From ChrisK: More Frenchmen and A Questionable Design (Death Star) (160 points)

I was very grateful for the feedback my last lot of WW2 French infantry received; so much so, in fact, that I have done more of the same! 

Well, their rules in Bolt Action allow them to take a free fourth inexperienced section if they pay for three, so it'd be rude not to... plus I've really been enjoying the challenge of fielding inexperienced troops.

Here, then, are my next two sections, supported by a Laffly AM50 armoured car:

[I'll talk more about the Laffable Laffly below...] 

The first section here have black leggings/puttees - partially to suggest that they are Chasseurs a Pied [I can't work out how to get the accent grave without really upsetting Blogger - sorry!], and partially to aid tabletop differentiation. Ten of these models are Warlord Games' metal French Infantry set; the extra two are from the versatile Wargames Atlantic plastics, as before:

Two very similar pics, but I had real trouble with the exposure of these in the simpler of my two light boxes - so you are welcome to chose which one you dislike least!

Here's a shot of the different packs that the Warlord minis have. A bit more detailed than their Wargames Atlantic counterparts

Also made from the Wargames Atlantic plastics is this section of French Officer Cadets (I warn you now, these pics are horribly over-exposed - I promise they look way less deathly in real life!):

These vainglorious and enthusiastic young fellows represent those cadets from the French academies who really did drop their studies and march to war in 1940 (and there's maybe a couple of nods to my own time as an O/Cdt in the dim past). They're variously equipped with whatever they could lay their hands on, including an ancient Chauchat as their LMG and a few of them have their ceremonial swords slung too. Because if not now, then when, eh? 

Like all good officer cadets everywhere, they're doing a great deal of pointing... and like all good officer cadets everywhere, they're also being kept in line by a doubtless exasperated staff NCO. Unlike all my other infantry, whose collar insignia have been covered with green 'security patches', I've taken the liberty of giving him complementary light blue collar tabs, so he fits in with his chinless charges. 

I really struggled to find consistent, reliable information on the colours and trim of their uniforms, so I've taken artistic liberty and chosen light blue for their soft kepis, collars and piping - again, a self-indulgent nod to my own time. 

(NB: That chap on the left, above, really looks unwell in this pic. I assure you he's alright 'in the flesh'.)

Finally, this is the Laffly armoured car. And I'll say it straight out: here I'm claiming "questionable design" for the Death Star bonus - because - well, just look at it:

This utterly glorious, utterly daft model is by the talented Mad Bob.

I should point out that the patterning of L'Indochine's camouflage is inspired by various contemporary French designs I came across, but reinterpreted... not least because I don't have an airbrush, so I couldn't adequately feather the edges of the patches: this led me to opt for a harder edge. Annoyingly, the roundel decals were not very high quality, so they look a bit 'meh'.

Points:

My claim in this entry is for 

- twenty-four 28mm figures @5pts each = 120pts;
- one 1/56 vehicle @20pts, and
- a 'Death Star' bonus @20pts, for 160pts total.

And next, I'd like to leap into the adjacent 'maelstrom' please, if I may.

Thanks for your time; happy painting,

- ChrisK

I have such a soft spot for interwar armoured cars. I love your hard-edge camo pattern on this one, as well as all the rivets. I also like the weathering. Good work on all those poor cadets!

The maelstrom spits you out between Coruscant and Vogsphere!

Barks

NB Don't forget your labels, and to tag your post 'ready' or 'draft'!