AHPC XV Submission #6 - Early WW2 French Motorcycle Troops

 

My sixth submission for AHPC XV is a group of reinforcements for the early war French Division Légère Mécanique that I painted last year. To add to the tanks and motorized troops, I have added a small platoon of a headquarters and two sections on motorcycles. The figures are a mix of metal minis from Crusader Miniatures and 3D prints using STL files purchased from MyMiniFactory for a total of 24 foot and 23 'mounted' figures. I really liked the Crusader motorcyclist, which will be a good match for the dragons porté I painted. The 3D prints also go well with the metal minis, but I have two minor criticisms regarding the files: (1) 'slung weapons' have no slings, and (2) most of the carbines have the bolts on the wrong side.

In the case of the dismounted motorcyclists, I cleaned up the figures and glued them onto 1" fender washers. I then added some fine sand to the base with PVA glue. In the case of the 3D figures, these were printed by a friend of mine who has done a number of projects for me in the past. He did most of the cleanup prior to delivery, but I went over them again to remove any missed supports and make a few repairs. These were glued to popsicle sticks with PVA glue to give me something to handle while priming and painting. I made bases for all of them using the plastic from old restaurant gift cards. I can get three bases from one card. I did all the ground work on these bases separately and glued the motorcycles on once all the painting was complete.

All the figures were primed with Vallejo USA Olive Drab Surface Primer using an airbrush. The bodies of the motorcycles were left that base colour. I then painted the rest primarily with Vallejo acrylics (unless indicated otherwise) as follows: faces and hands - Flat Flesh; uniform - Green Grey; boots - Chocolate Brown; belt, pistol holster, and ammo pouches - Leather Brown; leather pad on helmet, chin strap, gauntlets, and motorbike seat - Army Painter Leather Brown; canteen cover - English Uniform; gas mask bag - German Camo Beige; saddle bags - German Camo Orange Ochre; goggle frames, engine and muffler - Army Painter Plate Mail Metal; helmet - Olive Grey; goggles strap, scarf, and jacket buttons - Tan Earth; goggle lenses - Army Painter Runic Cobalt; rifle stocks - Beige Brown; motorcycle tires - Black; pistols and metal on weapons - German Grey; highlights on SMG and LMG - Gungrey. Once completed, everything got the ol' "Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade" treatment. When that was dry, the motorcycles were removed from the popsicle sticks and glued to their bases with Super Glue. Here are the final results.

French motorcycle platoon mounted and dismounted

View from the right

View from the left

No. 1 Section dismounted

 

Platoon Headquarters dismounted

No. 2 Section dismounted

No. 1 Section on their bikes

No. 2 Section on their bikes

No. 2 Section on their bikes (flip side)

My one attempt to hand-paint a licence plate

French motorcycle troops halted while the officer consults his map

The last figure for this post is an officer that came from the box of Wargames Atlantic French Infantry that I painted at the beginning of the challenge. Rather than paint him in Horizon Blue, I have done him in colours appropriate for May 1940. 

Thanks for stopping by.

AHPC XV Submission #1 - First World War French Infantry

 

My first project for the latest painting challenge was a platoon of 34 Wargames Atlantic French Infantry of the period 1916 onward. It continues my love-hate relationship with multipart plastic miniatures. The box contains five identical sprues of seven figures each, with lots of arm and head options. In fact you get a choice of five different sets of heads. There are also additional sprues with sets of equipment and weapons to make the figures into early WW2 French infantry. On the down side is that each sprue has an officer figure, so five in total. Plus all the little pieces are very fiddly. 

I decided to assemble my platoon using the set of heads with Adrian helmets not wearing gas masks. I intended to use one of the officer figures with my WW2 French, and gave him a fancy kepi. (He will appear in a later post.) Of the remaining four officer figures, one was assembled as an officer with a pistol. I also gave him a map case left over from the Warlord Games Bolt Action Blitzkrieg German Infantry box. while the other three were converted into 'sergeants' by giving them a rifle and various pouches left over from the Warlord Games Winter Soviet Infantry box. Once everything was assembled I painted them following a useful video from Sonic Sledgehammer, with a few modifications.

 

A platoon of the 701st Infantry ready to attack 'The Anthill'

 

Platoon Headquarters

First Section

Second Section

Third Section

Officer and conversion to Sergeant

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV #3 - Early WW2 French

 

My third submission for the challenge was a selection of early World War 2 French tanks, transports, and troops of a Division Légère Mécanique (DLM), or Light Mechanized Division. They are something that I have been thinking about for a while, and they have finally come together in time for last winter's painting challenge.

 

First up are the armoured vehicles consisting of a mix of Char B1 bis, Somua S35, and Renault R35 tanks. The Char B1 tanks are 3D prints by the same friend who did my Polski FIAT trucks, while the latter two types are Solido diecast tanks that were repainted to give them a unified camouflage scheme. Historically the DLM tank battalions were equipped with Hotchkiss H35/H39 and Somua tanks, but I already had the R35s, so I went with that. The heavier Char B1 was not found in the DLM, but I always liked the look of it and added two to my French force. All the tanks were given a coat of USA Olive Drab surface primer using an airbrush. (In the case of the Char B1s, they got a coat of black primer first.) The brown and yellow were applied by brush, and then the whole tank got a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade. After the decals were applied, all the vehicles got a wash of Vallejo Model Wash European Dust around the tracks and road wheels.

 

 

The Char B1 served in the armoured divisions of the French army, the Division Cuirassée (DCr). It was armed with a 75mm howitzer in the hull, and a 47mm gun in the turret. Although well armed and armoured, it suffered from the design of a one-man turret, where the commander had to act as both loader and gunner as well. My two models are 3D prints done using an STL file I found online. There must be a flaw in the file because the right track system printed with the tracks misaligned so that they touched the fender at the back of the tank, and didn't sit evenly on the table. To solve the problem, I used a fine blade saw to cut off the right track, reposition it correctly, and glue it back into place using super glue and baking soda (or sodium hydrogen carbonate for the chemists in the crowd 😉). My friend used different resins in the two prints, giving one model more flex than the other. That was the first one where I sawed off the tracks, which worked fairly well. When I went to do the second model, pressure from the blade caused the back part of the fender to break off, along with part of the exhaust system. I still don't know where the missing piece went, and it has probably been sucked up by the vacuum cleaner by now. I was able to rebuild the missing area from bits and bobs from my box of scratch-building supplies. I also added radio aerials to both tanks, but I probably only needed to do that on one model. Radio sets were not distributed below command tanks in the French army.

 

The Somua S35 was considered a 'cavalry tank' in the French army, and was one of the main tanks in a DLM. It had good speed, adequate range, and a gun powerful enough to destroyed any enemy tank it was likely to encounter. Like the Char B1, it had to deal with the problems of a one-man turret, as well as poor mechanical reliability. Its suspension system was too weak, too complicated, and the cast armour made it difficult to repair in the field.  The models are Solido 1/50 diecast that I purchased years ago, but as I acquired them individually off of eBay, they had two different paint schemes. One was sold green, while the other had a random green and dark brown camouflage pattern. As well, one of the tanks was missing the gun mantle off the main gun and the turret machine gun, so I scratch-built replacements. Now they look like they belong to the same unit.

 

The last pair of tanks are Renault R35s that saw service with the French Bataillon de Chars de Combat (BCC), as well as some that were sold to Poland and other countries. It was armed with a low velocity Puteaux cannon. Again, it suffered from a one-man turret, and rather slow speed. Some of the men from the Polish 10th Motorized Brigade, having escaped to France, saw service in these tanks in May 1940. These are also Solido 1/50 diecast models picked up from eBay when they were still fairly inexpensive. One was originally solid green, while the other had a green and tan camouflage pattern on it. I prefer the look of the three colour green, brown, and tan, although all the various colour combinations were used in 1940.

 

 

 

Now we come to the transport part of this submission starting with six Laffly S20 TL trucks designed to transport a squad of Dragons Portés, or motorized dragoons of the DLM. These are again 3D prints done by my friend from an STL file I found online. The file generated a very detailed model, but one that may not stand up to the rigours of the wargame table. My friend said he broke off the two side mirrors and the windscreen while trying to get the first print he made free from the supports. Afterwards he adjusted the files to remove the support problem, and the rest printed successfully without any issues. I also managed to snap off a side mirror, and a rear tire of two separate models while prepping them for painting due to rather fragile axles on the models. Once again I resorted to the super glue - baking soda combination to get a strong repair. I also scratch-built replacement mirrors using some florist wire and a small plastic disc made using my leather hole punch. All the models were primed black, followed by a coat of USA Olive Drab. The seats were painted using Vallejo Tan Earth, and the whole truck got a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade, followed by Vallejo Model Wash European Dust around the wheels and fenders.

 

 

While I was working on the other vehicles. I remembered that I had a Tamiya 1/48 model kit of a Citroën Traction 11 CV staff car sitting in a box in the basement. I originally wasn't sure how I wanted to paint it up, but in the end I decided to add it to my French force. It was an easy kit to assemble, and I painted most of the exterior using an airbrush while the parts were still on the sprue. From unopened kit to complete vehicle in less than a day.

 

 

 

At last we come to the troops, in this case Dragons Portés. All of these figures are very recent acquisitions from Crusader Miniatures. We will start with a platoon of three squads and a platoon headquarters. Each squad consists of ten men, including a man carrying a Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 light machine gun, and his No. 2 holding spare magazines. All the squads have an extra figure armed with a Viven-Bessières rifle grenade cup discharger, as this is one of the options in the Bolt Action rules. One of the squad leaders is carrying a MAS-38 submachine gun.

 

Finally we have have some support weapons consisting of two Hotchkiss machine guns, a Hotchkiss 25mm anti-tank gun, an 81mm medium mortar, and a 60mm light mortar. At some point I want to add some ammunition boxes and spent casings to the bases, but I didn't have anything appropriate in the bits box. That will have to wait until some point in the future, but for now I am calling it done.

 

 For painting up the Dragons Portés, I followed the guide below from 'Flame of War' fairly closely since I had all the necessary colours in my inventory. Two exceptions are that I used USA Olive Drab instead of Gunship Green on the vehicles, and I used Army Painter Leather Brown instead of German Camouflage Orange Ochre on the soldiers' ammo pouches and Y-straps. After the figures were painted, they got a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade. As mentioned in my previous submission, this leaves the figures with a glossy sheen, but I will eventually spray them with a matt coat.

 

 I hope to add some motorcycle troops to this formation in the upcoming painting challenge. Stay tuned.

Battle of Orp - Early-WW2 Bolt Action Battle Report

 

 

So last week Conscript Dallas hosted an in-person game at Conscript Towers - Bolt Action. We have been wanting to do another early-war game since October 2021, when we played the Battle of Stonne, so I picked another scenario out of the early-war Bolt Action book, Germany Strikes!. This was the Battle of Orp, basically a meeting engagement that was part of the larger Battle of Hannut. The tabletop is pictured above - the village of Orp at centre with the table edge at the top of the photo being West. The French entry is along the western table edge, while the Germans enter along the eastern table edge. Victory would go to the side that destroys the most enemy units by the end of the game.

 

 

 

French forces - elements of the 3e Division Légère Mécanique: two infantry sections  and one MMG team each in a truck (models are Solido Simca-Unics), led by a Capitaine. One Hotchkiss H39 command tank, two Somua S35 tanks, and one AMD Panhard 178 armoured car.

 

The Somua crews are rated as Inexperienced, and all the French tanks are affected by the "one man turret" rule where they must make an Order roll on the dice to Advance, regardless of any pins. The command tank provides a +1 morale modifier with a 6" range. All other units are rated as Regulars

 

 

German forces - elements of the 3rd Panzer Division: Two sections of Kradschützen, and one MMG team in a truck, one Panzerbefehlswagen Panzer I, two Panzer IIs, one Panzer III, and one Panzer IV. 

 

All the German units are rated as Regulars and the command tank provides a +1 morale modifier with a 12" range.

 

Conscripts David and Hugh would command the French, while Conscripts Bill and Dallas would command the Germans. Neither side chose to keep anything in reserve, so units would enter the board with either a "Run" or "Advance" order as command dice were drawn.

 

A section of Kradschützen races into Orp

French armour concentrates on their left flank

French Dragons Portés dismount on the edge of Orp

A second section of Kradschützen arrives

Dispostions at the end of Turn 1

 

At the end of first turn, the French had deployed the infantry sections on the edge of Orp, and the MMG team in the woods. Having a captain in command gave them a distinct advantage in both the morale modifier (+3) and the ability to activate up to three additional units. Their tanks were concentrated on the left flank, while the Panhard was on their right flank to pose a threat of potential side shots. The Germans had their motorcycle infantry holding the eastern edge of Orp supported by their MMG team, while their armour advanced on a broad front.

 

German and French infantry blaze away at each other in Orp

French armour cautiously advances

Panzer III is destroyed by the Hotchkiss H39 tank

View of the battle from the French side

While the German and French infantry battled for control of Orp, slowly wearing each other down, the French armour slowly advanced to the East. The German Panzers had difficulty getting any traction, primarily due to unfortunate dice rolls. They rolled high when they needed low numbers and low when they needed high numbers. The Dice Gods definitely were kinder to the French. The Hotchkiss H39 was able to knock out the Panzer III, while the Panhard armoured car destroyed one of the Panzer II tanks on the German left flank.  One of the Somua S35 tanks was hit by the Panzer IV which caused some pins. The French tank failed its command role two turns in a row, and withdrew off the board. The breaking point for the Germans occurred when one of the Kradschützen squads got a "FUBAR" result on the command roll and routed to the rear.

French Somua S35 and Hotchkiss H39 tanks

Routed Kradschützen and knocked out Panzer II

Conscripts Hugh and Bill assessing the damage

At this point, the end of turn 5, we decided to call it a night as it was getting quite late. The result was a French victory, with two German tanks destroyed and only one French tank withdrawing from the battle. This actually matched the historical results of the battle rather closely. The Germans had more tanks knocked out than the French, but were able to recover most of them when the French withdrew.

It was good to play another early war scenario, and be able to put some newly painted figures on the table top. It was a tough one for the Germans since only the Panzer III and IV could really stand up against the Somuas, while even the French Panhard had an anti-tank gun capable of knocking out a German tank. A string of extremely unlucky dice rolls didn't help the German advance either. Until next time.