Quick Flames of War FFL Project and Site Update

Feb 21, 2013

First, Something I Sumbled Upon Shortly After Publishing this Post

From the Too Fat Lardies blog:

I met up with a very pleasant young chap the other day from the War Studies Department at KCL who interviewed me as part of his thesis (presumably entitled “What do fat old blokes know about studying war?”). Anyway, he has sent me a questionnaire which he would like as wide a sample of wargamers as possible to answer. So, in the interest of helping a pleasant young fellow I thought I’d invite the boys and girls here to have their say. So here it is:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ToySoldiersAndArmchairGenerals

So help this student out and take the survey.  I did, and will be posting the results when they are in (sometime in April).

Revised Information on the Free Legion’s Equipment

In my previous posts, first introducing the French Foreign Legion project and then sourcing the figures for it, I wrote that the FFL had been re-equiped with American equipment, and that the figures should be a mish-mash of equipment and uniforms to demonstrate this.  I was partially correct.  The Legion was re-equiped with American equipment in 1943, and that is not early war.

Indeed, my latest research has shown that the one Free French unit of the French Foreign Legion, the 13e Demi-Brigade, was first re-equiped with uniforms supplied by the UK, although most of the fighting equipment remained French.  Therefore, instead of mixing in US troops and equipment with my beloved Frenchies, I’ll be mixing in British equipment.  Same difference to me, they’ll still look like they got equipped at a garage sale if I do it as I want.  The ones wearing the old Adrian French helmet are the veterans, which should be roughly a third of them.  I’ll post a revised purchase list once I work it up.

I still need more white kepis though.

Speaking of Kepis…

You know you have a good friend when they read your blog (okay, that makes them a great friend), and when they see something to contribute they do it for the fun of it.  Such like my friend Ed, who happens to be the proprietor of the Digital Dungeon FLGS in Greeley Colorado.

I returned home one evening to find a package on my mailbox.  Naturally I was surprised when it turned out to be very light, as the only thing I had ordered lately was some more figures from Quality Castings, since I liked their 15 mm Sd Kfz 251/1 Ausf C so much.  Then I was surprised to see the sender.  Then I was surprised to see the contents.  I am now the proud owner of a white kepi.  I doubt this will entitle me to tell my wife “J’ai le cafard!”  and stalk off to my studio (aka the garage) for some AWOL time, but I’ll get a photo posted shortly.  (It would be today but the battery in my camera has a lifespan of about fifteen seconds.)

Just like a friend to give me another way to get into trouble with SWMBO.  (She likes it, btw.  She says it is only appropriate that I have a cigarette dangling from the corner of my mouth and a drink in my hand when wearing it though, which is unfortunate because I don’t smoke and can’t paint with one hand holding a good Irish whiskey.  Life is rough.)

Minor Change to the Site

I added a category to the existing “Review” category named “Review Series”.  Anytime I do a series such as the just completed series of reviews on 15 mm Sd Kfz 251/1s, it will get an entry under this menu item.  Soon to join the Sd Kfz 251s are Panzerfausts and Panzerschrecks, which are each only 1-2 posts away from being done.  Planned additional series are (in no particular order):

• M4A3 Sherman (75 mm)
• Panzer 38(t)
• Hotchkiss H-39
• T-34
• Cromwell
• Panzer IV H
• StuG III G
• Stuka
• Hurricane Mk I

Again, no particular order.  I don’t want this blog to be all late war German all the time so hopefully I’ll get some non-late war Allied stuff out first.  Or maybe not…