Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: Munindk on February 01, 2018, 01:43:35 PM
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I've got the TMWWBK rulebook, 36 legionnaires and a crewed artillery piece on the way from Unfeasibly Miniatures (via Colonel Bills).
I'm now looking for more information on the legion, preferably something that covers the late 19th century period, as thats what I plan on gaming. I'm specifically looking for information about uniform colours, as the color of the kepi and pants seems to change quite a bit, at least in the pictures I've come across.
From what I've seen the greatcoat should be dark blue (how dark varies though), the kepi either white or red (possibly red, but with a white cover?), and the pants either white or red. But which colours are appropriate for which periods/regiments/campaigns?
I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy but I'd like to get at least some details right.
Unfortunately I dont have the time to read large historical volumes, so references to Ospreys and websites will be most welcome :)
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Standard uniform was blue jacket, red trousers and red-and-blue kepi. Parade uniform same colours. White linen fatigues were worn in hot weather and that became the standard campaign dress in North Africa (along with a greatcoat and a white cover on the kepi). Pith helmets and khaki uniforms followed as we roll into the first and second decades of the 20th Century.
That's the basics off the top of my head, maybe not 100% true in every time and place, but near enough if as you say you are not a stickler.
I guess the Osprey on the Legion 1890-1914 might be a good starting point.
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...and the www is full with info!
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I am posting some links to other threads on this forum that are focused on the era you are looking at.
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=106257.0
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=105502.0
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If you can find it there is a one volume history and uniforms of the French Foreign Legion by Martin Windrow and of course the old Airfix magazine guide to the Foreign Legion a small blue book .
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History, shmistory. This is the book to read:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fd/Beau_Geste_novel.jpg/220px-Beau_Geste_novel.jpg)
Or watch any of the films based on the book!
Or this one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_or_Die_(film)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f1/Marchordie.jpg)
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Personally, I wouldn't bother with March or Die. It is a terrible movie.
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I wouldn't bother with March or Die. It is a terrible movie.
What are you talking about, that movie is loads of fun. Gene Hackman does a great job of it, and the other characters are all very interesting. Ian Holm is oddly cast as the Arab, and there are some other odds people in it (the lead, Terence Hill just disappeared...probably back to Italian spaghetti Westerns)...but it is fun.
There is also Burt Lancaster's 'Ten Tall Men' for inspiration.
I still have my Redoubt FFL and Arabs...and even a big resin fort from somebody (Village Green?)....one day....
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If you don't like March or Die, no worries. Plenty of versions of Beau Geste to look to for inspiration :)
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(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c1v0FFTCg5I/maxresdefault.jpg)
Including the definitive one. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076297/ ;)
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@Plynkes: I'm thrilled that I can get out of painting white pants!
@Driscoles: yes it is, so full in fact that its a bit daunting when starting from scratch.
@commissarmoody: very helpful links, all those coloured drawings are just the ticket for someone as time-impaired as me :)
Watching a movie or two while I paint might help things along and if I'm staring at the miniatures I wont notice a few plots :)
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Hmm, here I was thinking white pants for North Africa was, well, de rigueur. The red pants were certainly common earlier in the 19th century. Personally, if I ever paint my FFL figures, white pants for sure for most legionnaires - and red pants for a few.
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I never said paint the pants red. I wouldn't do that for troops in action, not for the period we are looking at. Check what I said: white linen fatigues were the standard campaign uniform.
The only time you see them in the red pants and blue jacket in photos from the period is in posed portraits and the occasional shot of legionnaires mooching around the barracks, and even in those most of them are usually in white fatigues with just the odd guy wearing the normal uniform.
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I have, however, seen photos taken in the field where the men are in white fatigues but the officer is wearing the proper uniform, red pants included.
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Here's my take on the FFL. Quite tongue in cheek but there are some examples of painted legionaries in both greatcoats and white fatigues. And a different sort of film that inspired me.
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=72065.0
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I never said paint the pants red. I wouldn't do that for troops in action, not for the period we are looking at. Check what I said: white linen fatigues were the standard campaign uniform.
I misread you then, sorry. I held on to the sentence "Standard uniform was blue jacket, red trousers and red-and-blue kepi." possibly out of fear of having to paint a lot of white.
I'll probably give the officers red pants then, to make them stand out.
I'm considering some Senegalese Tirailleurs (Perry zouaves with Perry Mahdist heads), would their uniform be the same as the legionnaires (Fez, not kepi)? Again, I've seem pictures of them with white, red and light blue pants.
Great thread Hu Rhu! I've been vary of looking at older threads because a lot of the images in those threads are gone, most due to the photobucket scandal.
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I think it is a similar story to the Legion. The "proper" colour of their pants was blue (I've seen both dark and light blue), but they sometimes wore white pants on campaign. Don't know if I've seen them in red pants. In the first decade of the 20th century they shifted to a khaki campaign uniform of a different tailored style, though (it's the uniform the Artizan figures are wearing, it is rather less zouave-like), so it depends when your game is set.
...possibly out of fear of having to paint a lot of white.
lol I get you. It's not so bad, once you get the hang of it.
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Gringo40s are doing some new Legion sculpts for Indochina if you’re headed east...will work in Madagascar as well I think.
You can check the thread on TMP...might be something different 😉
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=472134
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I'll probably stay in Africa, but the gunboat could be interesting :)
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My next Tactica presentation together with Frank Becker. Check it out please !!
https://tabletopdeutschland.com/2018/01/29/das-fort-soehne-der-wueste/
https://tabletopdeutschland.com/2018/01/07/fremdenlegion-miniaturen-in-28mm/
https://tabletopdeutschland.com/2017/12/13/tuareg-teil-2-miniaturen-in-28mm/
https://tabletopdeutschland.com/2017/10/30/tuareg-28mm-figuren/
https://tabletopdeutschland.com/2017/11/03/soehne-der-wueste-die-planung/
Its helpful to speak german but the pictures are of help too.
cheers
Björn
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My german is.. not sufficient to read your site, but its good enough that I can figure out what google translate really means :p
Do you know if Castaway Arts has a european distributor? The minis look lovely but customs would kill my hobby budget.
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I dont think so.
Frank and me think the best FFL Minis are the ones from Black Hat Miniatures former unfeasibly.
They also make the best Touareg and Camelrider.
I would always choose them and only a few from Old Glory and Castaway to mix the lot.
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I quite like the look of the Unfeasibly miniatures, but they're hard to get these days as Black Hat isnt making them anymore and Unfeasibly themselves arent answering emails.
I found some at Colonel Bills, but its just a matter of time before their stock runs out.
I ordered enough for 3 squads of 12 and an artillery piece, which should give me a 24pts TMWWBK force. I'll probably add some tirailleurs senegalese and perhaps some Spahis, made from Perry ACW plastics later on.
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We ordernd a huge lot at Black Hat 2 month ago
Did they really close down production?
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Wow, that would be a shame if Black Hat is no longer making those figures. Were they not selling, I wonder? So strange: they were the best FFL/Tuareg figures I'd ever seen.
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From Black Hat Miniatures webshop, where they used to sell Unfeasibly https://www.blackhat.co.uk/product-category/28mm-miniatures/28mm-miniatures-exotic-adventures (https://www.blackhat.co.uk/product-category/28mm-miniatures/28mm-miniatures-exotic-adventures)
PLEASE NOTE: We no longer cast this range under license and have returned all the moulds, etc to Unfeasibly Miniatures.
I assume its because the guy behind Unfeasibly had a little misshap with a kickstarter, but I dont know for sure.
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A good online source of information for uniforms and more for the French in North Africa, check out the Adventures of the Red Shadow: www.warflag.com/shadow/
The page hasn't been updated in a long time, but if you scroll down, you'll find links to colour lithographs of Legion Etrangere, Armee d'Afrique, Tirailleurs Senegalese and more, as well as other wargaming inspiration.
I've ordered from Castaway Arts on several occasions (and each time I was far away from Australia) and got great service. They were able to ship me miniatures and a copy The Sword and the Flame when I was in Kandahar! So don't let little things like oceans and continents scare you off from placing an order with them ;)
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http://www.warflag.com/shadow/ (http://www.warflag.com/shadow/)
Hopefully above will give a link to Red Shadow.
"I misread you then, sorry. I held on to the sentence "Standard uniform was blue jacket, red trousers and red-and-blue kepi." possibly out of fear of having to paint a lot of white." Just why I posted my comment about white trousers above. Be slightly wary of the French Army cards at Red Shadow - those are mostly metropolitan France uniforms (though the few colonials are nice additions).
Blue coat over white trousers is what most people will think of for the late 19th century Legion. But Plynkes is correct about the formal uniform. And perhaps part of why most of the officers retained their red trousers is that they considered Legion duty distasteful - in the extreme in some cases - and could hardly wait to get back to being in a 'real' unit of the army. Makes them pretty distinct targets, though.
Glad you liked Hu Rhu's thread, was worried it might be more intimidating that inspiring - but it is a very cool thread.
If you want variety, there are many ways. Blue coat, white trousers or red trousers. White shirt-sleeve over white trousers. For those in coats, different color epaulettes for different type units. There are also the penal units. And then the various 'native' units like the Spahis, Zouaves, Tiralleurs. It can be a very colorful army on the French side. So maybe not 'too' much white. But some. If you can track down an the issue of Colonial Conquest with the Legion section, it gives some nice details.
Mostly, have fun with it.
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Thanks for fixing the link, Fifteens!
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Wow, that would be a shame if Black Hat is no longer making those figures. Were they not selling, I wonder? So strange: they were the best FFL/Tuareg figures I'd ever seen.
Hi
We stopped selling Unfeasibly under license for a number of reasons - the main one being that the royalty I was paying was fairly high and they were an obvious range to stop as I needed more mould space and time to develop the 54mm side of the business.
Mark had originally agreed to sell the range to Colonel Bill's but I believe he has changed his mind and is now hanging on to them... He does appear to answer messages on Facebook.
Mike
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Thank you for the clarification, Mike. Oh, and as a 54mm gamer myself, I certainly support the quest for more space for the big scale! Maybe you should make some FFL and Tuaregs! ;)
Daryl