axis minors.

And the real WW2 Hungarians were also very interesting. They were forced by Germany into a war they did not want to fight, and they often stood up against the nazis (until Hitler supported a fascist coup that is).

To be honest I would recommend any of the above. Romanians and Italians will be more fun to play in my opinion, largely due to the fact that you don't know how good your troops are until you roll a die! Neither of these nations is particularly strong in their armour; but both have very good infantry lists, even with the uncertainty of what calibre they might be. Hungarians definitely have the stronger choices, and they have access to cheap Tigers and Panthers if that's your sort of thing. However their own tanks are fairly decent for the points they cost.

You have to consider the fact that Romanians and Italians aren't far behind the Soviets in terms of size, so you're looking at painting a lot of stuff, especially if you are looking to use an infantry list.

ITalian PAras,NO Bayonet rules and can be used in MW and LW.

Italians. Feathered caps and short pants. What's not to love

Mid-War Italians, desert-themed army!

Extremely characterful, it always looks like a fun game when they are involved.

A buddy of mine used to play MW Hungarians. It always seemed like a very interesting army and was fun to play against, and could be effective if employed properly.

A friend plays MW Italians and he seems to enjoy them. It is a lot to paint, but they seem to be a pretty tough force. Their armor always seemed to be lacking, but that is just the opinion of this non-Italian player watching from the sidelines.

I play MW Italians (Bersaglieri) and while at times, they can be a challenge, they're a lot of fun. Their armor is obsolete for the era, but you use them against infantry and support yours with them.

The Semovente 75/18 assault guns are about their only reliable, mobile anti-tank asset. However, they have plenty of other options to deal with armor such as the Lancia da 90/53 heavy AA guns, 88/53 AA guns or their own 90/53 AA guns. The Fucilieri can get the Semovente 90's for the Sicily region.

Their infantry under the AS42 organization include embedded 47mm guns, HMG's and the option for AT-rifles, so plenty of firepower with them.