More 15mm WW1 French

The 15mm First World War project continues, and I've added a few more figures to the French platoon. After the disastrous encounters of 1914 and 1915, French infantry platoons (like those of their allies and enemies) saw the development of many specialist roles to allow the unit to employ a variety of new weapons. Fortunately the excellent Peter Pig WW1 lines give you a lot of great options in modeling these.

Every platoon will need a lieutenant and a couple of sergeants. Without their leadership even the best-trained men will falter.

Bombers are men with a talent for grenades, a very useful skill set on the modern battlefield. Their job is to get in close while their comrades suppress the enemy, deliver a deadly volley of grenades onto the entrenched enemy, and move in to the wreckage.

To engage targets at longer range while the bombers get in to position, picked members of the platoon employ rifle grenades. The technology has come a long way since the beginning of the war, and these guys are significantly less likely to blow themselves up than they might have been a year or two ago. Honest.

Of course we're going to need plenty more ordinary riflemen too:

To lay down some really heavy fire, you could do worse than a Hotchkiss heavy machine gun:

15mm First World War French - Peter Pig

I recently came down with a very strong impulse to start a 1st World War project, and after deciding on 15mm scale I fell into Peter Pig's offerings in a big way. I loved the look of the figures, and their French line in particular is awesome.

My goal is to build two platoons worth to start, one mid war French and one mid war German. I intend to use these with the TFL ruleset "Through the Mud and the Blood" which I've been told works best with one to two platoons per side.

So here is the first French squad - a corporal, a chauchat gunner and his assistant, and 6 riflemen. The figures themselves are a joy to paint, with lots of character and great poses. I like the proportions, and I was pleasantly surprised with the strength of the metal, which makes the bayonets more durable than I had expected.

Eventually the platoon will sport one more squad similar to this one, a team of bombers, and one of rifle grenades.

Here in isolation are the corporal, the chauchat gunner and his assistant:

Here are just the riflemen, the backbone of the French army:

And here is a look at their backs to see the details of their gear. Honestly I probably didn't need to bother painting the backs, as I am confident they will never be shown to the enemy anyway.

6mm French Line Infantry - Seven Years War

Slowly, very slowly, my 6mm Seven Years War French project is taking shape. The third piece of I have done is a unit of French Line Infantry, this time with "front turnbacks" in their coats - meaning the front edge of the coat is buttoned back against the sides, exposing the colorful lining of the inside. This was just a way for the soldiers to spiff up their uniforms a bit, and historically some units did and others did not. These gentlemen bear the flag of the Provence regiment, which I believe technically means they should not have these turnbacks, but I'm just not that much of a stickler. And I didn't have a flag for a unit with this uniform.

For information about the uniforms of the armies involved in the Seven Years War I've been using the excellent resource at Kronoskaf. You can find the project here: http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Main_Page

Once again these are Baccus 6mm models. The level of detail is really very good considering the small size of the figures, and I like being able to pack a lot of little guys in to such a small area. I've mounted them on wooden bases from Litko, which I give just a very basic scenic treatment.

This is the entire army at this point...not very formidable yet, but they're slowly expanding.

6mm French Line Infantry from the Seven Years War - Baccus Miniatures

For the first time I've tried my hand at some 6mm figures from Baccus Miniatures, French infantry from the Seven Years War. I was very impressed with the level of detail of these figures and, being one who likes to lavish all the attention I can bear on the things I paint, there was plenty here to keep me busy. The kit includes printed paper flags of various units, and I have modeled the Boulonnais Regiment here.

For such small sculpts, the bayonets are actually quite sturdy, and there seems little danger of them bending or breaking off unless they are really strongly abused. I've actually shaved them down a bit, as I felt they were at first too clunky and broad. Even so they remain strong.

The 24 figures of the unit sit on a 30mm X 60mm plywood base from Lithko, which I've just given a very basic terrain treatment, and I really like the effect  from a moderate distance. See the last photo for a size comparison.