I didn’t really need any French tanks, as I do not have any French forces, but I do like these Somua tanks. They were captured and used by the Germans later in the war and so I thought I would build a troop of them anyway. I think the only plastic model kit in this scale of the Somua is made by Heller, so I bought three of them on eBay from someone, somewhere. Loved the box art and attempted to base my camo scheme on the front action shot.
It’s a tiny tank and the kit is easy to put together. Detail is nice and there were zero construction issues. By the third build I was doing it with my eyes shut! Tracks are like a soft vinyl that fitted perfectly which made a nice change. I think I drilled out the gun barrels with a very tiny drill, but did not do much else. Camo scheme was applied using the blutack masking technique, which ended up coming out very nicely. The decals were a mixture of the supplied ones plus some other spares. I really liked the French red white and blue insignia and white numbers so I sourced some similar stuff from my decal files. I figure I can use these for either side, early war French or late war Germans.
Here is le Troop just wandering through a village.
Colonel Mustard 
Quite a surprise to see these from you, Will, but they’re very nice! 🙂 You’ve got the scenery already, so you could always do some early German tanks to re-fight 1940! I was surprised at how small the Somua is as well (I’ve got two of the Frontline Wargaming resin ones patiently waiting to be finished)!
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Yes its a tiny tank John. Yes a surprise as i am usually totally focused on late war stuff. These little guys do make an appearance on some German army lists. I am working on a more random type game to keep me guessing as a solo wargamer. So having all sorts of available armour will fit my plan. So many plans and so little time!
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Those are great- I’ve a set like that that have not seen the table in 15 years at least… should do something about that really.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Interesting little fellows mate, you have done a great painting these, I have been thinking of getting into airbrushing as you have got a much better result than I with the brush no mater how much effort I put in !
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