2013 Operation Serval in Mali (modern French vs. insurgents)

[MABO]

I would like to welcome you as well here at Bennos. You add another rare topic to the interesting post here. I like your style of painting and the way you created the bases. Please show us more of your work.

[LouisD]

Thank you! I am currently painting more batches of insurgents so I should have more to share in a couple weeks.

I do the bases like this if you're interested:

• Two coats of Vallejo 941 Burnt Umber
• Games Workshop Agrellan Earth technical paint
• Wash of half Vallejo 200 Sepia Wash, half water
• Drybrushes of Vallejo 874 Tan Earth Matt, Vallejo 917 Beige, and Army Painter Skeleton Bone
• Finally two coats of Skeleton Bone on the rim

[LouisD]

Hello everybody,

After a longer gap than expected, I have finally made some good progress and finished a good chunk of the insurgents for my Operation Serval project.

Here are some pictures :

These guys will be combat team leaders



A whole bunch of regular fighters



RPGs



Machine guns



I still have 4 batches of insurgents to go and then it's on to the vehicles (I've started on my Sagaie armoured car already for the French side, but even in 1/72 vehicles are a pain to paint without an airbrush).

[Peter]

Great addition and welcome back!

[Rich W]

These all good superb, but in particular the way you have painted those light blue trousers and tops is just excellent.

[LouisD]

Thank you! It's just a wash and a drybrush

[Kekso]

Welcome back.

[Bill Slavin]

Very nice figure painting, Louis. A really effective use of drybrush!

[Santi Pérez]

Very nice figure painting, Louis. A really effective use of drybrush!

I totally agree with Bill. You have achieved amazingly painted figures, Louis.

Santi.

[LouisD]

Hello everyone, I am resuscitating this topic to share some pictures of the Panhard ERC-90 Sagaie I have just finished. Slow and steady! It's only missing a base.

[Rich W]

Glad to see it has been resuscitated!

[LouisD]

Hello everyone, new wave completed: here is the 120mm mortar (MO 120 RT) for the French. The mortar is by Butler's Printed Models and the servants are simply taken from the Caesar Miniatures box.

You can find much more detailed models of this particular mortar, with servants, at Model Miniatures (resin) or S&S Models (metal), but I wanted to stay as economical as possible (the mortar at BPM was 4€) and use the miniatures from the Caesar box as much as possible so as not to have anything superfluous, even though as a result the servants don't look much like servants.









Thankfully I had painted the three servants years ago along with the rest of the French as I am not sure I would have managed to replicate the colour scheme exactly after so much time.

Then here is a bunch of insurgents with explosive vests. I have painted those red for the sake of visual interest even though it's probably not very realistic. I am not sure how I will use these in-game yet, perhaps just as elites.



And finally I have given a base to the ERC-90 Sagaie armoured car.

[Kekso]

Nice progress.

[LouisD]

Thanks! It's been a long time coming but I'm finally closer to the end than the beginning.

I have something like 3 batches of insurgents remaining + their two pick-ups and rocket launcher.

At some point I will also have to add the 4 VAB APCs for the French, but that's on the backburner as I'm still shopping around for the best value. S&S Models does a very well-detailed one but they don't ship to the EU anymore, so I think I'll fall back on 3D-printed options on Etsy.

[C M Dodson]

Interesting subject matter.

The painting of the vehicles is excellent and of the period.

Best wishes,

Chris