Introducing the PAK 40 & PAK 36

 The latest addition is the Hanomak PAK 36 at the bottom of the post.

_______________________

The PAK 40 (Panzerabwehrkanone) was a 75 mm anti-tank gun manufactured by Germany. It was initially designed and prototyped during the period of 1939 to 1941, but the invasion of the Soviet Union and the heavier tanks that were encountered there made it go quickly into production. Between 1942 and the end of the war, about 23,500 guns were manufactured, making it their main antitank gun. Another 6000 were mounted on self-propelled guns. It's weight was close to 1.5 tons, which meant that it had to be towed, and in the often muddy terrain of the Soviet Union this could be a big challenge. It could effectively fire rounds up to approximately 2kms, but for optimal armor penetration it was best to fire at about 500m, when it could penetrate armor up to 15cm (6 inches) thick. In terms of scale models we have a couple of examples available.

21st Century Toys PAK 40

This is a nice gun. It comes factory painted and has several moving parts. The muzzle can be elevated/lowered and the carriage can be fully deployed or collapsed together and locked in place so that it can be towed. The downside of this gun is that it was not sold individually, but you had to buy it as part of a set. Luckily, I was able to find several at Toy Solider shows from collectors that no longer needed them.

21st Century Toys PAK 40 with CTS crew

Classic Toy Soldiers recently released an artillery crew set. The set contains an observer/officer and two loaders. They are a welcome arrival to staff the many PAKs that I have without crews.

Britains Deetail PAK40 with CTS crew

This is another nice model from Britains Deetail. Unfortunately I do not have the crew to go with it, so I had to enlist some of the new CTS guys to man the gun. One nice feature of this PAK is that it can actually fire. It has a small lever that you can pull to compress a spring and when released it could fire a round. I don't have the ammo that came with it either, but it should not be hard to improvise some rounds. 

21st Century Toys PAK 40 - Afrika Korps

This is actually the same model as the previous one, except that this one was painted by a fellow collector. It is one of those that I picked up at a local toy soldier show. He did a very good job on the painting. So much that it is hard to tell that it did not come this way out of the box.

Italeri PAK 40 AT gun with 'servants'

The Italeri gun offers what the 21C gun lacks. A good crew. As you can see, it comes with 6 figures. Most of them are ammo handlers. But it does have a man operating the gun and an officer directing the action.  The gun itself offers fewer moving parts and degrees of movement. But once it is setup it looks just as good. Probably a good combination will be the painted Italeri crew with the 21C PAK. One thing that I do find very amusing about this set is that Italeri translated crew as servants.

Hanomak German PAK 40 Gun with Crew

This is a nice set overall. It includes the PAK, the crew and even the sand bags/wall protection. The gun came in several pieces which have to be put together. It does require a good glue to do so, but once it's put together it will stay nicely in place. The crew comes with two loaders, a gunner, and one officer. You can place them in a variety of configurations, although the gunner needs to be sitting and I could not find many places for him to sit while being able to reach the gun. You also get an ammo box which will give the loaders a focal point in your scene. About the wall, I think I would have preferred just the sandbags. The wooden wings seem to be cut off too abruptly and leaves you feeling as though it should be part of a larger trench. Not a big deal and definitely a nice set. 

Forces of Valor PAK 36 with CTS crew
This PAK came with the kfz 70 truck which was used to tow it. The PAK 36 was a 3.7 cm caliber weapon. It was the main anti-tank gun in the German Army until mid 1941, when given its inability to deal with the soviet medium tanks liek the T34, it was replaced by the PAK 38 which fired a 5cm shell. The PAK 36 was initially issued in 1928 and first saw combat in 1936 during the Spanish civil war. It was also used by the Chinese against the Japanese where it was a lot more effective neutralizing the lightly armored Chi-Ha tanks.

Hanomak German PAK 36 with Crew

Another nice set from Hanomak. Both the figures and the gun are nicely detailed. You can see the clearly see the helmet emblems on the crew as well as the hinges and rivets on the gun shield. The gun itself comes in several pieces that must be glued together. I glued everything except for the barrel piece to the carriage so that it can still rotate left and right. In terms of the crew, the firing man is sculpted just right so that he can have his arms around the carriage and the breech. The other two guys are really solid. And this might seem minor, but I am happy that the caliber of the ammo being held by the loader fits the weapon. Sometimes you get gun crews where that's not quite right. A good unit to provide more firepower to your early war German armies. 

Click here to see a post about the 88mm gun.

Click here to read about the Nebelwerfer

Introducing the German Paratroops

Latest update: Mars German Winter Paratroops w 10.5 cm gun

_________________

The German Fallschirmjäger were an elite formation in the German armed forces. They took part in several important airborne operations in the early years of the war, such as the invasion of Denmark (apparently the first time airborne troops were ever used), the invasion of Norway, the glider landings on the roof of the Belgian fortress of Eben Emael, the invasion of the Netherlands, and the invasion of Greece. Their main role was to drop ahead of the main attack to capture key objectives such as airfields or bridges. They fought with such tenacity that the allies gave them the nickname of 'green devils'. Perhaps their most dramatic airborne mission took place during the invasion of Crete which was a division-size operation combining glider landings and parachute drops. Together with a division of mountain troops, they achieved victory, but at such a high price that from that point onwards, they were only used as ground infantry in places like Monte Cassino, France, and actions in the East, including the final battle for Berlin. Ironically, it was after the 'success' of the Crete campaign, that the allies began to take more seriously airborne assaults and increased the size and role of their own units. In terms of available figures, until recently only Airfix and 21st Century had produced them. In September of 2013, Pegasus Hobbies released 10 very welcome new poses, Action Casting followed that a couple of years later with 4 more poses, and most recently in 2019 Warhansa and Plastic Platoon have added to the range.

Airfix German Paratroops - Part I

As usual, Airfix did a nice job with the sculpting and the poses. In contrast with most of their WWII sets, they actually made 14 poses for this set, which is great considering the lack of additional vendors. The size of these figures is slightly smaller than the rest of the Airfix 1/32 figures, but it's still acceptable.

Airfix German Paratroops - Part II

The set includes a good number of automatic weapons, which was a good way to give airborne units a bit more firepower. The prone guy firing the machine gun seems taken directly out of the rubble of Monte Cassino as shown in this picture. The only guy that I would have done differently is the guy wielding his rifle. He is holding it too close to his body, not like you would if you were swinging, but I can see how they had to keep his left arm this way due to the restrictions imposed by the mold making. 

21st Century Toys German Paratroops

21st Century Toys released several series of German troops around 10 and 8 years ago. Most of the figures in each set were German infantry, but each set had 1 or 2 German Paratroops and after a while I ended up with 7 different poses. As you can see, the uniform is not consistent, but since they are already pre-painted I am not going to worry about painting them over. Also, for some reason, several of them seem to be off-balance. Having said that, they still represent a good addition to the Airfix figures.

Pegasus Hobbies German Paratroops - Part I

A nice complement to the existing paras. An officer with a cap to lead them, a man with a heavy MG firing off the hip, and a very much needed panzerschreck. In terms of scale, they are a very good match with the existing Airfix figures. Perhaps the head/helmet is a bit smaller, but it's not going to be very noticeable. Once they are painted they will mix well with the others.

Pegasus Hobbies German Paratroops - Part II

In terms of sculpting, they are just the way I like them. Lots of action in these poses. All of them engaging the enemy and their bodies leaning the way they are supposed to and plenty of detail on them. In terms of new weapons, the panzerfaust is also a welcome addition to the unit and will be put to good use in close quarter combat against Allied armor.

Action Casting German Paratroops

These are some nice and interesting figures. In particular, I like the man throwing the grenade. It is nice how he is leaning back while his lower legs lean slightly forward. The level of detail on these figures is also quite good, with quite a bit of gear on the figures accurately represented. If you pay attention you can see some of the casting imperfections, but I hope that once they are primed, painted and they get their protective coating, those will be less obvious.

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 1

Plastic Platoon brings sculpting and action poses to a new level. Their German Paras are supposed to represent the early war troops which were dropped on Crete, and are for sure my favorite German Paras. You can tell that they were just dropped on the island because most of them are still wearing their knee pads, and at least one of them is still wearing his harness. Can't say enough about the level of realism of these figures. I just wish my budget would allow me to get more of them. Which BTW, apparently are limited to runs of 300 sets. 

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 2

Here are another six poses released as part of a second set, also representing the Paras involved in Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete. What's most interesting for me is that several of them are wearing same life jacket worn by the Luftwaffe pilots. It took me a bit of research to figure out what I was looking at, but you can actually find photographs depicting men in this outfit. It makes sense when you think about the fact that they were flown to jump into an island, so if the plane was shot down or, if they were blown out to see during the landing, a Schwimmweste would have come in handy. 

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops Set 3

This third set was a bit unusual. We got two more Paratroopers, three drop containers, and one Greek Partisan. I suppose this is useful and original, but if you ask me, I would have preferred if it had come with more German figures and the containers were extras or could be purchased separately. Also, I am not a big fan of figures that are so coupled together that you can't deploy one of them in a separate situation. What's interesting about this set is that one of the figures can grasp the handle of one of the containers so that it looks like he is pulling it. Also the level of detail, even on the containers is very nice. Each container is labeled with a different letter or symbol, and the contents are rich and diverse.

Warhansa German Paratroops

This set is OK, but in the context of Plastic Platoon's releases, it has a high bar to match. The poses are a bit static, the figures feel slightly chubby, maybe because the oversized weapons required bigger and thicker hands. And the material is a bit too shiny for my taste, although that's something that will be taken care of once they are painted. Anyhow, I am glad that Warhansa has added some more figures to the range. And on a positive note, I do like the expression of the officer quite a bit. 

Unknown German Paratroops

These are some figures which came with a building I purchased. They were already painted, although I suspect that might have been done by the previous owner. The scale and the sculpting is fairly decent. Unfortunately, there are no identifying markers in terms of who made them. So if you happen to know, please leave a comment.

Plastic Platoon German Paratroops - Battle for Leningrad, Winter 1941

These guys not only get points for being well done, but they also deserve extra credit for uniqueness. I don't think anybody had made German Paras in a winter setting. I am glad that we got some poses in this set that are better suited for close quarter combat, as the other Leningrad Soviets needed some opponents to fight in the rubble of those buildings. The desperation and urgency displayed by the guy who is using his helmet to balance the fight is palpable. 

Mars German Paratroops Tropical Uniform

Another good set from Mars. This one is aimed at depicting the German Paratroops that might have fought in theaters like the battle of Monte Cassino. On the box they show them painted in cammo smocks and beige pants. As you can see the poses are all useful in combat scenarios, and with the customary 8 poses from Mars, that also makes the set more interesting. For instance, we also get a prone figure, which is often missing in smaller sets. The variety in the uniforms and equipment is also good. Some of them have their smocks buttoned up, and some lose. Some have helmets with webbing, some without, and there's even one guy with a field cap. Good mix of weapons as well, including the multi-potato masher being thrown by the guy on the left. My only negative criticism about this set is the size  of the hands in some of the figures. Some of them still seem a bit undersized in my opinion. But all in all a very nice set.

Mars German Winter Paratroops
 And yet another nice set from Mars. This set gets extra points for depicting the German Paras in winter gear, which is something that had not been done to date. Six of them are wearing padded/quilted suits, another one is wearing a white cammo suit, and the last one is still wearing the regular para smock with some other layers underneath. In addition to the unique outfits, the sculpting in this set is probably the best I've seen from Mars. The detail and dynamism in the poses is excellent. And the choice of poses is great as well. All of them useful in combat situations with a nice range of diverse weapons. The radio man is also a nice touch. My only criticism of this set is that all of them are standing poses. A couple crouching or prone poses would have been useful. But hey, maybe that means that eventually we get another set of winter paras with such poses, right? 

Mars German Paratroops w 10.5 cm LG 42 Tropical Uniform

This is a nice and original addition to the existing German Para units produced by other manufacturers which so far have lacked any heavy weapons support. The set includes two guns, each with its respective crew. They are meant to be painted in the tropical uniform. I actually purchased two sets, and plan to paint one crew in the early war (Crete) colors and the other one in the cammo scheme. The recoilless gun is interesting. The wheels are meant to be off the ground when it's deployed, but the plastic is a bit hard to straighten so that it looks even. I may actually use these crews with 21C Pak 40s. As far as the figures go, the poses are all good, but I do feel that the sculpting detail could be sharper. 

Mars German Paratroops Mortar Team Tropical Uniform

Here's another useful addition to the German Para units. Again, the set comes with two mortars and two crews. When it comes to toy soldiers, I don't feel that you need a 5-man crew for a mortar. I know that in real life you might require such man power to carry the ammo plus the different pieces when it is disassembled, but I would have preferred to get maybe 3 mortars each with a 3-man crew or simply some other additional supporting poses with other unique weapons. In terms of the detail, these guys seem crisper than the gun crew. One interesting pose that took me a bit of time to figure out its purpose is the man at the front of the mortar holding the bipod. Looks like he is trying stabilize it. 

WW23D German Paratroops

I like this set a bit more than the others in terms of the sculpting and the level of action in the poses. Even the guys who are standing -except for the one on the middle- are all leaning in some direction. The pose I like the most in this set is the one on the left, who is advancing while firing his sub MG. These guys will blend well with the Airfix, Mars, and Pegasus German paras. The only thing to criticize is that the 3D printing sometimes crates a few defects, like the edge on one of the helmets is a bit uneven. I suppose we will attribute that to battle damage. 

Mars German Winter Paratroops with 10.5 cm Gun

This is a really nice set to complement the Mars German winter paras. Each crew consists of 5 men and you actually get 2 crews per box. I bought two boxes, so I now have 4 guns/crews, so I will likely assign 2 to the paras and 2 to the regular winter infantry. Those who are into conversions could replace the helmets to make them fit better as regular infantry. The best part about this set are the figures. The gun itself is made of softer plastic which bends quite a bit and needs to be straightened so that the gun stands evenly. A minor criticism is that the shells look wider than the gun's barrel. Looking at some pictures of the real equipment online, I think the shells are the ones which are too large. But let's not get too picky and instead be glad that we have this unique set to give our winter units some well needed firepower!

Click here to take a look at WWII Toy Soldiers by Country

Click here to take a look at WWII Vehicles by Country

Click here to check out other German Troops

Click here to see the German Paratroops in action.
Click here to see a post about the Italian Paratroops
Click here to see a post about the US Paratroops
Click here to see a post about the British Paratroops

Introducing the Nebelwerfer

The Nebelwerfer, was a multiple-rocket launcher of the German armed forces. It literally means 'fog thrower' because it could be used to fire smoke or even gas shells. It was however mainly used to deliver conventional explosives. Developed during the '20s and '30s, the first production Nebelwerfer was available in 1940. It was towed into place using a PAK carriage. Each tube would fire a rocket that would spin around in the air for extra stability. Its fire control was electric, and it would fire each rocket sequentially over 90 seconds. The rockets were fired in a specific barrel sequence 1-4-6-2-3-5 so that the launcher would not overturn. The rockets would land within a several hundred square meter area. Because of the smoke trail left behind, the crew had to relocate quickly to avoid return fire. Several variations of this weapon were produced with different calibers and range, but the technology did not change much through the end of the war. From what I have read from witness accounts, being on the receiving end could be a nerve-wrecking experience not only because of the wide-area explosive effect, but also because of the loud, screeching sound that made by the rockets.

15 cm NbW 41 - Unknown manufacturer

Approximately 6,000 of these were manufactured along with 5.5 million rockets. It had a range of close to 7km. Another popular variation was the 5-barrel 21 cm NbW 42, which had a range of almost 8km. I got this one along with a batch of toy soldiers that I purchased on eBay. I have no idea who made it and it is the only one I have. For a plastic toy it has decent level of realism. The pivoting stabilizer at the bottom/front can be elevated to put it in the towing position. It came with a couple stickers on the side which you can still see. Maybe someday I will paint it to give it a more realistic look. The figures in this picture are FOV artillery crewmen.

Hanomak German Nebelwerfer 42 with Crew

This is a very well received set from my perspective. I only have one other nebelwerfer in my collection and that one does not have a crew. What's interesting about this one though is that it appears to represent the nebelwerfer 42 which had 5 barrels as opposed to the nebelwerfer 41 which had 6. However, the ammunition being depicted is the one for the nebelwerfer 41. The ammunition for the nebelwerfer 42 had a pointed warhead, as opposed the the phallic shape of the 41's ammo. But given how unusual it is to have such a set, I am not going to get too picky about the ammo mismatch. In addition to the 3 crew men, the set also comes with a sandbag emplacement. I am not a big fan of it. I would have rather had more figures or a lower price point instead of the sandbags. Also, be mindful that the nebelwerfer requires a bit of assembly and gluing, but nothing complicated.

Click here to see a post about Mortars

Click here to see a post about the German 88s

Click here to see a post about the German PAK 40

Introducing the French Infantry

 The latest addition: Publius WW1 Russian Infantry (to be used as WW2 French) at the bottom of the post.

_______________________

The performance of the French Army in WWII was a far cry from that of Napoleon's Grande Armée. Nonetheless, they fought throughout the war on several fronts like France, North Africa, Italy, and with different outfits. Their history can be considered in two parts: before and after 1940. Up to the summer of 1940, all their uniform and equipment was issued by the French government and it did not look that different from the what was worn during the First World War. After the armistice of 1940, many French managed to leave France and continued to fight on the Allies' side with uniforms and equipment provided by Britain and the US. Some of these troops however -the ones wearing British battledress- retained their Adrian helmets. French Moroccan troops were issued GI outfits. And then there were the Goumiers, African colonial troops who wore a striped coat on top of their American combat uniforms. All these troops were typically referred to as the Free French, to distinguish them from the French troops that served under the Vichy government that was established after the German occupation, or the French troops that served in the German Army. With all this diversity you would expect to see many different sets of figures out there, but unfortunately there are very few manufacturers of French Infantry troops as seen below.

Marx French Infantry

These are reissued figures based on the original Marx molds. They are wearing original French Infantry outfits. Sometimes when you see them listed online, they are referred to as Free French Infantry, but then they would be wearing British or American outfits, which is not the case with these figures. Faithful to the Marx sculpting style, these figures are slim yet well proportioned and with a nice level of detail.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Assault Section - Part I

I intentionally placed similar poses next to each other for ease of comparison. Subtle differences in the positioning of the legs and arms, and the weapons they carry. Note how the first and fourth men from the left, are based off the same body, and the arms make all the difference. The helmets also make a big difference from how they look as GIs, particularly the officer who is wearing a kepi in this case. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - Assault Section - Part II

Three out of the four bodies are repeats, just with different arms. The new body is the one holding the bar, and smoking a cigar. Again, the arms make a substantial difference. Overall, they have managed to create a good range of figures using this interchangeable system of bodies and arms, without sacrificing much in terms of movement or creating awkward poses. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - HQ Company - Part I

This set has the most diverse poses. They call it the HQ Company, but it also has a few heavy weapons. Note how the office is holding a set of binoculars. You will see that this is a theme that repeats itself quite a bit. Perhaps a bit too much. The bazooka team turned out pretty good. The sniper seems a little too exposed in my opinion. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - HQ Company - Part II

Out of these guys, I really like the flame thrower and the radio man. The rest are good role players to fill the ranks. The bar man is a repeat of the earlier set. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - Defense Section - Part I

This set has a few more kneeling guys with the same base body. I also put them next to each other for ease of comparison. The arms are some of the ones that we have already seen on the standing figures. The officer is similar to one of the earlier ones, but they have given him a pistol this time. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - Defense Section - Part II

And we got a third bar man in this set. I could have used a few more sub MGs and fewer men walking with the rifle across their chest. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - MG Section - Part I

A nice set of figures. The arms of the machine gun team attach in such a way that you can only put them in one position, which helps to make everything line up well. Other poses allow you to rotate the arms as much as you want. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - MG Section - Part II

These are very similar to the previous ones, except for the officer and the rifleman.

The man standing with the rifle across his chest was supposed to be kneeling. The standing man was supposed to be another officer, but I swapped them so I could have a kneeling officer, as seen in the next picture. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - MG Section - Part III

The only thing I don't like about the kneeling officer is that he seems to be pointing his binoculars downwards. So I guess I need to put him on high ground to make it look adequate.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Mortar Section - Part I

These three mortar teams are almost all the same. the only thing that varies is the officer. 

Expeditionary Force Free French - Mortar Section - Part II

This one has a kepi and is holding a sub MG.

Expeditionary Force Free French - Mortar Section - Part III

This one is similar to the first one, but I raised the left arm to give it some variety.

Armies in Plastic French Infantry - Part 1

These AIP guys are actually World War I figures, however given the fact that the French uniform did not change that much during the inter-war period, except for the switch from blue to brown, these guys can pass for WWII French Infantry once they are painted. They are a bit bulkier than the Marx guys, but I think they will blend in well with them once painted.  

 Armies in Plastic French Infantry - Part 2

Note that some of these guys are wearing long coats, but that was also the case with WWII French troops up to the summer of 1940. The Adrian helmet is also the same as the one worn by the Marx figures.

DGN French Infantry - Part I

This is a nice set to have given the scarcity of French infantry figures. The man firing the bazooka is an interesting pose. I don't believe that this weapon existed at the early stages of the war, when the French troops still wore their original uniforms. Nonetheless, it is a welcome addition my the Frech army, as they would otherwise not have such a heavy weapon.

DGN French Infantry - Part II

As you can tell, the poses are also varied and decent. The scale of the weapons is my main concern with them. For instance, look at the size of the Bren gun's magazine, or the grenade that the man on the left is holding.  

DGN French Infantry - Part III

The prone man firing the machine gun the worst case of how some of the weapons are out of proportion. In this case, the gun is almost as long as the man's body. Partly, this is also because his lower body is shorter than it should be. As far as the bugler, he seems more adequate for a WWI set, which makes me wonder if these guys were copied from a WWI set that I might not be aware of. The uniforms could certainly pass for WWI era dress style. BTW, note that I only have 11 poses. There might be a 12th pose out there, but these are all I got after buying two tubes. 

Starlux US or French Infantry Part I

These guys look like GIs to me, but knowing that French troops also wore US equipment, I don't know if they might have been made to represent French Infantry. Since they were made by Starlux a French firm selling to the French market, I would not be surprised if they are actually representing French soldiers. BTW, I am not sure why the second guy from the right was made of a multi-color plastic. I like the pose though. 

Starlux US or French Infantry Part II

A few more GI looking guys. The uniform color is a bit different and some of them are wearing ties, but the helmet does look American issued. As you can see I only have a subset of the total poses as the man feeding the machine gun belt is missing the machine gunner to partner with. 

Starlux US or French Infantry 45or 50 mm

These are slightly smaller figures than the 54mm guys. I don't know why they would have manufactured figures in two scales so close to each other. These guys show slightly more action than the other two sets. Would have been nice if they had been a bit bigger. 

Starlux French Commandos - Part I

I have seen 10 poses of these, so I know there are at least that many of them. Unfortunately I only managed to get one of them in a batch of mixed figures.

Starlux French Commandos - Part II

Here are two more poses. Again, I found them in a large lot of mixed figures. They are a bit damaged, but it's still clear what the poses were meant to be. With the right parts and a bit of patience and skill I think they could be repaired. 

Starlux French Foreign Legion - Part I

The FFL did see action in WWII, but I don't know for sure if they wore this uniform during that conflict. In any case, FFL troopers are always interesting, regardless of the time period. From what I have seen, the FFL figures were released in both green and khaki uniforms.

Starlux French Foreign Legion - Part II

Here is one more guy who appears to be from the same set, or at lest the same scale, about 50mm. He looks like he might have been throwing or holding something, but unfortunately it broke off. Given the fact that he came with a green base, I later realized, he was probably not meant to be set in the North African desert... well, he might have to adjust a bit.

Starlux French Foreign Legion - Part III

I am actually not sure if these guys are FFL. They are wearing similar headgear, but I think officers in the regular army might have also worn these. Perhaps one of our readers knows better? 

One thing to note is that the man on the right has the tip of his baton (or flag pole?) broken off. 

Starlux French Foreign Legion - Part IV

These guys are slightly larger than the previous one. Perhaps somewhere between 54 mm and 60 mm. I really like this set in particular. The MG can be disassembled and rotates freely around the vertical axis. I don't know if the man signaling was originally part of the crew, but he comes in handy.  

Starlux French Foreign Legion - Part V

Here are several more poses with quite a bit of variety. Definitely good to have some of those special poses which are less common, such as a flame thrower or a radio man. In addition to them, we also have a decent officer, a grenade man and a funny looking guy running with a sub mg. I say that because we all know that when running we move opposite arms and legs at one time, unlike this guy. 

Starlux French Foreign Legion - Part VI

And a few more guys. The guy on the right, obviously was not part of this set given the color of his base, but I grouped him with them based on size. I still don't get it why Starlux made so many different sets. With all the poses across different sets and scales, they could have made very comprehensive contributions in fewer areas. Anyhow, the most interesting guy in this picture is probably the mine sweeper. 

Starlux French Foreign Legion - Part VII

And here we have two mounted officers. One seems to e leading his troops into battle, which I doubt would have actually happened on horse, and the second one is more of a spectator. Both are nice and interesting, as horses by themselves lift figures to a different level. Again, the bases don't fit the desert setting, but I'd like to keep these guys with the rest of the FFL figures that I have, who have tan bases and would fit well in North Africa.

Starlux French Red Berets - Part I

I believe these red berets represent Paratroopers, so in that sense, they very likely they represent post WWII troops, as to my knowledge, the first French para units were created in the mid 50's The poses are a mix of fighting guys and parade poses. I am certainly biased towards the fighting guys. The only one I find a bit odd is the man with the rifle above his head. More than fighting, it looks like he is cheering or beginning to surrender.


Starlux French Red Berets - Part II
Two more parade poses to go with the two other guys on the right of the prior picture.

Starlux French Red Berets - Part III

These guys are slightly larger than the ones in the previous picture. Somewhere in between 54mm and 60mm. The man on the left is operating a flamethrower, although it's not so easy to tell that from the picture. The man on the right is an officer, but he is missing his left hand and I don't really know what he was originally holding. 

Starlux French Red Berets - Part IV

A grenade thrower in a style very similar to the two previous figures, but with enough differences that it makes me wonder if it was part of a different set.

Starlux French Red Berets - Part V

These guys are about 50mm in height. Unfortunately two of them are pretty battered. The one on the left is my favorite one. Not because he is still whole, but I like the pose. It's one that could lead him to engage the enemy at any moment. There's a bit of tension in it. The man aiming is very traditional and the one with his arms raised can't be doing something very useful.

Starlux French Red Berets - Part VI

Here are some other red berets in parade poses. I don't know if the tan uniforms represent a different service branch or just another outfit worn by the French Paras.

 

Timpo French Foreign Legion - Part 1
A set with very few poses. The poses are actually fairly acceptable, although in terms of detail, the faces are not the best. They seem to have been sculpted by the same hand that made the B8A figures. Not sure what period they were meant to represent, but I like the fact that they have equipment which could pass for WWII era, including the white kepi. WWII legionnaires fought in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East. They even fought on opposite sides in the Syrian campaign of 1941.

Timpo French Foreign Legion - Part 2

This is a vintage figure. Apparently they came factory painted and you can still see traces of the original colors on this figure. Unfortunately this legionnaire seems to have lost his rifle, but he is still ready to throw a grenade.

Unknown French Foreign Legionnaire

This is another one of those guys who came in a mixed set of figures and you are lucky to run into. He is a bit banged up as you can see by the broken rifle, but even then, has managed to keep most of the factory paint. Unfortunately, there are no indications about who was its manufacturer, so if you happen to know, please leave a comment. 

Crescent WWI British Infantry

This guy is a British WWI figure, but I think that given the puttees, he might pass acceptably enough for a French WWII trooper. The helmet is different but some French guys actually wore British helmets, so I just need to find a few more of his comrades and they will form up a French unit in my army.

Crescent WWI British Infantry - Part II

Here is another guy from the British WWI set. He has more of the original paint on him, although the tip of his bayonet is broken off. If it were not for the gear on his chest, I think he could easily pass for a WWII French Infantry soldier.

Publius WW1 Russian Infantry

Are these guys not a great fit to add to our WW2 French army? I did not realize that the WW1 Russians had worn similar equipment as the French, so I was quite pleased when I saw these guys. Other than the older man on the left, who is wearing a cap that I haven't seen among the French, the other 7 guys can definitely pass for French with their Adrian helmets and puttees. Even the officer could pass, even though he is not wearing the more traditional kepi. In terms of weaponry, one liberty I will have to take is to allow the Lewis machine gun carried by the man in the middle as a piece of WW2 French equipment. While the French did use the Lewis gun during WW1, by WW2 they had phased it out. But I will pretend that this unit hadn't been upgraded yet. What I really like about these figures is the exquisite sculpting and the intense action poses which is something that we do not have in any of the other French sets available. So these will become the cream of the crop of my French army.  

Finally, sometime in the future there is also supposed to be a Pegasus Hobbies French Infantry set , representing 1940 French Army figures. They released this set in 1/72 scale several years ago. At the time I emailed Pegasus Hobbies asking about the possibility of a 1/32 release and they expressed that there was a good chance that it might happen, so keep your fingers crossed so that we might have some nice additions to the ranks of the French. Pictures of the figures in 1/72 look really good, so I am really looking forward to them!

Click here to take a look at WWII Toy Soldiers by Country

Click here to take a look at WWII Vehicles by Country

Click here to check out more French Troops

Click here to see a post on the Gurkhas, who fought next to the Free French at Monte Cassino.