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French tank crew uniforms indochina

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  • Member since
    June 2006
French tank crew uniforms indochina
Posted by Tankluver on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 10:24 PM

Just built Broncos M-24 Chaffee French Indochina kit and wanted to have a French tank crew, what would be the best kit to get, i saw one for Dien bien phu on eBay but it was pricey. Is there any kits i could bash together to get French uniforms. Also what would be a good kit for french paratroopers in their lizard camo? 

p.s. what paints from Vallejo should i use? 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Valrico, FL
Posted by HeavyArty on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 9:31 AM

Too bad Bronco didn't include the figures depicted on the box art.  Unfortunately, that is not a popular subject area and there are only a few figures for it.  Most are in resin as well.  

AC Models does a crew and riders set.

Hobby Fan does a French Tank Crew in Indochina set.

A few more options here, but not really any tank crews:  https://www.google.com/search?q=french+indochina+figures+1/35&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi34rWSoI_aAhWK7FMKHX5bB9kQ_AUICygC&biw=1680&bih=905

 

Looking at the uniforms, you may be able to use some of the MiniArt WWII British Armored Car Crew or British Tank Crew with maybe some head/hat changes.

 

Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!

Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

  • Member since
    May 2015
Posted by Griffin25 on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 9:46 AM

Great subject bud! Bravo6 makes some great French Indochina REP figures. Just google it. Excellent quality.

 

 

Griffin

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 9:50 AM

I would have thought they would be basically US pattern.

 

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Valrico, FL
Posted by HeavyArty on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 9:58 AM

Griffin25
Great subject bud! Bravo6 makes some great French Indochina REP figures. Just google it. Excellent quality.

None are tank crewmen though.

 

GMorrison

I would have thought they would be basically US pattern.

Nope, they had pretty much their own unifoms which were a mix of WWII and a newer style, jungle fatigue in some weird camo patterns.

Some examples:

 

Lizard Patter Paratrooper Uniform

 

 

Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!

Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

  • Member since
    May 2015
Posted by Griffin25 on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 10:16 AM

He also asked where he could get French paratroopers. Bravo6 makes some great ones. 

 

 

Griffin

  • Member since
    June 2006
Posted by Tankluver on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 11:22 AM

I may bite the bullet and get the ac model kit, i looked at some British PARa pants because those seem to be the same style as the french Paras in indochina. 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Valrico, FL
Posted by HeavyArty on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 12:06 PM

Griffin25

He also asked where he could get French paratroopers. Bravo6 makes some great ones. 

Whoops, missed that part.  You are correct, Bravo 6's Indochina paras are really nice.

Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!

Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Sunday, April 19, 2020 7:14 PM

Please forgive me for resurrecting a dead zombie thread but I felt it made a little more sense than starting another thread on the same subject.

I'm working on Amusing's ARL 44 and want a tank commander and a driver. The driver isn't a problem since only his head is poking out of the hatch. But the commander is more of an issue.

I have the same two sets Gino posted above but found a figure of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery that actually looks more like the commander in the picture below. May he please forgive me and not haunt my Censored for turning him into a Frenchman.

The only good photo I could find is the one below, it does look like Mongomery's uniform but as it is B&W so I am not sure of the uniform colour. Does anyone have any advice???

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Sunday, April 19, 2020 8:00 PM

That tank looks like a cross between a Char 1bis and a King Tiger...

 

anyways, I found this 1961 chart from NATO HQ on French dress uniforms

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Sunday, April 19, 2020 8:27 PM

stikpusher

That tank looks like a cross between a Char 1bis and a King Tiger...

 

 

You have a good eye SP, basically that's exactly what it was. Look up ARL 44- it's a very strange AFV. And I do love the weird stuff.

Thanks a bundle! So tan/brown it is!!! Looks that way in photo but I wasn't sure!

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Sunday, April 19, 2020 8:59 PM

Gamera

 

 
stikpusher

That tank looks like a cross between a Char 1bis and a King Tiger...

 

 

 

 

You have a good eye SP, basically that's exactly what it was.

Well, he's a smart guy. And, it had a Maybach V-12.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Sunday, April 19, 2020 9:39 PM

Gamera

 

 
stikpusher

That tank looks like a cross between a Char 1bis and a King Tiger...

 

 

 

 

You have a good eye SP, basically that's exactly what it was. Look up ARL 44- it's a very strange AFV. And I do love the weird stuff.

Thanks a bundle! So tan/brown it is!!! Looks that way in photo but I wasn't sure!

 

Yeah, a dark khaki shade like by Gunze or Humbrol would be good. But that is the dress uniform. Field uniforms are Olive Green or camouflage.

That tank is definitely an odd duck. I had seen the kit, but never a photo of the real thing. Quite a leap from that to the AMX-30.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Monday, April 20, 2020 11:02 AM

Gamera

But the commander is more of an issue.

found a figure of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery that actually looks more like the commander in the picture below.

 

Stik's comment on the panzer probably wins the internet.

What strikes my eye in the photo is that the tankers are not wearing berets in "french" fashion, with the excess flattened off to the left.  But, in the british fashion. 

Which suggests you might could use that figure, and hope that Sir Bernard Viscount Alamein's spirit not take too much offense.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Monday, April 20, 2020 12:01 PM

Thanks Captain!!! I didn't even know that berets went left or right, so it's new to me. 

SP: I think the photo is a dress uniform though, the guy's wearing his metals*. Would the uniform still be the same other than the different colour? 

Sorry all the reference material I have is WWII and Korea. I did find a drawing of a French infantryman in Korea wearing a olive uniform but that's it. 

 

PS: Medals- sorry I can't spell worth a Censored

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Monday, April 20, 2020 1:12 PM

Gamera

Thanks Captain!!! I didn't even know that berets went left or right, so it's new to me. 

SP: I think the photo is a dress uniform though, the guy's wearing his metals. Would the uniform still be the same other than the different colour? 

Sorry all the reference material I have is WWII and Korea. I did find a drawing of a French infantryman in Korea wearing a olive uniform but that's it. 

 



Yes, he's wearing a dress uniform. Completely different than the olive green field uniforms. Field uniforms are a different cut and material, not just color. French Army field uniforms were similar to US Army uniforms of the same era, but different, especially in the pockets configuration. So it's gonna be that dark khaki shade of the dress uniform if you're doing the parade tanks. Apparently that is the Bastille Day Parade in 1951, the only time that those tanks were in the parade. 

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Monday, April 20, 2020 6:31 PM

Gamera
Thanks Captain!!! I didn't even know that berets went left or right, so it's new to me.

The custom usually comes from over which eye the blaze goes. 

In  US and UK fashion, the blaze goes over the (wearer's) left eye, as does the peak and the blance tapered off to the right. 

In (typical) French practice, the blaze is over the right eye.

The Legion (used to at least) starched their berets into a vertical peak, called a coxcomb (peigne d'coq)

The Brown Water Navy in VN adopted black berets somewhat outside regulation.  Their fashion was to wear them "french style" over the right eye, if mostly to not resemble US Army use.

For a vive l'difference, Polish troops wore their berets with the blaze centered and the excess drawn straight back.

When US Army introduced universal berets (which may or may not get worn with the new Pinks & Greens, SMA has not yet given Guidance on this), the fashion quickly became to tuck all excess in behind the blax, so there was no flop-over at all.

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Monday, April 20, 2020 7:26 PM

CapnMac82

When US Army introduced universal berets (which may or may not get worn with the new Pinks & Greens, SMA has not yet given Guidance on this), the fashion quickly became to tuck all excess in behind the blax, so there was no flop-over at all.

 

Censored legs dont know how to wear a flippin’ beret right...  Angry

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 7:29 AM

Thanks guys!!! I've getting a whole education from this silly tank. 

I'll try to a mock-up of the commander up in a week or so in the hopes you guys can tell me what I need to alter before I try painting him. 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 3:41 PM

stikpusher
legs dont know how to wear a flippin’ beret right

ROTFLMAO!

The "official" SMA guidance on shoes wit hthe new Pinks & Greens is "brown."

The sky troopers may start a run on brown Cocorans Smile

The official cover is the Overseas "envelope" unless you have a billed Service cover.  Will be interesting to see if they pry the Stetsons off the cav guys. 

We will have to see.

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:47 PM

CapnMac82

 

 
stikpusher
legs dont know how to wear a flippin’ beret right

 

ROTFLMAO!

The "official" SMA guidance on shoes wit hthe new Pinks & Greens is "brown."

The sky troopers may start a run on brown Cocorans Smile

The official cover is the Overseas "envelope" unless you have a billed Service cover.  Will be interesting to see if they pry the Stetsons off the cav guys. 

We will have to see.

 

Yeah, the Brown Cocorans won’t be just for re enactors anymore. The real paratroopers will be wearing them again. The C cap wasn’t a bad looking piece of headgear, but useless aside from keeping the top of your skull warm. 

I hope that the Cav troopers keep their Stetsons... A bit big, but a very practical piece of headgear. And most American.

Too bad that they didn’t bring back the Ike jacket in the Pinks & Greens. But hey, at least the new “old“ uniform cannot be mistaken for anything but a soldier. 

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Valrico, FL
Posted by HeavyArty on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 9:12 AM

I too love the look of the old/new Pinks and Greens and think the Army should have gone to them years ago when we got rid of the green '70s leisure suit in '09-'10.  Too bad I have already retired and won't get to wear them...My daughter will though, with proper officer rank.  Big Smile

Looks like the Ike jacket may still be in the works.  SMA Dailey said the below before he retired.

"There are other optional items soldiers can purchase as well. There are a few different jackets that we are working on right now.

One of them, is the Eisenhower jacket or "Ike jacket," a waist-length jacket that was popular in WWII.

The second one is the tanker jacket, which would replace the [current] black windbreaker, and it is a greenish color.

And the last one, which the soldiers love the most, is what we call the World War II bomber jacket, so it's the leather jacket.

Each one of those would be optional for wear, based upon the type of formation or the commander's input. But if the soldier is traveling around in Class-Bs and wants to put on ... a jacket to warm up, a soldier will have that option."

 

Gino P. Quintiliani - Field Artillery - The KING of BATTLE!!!

Check out my Gallery: https://app.photobucket.com/u/HeavyArty

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 9:15 AM

Before you know it, there'll be the Ridgeway cap.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 9:46 AM

GMorrison

Before you know it, there'll be the Ridgeway cap.

 

Which is pretty much just a starched and blocked patrol cap.  The green ones were a dime a dozen once upon a time. The Ridgeway Cap looked sharp for garrison wear.

Interesting news about the Ike, Tanker, and Bomber jackets. Aren’t Army Aviators authorized to wear the leather A-2 jacket already? I retired before the Blues were introduced. We were still authorized to have the old Khaki Class Bs for the first couple years of my enlistment. Now those were far better looking than the Green’s version of the Class Bs. 

 

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 11:25 AM

Speaking of same, enlighten this ignorant person.

Isn't that an example of a non-standard or non-issued item? Something you'd buy commercially?

 

Bill

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 11:30 AM

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 11:52 AM

GMorrison

Big thanks Bill!!! That looks exactly like what I was looking for!!! 

 

PS: I looked around and couldn't find anyone selling that set of figures. But if the uniforms are accurate it should be a cinch to modify a figure from my spare parts box to look the same. If berets work as well as the helmets I can work one up pretty easy. 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 4:08 PM

GMorrison

Speaking of same, enlighten this ignorant person.

Isn't that an example of a non-standard or non-issued item? Something you'd buy commercially?

 

Bill

 

Which item in particular are you talking about? 

But, now I’ll go with a general rule, issue items, beyond what the soldier is personally issued for basic training or upon arrival at a duty station can be bought at the on post Clothing Sales store. Authorized, but non issued items, can also usually be purchased there as well, if they are stocked by that particular store. But depending upon the post, the clothing sales store may have a larger or more comprehensive inventory than other stores on other posts. That mostly depends upon the size of the garrison stationed on the post.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 4:47 PM

The Ridgeway cap.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 9:47 PM

Apparently those were purchased, not issued...

https://olive-drab.com/od_soldiers_clothing_m1951_cap_ridgeway.php

 

it was a good looking cap....

 

 

 

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

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