French 1940 Artillery Crews

ferret701 · Post by **ferret701** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:57 pm

Can anyone suggest suitable figures for French 1940 artillery and anti-tank gun crews?
Thanks

Pat Callahan
www.microarmormayhem.com

Thomaso827 · Post by **Thomaso827** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:11 pm

Thought I remembered a discussion on this some time back but can't find it now. I'm leaning towards US crews, adding a line of PVA glue on the top of the helmet to look like the French helmets. I think somebody else suggested the Russians. The kneeling German crews from the 37 and 75 infantry gun pack actually don't look too bad for the job. I just based 6 French 25mm AT guns, with no crewmen so far. I can easily scrape some spots in the flocking when something right looking comes along.

Tom

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:50 pm

I have used the GHQ Russian Artillery Crews to man my French guns.

I am not overly impressed with the suitability of the Russian figures. But that applies to whether they are for French guns or even Russian guns. I can hardly see any difference between these figs and the US Artillery Crew figures.

A bit of glue in a crest-line on the top of the helmets might make them a little more French in their appearance. But it won't help the uniforms ... distinctly US Army in appearance to me.

The officer, in my case, is an extra from my GHQ Italian infantry. Don't know why the Italians come with a French officer, but I got 'em, so I use 'em...

I used Polly-S "French Khaki", which I have since decided is too green for use as French WW2 uniforms. OK for helmets and/or tanks, but not for uniforms. If I were to re-paint them, I think I'd use Vallejo "Khaki".

As to AT gun crews, I have reverted to kneeling Russian gun crews from a UK vendor. Not optimal, but until GHQ starts making some kneeling gun crews available, that's where I go.

Thomaso827 · Post by **Thomaso827** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:59 am

Thanks. I think it was your troops I remembered. I asked about painting French infantry in a much earlier thread, and while I had some help, I asked about crewmen. I dont think any of the gamers I play would ever notice the difference, but I try to get them right if possible. Having a standing crew next to those little 25mm guns is a bit strange looking, so for now, I think I'll give it just a bit longer and see. There is a vendor at an upcoming convention in Northern Ohio who carries most of the lines of 6mm, so that will give me a chance to see different brands and make a choice.

Tom

ferret701 · Post by **ferret701** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:14 am

Thanks, Mk 1. I used Vallejo Khaki on my French infantry -- good, but a bit dark. I've been experimenting with different schemes for these guys since it seems I'm painting up about a million (actually, just about 4 packs).

Pat

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:51 pm

ferret701 wrote:Thanks, Mk 1. I used Vallejo Khaki on my French infantry -- good, but a bit dark. I've been experimenting with different schemes for these guys since it seems I'm painting up about a million (actually, just about 4 packs).

I used Vallejo Khaki for my Romanian infantry uniforms. I am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

Used it straight for the pants, but mixed almost 1-to-1 with white for the tunics (sun-faded cotton).

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:04 am

Mk 1 wrote: As to AT gun crews, I have reverted to kneeling Russian gun crews from a UK vendor. Not optimal, but until GHQ starts making some kneeling gun crews available, that's where I go.

Went back to double check this. Turns out that I didn't use kneeling Russian gun crews for my French ATGs.

Here is my battery of French 47mm Mle37 APX (not Schneider!) AT guns. Figures are French kneeling guncrew from a UK vendor.

But it's not like you can actually tell, with that vendor's product. You are lucky enough if you can find the edge between the helmet and the face, much less judge what kind of helmet the figure is wearing...

From a distance I guess they are reasonable enough. For my purposes, at least, I find they are adequate for the wargaming table.

But when you get a look at them up-close? It really ought to be a crime to put them down on the same stand with such a nice GHQ model gun!

We could really use some GHQ kneeling gun crew figures.