Part of my Christmas present to myself was to buy some painted troops from Gajo minis online. I have been slowly but surely working on a French force for Flames of War. It started with a Foreign Legion Army, which I based for temperate climate to use in Africa and Italy. I then started to add options to play it in 1940. With the Italy options, I started collecting American lend lease equipment (which I still have to paint). With that list growing, I decided I needed to have different infantry if I wanted to play them in late 1944 or in 1945. Looking over the Gajo site, I saw that they had an offering of US in overcoats, which was perfect. With that in mind, I looked over the army cards and figured out what it would take to do a Mech company and have options to organize the force into other OOBs. Once I sorted that, I placed the order and the figures arrived.
Gajo packs their figures in plastic bags with like figures (up to twelve, from what I have seen over the years). So, it is all up to you how you base them. I prefer to base my own figures, as I like to make sure all bases match in my respective armies (this is the number one way to tie an army together), so this is perfect for me. For FOW figures, they also send you the bases with the figures,
The paint jobs themselves are quite nice. They use the Foundry method, that starts with black and has two to three highlights. It gives a nice look for this period. As WWII uniforms are, well, uniform… One does not have to worry about facings and such, so you can build a big army without worry.
I put the army aside for a month or so, but got back to it to finish it up. I wanted to go with a fall/winter/early spring look, to match their clothing. I started by gray painting the bases red brown. I then glued the figures to the bases for each unit as I desired (except the laying down and MMG guys). I then covered the bases with Vallejo dark brown mud pumice. Let that dry for a few days and then dry brushed it up with some lighting brown and tan. I then added Gamers Grass tufts in two shades of brown to give the dead look. I did not want to add snow, as I find that limiting on gaming tables. Once that was all set, I glued the remaining loose figures to the bases to finish them up. A coat of Testors Dull Coat and I now have enough Free French to field in most games!
I am a fan of Gajo figures, as they are generally painted nicely. I don’t always like the color choices for some lines, but they give pictures, so you can choose for yourself. it is a good way to start an army and with the price inflation from other services over the years, quite a good deal.
- Mantueffel