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1/35 Academy French Foreign Legion

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  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Sunday, June 28, 2020 7:37 PM

Thanks Capn. I am sure noticing that about the various shades of khaki for the uniforms. And I’m trying to keep the skin tones more tanned to keep with the settings of Africa and southeast Asia. At least the last two figures will be in the more recent Olive Green fatigues, so no khaki there...

 

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 Monday, June 29, 2020 8:56 AM

All joking aside they're turning out great SP. Nice work!!! 

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

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Monday, June 29, 2020 12:30 PM

Thanks Gamera. There is just one more figure left to build from this set... then comes the hard part of painting...

 

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

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Monday, June 29, 2020 11:45 PM

Built the last figure today, a machine gunner with the gun resting on his shoulder. (a common pose for any machine gunner in any army)

 

 

I also did a bit of needle file work with the last fight to allow him to grip the FAMAS rifle differently

 

 

And the two together...

 

 

“You taking to us?”

 

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, June 30, 2020 1:09 PM

Those look great too! 

And btw I'm always polite talking to anyone with a machine gun or assault rifle.

 

As Larry Niven's rules for life:

1). Never throw @#@% at an armed man. 

2). Never stand beside anyone throwing #@@# at an armed man.  

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

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 2:10 PM

Gamera

Those look great too! 

thank you

 

Gamera

And btw I'm always polite talking to anyone with a machine gun or assault rifle.

As Larry Niven's rules for life:

1). Never throw @#@% at an armed man. 

2). Never stand beside anyone throwing #@@# at an armed man.  

Yes So very true!

 

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 Tuesday, June 30, 2020 2:45 PM

The bugle.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 5:40 PM

GMorrison

The bugle.

"L'Clarion," si vous plaitSmile

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 10:19 PM

And today I got the base colors on

 

 

 

Now comes all the detail painting...

 

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

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    July 2019
  • From: Vancouver, British Columbia
Posted by Bobstamp on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 10:33 PM

An interesting thread! I thought of a couple of images I have that might be useful, or at least interesting in and of themselves. 

 

Algerian War: 

 

The Algerian War of Independence, 1954 to 1962, seems to be little known even though it was as significant as the Vietnam War in terms of world security and history of European colonialism. It was quite neatly sandwiched between the First Indochina War (1946-1954) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975). The United States supplied France with war materiél in Algeria just as they supplied South Vietnam.  

 

I found the following photograph on-line. It caught my attention because it shows a French Army UH-34 helicopter presumably about to pick up Legionaires in Algeria; I am currently building an Italeri 1/72 U.S. Marine Corps UH-34 D, the type of helicopter that ferried me around Vietnam during my brief tour of duty there. The photograph is  hand-coloured — I've seen monochrome versions of the same photo:

 

 

The Italeri helicopter kit includes decals for the French Army version.

 

First Indochina War:

 

In October, 1954, five months after North Vietnam’s victory at Dien Bien Phu with four four stamps of this design:

 

The stamps are apparently based on a photograph or photographs taken after the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. This particular stamp was issued for official use, and is denominated in kilos of rice, like a set of four official stamps issued in 1953. Other North Vietnamese stamps of that era are denominated in dong and xu.

 

 

I wonder if anyone has ever based a diorama on the Vietminh victory at Dien Bien Phu. There’s lots of room for historic detail, such as wrecked French and American aircraft,  American tanks that were dropped by parachute, and French artillery, not to mention the command bunker pictured in the stamp.

 

Bob   

 

On the bench: A diorama to illustrate the crash of a Beech T-34B Mentor which I survived in 1962 (I'm using Minicraft's 1/48 model of the Mentor), and a Pegasus model of the submarine Nautilus of 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas fame. 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 11:40 PM

Thanks for looking in Bob. Yes, the Algerian War, along with most of the African wars are comparatively little known here in the US. France, along with a few other Western European nations have been far more involved there. While doing image searches for reference in painting these figures I came across lots of interesting photos that gave me ideas in pairing up various vehicles with the figures. Anything from surplus WWII US vehicles in Indochina and Algeria to various French types from Algeria through Chad.

 

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 Thursday, July 2, 2020 8:35 AM

Oh those are looking good. And Bob those are some really neat ideas for dios. 

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

 

  • Member since
    July 2019
  • From: Vancouver, British Columbia
Posted by Bobstamp on Thursday, July 2, 2020 10:44 PM

Just ran across a web page — https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sikorsky_H-34#/Algerian_War — that included this quote:

"The helicopters used by the French Army Light Aviation (ALAT), including the Sikorsky H-34, aggregated over 190,000 flying hours in Algeria (over 87,000 for the H-21 alone) and helped to evacuate over 20,000 French combatants from the combat area, including nearly 2,200 at night. By the time the war in Algeria had ended, eight officers and 23 non-commissioned officers from ALAT had been killed."

 

The use of armed helicopters during the Algerian War, coupled with helicopter transports which can insert troops into enemy territory, gave birth to some of the tactics of airmobile warfare that continue today.

 

Bob

On the bench: A diorama to illustrate the crash of a Beech T-34B Mentor which I survived in 1962 (I'm using Minicraft's 1/48 model of the Mentor), and a Pegasus model of the submarine Nautilus of 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas fame. 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Friday, July 3, 2020 12:59 AM

A very good movie is "The Battle of Algiers".

This is a story where the French don't come out on the side of fairness and reason, but it's an interesting history.

IIR, H-21s were involved as well.

Remember in "Day of the Jackal" how the French military veterans of Algeria had a contract out on De Gualle.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Friday, July 3, 2020 3:15 AM
Great figures Carlos - they are looking really good.  Such an interesting subject with so many engagements.  Curious what your final plans are with these figures.

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    July 2019
  • From: Vancouver, British Columbia
Posted by Bobstamp on Friday, July 3, 2020 4:33 PM

I'm relatively new to this discussion board, so I don't know if this post, excerpted from my Vietnam War memoir, is appropriate for this particular thread. It concerns an incident in South Vietnam in late February or early March, 1966, when one of the Marines in my platoon stepped on a mine and lost both of his legs just as night was falling. He was evacuated by a UH-34 D Seahorse helicopter, the chopper that is the primary concern of this thread. I will remove the post if members feel that it is inappropriate.

Bob

---

We had marched all day long on yet another fruitless search-and-destroy mission, somewhere in Quang Ngai Province, finally stopping to bivouac in an area that, apparently, been visited by Australian troops, if the empty pack of Australian cigarettes I found was evidence of their presence. The Aussies, or someone who smoked Australian cigarettes, had dug several shallow foxholes — fighting pits — in the sandy, red soil. We had been in the area for 20 minutes or so, each of us repeatedly stepping in and out of our foxholes as we used our entrenching tools to enlarge them. Then Pfc. Mike Neeley, 19, stepped one last time out of his foxhole, and onto a mine.

The blast, only 15 yards  or so away from me, stunned me. The sound of the explosion had to have been the loudest noise I had ever heard. It seemed like the end of the world. I cowered in my foxhole, unsure of what had happened and very frightened. Then, with debris raining out of the sky, someone called for a corpsman, and I gathered some of my scattered wits. By the time I reached Mike, my fellow corpsman, Larry Skonetski, was already at his side, cool and professional and more than able to make up for my fear. I was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. Later, after I myself was wounded, Larry’s calmness as he gave me first aid was instrumental in helping me to understand that my life wasn’t over, and that I was fortunate to have been transferred to Lima Company’s 3rd Platoon, Larry’s platoon. 

Mike’s lower left leg, what was left of it, looked like bloody hamburger, tapering from the knee to nothing — his left foot and ankle had vanished. Mike’s lower right leg had vanished, blown off at the knee; the end of his femur stuck out into the air so cleanly that it could have been used as a model for a medical illustration. Mike was fully conscious, and wasn’t even bleeding heavily; the blast had apparently cauterized his arteries. Larry and I used our belts as tourniquets around his thighs to make sure that he didn’t hemorrhage.

Years later, when I reconnected with Larry, he recalled that Mike tried to sit up. I remember Mike joking that his career as a competitive swimmer was over.

A hazardous nighttime medevac followed. Our radioman contacted the pilot of a Marine Sikorsky H-34D Seahorse helicopter, who was in the air several miles away. The pilot, guided by a Marine on the ground holding a dim flashlight, made a perfect landing within a few feet of us and our patient. Larry climbed onto the chopper to accompany Mike until they reached a field hospital. I stayed behind, and learned that I would be involved in yet another stressful operation at the end of a very stressful day: an ambush that would take out any Viet Cong who were foolish enough to be abroad at night, perhaps the same VC who had buried the mine that blew off Mike’s legs.

---

I have no idea who the Seahorse pilot was, but he deserves a medal for attempting and completing that evacuation. Mike Neely, by the way, survived and had a productive life. I forget where he lives — in Minnesota or Michigan if I recall correctly; he told me in a phone conversation that he is the only double amputee in his state to obtain a motorcycle license.

On the bench: A diorama to illustrate the crash of a Beech T-34B Mentor which I survived in 1962 (I'm using Minicraft's 1/48 model of the Mentor), and a Pegasus model of the submarine Nautilus of 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas fame. 

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Saturday, July 4, 2020 4:05 PM

Had a thought for Carlos.

Be sure to have several color references handing as French military arms have a unique metal appearnce.  It's not bluing ,and not parkerizing, but somewhere in the middle--it's something you can spot from a ways off.  The wood is typically French Walnut, although some of the Colonial Berthiers look like they were stained with well-used motor oil.

The FAMAS is a bit easier, as it's anodized similarly to the M-16, if to a somewhat uniform charcoal color.  The furniture is a bit funky, black or blueblack.

Just a thought.

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Saturday, July 4, 2020 5:03 PM

Bobstamp

I'm relatively new to this discussion board, so I don't know if this post, excerpted from my Vietnam War memoir, is appropriate for this particular thread.

It certainly works for me and I'm sure everyone here is very much interested in your history.

Thank you for your service and thanks for sharing.

 

Bill

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 5:04 PM

Bob, that is quite the passage from your memoir. I don’t mind your posting such things here as I do enjoy where some tangents on these boards go. 

Capn, thanks for the tips on French individual weapons. They are helpful. I’ll probably mix up my own gun metal for the parade guy.

 

John, in all honesty, when I started these figures, I had no plans for them. It was just a spur of the moment thing to build them. But during the research for photos of uniforms I came across lots of good ones with vehicles. Particularly for Chad and Algeria. So I’m kinda thinking about getting some French armored car kits and such to pair up with the figures.

 

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

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 5:10 PM

Over the weekend after the Fourth, I started working on the eyes, and some of the other detail painting. Today I started working on the oil washes on the skin and uniforms. Here’s the first couple...

 

 

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

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 11:50 PM

Base washes on the other two pair...

 

 

 

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

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, July 9, 2020 4:59 PM

Today was dry brushing on the uniforms and equipment, along with a bit of detail painting.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I just need to do some dry brushing on the skin areas and finish up the Kepi, then I’ll call these two done

 

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 Thursday, July 9, 2020 5:13 PM

Those look great, but Marcel needs a sling.

Nice work.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, July 9, 2020 5:24 PM

GMorrison

Those look great, but Marcel needs a sling.

Nice work.

 

Thanks. I thought about that... and for Indochina in that time, he very well could be a Hans or Klaus.

 

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

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    October 2019
  • From: New Braunfels, Texas
Posted by Tanker-Builder on Friday, July 10, 2020 7:50 AM

OOPS !

        I think you managed to forget something. Bill caught it too. The fellow standing at attention needs a sling on his rifle too. Plus You need to bend his fingers under the stock of his rifle. The way he's holding it ,he, if startled will drop his piece!

 The other fellow should have one as well. Also you might want to metalize the main parts of the gun's barrels and action as well. You have a good run going, Now fulfill it ! Because, these are looking neat.

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Saturday, July 11, 2020 4:31 PM

Slings on Lebels are hit or miss, from photos.  Those ones I have seen in person are pitiful skinny things, perhaps 3 or 3.5cm wide and maybe 3-5mm thick. 

MAS 36 slings are a bit more substantial 4-4.5cm wide and thick like a leather dress belt.  Some of those slings are woven cotton, too.

The Legion will parade with polished white leater slings; manning a Guard Post those are sometimes polished black leather slings.

The FAMAS (and F1) have sling mounts, but they are single-points for all practical purposes.  Not sure I can remember ever seeing a sling on one in Parade.

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