Monday, August 30, 2021

Sahel Conflicts: Modern French Foreign Legion

With the insurgents complete, I've started working on my French Foreign Legion. Currently, no single company makes all the pieces I wanted, so I've gone with a combination of Eureka Miniatures and JJG Print 3D figures. Based on information from people with more knowledge than me, the Eureka figures are good for the 1990-2000s, and the JJG for the 2010s to present (depending on the sculpt). Since I was planning to game Operations Serval and Barkhane in the early 2010s Mali, I figured a transitional force wouldn't look grossly out of place.  I still have more to paint, but have completed a command team, a combat group, and some specialists

28mm modern French Foreign Legion for Mali and the Sahel from Eureka and JJG Print 3D

Command Team: 2 officers, medic and radio operator

28mm modern French Foreign Legion for Mali and the Sahel from Eureka and JJG Print 3D

NCO and 300m Team with FAMAS rifles and AT4s

28mm modern French Foreign Legion for Mali and the Sahel from Eureka and JJG Print 3D

600m Team with FAMAS rifles, Minimi MG, and LGI Mile F1 mortar

28mm modern French Foreign Legion for Mali and the Sahel from JJG Print 3D

Two-man sniper team with FR F2 sniper rifle and suppressed HK416; Special forces drone operator

28mm modern French Foreign Legion for Mali and the Sahel from Eureka and JJG Print 3D

Tracker Unmanned Aerial System (Note: I don't think this drone type was deployed in the early 2010s, but drone options are limited) Edit: Raphael Longbow, the sculptor for JJG Print 3D, sent me a message on Facebook to clarify that the drone model is actually a DRAC, which became operational in 2008.

28mm modern French Foreign Legion for Mali and the Sahel from JJG Print 3D

I am in no way an expert on the French Foreign Legion, so I found the Foreignlegion.info site to be invaluable in terms of painting references.  From photos of troops deployed in Mali, it seems that camouflage was mostly the desert pattern, with some temperate pieces as well.  Webbing elements tended to be tans and greens, with some individual soldiers having a mix of the two. As such, I've decided to go with a mix of appearances to add more variety and make it easier to differentiate between combat groups.

If anyone is interested, here are the painting mixes I came up with:

Desert Camo: Vallejo 891 Iraqi Sand base with Vallejo 821 German Beige and Vallejo 983 Flat Earth splotches; Wash with a mix of Vallejo Mecha Weathering 521 Oiled Earth and 522 Desert Dust
Temperate Camo: Vallejo 884 Stone Grey base with Vallejo 893 US Dark Green, Vallejo 871 Leather Brown, and Black splotches; Wash with Army Painter Soft Tone
Tan Webbing: Vallejo 821 German Beige with Vallejo 884 Stone Grey highlights; Wash with Vallejo 521 Oiled Earth
Green Webbing: Vallejo 887 Brown Violet with 924 Russian Uniform highlights; Wash with Army Painter Soft Tone
Metal Equipment: Vallejo 894 Camouflage Olive, with Camo Olive/833 German Camouflage Bright Green mix; Wash With Secret Weapon Green Black

Since people are also curious to see how figures mix with one another, besides the painted figures, here are some of both manufactures in the raw. 

28mm modern French Foreign Legion from Eureka and JJG Print 3D: Size Comparison

 The JJG figures are slightly taller than the Eureka and are also a little bulkier, with it being particularly noticeable in the helmets. Similar to injection plastics, some of the details can be softer than seen on the metal Eurkea figures, but it also allows the use of thinner parts (check out the radio antenna on the commander's walkie talkie or the sunglasses in the hands of the AT4 operator wiping his eye) Overall, I think once painted they blend in well on the table and I would recommend both manufactures wholeheartedly.

7 comments:

  1. Great project- may I ask where you got the drone model from? As you say options are rather limited for them.

    Cheers,

    Pete.

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  2. Thanks Pete! The drone is also by JJG Print 3D (link above). In addition to it being airborne, they also make it being launched by a French soldier.

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    1. Thank you- had a look on their website- they do some great figures so I'll be putting in an order to them.

      Cheers,

      Pete.

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  3. Excellent..thanks for the painting guide!

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  4. These look really nice - I have been tempted more than once by modern French Foreign Legion, but as I already have a substantial modern collection in 20mm, I am resisting starting again in 28mm!

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  5. Hey - thanks for that link to the French 3D company - they have HEAPS of great looking figures - I am sure to purchase something from them!

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  6. Thanks Everyone! I was a little worried there would be a language barrier when contacting JJG (I don't speak French), but I found them to very friendly and helpful. It took about two weeks for my order to print before it was ready for shipping, but it arrived in the US without problem. The printing material can be slightly brittle, but my order was really well packed and I only had a two gun barrel tips out of around 20 break off during the Atlantic trip (both easily fixed). Just be careful during cleanup, as I managed to break a couple of other bits with my hobby knife.

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