Uniform Colors For French in North Africa

[Major Weenie]

For quite some time the lads over at The Bengal Club have been threatening to have a stab at some W.W.II skirkmish gaming.  Everyone seems to be painting up a squad, or two, for a hypothetical game at some undefined point in the distant future.  In the great club tradition there has been an enormous amount of 'over thinking' the topic with the result that some of the figure/troop selections might seem a bit exotic.
So, that being established I was wondering about the uniform colors for Tirailleurs Senegalais in 1942.  My theory was that with a squad of these, depending upon what sort of round robin games the club organized, I could use the same figures for either side in North Africa.  At least before the supplies of British & American equipment began to arrive.
I picked up a couple of packets of Brigade Games 'Harlem Hell Fighters' from their W.W.I line.  The figures have the adrian helmet and what looks to be a French rifle, but are wearing the normal/short jacket, trousers, and puttees.  So no traditional French overcoat.  I think that this would be the right kit for North Afica in 1942.. Right?  Now, would the uniform be the same color as in metropolitan France?  Or whould it be some lighter, colonial, sort of shade?
Thanks,
Major Weenie

[pbeccas]

Khaki drill coloured shirts and shorts.  Very similar to the British 8th Army.  Helmets are either the steel Adrian helmet, or the sun helmet. 

Artizan have some nice WWII French Foreign Legion and Goumier figures that I have been eyeing off for some time.  They have coloured pics of their figures that may help you out.

[axabrax]

The French in Africa were mostly kitted out by the Brits. I have a number of books on the subject, and, to be "historic" you really could just use 8th Army figs for the French (not The Goumiers though; use the BG figs for them.) Of course, this doesn't stop us from using the Artizan FFL figs in our games mixed in with 8th army.

[Major Weenie]

"Major Weenie is a big fat idiot"
To paraphrase an ex-girlfriend.
So What I wanted to find out was the color uniform cloth worn by the French in North Africa before they started using Allied supplies.  All of the Mollo Brothers stuff I have seem to be 'French' uniforms after they're drawing on British or American depots.  My old Blandford "Military Uniforms of the World: in Colour" has a Legionaire in what might be a pre-Allied issue uniform.  It's the same color khaki as the 8th Army corporal on the same page... but I think Blandford commissioned their own art work, and I'm not to comfortable with their selection of shade.
On the other hand, and here's the idiot bit, I do have H. Large's series of water colors of the French army from 1820 to 1940.  Which I hadn't bothered to look at until now.  It is hand painted, so the colors/shades might be a bit dicey.  Their idea of the correct color for French metropolitan infantry in 1938 is a sort of dark green, not the brown I'm used to. And they don't have any examples of Tirailleurs Senegalais, but they do have some Chasseurs d'Afrique 1935 - 1940.  The sort of pale khaki used is very pleasing to the eye, and if someone, somewhere has a more reliable example of the color used by the Chasseurs in this same then I could infer that all other uniforms in the book, which are painted the same shade, would be the same as that of the Chasseurs.
Here's the image.

[pbeccas]

Referring to my copy of "The Armed Forces of World War II : Uniforms, Insignia & Organisation", your pics of uniforms are very close to the WWII colour of Vichy Frenchies in Africa.  Senegalese uniforms/puttees are the same colour but with a red hat.  Webbing is brown leather.

[aircav]

Colour pics here:
http://leoandthelightship.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/les-tricolor-tirailleurs-senegalais-citroen-and-bardot/

There's some re-enactors pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liotier/2808622230/

a picture here:
http://www.ww2incolor.com/french/tirailleurs+du+4e+RTS+en+Provence+1944.html

[Major Weenie]

Thanks to everyone!

Referring to my copy of "The Armed Forces of World War II : Uniforms, Insignia & Organisation", your pics of uniforms are very close to the WWII colour of Vichy Frenchies in Africa.  Senegalese uniforms/puttees are the same colour but with a red hat.  Webbing is brown leather.

1.) Would it be possible to get a scan of that image?  My cunning plan would be that if your image has the right/true color, then my image from H. Large would be representing that color, and every other image in H. Large with 'my' color would really be 'your' color... And I could use your color to match those figures.

2.) The other, fascinating, links for Tirailleur images seem, I think, to be uniforms worn in metropolitan France.  So those would be darker/greener/browner ?

Again, many thanks.
PS - Just primed up my "Harlem Hell Fighters" and that answered at least one question.  The figures are wearing US uniforms, because they have a US canteen, but have French equipment, helmet & rifle.  Every day is a 'Little Lead Dolly Learning Experience."