French WWII Models

WWII French Army

Tanks
Artillery
Infantry
Soft Skin Vehicles
Aircraft

Armour

Hotchkiss H-39
CinC Model

An alternate paint scheme, looks better from a distance.

GHQ Version... not much difference, as far as I can tell. Better molded running gear for GHQ, better onboard accessories for CinC.

This is the GHQ version using their French WWII decal seat, which is quite good. GHQ markets this as the "H-39"

This is another GHQ version, an older one, equivalent to what they now market as the "H-40". The wash on the tracks worked particularly well on these models.

Renault R40
GHQ Model, GHQ decals. Paint job came out great, but I realize now I failed to paint the shovels on the side.

Char B1
CinC Model

This is what I believe to be the old version of the GHQ Char B1. That said, I don't have the current model, so I'm not 100% sure it isn't just a very old casting. They are adorned with GHQ's French decals, which are particularly extensive for the B1 in particular. The decals look better at a distance.

Somua S-35
CinC Model
One of the advantages of painting French vehicles is the wide variety of paint schemes employed. I'm still looking for a good way to put roundels on the models; all the decals I have are too large and I lack the requisite skill to paint them on. Here are several different paint schemes I've tried, copied from various books.

Five CinC Somuas

This is the GHQ version with their decals. It is not substantially different from the CinC model.

These are older GHQ casts, possibly dating back to the 1960s. The lead is very soft and the barrels are almost impossible to keep straight.

Char D1
An excellent model from Masters of Military

Renault FT-17
GHQ Model

AMR-33
Light cavalry tank -- H&R model

These are the same models based, which does little to improve them. GHQ is coming out with a version in the next year, which I look forward to.

Panhard 178
GHQ Model

Another model, maker unknown. It seems to be slightly too large.

Char Lorraine 37

New GHQ Version
Vastly improved over the original, and includes the armored trailer.

This version is done with Reaper's series of olives, and came out quite well. I included a trailer; not sure if it belongs here.

Older GHQ Model

Another version, which came out far better

Dodge Tanaka
GHQ model of a rather unusual vehicle

Netherlands M39 Armored Car
1940 Campaign Armored Car, from Shapeways; some with added wire to represent gun

Belgian T-13
Manufacturer Unknown

Belgian T-15
Manufacturer Unknown

Artillery

25MM AT Gun with UE Carrier
This is the standard 25mm regimental AT gun, which was also briefly used by UK forces. The GHQ pack comes with 5 barrels and shield, 3 deployed bases, 3 towed bases, 2 UE carriers, and two armored trailers. Unfortunately, what it doesn't include is any crewmen. I used what I believe are GHQ US AT gun crewman. They come five strung together; I cut them into either single figures or double figures. Size-wise, they fit very well with the tiny AT guns.

The wall in this model is a trimmed-down CinC stone wall

This is the UE armored carrier and ammo trailer that comes with the set.

A second version from the same pack...

47mm AT Gun With Laffly Prime Mover
Each pack contains two Laffley's, three towed guns and three deployed guns. Crews are H&R.

Two Versions Of The Laffley Prime Mover

75mm Field Gun
The Scotia model of the famed French 75. A fine model with a crew molded in, which overcomes the biggest deficiency of GHQ's models: no crews.

105mm Howitzer
Another fine Scotia model with a crew and a molded base. (Actually, this might be the 155mm Howitzer...)

This one was poorly molded -- one of the crewmen lacks a head.

Here's a whole platoon-scale battalion.

155mm Gun
The standard French Corps-level gun, from Navwar/Heroics and Ros.

65mm Mountain Gun
From Scotia

Infantry

GHQ Infantry
These are shots of the first round of French infantry I've worked up. They are all from the GHQ infantry and heavy weapons packs. Overall, the scupting and detail on these models is excellent. The selection of figures does leave something to be desired, however, as you end up with way, way too many officer figures. Overall, I've painted and based a platoon-scale infantry regiment so far: HQ, 81mm Mortar, 3 25mm AT + transport, 3 Inf Battalions (3 infantry companies, 1 MG company, HQ, Scout).

This is the regimental headquarters. The two officers have been bent and repositioned. That thing on the table is supposed to be a map. The crates are from a Heller Z-Scale accessory set (and now I know where ISM got its crates and barrels). The tree is from Samtrees of China, repainted and reformed.

These are the three infantry battalion headquarters. I'm not thrilled with the way they came out -- though they look decent at a distance, particularly the contrast between the uniform color and the red on the hats.

A different version of the battalion command stand

The infantry themselves in the set are excellent. Most have either the MAS36 rifle or the MLE24/29 light machine gun.

Hotchkiss Machine Gun
An excellent model of the standard French battalion machine gun. Doesn't have an ammo handler, though, which is nice but not necessary.

Scout Team
Infantryman with MAS submachinegun. The infantry packs come with a surprisingly large number of these figures, though I believe they were relatively rare in actual service.

81mm Mortar Team
I should have painted the mortar light greay with a bit of metallic brushing to make it stand out more.

Motorcycle Scouts
Made with generic Scotia motorcycle riders

H&R Infantry
H&R's WWII are not up to GHQ's standards, but they are not bad. Figures are relatively strong and don't break quite so easily as others in the line, and detail is not bad. Poses are realistically done, and you can make out the different types of weapons.

Soft Skin Vehicles

Some kind of truck, don't recall the name at this time.

Renault AHS
GHQ Model

Laffly V15T
French Prime Mover from Masters of Military

Laffly V15R
Another French prime mover from Masters of Military

Laffly W15T
A French prime mover from Masters of Military

Aircraft
H&R has a great collection of French 1940s aircraft, and I know own many of them. They make a nice change from the usual Spitfires and ME109s.

MS406
H&R model of one of the key Armee de L'Aire fighters

Dewoitine D.520
H&R model of the other key French fighter

Dewoitine D.510
Obsolete early 1930s fighter

Later paint scheme

Dewoitine D. 371
H&R model, I think

Bloch 152
A Scotia CollectAir model

I believe this is the H&R version

Nieuport Delage 622
Army Cooperation Aircraft from H&R

Wibault 7
H&R model, which I did a poor job assembling the landing gear on.

Nieuport-Delage 622
I believe this is an H&R model

Latecoere 298
I believe that this is the H&R model of the French Aeronavale seaplane.

Loire et Nieuport 401
Aeronavale dive bomber, also used in another version by the air force. Decals are from I-94, with an anchor from the Argentine set over a French roundel. Model is from H&R.

Bloch MB.174
Reconnaissance bomber, by H&R

LeO 451
Main French medium bomber, model from H&R

OK, some confusion here -- I believe this is also the meant to be the LeO 451, though the model is not nearly as good. I had thought it was an H&R model, but I'm really not sure. I suspect it is from someone else, perhaps Scotia Collectair.