Merry Christmas To Me via GHQ

[paloalto]

My dear wife came through with 2 combat command sets: The 1940 French and 1940 Western Desert sets and the in-laws completed my French and British infantry requests.

Some painting questions:
Did the Vichy French use the same uniforms as the Free French or those leftover from the battle of France?

What was the largest use of Char B-1s? What is a good color scheme for them? Also, in the French tank crew, who was responsible for playing the concertina?

Epoxy is good to use for bases?

Happy New Year all and thanks in advance for help.

regards.

[Ritter]

I believe V/F used the same Khaki found earlier in 1940.

The Modèle Char B-1bis came in many flavors - the Infantry tanks were done in Green (a slightly green olive drab) - no camo; The cavalry tanks: red/green rounded splotches on dark yellow (I always wondered if the Germans copied this scheme they found on captured French tanks later in 1943?!) Also bands of color seperated with thin black outlines...flashy like the cav of old.


Dont know who was playin' the squeezebox but aparently no-one was loading the 75!

Troy

[tstockton]

Troy,

Thanks for the picture! As usual -- outstanding work on those Chars!!

Every time I see one of your pictures, I go through three distinct reactions:

(1) WOW! Those look GREAT!!

(2) Dang... in comparison, most of mine look like crap!

(3) Hmmm... how did he do that?... and if Troy can do it, maybe I can too!

Thanks for the ride!

Regards,
Tom

[fullmetaljacket]

Great stuff got a quick question what paint do you all use for the tracks? Was wondering on doing some different ideas for tracks thanks.

FMJ

[Mk 1]

paloalto proffered:
My dear wife came through ... and the in-laws completed my ... requests.

You are either uniquely blessed, or uniquely brave.

I once suggested to my wife that micro armor was what I really wanted for my birthday. A full battalion (35 vehicles) of T-80s, with reactive armor, in fact.

Silly me.

She called, and drove, all over the bay area trying to get me what I really wanted. Found the hobby shops that stocked micro amor. None had enough. Went to several. Bought up most of the stocks within a 5 county area.

From multiple manufacturers.

The result? Some of the tanks (the GHQ ones) look quite nice. Some of them from other vendors are just not up to snuff. Maybe if they stood alone, I could push 'em on to a game table. But not mixed in with my GHQ stuff. The difference is just too stark.

But after all that she invested into the effort, I dared not mention that she was only partially successfull. So I painted 'em all up. And they sit in my box. And I'm quietly picking up a pack of GHQ T-80s here and there when I see some special pricing (I'm not playing moderns actively these days, so I'm in no rush).

And I don't suggest she buy me any more of my preferred toys. My interests are too specific.

Some painting questions:
Did the Vichy French use the same uniforms as the Free French or those leftover from the battle of France?

Others have suggested Khaki. But I too have a question on this point.

What khaki?

As far as I understand, the khaki used by forces in French North Africa and the Levant (middle-east) was very close to tan. The khaki used in occidental France was kind of brown-green ... ? I've seen pictures (I have several books on France in WW2), but I've never satisfied myself as to what color I should use (should have USED) to paint up my French infantry.

Epoxy is good to use for bases?

I recommend something less extreme. For basing infantry I use regular old Elmer's White Glue. It does a reasonable job affixing almost anything to anything else, with two advantages:
1 ) When it dries, it still has a little "give". Figures on stands get knocked about a bit. Even the slightest give in the mountings protects them from damage, and makes it less likely they'll be bent or knocked off the stands.

2 ) It is not as hard to take off, if/when the need should occur. Many of my infantry have had to be re-based over time. The Elmers is pretty stable, but I can still peel it off without any major effort (or harsh chemicals) whenever I need to.

3 ) ... OK, there are THREE advantages. Third, it's cheap and available. Cheap is good, I like cheap. And if I run out of my stock, I can usually find another little bottle somewhere in my wife's or children's craft supplies. I really hate to get 95% done with a unit, and run out of something.

4 ) There is NO fourth reason.


-Mark 1

[paloalto]

But what is best to simulate terrain on the base? Putty that I then paint or the green pixie dust flocking? I am vowing not to screw these up like I did my Germans.

[ShortRound70]

Gentlemen:

My wife, fortunately, gets a list every Christmas, including the GHQ web address and phone number. This year, she outdid herself. I unwrapped a Muj/Al Qaeda Combat Command, several Middle East buildings, M-198 artillery, and AH-1T Sea Cobras. She did REAL good this year. Sometimes it pays to be specific.

The combat command, unfortunately, was missing two BMP-1's. I notified GHQ, and received a prompt answer of apology. In today's mail were the two missing BMP's. Thanks GHQ for the quick response. You definately keep this customer happy. For you new to the forum, GHQ is as they say down here "are just plain good people".

Ritter, your Char B-1's are real knockouts. Love the cammo! Who's paint do you use?

Paloalto, you have a very loving wife. We should all be so fortunate.

Happy building, and Happy New Year all!

S/F

ShortRound70

[Mk 1]

paloalto pondered:
But what is best to simulate terrain on the base? Putty that I then paint or the green pixie dust flocking? I am vowing not to screw these up like I did my Germans.

James:

If you want to come on over some Sunday afternoon, we can spend a few hours painting up micros together. As you know I'm not one of the top performers here, but I'll be happy to show you whatever minor tricks I do have up my sleave.

[paloalto]

often use Vallejo or Golden brand Coarse Pumice Gel, which when painted looks like a rough texture. Also, I add flock after it is painted etc. I often mix my flocks so they aren't uniform either.

Grant
Cama

Thanks for the advise. I picked up a container of the pumice last night and made some test bases on pennies' which I am going to paint today, but I was looking at them this morning and the texture looks pretty good. Can't wait to add paint.