Miniatures for French Army - any alternatives to Warlord?

[DavyJones]

Hi guys,

I want to build a French Army for the Gembloux gap campaign (Chain of Command). The obvious choice would be Warlord, but I am not a big fan of their metal stuff. Are there any decent alternatives out there?

The Renault R35 Light Infantry Tank (Rubicon) and the Hotchkiss H39 Light Infantry Tank (Rubicon) are already on my shopping list.

[joekano]

What about Crusader?



https://www.crusaderminiatures.com/list.php?cat=9&sub=23&page=1

[Wyrmalla]

Perry Miniatures do French for the Desert. Who are wearing shorts - but may be a choice for support weapons
 
Mad Bob Miniatures do French artillery and vehicles. Just a note - as they do some pieces which aren't available elsewhere (47mm guns).

Artizan, Crusader and Wargames Foundry do infantry that are on the chunkier side. However again there's a mix of Colonial figures in with great coats.

Empress Miniatures do Adrian Helmets under their Spanish Civil War section - in case you need any. Gripping Beast also offer some head variants.

I've seen some other manufacturers that I can't recall off the top of my head. Though frankly from what I've seen most ranges cover Colonial figures, rather than for the Early War.

[vodkafan]

Don't forget Black Tree Design.

[ultimatewargamer]

French - Artizan Designs, Askari Miniatures, Baker Company, Black Tree Design, Crusader Miniatures, Gaddis Gaming, Gorgon Studios, Perry Miniatures, Warlord Games. Not a Lot for a major power in WW2. just got knocked out of the war early.  Hope this helps

[Tim Haslam]

Crusader do quite a comprehensive range now.
I love these figures, a joy to paint.

[DavyJones]

Thanks, guys for all the comments. Now I can start my shopping spree. 

[carlos marighela]

Just bear in mind that the BTD figures may never arrive or ony arrive after months of emailing the owners.

The Gorgon range are specific to the Narvik campaign, probably not much use if you are looking at the French campaign.

Personally I’d plump for Crusader, it’s a fairly large range and their figures almost paint themselves.

[Tellus]

Usually I don't like Warlords Metal stuff, too. But unless anything has changed the French were sculpted by Paul Hicks and are pretty nice. I've bought a Company worth of them for myself some years ago.

[DavyJones]

Usually I don't like Warlords Metal stuff, too. But unless anything has changed the French were sculpted by Paul Hicks and are pretty nice. I've bought a Company worth of them for myself some years ago.

Interesting. Thanks Tellus and Carlos.

Did anyone know, how Crusader and Warlord mix in regard of size? Maybe it is a good idea to use both lines, to add some variety.

[tancrede]

As said in another thread and in my own thread (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=121428.0), I'm a big fan of Warlord Games metal range. Paul Hicks has done a great job, but made some errors for some units (no long coat for artillery crew, for example).

If you want some "Dragon Portés" or motorised troops, Crusader Miniatures is your only choice.

Just take a look at my thread, you will find some useful things, I think.

For my own army, I've used :

- Warlord Games for the regular infantry and nearly all the support weapons
- Crusader Miniatures for Dragons Portés, sidecars and Groupe Franc
- 3D printed minis for the 75mm and crew
- Rubicon Models for the R35 (for me one of the best resin model I've ever seen)
- Warlord Games for Somua and Citroën Truck
- Mad Bob Miniatures for Unic P107 and Renault UE


Crusader Minis are a little bulkier than the Warlord Games, but as long as you don't mix the 2 ranges in the same unit, it's good (the difference is really visible on the rifles and helmets).

But I'm a big fan of Paul Hicks sculpts !


On the pic, you have sidecars and Dragons Portes from Crusader Miniatures on the front, Renault UE with 25mm AT gun from Mad Bob and some infantry from the Warlord Games range :

[DavyJones]

Great looking miniatures Tancrede.

Thanks for sharing. I definitely need some troops on bikes. 

[vodkafan]

Just bear in mind that the BTD figures may never arrive or ony arrive after months of emailing the owners.

I had 3 orders from BTD during the first lockdown, first two came very quickly, last one took two weeks, not bad I thought all considering.

[tancrede]

Great looking miniatures Tancrede.

Thanks for sharing. I definitely need some troops on bikes. 

If you want some troops on bike, the only manufacturer is Crusader Miniatures.
The sidecars come in separate parts, so you can just build some bikes, and sidecars for support weapons as FM or light mortar.
Don't forget that those troops are very different of the "standard" infantry.
Here are some example from Groupes de Reconnaissance de Division d'Infanterie, or GRDI (Infantry Divsion Recon Groups). Those tropps are cavalry units, serving for fast reco and first contact with ennemy for the slow infantry divisions (just remembre that the french army of 1940 is really lacking transports) :

[Renaud]

Hello, some Old Glory are also serviceable. Here are Old Glory, Warlord (2x), and Crusader: