French Artillery

Strelets 1/72nd scale mountain artillery.

French Foreign Legion.

They are an excellent set.

I think they would go well with the second series Airfix FFL.

Or the Esci / Italeri set also.

I would like to get a couple sets.

And swap them out with some Hat French 75s too.

The detail is very good.

In WWII the Germans captured some of these guns and I plan on transferring some of them to the Germans.
 

Tower Levels

Just like the real Effiel Tower,  this one has several levels. 

Each level is marked off by these angles.

My long term plan is to put a floor on each level.

Even now there is enough space for a figure or two for these guys to stand on.

The figures look good on the tower.

Now I just need a couple dozen other buildings and I will have Paris!

Tower

Sometimes when making wargame terrain, it's like making a movie set.

The buildings and terrain don't have to be perfect, but they do have to suggest the item they represent strongly enough that they are immediately recognizable.

As you can see from this view, it's plenty big enough for 1/72nd scale figures.

Both the French before WWII and the Germans during the war used  the tower to broadcast television.

Tower

  Eiffel Tower

 A couple years ago I purchased this lawn model of the Eiffel Tower at my local Osh store.

The real tower is over 1,000 feet tall and so in 1/72nd scale would be taller than my house.

 A few Ykreol French Commanders inspect the tower.

While this tower is only about 5 feet tall, I think it works very well for wargame purposes.

It is not an exact replica, of course, but good enough, in my opinion.

A German with French Commanders

This Ykreol set of WWII French Commanders also includes a German Luftwaffe man with parachute.  I am at a loss to explain why.

Marie Pierre Koenig, Free French commander at Normandy.

Thierry Dargenlieu, Free French.

Paul Barbe, France, 1940.

Ardant D Picq, killed in action, France, 1939.

French Troops, Ykreol

Jean Colonna D'Ornano, Battle of France.

Delattre de Tassigny, Free French.

Marcel Deslaurens, France, died 1940.

Diego Brosset, France, 1940.

General De Gaulle, Free French, and later, President of France post-war.

Plastic Soldier Review showed the gray troops and they have a mold seam on several poses.  The green troops don't have that mold seam, and are all fine, I don't know why.
http://www.ykreol.com/

Battle of France, 1940

1/72nd scale figures by Ykreol, French Staff of 1940.  Before you dismiss these figures as being useless because the Battle of France is not wargamable, think about this.  The French lost over 300,000 dead and the Germans lost over 150,000 dead, most of them in less than two months time.  That is very intensive combat.  Many of the French generals were also killed.  While France was a friend and ally of the United States, President Roosevelt did almost nothing to help the French against the German invasion.

General Leclerc, Free French Forces.

Marechal Petain, famous general from WWI and head of Vichy French government until the end of the war.

Alphonse Juin, fought for Vichy and Free French Forces.

Louis Janssen, Battle of France, died 1940.
http://www.ykreol.com/

French Commanders

http://www.ykreol.com/index.html

Caesar Miniatures and Pegasus Models have both done WWII French figures for France 1940.  Now Ykreol has announced a new set for the same time frame.

 

 

Many wargamers are reluctant to take on this period because they think it was an easy victory for the Germans.  It was a short campaign, but an intense one.  The Germans lost about 30,000 killed and over 100,000 wounded.  That's about 4,000 casualties per day for the main period of combat.  The French lost 85,000 killed and the British almost 70,000 killed.  That's some major casualties for a war that lasted only seven months and most of the major combat lasted only a month.

 

These figures would be useful for all of WWII as Free French or Vichy French troops, and some could be used for WWI as well since many of the uniforms changed little.  Don't forget there were battles in North Africa and French Indochina and at least some of these troops could find their way to those battles as well.  A useful set and I look forward to getting some.

Pegasus French

The new Pegasus WWII French 1/72nd scale Infantry set has hit the stores.

This is the production set color, a bit darker than the ones that I showed earlier but the figures are the same.

Painted examples of the Pegasus set. They are very nice as you can see.

The box art shows painted examples of the figures. The French fought hard against the Germans but the combination of technology, and tactics brought about their defeat. It was no lack of courage. These figures are worthy of the men they represent.

In the Battle of France in WWII the French lost about 100,000 dead and 200,000 wounded. That's a lot of casualties in only seven months.

Pegasus French

I visited Larry Pegasus yesterday. Here are some photos of his painted WWI and WWII French soldiers in 1/72nd scale. They are behind glass so the images are not first rate.

As you can see the figures paint up really nice. The only stupid pose is the prone machine gunner on the strange rocky outcrop. I was able to bend mine so he can be used without the base.

The WWII French. These should be in stores as soon as a week from today here in Southern California.

The bare plastic will be a sort of dark olive drab, both sets will be the same color for those of us who don't paint figures we can mix and match them.