Artizan’s French Foreign Legion March or Die boxed (FFLGCB) set of 28mm  miniatures is an outstanding value for those interested in jump starting their Foreign Legion figure collection.  I paid almost $60.00 on eBay, including shipping, when I bought this set (a pure impulse buy for certain) but I now see it offered at Brigade Games for $47.00.  That’s roughly about $2.00 a figure which is somewhat cheaper than ordering them in separate sets of four.  The boxed set comes with six small plastic bags each containing four figures, all bubble wrapped and boxed in what appears to be a modified plastic container for a VHS tape.  As you can see by the pictures below there are a total of 12 distinct poses.  The MOD001 – Command Set I counts for four of those.  The other eight poses come from the two Artizan sets called Legion in Greatcoats Advancing (3x Set I & 2x Set II = 20 figures).  The sculpts are beautifully done and the figures are well proportioned. There is virtually no flash save some bits on a couple of the kepi’s.  The bases are the normal smallish ones you see on metal figures and will of course require proper basing.  My only bone of contention is that seven of the poses are a bit too similar and there are no firing figures.  I wish that instead of three sets of MOD003 – Legion in Greatcoats Advancing Set I that they included one set of their MOD010 – Legion in Greatcoats.  Not a problem though as I’ll be buying some of the other sets from their line to beef up my platoon to a full section of 60 hommes de rang.  Artizan also has another March or Die boxed set (FLLSTB Foreign Legion in Short Sleeves) that has 24 figures wearing their sun helmets and white cotton tenue de campaign.  I look forward to painting these up and I’ll be sure to post pictures of them when I do.

Just a quick post today on a neat article that appears on the Askari Miniatures web page on how to build a Berber Ksar.  I’m not sure how I missed this since I’ve been on their site dozens of times before.  The idea of building one of these imposing mud brick desert castles always seemed pretty daunting but this article makes it seem easy.  This is definitely one type of structure that the Foreign Legion has experience in dealing with.  The primary method the French used to subdue an enemy occupied Ksar was prolonged artillery bombardment.  High explosive rounds would make short work of the mud walls and the enemy would quickly retreat.  Ksar type fortresses dotted the Moroccan and Algerian hill terrain and oases along the northern edge of the Saharan desert.  The one shown on the Askari page and in the photograph above is the 17th century ksar at Ait Ben Haddou–one of the largest and better preserved specimens.

Another reason to check out the Askari site is their extensive collection of French Foreign Legion (both vintage and inter-war) 28mm miniatures as well as other French colonial forces such as Zouaves, Tirailleurs, Spahi, Colonial Infantry (with Seneglese Tirailleurs), and Chasseurs Alpines.  They also carry a full complement of enemy Berber and Tuareg warriors to fight your French forces.  If the harka is too powerful or you need to take down a ksar don’t forget to check out Askari’s artillery line by downloading their nice .pdf catalog.

I’m not sure what possessed me to start painting these figures.  Maybe it was the flash free smoothness of the capote that tempted me or the way the light warmly reflected off the blue color of the kepi that screamed “Paint me white, damn it!”  So the other week I mounted the figures on their nails and gave them all a base coat of Krylon sticks-to-plastic primer.  Friday I started painting and laid down some basic colors with my trusty Testor’s and Model Master oils (all flats):

• Union Blue with a drop of flat black and grey for the capote
• flat white for the kepi and pants
• flat black for the boots, bayonet scabbard, ammo pouches, pack straps and visor

On Saturday I laid down supporting colors:

• a yellowish tan for the musette (rations bag)
• grey blue for the bidon (canteen),
• dark brown mix for le sac (the backpack excluding the bed roll) and rifle sling
• flesh tone (darkened with a bit of brown) for faces and hands
• light grey mixed with white with a dash of tan for the bed roll

In the next couple of days I hope to finish the rifle stock, cups and cooking utensils, buttons, gun metal, bayonets, belts & straps.  I then move into my “detailing” this is where I will take each figure and correct any stray over/under paintings, dry brush highlights and then use a fine marker for some dark outlining.  I’ll also try to make the eyes, lips, mustaches reasonably presentable.  Once I detail each figure I will use a water based wash (a dip) that will settle in the low parts and folds of the figure.  This will provide a shadow effect that really makes the figure “pop”.  When the dip dries I’ll hit it with a dull coat that will help reduce glare and hopefully keep the paint from chipping.  More on this project by the end of the week when I show the finished figures.

Just a quick post today.  I found these pictures for a Foreign Legion Fort on an eBay auction last month.  Great pictures here of what appears to be a four-piece molded model based on Fort Zinderneuf.  I figure the auction is long over and someone walked away with a great model.    I find the blue and red color scheme a little odd, but anyway I’m posting this for reference purposes and because I really like Foreign Legion forts.   Thanks to Dave, an eagle-eyed reader of this blog, the manufacturer is identified as Hudson & Allen Studio (25mm Scenics).

On an admin note I recently suffered through several days of a major computer crash.   Last week Microsoft was pushing one of the interminable updates when I got a blue-screen-of-death and a crash.   After that it wouldn’t boot.  I was able to get it going in Safe Mode for a couple of minutes to back up some files but eventually I had to do a complete reinstall of Windows 7.  Now I’m finally running better than ever but these updates are still causing headaches.  I was worried that it was hardware related but thankfully it was not.  So that’s my excuse this week for not posting more often.

A quick post today to direct your attention to a very fine tabletop war game posted at Club Le Shakko.  Link

The setting is 1903 and the far southern reaches of the troubled kingdom of Morocco where it meets the Saharan desert.  The tribes are agitated and on the move–urged on by radical holy men. The French Command is concerned about trouble spilling over into Algeria and soon enough a large harka of Berber tribesmen crosses the informal border.  French reinforcements en route to Ksar El Aseoudj are attacked and hard pressed to push through to the safety of the Ksar.  Will they be wiped out or will a relief force come to their rescue?

The miniatures used are extremely well done with great attention to detail on their painting.  I see figures from several 1:72 scale sets to include both the Airfix and ESCI Foreign Legion and Arab sets, HäT  WWI Early French Infantry (in Legion uniform), Strelets Chasseurs d’Afrique and several remarkable conversions from various other sets.  They all go together perfectly in this set up.  The Ksar (fort) is also very well done with that oriental style common to the Berber constructions in that area.  The terrain is well rendered too with rocky outcrops on one side and a walled palm oasis providing cover for the tribesmen who are attacking the unfortunate French column caught in the open desert.

Just a quick post today.  I’m sorting out electronic files again and figured I had amassed quite a collection of images culled from various website and thought this might make a good reference post for miniature painting.  We all do this I suppose—a quick “Right Click-Save Image As” maneuver  with the mouse and we add another interesting picture to our collections.  Over time you wind up with an image collection that you refer to quite often for inspiration and to check uniforms and colors.  So today I thought I would post these images under a category called Military Figurines (the accepted term nowadays) of the French Military.  The picture names kind of help identify the soldier depicted. I didn’t paint a single one of these nor did I take the picture and not all are of the Foreign Legion but they are really fine works of art.  Apologies in advance if you see one of your works/photo’s here.

I’ve been a untimely blogger lately–sorry about that.  To make up for it here is a miscellaneous collection of Foreign Legion related items that I’ve come across lately.

1.  Zénaga, Maroc, 1904:  Over at Le Shakko they have an after action report up on another fine North African war game.  It appears the rebel factions of Omar Zaharun along the Oued Guir have been waging banditry and sedition in the region.  The AAR features more great photos posted depicting the actions of the Foreign Legion, Algerian Tirailleurs, and Chasseurs d’Afrique putting Mr. Zaharun and his gang into their proper place in the Sahara.  A certain Captain Beaujolais figures prominently in this battle.

2.  Thomas Gunn Foreign Legion Miniatures.  This maker of very fine military miniatures have added six Foreign Legion figures to their line.  They are at 1/30 scale (about 54mm) and match the scale of King and Country and Figarti figures.  Sold out now and they are not cheap they are very nice.  They are apparently getting set to release some more poses at a later date so keep an eye out if you are a collector.  (thanks for the tip Michael).

3.  Shorpy.  This is a great website.  I find the high-res pictures fascinating and I can spend hours browsing them.  I found one reference to the Foreign Legion here.  This well researched article concerns a certain American Legion volunteer, John Schila Deming, who was killed fighting for France in 1917.  So I searched for what else I could learn about him and found some grave registration information and that’s really about it.  He was apparently not among the American Harvard and lvy League bunch whose volunteers to the Foreign Legion were much celebrated in many articles and news stories.  His entry in the book Trench Etched by John Bowe (a who’s who of early American volunteers)  merits only a two line entry that says:  Schuyler Deming, American citizen, soldier of the Legion, killed in attack August 1917.  French records list John Schila Deming as a Légionnaire – R.M.L.E. – Régiment de Marche de la Légion Etrangère [Légion Etrangère/Foreign Legion].  Born in Colombus (Ohio) and he  Mort des suites de blessures/Died of wounds on 22 June 1917.  I also found this website that has an entry for the American Volunteer Monument – Place des Etats-Unis,  in Paris, France.  It lists many names of fallen Legion volunteers and those killed flying in the Escadrille Lafayette and driving ambulances in the Field Service Corps.

A couple more quick items to share….

1.  150th Anniversary of the Battle of Camerone.  Just a reminder that 30 April is only 10 days away.  Camerone Day is the sacred day of the Foreign Legion and this year should no doubt be very special.  I’m looking forward to a couple of things; there will (hopefully) be some great video of the official commemorative event uploaded to YouTube (after the event of course) and the folks at Kepi Blanc will likely publish a commemorative book/magazine that will be in high demand.  I’m already coming up with ways to celebrate Camerone Day on this blog as I’ve done in the past.  So, lots more to see here in the coming days leading up to Camerone Day so be be sure to check regularly.  Andrew, an enterprising graphics artist at Mercenary Graphics, beat  me to the punch with this nicely rendered poster below.  (I also found where I’m going to get a new coffee cup for Father’s Day).

2.  The Treefrog Treasures Toy Soldier Forums.  This page contains tons of great information on the fine 54-60mm scale soldiers produced from various companies such as King and Country, Conte, Britains, First Legion, John Jenkins, and Thomas Gunn.  There are also discussion and information sections for Glossy Figures (vintage looking figures), How-to section, Buying and Selling, Dioramas, Plastic Figures, and Diorama Accessories.  I’ve never visited this forum before and I’m only now discovering some really neat dioramas and pictures of miniature soldiers.  Michael posted the following pictures of his Tommy Gunn legionnaires (and had some nice words about this blog).

3.  Military Figurines Gallery.  If you like miniature military figurines, busts, planes, tanks and vehicles and dioramas you should check out the gallery of photos posted on the PLÀSTIC, PLOM I PINTURA website.  They were taken at the Asociacion Modelista Torrent 2013 show in Spain.  My favorite figure shown here of course is the Legionnaire depicted in the uniform worn during the Tonkin Campaign (1883-1886).  Galleries from previous shows can be found here.

Today I’m sharing some pictures of my latest experiment creating more poses for the ESCI/ERTL 1:72 scale Foreign Legion set.  Using one box of figures (and a sharp hobby knife) I found it was fairly easy to create about 20 new poses by swapping upper bodies with lower bodies.   I simply compared the figures to each other visually before cutting and made note of which figures would allow a clean cut under or over the belt line and matched them up with a new lower portion.  In a couple of figures I resorted to making two cuts (one above and one below the belt–see #20) in order to get the converted figure to look right.  I didn’t make note of the exact figures, cuts and new arrangements but you can see pretty clearly how this process worked.  Some of these conversions may not be very realistic (#8 & #9) and some figures in the box just can’t be converted at all.  Also, keep in mind these figures are wearing two different uniforms–the white twill utility and the jacket (capote) with backpack which limits some of the options available.  I might find a couple more arrangements the more I play around with them.

Just to see how they would look after making the cuts I used superglue to connect the converted figures together–but this is not an ideal bonding method.  Even as I took these pictures today some of them came apart (#11, #20).   The best way of making permanent conversions is to drive a very small, very hot pin  into the lower portion, snip off the pin leaving a protruding post about 2-3mm long and make a corresponding hole in the upper portion and then connect the two as closely as possible.  This method might still leave a gap which will have to be filled in with a type of filler.  Some folks use a couple of applications of white glue or putty as filler but I’m going with Liquid Green Stuff.  I’ll also have to try to recreate some folds and edges of the uniforms (#10, #15, #16) with the filler so that it looks normal when painted up.

Another resource I’m going to look into is the Pegasus French WWI Infantry.  The “arms with rifles” in this set might go well with these conversions.

ADMIN NOTE:  Camerone Day is this coming Tuesday.  In celebration I’ll be making a post each day for the entire week so be sure to check regularly.

Michael completed a real nice looking desert outpost for his intrepid Legionnaires from Thomas Gunn Miniatures.  The first four pictures are the “work in progress” and the following four show the finished fort.  He also provided some great action shots of his Legion squad in action at the edge of a Saharan Palmeraie.  These are really detailed figures and look perfect with the fort.

This build reminds me that I have a 1:72 scale fort that needs completion as well as a tray of twenty Armies in Plastic 54mm Foreign Legion figures that are very close to being completed–only faces, rifles and some shading remain.

Also—don’t forget to check out some of the videos now being uploaded to YouTube on this weeks Camerone Day ceremonies.

This month I came across some Foreign Legion / North African related products for miniatures and hobby gaming.

1.  Armies in Plastic: Fort Morocco French Foreign Legion Fort 1900.  This is something new from AIP and is one of several forts, trenches and battlements now being sold as play sets.  This fort comes along with with one set of 20 1/32 (54mm) Foreign Legion figures and two sets (40 figures) of Arab warriors which is a $51.00 value by themselves.

2.  1/72 Scale BUM Foreign Legion Figures.  I finally came across evidence that Spanish figure manufacturer, BUM, has actually produced two Foreign Legion sets–one for Beau Geste (77151) and the other for Camerone (77155).  There appears to be no difference between the figures included in the two sets other than the officer figure of the Camerone set.  The Beau Geste set comes with desert base and the Camerone set comes with a half ruined farmhouse.  Plastic Soldier Review does not have anything on these two sets other than listing a generic Foreign Legion and a French Foreign Legion Casualties sets.  I did recently see this listed on eBay for $25.00 or so.

3.  Paper Models Civilizations: Desert Fort.  If you want an affordable Foreign Legion themed fortress you can construct with scissors and a glue stick this might be your first choice.  Details and ordering information can be found here.  A sample of this product is also available for download at this link.  The pictures appear different but that is because two of the larger buildings are not shown in one arrangement although you do get a total of 8 buildings (including each of the towers).  There is also a Desert Village set from the same manufacturer.

A quick post the day before Camerone Day.  Those 1/6 scale action figures that I grew up with forty years ago and known collectively as “G. I. Joes” have made quite a comeback.  Over the last decade or so manufacturers such as Dragon Models Limited (DML), 21st Century Toys, Blue Box Toys (BBI), Toy Soldier Workshop, ACE, Battle Gear Toys among many others have produced hundreds of highly accurate and collectable figures in this scale.  Some of these figures have been French Foreign Legion soldiers and the most interesting for me are the ones made by Sideshow Collectables.  Check out the links below for more pictures.  Note that both are sold our but I do see these pop up on eBay quite often.

1.  Sideshow Collectables: French Foreign Legionnaire.

2.  Sideshow Collectables: WWI French Foreign Legionnaire R.M.L.E.

Some of the odds and ends related to the Foreign Legion that I discovered this past  month…

1.  Regiments of the French Foreign Legion.  Here is a very nice documentary on the Foreign Legion.  Though titled “Regiments of” it is really much broader in scope and covers modern deployments and training interlaced with bits of Legion history and plenty of interviews of legionnaires and coverage of day to day life.

2.  French Foreign Legion Miniatures.  A couple nice reviews of several sets of Foreign Legion related miniature figures can be found on the Bolt Action.net website.  The first article reviews Gorgon Miniatures which depict members of the 13th DBLE figures from the 1940 campaign in Norway.  There are two other articles which introduce WWII era Foreign Legion and Senegalese figures.  There is also a great article on painting the Senegalese figures from Griping Beast. 

3.  World War One and Harvard.  I actually remembered to tell my wife and kids a couple days ago that in Sarajevo about 100 years ago on 28 June, World War One was sparked by the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife and that the big shooting match began in earnest in August.  I’m looking forward to the upcoming documentaries, articles, book releases and other commemorative events related to The Great War.  One of these appeared on the Harvard College website entitled “The Choicest of their Kind” and is about those “Harvard men” who fought.   The first Harvard man to die was Edward Mandell Stone.  He was serving in the Foreign Legion at the time as were many others such as Alan Seeger.

4. Valiant Hearts: The Great War.  Speaking about The Great War, here is a new video game from Ubisoft that fellow grognards might enjoy.  The graphics are kind of odd to me but it looks very nice and features a composite American Legionnaire.  Game review here. 

 5.  Black Hat Miniatures.  There are five sets (Exotic Adventures) of 28mm Foreign Legion miniatures available from Black Hat that look very nice and appear compatible with figures from other manufacturers.  Link  They also have some Tauregs to do battle with the legionnaires.  They are produced under license by Unfeasibly Miniatures whose press release notes: “The range depicts the French Foreign Legion at the turn of the 19th Century in Northern Africa, immortalized in the stories of Beau Geste by P.C. Wren. The range includes Tuareg’s, who resisted the French colonial invasion of their Central Saharan homelands. We have two more packs of Legionnaires with improvised weapons which will be released as soon as production moulds have been made.  Mark at Unfeasibly has plans to expand on the range to add mounted troops.”

Here are some interesting links for this past September–some new and some old.

1. French Foreign Legion: A Descriptive Bibliography.  This Facebook page of Mr. Savage’s is one I’ve been following for a while now but may have only briefly mentioned on this blog years ago.  It is basically many photographs of his enormous collection of French Foreign Legion literature which just keeps getting larger each time I visit.   Mind boggling how many obscure and collectable books are chronicled here.  The comments for each picture are also interesting.  This pages should definitely friended, book marked and visited frequently.

2.  A French Foreign Legion Tumblr.  Tumblr is a social networking / microblog application that allows users to post pictures and multimedia.  I stumbled this Tumblr page that has amassed a very large collection of Foreign Legion pictures and graphics.  It’s very nice to browse these and I’ve found many pictures that I’ve never seen before.  The commentary throughout (small quotes and factoids) is nicely done as well. Again, highly recommended to bookmark and visit frequently.

3.  First to Fight.  I found a nice informative article on the Americans who served in the Foreign Legion during WWI.  Entitled ‘ENGAGED IN GLORY ALONE’: Yanks in French Foreign Legion Were First to Fight this really gets into the names, numbers, units and dates that is not often pulled together in such articles.  It appeared in the September 2014 issue of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) magazine.  It can be read online here or downloaded below. 

Engaged in Glory Alone

4.  French Foreign Legion Visit.   Here is another Facebook page called Toy Soldiers of Scandinavia.  This one features galleries depicting larger scale (54mm) miniatures–lots of them, all different nations and periods and set up in a wonderful displays.  The ones featuring the Foreign Legion include the following galleries but be sure to check out all the other ones.

French Foreign Legion Visit

Foreign Legion

Foreign Legion Fort

Untitled Album

(My next collecting obsession…)  Hachette produces an amazing line of collectable 54mm/1:32 figurines depicting the French Foreign Legion throughout history.  You may have seen them around–the first 32 figures in the series were produced by King and Country and the remaining 100+ figures by another manufacturer.  They are popular on the various miniatures merchants on the web.  What is unique about these figures is that they are usually sold new with a 20+ page booklet (in French) that goes into depth on the aspects of the uniform and legionnaire depicted on the cover and also includes articles on three or four other subjects related to the Foreign Legion.  The pages of these booklets come “loose leaf” and are not numbered sequentially but instead grouped by headings like: uniforms, armament, history, biography, battles, culture, etc..  There is even a binder sold where you can put the pages in the right order under the right topics.  Kind of like those reference fact cards you used to see that featured airplanes, wild animals, cars, etc.  If you subscribed they would send you a new packet of cards each month to sort out and place in your cardboard storage box.

What blows my mind is the sheer numbers that have produced.  Here is an incomplete list I made last year–I believe the numbers are at least up to 177 and more likely 200 is a possible final production number.  The booklets, one for each miniature, would total almost 3,600+ pages worth which would make for quite a definitive reference source on the Foreign Legion.  As you can see by the pictures below the uniform studies are some of the best you can find.  For those not interested in collecting the miniatures, like myself, you can find the booklets for sale on eBay, or Amazon.fr.  Also many of the articles that appear in these booklets seem to have been collected, reformatted and published in Légion Etrangère Magazine.  I’m going to collect the booklets first without the miniatures.  I’ve bought about 16 of them already and they are a welcome addition to my Foreign Legion book collection.

01. Le pionnier du 6ème régiment défilant au pas, le 14 juillet 198409/2004
02a. Le légionnaire parachutiste du 1er BEP en Indochine vers 195009/2004
02b. Le légionnaire du 2ème REI, opérant en Bosnie en 1993, au sein des casques bleus09/2004
03. Le grenadier du RE au Mexique en 1863
04. Le sergent des compagnies sahariennes en 1956
05. Le caporal du 2ème bataillon de la 13ème DBLE à Bir Hakeim en 1942
06. Le fusilier de la brigade étrangère en Crimée,1855
07. Le légionnaire du RMLE sur le front de Champagne en 1917
08. Le lieutenant du 2ème REP à Kolwezi en 1978
09. Le fusillier de la 1er LE en 1831
10. Le caporal-chef du RMLE en 1944-1945
11. Le sergent-major du régiment étranger en 1871
12. Le tambour du 3ème REI en 1931
13. Le légionnaire du 2ème RE au Tonkin en 1883
14. L’adjudant du 2ème REI de la division Daguet en 1991
15. Le capitaine du 1er REC en tenue saharienne, au Maroc 1925
16. Le lieutenant-colonel du 1er RE et la robe du défilé (1960
17. Le tireur d ‘ élite du 2e REP
18. Le caporal-clairon du 2e Étranger et 1910-1914
19. L’éclaireur-skieur de la 13ème DBMLE skis à l’épaule, en Norvège en 1940
20. Le lieutenant porte-drapeau du RMLE en 1915
21. Le plongeur Dinops du 1er REG, en tenue de plongée
22. Le caporal-tirailleur de la 2ème Légion étrangère en 1855
23. Le capitaine du 3ème REI de la période 1931-1940
24. Le légionnaire démineur du 1er REG en 2004
25. Le capitaine du 2ème RE au Tonkin entre 1900 et 1914
26. Le légionnaire des CSPL et 1946-1962
27. Le sergent éclaireur du 2ème REG en 2004
28. Le légionnaire des 1er et 2ème RE en Afrique du Nord, période 1900-1914
29. Le légionnaire du 3ème REI à Kourou en 2004
30. Le caporal de la Cie Indochinoise de parachutiste à Dien bien Phu en 1954
31. Le chuteur opérationnel du 2ème REP en tenue de saut HA en 2004
32. Le capitaine de grenadier de l’ancienne Légion en 1835
33. Le caporal-chef de l ère compagnie de sapeur-pionnier du 3ème REI, période 1931-1939
34. Le sergent du bataillon de marche de la légion à Madagascar, de la période 1895-1901
35. Le caporal du 4ème étranger au Maroc de la période 1920-1934
36. Le légionnaire tireur AT4 du 2ème REI en 2006
37. Le brigadier des escadrons du RE en 1843 au Mexique
38. Le légionnaire de la 4ème DBLE Sénégal en 1942
39. Le légionnaire joueur de fifre de la MLE en 1993
40. L’adjudant du 1er REC/5 DB en 1943, 1945
41. L’instructeur du CEFE de Guyane en 2007, avec un serpent tenu en main
42. Le lieutenant du 2ème RE à El Moungar en 1903
43. Le caporal-clairon du 5e REI en indochine, période 1951, 1954
44. Le Général Rollet, inspecteur de la légion entre 1931 et 1934
45. Le sergent des compagnies montées de 1908 à 1914
46. Le légionnaire des RMVE en 1939, 1940
47. Le légionnaire des 1er et 2e RE, en Algérie de 1840 à 1851
48. Le légionnaire tireur Minimi en 2003
49. Le légionnaire de la 13ème DBLE en 1942
50. Le vétéran de la Légion étrangère en 2006
51. Le colonel du 2ème Étranger, 1889-1896
52. Le légionnaire des 1er et 2ème REP progressant Mat 49 à la main en Algérie, vers 1961
53. Le tirailleur de la 258ème compagnie du 3ème REI en 1951
54. Le lieutenant porte-drapeau de la 13ème DBLE en France vers 1945
55. Le légionniare du GRD 97 de la 7e DINA, France, 1940
56. L’officier du 4ème RE en 2006
57. Le capitaine adjudant major du RE en 1863
58. Le tambour major de la MLE en 2005
59. L’adjudant-chef du 2ème REI en tenue de parade en Indochine, vers 1950
60. Le légionnaire du 2ème REI en 2001
61. Le tambour du 2ème étranger en 1859
62. Le brigadier du 1er REC en 1935
63. Le lieutenant-colonel de la légion garibaldienne en 1914
64. Le sous-lieutenant de la LE en 1857
65. L’officier du 3ème REI en 1970
66. Le fusilier du régiment de Hohenlohe en 1830
67. Le parachutiste du 2ème REP en 2005
68. Le sous-officier du 4ème RE en 1979
69. Le légionnaire du dépôt commun en 1834
70. Le porteur de la main du capitaine Danjou en 2007
71. Le légionnaire de l’ancienne légion de 1835
72. Le timbalier du 1er REC en 1939
73. L’officier de la 2ème Légion en 1855
74. Le chapeau chinois de la MLE en 1935
75. Le chef de bataillon du 3ème REI en 1922
76. Le pilote du 1er REC en 1980
77. Le légionnaire en tenue bleue horizon, du 2ème RM/2ème RE en 1915
78. Le sous-lieutenant de la Légion étrangère en 1837
79. Le capitaine du 1er RE en 1845
80. La cantinière de 1855
81. Le sergent du bataillon de marche du 1er RMA en 1917
82. Le légionnaire du 2ème REP en 1969
83. Le sergent du 1er BEP en 1949
84. Le capitaine du régiment étranger en 1870
85. Le légionnaire des escadrons motorisés du 1er REC en 1929
86. Le légionnaire de la CSP en 1925
87. Le sous-lieutenant de la Légion étrangère en 1880
88. Le sergent des batteries sahariennes de la LE en 1940
89. Le sergent du 3ème bataillon du régiment de marche en 1914
90. Le chef de bataillon du 2ème régiment étranger en 1922
91. Le chef de bataillon de la 13ème DBLE en 1945
92. Le caporal du 4ème RE en 1924
93. Le légionnaire en tenue coloniale en 1892
94. Le caporal du 1er RE en 1887
95. Le colonel du 2ème RE en 1859
96. Le capitaine du 22ème RMVE en 1940
97. Le maréchal des logis du 1er REC en 1925
98. Le caporal de la LE en 1875
99. Le légionnaire de la 13ème DBMLE en 1940
100. Le voltigeur du 2ème RE en 1859
101. Le capitaine du 2ème BEP en 1953
102. Le caporal de la LE en 1881
103. Le légionnaire du 11ème REI en 1939
104. Le légionnaire de 1er CL du 5ème REI en 1936
105. Le légionnaire de 1er CL du 2ème RE en 1900
106. Le caporal sapeur-pionnier du 4ème REI en 1936
107. Le sergent de grenadiers du 2ème RE en 1859
108. Le tirailleur vietnamien du 4ème bataillon du 2ème REI en 1952
109. Le légionnaire en tenue d’exercice de 1938
110. Le caporal-chef des CPLE en 1955
111. Le brigadier-chef du 1er REC en 198311/2008
112. Le légionnaire de la 13ème DBMLE en 194011/2008
113. Le tireur d’élite du 2ème REI en tenue Fombec en 200712/2008
114. Le caporal de la 2ème CIPLE en Indochine courant 1953
115. Le lieutenant de batterie de marche du 4ème REI en 1932
116. Le légionnaire du 6 REG avec son lance-flammes, en 1984
117. Le sergent de la 4ème CSPLE en 1956
118. L’officier porte-drapeau du 2ème REP en 197802/2009
119. Le légionnaire de l’équipe de cross en 200003/2009
120. Le légionnaire tireur Milan en 200803/2009
121. L’adjudant de la 13ème DBLE, en tenue tropicale, en 1942-194304/2009
122. Le légionnaire du 1er bataillon du 1er RE en 188504/2009
123. Le lieutenant de la compagnie montée en 190605/2009
124. Le pionnier du 14 juillet en 199805/2009
125. Le légionnaire voltigeur du régiment étranger en 186406/2009
126. Le sergent-tambour de la musique de la légion en 200106/2009
127. Le mitrailleur du 3ème REI en 193007/2009
128. Le légionnaire tireur d’élite tenant un fusil FRF1 en 197807/2009
129. Le légionnaire du dépôt commun arme à l’épaule, en 192008/2009
130. L’infirmier parachutiste en 200808/2009
131. Le légionnaire de la 13ème DBLE, en 200209/2009
132. Le caporal du 2ème Régiment étranger en 189509/2009
133. Le légionnaire du 3ème REI en 2008, avec un genoux a terre, porteur d’un FAMAS09/2009
134. Le lieutenant de tirailleurs en 185510/2009
135. Le légionnaire cavalier au Mexique en 186410/2009
136. Le brigadier du 1er REC en 192510/2009
137. Le caporal du 2ème RE en 192611/2009
138. Le timbalier du 1er REC en tenue de parade en 193711/2009
139. Le chef de section du 2ème REP en 200712/2009
140. Le légionnaire du BMLEM en 190112/2009
141. Le légionnaire casqué dans sa tenue légère modèle 194001/2010
142. Le sergent-chef URH du 2ème REG 200901/2010
143. Le légionnaire FELIN du 2ème REI en 200902/2010
144. Le légionnaire du groupe d’assaut du 1er REG en 200702/2010
145. Le commando parachutiste du 2ème REP en 200603/2010
146. Le clairon de l’escadron de la 13ème DBLE en 199903/2010
147. L’adjudant instructeur du CEFE en tenue camo, vers 199504/2010
148. Le légionnaire de la compagnie d’infanterie du DLEM pendant la corvée de bois, en 200004/2010
149. L’éclaireur-skieur du 2ème REG, en200105/2010
150a. L’instructeur en tenue NRBC camo, en 200905/2010
150b. Le Légionnaire du dépôt commun en 1920, en redingote, arme à l’épaule05/2010

hodgepodge (\ˈhäj-ˌpäj\): a mixture of different things; often a confused mixture of things that don’t go together.  Alteration of hotchpotch (a mutton stew with mixed vegetables)

Well this months mixture does have a unifying theme–as always, the French Foreign Legion.

1.  Former French Military / Foreign Legion Join ISIS.  Here is something interesting but not surprising when it comes to the non-Legion units that have a larger proportion of Muslims in their ranks than other Western countries.  It is surprising however that former members of the Foreign Legion would go astray.  I guess Legio Patria Nostra is not a strong enough of a bond for some weak minded converts.  It’s what you get when assimilation fails–thanks multiculturalists.

2.  New Black Hat Foreign Legion Miniatures.  More great figures from Black Hat Miniatures.  I still need to get a good comparison between this fine line up 37 legionnaire figures and the other figures from Artizan and Askari.  Also don’t miss the Exotic Adventures Facebook page where you can see much of the process used in creating these sculpts as well as pictures of the whole line up.

3.  Follow that Camel & Fort Zwazantnerf.  Some awe inspiring miniature terrain building over at Lead Adventure Forum by UK wargamer “Hu Rhu”.  You have to start at page 1 and proceed to the end at page 8 to fully appreciate this effort.  The star of these posts is Fort Zwazantnerf (begins on page 5) but there are also plenty of painted miniatures, N. African houses and rocky terrain builds.

 4.  Arthur Askey.  Arthur Askey was an English comedian and actor who lived to the ripe age of 82–singing and cracking jokes right up to his hospitalization and death five months later.  Among his musical-comedy routines were three ditties about the Foreign Legion.  Here is a recording of one of his most famous.  The lyrics to all three are below (of course you have to read them with Akey’s voice in your head).

Arthur Askey_Foreign Legion

 5. La Legion Sans Baroud.   Here is a excellent video of the Foreign Legion in North Africa and southern France circa 1966.

6.  Foreign Legion Facebook Page.  I came across this great resource this month as well.  I’m not a big Facebook fan but this is well done with a nice feed of current Legion news and videos.  I look forward to their updates.

Sorry for being AWOL for a couple weeks…spring cleaning, home repairs and yard work (and my day job) kind of eat away my free time.  Anyway, here are some odds and ends related to the Foreign Legion.

1.  Motivational Videos.  There are several Foreign Legion videos posted to YouTube billed as “motivational”.  The creators merged some epic music with video clips of the modern Foreign Legion and in some cases added some inspiring dialog.  Just what you need to get you going in the morning.

2.  More (Exotic Adventures) from Unfeasibly Miniatures.  More miniatures in the Exotic Adventures line-up… to include some Beau Geste characters and a Foreign Legion 80mm cannon and Meharistes.  They also have a full array of Taureg warriors to go up against the French and their Bou Denib blockhouse is to be released in June.  Except for the newer items all are available from Black Hat Miniatures.  To see their whole production effort you should visit their Facebook page.

3.  New Foreign Legion Fiction.  …written by a former member of the Foreign Legion no less.  Ricky Balona, who served with the 2REP in the 1990’s has two books out on Amazon that feature the Foreign Legion as a backdrop.  Sergeant Steele is a character similar to Casca Rufio Longinus–Barry Sadler’s paperback series known also known as “The Eternal Mercenary”.  Steele is immortal and fights in the Foreign Legion against traditional enemies as well as a darker, secret organization known as “the Brotherhood”.   I’m almost halfway with Steele’s Dien Bien Phu and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it so far.

4. Alex Rowe.  Alex Rowe is a highly decorated and long serving (28+ yrs) Legionnaire who just happens to hail from the UK.  In 2010 there were several news articles about him and the fact that he had became one of the highest ranking British Legionnaires (Sergeant Major), one of the most decorated members of the Foreign Legion and the first British legionnaire to be invested into the Légion d’honneur, which is France’s highest gallantry medal, for action in Afghanistan when he came under fire during an operation with American Special Forces.  I believe he is still serving as a sniper instructor in the Legion with the 2REI. Definitely a legend according to what I’ve been reading on the web.  Just thought I’d share his name and some pictures below…

A little late on this post but here are some of the Foreign Legion related items I’ve come across in July.

1. Dark Mystique of French Foreign Legion.  A short AFP article on the Foreign Legion recently appeared on Yahoo News. It was also accompanied by some decent photos.  The article is short and lacks some substance but like most online news these days I find the comments far more entertaining.  There are are some 400 plus comments to this article including some with first hand assessments of working with the Legion as well as a couple made by those serving in the Legion.

2. Tougher Than The Rest.  If you have the time you should go to YouTube and check out this video.  It is broken into three parts but there is also a 2 hour long version as well.

3.  Arab / Desert Forts.  I found several new miniature Arab style desert forts last month.  Over at the Empires at War blog there is a very nice how-to article of an Arab style desert fort.  It seems to be a laser cut MDF kit but I’m not sure what company made it.  The final result is very nice.  There is another similar kit by Lasercraft Art available here. The Guild forums have this post of a Gendarmerie Fort in The Dhofar.  This is a smaller scale fort for Flames of War scenarios and miniatures.  Also check out the pictures of other structures at this photobucket page.  And lastly there are a couple of posts for creating an a hill fort (Afghanistan perhaps).  This structure was made from cork board and the final result looks great with a nice paint job and landscaping.

4. Pulp Miniatures.  I noticed that Pulp Figures (manufacturers of very unique miniatures for pulp war gaming) have some Foreign Legion figures under the headliner “Far Flung French”.  There are five figures comprising “Major LeDuc’s Enfants Terrible” and two to-be-released legionnaire infantry.  All appear to be in the greenish interwar uniform.  Note:  They also have Canadian Mountie figures. 

Admin Note:  I’m back home.  My mother-in-law is doing much better and we hope her rehabilitation is short and she gets back to her usual self.  Strokes are nasty and seeing their damage first hand definitely makes one consider healthier lifestyles. 

Happy New Year!  There was too much celebration yesterday at my house to get this posted in 2014.  So, despite a hangover, I’ve finally assembled the odds and ends I found about the Foreign Legion the past month.

1.  The Mysterious Lure of the French Foreign Legion.  An interesting article here about Americans who have recently joined the Foreign Legion.  It seems 2LT Lawrence J. Franks Jr. of the U.S. Army was looking for more action and challenges and found them in the Legion after deserting from the Army in 2009.  The article has two videos as well as several links to associated articles.  The video of the Legion’s Mayotte detachment is well done too as is an article about Simon Bennett, a Georgia man who got cut from the Foreign Legion selection process.  Another Vice article describes the misadventures of a Canadian in the Foreign Legion.  (New York Times article had this picture below of Franks in Mali with has back against the wall).

It should be noted that Franks completed his five year Legion enlistment.  He did well and served as part of the Personal Security Team (PST) for French General Laurent Kolodziej the commander of Operation Serval.  Franks told a military court that he had been struggling with suicidal urges and that the arduous regimen of the legion was the only way to escape his crippling depression, the Times wrote.  “I needed to be wet and cold and hungry, I needed the grueling life I could only find in a place like the legion.”  There are plenty of online news stories about Franks and I really like reading the comments at this article.  I can really sympathize with Franks. It must have been a let down of sorts to graduate from West Point during the Global War on Terror and then given command of a medical platoon.  That would probably have branched him Medical Corps which from my experience those units have some of the worst discipline problems, cry-babies and malcontents than any other unit in the Army.  It’s no wonder he chose to abandon it all for the test and challenge of the Foreign Legion.

2.  Reddit\Foreign Legion.  If you want to read more about the Foreign Legion you can always go to this Reddit page.  Be warned however that Reddit is a notorious time sink.  You can literally spend a couple days browsing this topic and others.

3.  Tom Gunn Foreign Legion Figures.  I’ve mentioned these high-end 54mm scale figures before.  They seem to keep making more of them and I can’t really keep up with how many they have.  The pictures of a couple of new figures are shown below.  See them all for yourself here.

4.  Foreign Legion Memoirs.  I stumbled upon this page written by a Wisconsin college student attending (or who attended) Loyola University of Chicago.  It contains some of his reviews of some classic Foreign Legion memoirs to include G. Ward Price’s In Morocco with the Legion, Christian Jennings’ Mouthful of Rocks, Soldier of the Legion by George Mannington and Hell in the Foreign Legion by Ernst Löhndorff among others.  It seems to be a student’s chronicle of his research as part of an internship with his Professor who is working on a greater project based on written memoirs of men who served in the Foreign Legion.  Of course the focus of college research nowadays is always some left wing flavored contrivance and it appears this project is not different….”The overarching goal of my research is to focus on the stark contrast of the extreme violence done by and undergone by French Foreign Legionnaires, in addition to the everyday mundane activities in the glorious process of building a French Empire overseas.”  Whatever.  I’m sure the professor’s work will be published one day in some obscure irrelevant academic journal that nobody but other academics will ever read.

 5. Legion Etrangere Chants 1967.  Heinz Duthel, former Legionnaire and prolific author of various conspiracy related books, has graciously uploaded some Foreign Legion chants to the Internet Archive here and here.  I can’t recommend anything else you come across by Duthel but these are at least good quality mp3s.

Admin Note:  During the last two months I really went overboard on purchasing books and Foreign Legion related publications.  There were some great finds on ebay and Abe Books and I’ve also mastered making purchases directly from eBay France.  I’ve subscribed to Kepi Blanc and also have made some buys from DelCampe.  I hope to review these books in 2015.   There should be some interesting things happening to the layout as well.  So keep following this blog.

Sorry for the lack of posts this month.  I’ve been busy with work and other projects and I often get home in a vegetative state of mind, not wanting to do much of anything else but watch politics on TV before bed.  It must be S.A.D. / Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Anyway, here are some tidbits of stuff I found on the Foreign Legion this past month…

1. Avalanche Kills Six Foreign Legion Soldiers.  Horrible news from Savoie, France as five Legionnaires from the 2nd Engineer Regiment (2REG) were tragically killed in an avalanche while conducting training on Monday the 18th.   A sixth Legionnaire passed away from his injuries on the 25th.  A memorial for the fallen was held last week.  Rest in Peace.

2. Edmonde Charles-Roux.  A great Frenchwoman and close friend of the Foreign Legion passed away on 21 January.  Charles-Roux, at age 19, served as a nurse for a Foreign Legion ambulance unit when the Second World War broke out.  Wounded in action she was made an honorary corporal of the Foreign Legion.  In 1944 she joined the Free French forces as head of military social work and was with the First Army and her beloved Legion units throughout the savage winter fighting in Alsace-Lorraine and Germany.  She was wounded a second time in the last part of the war and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and made a chevalier of the Légion d’honneur.  She would later become a writer and journalist covering art, fashion and culture, creating the fashion magazine “Elle”.  She would often remind people that she was “a Foreign Legion corporal twice wounded under fire”.  The Foreign Legion provided and honor guard for her memorial service.

3.  Planet Figure.  This is a great forum for those hobbyists dedicated to creating beautiful military, historical and fantasy figurines.  I decided to run some searches there and found some really awesome figures.  I borrowed some images from there but I must recommend you thoroughly check out the whole forum as there are hundreds of very accurately painted military figures.

4. Unfeasibly Casbah.  Here is a new building from Unfeasibly Miniatures.  I really like the style and the odd way the buildings connect together.  A couple more building sets of this type and you can construct a good replica of any Arab souk / kasbah.  These walled in older portions of North African cities are generally unnavigable warrens of narrow streets, walkways, alleys and passages.  The place were Legionnaires go when they are told not to, searching for those small cafes where the dancing girls can be found.  A great addition to their increasingly large line of Legion and Tuareg miniatures. 

5.  Legion Patria Nostra Photo Gallery.  Here is another set of photographs by Eduard Elias.  These pictures capture Foreign Legionnaires in various activities in garrison, in training, during various ceremonies as well as during their off time.  I hate to say this but these guys look very much like young soldiers in most other armies.  Not too many bearded, bemedalled, grizzled old anciens in these pictures.