Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Second World War => Topic started by: Viper4Dan on July 26, 2015, 02:22:03 AM
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Not one to let a period with little readily available information and even fewer produced wargaming figures go to waste, I've started working on some 28mm Franco-Thai War figures. First up are the forces of the Royal Thai Army. These figures are a mix of Bob Murch's Chinese Pulp Figures, Brigade Games WW1 Russians, Crusader Miniatures WW2 French Infantry heads, Empress Miniature tankettes, some green stuff, and a little "from 3 feet away it looks close enough". I like the idea of an army that fought in the backwater of a campaign (Laos, Cambodia, Burma), against both the Axis and the Allies (Britain, Vichy France, Japan, Nationalist China, plus bandits), used a lot of old equipment, and had to draw on a variety of sources to equip its troops. In many ways, I see the Thais as an effective WW2 "Back of Beyond" sort of army.
The first photo is of my force commander and a sniper.
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Troops advancing through a village.
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More troops on the way.
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Army Standard.
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A little light armor support......they must be optimists!
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Haha, this is brilliant - it's always good to see the obscure armies and conflicts of the first half of the 20th century get their due. I love it.
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Cool! Nice job on the conversions. I look forward to see more!
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Wonderful stuff. I love esoteric armies.
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missing the Vickers Mk.E Type B tanks, the cavalry and the artillery ;)
(http://francothaiwar.wikispaces.com/file/view/bangkok.jpg/184306573/502x381/bangkok.jpg)
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Looks great Dan!
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Very good conversion job! :)
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missing the Vickers Mk.E Type B tanks, the cavalry and the artillery ;)
(http://francothaiwar.wikispaces.com/file/view/bangkok.jpg/184306573/502x381/bangkok.jpg)
Force of Arms did quite a nice range of Vickers 6 tonners - with the original Vickers turret and the modified one used by the Finns...
not sure who has the rights now (Warlord?)
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WG have just released a Polish Vickers Type E. It would need to be reverted to the original as the Poles had made their own mods.
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Company B is in the process of casting the Vickers 6 ton export tank, so that will definitely be an addition to the collection. Here are two shots of the Thai crewed Japanese Type 92 70mm infantry gun. Photos of the first of my 5th Regiment FFL to follow this week.
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A little light armor support......they must be optimists!
Indeed. They are ....... buddhists ;-)
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The first section of the 5th Foreign Legion Regiment is complete. More to come, including mortar and LMG teams.
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More troops, and the obligatory officer with eye patch and missing left arm....
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Very nice! :D
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Love that crazy Artizan officer... need to find a use for him! :D
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if this help :
(http://i42.servimg.com/u/f42/15/32/77/46/dk5j-t10.jpg)
(http://i42.servimg.com/u/f42/15/32/77/46/dk5j-t11.jpg)
4th colonial artillery rgt , 65mm mountain gun modele 1906 , indochina 1940 ...
and the 65mm gun is avaible :)
and a FT tank who was the bulk of the french armour
(http://gallica.bnf.fr/proxy?method=R&ark=bpt6k6546753x.f332&l=4&r=2648,612,443,666&save)
with some renault UE
(http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/11/63/95/43/renaul11.png)
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Nice painting and an intriguing conflict!
LB
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lou passejaire:
Thanks for the photos. They are very informative.
Anyone know who makes the 65mm mountain gun modele 1906 or renault UE in 25/28mm?
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renault UE : http://www.madbobminiatures.co.uk/shop/4587330663/renault-ue-chenillette-september-pre-order/9975438 (http://www.madbobminiatures.co.uk/shop/4587330663/renault-ue-chenillette-september-pre-order/9975438) in pre-order
you will have to do some scratch ...
(http://i19.servimg.com/u/f19/11/63/95/43/dscn1625.jpg)
for the 65mm you can use the brigade games WW1 mountain guns as proxies ... ;)
searching for french stuff ? the answer is here :
The French Army in the early 20th century - wargaming resources (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=69262.0)
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lou passejaire:
Outstanding! Thanks for the help.
Cheers,
Dan
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It's amazing that with so much focus on WWII in wargames people still find refreshing angles to take! Any project which involves Carden-Loyd Tankettes gets my vote!
Can I ask what source material you're using? I'd love to read a bit more about the conflict.
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answer_is_42
I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't been able to get my hands on some solid texts on this. Most I've pieced together with Google-fu. What I would love to get a hold of is the story of the escape of the 5th FFL Regiment from Indochina to Yunnan in 1945 after Japan attempted to eliminate all the French forces. That is a great story in itself.
In any case, here is a list of a variety of on-line resources I've found:
RESOURCES FOR FRANCO-THAI WAR
Pendragon Miniature Forum
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=6789.0
Axis History Forum: Thailand in WW2 in Pictures
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=113632
Franco-Thai War Order of Battle
http://france1940.free.fr/vichy/frameftw.html
Histomil: Thai Army Uniform of WW2
http://histomil.com/viewtopic.php?f=195&t=1316
Japanese Aircraft used by Thailand in WW2
http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/aa-eastasia/thailand/thai-jap-history.htm
A Few Rounds More (several articles here)
https://afewroundsmore.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/national-memorial-pathum-thani/
WW2 in Color: Other Forces
http://www.ww2incolor.com/other/12.html
Phayap Army
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phayap_Army
Thai AFV's on the “Indochina War of 1940-1941”
http://www.encyclopediathai.org/nakornthai/book3/aircraft/history1/thaiafv.htm
Thailand and The Second World War
http://web.archive.org/web/20091027105105/http://geocities.com/thailandwwii/uniforms.htm
WWIIF: The French-Thai War
http://www.ww2f.com/topic/16663-the-french-thai-war/
Thai Victory Parade Video
http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/shogenarchives/jpnews/movie.cgi?das_id=D0001300434_00000&seg_number=008
Foreign Legion Info
http://foreignlegion.info/units/5th-foreign-regiment/
France 194...
http://france1940.free.fr/e41index.html#Indochina
The Guild: WW2 French Colonial Infantry
http://www.guildwargamers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=314&t=26792
Franco-Thai War
http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Franco-Thai_War
Surviving British Tankettes
http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_British_Light_Medium_Tanks.pdf
Thai Army Uniforms
http://longxiaolong.deviantart.com/art/Axis-Greater-Thailand-infantry-uniform-324102330
OOB The Siamese Army in 1941
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=105384&start=30
Thai Army Organization, Uniforms and Equipment, 1940-1941
http://www.encyclopediathai.org/nakornthai/book3/aircraft/history1/thaiarmy.htm
Happy Wanderer's Article on French Colonial Uniforms on LAF
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=78684.0
Vichy OB in Indochina, 1940-1945
http://stonebooks.com/history/indoob.shtml
Vichy French Forces in Indochina 22 July 1941
http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/941FGAA.pdf
An Imperial Japanese Army officer and a Vichy French officer talk as they view enemy pillboxes and the destroyed bridge across the Songjiang River in Thalun on the north border of Indochina. (video)
http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/video/an-imperial-japanese-army-officer-and-a-vichy-french-news-footage/505384739
French OB in Indochina (p 466)
https://books.google.ca/books?id=p2qj8VHx4kcC&pg=PA466&lpg=PA466&dq=4th+Colonial+Artillery+in+Indochina&source=bl&ots=tYpP7K5dvE&sig=nzfAtVuWV6XAkmdNS3JluP1X5so&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAWoVChMIp-OYipq4xwIVgQ-SCh0_TQjN#v=onepage&q=4th%20Colonial%20Artillery%20in%20Indochina&f=false
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A few Perry Miniatures Afrika Korps + Crusader miniatures 60 mm and 81 mm mortars + water bottles cut off of the Crusader French infantry + green stuff = two French Foreign Legion 5th Regiment mortar teams. Light support for a light game. MMG and AT Rifle to follow.....
First, the 81mm.
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81 mm mortar.
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60 mm mortar crew.
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answer_is_42
I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't been able to get my hands on some solid texts on this. Most I've pieced together with Google-fu. What I would love to get a hold of is the story of the escape of the 5th FFL Regiment from Indochina to Yunnan in 1945 after Japan attempted to eliminate all the French forces. That is a great story in itself.
A fascinating list nevertheless! Thanks for this.
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In order to provide the 5th French Foreign Legion a little support, I took a Warlord Games Belgian Anti-tank Rifle team and game them heads from Empress Miniatures British.
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My Thais needed some armor. I've cut up part of a Warlord Games Polish 7PT tank to create the Thai Vickers 6-ton. Now, this is truly Siamese 'Evy Metal!
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it's a pity, Michael will release next month the whole Vichy french infantry range for Syria, and alternative french sun helmet heads ... ( Michael from Michael and Alan Perry ;) )
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Lots of cool figures.
Look forward to seeing them in play.
You should have some interesting battles.
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I teach in Thailand. If my students are anything to go by, your rules need special provision for half the army's failing to obey orders since they're chatting to their buddies, and at least a quarter's forgetting to load their weapons before firing.
My wife (who is Thai) says the figures above are too generous, btw.
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I teach in Thailand. If my students are anything to go by, your rules need special provision for half the army's failing to obey orders since they're chatting to their buddies, and at least a quarter's forgetting to load their weapons before firing.
Isn't that most armies, really? lol
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Let's put it this way: have they won a war since the days of King Narasuan the Great?
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I just finished a few of my FFL support units. In this case, my trusty FT-17, and a light machine gun unit, accompanied by my bespectacled FO, "Sparks" DuBois! The FT-17 is by Warlord Games. The lmg is an Artizan figure with an Empress Miniatures head swap. My FO is one of Bob Murch's Pulp Miniatures with a Commando Miniatures radio.
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The lmg team and FO.
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The wait for delivery was long, but it was worth it. I finally finished my Mad Bob Laffly 50 AM to support the French Foreign Legion in Indochina. It may not be much by 1940 European standards, but it will definitely make you the coolest kid in Cambodia at this time.
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Two more views....
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Great looking project and nice to see one of the less well known areas of the period getting a look in!
Thanks
Blofedl
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I'm slowly adding to the collection here. First up, a Thai light machine gun section. Secondly, roads were scarce in this theatre of operations (and still are in many places today!), so quite often, more "traditional" ways of moving supplies were put into place.
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When in doubt, use an elephant to move supplies about!